Genocide.
Kahn might not have fully understood the blood-soaked weight behind that cold, heavy word, but he grasped its meaning well enough.
This was no longer something that could be justified or glossed over in the name of "national interest," "political position," or "geopolitical strategy."
It was a blatant crime against humanity—one that deserved nothing but condemnation.
Seeing Kahn frozen in shock, Iroh continued, explaining the truth hidden beneath the surface.
The Avatar is the most powerful being in the world, capable of mastering all four elements.
For thousands of years, the Avatar has existed to maintain balance and peace, standing above all political conflict.
The Avatar is not immortal—yet, in a sense, is close to it.
When one Avatar dies, they reincarnate into the next nation in the cycle: Air, Water, Earth, and Fire.
And with each reincarnation, the Avatar retains memories of past lives, becoming wiser and stronger as the cycle continues.
A hundred years ago, Avatar Roku—born in the Fire Nation—stopped a Fire Lord who sought to wage war. Even so, he failed to extinguish that ambition.
After Roku's death, the Fire Lord finally acted.
Knowing the next Avatar would reincarnate into the Air Nomads, the Fire Lord decided to eliminate the threat before it could awaken.
When Sozin's Comet returned, he led his armies to wipe out the entire Air Nomad civilization in a single, devastating strike.
And from the Fire Nation's perspective… it worked.
The Avatar vanished for nearly a century, and hope for his return faded into myth.
"…"
After hearing the truth, both Kahn and Iroh fell silent. This was not a light anecdote—it was the darkest stain on Fire Nation history.
For the first time, Kahn's inner beliefs truly wavered.
He had always viewed the Fire Nation's wars as part of an inevitable historical cycle: what is long divided must unite, and what is long united must divide.
In his eyes, the Fire Nation's actions were simply historical momentum.
Besides, despite cultural differences across the world, the global writing system was unified—an ideal foundation for eventual unification.
But what happened to the Air Nomads had gone far beyond anything he could consider "normal."
He originally thought the Fire Nation was acting like the Qin Dynasty—harsh, but focused on unification. Instead, he discovered they were closer to… Genocidal colonial empires committing crimes against humanity.
And though Kahn always viewed himself as an outsider, if the Fire Nation succeeded in unifying the world, he could never truly stay uninvolved.
Would the world really be better under such a regime?
Yet from his own life in the Fire Nation, the picture didn't fully match the horror.
The country had a prosperous economy, advanced technology, widespread education—it was, in many ways, the strongest model of development in the world.
But genocide… that was an original sin that could never be erased.
And as an insignificant individual, what could he do?
Even as a transmigrator, even with modern knowledge, even with talent in Firebending—when faced with a problem this vast, he felt only powerlessness and confusion.
Iroh watched Kahn's struggle quietly. This reaction was expected.
He didn't try to guide Kahn as he normally might. Whether Kahn intended to grow into a master or not, this was a stage every thinking person eventually had to face.
Even Iroh had spent half his life wrestling with unanswered questions—who was he to tell someone else what the correct path was?
Fortunately, Kahn was not the type to dwell endlessly on problems that could crush a person's spirit.
As the saying goes: "There are no difficult things in the world, only people who refuse to let go."
To avoid getting trapped in his own thoughts, Kahn forcibly shut his mind down.
These weren't problems he could solve right now.
It was better to focus on what was in front of him.
Even though he repeated that thought again and again, his emotions remained unsettled for a long time.
To clear his mind, Kahn uncharacteristically took a few days off.
He did nothing but rest, play, and empty his thoughts completely. Only then did his mental state finally return to normal.
Looking back, he realized he had been stressing himself out unnecessarily.
Questions like "How do we achieve world peace?" or "How do we eliminate war?" were problems humans never solved even in his previous world.
He wasn't smarter than average people—certainly not wiser than ancient sages or great leaders.
Why should he, a mere Fire Nation teenager, worry about problems those giants couldn't resolve?
As for the future… well, the boat will straighten when it reaches the bridge.
Let it be.
Once he accepted that mindset, Kahn felt his spirit lighten. With distractions tossed aside, he was ready to fully focus on Firebending once more.
But almost immediately, he encountered a new dilemma—he didn't know where to start.
Not because he lacked options. Quite the opposite—he had too many ideas.
If he wanted to create new moves, there were countless inspirations from the fire-wielding characters he'd seen in his past world.
His first matchup with Zuko used Iori Yagami's Scum Gale from The King of Fighters, and that series alone had dozens of flame techniques he could adapt.
If he wanted to research the essence of fire, the possibilities multiplied even further.
The idealistic path was simple:
The heart that believes is your magic.
If he believed strongly enough, fire could take on any properties—even healing, like using flame to burn away scars and restore skin.
The materialistic path was even broader. In the scientific world, fire was the release of light and heat caused by combustion. Meaning controlling fire could be divided into controlling light and controlling heat.
And if the temperature rose high enough, fire became plasma—another mystical avenue entirely.
After brainstorming, Kahn only felt overwhelmed.
"Is this… the trouble of a genius?" he muttered helplessly.
When he brought this "problem" to Iroh, the veteran general almost choked.
In all his decades as the "Dragon of the West," he had never heard someone humblebrag with such sincerity. Honestly, Iroh wished he had troubles like this.
Though filled with envy, jealousy, and resentment (in a loving way), Iroh still offered proper guidance.
"The ideas in your mind can be explored one at a time," he said. "There's no need to force everything at once."
"If you don't know where to begin… why not return to the starting point?"
...
Author's Note:
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