I sat in perfect stillness.
My breath slowed until it barely existed, each inhale and exhale dissolving into the cold mountain air. Chi circulated smoothly through my body, dense and obedient, while my mind sharpened into absolute focus.
Then I pushed.
Not outward.
Inward.
My spiritual energy surged, flooding every meridian at once. The world flickered—stone, sky, and wind losing cohesion—as my body grew distant.
And then—
I stepped out of myself.
My physical form remained seated, unmoving, eyes closed.
I did not.
The Spirit World unfolded around me like a living dream.
Color bled into reality—too vivid, too fluid. The ground pulsed faintly beneath my feet, as if alive, and the air carried whispers I could almost understand. Shapes moved at the edge of my vision, spirits observing me with curiosity… and caution.
I was careful.
Here, bending was useless. Strength meant nothing. Only awareness, restraint, and intelligence mattered.
I had been trying to reach this place for months.
Now that I had, the real plan could begin.
I walked.
Time had no meaning here, but eventually the world shifted. The air grew heavier, darker. The land twisted into jagged forms, shadows stretching unnaturally across glowing terrain.
Then I saw it.
The Tree of Time.
Massive. Ancient. Its roots tore through reality itself, binding something far older than nations or Avatars. Black tendrils of energy coiled around its base like chains.
And there—
Imprisoned within—
Vaatu.
The spirit of darkness and chaos.
The other half of the cycle.
I smiled.
"So this is where they buried you," I said calmly.
The shadows stirred.
A presence pressed against my mind—vast, malicious, amused.
A human, Vaatu's voice echoed, deep and reverberating. One who walks freely where they should not.
"I'm not here by accident," I replied, stepping closer to the prison's edge. "And I'm not here to seal you away."
That got his attention.
The shadows thickened, tendrils writhing as his immense form shifted within the bindings.
Then speak, he hissed. Before I tear your spirit apart.
I met his gaze without flinching.
"The Avatar system is flawed," I said bluntly. "Raava chooses balance through stagnation. The same cycle. The same mistakes. The same hypocrisy."
Silence.
I continued.
"The Earth Kingdom hoards land and resources. The Water Tribes survive in frozen wastelands. The Fire Nation is trapped on volcanic islands with limited farmland and constant natural disasters."
I scoffed softly.
"Why wouldn't they go to war? Raava's 'balance' forces inequality, then punishes those who refuse to starve quietly."
Vaatu listened.
I could feel it.
"I'm not interested in destroying the world," I said. "I'm interested in restructuring it. Controlled chaos. Directed evolution."
I spread my hands slightly.
"You want freedom. I want power and change. Raava's host wants preservation at any cost—even if the world rots."
I paused, then delivered the final piece.
"Together, we could surpass her."
The Tree of Time trembled.
You would challenge the Avatar, Vaatu murmured. The eternal host of light.
"I would outperform them," I corrected. "Intelligence beats tradition. Preparation beats blind reincarnation."
Long seconds passed.
Then—
Laughter.
Dark, thunderous laughter shook the Spirit World itself.
Very well, Vaatu said. Human. Let us see if you can carry the weight of darkness.
The chains pulsed.
And then—
Pain.
Agony unlike anything I had ever felt tore through my soul as Vaatu surged forward, his essence colliding with mine. My vision fractured. My spirit screamed as ancient darkness fused with my being.
I felt my body—far away—collapse.
My consciousness shattered under the strain.
As the world went black, one final thought surfaced:
I am no longer bound by Raava's rules.
I fell unconscious—
—reborn as something the world had never seen.
The Dark Avatar.