"O-Outcast?"
A sense of dread filled my whole being as I took a step back in shock.
How—Did it know? That I-I... What? But how? I've never told anyone—!
"Enjoy the library."
Without another word, the massive owl spirit leapt from the walkway, sinking deeper into the library with its large wingspan to keep itself adrift in the air.
A hand touched my shoulder. I flinched and swiftly turned.
Katara was looking at me.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah," Sokka added. "It whispered something to you, didn't it?"
"... I'm fine. It was just asking me something."
I forced a smile and gestured toward the library.
"Come on. We've got some exploring to do."
============================================
Everyone, including Momo, spread out through the endless labyrinth of bookshelves, opening and closing volumes and scrolls as they searched for anything useful.
I sat on the floor alone, still replaying Wan Shi Tong's words in my mind.
Outcast.
It knew. That was certain.
But how?
I understood what it meant when it called itself all-knowing—but to know that?
Soft footsteps echoed beside me—different from the owl spirit's.
"A fox?" I muttered, looking up.
A fox wearing a small blue scarf stepped forward without hesitation and, before I could react, climbed into my lap.
I jolted slightly in surprise, but it ignored me completely and nuzzled into my stomach.
... It's actually kinda cute.
I hesitated, then gently petted its head. It purred in response.
Katara leaned over.
"Looks like it likes you."
"One of Wan Shi Tong's knowledge seekers!" The professor provided.
"I've never seen this kind of animal before," Aang said, crouching closer. The fox didn't seem bothered, hopping from my lap and twirling so he could get a better look. "A fox-bear? No, a lion-fox? But it's too small..."
You might be thinking, dear reader—just a fox, right?
Well, there are no pure-breed foxes. Hell, there are no pure-breed animals around. It's just in...
... Pure-breed animals only existed in Zero's universe.
My thoughts slowed.
How is there a normal fox in this universe?
My mind began to race, circling the same conclusion over and over until it finally settled into something heavier.
How did Wan Shi Tong know about Zero's original universe?
More specifically, How did he identify that I was a reincarnated soul that didn't belong in this one?
"Guys!" Sokka came running, snapping me out of my thoughts. "Follow me, quick!"
He jogged ahead through the vast library aisles. We stood and quickly followed.
"Sokka, where are you going?" Aang asked.
He glanced around, then lowered his voice.
"I found a parchment talking about the darkest day of the Fire Nation." He patted his sling bag. "I want to know what happened that day. This could be important."
We followed him deeper into the Fire Nation section of the library.
As we turned a corner, something tugged at my tunic.
I stopped and looked down.
The fox had followed along, gently biting my clothing, trying to pull me in a completely different direction.
"You want me to follow you?"
The fox nodded, then darted off to the left.
Hesitating, I tapped Aang on the shoulder to get his attention.
"Go ahead," I said. "I'll meet you guys later."
Jogging to meet the waiting fox, I followed as it led me through a maze of turns—left, right, right, left—straight for three corridors in a row.
We must have turned dozens of times, and then, finally...
We stopped in front of a bookshelf that looked like it had been standing for centuries.
Rotting wood. Rusted nails. Dust covering the shelves that was inches thick.
And on it sat a single journal made of some kind of parchment.
I reached out slowly.
"Is this what you want me to see?"
The fox nodded.
Then it vanished into the shadows.
I lunged forward to follow, but it was already gone—leaving me alone in the corridor, the bookshelf staring back at me.
"... Not creepy at all," I mumbled, swallowing nervously as I grabbed the book out of the shelf.
I waited cautiously for something to happen.
Nothing.
Slowly, I turned it over and brushed the dust off the cover—
"English!"
This was English, right? It looked completely different from the scripts I was used to seeing, but Zero was an English speaker first, so I had retained the ability to write and read it—
Wait.
English.
"What the—?!"
I snapped the tome open and quickly scanned the first page.
It was all in English.
A language that, as far as I knew, didn't exist anywhere else in this world.
I flipped to the last page of the tome.
And my heart drops.
[To You in Four Hundred Years,]
[Be Seeing You, o' Stranger In My World]
[Signed — Fire Emperor Kain,]
[Formerly known as H*no?yCs/mR]
Knees weak, I slowly slumped on the ground.
And I flipped back to the first page.
============================================
BOOOOM!
The library shook violently as I barely made it through the first chapter of the tome.
I shut it gently, tucked it inside my tunic, and stood up.
The fox appeared again.
"You didn't have to leave me like that," I muttered before following after it.
A minute into a light jog through the corridors, I could already hear the others shouting in the distance as the tremors grew stronger.
I turned the corner and was met with Wan Shi Tong chasing after the group.
"Get out, get out, get out, GET OUT!" Sokka screamed at a high pitch, barely dodging a pincer strike from the large Spirit's beak as it shattered the stone floor beside him.
I immediately sprinted forward.
"Aang, fly!" I shouted.
I grabbed Sokka and Professor Zei in one motion and threw them onto my back.
Then I reached Katara, pulling her into my arms.
Aang launched upward on his glider, rising into the air.
With Katara secured in a quick carry, I slammed my foot into the ground—
BOOM.
The impact launched us forward through the library aisle at high speed.
Wan Shi Tong screeched and dove after us as we crossed a narrow walkway.
Before it could reach us, Aang cut in—slamming the owl Spirit aside and sending it crashing down into the depths below.
Sokka clambered off my back.
"We need to know when the next eclipse is gonna happen!"
"Don't be stupid!" Katara warned. "We'll find out later!"
"No, we won't!" Sokka shot back. "If we leave now, we'll never get the information!"
He turned sharply.
"Aang—come with me to the planetarium. I need cover! Katara, you take Momo and get on the Renji express, distract the bird! We'll rendezvous at the center and get out together!"
"But—"
A nearby bookshelf exploded in a burst of dust and splintered wood as Wan Shi Tong burst through, roaring in pursuit. Using the opening, the group split—Sokka and Aang sprinting back the way they came—while I grabbed the two plus winged lemur and broke into a run.
"Hurry, Sokka!"
And so began our cat-and-mouse chase through the library.
"OUTCAST!" The spirit screeched, diving after us. I twisted aside just in time as it crashed past. I turned the corner hard. "I WILL HAVE YOUR BLOOD!"
"Why has it been screaming about an 'outcast'?" Katara asked worriedly, raising water from her container to block a barrage of feathers that sliced through wood with ease.
"I have no idea!" I truthfully said. I mean, it was the truth; I had no idea why it knew that I was an outcast—
"REEEEENNNN!"
A distant scream cut through the chaos from above.
"H-HEEEEELPPPPPPPP!"
I froze.
Placing the two immediately, I faced Wan Shi Tong.
Flames erupted along my arms as I locked eyes with the spirit.
"Begone."
And I burned away the obstacle standing to Toph.
============================================
I didn't look back at the screeching Wan Shi Tong as it burned behind me. Instead, I weaved between the towering bookshelves.
Taking a step back for momentum, I sprinted forward and leapt onto one of the shelves.
Using the stacked rows as footholds, I climbed quickly until I reached the top, where the rope came into view.
I planted both palms behind me, bracing myself.
Then I jumped.
My hands erupted in explosive bursts of fire, propelling me forward through the air.
Chain explosions followed in rapid succession, sending me forward at a fast rate—
"Renji!"
I didn't dodge in time. A claw strike clipped my shoulder, blood spewing all over.
My focus broke from the pain.
And I began to fall.
"YOU WILL NEVER LEAVE! YOUR BODY WILL ROT IN THIS LIBRARY FOREVER!" Wan Shi Tong screeched after me.
I twisted midair, triggering another burst of explosions to redirect myself through the falling trajectory of its beak.
I shot upward again in a chain of blasts, reaching for the rope—
Only to narrowly miss it as the Spirit surged back toward me.
"REN! REN! I NEED YOU! PLEASE, APPA—HE'S—!"
Toph's panicked voice from above intensified the beating in my heart.
Katara fired shards of ice from below, doing all she could with the limited water she had, but Wan Shi Tong weaved through them easily, retaliating with a flurry of feathers that forced her on the defensive.
I surged forward again.
The rope was within reach.
"Na7SrtPbMe WILL WEEP WHEN HER CHAMPION DIES BY MY HANDS!"
The spirit dived at me, beak aimed to pierce through my chest.
I gritted my teeth.
Spinning in place, I raised both hands, my left gripping my right for stability.
Chi flooded through my body and into my palms. A bright orange-yellow glow built up, tiny detonations flickering at the unstable concentration of Chi concentrated into one single palm.
Pain surged through my arm in return—but I bit down hard and held my aim steady.
Just as the massive owl closed into striking range, I thrust my arm forward and unleashed everything I had.
"Fuck off to the Spirit World!" I roared.
Toph was waiting for me...!
"DYNAMIGHT IMPACT!"
...
...
...
Wan Shi Tong evaporated before my eyes in a brilliant burst of black and sunset-orange.
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NEXT UPDATE: 17 July, Friday
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