44 Chapter 43

It was about dawn. She was in the ice fortress. Korra was in the room next to her uncle, her now spiritual mentor. She was sitting, leaning on the wall and hugging her legs to her chest. 

She had completed her task, they opened the portal, and the angry spirits' problem is solved. They won't attack people any longer. However, Korra wasn't satisfied at all. Her heart had been aching ever since she came back.

She and Chen didn't speak a word. 

He was such a mood destroyer. 

He'd even gone so far as to call her a mere pawn that everyone can manipulate easily. 

Why would he even say that? 

She wasn't a person easy to deal with or play with. Hadn't he seen how she'd dealt with Tenzin or her dad when they tried to decide for her? But no. He simply said that anyone could play her as long as they say it's the Avatar Job. What an idiot! Idiot! Korra started breathing heavily. 

Korra opened her hand. Some of the snow sneaked into her room. It took Chen's shape, before freezing. 

She stopped for a second. Even his status looked cute. Hold on, it was smiling smugly at her. 

'He's taken anyway. No harm of this.' 

She stood up, went to the ice status, and punched it. Her punch was so strong that the ice was broken into shreds. 

She shook her head, and then, she tried to mock Chen by speaking as if he did. "You are Korra before being the Avatar. If you don't trust your judgement, you are just a mere pawn." She then looked at the roof. "You know nothing. Just a pro-bender compares himself to being the Avatar." 

A burning sensation got into her eyes. Some water drops started dripping, and she wasn't waterbending. 

How could he say that? He's her crush, her mentor. Even if they weren't lovers, he was her friend. He should support her, not add to her pressure. 

And of course, he knew nothing. 

No one would simply shut her up by saying it's Avatar's job or not. 

After shaking her head, Korra looked at the window. The sky had been cleared, and the sunlight entered her room. Although there was no sunrise at this time of the year, sunlight would take a curve and fill the night. 

She stood up, her hands behind her back. She walked to Unalaq's room. A spiritual lesson would clear her mind, she hoped. 

Unalaq was standing, his hand behind his back. He was staring at the sea. His gaze was sharp. Korra could feel the majestic aura coming from her uncle, who had spent his life studying spirits. If there was someone who knew what the Avatar should be, it would be him. 

Smiling, she walked to him. 

He seemed to sense her presence. Without turning, he said; 

"The Avatar. I thought you were resting after opening the portal." 

"I don't need a rest." She said. "So, now the spirits are happy. Right, no more attacks." 

She felt a bit ashamed from admitting it was Chen who did it. 

But again, it was a team effort. 

She played a part in it. 

"Sure, with the balance restored to the south, the spirits are finally happy," Unalaq said. "However, that's not all." 

"What do you mean?" 

"Your job as the Avatar is to restore the balance between the two worlds. For now, you balanced the south. But what about the remaining of the world? You have a great quest ahead of you." 

"So, the remaining of the world then," Korra said, a serious expression taking over her face. Finally, someone who understood her conquest as the Avatar. 

"Yes. Originally, our tribes were one, and the lights that now you see in the south were in the north. Korra, next, you will go to the north and open the other portal. Once you do that, we will be one united tribe." 

"Hold on, one tribe. You mean you can use the portals to travel from the south and north." 

"Yes. And we will head north soon." 

Korra felt happy. She did great merit. If she opened the portals in the north now, her tribe and the north tribe would become one again. 

"For that, I decided to start uniting them again." 

Korra turned her head in the sea's direction. 

A fleet of battleships was approaching the seaport. From the ships, soldiers in grey attires started landing. They turned in the sea's direction, and they raised their hands. Ice walls started raising from the water, cornering the south tribe. 

"Uncle? What is that?" 

Korra felt something missing. 

Was the north tribe invading her home? 

No, this can't be. Her uncle must have a good explanation. 

"As I said, I will reunite our tribes." He said. 

"Do you have to bring your forces?" 

"Now that our tribes are one again, I need to protect them," Unalaq said. "You shouldn't interfere in this, as the Avatar. Your job is to resort to the balance." 

"What do you mean by that? This is my home." 

"You are the Avatar. You should remain neutral, remember." Unalaq said. "Trust me Korra, I just want to reunite our tribes and share our resources." 

Korra's heart felt a bit at ease. 

However, she snapped out of her feeling. 

Chen's words ringed in her ears. 

Somehow, her uncle just shut her up by bringing up her job as the Avatar. 

He's telling her to remain neutral. 

He's telling her what her job as the Avatar is. 

And she was submissively trusting him. 

Unalaq had even denied Korra's judgement, and he even told her what the Avatar should do. 

It was like she was a pawn. Her judgement had no place. She would just follow the instructions because 'she is the Avatar'

'He is right?' She thought about Chen, and she opened her eyes widely. Although she didn't want to admit it, he had a point. She could see that now. 

But how could this happen? If Chen was right, it meant that her uncle, who was very knowledgeable and spiritual, was manipulating her. 

She had to shout out her teacher, father, for being controlling. She had even shouted at Chen, for being so judging. 

Now, it seemed that Unalaq was controlling her without her realising.

"This can't be…" she put her hand on her head. 

Korra felt a headache. Her lungs tightened, and she could barely breathe.

For the first time, she felt confused and unsure. 

Standing up slowly, she walked to the other room. 

"Are you okay, Avatar?" Unalaq said. He called her the Avatar, just to remind her of what she is and how to act.

"I need some time," Korra said, her voice heavy. 

The world started spinning. Her mind was so conflicted. She remembered Chen, and how she had changed her attitude toward him. Guilt took over her. She couldn't believe that she acted arrogant. Not only he was right, but he would think of her as a narcissist. And he would probably be right. 

-x-X-x- 

Chen had his hands behind his back as he entered through the portal to the spirit world. His heart beat louder as he entered another realm. Currently, he got into a world with no physics rules. Maybe there are, but they surely would be different. The same logic that applies to matter doesn't apply to spirits. 

He stared in front of him. Behind him, there was that portal, a pillar of light which headed to heaven. In front of him and a few hundred meters away, there was another portal. It was closed, and it looked like a closed sphere. 

There was a thin river circling around him. Chen lifted his head. There were mountains, different in colour from the ones in the physical realm. The clouds were dark, blue and green. 

In the middle of this spot, there was one large tree. 

Chen could remember what it was called. 

The Tree of Time. 

In its middle, there was one shiny purple dark eye. 

Just staring at it gave Chen a chill. 

When he looked for long enough, he felt that his body was being pulled. 

Without realising, he was standing in front of the tree. 

Inside of it, there was the spirit of the dark, Vaatu. The only thing that prevented him from getting out was a thin layer of a barrier, which was made of energy. 

"Human, here?" Vaatu talked. "I can't sense Raava inside of you. You are not the Avatar. However, I can sense a real deep dark inside of you." 

"Will you just shut the fuck up?" Chen clicked his tongue and sat down, leaning on the tree. "Don't start a conversation, I'm not going to stay here for too long." 

"Ho ho. How amusing from you, human." Vaatu laughed.