Chapter 9: Koh, the face thief
Pov: Kai
- Ahhhh... that hurt. - I grunted in pain and felt my arms expand from the burning sensation.
I opened my eyes and quickly realized that I was in a strange place, dark and smelly, if that's the right word.
- Where am I? - I lift my head above the ground, still feeling the tiredness all over my body. - A forest? But how is that possible?
My physical state was not pleasant at all, because this technique made me feel as if I had dumped all of Azula's pain and fatigue onto me, not to mention the wounds I already had.
The forest seemed lifeless, as if it were dead, but in the truest sense of the word. I couldn't even feel small presences like insects.
- The forest seemed abandoned, as if nature itself had rejected this place. - This thought gripped me as I spent the minutes trying to find the strength to get up.
Kai had never felt so vulnerable in his entire life, the feeling was agonizing to the point of eating away at his soul. He didn't know how long he had been in this position, if it had been minutes, hours or days. It made no difference to him because his senses were so disturbed that his sense of time was impaired.
As time passed, Kai managed to drag himself to a root sticking out of the ground with his legs only, just to lean against it and try to think about his unusual situation.
- O-ok, let's think... I was in the arena with Azula before I realized I was in this forest. - I let my head rest on the root as I looked around. - And these trees certainly don't belong to the nation of fire, somehow I'm somewhere else... am I in another nation?
While I was wondering, I noticed a strange movement, it looked a bit humanoid, but I couldn't deduce anything. A chimpanzee or monkey, lying on its back, seemed somehow confused. Slowly, the creature turned towards me, revealing its lack of face.
- What the hell? - I said in a startled voice, immediately alerting myself in case the creature tried to attack me.
- The faceless creature ignored Kai's emaciated form, as if he were soulless, going his own way, unaware that he was doomed to a fate worse than death.
- Now it's official, I'm not really in the Nation of Fire! -Now he was afraid, unable to let a hint of fear take hold of his heart.
Lifting my gaze, I noticed that the sun seemed weaker than usual, I don't know if it was the influence of the environment I was in, but the feeling of loneliness this place exuded was uncomfortable.
- When I think about it, I can only be in the realm of spirits. - I finished without showing any joy. - This place is pretty run down, it desperately needs a makeover.
The contemplative minutes made Kai wonder if he was dead, and if so, he was certainly annoyed that he had died of shock while trying to heal Azula. Inwardly, if that were the case, it would haunt him for the rest of his life as a form of protest.
With nothing else to do, he decided to assess the damage to his arms, where most of his pain was. Looking at his arms, which looked more like charcoal because they were so black, it was somehow possible to move them with difficulty. He decided to go into meditation to calm his soul, just let the silence take over for hours.
- Well, well, well... What have we here? - said a cold, dark voice, causing the few creatures that were still around to flee in despair, as if haunted by a nightmare. - What a poor soul you are, so lost in a place like this.
The voice sent shivers through Kai's entire body, an icy wave running from his spine to every part of his body. Even worse, he was unable to move, completely at the mercy of the mysterious voice.
- From your tone, I don't think you mean well. -I searched as fast as I could for the creature that was communicating.
- Don't think about it, I came with high expectations.
Kai heard the dark voice, literally above him, and looked up, unable to contain the astonishment on his face at the sight of such a hideous creature. The creature resembled a centipede in much of its physiognomy, but a striking difference was a kind of human face in front of it, staring fearfully at Kai.
- If you devour me, believe me, I guarantee you a good bellyache, even if it's the last thing I do. - My determined expression was fierce, adrenaline-filled, and my scarlet eyes shone like spotlights.
The giant creature was clearly confused and surprised, to the point of showing several faces of different people or even creatures at once, not understanding what was going on.
- If that's your way to scare, you lost your chance a long time ago. - I scoffed, but still had fear in my heart.
- That's not possible! No mortal or spiritual being can resist my power! WHO ARE YOU! - The centipede roared with hatred and came closer, only a few centimeters away from Kai's face.
- Shouldn't you introduce yourself first? - I asked, still staring at the creature, which was amazed at every expression I made.
- M-My name is Koh.
I've never heard of you. -I spoke with disinterest and a little disappointment, believing that I was in the presence of a spirit I knew.
- What's your name, human? - Koh examined every part of Kai like a predator examining its prey.
- You may call me Kai. - I replied, trying to use the creature's curiosity to gain time.
- Hmmmm, that's rare. Normally, you'd have lost your face to me by now. - Koh confessed his intentions, but still retained a touch of curiosity.
- What were you trying to do? - I expressed my concern, unable to even bend my element.
I didn't understand what the monster meant by stealing my face, but the memory of the faceless creature made me realize that the centipede in front of me was something much worse than I had imagined.
- Now I remember! It's rare to see that. - Koh's voice was calmer, but still a bit frustrated. - It's clear from your expression that you have no idea about your lineage, right?
Kai became more and more confused, he didn't like his situation in the investigation, he didn't know how to deal with a ghost, let alone return to the mortal world.
- I hadn't seen those eyes for thousands of years. I never thought there would be any decent ones left from the original Benders, let alone in human form. - Koh stared at Kai's face, still trying to steal it. - What a rarity this encounter is, it only makes me want to have it in my collection.
The closer Koh got, the clearer it became that the creature was in its own world, its evil intentions surfacing and putting enormous pressure on Kai. A great roar echoed through the sky, causing Koh and Kai to raise their eyes to the clouds and see a gigantic silhouette...
A winged creature with small horns, snow-white scales, four large legs with sharp claws, surrounded by a white mane on its head that stretched down its spine to the end of its large tail, carrying two wings three times its body size.
The albino creature was gigantic, so much so that Koh's total length alone rivaled the tail of the giant reptile.
Without ceremony, the flying creature swooped down on the two of them, firing a burst of flame that was blue at its base and changed color until the end of its searing length was orange.
The fireball hit Koh, causing him to grunt in pain. To Kai's surprise, the giant centipede proved to be fast despite its size, hiding in the dead forest within seconds. The giant dragon landed on the area where Kai lay inert.
Needless to say, Kai was stunned by the sheer size of the creature, which made Koh look like a mere worm in the dragon's eyes. To put it in comparative terms, the dragon's teeth alone were big enough to compete with half of Kai's size.
The dragon moved its head closer to the human and began to sniff him, beginning its own examination just as Koh had done earlier. The dragon looked at Kai's arms and then directly into his eyes.
Kai didn't fail to notice that the large, elegant looking creature had eyes like his own. It gave him a feeling of comfort he hadn't felt for months.
The dragon purred and approached me gently, for some reason, I didn't feel the same terror as when I was forced to be oppressed by that thing.
Opening its mouth a little, the dragon's line appeared and started to lick Kai's arms, and little by little the wounds healed as if they had never existed, leaving him surprised and sticky.
Seeing that its work was done, the dragon stood up completely, lifted its paw and brought its claw close to Kai's head, making a simple touch that caused the red-eyed young man to lose consciousness.
***
Opening his eyes, he realized that he was in a room where red colors predominated. Scanning the room with his eyes, he noticed a small figure with very familiar black hair sleeping in a chair, his head resting on the bed.
Kai noticed that his arms were completely bandaged, but he didn't care that he didn't feel any pain, he was relieved that he could still feel his fingers moving normally.
He didn't know how long he had been out, but from the state of his hair, he could guess that a few weeks had passed. Not wanting to wake Azula, who was quietly pulling out her hair, Kai noticed a small change that he hadn't noticed. That was that one of her strands of hair was completely snow-white.
He immediately remembered the winged creature and her huge mane, which seemed to emphasize her royal status.
- I guess it wasn't a dream after all. - I smile and decide to close my eyes and let the dreams take over my head.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone