Paradise of Infinity

Chapter 23: Southern Air Temple (1)

Chapter 23: Southern Air Temple (1)

The Southern Air Temple was a relic now, but the halls and walls of the temple weren't collecting dust due to the high altitude and constant wind that whipped around. While they walked through the temple, Aang explained how isolated spots like these allowed a young trainees to focus on the sacred art of airbending and attune themselves to the wind's flow.

While the constant wind kept the dust off the spacious halls, it couldn't do anything against the heavy layers of collected ice and snow. Aang suddenly stopped as they walked out of one of the winding paths. He looked toward a shorter, connected hill. There, the group saw an area with damaged pillars of wood, and next to it was some form of cave system carved into the side of the cliff.

"Not the Airball court," Aang whined at the condition of the court as he jumped down at a moment's notice while Katara whispered, "The Fire Nation raided this temple."

"But why wasn't it destroyed?" Sokka inquired.

"What do you mean?"

"The Fire Nation committed genocide against the Air Nomads. That's the truth, and in line with that reason should be the fact that their structures are to be demolished, too. After all, there may be clues within the temples that would implicate the Fire Nation as nothing but tyrants. All I'm saying is if it was me hunting a school of fish and finding their special spot... I would have left it intact for a particular purpose—To attract more fish and hunt them at my leisure."

"Aang, be careful!" Katara shouted as Aang looked back while landing on the wooden pillars.

"Don't worry, I can jump even higher," Aang forced a smile, shouting back when Katara shook her head.

"No, Aang, there might be traps around here! Just like that shipwreck!" Katara called out as Aang's body visibly stiffened.

Meanwhile, Nik grew cautious and looked around. He had no idea how to identify a booby trap, so he had no choice but to be extremely careful.

He could devour the entire temple to clear all the risks efficiently, but he doesn't need common sense to realize the twelve-year-old would whoop his ass with his magic glider staff.

"Leave the task of finding the booby traps to me," Sokka claimed confidently while Aang, too, carefully stepped down from the area of the wooden pillar.

"I can't believe the temple is in ruins," Aang remarked as he sighed deeply. It finally began sinking that his hopes were empty this time around.

With slumped shoulders, he jumped and returned to the group's side while Nik suddenly realized something as he looked at Appa flying towards the cave system next to the wooden pillars.

"Stop him," Nik hissed, attracting everybody's attention as Appa entered the cave with a resounding landing. He may feel paranoid, but who is possible to trip a Booby trap? Cautious men and women or a flying bison? Everybody held their breaths momentarily. But their expression eases once they see Appa spread his three limbs, grazing on the weeds growing around him.

"It doesn't make any sense," Sokka muttered, "They wouldn't booby trap such a location? Maybe I was wrong."

But he still held his club tightly.

"Maybe the cave system isn't something they want to booby trap and spook their intended target," Nik muttered, "What if the traps are inside the temple itself?"

"Why would the Fire Nation even do it?" Aang inquired, a little flustered and angry at the same time as Katara looked at the boy with a saddened expression.

"The Fire Nation knew that if one Airbender remained, they would likely return to the Air Temples... if there are traps ahead, then the target is none other than you," Katara whispered.

"Come on, let's keep going. We might as well make sure if there are traps or not."

"Why?" Nik looked at Sokka strangely.

"If there are traps, there is also a chance to understand what happened to the air nomads," Sokka shrugged.

"Besides," Aang spoke, "I'm ready to meet someone inside the temple."

Nik and Katara looked at each other, both somewhat unwilling to unnecessarily take risks—for a thirst for information or their cryptic sense of responsibility. But seeing the duo walk forward, Nik and Katara sigh and follow with slumped shoulders.

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Aang took the lead as the group climbed the winding path. The stone stairs were consistent in measurements despite twisting and turning. The group did not speak with each other as they focused on their surroundings until the very end step.

"Fire nation arrows," Sokka whispered as they stepped onto the monastery's entrance, many arrows that dug deep into the structure. The arrows pierced a statue of a mustached airbending monk, too.

"Monk Gyatso," Aang whispered as he stepped forward.

"Everyone, I want you to meet Monk Gyatso."

"Aang, this temple is filled with booby traps. I don't know how these were triggered—" Sokka began as Aang cut him off, his voice trembling as the boy gazed at the arrow-riddled 'body' of the man.

"He taught me how to airbend. When I would feel sad, he would bring me to the balcony to toss cakes and pies at other monks," his gaze glazed as he collapsed on his knees. His shoulders shuddered, and his voice quivered, "He was always there when I needed him the most... but when he needed me... I—"

Tears streamed down Avatar's cheeks as he held his staff against himself tightly.

Sokka pursed his lips.

Even Nik didn't know what to speak. If it were him, he would rather be alone than—

Katara quickly walked to the boy and hugged him from behind, whispering gently, "It's alright, Aang. Everything will be fine."

'That works, too,' Nik thought when he and Sokka looked at each other. Nodding, they both left the area and entered the hall.

"Hey, pass me that spear," Nik looked at Sokka and pointed behind him.

"I thought you weren't a warrior," Sokka inquired.

"Self-defense," Nik replied as he gripped the spear tightly. He felt ominous for some reason. He couldn't shake off the feeling of being observed constantly.

Arrows riddled the length of the hall, but they had yet to step into any traps.

Before Nik could recommend stopping for the moment, they came across something.

"What the hell is this?"

The duo came to face a giant gate with some form of gimmick on its surface made of twisted tubes leading from two blowholes and three wooden symbols of the air benders with three swirling patterns within each of them.

"For a temple, this place is difficult to explore," Sokka grumbled, belting his club as he pushed against the gate to no avail.

"I thought you were a warrior," Nik mused, "Can't even push a gate, eh—"

Nik came to a stunned silence as his gaze met with a furry little creature. White fur with stripes of brown and large green eyes. However, the most defining feature of this animal would be a set of large ears, almost as large as half of its body.

*Kremu*

The critter had his head moved sideways, its green eyes curiously observing the duo. Even Sokka, annoyed by Nik's remark, was now quiet.

After a moment, he whispered, "Nik... do you. hear it?"

"What?" Nik inquired.

"The rumbling of my stomach..." Sokka replied. But before Nik could say anything, Sokka shouted, "Food!"

The shout scared the critter away as the Sokka followed instantly.

"Hey, what about booby traps?!" Nik called out, chasing after them by retracing his steps. The hallway was safe, but the furry creature rushed away from the sight of the statue in front of which Aang still wallowed in sadness. Katara comforted him until the rushing Sokka and the critter brought the duo out of their sentiments.

"Come here!" Sokka's eyes were bright, focused on the meal he hadn't eaten before! While Katara and the tearful Aang were stunned to see a scowling Nik following behind with a speed that the duo had not imagined Nik to possess in the first place. Even in his homeworld, Nik hadn't pushed his physique to its utmost after Infinity reconstructed him and bestowed a common Bloodline.

"I'm sorry," Aang muttered, bowing to Gyatso's statue as Katara smiled, "I'm sure your caretaker never blamed you for disappearing..."

"No... Monk Gyatso was my best friend," Aang exhaled before slapping his cheeks, "And I cannot let Sokka eat a lemur! It might be the only one around here!"

Aang followed with an even greater speed as a gust of air cleaned the collected snow off Gyatso's statue, breaking away the arrows on its body, and leaving Katara behind.

With a sigh, she stood up and bowed towards the statue.

'Well... I know how he is feeling,' Katara sighed as she traced the pendant on her choker and smiled.

Just as she was going to leave, her eyes were attracted to a small part of parchment somehow peeking out from underneath the statue, and after a moment's thought, Katara decided to pull out the parchment and read its content. Her eyes widened as she quickly rushed up the winding stairs, chasing after the group while firmly holding onto the piece of paper.

---

"Nik, this is the guy who triggered all the traps!" Sokka laughed as they saw many spears and arrows on the stairway. These weapons looked relatively new as the furry little beast constantly maneuvered around them. Sokka followed equally dexterously. With how cumbersome it was to move in a place that lowered one's speed due to ice and snow, Sokka felt a breath of fresh air with how much quicker he could move. Nik followed, but he wasn't as agile as the two Sokka and Aang. He slowed down around the bed of arrows, only for Aang to rush past him a few seconds ago.

"Keep up!" Aang smiled before taking off.

Nik thought and stopped to devour all the arrows and other cold weapons except for a single spear that was 'hidden' alongside...

'Oh... I hope Mitsuko's meals haven't gotten bad yet,' Nik groaned internally. He had forgotten all about the dry meals Mitsuko had packed for him!

Nik sighed deeply and closed his eyes before checking something, and soon he felt relieved. He couldn't only devour stuff for Infinity, but he was also given something extremely special aside from a new life. He still hadn't ever stepped in 'there,' but he had made use of the red scar around his left arm many times already.

"Hey, I thought you had gone ahead."

Nik heard Katara's voice and looked back.

"Oh, I'm just cleaning the stairs," Nik smiled as another arrow disappeared. Katara was amazed to see his 'ability' in action, but it didn't feel too over the top. Not right now, at least. Nodding, Katara handed him a piece of paper.

"Ah, don't make it disappear or commit tricks with it. It should be important to Aang," Katara instructed as Nik shrugged before reading the content with a curious expression.

"Why would they even do it then?" Nik questioned as Katara shook her head, indicating her lack of response to this matter.

Rolling up the parchment, Nik held it in his left hand before the letter disappeared, and he gazed at his left hand with shock. Seeing his expression, Katara grew serious, "Please tell me that you're joking!"

"I..." Nik mumbled before sighing and shaking his head, "It was an accident."

"That letter is seriously gone?" Katara frowned, narrowing her eyes as she recalled a similar expression on her brother one too many times!

Nik pursed his lips, bringing the letter out of his personal world, "How did you know?" He inquired.

"Sokka has the same look when he's trying something funny," Katara smirked and snatched the letter from Nik's hand, "And no joking around with this."

"Are you hungry?" Nik inquired.

"Just..."

*Gnghhh*

"... a little," Katara blushed, and Nik nodded though. Even though he was hungry, showing Mitsuko's cooking would be equivalent to sharing it. And he really didn't want to share it at all. Maybe he was selfish since Katara and Sokka had already done a lot for him, but he planned to return the favor in some other manner.

'And it's not like we're all starving to death...' Nik reasoned, slapping his generous side internally for even thinking of sharing Mitsuko's meals!

Instead of running, Katara and Nik walked silently while the echo of Sokka screaming: Lunch, made them feel awkward.

"I didn't know Sokka could act like this... he felt like a dependable leader... until now."

Nik opened up as Katara scoffed.

"Leader, him?" she chuckled, "Oh, no, he can rise to the occasion if the situation demands it, but I've known him to not like that at all. Being a Chieftain burdened him too much... There's this one day where Sokka had the bright idea to marry me off so he would have fewer responsibilities."

"Marriage?" Nik looked at Katara strangely as she frowned, "Why? Something wrong about a waterbending freak getting married?"

"Oh, no," he smiled, "I was wondering how marriage worked in the Water Tribe, that's all."

Katara hummed in response, "I'd say it's pretty generic. Most marriages happen at night, and if possible, when there is a full moon and a clear sky since it is a sign of good fortune."

"Then why didn't you marry?" Nik questioned.

"Because... I felt that if I married before trying to find a way to reach the Northern Water Tribe... I will never be able to learn waterbending. You heard it, right? Sokka planned to marry me just to get rid of responsibility. I don't think my future husband would have been more sensitive," Katara pouted, "Dad used to tell Sokka and me stories about waterbenders. So did Gran-Gran... later down the line, I just happened to want the same skills for myself. Anyway. Once I buried Sokka deep in the snow, he took the hint to not raise the topic anymore."

"Nik, what about your family?" she looked at him.

"Passed away, for most parts."

"For most parts? What's that supposed to mean?"

"From where I come from... bodies aren't easily cremated or buried after death. So while the spirit has passed on... the same cannot be said about the corpses. It's quite distasteful to think of it in detail."

"That's horrible," His words drew a gasp as she frowned. "Well, the dead don't care about what they leave behind," Nik shrugged, unwilling to think more about who would be stuffing his corpse back in his birthplace.

"Still, that's a terrible tradition, if you don't mind me saying."

'Would have been a terrible custom... sadly, it's a terrible business instead.'

Nik pursed his lips, shaking his head without speaking more on the topic.

They soon reached the end of the staircase and found Sokka holding his club while the furry creature hid behind Aang's head, it's tail wrapped around his neck as it screeched and hissed at Sokka.

"Don't make me use my boomerang," Sokka warned as Aang stood him off, "This is a Winged-lemur! I'm not letting you eat him!"

"Aang, Sokka, I found something, and you two should read this," Katara coughed, unfazed by their actions. She walked up to Aang and handed him the letter. Sokka huffed and belted his club before walking towards Aang only for the Lemur to jump and open his arms, revealing bat-like wings underneath its arms that allowed him to glide and land on Nik's shoulder.

"Hey, little guy," Nik smiled without fear. He's had a pet lizard on his head before. There aren't many things he fears when it comes to cute-looking animals.

"Hmm... what is this," Sokka mumbled and read the letter in soft mumbles.

"Dear Aang... I leave this letter fearing that the Fire Lord Sozin has treacherous acts planned by inviting the nomads to the Festival for Avatar Roku on the day the Roku's Comet passes by... all the monks have answered his call as a sign of peace and Sozin has indeed removed his men from the colonies. But I believe this may be the last chance to have a word with you.

We failed you, Aang. The nomads claim to be enlightened, but many failed to even account for a child's need. Still, in my heart, I hope that my feelings regarding Sozin are nothing but the base and irrelevant delusions and I get to meet you soon.

Please return... Aang."

Aang had a deep scowl on his face while Sokka frowned, "Wait, are you saying that the Air Nomads willingly walked into a possible trap?"

"This is Monk Gyatso's writing. He knew something was going on, but he still agreed to witness this festival for Avatar Roku," Aang breathed and folded the letter before placing it within his tunic and looked at Katara, thanking her with a grateful bow.

"Thank you, Katara. At least, I'm a little close to understanding what happened to the Air Nomads."

"I still don't get it," Sokka frowned, "How would he even know that something is wrong?"

"According to Monk Gyatso, spiritual enlightenment is more than just... calm and peace. I still don't understand most of it, but one thing is for sure Monk Gyatso's intuition was right."

Aang replied and turned around, "I just have one more thing to do, and we'll leave the temple..."

***

Alternate Title: The Ruins; Traps?; Chad Appa Fears None of It; The Hidden Gate; Lunchtime!; Disabled Traps; Of Snow and Ruins; The Letter; Monk Gyatso; Aang's Bestfriend; A Terrible Business; Nik's Corpse Getting Stuffed Bruh!; The Chase; Can't Fool Katara!; The Insidious Lure to All the Nomads?; Facing Reality; Men of Past; Apologies from the Past; Aang Returned; Can't Share Mitsuko's Cooking!