23 Chapter 23

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It took the ship two extra weeks to arrive at the coast, where I took a cart with Hirsch the cabbage trader.

The ride in the car was super bumpy and the seats were super uncomfortable… Who the fucks makes a seat out of stone, but at least the wind was pleasantly blowing by, and the cabbage guy was good company.

The road cut across several farmlands and fields full of wheat and other crops, weird animals whose names I didn't know were scattered in the fields, eating away the grass.

Hirsch was still talking about the capital city of Ba Sing Se, and where to go, and I couldn't help but listen, after all, he was my sponsor to get in the city. "You are going to love it!"

"I will," I chuckled at him, though I wasn't paying too much attention, my mind was otherwise occupied with my time in the spirit world.

I was apparently an empath… but on a supernatural level, meaning other people's emotions were able to influence my own emotions. Worst part was, I wasn't sure exactly what that entitled. But one thing was for sure, I was going to find a way to avoid such a thing.

"Look!" Hirsch pointed out of the cart with excitement, "Ba Sing Se!"

The walls… were massive, no wonder they had survived so many sieges, this place was nearly impenetrable.

"Amazing," I muttered.

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By the time we arrived at the city it was a bit past noon in Ba Sing Se, thanks to Hirsch I was able to get in without so much trouble.

I couldn't help but smile, I remembered when I thought the Northern Water Tribe was a busy place.

The streets in Ba Sing Se were ten times worse, it was unbelievable. The architecture was also different with Ba Sing Se having a more normal my old world way of building. With the buildings and houses beings all entirely made out of wood and rocks.

With a sense of wonderment I started to explore the city, getting a few stares from the people around… thanks to my water tribe attire, which added one thing to my to do list, getting some new clothes.

I kept on waking…. exploring every little corner, but no matter what I saw or did, the events on the spirit realm were still haunting me. And not in a bad way… it was more like a mystery I wanted to solve, a puzzle I wanted to crack open.

Maybe, it was time to meditate again? Only there I would get my answers. Though the prospect of dying because time fluctuates differently in the spirit realm was not exactly enticing.

Fuck it… life is too short to swim in a sea of what ifs! I will meditate!

With a newfound resolve, I went to the nearest currency trading house, exchanging more than enough money to stay at any hotel for any given time. But I wasn't picky… I basically picked the closest hotel to the coin house. And locked myself into the bathroom.

"Alright… time to meditate again…" Getting into position I sat… controlling my emotions, my energy… and as the hours passed, I noticed nothing was happening.

Why wasn't my meditation working? What had I done now wrong that I didn't do the last time?

The only difference between meditations was… that in one I was on a ship, and now I was in a hotel. Was the ship more spiritually woken or something?

No that was stupid… beyond stupid, it had to be something else.

The people!

The ship barely had anyone inside… no more than twenty people, and an eighty percent of them were the crew making that shit work.

And if that crazy cat was right… and emotions affect me… well, being in Ba Sing Se, was going to make my meditations impasible.

Alright… new plan, get out of the city, find a secluded spot, and get the cat to tell you more about this empath situation.

"Alright," I sighed, as I rushed out of the hotel, getting a cart to ride me to the gates of Ba Sing Se.

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Getting out of Ba Sing Se… was somehow! Harder than getting in… which made no sense, at all. Apparently it was suspicious that I entered and left during the same day… I had to explain the guards I wanted to meditate out of the city. And that I would come back after my meditation was complete.

They reluctantly accepted, letting me go, and marking my ID as pre-approved.

After that… I decided to get as far away from the city as possible, trying to find the most secluded place in the vicinity. Which much to my liking was a small lake, protected by a very small forest.

"Alright… lets try this again," I sat in front of the lake, as I could see the sun starting to go down, with its reflection shining in the lake.

I focused once again in my breathing, and little by little I drifted into a world of slumber as welcoming warmth invaded my body.

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[SPIRIT REALM]

I woke up to quiet, warmth and purring.

Groaning, I blinked away the lingering haze of sleep as I groggily sat up, stretching, as I surveyed the area…the trees, the weird animals, there was no doubt, I was in the spirit realm.

"Well… aren't you a sight for sore eyes," A very familiar voice purred from my lap, "So you figured out how to get in here, impressive"

"I have some questions," I said.

"And I have some answers… though I can't say they are the answers to the questions you have.... but they are answers nonetheless," The cat smiled as he exploded in a puff of smoke, reappearing in a nearby tree.

"Why am I capable of entering the spirit realm so easily?" I mean… not easy perse, but the Avatar was supposed to be the only one… or at least the one with the most access.

"Spiritually inclined perhaps?" The cat said with a yawn, "Some humans have that skill, like that old guy that makes tea,"

Iroh, he knew of Iroh, "Iroh," it had to be Iroh.

"That's the guy… he makes a very… very good catnip tea, it's to die for!" The cat purred in delight, as his head detached from his neck, falling to the ground for dramatic purposes.

"I see," I nodded, at least now I had an answer to something.

"The Avatar… is a bit different, he uses Raava to enter this realm, for while merged with a human a spirit is forever bound to this realm… and so is the human," The cat purred, teleporting to my shoulder.

Raava… And Vaatu, I had forgotten all about them… "How can I enter this realm… physically I mean?"

"Well… isn't that a hard question…." The cat hummed, while hopping around me in the air, "Well… I suppose for now you have but two options if you wish to do that… one, getting the avatar to open a portal for you… or two, having a spirit to open a portal for you…. hmmm, I guess both are the same,"

I looked at the cat, "Cat you do it?" I asked with hope.

The cat laughed, "No… sorry, only spirits living in the physical world can… all I can do is send you back to the physical world, is a one way ticket you see… if you enter… you have to find someone to send you back… quite simple."

"Very well…" I nodded in understanding, I had now acquired a new mission, finding a spirit to help me.

"Why do you want to come anyway?" The cat purred his question in curiosity, "It's not often humans want to dangle in the spirit world,"

I didn't have a straight answer for that, was it the adventure? Or was it the chance of meeting Vaatu? Or maybe one of those big ass elemental lion turtles, "I don't know… but I'll know once I do it,"