1 72

It was a strange dream. It seemed more real than any dream I had experienced before, almost as if I was reliving a memory; And indeed I was.

I could smell the air, hear the noise and even see the small ants in perfect detail. Everything was so surreal and yet, I knew it to be absolutely real. I remembered thoughts, faces, facts, and knowledge.

It was magical, a way of life foreign to my understanding, or rather, forgotten to me.

From a crying baby, filled with a desire for warmth to an adult, filled with thoughts and ideas for the future. So many memories...

I dreamed and I dreamed, till there was nothing left. Till the very end. An ending for a journey not finished. A death for a man too young, one who had not tasted old age.

I felt pity, for that young man but then I realized I was that young man. I was feeling pity for myself.

I opened my eyes, tears trickling down from my eyes to my ears. I felt sad for leaving everything and everyone behind.

I sat up, staring at the rising sun through the window in the room, it was beautiful. I gazed at it for a while, absorbing everything calmly. I lived a lifetime in a manner of minutes...

I took a deep breath and smiled, muttering, "So reincarnation was the answer, huh?"

"Kai! Breakfast is ready!" Came the voice of the woman who was my mother, in this life. Her name was Asa. My father's name was Lei. I had no brother or sister.

I slowly got up and left the bed, I walked to the window and looked at the dawning sun with a frown, "Why did I remember the memories from my past life? Why now?" I murmured.

Looking at the peaceful village, I remembered something... I gulped...

The house was on top of a hill, looking down at a great forest and other houses. The view was breathtaking yet it didn't help me calm myself.

'I am in Avatar the last air bender?! Fictional worlds are real...' I thought in shock. The memories of Kai, my life as a simple 15-year-old village boy in the Fire nation made me sure of it.

At the corner of my vision, I saw a strange blue rectangle, It was barely visible.

'Don't tell me...'

The door of my room opened, Asa entered the room and asked me, "Why haven't you come down? The food will get cold..." She urged me.

I nodded, "I will come in a few minutes..."

She left with a sigh.

I didn't care though, I doubtfully focused on the rectangle, 'This can't be, right? I mean it's too ridiculous...'

Mentally commanding it to open seemed to work. The rectangle expanded into a light blue screen, I inspected it quickly feeling excited.

There was nothing like I expected it to, there was just a status with a quest window and that was it. It was too simple...

[-Status:

Strength: 10 Speed: 10

Stamina: 10 Spirit: 20

Points: 72]

'What the hell is wrong with this system? Why do I have 72 points? Why so simple?' I asked nobody in particular. My head was filled with questions...

Suddenly, I saw something unusual, 'This can't be...' I was intrigued.

I quickly walked closer to the wall and saw a note glued there, a scythe was carved atop of it. I took it and began reading it.

'You weren't supposed to die, I made a mistake. To pay you back for the karmic debt, I decided to make a simple system and give you some stat points. I owe you nothing now.

Just a warning, don't add them recklessly, you might die.

Sorry for your trouble. Please keep this between us. Thanks.

Death.'

I sat down on the bed and watched as the note slowly decayed and turned to dust. 'So this is Death's fault? I got reincarnated in this world and got my memory when I reached 15 years old, I guess it probably took so long because the brain wasn't developed enough...'

I observed the number of points I had and began to feel excited again, 'I should add a few points and see what happens...'

I couldn't help but feel like the world had become a brighter place, all my dreams were going to become reality.

I mentally controlled the status and added 10 points to all 4 things then hit accept. I thought it wasn't excessive at all.

A world of pain engulfed me... I collapsed on the ground as all strength left me.

I felt as if my muscles were being burnt, my bones were ice cold and yet blazing hot, my organs felt like they were being slashed apart, and I felt as if someone was squeezing my brain and playing with it.

There was so much pain... I wanted to scream and yet, I could only whimper...

I didn't know how long passed, but the pain slowly vanished. My body was covered in sweat and my eyes looked at the ceiling of the room blankly.

It took me a few minutes to recover, slowly standing up, I felt my body was stronger than ever, in fact, I felt extremely good.

I gulped as I looked at my hands, they were more muscular than before, my senses were slightly sharper and I felt calmer overall. My heartbeat was slow yet strong and with every breath, I felt strength flow into my body.

I jumped and to my shock, my head reached the ceiling of the room, it was 3 meters tall. I felt light as a feather.

'It works! But the pain is too much, I should just add 1 point and see how it goes...' I thought and looked at the screen again.

I felt a little fear doing it but I knew it had to be done, so I added 1 point to strength and hit accept. The pain returned, it was very intense but not as bad as before. My muscles felt like they were burning for a minute then stopped. I noticed something...

'It is not wise to add points constantly, the pain lasted longer than before even though I added 10 last time. I should only add one point every day just as a precaution, I might die...' I decided.

I added one to speed, then to stamina as well, to see what would happen, it seemed they were independent of each other. This meant I could safely add 1 point every day, more would bring unbearable pain and I didn't wish to risk it.

I was not going to experience that kind of pain ever again...

Lastly, I added one to spirit but it wasn't like the others. I felt a mild headache and that was it.

'Spirit seems to be my strongest... I don't know what it does but I can add more...' I added another and then another to feel the limit.

The headache became unbearable after the 5th point.

'The safest route to not dying should be 1 point to the 1st three and 5 points to Spirit every day. I have to wait till tomorrow to check...' I concluded and checked my status before closing it.

[-Status:

Strength: 21 Speed: 21

Stamina: 21 Spirit: 35

Points: 26]

Asa entered the room and stood there with a pissed-off expression, "No breakfast or lunch for you. Hmph!" She then left, not closing the door.

I sighed and left the house, I wasn't feeling hungry at all. I entered the woods and began running.

I ran and ran and ran... It felt great. My lungs didn't burn as I expected them after a few minutes, I didn't feel tired and I ran very fast.

I stopped beside a stream and looked at my reflection, I had short black hair and eyes with a pale complexion. I was handsome but young as expected for a 15-year-old, and my body seemed to be in very good shape.

'I wonder what spirit is... Whatever it is, I should try some meditation? It will help me find out, probably...' I thought and sat down beside the stream.

I closed my eyes, I reached a calm state almost instantly, and to my surprise, I felt a deep connection with something outside my body. This kind of feeling didn't exist on Earth nor had I ever felt it before as Kai.

It was warm and pulsating, like a heartbeat and it was everywhere; Some places more than the others.

I felt as if I could manipulate it, I opened my palm and tried it. I willed the warmth to flow to my palm, to my surprise, it didn't flow from outside, it moved from inside me and rested in my palm. I could feel a source of heat there.

I opened my eyes and saw a small flickering flame resting in the palm of my hand, it was so delicate yet so beautiful and warm... I was captivated by it.

'I'll be damned! I am a Firebender... The spirit must be related to it. This happened far too fast! 35 in spirit has made me a Firebender or did something to cause this. I wasn't a Firebener before... Maybe death did it? Or was it dormant like the memories due to some connection there... doesn't matter, it is here now...'

I was awed by the flame, I tried to make it stronger. More warmth from within me flowed to it, making it a bit bigger.

I smiled and let it go, standing up, I punched as I breathed out, going all out. It felt magical, my breath was the fire. I felt like a dragon.

A giant ball of fire, bigger than me in size, blasted forth from my fist and flew over the stream, hitting a boulder. The heat on my face made me slightly apprehensive.

It was extinguished as quickly as it came, leaving only a scorched mark on the boulder.

'I should not play with fire, I need a teacher...' I thought and decided to not do Firebending, burning myself didn't seem like a good idea.

Instead, I opened the quest to see what it was about.

[-Quests:

1. The avatar needs a Firebending master, are you up for the task? Join the Avatar.

Reward: 5 stat points

2. The Firelord needs a competent general, are you up for the task? Join the Fire nation's army.

Reward: 5 stat points]

I didn't know how to feel, the quests gave 2 paths and I was not sure which one to pick...

I decided to not choose any of the two, not yet. Part of me wanted to join the Firelord because as Kai, I was a member of the fire nation and I felt like it was my home, but the other part knew that fighting and killing a 12-year-old and letting the world burn at Ozai's hand was stupid.

But 1st, I knew what I had to do; My path was no longer in this village, not anymore.

I was going to find a Firebending teacher. My journey had just begun...

avataravatar
Next chapter