Chapter 24.5: Kai's Face and Thoughts

As I walked past the trees, I remembered what happened just a day ago.

It was weird. Despite killing Azula and potentially ruining my friendship with Aang, I felt good. Well, not good, exactly. More... relieved? Clear headed.

I'm in the home stretch, I could feel it. I wasn't as stressed after that realization, I guess.

Though, this did make me wonder about what I'd do after everything was all said and done with. Sure, I'd continue to work on my skills and grinding, but what else?

'Help with founding republic city?' I wondered. That doesn't sound... fun. Like, at all. I'm knocked out of my thoughts by hearing a small splash come from where I had stepped my right foot.

Before I knew it, I was at a small, still pond. My destination.

I had finally decided it was high time I took a nice look at myself and Kai. I had caught brief glimpses here and there, but never have I taken a good long look.

I get down on all fours, and after mustering some courage, I peered at the face reflected in the water. I saw myself for the first time in depth.

I have wavy, black shoulder length hair, and dull amber eyes. I tilted my head curiously as I examined myself. My face... Unlike what Azula said, I wasn't cute at all. I was kinda ugly, not gonna lie.

Not like ugly in that I was average looking. No, ugly in the traditional sense of being fucking ugly.

'Ugly in this life, and ugly in the past one.' It seems it was my inescapable fate.

'Status.' I mentally call up my system.

I stared at Kai's name on my status.

I'm honestly tempted to just unlock his memories, but I stopped myself. I would do so after Ozai was dealt with, whatever that entailed. It'd be pretty bad for me to have an existential crisis now of all times, after all.

Especially considering I had a desert to cross and a library to raid.

It sucked that I'm ugly. Seriously. All this time I had been inwardly hoping to be able to make a living off of my face, but it was not to be.

I got off my hands, and sat on my knees. My gaze lingered on the pond which showed an inverted sky in muted colors.

"The future..." I murmured to myself. I think I've finally understood why it was so hard for me to imagine it. To plan for it.

Not only was it due to my indecisiveness, but I'm... I was too scared to. Making any concrete plans frightened me. After all, I had barely outlined something in my previous life, and in a blink of an eye, it was taken away from me.

Any time I thought of the future my mind always went to, "What if?" What if, again, I get whisked away to some unknown place?

I was just finally getting comfortable here. Being able to see a life here, a home, but I just couldn't picture it. Because at any moment that picture could be ripped in half.

I would be ripped in half. I don't think I could recover if that happened.

So the only thing I could do is just enjoy the present. Do my best not to think about it, because I was unable to lie to myself by saying that such a thing wouldn't happen.

It's a bit ironic. In this way I was preparing myself for a future that my fear told me is inevitable.

Did I even have a choice to begin with...?

I fell onto my back from my sitting position, lying spread out like a starfish. I watched the endless blue sky.

"Wow. I fucking suck," I told myself.

I had just achieved a big victory yesterday, I was finally feeling hopeful, and then I just begin to feel like shit all over again because of something that I don't even know will happen again or not!

I think I'm finally starting to see how much of a miserable and pessimistic person I am. I genuinely don't know how Toph is able to put up with me. Jesus...

Well, at least I caught it. That had to count for something, right? Hopefully. I sighed.

'How did my family and friends even put up with me in my past life?' I genuinely inquired. After a few moments of thinking, I came to two conclusions.

Either they were all saints. Or... I gave myself the benefit of the doubt and say I wasn't always such a depressing person to be around. In reality, it was neither.

I couldn't believe that I actually used to pride myself as the guy everyone wanted to be friends. Now, I knew that was just a lie I told myself. In all honesty, most of the, "friends," I had back home just wanted me to do their work for them, and I would. There were a few though, they're the people I really miss.

'Great. Now I'm feeling down again.' I should really stop thinking, or at least, not think about these things.

*****

Name: Elliot (Kai)

Level: 90 Next Level: 230/9,000

Class: Airbender (+100% Experience towards all Airbending Skills, 10% decrease in all Airbending Skill costs, +50 DEX)

Sub-Class: Soundbender (+50% Experience towards all Soundbending Skills, 5% decrease in all Soundbending skill costs, +25 PER)

Titles: Grandmaster Airbender, Master Swordsman, Master Fighter, Slaughterer, Originator of Soundbending,

Age: 15

HP: 12,930/12,930 (65.61 Per Minute/3937.18 Per Hour)

CHI: 1,110/1,110 (26.88 Per Minute/1613.38 Per Hour)

STR: 147

STA: 126

VIT: 80

DEX: 168

WIS: 65

PER: 156

INT: 60

LUK: 66

Attribute Points: 450

Perks: {Sword Genius} {Bullet Time} {Limber} {Musculature Growth} {Stamina Demon} {Enduring} {Compact Musculature} {Perceptive} {Enhanced Senses} {Night Owl}

Flaws: {Depersonalization} {Insomnia}

It's quite funny. Despite all the inner turmoil Azula unintentionally put me through, I only got one level from killing her.

'How am I gonna convince Wan Shi Tong?' I wondered to myself. The giant bird didn't seem strong, but he could sink the library at a moment's notice. I couldn't let that happen. So the best way to get access to his books would be to convince him. While telling him I killed Zhao might open a conversation, it was also just as likely to close it.

'Maybe I should just tell him how stupid he is,' I amusingly thought. After all, Wan Shi Tong's reasons were quite stupid. Ridding myself of that train of thought, I looked at my new title which I haven't had the chance to examine yet. Too distracted by the whole situation with Azula.

{Originator of Soundbending}

Soundbending Skills cost 50% Less CHI to use. You can teach Soundbending Skills 100% faster.

You determine the limit of Soundbending.

Instantly shot up and stared at the screen in shock. "I, uh, what do you mean by that? That I set the limit fo Soundbending? System?"

It doesn't respond. Like always. I furrowed my eyebrows. I then looked through all my skills, trying to figure out what it could mean.

'I mean, it should be self-explanatory, right?' I asked myself. 'I set the limit of Soundbending. So... I can level it up infinitely? Is that what that means?' It was just a dumb guess, as I really had nothing to go off of, but it didn't sound unlikely.

'Or maybe it means...' My Sword Mastery was at Master Level, my Airbending at Grandmaster.

'That's stupid. No way,' I told myself. I really didn't know anything about the System, the world I found myself in, if my friendship with Aang would repair, or the future. All I knew is that I was likely to not get any sleep that night.

Life is great.