The Dark Age (1)

Kei Lo realized firsthand what Zuko meant when he remarked Azula will have his head– It was a literal acceptance of fate.

Bloodied and barely twitching, Kei Lo only managed to survive because Ursa and Nik were quick to pull Azula back yet the viciously smirking devil struggled in full force.

"Let me go! Kei Lo should learn what happens to traitors!" Azula laughed madly with Kei Lo's blood dripping down from her cheeks. Instead of screaming in anger as bloodlust flickered in her crazed expression, Azula had a rather excited expression. Her waist was hugged by Ursa until Azula was actually stopped by Nik holding both of her wrists since the woman adopted physical strikes to satiate her anger rather than burn Kei Lo whole who was stupid enough to bow and greet Azula in a formal– "Princess."

"Please! Azula, stop!" Ursa shouted, the stains of her tears remained as the woman gave no care to her appearance while Nik looked at the door in front of which Zuko lay and added, "Zuko's behind that door. If you want to vent, do it later. I..." looking around and sensing a set of eyes on him from a location unknown, Nik whispered, "I've got a bad feeling."

Scoffing and revealing her reluctance by kicking away Kei Lo's foot, Azula looked back with a scowl, "What do you mean?"

"I mean that you two need to get inside and see if Zuko's fine... I'll keep guard," Nik replied and let go of Azula. His foot slid sideways and a roller from the floor itself pushed away Kei Lo's body to give the mother-daughter duo some space to enter the door where Nik saw Zuko sleeping. Spreading his chi out yet again to make sure that the room was safe, Nik close the door and looked at the left side of the hall which began to darken slowly but gradually. But the next second, the moment Nik blinked, everything returned to the way it was.

Frowning, Nik couldn't help but utter a groan, "Why can't things be simple with spirits..."

Shaking his head, he looked around and discovered no other extraordinary traces that would point to any spiritual mischief and then closed his eyes to use Seismic Sense since the castle was made out of baked bricks itself, a manner of construction more popular in Fire Nation than the Earth Kingdom if Iroh was correct.

"So... Aang is the one fighting Ozai while Iroh is releasing others from the prison."

Things looked quite simple at the moment but Nik still couldn't understand Ozai's motive to waste such a valuable spy like Kei Lo... well, the Dai Li were killed and the rebels were captured largely but Nik had to humbly note that the rebels weren't the key individuals. Aang and his team were.

Why not attack the circus?

And how did Ozai move so many rebels?

Nik again felt that it was a spirit's work. The latter. But this made Ozai's actions even more foolish... which Iroh determined that his younger brother was not.

"It comes, it comes," a shrill, high-pitched chitter suddenly rang right beside Nik as his pupils shrunk for he found a scarlet squirrel sitting on top of Kei Lo's face as if it was there from the very beginning. Not giving Nik a chance to recover, however, the squirrel continued, "Many seek imbalance. Assist the one who opposes them, that is the humble request of the one who precedes Raat."

As if this wasn't already surprising enough, the squirrel jumped into the nearby torch and vanished into a red puff of powder.

"The one who precedes Raat... are you kidding me? I didn't waste the remaining two questions on Dhi for Ra and Raat to suddenly act so hidden..." Nik issued another sigh as he recalled his conversation with the spirit of Cognition– Dhi, after asking about how to communicate better with Mokshi.

"But... what was that spirit talking about? Hmm... the one who opposes imbalance is the one who tries to balance things. That's Aang..."

*Tuc*

The hefty door was pushed open behind Nik as he gave way. Walking out with an unconscious Zuko supported over her shoulders, Azula looked at Nik while Ursa held onto Zuko's hand with a worried expression.

"Ready to get back?" Nik inquired with a smile.

"Only mom and Zuzu..." Azula muttered darkly.

"Y-you should come with us," Ursa looked at Azula with a concerned expression, unwilling to leave things to chance once again.

"If I did..." Azula narrowed her eyes, "I won't be able to look myself in the mirror."

"Heh... well-said," a chuckle broke beside Azula but before she could even register the arm reaching for her neck, Nik's fist struck Zuko's face and sent him flying back with Ursa's and Azula's eyes widening.

"What are you doing?" Ursa shouted sharply but before she could run to Zuko, Nik caught her shoulder and pulled her behind himself only for Azula's lips to part further in shock as 'Ursa's' cold whisper was only supplanted by the sudden pain in his back.

"You desire so much responsibility? How ironic of Mokshi's host. Too bad... I am one step behind you, Nik... is it?"

With a stunned expression, Nik looked at Ursa whose eyes were wide in despair, urgency clear in her eyes and tears spilling out as her hand, layered in a dark mist remained stabbed right above his waist. Her clearly strained mouth moved to utter a cheery tone, "Glad to have formed acquainted he who fell Koh."

"I'm Reaper— Grim's Scythe."

"Get out of her!" Nik's expression instantly contorted into that of pure rage and an ugly desire that he only revealed when ending Zhao's life as his body turned with his arm reaching for Ursa's head and his other hand reaching for her chest.

"Move and she dies," Ursa cackled as her other hand still coated in a dark mist suddenly reached for her own neck.

Nik's eyes widened and he pursed his lips while wracking his mind. How the hell did he not sense this spirit? Even now, Nik couldn't feel anything aside from pain and anger as Ursa's fearful face revealed an ugly grin, "Just kidding. She held no value."

The dark mist extended past her neck and blood gushed out.

"Mom–" Azula shouted before her body seized while Nik caught Ursa's falling body and the blood began to stop flowing from her wounds. His gaze strained as the veins around his arms exerted somewhat to control all the blood despite the moon not being present. A trump card of his after reaching a realm of mastery in Water Manipulation.

The next second, Nik looked up to find Azula's arms twisted and stabbed into her chest as she added with a bloody smile, "Say goodbye, Nik."

His senses grew alarmingly cautious and he looked back to find a Kei Lo swiping the same mist-covered arm against his neck.

As their bodies fell to the ground, the pool of mixed blood under the three corpses began to separate and return to their wounds as the same wounds began to heal, too.

It was as if the three weren't injured at all!

'Kei Lo' suddenly clapped gently and a brown, dog-sized ferret appeared in front of him, "Take the three of them to the rest of the Immortal Corpses. With Mokshi sealed away for good instead of being preyed upon, Grim shall fulfill his wish of becoming Immortal, too... sooner or later."

The Brown Ferret nodded before his mouth widened to an insane degree and he swallowed the three 'corpses' before disappearing once again.

"Now... his body is precious to keep the fool in check..." 'Kei Lo' looked at Zuko with his eyes narrowed.

---

"Don't be so glum, Avatar," Ozai smiled and Aang could say for sure that he saw his opponent's eyes turn pitch-black for a second before they reverted to his white sclera and golden irides.

"So you are the Phoenix King," Aang took a deep breath before looking straight into Ozai's eyes, "Please, tell me. Is there any way to peacefully resolve this madness? I will do anything."

"MADNESS?!" Ozai's calm smile and cool expression instantly crumpled into a twisted and ugly roar as a burst of oozing black mist covered the entire hallway while putting out the fire.

Again, however, the next second, everything. returned to normal but the fire was put out still. Realizing that this simply wasn't an illusion of the mind, Aang alerted his mind and increased his caution only for Ozai to chuckle, "Excuse my... partner's behavior. It is eccentric and loves to not only disrupt my goals but also lash out erratically. However, it is important to my final goal–"

"To become a God," Aang retorted only for Ozai to laugh, "My, you have me all figured out, haven't you?"

"We know about your plan to kill everyone who isn't brainwashed by you! I won't let that happen!" Aang shouted as he took a combative stance only for Ozai to shake his head.

"Kill? I plan to save. Yes, I admit, I have killed many but they... they plan to feed on whoever doesn't accept me as their supreme ruler. You see, Avatar, I'm not trying to kill." Ozai revealed with a twisted grin, "I am trying to clean up after my ancestors who—"

Ozai's expression froze before he roared, "What? Those two cannot be fed on! I need them this instant! There is nothing that would stop me from torturing that sloven little—" He gritted his teeth as his body froze over until he slowly but gradually looked down from the ceiling and onto the young Avatar and presented a strained smile, "It would seem what Nik the Plunderer, Azula, and Ursa were the first of victims."

Aang's eyes widened in shock before he clenched his fist and shot toward Ozai at a speed inconceivable to the king with the blunt side of the staff embedding itself into the man's stomach and making him bend over with a pale expression.

"Don't test my limits with lies!" Aang shouted when a cover of black mist oozed out of Ozai and rushed over Aang akin to a high tide before smothering the boy against the floor.

***

A/N: No Preparations Avoid the Reaper.

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