438. Wise Words of the Beasts

"I didn't do anything," Aang shouted. He could hear loud thuds behind him.

"STOOOOOOOP!" Chomei covered Aang and ordered everyone.

"I know this kid, he is Aang. Don't hurt him." He explained.

Aang caught his breath, "Hah... Ha... what... is ... going on here?"

"Oh, meet my siblings. My siblings, meet Aang. He is learning from G-Chan." Chomei gave the introductions.

"Oh, why didn't you say that earlier? Hey, kid. You got lucky or we would have smushed you. Why are you here though? This is our secret spot." Gyuki(Eight-Tails) asked.

"I don't know. When I woke up I was already here. I was looking for some answers." Aang said.

"Oh, why don't you meditate? G-Chan always says that meditation clears the mind." Chomei advised him.

"Come, follow us. We know the perfect spot to meditate," Kokuo said and ran deeper into the jungle.

Aang followed behind and they came to a weird ground in the shape of a hexagon. It wasn't made of the earth either.

"Try meditating here,"

Aang quietly sat down and closed his eyes, "Maybe I should ask the previous Avatars. They should know something."

Soon, a figure of Avatar Roku appeared sitting in front of Aang.

"Wah... a ghost, I'm scared of ghosts," Saiken exclaimed.

"Shhhh..." Chomei shushed them all.

"You are right, Aang. All the past Avatars, all their experiences and wisdom are available to you, if you look deep inside yourself." Roku advised him in his calm and old voice.

"So, where am I? What is this place, Roku?" Aang asked.

Even Roku sounded confused, "I... don't know Aang."

"OOH OOH... We know where we are." Shukaku jumped to answer.

Roku looked at all the tailed beasts in deep respect, "Greetings to the great Spirit Beasts."

"We are are currently on the back of a giant Lion Turtle. He is a truly magnificent spirit. Even older than me and my siblings. Though less powerful," Kurama revealed.

Aang and Roku both were shocked by this, "You mean, the Lion Turtles from the ancient stories. Woah..."

"That is amazing. To think they still roamed the world. But Aang, I see that you are lost in more ways than one right now." Roku said.

Aang nodded, "Even though Spirit God saved Air Nomads and they are back. Everyone expects me to take fire lord's life. But I don't know if I can just do that."

"In my life, I tried to be disciplined and show restraint. But it backfired when fire lord Sozin took advantage of my restraint and mercy. If I had been more decisive and acted sooner I could have stopped Sozin and the war before it started.

"I offer you this wisdom, Aang. You must be decisive." Roku gave his advice and disappeared.

Aang then tried to speak with Avatar Kyoshi. "Avatar Kyoshi, I need your wisdom."

Soon, she appeared. "When I was young, I hated the world. I blamed them for my hunger, poverty, and sadness filled days. But then, Spirit God showed me the true meaning of compassion. Without him, I would have turned out cruel.

"But, I also know when I must show compassion and when firmness. When Chin the conqueror threatened the balance of the world. I stopped him and the world ushered in an era of peace."

"But you didn't kill Chin. Technically he fell to his own doom because he was too stubborn to get out of the way." Aang argued.

"Personally, I don't see the difference. But I assure you, I would have done anything to stop Chin.

"I offer you this advice, Aang. Only justice will bring peace," With that, Kyoshi's image vanished.

"How many ghosts does he have?" Saiken confusedly muttered in the background.

"Those are not ghosts you fatty, they are the past incarnations of Avatar," Shukaku told him.

Aang was not satisfied with this answer either. So, next, he called Avatar Kuruk.

"Aang, I would have lost my wife to Koh, the face stealer if it was not for Spirit God. I lived my life having fun and did whatever I wanted to, ignoring the whole world. I could have done things I didn't.

"Aang, you must actively shape your own destiny and the destiny of the world," Kuruk said and disappeared.

Aang held his head in even more confusion. So, Aang thought maybe an air nomad Avatar would understand him so he called for Avatar Yangchen.

As soon as she appeared, Aang asked her, "Avatar Yangchen, the monks always taught me that all life is sacred. Even the life of a tiny spider fly caught in its own web."

Yangchen nodded, "Yes, all life is sacred."

"I know, I'm even a vegetarian. I always try to solve my problems by either being quick or clever. I only used violence as a necessary defense and I've certainly never used it to take a life." Aang babbled.

Yangchen quickly made him stop, "Avatar Aang, I know that you are a gentle spirit. And the monks have taught you well. But this isn't about you, this is about the world. The monks only know how to train an Airbender, not the Avatar."

"But the monks taught me that I have to detach myself from the world so my spirit could be free," Aang interjected.

"This was the reason why I left my air temple at an early age and met Spirit God. He guided me to a path that eventually helped me establish an era of peace that lasted the life of Avatar even after me.

"Many nomads have detached themselves from the world and have achieved spiritual enlightenment. But the Avatar can never do it because your sole duty is to the world.

"Here is my wisdom for you. Selfless duty calls you to sacrifice your own spiritual needs and do whatever it takes to protect the world" With those words the spirit of Yangchen disappeared.

Aang sighed and talked to Momo, "I guess I have no choice, Momo. I have to kill the Firelord. But why were all these Avatars so heavily influenced by Spirit God?"

*Cough*

Aang turned around and saw the nine spirit beasts.

Kurama being the eldest, stepped forwards in his majestic humongous size and spoke, "You are not looking for answers. You are just trying to hear what you want to hear. You are looking to validate your next actions so you don't feel guilty if it turns out to be the wrong choice in the future. Quite idiotic."

"Hah, those old farts are not you, kid. They lived at different times in different conditions. They cannot make a decision for you. Also, they are dead." Shukaku added.

Chomei then flew closer to him, "Aang, you have probably misunderstood G-Chan's words. He isn't ordering you to just kill him. He is telling you to choose your own path. Don't worry about consequences or possible regret because no matter what you do, there will always be regret.

"G-Chan himself gives people chances to correct themselves a lot of times. He is not heartless, but just practical because he has seen too many people like Ozai in his life. I am sure no matter what you do, he will support you."

Aang was shocked hearing such wise words from all the tailed beasts. He had met Chomei the most times and from his behavior, he thought they were like kids.

Matatabi, the calmest of the bunch, read his thoughts, "We may act like playful kids, but that is only because of our beloved G-Chan.

"We are more than a thousand years old, child. We have seen both the good and bad sides of humanity. And no matter what you do, kill him or not, there will always be sins and injustice in the world. You can't end it with just one person.

"So, do what your heart says. Go and talk to the Lion Turtle. He is one of the oldest beings in this world, he may have your direct answers."

Aang respectfully bowed to all the tailed beasts, "Thank you for your guidance, I will never forget this help."

Aang was surprised that till now the best advice was given to him by beings who he considered naive and childish. This also opened his eyes to see that the world is not always what it appears to be.

Aang then ran to find the head of the turtle.

"Haha, he's a good kid," Isobu said.

"Okay, back to the meeting. No slacking," Chomei ordered.

...

Aang ran up to the head of the Lion Turtle and stood on his hand. The big yellow eyes of the turtle were looking at him as if staring at his bare soul.

Aang bowed to the turtle, "Maybe you can help me. Everyone, Spirit God, even my own past lives are expecting me to end someone's life. I don't know if I can do it."

"Spirit God is a being much above the worldly matters of both physical and spiritual realm. It is not easy to understand him.

"A true mind can weather all lies and illusions without being lost. A true heart can tough the poison of hatred without being harmed.

"Since the beginning of time, darkness thrives in the void but always yields to purifying light." As he said that the turtle brought his other hand and tapped his fingers on Aang's chest and forehead. A green light shined with it.

"Sleep on my back tonight, you have a long journey." The turtle advised him.

Aang bowed and went back into the jungle and again spooked the beasts.

After Aang was gone, Alexander appeared out of nowhere near the head of Lion Turtle.

"Thank you for helping him, respected Lion turtle." Alexander thanked him.

"It was an honor to help you, Spirit God. Did you find my brothers and sisters?" The turtle asked.

"Yes, I did. I will give you their locations in your mind." Alexander said, sending maps telepathically.

"Once you find everyone, contact me. I need to have a talk with you all." He asked him.

The Lion Turtle nodded and stayed on course to his destination. Alexander, meanwhile, disappeared.

He first checked what was happening in the forest. He saw all the tailed beasts telling various stories to Aang. Stories about bad and good things that happened in their lives. It was true that all the tailed beasts were very old and had much wisdom to share. They had seen both rough and good days and that had made them a lot better than even the so-called monks.

[A/N: Man, I wish some company would just pick up this series and make lots of new sequels and prequels. The possibilities are endless with this but what we get are crappy live actions. Even Netflix is making a live-action instead of expanding the universe. -_-]

[You can see Past Avatars and the lion turtle on my Discord - https://discord.gg/DgHkrAn OR see them on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/mister_immortal_novel]

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