The Dark Age (4)

"Damn!" Nik gasped and sat up with his eyes widening as he looked at the open and dark sky and the first thing that left his mouth was, "Fuck! I'm still not... wait, that's the regular night sky..."

His breathing didn't ease, however. Eyes still sharp and the phantom pain of twisting his head over his neck haunting him, Nik used all forms of elemental sensing while trying to connect with his Personal World and finally sighed in relief. The 'civilization' inside including the Circus members was safe and sound with nothing changing at all which meant that very little time had passed in the outside world, too little for even Yue to have remained calm until now and peacefully eating dinner with Michi, Poppy, and Jin.

It was a good thing, Nik realized as he finally looked at the 'pool' of corpses around him and instantly noticed Azula, Ursa, Mai, Tom-Tom, Katara, and many more.

"So... fire beats fire, diamond beats diamond, and death beats death," Nik mumbled under his breath as he stood up from... another man. Really, it was as if everyone was piled on top of one another in a small space without being injured.

"Exactly."

A shrill voice snapped Nik's attention and he scowled, again, unable to notice the familiar 'spirit' as he looked at the scarlet squirrel gnawing on a nut while looking at him calmly.

"Why are we in the spirit world?" Nik asked the first thing that came to his mind. He wasn't too familiar with the spirit world but he sensed too many weaker spirits far from this location and had already come to this conclusion since weaker spirits rarely fully appeared in the human world.

"Well, this is home to Spirit of Cursed Emptiness. Whatever it eats gets transferred to this location. Fortunate you are."

"How?" Nik raised his brows.

"One does not possess the mind to kill oneself. As rash as you are, this is simply a state of mind possessed by the enlightened souls themselves. But I suppose I should expect nothing less from a rare individual... who hid from the heavens and me for a foreseeable future. Not all outsiders lived for as long as you did after meeting Mokshi, Honorable one."

Chuckling in response and recalling how even Kyoshi tagged him as honorable, Nik refuted, "I'm not trying to be humble or anything. But I'm far from honorable. And this situation isn't about me so let's—"

"Are you aware of who I am?" The squirrel questioned with a rather... fond tone.

As Nik frowned, a soft, almost breathless voice echoed from within him— "Destiny..."

Nik gaped at the realization while the squirrel seemed aware of Mokshi's words even from within Nik and nodded while continuing to gnaw at the nut, "Indeed. This is a more perceivable form to mortal eyes. And for that very reason, I digress from your earlier statement. This situation is about you... or rather, the source of all outsiders who have eventually caused a ripple in the pool of fate. Do you think Ozai and the Avatar were supposed to meet as such? Do you think Ursa was supposed to live with her children? Do you really believe that the women who have fallen for you were supposed to be with you in the first place? Do you think Katara and Sokka were supposed to be unified with their mother?"

Nik frowned, "What does it have to me being honorable or not?"

"Nothing? Maybe everything? If you believe you are free of fate, be my guest to do so. You will not be the first. And fate is not binding. Destiny does not strangle you. I... am merely a possibility."

The wind blew at this time causing the trees to rustle but Nik kept his eyes open. Still, for reasons unknown even to his body... he blinked. Fully aware that—

'Yep... the squirrel disappeared...'

"Was I always supposed to be on that tree?" The voice inquired and Nik raised his brow in surprise while extending his hand out. The squirrel on top of his head jumped onto his hand and looked at Nik, "You being honorable presents a certain pool of possibilities. Everyone is free to a reasonable extent... you and Mokshi, just a little more with a wider pool of possibilities. So? What shapes your future? The answer is External factors and your own decisions. Think carefully... I, Destiny, am not the keeper or the guardian of this fabled and sacred pool. I am merely its spectator."

"So... you know what will happen to me in the future?" Nik questioned.

"I am incapable of viewing your pool of possibilities. That's why knowing you ease me. A being no matter how... 'evil' as the sentient beings may categorize him or her, is a being worthy of my fondness should they possess honor."

"Murderers are far from honorable. And those who think that there is something like an honorable death are too much of a nuisance. So, stop calling me honorable."

"Why do I calling you honorable frustrate you?"

"Because it's a taunt," Nik narrowed his eyes, "And I am selfish."

"Are you?"

"I'm trying to selfishly hold the affection of many women and plan to have a lot more while unable to even save them when it matters the most," a low hiss escaped his lips, "You tell me."

"That sounds irresponsible... but where is the selfishness in fulfilling one's desire? And why should one's honor be lowered when you clearly haven't given up? Did you not kill yourself just to let your hopes live?"

"I'm not enjoying this conversation a whole lot. Tell me why you're here." Nik scoffed.

Growing silent for a second, the Squirrel of Destiny lowered its head and shook its head, "I'm in your palm, Nik. Honorable one, open your eyes and see."

"Stop calling me that," Nik frowned and growled impatiently.

"Why does the realization of you being honorable scare you so—"

"Because I'm a Goddamn whore!" Nik snapped and grew silent before sitting down on some comatose stranger while whispering again, "Because the same honor you and Kyoshi think I have... it has been long degraded till nothing's left. Don't get me wrong. I'm getting better. I know that. I know that I just... killed myself 'cause I maybe am really too stupid to realize my own demons... But I'm a whore and a murderer. People like me don't get to look at the sun with a broad grin and claim that we're some heroes straight out of a tale and honorable to the boot."

"One's Honor..." The Squirrel commented with a gentle and much more humane tone, "Is like destiny... it always remains in one's own hand and not in someone else's words... unless the speaker is a primordial spirit, its host, or the Spirit of Honor itself."

Nik looked at Destiny in his hand and groaned before letting out a wry chuckle, "You son of a bitch... Why not just start from there instead of riling me up like that?"

Replying in a contrastingly grave tone, the squirrel chittered, "Because I can only assume the pool of your possibilities only when I am sure... that you are certain of your own self, Nik."

With that, Nik was forced to blink once again and the squirrel in his hands was long gone but its whisper remained, "Grim and Reaper have Destiny's and Death's blessing. The former can dip into the very pool of possibility and the latter can never meet death or its destiny... at the hands of those still kissed by destiny and death."

Nik blinked and smiled widely, "Why can't all Primordials be like you and instead of wanting to devour Mokshi? I guess... Dhi is one of the calmer ones, too."

*Kchhk*

A bronze-skinned man suddenly 'woke' up and slashed at Nik's head and his vision darkened promptly only for a sharp and squeaky tone to escape through the man's lips, "Strange... how did he ever escape my realm?"

But the very second Nik's body reformed, his eyes snapped one and he lunged at the man whose eyes widened in surprise.

"Gotcha!" Nik grinned, his eyes glowing violet and his thumb already planted at the man's heart only for his expression to grow dull and for a strangely dressed green-eyed woman to stab an arm into Nik's chest with a horrified expression. Once again Nik fell but he hadn't even fully fallen when he kicked into the woman's stomach and shot her far away before jumping onto the nearest tree and gazing at the large pile of 'corpses' that stretched for several kilometers!

"Damn, how much did this asshole 'reap'?" Nik scowled as many humans began to slowly stand up including his friends and lovers which only made his expression even colder. Unknowingly, a strange breath of killing intent began to ooze from his being. It was quite... 'low' but it was certainly there as Nik felt his heart getting stabbed by seeing Suki and others look at him with menacing smirks.

The entire forest buzzed as everyone spoke collectively in perfect sync, "Looks like I underestimated you... Nik. Mokshi. But as you found a way to escape my stomach, I shall find a way to fully devour you!"

Chuckling, Reaper continued through everyone, "But even if you can escape me... how will you ever find out who's the real me?"

Nik's expression grew dark, too.

True. How was he supposed to know who the real Reaper was when he couldn't even sense it?

---

"N-No! That's not true!"

"YES! I always hated you! I could find no love because you and Azula ruined my life!"

Zuko's expression twitched slightly and 'Ursa' looked at Ozai, "My lord, it's definitely this portion that keeps on hinting to the Prince that I'm not real."

As Zuko's expression changed, Ozai uttered calmly, "Rest, Son."

And Zuko's eyelids began to feel heavy. Slowly falling onto the ground, Zuko promptly grew unconscious as if his body was wired to do so once he heard Ozai speak these words while Ozai himself frowned.

"I see... so Ursa took a lover..." The thought annoyed him more than Ozai admitted to care as Grim's mocking chuckles echoed in the back of his mind.

Calmly walking out as Kei Lo would deliver Zuko back into his room and have his memory suppressed, Ozai scowled and hissed, "I had a perfect plan. I would have attacked the circus and slowly control everyone!"

"If you think you alone could handle the Avatar and Mokshi's host then I gave you more credit than you deserved. We could not hold Avatar down even with such heavy surprises and trauma of his friends killing themselves in from of him... though, by now, he must have realized what was going on. Even if Destiny and Death evade us, they can still support others. Your plan may as well have been... destined to take you down."

"Sigh..." Ozai groaned, "We can't let the Avatar recover much less plan against us. Kei Lo," the King looked back, "Order the Priests to move out. They must attract the Avatar's attention no matter what. When they find them... tell them to end him and my brother."

"Yes, My Lord," Kei Lo nodded.

"I'm telling you... don't tempt destiny." Grim whispered.

"I'm destined to be immortal. If anything, it's the Avatar tempting destiny and me," Ozai replied and looked at the unconscious Zuko being dragged away.

"Soon... I shall hold this world in my palm..."

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Alternate Title: A Whoresome Destiny

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