Fool's World: Sliver of Hope (ch. 31) (Patreon)

"Your first deadly challenge shall be… to beat me in a game of Pai Sho," The King of Omashu declared after a dramatic pause that made everyone else in the room tense. I waited a moment, vaguely familiar with the game on account that Iroh had also requested a game with me if we ever got the chance.

"... Over a bed of lava?" I questioned, wondering exactly where the deadly part of the challenge entered the equation. King Bumi seemed surprised before his face lit up in a wide smile, clearly entertained and I wasn't so sure if that was a good thing or not.

"There's an idea! I was just going to have the board bought here, but that sounds way more exciting," King Bumi decided with a nod, looking to one of his guards. "Go fetch us a pool of lava! And suspend the table over it… could we do something like parts of the platform break off the more we lose? Then, when one of us does, we'll fall into the lava?"

The guard look pensive and not at all surprised by the request. "It'll be dangerous, my king," he hedged, making King Bumi pause.

"... For me or you?" Was an honest question from the King.

"For me, my King. Handling lava at the best of times is dangerous," the guard answered and I couldn't help but think that sounded rehearsed. As if King Bumi had to be repeatedly reminded that lava was dangerous even to an earthbender.

"Oh," King Bumi said, sounding crestfallen. "Never mind then…"

The guard looked a little guilty, "We have recently prepared a spike pit, my king. Would that be a suitable replacement?" He questioned and King Bumi's face lit up like a Christmas tree. I was starting to see what Rin meant. It was less than the old man was senile, it was just that he only went his own pace. At the very least, he didn't strike me as a tyrant. More of an old man looking to have some fun, only that his idea of fun was a little skewed.

"That would be lovely! Thank you, Rengie," King Bumi said, the guard snapping a crisp salute before he went to prepare the deadly spike pit that we would be playing over. King Bumi refocused on me, "Have you played before?"

"Nope," I answered honestly, making King Bumi blink in surprise.

"Oh. Well, that's not very fair at all," he remarked, growling at himself. He seemed faintly annoyed with himself that he hadn't thought to ask that earlier. "Ah, I know -- you can have General Iroh, the Dragon of the West, give you advice while we play. He's a master of the game! You could learn a lot from him," King Bumi stated, nodding to himself. My eyes narrowed ever so slightly, mostly out of confusion.

It wasn't my influence that prompted the offer, meaning that King Bumi saw absolutely no issue with having the man I defeated, captured, and imprisoned for over a week advise me in a life or death battle of a game I have never played before. By all logic, the signs pointed to sabotage, but the thought never entered his head. I don't know if that said more about King Bumi or Iroh because I didn't think Iroh would sabotage me for imprisoning him. If King Bumi did have an ulterior motive, and I sensed that he did, it wasn't one that was influenced by me. Which raised the question of what it could be.

Why would the King of Omashu want to meet with Iroh, an apparently disgraced general that was the sibling to the current Fire Lord?

Interesting.

“Sure,” I agreed with a disinterested shrug, earning a mad cackle from King Bumi while Rin gave me some side-eye that screamed ‘don’t enable the crazy man.’ I ignored her and joined King Bumi along with his escort as we were all taken down deep through an elevator that was operated with earthbending. It was interesting how earthbending was incorporated into everyday use in the kingdom. Or, at least, the city. The delivery mail system relied on it, it was how you got in or out of some rooms, and it was how you got up and down the various death rooms that were underneath the castle.

The city of Omashu went down as much as it did up. Like ants, the humans had dug tunnels throughout the mountain, turning what was seen on the peak into the tip of the metaphorical anthill.

We arrived at the first challenge and Rin sputtered when she saw the arena. True to form -- it was a vast cavern, almost unnecessarily big, that’s floor was completely covered in a rather liberal amount of deadly spikes. A platform was perfectly balanced upon one large central spike with a Pai Sho board in the middle of the platform. Iroh was already seated upon one of three cushions with a cup of tea in his hands, completely unconcerned about his predicament.

“Majima-” Rin started, concerned as we both looked down at the spikes.

“I’ll be fine,” I dismissed her concern, my gaze turning to King Bumi. Despite his frail-looking form and apparent age, he effortlessly leaped to the center of the platform. It was a good thirty feet. “I just have to win a few challenges and we can move on.”

“I know,” Rin said, placing a hand on mine as we leaned over the railing. Her gaze was sharp, as if she were trying to look right through me. “But King Bumi wants people to think. The game and the spikes are just a backdrop, Majima. He’s going to ask you some questions and I’m not sure you’re going to like the answers you give if you’re honest.”

I narrowed my eyes ever so slightly, wondering exactly what she meant by that. However, I looked to King Bumi to see that he was giving me a friendly smile and a wave, beckoning me over. To answer, I gave Rin a small nod before I reinforced my legs, bending down to give them the strength needed to make the jump, and leapt through the air to land near the center of the platform.

Kneeling down at the table, Iroh poured the King and I a cup of tea. No restraints on him of any kind. I wanted to start to think that all of this was just a trick -- that King Bumi was king because he had a deal of some kind with the Fire Nation, but there was a lack of plotting to betray me that brought me up short. If there was a deal, then it would make sense that they were going to take the firebender prisoners, divide us, then betray us to the Fire Nation. The fact there wasn't… I'm not sure what that meant other than they didn't have evil intentions.

"Oh, tasty," Bumi remarked, taking a sip of his tea.

"Indeed -- the quality of the grind elevates my meager tea brewing skills," Iroh responded as all three of us settled in around the board. It was the size of a small table, low to the ground, with its surface covered in a grid pattern. The central square was divided into four triangles, leaving half squares and triangles that were cut off by the ledge. There was an assortment of tokens stacked up at the edge of my side and King Bumi began slapping them down in a pattern at the intersections of the grid. "Of course, good company also helps!" He added with a laugh that sounded honest.

I watched how Bumi was arranging his tokens, my mind racing. If they weren't planning to betray me, then I had it backwards. After all, why else would a King of an Earth Kingdom city be friendly with a Fire Nation general, disgraced or not?

Iroh was planning to betray the Fire Nation.

Huh.

"King Bumi plays with an unorthodox strategy," Iroh told me, bowing his head ever so slightly. "If you will allow me, I can recommend a counter that shall soundly defeat him."

King Bumi laughed, "I would like to see this strategy!" He decided, and the two of them struck me as old friends rather than bitter enemies, adding evidence to my theory. I nodded, consenting to Iroh placing my pieces while he explained the rules. It was an unholy blend of games like Go, Shogi, and Chess that I was only passingly familiar with because of how often they were set pieces for illicit dealings or murders.

Worse, I found that wanting to defeat me at Pai Sho wasn't an evil desire, so I was left clueless as to what his moves would be. Even if that did betray that the spike pit below wasn't there to actually kill anyone.

"Angra Mainyu… or do you prefer Majima?" King Bumi asked as the battle began. And I quickly discovered that Iroh was the very worst sort of backseat gamer because he quickly made his opinion known what piece I should respond with.

"Majima," I answered, heeding Iroh's advice for now. "Angra Mainyu is a title. One I don't particularly care for."

King Bumi hummed before he moved another piece forward. "The Source of All Evils, eh? Or is it a sacrifice to all evils?" He asked me, his tone idle but curious. My lips thinned ever so slightly at the question, mostly curious on how he knew about that. Someone had clearly talked. And by someone, I meant either Rin or Nobara.

"Both," I answered, moving my own piece up and Iroh winced so badly you'd think I had slipped a knife between his ribs. Not because of the admission but because of my move. "Evil existed before me, and I was sacrificed to that evil to become it. That way, when I died, 'Evil' would die with me. It didn't work." There was more that went unsaid, but I left it unsaid.

"Meaning that you suffer these evils? Even now?" King Bumi asked, keeping his jovial tone but there was an edge to it.

"Yup. Why, wanna know how many people are being burnt alive right now?" I asked and both of the older men shifted uncomfortably. "It's actually less than you would expect given the number of firebenders out there. Still more than ideal, though. I feel every evil, no matter how grand or small." I told them, making a move after Bumi hesitantly placed another piece. "Save your pity. I don't want it."

Pity was functionally useless. It served nothing. It did nothing. Self pity most of all.

I'd rather use that time trying to find a way to lift my curse instead of moping around, feeling bad about myself.

"I am sorry, Majima," Iroh said, lowering his head, pitying me anyway.

I swallowed a sigh while King Bumi made a move with a deep frown on his face. "Don't be. I forgave humanity for what it did a long time ago. I still hate you all but that's nothing personal. Hate is what I am. For the most part," I tacked on, aware of Rin down below.

She had made it clear that we hadn't been dating, or even lovers before I remembered what I am. Still, I had a fondness for her. I could feel something other than hate for her. The same for Nobara.

"How could you forgive such a wrong?" Iroh questioned, sounding like he was speaking from something deeply personal. His gaze was fixated upon the board, his steaming tea forgotten as he got lost in his own memories and pain.

"Because it's what humans do -- you lash out blindly at what you don't understand and make scapegoats and excuses for your shortcomings," I answered, my tone brutally honest. "It would be like holding it against an infant for crying and shitting itself -- it's what babies do. Holding a grudge for it seems silly," I continued.

I made a move on the board, "And I didn't come here to discuss my curse. I'm here to discuss the future. One that's preferably war free, even if only for my sake." I tried to change the subject because I saw how personally the men were taking my words. My curse… it was awful, but it was also the only thing I have ever really known. I wasn't expecting the horror that I got when people heard about it and understood its implications.

Yet, I didn't want their pity. Because just because they felt bad didn't mean anything. It didn't change anything. Eventually, for any one of a thousand reasons, they would fall prey to my influence. The suffering that they would inflict, no matter how great or small, would be felt by me. Apologies, pity, even empathy didn't mean anything because humans couldn't stop themselves from being evil. No matter how sorry they were.

“Hmmh… yes, I figured as much. And how, I wonder, do you intend to make sure that the future is war free?” King Bumi questioned, moving his pieces. The board was progressing, but neither of us had come in contact with the other. “You freed a number of earthbenders. I’m grateful for that. Alas, the Kingdom of Omashu has only endured by being just difficult enough to take while also not being important enough to spend the resources to take it anyway.”

He didn’t seem to think of admitting that in front of Iroh, who simply nodded. “The costs would be quite high, I fear. Both in materials and in lives. However, the Fire Nation will be willing to expend them to take the city, if only because it would serve as a nice feather in the hat of some general or admiral.” He voiced his opinion while hinting at me to move my piece. I didn’t listen to the advice. Instead, I pressed the attack and took the first of King Bumi’s pieces.

“I’m sure,” I agreed. “But we have advantages there. I am the source of every evil thought and desire -- I’ll know well in advance when the Fire Nation decide to make a move on Omashu and, more importantly, I’ll know exactly what they will intend.” I said, earning a blink from Bumi while Iroh nodded thoughtfully, stroking his beard in thought. “Leading them into a trap, in your own territory, with an army of earthbenders should be a simple task. We make them commit to a huge force and then we sweep it up.”

Iroh gave me a far more considering gaze. I knew he suspected my ability during our fight, and in the time since then, he likely theorized. Now he was seeing it in all of its glory. “That would create an opening in the Fire Nation defences,” he voiced and there was no hesitation in his voice. I didn’t have the full story, but there was no evil desire of betrayal of any kind. In fact, I couldn’t really read Iroh at all. He was a bit too similar to Shirou for my liking -- a human that was unlike any human that I had encountered before.

The point being, Iroh didn’t feel like he owed the Fire Nation any degree of loyalty. Nor did he want to make them suffer for any kind of reason. If I had to guess, and the fact that I was forced to guess was very telling of his character, he simply wanted the war to end.

“I want to use your earthbenders to create an underground harbor. I’ll continue my pirate activities and commandeer ships. I’ll bring them to the harbor to build up a fleet while you oversee training on how to use the ships and do modifications so earth and waterbenders could use them for offense and defense. Eventually, when our strength has reached a point that we can challenge the Fire Nation Navy -- we leak the location if it already hasn’t been by that point. We lure them into a trap, crush them, the commit to an assault that they aren’t expecting.” I laid out my plan while the game began to heat up.

I still couldn’t read Bumi’s intentions when it came to the game, but I could sense my influence over his thoughts as he considered the plan. His thoughts were rather brilliant. No one had said it outright, but I suspected the reason that Omashu had remained independent despite being almost directly on the Fire Nation boarder was because of him.

“Sure,” Bumi agreed after a moment of thought, our pieces still moving on the board. A shape started to form, I noticed. That made it clear how outclassed I was at the game. “Sounds fun to me. However, I am torn about something.”

“That being?” I asked him, frowing at the board, trying to decipher the shape before it was finished. I was being completely outmanuvered in the game. It wasn’t a pleasant experience. Was I that reliant on reading peoples evil desires to anticipate what they would do? It wasn’t a weakness I was aware of, but it seemed rather evident when it was thrown in my face like this.

“An old friend passed by. One I haven’t seen in a hundred years. He told me all about you, Majima. He asked me to help you in any way that I could,” Bumi informed, making my hand still for a moment.

I swallowed a sigh. “Aang’s a good kid,” I admitted, earning a warm laugh from Bumi.

“That he is! I was rather shocked when I saw that he hadn’t aged a day in the past century. I wish I could say the same! Haha!” Bumi laughed again, earning a warm chuckle from Iroh as well. “But, he didn’t ask me to help you with your shared burden. He knows of your curse, Majima. He asked me to help you with it.” I suppose that explained the interest in it.

“My curse can wait until after the war,” I decided, placing a piece down with a little more force than necessary. I took in a deep breath -- I had pinned my hopes on slipping my curse by just coming here. It had been a long shot, and I accepted that it had been a miss. Then I pinned my hopes on the Avatar, only to discover I was putting my expectations to be saved on a child that the world was already doing the same to. I hadn’t lost faith that I would break free of my curse, but it would be a lie to say that that faith hadn't taken a few knocks.

“I don’t believe that it should,” Iroh spoke up, giving me a really weird look that I wasn’t sure how to describe. “You suffer immensely and without complaint. A grave injustice has been done to you, Majima. An injustice that you may have forgiven, but we would like to see rectified.”

I cocked an eyebrow as the final piece was set into place, revealing a flower. "It's useful for the war," I argued while Bumi leaned back to take a sip of his tea. He seemed thoroughly pleased with himself. Given how well he managed to play me, I don't think that smugness was undeserved. "And I have no clue how to break my curse. My best guess was to become more Majima than Angra Mainyu, but that hasn't worked out so far." Maybe I was expecting too much. In the end, my existence as Majima was just over a month old. Maybe I was just too impatient.

"I may know of a place that could possess the answers," Iroh spoke, his tone soft and ladened with sadness. "Many years ago, when I was auch younger and far more foolish, I heard tales of a grand library located in the Si Wong Desert. Though, I do not know where," he told me.

I was faintly confused, "Why would a library be able to help me with my curse?"

"Your curse is spiritual. I see it," Iroh told me, and that was news to me. I saw his gaze stray like they had so many times before, as if he were seeing something else. Something more. "It is a terrible creature. A spirit. One with four eyes and twisted bulbus flesh." Oh. He was seeing the me that had grown fat on the Holy Grail. "I mistook it for you, at first, but now I see that it is something that has attached itself to you. And these," he said, taking one of my hands in his, his fingers brushing over the words mutilation and gaslighting. "Are the hooks that spirit has dug into you."

I extracted my hand, processing what I just heard. The truth of human nature that had been engraved into my skin was what connected me to the title of Angra Mainyu? It couldn't be as simple as flaying the skin off of myself. My healing factor, when I did tear or split my skin, mended the truth carved into me. "And the library can help, how exactly?"

"It is the greatest library in all of the world. One whose librarian is a great spirit," Iroh said and for the first time since before I met Aang, it felt like I had a lead on breaking my curse instead of just stumbling in the dark and hoping for the best.

My lips thinned as I took a moment to process what I heard, idly wondering if the Holy Grail had wanted me to meet Iroh instead of Aang. "You don't know where it is," I stated.

"No. Nothing beyond that it lays in the Si Wong Desert. However, I can speak with the Fire Sages to learn. One of them, many years ago, visited the library itself," Iroh said, and I heard what he was asking.

His freedom. And the freedom of his nephew, I imagine.

It was frustrating. So incredibly frustrating.

I gained a lead on how to break my curse only after I committed to being Angra Mainyu to end the war.

And I had no idea what I should do.