TLOK SI: Oh, Brother... I'm a Fire Bender. (Patreon)

CHAPTER 1

Earth.

Fire.

Air.

Water.

When he was a kid, he watched a series called Avatar: the Last Airbender that was airing on TV, of how Avatar Aang and his friends heroically ended the Hundred-Year War.

A few years after the finale, a new series popped out, The Legend of Korra.

He didn't think much about it, he had a lot of other things to use his free time on, like the recent new games and media.

And though he did watch some snippets of the series on Youtube, he didn't have the same passion as when he was a kid, so he shelved the thought of watching the series, forever unopened.

Until he was sent to the universe himself.

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Cold.

That was his initial thoughts out of a hazy state before his mind starts to sober up.

Widening his eyes, he gets up to immediately blow out a hot breath of air as he stared at the whiteness of snow everywhere.

Shivering in confusion, he starts to try and warm himself up as much as he knew how to, by putting his hands onto his armpits and starting to jog to increase his temperature,

Well, that was what he would have done if it weren't for the crazy fact that his arms were smaller than usual.

Patting his body down as fast as he could, he was more confused as ever.

He had shrunk.

An 18-year-old has shrunken into the body of a kid.

This is some fantasy shit right there.

Quickly starting to jog, he mentally checked everything that he had.

He was wearing a thick jacket and an inner t-shirt, with some jeans and boots, something that he wore before waking up here, he remembered. He was out with some friends to watch Oppenheimer when he was knocked unconscious by something.

His phone and wallet were still in his pockets, as he tried to get some sort of signal, but nada.

Feeling his grip loosen at the coldness, he grimaced before quickly speeding up his jog to at least some form of society.

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Too much.

His legs were failing on him.

How long had he been walking?

3 hours and 23 minutes, that was the time he spent walking before his phone died, so maybe more than that.

His face was numb from the icy coldness of the wind.

His fingers were starting to feel like they were coming off.

He was so cold.

Fire.

He needed fire.

Please, God.

Help him.

He wants to live.

He wants to survive.

He wants to live.

Fire.

Fire.

Fire.

Fire.

He needed —

FIRE!

WHOOOM!

Suddenly, a small flame of fire erupted from his breath, and as if an epiphany happened in his mind, his body suddenly started to BURN.

Snow that gathered on his shoulders started to melt away as he groans from the sudden shock, feeling warmth coursing through his veins.

His face was now not numb anymore.

His legs were full of energy, power.

This was really familiar to him, but his survival instincts kicked in, shoving the thought for later as he started to regulate his breathing, feeling his core brim with energy as he continued on.

He had to find somewhere safe, before he drops to the ground dead.

He had to survive.

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FLOMP!

Dropping to the ground head first, his eyes were hazy from the tiredness of his whole entire body.

Even with that spark of energy rejuvenating his body, it eventually, like all things, ran out.

He was out of juice.

He had been walking ever since the moon in the sky was present, until the sun came back up. So about 12 hours already, give or take.

Ha, he was about to die, but his mind was still thinking about math and time.

Using his remaining strength, he turned to face the sky one last time.

He was about to die.

Might as well try to send out a signal for someone to get his body.

But how?

Fire.

Breathing in deeply, he weakly raised both hands. Concentrating every bit of energy left in him, he gave out a weak yell as he thirsted his arms as hard as he could and willed the energy from within to burst out from his hands.

VHOOOOOOOOMMM!!!

A large pillar of fire ignited and burst out, just a few inches from his hands, as it rose and rose and rose until it hit the sky, figuratively. The temperature was so high that vapor expanded around like an air ring around the pillar.

He maintained the flame for just under two seconds before he ran out of energy and juice, his hands dropped limply on the soft snow, his eyes rolling up as he fell unconscious.

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His eyes fluttered as his mind starts to turn on. Moving his body, he was about to sit up from whatever he was on when his body cries in pain. Grunting at the sudden jolt, his mind sobers up completely.

He was not in his room.

He was in... some kind of old traditional hut? And in a tub of water? With only a pair of pants?

"What in the world — "

His memories of the previous hours struck him instantly, causing him to look at his small kid hands.

"... Oh no."

He was a Buddhist, sure. Reincarnation was a thing, but physically, he didn't believe that it was even possible. Well, until he saw his body.

"How the hell did I even... Wait."

He stopped himself from thinking about his body for now to move onto more important things.

He just breathed fire. He remembered that clearly. His core, at the center of his stomach, had this... Spark of energy that caused him to suddenly breathe out fire.

Even now he could feel it. The energy inside of him that is interconnected with something that resembled blood vessels, travelling from the energy core to every single part of his body.

It was as if he had a different blood circulatory system, but it felt... unnatural. More... spiritual?

Concentrating and clearing his mind, he regulated his breathing and focused as he recalled the way he erupted the fire pillar. He let his instincts guide his every move.

Imagining his energy core burning as hot as it can get, as if pumping air into an open furnace, he let the energy from the core flow through the channels to his arms.

Slowly guiding the energy to the end of the channel on his hand, he willed the energy out to the physical realm, concentrating on the willpower part, and then he punched the air.

FOOM!

A small flame of fire burst out of thin air and flew into the wall, leaving a burnt mark as a result.

He stared at the burnt mark before his eyes wandered to his fist that shot out a fucking fireball.

...

"Oh, brother... I'm a fire bender."

He muttered in disbelief when the door opened suddenly, revealing an old woman with white hair and blue eyes.

"Oh, you're awake. That is surprising, I thought you'd be knocked out longer from what I've diagnosed."

The woman said with a gentle voice as the burnt mark caught her attention.

"Ah... Yes, a fire bender."

She turned her gaze back at him. His eyes however were more focused on the necklace that she was wearing, recalling a memory of his childhood. His mouth was wide open when he realized who was in front of him.

"... Katara?"