Avatar: Chaos Water

Chapter 108: 108: Blind vs Seer.



Fei was fighting a blind earthbender who had gotten in her way as she tried to reach her companions when she felt a twinge of pain in her heart. The pain was accompanied by deep sadness and the feeling that she had lost something important in life.

As an expert in the art of fire divination, her sixth sense was much stronger than average, and this feeling filled her with dread. The feeling of loss was so overwhelming that it distracted her from her conflict with the blind Earthbender.

She didn't know why she felt this way, but she knew it was a bad sign. She wanted to know how her companions were doing. She hated having to separate from them and wanted to reunite with them as quickly as possible.

However, it was unfortunate because, standing in front of the black-haired young woman with a wild smile on her face, she would have no chance of knowing what was causing her overwhelming, strange feeling.

"It's rude to distract you during a battle. Pay more attention!" A rock spike emerged from the ground beneath Fei. She jumped to avoid the attack, glaring fiercely at her enemy with her golden eyes.

Despite Shisui and the rest's refusal, the Earthbender, Toph, had decided to participate in this whole conflict. How could she miss out on the fun? No one could stop her! Not even her parents, let alone her friends.

Especially since her friends were fighting for a good cause. How could she stay safe and do nothing? Her friends were risking their lives! She just couldn't do that!

Because of this, she decided not to sit idly by. She escaped the place where she was supposed to stay, outwitting the security detail assigned to protect her under Yue and Shisui's orders.

She didn't tell the men and women she brought with her what she was about to do because they had urged her not to fight. However, she didn't wander the frozen streets of Agna Qel'a for long before she ran into an enemy.

From what she could sense, the girl was a firebender with keen instincts. She would have to be more creative with her attacks and actions to outwit her.

'Looks like I'll have to get more intense to provoke her. My words made her heart flutter. Something is bothering her,' Toph thought as she gently felt the ground, sensing her surroundings and especially her enemy's entire body.

A very clear picture of everything around her emerged in Toph's mind: the street, the buildings, the rubble, the snow gently falling to the ground, herself, and the Firebender. She could even sense Shisui watching from a distance.

'Looks like they found me.' Toph smiled when she realized the sage was there. As if he had realized he had been 'observed' by her, Shisui touched the ground, causing waves in her seismic perception and sending a clear message:

Fight!

"You, Earth Kingdom peasant! Why are you getting in my way?" Fei complained, his tone of voice obviously annoyed, causing Toph to wrinkle her face a little, feeling offended.

Although she was a free spirit who didn't have much regard for certain things, she was, at her core, a noble. She was a high-born noble who was respected worldwide!

The only thing the Beifongs lacked was their own city-state, as some great nobles had. Despite the war, the Beifongs' relationship with the Fire Nation and the Water Tribes had hardly changed.

Her family was influential. She had been educated by the best teachers. She even knew etiquette. Although she detested all the fuss and discomfort, she was offended by Fei's comment because the pride of belonging to the Beifongs had sunk deep into her bones.

"At least I don't bathe in hot urine and call it relaxing," Toph retorted, drawing on her experience insulting Fire Nation nobles.

After all, she was born blind, so her other senses were more developed than most people's. This meant that the strong smell of the abundant hot springs in the Fire Nation bothered her.

This may have contributed to her reluctance to deal with the nobility. Perfumes bothered her and made her sneeze, which caused her mother to criticize her.

Although Fei did not understand the context of that expression, she did not like its general meaning, especially since she greatly enjoyed her nation's hot springs. Angered by such words, she created an intense fire that covered her fists. Adopting a fighting stance, she decided to respond.

"What could a blind girl like you know? All I see is a brat with dirt on her feet," she growled, shooting concentrated jets of fire at Toph, who easily dodged the attacks. Rather than continuing to respond, the young earthbender decided to use her preferred method:

Hit! She was going to break that girl's bones, and maybe then they could have a more 'relaxed' conversation. As a fighting champion who had faced many fighters with different styles, Toph knew how to deal with loudmouths like Fei. However, she ignored the fact that she was the one who had started with the annoying comments.

She stomped her foot and lunged forward. The earth beneath her feet transformed into a wave that carried her toward Fei, accelerating her movement. Toph knew the fastest way to end the fight was to engage in physical combat and take advantage of her superior strength as an Earthbender.

However, Fei was aware of her own body's fragility. Sensing Toph's intentions through her keen sixth sense, she created flames beneath her feet, allowing her to rise.

Fei didn't know how a blind girl could fight and move so well, but she had noticed Toph's strange habit of lightly tapping her feet on the ground. Since she had an Earthbender partner, Fei quickly associated those actions with things Mei Qi had told her.

'What did Mei Qi call it? Seismic sense? Only the most talented can achieve it!' Fei pondered this, feeling the sense of loss growing inside her. She decided to vent by kicking several times in the air and sending arcs of flame toward Toph.

Although she couldn't see, she could feel the heat of the projectiles, so she created a wall of rock in front of her to protect herself. However, she lost track of Fei, who had decided to keep floating in the air using her firebending propulsion.

'But I've prepared for this type of enemy.' The smile on Toph's face never faded because, even though Fei's actions would be considered a perfect counterattack by others, Toph had anticipated that her rivals would take this type of measure to avoid her perception.

Then, the earth under Toph's control began to transform into something less consistent, something as present as the stones themselves but underrated in comparison—dust.

Instead of choosing sand, she created a lot of dust, imperceptible to the naked eye. The dust spread throughout the street, permeating everything and allowing Toph's perception to expand.

The only downside was that sensory overload was serious, so she couldn't stay in this state long. But it was enough for her because now any enemy trying to avoid the ground's vibrations was under her notice.

Shisui sneezed when he sensed something strange in the air, realizing there was too much dust. This made him silently give Toph a thumbs-up because she was skilled at creating her own advantages in unfavorable situations.

Although Fei did not notice the dust like Shisui did, he did sense the strangeness of the environment. Seeing that Toph could still locate her, she decided to descend to the ground. After all, she wasn't a princess of the Fire Nation with an abundance of chi to waste flying freely.

She decided to resort to what she did best: divination. As she threw fire at Toph and dodged her attacks, a fireball floated in front of her face, beating like a heart.

Although pyromancy may have a name related to fire control, it also refers to the ability of diviners to use flames to glimpse details about the future.

It is one of the oldest forms of divination, alongside those involving animal bones or blood. In the past, firebenders dabbled in this sub-bending, but little by little, its legacy was relegated because not everyone could understand its deeper nuances.

In fact, three groups in the Fire Nation controlled this legacy: the Fire Temple, the Fire Healers, and the Alchemists. However, Shisui despised the alchemists and later urged the Fire Nation to get rid of them.

Fei was one of the alchemists cast aside at the beginning. Instead of joining the supposed rebellion they had planned with the Red Lotus, she decided to further divination, hoping to use it to find answers.

She had tried to divine things about Shisui but always received the same answer: a deep, dark abyss filled with oppressive heaviness.

This made her paranoid. Coupled with the Red Lotus's ideology, she concluded that the Sage was a great evil that had to be eradicated.

Now, however, she had to use divination to defeat her enemy, whose attacks had become more intense and complicated. Only the maneuverability of Firebending and her keen sixth sense prevented her from being seriously injured, although she already had some cuts on her body.

Not to mention, she was beginning to feel uncomfortable breathing for some reason. Then, the pulsating sphere of fire showed her what the future held...and there was nothing.

"What...?" Unable to accept this conclusion, Fei was distracted and did not notice the earth wrapping around his body, blocking it and leaving only his face visible.

"I don't know what happened to you. You looked like a jumping spider monkey a moment ago, but you fell into my hands as easily as a turtle duck on its back," said Toph. Her forehead was covered in sweat from the sensory tension she had endured until recently.

However, she wasn't happy about her victory because she realized that she hadn't defeated her opponent's sixth sense; she had taken advantage of a distraction.

Although winning is winning, this left a bad taste in the mouth of the young earthbender, who enjoyed battles. Thus, Fei saw the look of resentment on Toph's face when she approached her.

"There's nothing more ahead in my future. I guess I'm going to die here," Fei said sadly, causing Toph to focus on her emotions, which she could feel through the vibrations.

"You're not sad because you're going to die," Toph concluded. This caused Fei to stare at her for a few seconds before she burst out laughing.

"My friends must be dead, right? I can feel it. For some time now, I've also sensed great danger nearby. I thought it was you, but it must be Sage Shisui.

You must be nearby! If he's here, then Availuk and Mei Qi are undoubtedly dead. That would leave me completely alone in this world. In that case, there's no point in feeling sad about my fate. I mourn them because I couldn't say goodbye," Fei declared, turning her head as far as she could to try to find her great enemy. But Shisui was hidden from her.

"I understand. Then let me say goodbye to you," said Toph, taking a deep breath before waving her arms and stomping hard on the ground.

The earth rose a little more, covering Fei's head. Now standing in a coffin of rocks, Toph clenched her hands. Soon, stabbing sounds were heard.

Fei's blood seeped through the cracks, but it was soon buried under meters of earth because the earthbender had decided to bury her enemy deep in the ground.

"Hey, Shisui, will you continue to atone as a stalker?" Toph shouted into the air after finishing the burial. Shisui, who had seen everything that had happened, just let out a sigh.

"Give me a moment," said the sage before waving his hand and sending a thin stream of water into the distance. It struck the skull of a spy who was trying to record the fight in Agna Qel'a.

After doing so, Shisui jumped and landed in front of Toph, who was much shorter than he was. He didn't know what to do with this restless girl. Should he scold her?

This could be considered practice for his future life as a father!


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