𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐈𝐎𝐑𝐒

THE TALES OF HYEONGJUN

"i'm not your real son...?" hyeongjun asked, sounding sad as tears dwelled up in his eyes.

his parents sighed. "hyeongjun, listen, it's complicated. you're still our child" his mother tried explaining, but it confused hyeongjun even more.

"but if i wasn't here from the start, where was i before?" how is one to explain the whole story to a child? the king still tried.

"so you've learned about the spirit world in class. and... well, just like everyone else, you also had a double. our daughter, hyeongji.

but... she died. mom and dad aren't able to get another child, though. so we kindly asked the life spirit for help and she gave you to us.

as a safety mechanism, she deleted your memories and all the pain you went through that hyeongji had to go through.."

hyeongjun's mother started crying just at the thought of their child going through so much struggle before passing away, the father having tears in his eyes, as well, before continuing.

"we never wanted to tell you, just to save you... you always feel different than the other children because you are different, hyeongjun. you're a spirit..."

the ten year old did not want to believe it. this couldn't be... he started losing trust, his world breaking together.

"no..." he mumbled, taking a step back. "i'm not a spirit, no!"

his mother sobbed. "oh, my boy... you always asked yourself why your fire had a different color.." the silence gave away her reference.

it made sense, but hyeongjun did not want to believe it. a stray tear rolled down his chubby cheeks, suddenly scared.

"i don't want to be a spirit, i wanna be human..!" he cried out, too overwhelmed with emotions.

"i wanna be like you!" his mother went in for a hug, but the child backed away, horrified. "what else is there to tell me?!"

there was something. but how were they supposed to tell this to a ten year old child?

it was hard. "we had a deal with the life spirit.." his father started, hesitant to continue.

"he'll give you to us for the rest of your childhood... but when you turn eighteen.."

his father grew silent, not finding the right words to continue talking. neither did his mother, just starting to bawl.

this confused hyeongjun even more. "what is it..?" he questioned, now even more confused. only if he didn't ask...

"well, a spirit cannot live long without its human counterpart... you'll pass away the day you turn eighteen."

hyeongjun did not want to believe that. shaking his head, tears streamed down his face.

"liar!" he shouted, his squeaky voice trembling in fear. "you're lying! no! no!" then he turned around and ran out of the room.

this turned out to be a great mistake. just the moment hyeongjun left the palace, the earth kingdom started their attack on the city.

buildings were collapsing, people were panicking as the earth kingdom's soldier marched through the city, either killing the citizens by impaling them with their swords or using their bending in a brutal way.

as hyeongjun ran outside, he didn't know where to go. crying in fear, he looked around, hiding at the top of a tree, trembling as he held onto his shaky knees.

the sound of explosions and the loud screams of agony made the small boy flinch and quietly cry out, his hands reaching up to cover his ears, squeezing his eyes shut.

but he quickly noticed that he had to get down, feeling the earth underneath shake heavily. just as he jumped down and landed on his feet, he was grabbed by a soldier.

hyeongjun cried out, trying to free himself from the grip, but impossible. then his vision blacked out and he lost consciousness.

[...]

"surrender, if you want your son to be alive" the earth king's cold voice sounded through the garden of the earth kingdom's palace.

their place of public execution. the rope around hyeongjun's neck was tight as he stood on the trapdoor, unaware of the timing where it would open, letting hyeongjun suffocate to death, if the impact wouldn't break his neck.

glancing up, he looked his mother right in her eyes, she seemed terribly scared. his father didn't look any different.

it was the first time hyeongjun saw his parents look so... normal. they didn't look like royalty at all, just two desperate parents trying to free their son from the evil hands of the earth kingdom.

"bring our boy back home first" king han hissed, looking at the earth king with hatred filling his eyes, before he was forced down on his knees.

"i don't think you're the one to decide" was the answer. but the queen agreed. "how do we know that this will be fair, king oh"

this was commented with a chuckle. "queen han. war is never fair, you women would never understand."

this made the queen snap. she managed to free herself from the guard's grip, dashing towards the earth king, harming him by punching him in the face, fire blazing in her fist, leaving a big burn scar on the king's face.

looking up at her son, she smiled at him, knowing that he was her last view, before the large sword pierced through her body, killing her on impact.

hyeongjun let out a choked out scream, trying to free his wrists from the metallic restraint, that kept him from bending.

his father reacted the same way. king oh was heard laughing. "i don't think you should do the same mistake as your wife, king han. it's either you or your son, you decide."

the fire king hissed. "your whole kingdom will burn down under the hands of him one day" he threatened the king, yet he was left unfazed.

"if that's what you like to believe" then the same fate reached his father. hyeongjun couldn't really do anything but watch how they decapitated his father.

hyeongjun closed his eyes with a gasp, not wanting to see it, preparing himself for what was about to happen.

he didn't notice the earth king's son talking him out of the idea of killing hyeongjun. hyeongjun was brought back to the destroyed fire nation a few days later.