𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐈𝐎𝐑𝐒

FINALE

"i'm glad you guys could make it safely" hyeongjun smiled, hugging the four boys that just entered the temple. gunil, who was standing next to him, greeted everyone with a warm smile and a firm handshake.

after the war has ended, he returned to the fire nation with hyeongjun, deciding that they should not be seperated again.

there they found out that queen han died, the reasons were still unknown. but hyeongjun was ready to take over the nation as the king, as he actually should have done eight years ago.

jiseok went with jooyeon, where the decision to unite all watertribes fell, as he was the only leader still alive.

the months after the war were spent with building everyone a new home. and jooyeon finally gained respect.

seungmin and jungsu stayed. just one day after king oh was murdered, he was crowned as the new king of the earth kingdom.

it took him a few months to gain his respect back. after all, he just promptly ran away before.

but the people quickly noticed the different qualities seungmin brought. he was a better leader than his father. the era of terror was over.

jungsu got hired as his personal assistant, finally getting recognition after being neglected for ages.

and the people loved him. even after seungmin announced their relationship. he had nothing to hide now.

"i think we owe you an explanation to why we called you here" gunil smiled as he reached for hyeongjun's hand, intertwining their fingers.

hyeongjun looked at the elder, a dreamy smile on his lips before he snapped back, looking at the others.

"gunil and i will bond in front of the life spirit today. that will seal our souls forever." everyone was delighted by that.

sentences of approval and happy giggles filled the air, making everyone feel warm and supported. "is it really possible?" jungsu asked. "i mean, you're a spirit... do you have a soul?"

hyeongjun laughed. seemingly, jungsu was not updated on how things have been. he probably didn't notice that hyeongjun basically "died" during the attack.

"i do have a soul, yes. now that i'm human.." jungsu's lips parted in surprise and his brows furrowed. but he didn't want to ask more questions, feeling like he'd just ask seungmin for more details later.

why ruin a day like this with his question just because he wasn't observing enough before?

"what's the bonding ritual like, though?" jooyeon asked curiously, tucking strands of hair behind his ear.

no one has ever thought about the possibility of bonding. it was a very ancient form of getting together with one's soulmate.

the tradition reaches back many generations, back to when humans still had a perfect connection to the spirit world.

yet when the connection got lost, the bonding also lost its significance in the human world. but not for hyeongjun and gunil.

"you'll see" gunil just chuckled and gave the youngest a playful wink, before turning back to face hyeongjun and peck his cheek. "ready, love?"

the latter just looked at the other four with a smile. "just smile and watch - pretend its a normal wedding with all the vows and stuff."

walking up to the statue, that seemed to be the life spirit, they each put their hand in the spot between their brows - where the spiritual third eye was.