ATLA, In A Darker World

Chapter 13 Spirit Chi

Southwestern Earth Kingdom

Several hours later the same day.

“...”. Within the forests of the earth kingdom .....

Snap!

The distinct snap, crack and popping sounds linked to the burning of wood could be heard resounding within a small cave.

The flames lit up the dark environment and provided warmth to those who may need it on this cold evening.

Whoosh! Feeling the night wind blowing into the cave, the elongated shadow of a human silhouette could be seen turning his head in its direction. Luca took a look towards the entrance of the cave.

It was almost twenty-four hours since his last encounter with the Fire Nation. Unlike the previous night, the moon hid her face from this part of the world making the surrounding areas for miles fall into the cover of darkness.

The area where he resided now was a cave on a large cliff wall with lush, tall green trees from all sides.

Outside the cave laid the Komodo Rhino that usually stood more than half the height of an adult male. It's occasional bellows from time to time showed that, just like him, it wasn't asleep.

Beyond that was the sound of chirping crickets and woodland animals scurrying around their natural habitat.

The sound of nature …   Peaceful and serene. Sitting in his position, Luca sat crossed legged with his eyes closed as complex emotions ran through his heart and mind.

The sitting posture wasn't intentional. More like an instinctive action done on reflex. The predecessor could be blamed for this.

But that didn't matter.

The scenes of what he had done, the murder, the killing ..... All of it had replayed in his mind earlier on when he had taken the time to rest.

Just like before, he felt nothing. Even after the fight was over, and he had calmed down from running, all the regret, negative emotion or nausea that was usually described in movies and novels after the first kill remained at bay.

It was a bit unsettling, really. Of course, it might still be on its way, just hadn't hit yet. Don't ask why he came to such a conclusion, after all, the life memories that were supposed to come instantly delayed inexplicably for several hours.

Who knew if this would be similar.

After escaping from the scorched forest, Luca rode east on the Komodo Rhino through the vast plains without stopping. With the moonlight as a guide, he worried not about the darkness and travelled hundreds of miles throughout the night, all the way to the next morning.

He had no idea where he was going, but after merging with memories, he knew which direction not to go to.

The way back West would be towards the western Mo Ce Sea. Crossing that sea would lead to the Fire Nation. North wasn't an option either. He would have to go through a large area of colonial territory before he managed to escape the land controlled by the Fire Nation. There would be scouts everywhere looking for him, and randomly bumping into enemy troops wasn't out of the question.

South would require crossing the Mo Ce Sea and transversing hundreds of miles of water. From his memories, the closest thing he could get to solid ground after that was Whale tail island. Assuming, of course, he could get there without alarming patrolling Fire Nation ships.

After that would be the southern air temple, adjusting his direction going southeast would lead to the Southern Water tribe. The home of Sokka and Katara.