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Paradise of Infinity: 18
🕑 Added 2021-09-11 08:22:38 +0000 UTCTitle: The Southern Tribe
Two youths traveled through the icy waters on a canoe with bone-ended tips while wearing thick, blue, fur-ended coats and gloves. Small and large; icebergs of many sizes and shapes could be seen as the duo traveled carefully. Both of them had the hoods of their thicker coats pulled up and only their faces were revealed at all.
Every now and then the duo would see the flickering and quickly swimming bodies of fishes almost the size of an arm. Seeing this, the male placed the pedal back on the empty space of the canoe and pulled the bone-tipped spear belted over his back alongside a sleek bone club with the curving end attached to a heavy sphere painted blue for an even greater strike force and a sheathed... boomerang?
Grasping the spear well, the youth smiled, greed flickering in his blue eyes that formed a contrast to his dark brown skin and his voice a little gruff due to natural cold. Hints of facial hair and the slightly darker eyebags revealing his exhausting lifestyle in this unbearable cold that all the tribesmen are born into.
"See that, Katara? Mmmgh, I can already smell our dinner!" He stabbed with fervor. The spear pierced into water.
And nothing more.
The woman behind her called Katara, aside from her face revealing similarly darker skin and a set of blue eyes, also had two locks of her hair tied into some form of loops that began from the sides of her hairline and hid into the furry hood of the hide coat.
"The only thing we will eat based on your hunting skills is nothing but boiled water. This is how it's done, Sokka," Katara smiled confidently. She was brought here for a reason because she had proved herself useful many times because of her innate ability. Early in the years, it was tough getting a hang of it but now, at least, she had some idea as to what she was doing.
Taking off the glove on her left hand, Katara looked at the slightly calm surface of the sea and locked her attention on a fish swimming about. Her gaze concentrated drastically but her body, instead, loosened up slightly.
'Just like a water... just like a water...' Katara began beckoning the water around her with gentle waves of her left palm as her spread-out fingers seemed to be working wonders. The water around the fish seemed to have stopped following the flow of the sea but instead got attracted to whatever Katara was doing.
*Plop*
With a knocking pop came out a bubble of water with the fish still swimming within its confines. Sokka licked his lips seeing this while Katara's gaze was full of satisfaction after this accomplishment. She was controlling water, a sight both mysterious and miraculous to Sokka but it had been years and he had grown used to it. Besides, this freak was his sister. He couldn't possibly shun her out just because of some weird abilities, right.
"Go magic water!" He cheered, but his tone was still soft, afraid of startling away a few other fishes still around.
"It's not magic water—" Katara instantly frowned when Sokka waved his spear, "Just keep it right!"
*Splash*
The spear pierced the small bubble with the intention of 'sticking' their dinner but the fish could still move and it did. Twisting around the slightly blunt tip of the spear, the fish survived and the bubble burst apart due to the loss of concentration from Katara's side and the abrupt stab itself. With the bubble right above Katara's head, the cold water splashed onto her head and drenched her face and with fury equally cold, too.
"I said I would handle it, right? Why do you always have to screw things up?" She snapped instantly, "And what magic water? It's waterbending. It's a traditional art, alright? We have two more waterbenders in our tribe now, mister!"
Katara shouted while Sokka pursed his lips as their canoe picked up speed for some strange and 'magical' reason with Katara still being unaware of the slight movement that occurred with every powerful sway of her hands in anger.
*Thud*
The canoe shuddered suddenly, making the two of them fall over each other in the gap as they suddenly entered a swift channel of a stream surrounded by multiple icy chunks of death that struck the canoe.
"Katara! Magic up!" Sokka shouted.
"I'm trying!" Katara flailed her hands in panic, not even registering the same insult she was so offended by earlier.
"If I die! It's because of your magic water!"
"Let me concentrate, dimwit!"
*Thud*
Two more chunks of ice struck as their canoe was directed against a hill-shaped iceberg with water striking its surface and parting, foreshadowing their own demise.
"Mom... I'm coming!" Sokka sucked in a breath of cold air while Katara gritted her teeth.
'Ice is just water... ice is just water!'
If she couldn't control the erratic water then...
"Hang on!" She shouted and Sokka firmly grasped the pedal in his hand.
'Please...'
Katara began moving her arms and directed her complete attention to the iceberg with her hands powerfully slicing in the air and while still moving her hands in the air, she felt resistance. Not from the empty space in front of her, but the slow and gradual cracks spreading on the iceberg from the middle.
'Please break!' Katara closed her eyes, their canoe dangerously close and even Sokka closed his eyes, hugging the pedal.
*Crackle*
*Fssshhhhhhhhhh*
The iceberg suddenly cracked further and let out a pressurized gust of wind that slowed their eventual collision. The wind felt... too moist and warm and this made the two open their eyes.
"Go... waterbending..." Sokka sighed as the air stopped flowing out while they gently reached the iceberg.
However, before they breathed out their sighs of relief, the body of water around them trembled and Sokka looked back only for his eyes to widen.
"Move!"
He quickly caught Katara's wrist and rushed out of the canoe.
"Hey—"
*Crash*
Behind them, the canoe was instantly smashed into wooden and bony splinters by another massive iceberg and the body of ice they barely found their balance on shuddered once again.
*Crack*
*Crack*
Cracks spread on its surface once again and from deep within, a giant bolt of light skyrocketed into the sky as if a pillar and the sky over them lightened up in layers of multiple colors.
While Katara grew fascinated by the phenomenon, Sokka hugged her and pulled her into a tight embrace as he turned around, sticking his back out against the chunks of ice erupting like a miniature volcano.
"What's going on?" He shouted and Katara instantly grew aware of the danger they were in.
"I don't know. It's not me who did this."
"That's why I wanted to come alone!" Sokka argued. There was a time and place for everything, sure, but if they're going to die, might as well win an argument one last time.
"We would've starved!" Katara shouted back but hugged Sokka still, her grip tight and her heart slightly terrified.
"We could have just caught one of the penguins!"
"They would have destroyed our village!"
Both of them hugged each other tighter but nothing happened.
The trembling grew calm and they quickly parted.
Looking at each other with annoyed expressions, they began bickering yet again.
"We can always capture one of the Penguins in the night," Sokka scowled.
"And who would eat it? I refuse to dine on them!"
"And fishes are fine, you hypocrite!"
While they glared lightning, they heard something behind them and finally turned their attention to the broken cap of the iceberg only to see a boy with his eyes glowing white similar to the arrow-shaped light on his bald head. The yellow and orange-colored clothes on him were too thin to be considered extreme northern or southern as they swayed without wind until his eyes rolled up and all the light vanished.
"Hey!"
Katara ran, quickly catching the boy as it slid through the gentle slope of the ice while Sokka followed.
"Ugh..."
The boy uttered, barely opening his eyes.
"H-hey... can I ask you something?" he whispered as he looked at the girl before looking past her towards the sky. Even Sokka came to a sudden halt, his mouth and eyes wide in shock.
"Yes?" Katara inquired.
"Why... is there a naked man over you?"
"What?" Katara looked up.
*Thud*
A large body instantly fell on her and the boy.
---
Nik opened his eyes and slowly sat up, quite a bit confused. Knowledge was already provided that anything on him would be stripped during the world transfer. In essence, he can only travel naked. Then why was he clothed and in somebody's bed by now?
He observed his surroundings for a moment before his head began aching with shooting pain traveling through his body.
"Ugh..."
He groaned and the screen of Infinity appeared in front of his gaze involuntarily.
[Transmigration Successful.
Authority Rank: 0
No Benefits Detected.]
[Optional Objectives from Transmigration Paradise detected.]
[Objective: Deviated from the intended course of action, the Phoenix rules the four aspects. Dethrone him or kill him.
Mission Rank: 1
Rewards: Silver Mystery Box, 15 AP (Rank: 1)
Time Limit: —
]
[Objective: Derived from the deviation, the Phoenix rules the four aspects but fears the arrival of the true order. Find and remove his worries by locating the Avatar and killing him.
Mission Rank: 2
Rewards: Golden Mystery Box, 15 AP (Rank: 2)
Time Limit: —
]
[Voluntary Return Protocol Activated in— 163:43 hours.]
Nik silently gazed at this with a ponderous expression.
If he was told the truth then disregarding the time spent in the different world, when he returns to his newly appointed homeworld, only 7 days would have been passed in there. And the fact that he could return anytime after a period of seven days in this world relieved him greatly.
It was already clear to him that it wasn't 'Infinity' who sent people to different worlds continuously. That mysterious existence would only bring the dead into a different world for another chance at life for the condition continuously devouring things and still rewarding AP. Honestly, it was too sweet of a deal and Nik had grown to appreciate it slightly. On the other hand, the Transmigration Paradise is the entity that would send lower-ranked members of this organization into a different world for various tasks.
Nik now also experienced this. He had lost his consciousness the moment the process of transmigration began but now he had also received two objectives that made no sense to him at all.
But Nik was sure of one thing: the Transmigration Paradise wouldn't reward him for no reason. Completing any one of the objectives would also prove beneficial to the Transmigration Paradise itself. After all, the rewards included Authority Points of a higher rank. He did not know what benefits would be brought to him but these points still felt desirable nonetheless.
'Anyway... where am I?'
Nik looked around. He didn't rush to purchase the local language. Maybe it could be Japanese or Hindi? He hoped, at least.
Trying to stand up, Nik felt his stomach hurt for a moment. Looking around, he found himself in a tent made from an unknown material. The interior was simplistic with a few folded clothes set on the corner. The entrance of the tent was still closed but through the gaps, Nik realized that it was still daytime. As he slowly pulled away the flap opening of the tent, coldness crept inside and Nik shivered. But the clothes worked well. Despite what he is used the wear, this outfit was certainly warm and only his ears felt like freezing for a moment.
The moment he walked out, the daylight made Nik narrow his gaze momentarily and the chilling surface of snow and ice underneath made him curl his toes but it wasn't a terrible sensation for the time being.
"The naked man woke up, too!"
A shout filled his senses.
'Have to purchase the language... sounds about right,' Nik's lips twitched and he could slowly start to observe his surroundings.
"Whoooo! Yeaah- hahaha- ugh!"
"My watchtower!"
There was too much key information to digest. A bald boy in thin clothes gliding without any wind as he crashed into a poorly constructed watchtower built from ice and snow unlike the few igloos around that looked rather sturdy. There were only children and women around him with the only man in this small village, presumably, running towards the crashed watchtower. Around this small location was a poor excuse of an icy fence that could be climbed by any individual.
[Acquire the language of the temporary world?
Cost: 1 AP (Rank 0)]
Since Nik did not plant to drag the same problem he had back in the homeworld in there too where that man was clearly carrying a dangerous club and a spear and gave Nik a good enough reason to quickly understand his surroundings, he accepted the deal.
[1 AP deducted. Sole language detected.]
His gaze turned dazed momentarily once again as a stream of knowledge both written and verbal entered his mind and seemed to become a part of him.
"Hush, not so loud," Nik heard a middle-aged woman speak up as she lowered the hands of the boy pointing his gloved fingers towards Nik.
Aside from children and the man shouting at the boy for destroying the watchtower... by flying, there was another woman who was much younger than her counterparts and looked towards him before clearing her throat.
"Um... good day, traveler?"
"Hey! You're awake! How did you appear out of nowhere? Will you teach me? Was that an airbending trick?"
The bald youth with a blue pointed arrow tattoo on his forehead quickly rushed up to Nik while the man walked over with a tight grip on his club and a suspicious gaze, "You will only get a single chance to explain yourself. Are you one of those fire nation spies running around and assimilating the surrounding territories after winning this damned war?"
Nik blinked.
"Uh... no. What is airbending?" He inquired.
"Some magic," the man replied instantly.
"Not magic!" the girl uttered a groan and at this point, a little boy threw a snowball at the man.
"It's called bending! I'm the best snowball bender!" he stated fiercely, baring his... well, 'yet to grow' set of teeth.
"Now, now, Jerkzu," the woman sighed and Nik blinked again.
'Did she just say Jerkzu?'
"Yeah, jerk, knock it off!"
Nik heard the man speak up.
With a scoff, the man looked at Nik once again, "So... how can you prove that you're not a fire nation spy?"
"Um, I don't have anything?" Nik spread his arms and the man pursed his lips. With a sigh, he clicked his tongue, "Fair enough, welcome to the Southern Water Tribe. This here is my sister, Katara. She's and a few other freaks love to categorize themselves as the followers of some ancient art when it nearly gets me killed daily."
"And this is Sokka," Katara pushed Sokka away with a shove, "He thinks everyone is a Fire Nation Spy and is a useless braggart who can only call other freaks."
"Because you try and control water when sea should only be tamed by a man of the sea! Like me!" Sokka huffed.
"Oh, yeah?" one of the little girls shouted as she quickly collected snow and threw it on Sokka.
"Men! Attack!" A young boy shouted and everyone began destroying Sokka with snowballs while he swung his club... rather well.
"Hey, I'm Aang! Nice to meet you," the bald boy looked at Nik and smiled widely.
"Nik, nice to meet you, too," he nodded.
"So, Nik, how did you get here?" Katara instantly inquired.
"And naked!"
Aang questioned to which Katara lowered her head slightly.
"What?" Nik feigned well-developed ignorance.
"Yeah, you fell right on top of me and Katara. I mean, weren't you cold at all? Even I would shiver naked in the south pole here," Aang pointed the end of the staff in his hand towards the outer region.
"Oh, I'm sorry about crashing on the two of you," Nik apologized and continued, "But I don't remember how I got here..."
Just like that, his life in this new world of 'magic' began where bald boys could fly and little boys are named Jerkzu.
***
A/N: Sorry for not updating yesterday. I had to travel to and from delhi which almost took 14 hours and I thought I could write on the journey but the car made me feel sick and when I returned, I was too exhausted to write.
Anyway, I thought of sending Nik to the Earth Kingdom once again but this time, it wouldn't have been so peaceful due to the changes. I'm still a little confused as to what to do with Iroh since he wouldn't be with Zuko at all this time but rather would have stayed in the Fire Kingdom. And there are two things I realized were too different from Nik's character back then. In the first arc, when one of the transporting salamanders were killed, he killed the earthbenders too which he simply isn't capable of, and two, the part with the Northern water tribe and the five tribal committee and stuff was way too different and now, there will be reasons for many changes.
As to why I'm starting from the Southern Tribe instead of the Northern one is simply because of plot reasons and to actually develop Katara cause last time I didn't.
