"…You're saying my mother might have eloped with her ex-boyfriend?"
After hearing everything Kahn had gathered, Azula's expression twisted into something that was very hard to describe.
"Well… you can't exactly put it like that, and honestly, it's not the important part," Kahn replied, scratching his cheek awkwardly.
Discussing his friend's mother's romantic history with said friend made him so uncomfortable he felt he could dig a three-bedroom apartment with his toes.
"What is important is the deity—Face Mother. She might know something, or maybe even helped her. If only we could meet her."
"But we don't have time to gamble on luck," Azula said sharply.
According to Misu, Face Mother only visited Forget-Worry Valley once every quarter—meaning only four opportunities a year.
When she descended, strange face-shaped markings would appear on the plants and animals in the forest.
At that moment, her divine wolf spirit would choose one of the three lakes to rest and drink from, and Face Mother would appear there for only a few minutes.
If someone picked the right lake and arrived in time, they could ask for her help.
If not, once the wolf spirit finished drinking, she would depart.
And traveling from lake to lake wasn't possible within that tiny time window.
The difficulty of seeing Face Mother was obvious.
Neither Kahn nor Azula had the patience—or the lifespan—to rely on such random luck.
But after hearing the details, Azula instantly produced several extremely Azula-type "solutions."
"If we burn the entire forest and leave only the three lakes, then no matter which lake she appears in, we'll see her immediately."
"Or, if the lake counts as her 'home,' can we just 'knock on the door' until she comes out?"
"Absolutely not."
For Azula's… creative strategies, Kahn could only salute her imagination before immediately shutting them down.
"Azula, deities aren't some kind of wish-granting device you can threaten into cooperating. They have their own thoughts."
"If you do that, all you'll achieve is pissing her off. Not only will we not get answers, we'll be lucky to survive."
"Hmph. No matter how strong she is, can she defeat a steel fleet?" Azula muttered, clearly annoyed.
If the problem involved people, she could think of ten thousand ways to pry the truth out.
But dealing with a deity was beyond her usual field of expertise, and she hated anything she couldn't control.
Still, since she didn't know how to deal with deities, she looked at the one person who did.
"So, do you have any ideas, Mr. 'Bridge'?"
"I have one," Kahn said thoughtfully. "But it's time-consuming. And I haven't fully worked out the details."
As a Spiritbender, even though he hadn't met Face Mother before, he could sense many traces she left behind in Forget-Worry Valley.
Unlike ordinary people who relied purely on luck, he believed that on the eve of her descent, he might be able to catch spiritual clues—signals that would reveal which lake she'd appear at.
But even that was not enough.
Face Mother only descended once per quarter. The odds were still terrible.
Kahn believed that Spiritbending—being the oldest method of communicating with spirits and deities—shouldn't be limited to waiting.
Higher-level Spiritbending techniques should allow one to reach out proactively.
So his plan became clear:
Continue mastering Spiritbending until he could initiate contact with a deity—then negotiate directly with Face Mother.
This path took time, but it was far better than idle waiting, and it put the initiative in his hands.
However, there was a major issue.
Guru Pathik—his only potential teacher—could sense all things. This made Kahn uneasy.
His identity as a transmigrator was his biggest secret. If discovered… what would happen?
He had thought through every possibility on the way back.
For Iroh, the biggest impact would be emotional. Their bond came from Kahn being the son of Iroh's fallen comrade.
If Iroh learned that the real son had died long ago, and he had cared for a stranger instead?
Optimistically, maybe he'd just laugh and accept it.
Pessimistically… even if Iroh didn't resent him, their relationship might never be the same.
As for Zuko, Mai, Ty Lee—they might be shocked, but they wouldn't abandon him. Their friendship wasn't built on his original identity anyway.
Azula was… impossible to predict.
If she changed her attitude because of this, then Kahn honestly wouldn't stick around. Why torture himself? He could just travel the world alone.
Ultimately, he was only considering revealing the truth because it was relevant to finding clues about Ursa.
As for whether his transmigration would affect the world… he didn't think he was that important.
In a world of Bending, magical beasts, spirits, and the Avatar, a transmigrator barely moved the needle.
With all this thought through, Kahn finally relaxed.
Then, glancing at Azula beside him, he suddenly said.
"Azula, there's something I've never been able to tell you. Today, I want to say it."
"What?" Azula blinked, stunned by the sudden seriousness.
Kahn took a breath.
"Actually… I'm a transmigrator. My soul comes from another world."
"Huh?!"
Azula looked completely lost—then her expression shifted sharply.
She lifted a hand and pressed it to his forehead.
"No fever… Did you eat something hallucinogenic on the trip?"
"Forget it, I'll get a doctor."
"…No. There's no need. I'm serious," Kahn sighed.
Honestly, even if he confessed, the hardest part might be getting anyone to believe him.
...
Author's Note:
The full completed version of Avatar: Rebirth of the Strongest Firebender — Part 1 (ATLA) is now available on Patreon!
Part 2 — Arc 1, set in The Legend of Korra era, has also been completed and continues the story into the next generation with stronger enemies, expanded worldbuilding, and major character developments ahead.
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