AN: This is a rewrite of my previous fic of the same name. I will be taking down the old fic in a day or two with the advent of this publication.
Disclaimer: Avatar: the Last Airbender or Avatar: the Legend of Aang and all things related are property of Nickelodeon, a division of Viacom International. I am not making any profit off of this work in any way, shape or form.
Spirit vs. Soul
After the destruction of the Battle of Wulong Forest, the world entered into a time of reconstruction and hope. Everyone wanted to try and forget the past and heal. Avatar Aang watched over this transition for sixteen years like a father watching his children misbehave. He tolerated no disobedience or violence, quickly putting an end to either. Now at the age of twenty-eight, the weary Avatar looked within himself, hoping to achieve some mental peace…
Walking through the Spirit World's marshes, Aang anxiously searched for Roku. A ponderous question had tormented his psyche for a long time now, and he hoped that Roku would have the answer.
Eventually, Aang saw Roku and Fang in Hei Bai's lair.
Once he saw his pupil approach, the former Avatar bowed. Aang, in response, returned the bow. Avatar Aang had grown so much from the young child of twelve whom he had spoken with at his temple those many years ago.
"Welcome, Avatar Aang!" Roku greeted. "What brings you to my humble abode?"
Aang gave his trademark grin, which had not changed despite the stress and mental fatigue he faced on a daily basis, and replied, "I have a question for you, if you have a few moments to spare."
Roku nodded and gestured for Aang to continue.
"Everyone knows that the Avatar is the spirit of the world incarnate in human form. If so, then how is it that every Avatar is in the Spirit World? If the spirit of the Avatar is always reincarnated, how can all of the past Avatars be found in the Spirit World?"
Roku looked surprised. "You know, Aang, I've never thought of that. Hm. It's never actually crossed my mind. I feel like Avatar Yangchen would know the answer, though. Shall we go find her?"
Aang nodded, and the two powerful rulers mounted Fang.
Their flight ended at Avatar Yangchen's home: Mount Hansai.
As they landed, they noticed that the old and wise Avatar was turned away from them, meditating.
Avatars Roku and Aang bowed as their elder, Avatar Yangchen, finally opened her eyes and noticed them.
Giving them a tranquil smile, she addressed them, "Hello, my friends. What brings you to my home today?"
The two younger Avatars rose to meet Yangchen's eyes. Roku motioned for Aang to address her.
"Avatar Yangchen, I've been wondering recently…" And Aang proceeded to repeat the query he had posed to Roku.
After Aang finished, Yangchen turned away from the two men, a sad, longing aura seeming to overtake her.
Concerned, Roku asked, "Is everything alright, Yang?"
Blinking out of her momentary relapse, the elder and most unforgiving Avatar ever to reign turned back to her successors.
With a sad smile, she responded, "To fully understand that, Aang, we must go back to the very beginning of the world. Come, let us sit. This will take a while to explain."
Once the three had made themselves comfortable, Yangchen spoke again.
"In the very beginning, Zin was the only being that existed. He eventually created the universe and both the Spirit and natural worlds. Then he would go on to create all life, spirits, etc. At first, there were no human benders at all. But, the laws of the universe would not allow this to be. Soon, the humans began to learn how to command their elements, the stories of which I know you are well aware of. The four different peoples learned their arts from the sky bison, for the Air Nomads; the dragons, for the Fire Nation; the badger-moles, for the Earth Kingdom; and from the Ocean and Moon Spirits themselves, for the Water Tribes.
"Understandably, this was not an easy task in and of itself. The fact that these new elemental benders had originally known how to bend the energy within themselves helped to accelerate the learning process. For a long time, these newfound powers were used for the betterment of the world and humanity in general. There was no aggression, no jealousy, no hatred at this time. Only a feeling of communion and belonging.
"But, as human nature would have it, it was not meant to last. War began among the benders and non-benders. And because of the war, the spirit of peace, Muxin, was weakening. The war was destroying her power, her need, her life, even."
As Yangchen narrated, Roku and Aang listened intently, soaking in every single detail.
"At this time, Zin still ruled over both the Spirit and natural worlds unopposed, and he had fallen for Muxin. Her fading was destroying him on the inside. So, to save her and the whole world, he made one of the most fateful decisions in history… He stripped himself of his immortality and went down to the natural world to end the war personally. Now imagine that! The most powerful being in the world willingly deciding to give up all of his powers for the greater good…"
Yangchen shook her head a bit with a cynical smile, and then continued.
"Anyway, Zin took on a mortal body and became the first human ever to master all four elements. Using his new power, he put an end to the war and oversaw an era of peace flourish over the world. By doing all this, he now took on the position as not only the Spirit of the World, but as the Spirit of Balance. He asserted that he had not ended the war because he favored one side over the other because there must always be balance between all forces in the world if there is to be thriving. On a side note, he also preached that without evil, there can be no good.
"Anyway, by this time, with the war over, Muxin had fully recovered and sought out her love, hoping to catch up with him after her involuntary respite from the world of the living. However, he was nowhere to be found in the Spirit World. She eventually learned what he had done to protect her. After hearing the news, she went into a period of shock and horror. However, the very next day, she made the same decision that her love had: She gave up her immortality and went down to natural world as a mortal. She decided to do that because she believed that was the least she could do for someone who had given up his everything for her.
"Once he met her again, Zin was overjoyed, but saddened as well. He had planned to live out his life and hopefully see her in death. However, she had joined him in the natural world to live out her life to its fullest as well.
"Eventually, since both the Spirit of Peace and the Spirit of Balance were now mortal, Muxin's and Yin's reign over the world would end. The both knew that in death, they would return to the Spirit World. However, by stripping themselves of their immortality, they had cursed their spirits to never again return to their eternal abode.
"Tragically realizing this, the two sought out Tao, the Spirit of Existence. He informed them that while their spirits would be cursed to forever live in the natural world and visit the Spirit World for only brief periods, their souls could return to the Spirit World. He also told them that despite their good intentions, until both the spirit and the soul of Balance and Peace were to unite, Existence itself would forever be cursed.
"Despite the sad news at the end of Tao's revelations, Muxin and Zin were overjoyed. At least, they were happy to note, their souls would go back to peace, even if their spirits would have remain on Earth. The two then decided that the Spirits of Balance and Peace should be eternally reincarnated until mankind should reach its full potential. And, thus, the Avatar Cycle was created.
"So there you have it, Aang. It's not the spirits of the various Avatars that reside in the Spirit World. No, instead, it's their souls."
The two men absorbed this information with a thoughtful countenance.
Then, Aang's face appeared flummoxed for a minute: "Wait, you said both Zin and Muxin were to be eternally reincarnated… If so… Then who is Muxin now?"
Yangchen gave a sad smile while replying: "Muxin was the Spirit of Peace. Balance and Peace are eternal compliments of each other. Push and Pull. East and West. North and South. Life and Death. Male and Female. Love and Hate. She would always be the Avatar's love. Throughout the times, Balance and Peace together ruled. Only during one Avatar's reign has this been not the case. And that reign has often been considered the most peaceful of all, ironically."
One question circled through both of the men's heads: Who?
But they did not need to ask it, for Yanghcen's faraway stare and reticent, longing countenance told them the whole story.
Of course!
Who else was considered the most peaceful Avatar's reign?
The very Avatar who was so dedicated to her duty to the world that for an entire generation after her death, there were never any threats of war…
Yangchen recognized the looks of understanding on their faces and spoke sharply, "Do not grieve for my, my friends. The past is the past. I am only glad that I was able to do everything that an Avatar can hope to do in my reign. I reigned for 197 long years. I brought the world to peace and kept it there for as long as I could."
"Why?" Was all Aang could say reply. "Why deny you the happiness of love, yet give you the honor of being History's greatest Avatar?"
Yangchen turned away, again. "I think you know, Aang."
Aang pondered for a minute and then replied slowly, "The universe knew that an Avatar would come along who would reign for longer than the normal one lifetime, did it not? And for that, it denied you love… So that I could always have it…"
Aang was in shock as he ended his point, flashing back to his days at the Southern Air Temple Air Ball Championships. He had met a young girl who had semblance to Ta Min and Katara…
He looked up to his two past lives with caution in his eyes. "Thank you, my Masters. I am yet to understand one thing, though? What is the difference between spirit and soul?"
Roku took over. "You know, Aang. Find the answer."
Ah, the ever-present mentor and teacher to Aang.
After a pause, Aang slowly replied, "The spirit is the ethereal form of the physical being or form, but the soul is actually the mind, heart, emotions, and memories that make up that physical being…"
Roku gave a swift nod.
Aang abruptly stood. "Thank you for your time, Masters."
And with that, he vanished in a flash of blue back to the natural world to continue his duties as Balance. And also to hopefully unite with Peace once more…
AN: So leave me a review to let me know what you guys think! :)