look
She had a certain look about her afterward; an air that wouldn't be extinguished. Things weren't perfect nor would they be for many years but she seemed ready. Less like she might break at the smallest mishap.
After she'd lost her bending it seemed like she was fragile, like she couldn't handle anything anymore. To everyone she was so strong, so impenetrable regardless of being the Avatar or not. She would always be the Avatar, with or without all four elements. None of them chose to see her any differently. It was she who saw herself differently.
But she needed that vulnerability. It was something she had lacked for some time. And through that vulnerability she was able to connect at last. It was tenuous and uncertain. She couldn't call upon Aang and the other former Avatars as easily as he had but she was still able to make the connection.
From that moment on she seemed prepared, like she'd finally realized that no matter what happened to her, good or bad, she would always make out alright. Because she had Aang and Tenzin and Katara and Lin and Mako and Bolin and Asami and everyone that meant the world to her.
Aang didn't have to say a lot for her to understand his meanings. It was the greatest comfort to know that even if she couldn't talk to him he was always there.
She restored balance with confidence and certainty. But it wasn't her rambunctious confidence anymore. It was quiet and subdued and dignified—it was something she'd sought but couldn't necessarily achieve in the past. Not without being broken first. Just like the city had been broken, so Korra rebuilt herself and the rest of the world.