It wasn't his world.
Korra knew instantly. The air was different. Heavy. Gray. Spiritless, as if the roots of the earth had been uprooted and replaced with steel and ruins.
He had crossed by mistake. A rift in the fabric between dimensions, a spirit portal that had become unstable after his last connection with Raava. And there it was.
A world burning without purpose.
And a man.
Leaning against a wall, with staples in his skin and blue fire in his eyes.
"You're not from here," he said without looking at her.
"And you are?" she replied cautiously.
-Unfortunately.
She came closer. She looked at him.
The burns were not just physical.
-Who are you?
—Touya. Although everyone calls me Dabi. You?
—Korra. Avatar Korra.
—Is that a name… or a warning?
Days passed. Korra couldn't return. The portal wouldn't open. And Touya wouldn't leave.
He took her through ruined cities. Through areas where "heroes" were no longer legends but shadows. He showed her what remained.
"Why are you helping me?" she asked him one night, as they shared a fire on a broken rooftop.
"Because you're strong," he replied.
—And you like that?
—No. It bothers me. But it makes me want to understand you.
Korra smiled. For the first time in days.
—You don't want to understand me. You want someone to see you.
Silence.
"And you see me?" he asked, almost in a whisper.
—I see you burning. And I don't want to put it out. Just… don't burn out.
The first time they fought together was in an ambush. He used his fire as revenge. She, as protection. Afterward, they were both panting, back to back.
"You know," he said, his voice breaking, "I've never fought for anything but hate."
"Then start now," Korra whispered. "Fight for me."
And he did.
The portal opened a week later. But she didn't want to leave alone.
—Come with me.
—That's not my world, Korra.
—Neither is this one.
He hesitated. For the first time, he hesitated.
And then, he took her hand.
The Spirit of the World trembled when Touya crossed. But it didn't go out. Because fire, when it doesn't destroy, can illuminate.
And together, in a place where the elements obey the heart, Dabi stopped burning only to destroy.
And he began to burn… to live.