Despite how nervous soone else in his position might have been, Sokka remained calm while facing a Firebender enhanced by the dark energy of an ancient spirit.
There was no other choice. Any mistake could result in Zhao's flas touching his body again. This ti, instead of a simple burn on his back, Sokka would probably be reduced to ashes.
The enhancent that this forr Vice Admiral received tinged his flas with an ominous black color and gave him the strange ability to consu everything in his path.
Facing such an enemy, he had to put aside any doubts, nervousness, or humor; his mind had to be 100% focused on Zhao and his insidious movents.
Zhao's power wasn't the only thing enhanced; other aspects, such as his physique and endurance, received a certain degree of empowernt as well. Thus, he could wield his black flas with the sa mastery as normal fire, making him an even greater threat.
Like Hama, he was being enhanced by the dark power of Vaatu; however, his mind had not been altered, and his body remained human.
As a cunning Firebender, he could devise battle strategies, making his attacks extrely deadly and accurate.
Since he had thrown everything he had worked for overboard, why should he limit himself? Why show consideration for the royal family? He would obtain the glory he deserved and that should have always belonged to him!
Determined to put an end to his old life and start his supposedly better future, he punched forward, shooting a jet of black fire so concentrated that it resembled the sun's rays through a magnifying glass.
The two princes were surprised by this unusual way of compressing the flas, but Zuko managed to react in ti. He stomped his foot hard on the ground, generating a wall of solid flas to confront Zhao's attack.
The black flas were much more powerful than normal fire. The compressed attack broke through the wall of fire created by the prince, but the process was not instantaneous. The two young n used that ti to evade and launch a counterattack.
Sokka aid his bone spear at Zhao's body and took a quick step forward, intending to impale the man. The latter smiled mockingly while Zuko heard a familiar squeak.
"Sokka, dodge!" Zuko warned, but Sokka didn't need to hear it. His developed sense of danger made him duck so low that his chest touched the cold ground.
He was grateful that his weapon was made entirely of bone and not tal because a thick bolt of black electricity passed over his body and struck the ground several ters away.
Sokka quickly rolled to the side, avoiding a stomp filled with black fire from Zhao. To support his partner, Zuko created electricity in his hand and threw it at his enemy.
"Weak! You were always a weakling, Your Highness! Your sister has more talent and power than you!" Having cleverly avoided Zuko's lightning bolt with one of his own, Zhao began to speak, using it as a psychological attack.
If it had been anyone else, they might have been affected by such comnts, but not Zuko. He knew his strength lay not in Firebending itself, but in his ability to combine it with martial arts.
So, Zuko decided to respond in the best way he knew: Fire Swords! He swung his weapons in a cross cut, generating an X of solidified fire. The re presence of the X made the air tremble due to the resulting high temperature.
Following his partner's lead, Sokka quickly got back up, channeling his chi throughout his body and strengthening it. His forehead beaded with sweat due to the strain, but he didn't mind suffering this amount of pain to win.
This action allowed him to move much more quickly toward Zhao. He predicted the direction in which Zhao would dodge Zuko's attack and t him with his own.
He swung his weapon quickly, creating several afterimages of its tip as if he were attacking in multiple directions at once. Zhao, who was not expecting such a powerful attack, received several stab wounds.
However, the sensation the spear gave Sokka made him frown. Given his newfound strength and the sharpness of his weapon, there should have been a significant amount of blood, but except for his torn clothes, Zhao was unhard.
"Southern snow-eating peasant, why do you think your ridiculous, primitive bone weapon can defeat ?" Seeing that his verbal attacks weren't working on Zuko, Zhao decided to attack Sokka.
Of course, he recognized him. From the mont he arrived at the South Pole, he knew this young man was the pirate he had burned in a raid on his fleet.
Zhao resented the fact that he hadn't finished the job that ti. Due to the circumstances of his mission at the South Pole and his loyalty to the Fire Nation, however, he had restrained himself.
Not now! Although he had to play one of his trump cards to avoid the damage the spear could have inflicted, he felt it was worth it. His right hand was filled with black flas; no, it had beco those flas.
"I am the peak of Firebending! I AM FIRE ITSELF!" Zhao demonstrated what he had achieved with the empowernt given by Vaatu: he could partially elentalize his body.
Of course, there were limits and drawbacks. He still had to dodge attacks occasionally, but at opportune monts, his ability allowed him to survive. Realizing that he could not hide this forever, he decided to reveal it to use as leverage and instill fear.
"Then I just have to be faster to avoid your strange ability," Sokka said with a confident smile spreading across his face.
Although it was his first ti fighting alongside Zuko, all he had to do was nod to the Prince of the Fire Nation, and Zuko understood and returned the gesture.
"There is no invincible technique in the world. That's sothing Shisui taught . What is the price of that strange ability?" Zuko asked, hunching his shoulders and gripping his swords backwards.
He looked like a beast with its mouth open, ready to sink its fangs into an enemy. His breathing was calm, and his golden eyes showed no significant fluctuation; they had only one target: Zhao.
Zhao grimaced slightly at this. Until now, he hadn't realized that, though he hadn't gone mad like Hama, Vaatu's dark power had affected his psyche, making him more prone to being carried away by his emotions.
Was this a consequence of Vaatu's power or sothing this spirit had deliberately designed when affecting humans? Whatever the reason, Zhao's anger served him well in that mont, fueling the power of his flas.
His flas beca increasingly hot and damaging, forcing the duo to avoid being touched by his wide-range attacks at all costs, as he slowly lost control of his power.
Most of the surrounding ice buildings lted due to the intense heat generated by the black fire. Luckily, the population had been evacuated long ago, so no one was affected.
Zuko and Sokka sotis managed to land attacks, but Zhao always elentalized his body in ti to avoid damage. However, doing so consud his energy reserves at a rapid rate.
For this reason, he had to allow himself to be wounded occasionally to conserve his stamina. However, he could use these opportunities to attack his two enemies.
His ability to generate lightning bolts at a much faster rate than normal caused quite a few problems for Sokka and Zuko. They occasionally suffered muscle spasms due to the residual electricity in their systems.
This ant that the pace of the fight was always equal for both sides. Therefore, finding a turning point to break this stalemate beca necessary.
So, when Azula's scandalous laughter echoed throughout the city, followed by the characteristic buzz of intense electricity, the three n looked up at the sky. They knew the opportunity they had been waiting for had arrived.
Azula covered the sky with a network of blue lightning bolts containing a figure emanating dark spiritual energy. The figure looked more like a huge crow screaming in pain than a human.
Almost simultaneously, the three n began gathering energy for their final attacks. Zhao's flas floated above his body and gathered in a ring that spun constantly above his head.
Zuko's flas changed from orange to gold. He still did not fully control this special fire's production, but its re presence made Zhao feel sowhat uncomfortable.
'Before, I thought it was because of the intensity of this fire, but now... I know those flas are my true enemies!' Zhao thought, noticing how the intense light of the golden flas seed to restrict his black flas.
However, his fire was fueled by negative emotions, so its intensity was enough to prevent Zuko's golden fire from causing too much trouble.
Zuko raised his sword, channeling and compressing all the golden flas he had created. Although it was sowhat complicated, no one wanted to waste the present opportunity.
A golden sword of fire was visible to anyone who looked up. Shisui, who was on his way to support his companions, noticed it and slowed down.
"It seems like they don't need my help here. What should I do?" Shisui looked up at the sky and saw that Azula was trying to create a sphere of fire by mixing her blue flas with the will-o'-the-wisps. This vaguely evoked the image of yin and yang.
Knowing he couldn't interfere with his comrades' battle, he jumped onto a nearby building, created a lens with water, and focused on the fight between Zuko and Sokka.
Sokka's bone spear glowed brightly due to the large amount of chi flowing through it in preparation for his final attack. This attack had allowed him to kill Unagi and would allow him to take revenge today.
Since chi couldn't simply adhere to objects, finding a useful way to channel it was vital. Shisui quickly understood how Sokka's technique worked.
Then, as if synchronized, the three attacks were unleashed and collided at the sa point. An explosion of light and fire completely devastated an entire block, obscuring the figures of the three fighters.
The shockwave traveled much farther, but Shisui, who had been watching the fight, had prepared by creating a wall of ice to contain the explosion and prevent further damage to Agna Qel'a.
"Lucky you're here, Shisui..." Zuko murmured, sheathing his sword. The wall of ice in front of him was cone-shaped, with the tip positioned to deflect the shockwave.
"Of course!" Shisui arrived and placed himself between Zuko and Sokka. He began healing his companions' wounds with water.
"Ah, this spear can really withstand anything." Sokka looked proudly at his bone spear. Its Chi conductivity and resistance were exactly what he had been looking for; despite the previous explosion, it didn't have a scratch on it.
"While others..." Shisui looked at Zhao's partially charred body, which still showed signs of life.
At that mont, the man's eyes were red as he stared at Shisui with hatred. Suddenly, a dark flow of energy surged from his body, and red lines that glowed intensely covered his skin.
"SHISUI!" Zhao shouted. His body seed to undergo a strange transformation and was covered in black flas. He was consud by his own fire.
Instead of turning to ashes or the flas dispersing, however, sothing else appeared. A humanoid figure made entirely of fire appeared, with no distinctive features. Yet, the three n present felt a gaze full of murderous intent fall upon them.
"Of course, because you had to have a second phase..." Shisui murmured before looking up at the sky. He saw how Azula seed to be enjoying herself, perhaps a little too much.
What happened in Princess Azula's fight, and what made her laugh so much?
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