02
THE VENGEFUL SPIRIT

Ume had never truly known sadness. Even when it brushed against her spirit, she always found a glimmer of hope or joy, no matter how small──even in the darkest moments or in the face of death.

She seldom cried. Her tears were precious, as valuable as pearls and diamonds──sacred drops that healed and brought life. To weep in sorrow felt like a betrayal to Ume, a disrespectful act. Why should she grant life after death when death itself was beyond her power to prevent?

Now, standing over a cloth doll, its single remaining eye staring blankly, its fabric stained with soot and dried blood, Ume felt a sadness she could not ignore. It was raw, consuming, like the grief she had felt a century ago when she held a dying Air Nomad in her arms. She found no joy to cling to, no light to lift her spirit. Only an emptiness, like an unfilled vase waiting for something that would never come.

For a Flower Spirit, who embodied life and joy, such emptiness was the heaviest burden of all. When a Flower Spirit grieved, the sorrow seeped deep into her being, as though the life she was meant to bring had forsaken her.

She tried to stifle her sobs, blinking rapidly to hold back the tears that threatened to spill. Her breath came in ragged gasps as a burning ache spread through her throat, each hollow sob clawing to be released. Her hand pressed against her chest, where humans carried their hearts. She felt that pain too──the pain of witnessing the Air Nomad Genocide, the pain of leaving her Mama and Papa to restore balance and find the Avatar.

No other spirit had stepped forward to help find the Avatar. So Ume had done it herself. She had crossed into the living world and offered her hand.

Oh, Flower Spirit──so kind, so naïve, so pure──always eager to help. But in her willingness, she learned the true nature of humanity. She met death time and again. And with each loss, she shed her pearls and diamonds in grief for things she could never change.

Ume knelt and brushed soot from the doll. She picked it up and held it close, imagining herself embracing every Air Nomad after the genocide.

Life had its joys, but the world harbored cruel hearts envious of its blessings.

The pink floral patterns on her kimono, the tattoos spreading from her chest to her left arm, her huadian, and her white hair glowed with an intensity that rivaled the sun. Yet it was in grief that they shone. Dead flowers and withered plants began to stir, new life rising from the soil. Vines and blossoms twined around walls, pillars, and statues, bringing rebirth wherever they could reach.

"Bloom gently upon this land,
Let life rise where shadows stand.
Roots take hold, petals unfold,
In peace and beauty, tales retold."

Her prayer reached the world through the wind, guided by the Sky Spirit. It was the same prayer she had recited alone, the day after the Air Nomad Genocide, when she held the funeral for every fallen brother and sister──every life she had breathed for and given blessings to, for they were her family, and she had once lived among them.

"Where are you, Aang?" she sobbed, clutching the doll to her chest, as if it could give her the answers that had eluded her for decades.

***

Xiang didn't know where Ume had gone. All he knew was that she had told him she would check every chamber in the temple, ensuring none were occupied by the Avatar. Her search, she had said, would only end once she found him.

Xiang had once thought the Avatar was gone, having perished in the Air Nomad Genocide. But seeing how persistent Ume was in searching for the Avatar──whom she had described as a young monk and the youngest airbending master──he now believed the Avatar might actually be alive. He didn't understand how she knew this. The world believed the Avatar to be long dead. Yet as a spirit, perhaps Ume had once known him, possibly even befriended him in life.

Perhaps they had been close friends, Xiang thought, given her endless, tireless search for the elusive figure.

Alone in the Western Air Temple, Xiang explored. He was intrigued by the unusual spaces──a giant Pai Sho table, an obstacle course, and an airball court. He remembered hearing that airbenders had loved airball. He thought he would, too, if he were an airbender. He imagined spending hours playing, trying to outmatch the other team.

Deeper into the temple, he found spaces dedicated to writing and creating vibrant sand paintings, along with an infirmary. These areas, however, were eerily deserted. Scattered furniture and upturned belongings hinted at disturbances and theft.

Yet nothing caught his attention like the Hall of Statues.

Had this place been run by women?  he wondered, gazing at the statues of airbender nuns.

He moved toward a heavy wooden door near the tunnels that led to the cliffside. It opened with a creak, revealing a dimly lit hallway. His breath caught.

"Whoa, there are so many statues in here," he muttered.

The hallway stretched on, lined with towering stone figures of Air Nomad women. Each statue stood nearly fifteen feet tall, positioned on a five-foot dais. Row after row, they stretched down the hall, depicting the nuns who had shaped the temple's long history.

"They're all... women," Xiang marveled aloud.

He stepped further into the hall, his footsteps faint on the stone floor. The air felt cooler here, as if the statues themselves held the memory of those who had lived before.

He studied the statues more closely. Each one was unique, intricately carved to capture serene expressions and graceful postures. Some held prayer beads, others carried wind-chime staffs. A few were frozen mid-airbend.

Xiang ran his fingers along the edge of a dais, feeling the etched symbols. He recognized some──representations of meditation, sky bison, swirling currents of air. The others were a mystery, locked in the lost teachings of the Air Nomads.

He was struck by awe. These women had been pillars of wisdom, guardians of peace. Their presence lingered here, even now.

After wandering the hall, Xiang reached a sealed door. Though he was muscular for his age, he couldn't budge it open. His instincts told him to leave it be, but curiosity pulled him closer. He had to know what was behind it.

Taking a deep breath, Xiang gripped the rusty handle. Despite its roughness, he didn't flinch. Planting his feet firmly on the ground, he adopted the right posture and pulled with all his strength. The door shifted slightly but remained stubbornly resistant.

Giving up wasn't in Xiang's nature. He always got what he wanted.

Drawing his gleaming sword from its sheath, he wedged the blade into the narrow gap between the doors. With determined effort, he pried and levered, his muscles straining with each motion. A grunt escaped his lips as he kicked against the opposite door to gain momentum. Finally, after a mighty effort, the door gave way.

Before him lay the All-Day Echo Chamber──a vast, dome-shaped room filled with stone mechanisms designed to amplify and sustain echoes. It was one of the Western Air Temple's unique and celebrated features, well-known among the Air Nomads.

Xiang stepped inside, sheathing his sword as he did. The sound of stone grinding against stone filled the air, reverberating throughout the chamber before settling into a steady hum. Light streamed in from a large opening in the ceiling, casting a golden glow over the space, making it feel otherworldly.

"What's this?" Xiang asked the empty chamber.

The words echoed back to him. What's this... What's this... What's this...

His eyebrows shot up as the sound bounced off the walls, repeating endlessly. He mused, "An... echo chamber?"

Echo chamber... Echo chamber... Echo chamber...

"Whoa," he breathed, marveling at the effect.

Whoa... Whoa... Whoa...

Yet something about the All-Day Echo Chamber felt strange. Xiang couldn't shake the unsettling feeling that he wasn't alone.

At the far end of the chamber, faint glinting eyes caught his attention. At first, he dismissed them as reflections from a mirror or some trick of the light. Then the eyes blinked.

He blinked too. He told himself it was just his imagination, a game of his mind. Yet the longer he lingered, the more the eyes seemed to track his every move, as if stalking him from the shadows.

"Ume?" he called out.

Ume... Ume... Ume...

He squinted into the darkness. The eyes shifted. He was sure of it──just an inch.

"Is that you?" 

That you...? That you...? That you...?

Then, as though gifted with the heightened senses of an airbender, Xiang felt the atmosphere shift. A low growl echoed faintly from Spirits knew where, reverberating off the walls until it reached him. No longer could he dismiss it as mere imagination. It was real.

In an instant, the figure moved. He reacted, instinct taking over.

Xiang's bow was in his hands in an instant, an arrow nocked and aimed. He fired as the creature bounded toward him, its heavy steps shaking the ground.

Without waiting to see if the arrow found its target, he bolted out of the Echo Chamber, stumbling over a dry fountain. He spun, another arrow drawn and ready. His breath quickened, sweat forming on his brow as fear gripped his chest.

This was his first real fight. For all his months on this journey with Ume, he had never aimed his weapons at a living foe. Ume had always defused tensions before they erupted into bloodshed.

But now, he was alone.

His heart raced as he stood outside the chamber, breath coming in sharp, uneven gasps. His fingers tightened around the bowstring, listening intently for any sign of movement. His heart thundered, screaming at him to run. But his feet remained frozen. Whatever hunted him was still out there, waiting in the dark.

Behind him, the dry fountain rose like jagged teeth. He glanced over his shoulder, weighing the slim chance of using it as cover.

No──too exposed. He needed to see the enemy, not cower from it.

His eyes scanned the dimly lit chamber, searching for the glint of eyes that followed him. The ground suddenly shifted beneath him, and he caught a glimpse of movement from the corner of his eye.

A shadow, too quick to fully register, darted at the edge of his vision. The growl came again, closer this time. Xiang spun around just as a hulking, shadowy figure emerged from the darkness, its eyes gleaming with hunger.

Without thinking, Xiang aimed for the creature's heart. He didn't hesitate this time, didn't second-guess himself. The moment felt like an eternity, but as soon as his arrow was released, he was already moving again, darting to the side, narrowly avoiding a swipe from the creature's claws that sent a gust of air whipping past him.

He didn't have time to think. The creature was faster than he had expected. It charged with terrifying speed. Xiang barely managed to regain his footing as it lunged. The bowstring snapped against his grip, but the arrow missed its mark.

"Not today," he muttered under his breath. He drew a dagger with his free hand, ready to fight with whatever he had left.

The creature snarled. Xiang sidestepped the next charge, narrowly avoiding a deadly swipe, and with a swift motion, he drove the dagger into its flank. The monster roared in pain, thrashing wildly, but Xiang held his ground, using the momentum to pull the dagger free and strike again.

Blood──dark and thick──splashed across his face, but he didn't flinch. This was survival.

As the creature stumbled back, Xiang's thoughts flashed to Ume.

He spun around and ran, not daring to look back at the creature he was sure was bounding toward him. When he heard its roar, he glanced around just in time to narrowly avoid its claws raking the air.

He dove, rolling to evade the swipe. Pain flared in his shoulder as he landed hard. He bit back a cry. There was no time for weakness.

Scrambling to his feet, he kept running──down the hallway and up the stairs where he had last seen Ume.

***

Ume's hands were covered in dirt, but she didn't care.

The doll she had found earlier was buried beside her, the soil still fresh from where she had dug. Life had already begun to sprout from the earth──plants and flowers blooming as beautifully as in her garden back in the Spirit World. She sat next to it, hugging her legs to her chest, staring at the mountains in the distance and the cloudy sky above.

She hadn't been to a festival in ages. She couldn't remember the last time she had danced, tasted the food, or sung the songs. She missed that feeling of excitement that came with going to festivals and experiencing different cultures from various nations, tribes, and peoples.

But more than anything, she missed Aang. She didn't know when they had last seen each other──maybe a few days before Sozin's Comet, before everything had changed. That had been the day Aang and the monks celebrated her "birthday," though, as a spirit, she never had one. Spirits didn't celebrate birthdays.

But Aang had wanted to make it special for her. She had always celebrated the birthdays and festivals of others, offering blessings to her worshippers.

Ume had been happy then, grateful that someone would do something so thoughtful for her. It was perhaps in that moment that she realized just how much Aang meant to her, and why she felt so desperate, so determined to find him again. He was her first true friend──someone who didn't see her just as a spirit, but as someone worthy of love, someone who could be cherished and remembered, far beyond her role as a mere Flower Spirit.

A heavy sigh escaped her lips. Her shoulders slumped forward. The Western Air Temple felt unbearably empty without the laughter of children or the chatter of monks.

Instead of continuing to wallow in sadness, she shifted her thoughts to Xiang──the boy who was always itching for a fight. Thinking about him, she wondered where he was.

Where is he? He's been exploring the temple for too long.

Just then, her thoughts were cut short by a shout.

"UME! UMEEE!"

Before she could react, a hand grabbed hers, yanking her off the stone floor. For a moment, it felt as though she might be thrown off the edge of the temple. But strong arms wrapped around her, and she twisted. She landed on top of Xiang, who narrowly avoided a deadly swipe from a monster's claws.

Ume pushed herself up, but Xiang shoved her aside, dodging the next strike by inches. They rolled across the ground, struggling to get back on their feet, but the creature didn't stop. Its glowing, bloodthirsty eyes never left them.

The monster, a grotesque fusion of shadow and scale, hissed dangerously. Its clawed feet scraped against the stone floor with an eerie screech. It charged again, its eyes glowing with an intense malice that sent a shiver down Ume's spine.

She knew this creature. It haunted desolate places scarred by despair, where life couldn't thrive. Her parents had warned her about such places──places no spirit like her should ever go.

Without hesitation, she rolled to her feet, thrusting her hands skyward. Thick vines erupted from the ground, surging toward the beast. But its claws tore through them easily.

"Stay behind me!" she ordered Xiang.

The creature lunged again, its claws slashing through the air. Ume ducked, her hands brushing the ground as more vines erupted, twisting around the beast's legs. This time they held, slowing it just enough for her to leap away.

"It's a vengeful spirit!" she called out.

Xiang glanced at her with furrowed brows. His mouth opened slightly, itching to ask more, but he knew there was no time for questions. The monster was already closing in on them, its jagged claws ready to tear through the thickened vines. Survival was all that mattered now.

He raised his dagger, his eyes narrowing as he waited for the perfect moment to strike.

With a snap of her wrist, Ume unleashed more vines, sending them crashing toward the monster. The wooden tendrils twisted and coiled, entangling the creature in a death grip. The beast howled in fury, thrashing violently against the bindings, but the more it struggled, the tighter the vines grew.

"It's not enough!" Ume gritted her teeth. "Get ready, Xiang!"

Xiang's gaze locked onto her for a split second, his mind racing. There was no time to waste on second chances. They needed to finish this, and fast.

As he reached for an arrow, Ume spun on her heel and launched herself toward him. He assumed she was signaling him to strike the spirit down. But she had other plans.

Seizing his arm, she yanked him off the ground, pulling him into the air just as the vengeful spirit broke free from its restraints. Xiang barely avoided the creature's snapping jaws, the maw slamming shut inches from his foot.

Without missing a beat, Ume called upon the earth beneath them. Vines shot up from the stone, twisting into a thick, protective barrier between them and the spirit. The creature crashed into it, snarling in fury, while Ume and Xiang made their escape.

"We're safe..." Xiang breathed out, relief washing over him as the snarls faded behind the thick layers of plants.

Ume didn't respond at first. She rose higher, carrying them away from the temple that had once felt like home to her. "It's the vengeful spirit of some Air Nomads," she said quietly, her gaze fixed on the horizon.

Xiang frowned. "It wasn't there before? You've visited that temple countless times."

"No," Ume muttered. "It wasn't."

"Then why now?"

He saw the subtle pain in her eyes. It surprised him to see it in a spirit, and he stared for a moment longer.

Ume sighed, gathering her thoughts. "Because the Fire Nation murdered them," she replied solemnly. "They were human. And you──" she glanced at him, "──you're human too. The restless spirits of the Air Nomads, angry and betrayed, formed a vengeful force that strikes any human who enters the temple."

Xiang processed her words, his eyes drifting to the distant temple, now a dark silhouette on the horizon. Its serene presence felt marred by sorrow and unspoken grief.

"I had no idea," he finally murmured.

Ume's grip tightened as they soared onward. "No one does," she said. "Not unless they've seen it. The Air Nomads were peaceful. And when the Fire Nation came, they didn't stand a chance. Their spirits were never allowed to rest. The Fire Nation's cruelty corrupted their peace. Now, they seek vengeance."

"Then why not destroy the spirit? It could hurt others who seek shelter there."

Ume's expression turned distant. "I'm a spirit too, Xiang. Spirits don't die or disappear." A bitter laugh escaped her lips. "Even if I could destroy it, I only bring life──never death."

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