Sunrise
Tamayo was currently with Naga on route to where everyone was at. Korra’s furry companion had a sharp nose and once Tamayo had heard the explosion Naga was on it. She had successfully helped evacuate everyone in the city into a different part where they wouldn’t be caught in the crossfire of Muzan.
2 and a half hours till the sun rose she thought. 2 and a half hours till that scum of a man died and to rescue Korra. Tamayo would keep her word to Aang. However, she had an inkling of hope that if it were anyone that would conquer the sun it would be Korra. So maybe in the end it would be okay but until then her and Yushiro would do their best.
Back with everyone else at the scene of an enraged and frightening Muzan and Korra with rage evident in her eyes, they weren’t sure what to do. Provide help? Attack Muzan along with Korra? Support? Yushiro had appeared from behind tapping on Tonraq’s shoulder.
Yushiro knew if any of them, including him, went in and attacked Muzan it would be the end for them, and he wouldn’t allow that to happen. Neither would Tamayo.
“I can’t let my daughter just die Yushiro!”
And Yushiro wouldn’t let her, not at least until he hit her for trying to do this on her own.
“The one thing we can all do right now besides just stand on the sidelines is offering support from afar. If we get too close that will be the end for you all and even possibly me.” All eyes were on him confirming his words. Asami knew he was right, but it was killing her inside that Korra was going to sacrifice herself to kill Muzan. They had a little less than 2 and a half hours left now but if they could provide support from afar then so be it. Asami knew Korra was strong, selfless and even stubborn but the one thing Asami still did was trust her. It’s Korra she thought.
Speaking of Korra.
Her eyes were trained on the spinal whips coming out of Muzan’s back. With each step she took she was getting dangerously closer, but she wasn’t afraid of him. She wasn’t afraid of getting hurt and she was more than ready to finally face him. The poison was still taking affect and soon his movements should start slowing down and he should be aging faster.
Despite taking her time at first, she went towards him head on.
As she closed in on him, the closer she got, the whips were hitting her while she did her best to avoid them. Her bones were outside her body to protect her somewhat, but the sharp tips of his whips would slice her. She knew she had to prolong this fight as much as she can. Their eyes never left each other’s. Rage evident in both of them.
She aimed a punch with her right arm towards Muzan’s right shoulder, her bone coming out of her forearm and piercing the skin on his shoulder only for it to heal as the attack happened. His regeneration powers were on a totally different level than hers. She attacked a couple more times, throwing sharp punches with her bones, using the bones from her shoulders to stab at places of his body but they all healed within the blink of an eye. As this happened, she was hit more than enough times to put a normal person on their death bed. The whips, despite her bones protecting her, pierced through her side, her arms and legs, and knocked her jaw off in a swift fashion. She could care less because she would regenerate quickly but during that brawl, she noticed that his attacks actually hurt a bit.
When she had fought Akaza it didn’t necessarily hurt. Despite that punch of his going straight through her stomach, it was more of a hot feeling but Muzan was a bit different. This man could actually kill her, but she knew he wouldn’t. Muzan could literally absorb her if he wanted to and even bring her back but she knew he wouldn’t and couldn’t because she was his hope of defeating the sun. And in her eyes, she hoped she couldn’t.
“Seems your poison isn’t working as it should huh Korra?” He spat out with venom.
His hair had started to turn white; she knew he was beginning to age a bit quicker now, but he didn’t know that. He didn’t have to know that...yet.
“It would seem so.” She said after swinging at his face this time but before it could even land, a spinal whip knocked her hard and fast backwards towards where everyone was at. That hit had also manage to slice her stomach deeply.
As everyone watched, Yushiro instructed Bolin to erect a wall of earth to help Korra break her fall faster. Bolin did as he was told and with strong movements, he managed to put the wall up just in time for Korra’s back to connect with it.
Korra wasn’t expecting to crash into anything so soon after getting hit by Muzan. As she crashed into the wall that wasn’t there before, she had coughed up some blood from the hit she took from Muzan. As she hit the ground, she quickly got up but not without looking in the direction opposite of Muzan.
They all had gotten a good look at Korra even if it was just from a couple feet away. Her pants were more tattered now, her hair was messy and in front of her face a bit. Bones were coming out of her body, the vine marks that wrapped around her body were there extending from the mark of Raava on her back. Her one horn on her head had looked a little bigger too to Asami, Mako and Bolin. She was even a bit more muscular than she was a year ago.
Tonraq took a good look at his daughter. She looked so different to him but that person standing in front of him was still his daughter no matter how she looked.
That was still their friend, their family, no matter how different Korra looked.
The trio had understood her actions back then now. It was all for this point. It was all to defeat Muzan to protect them. Korra not once stopped caring about them even when she tried to forget all about them.
But here they all were standing before her. It wasn’t supposed to be like this, they weren’t supposed to be here.
She grit her teeth in frustration looking at Yushiro who only fixed her with a determined look back.
And then Tamayo appears riding Naga looking determined as ever. She should’ve known that they were going to do something like this, but she didn’t think they would get everyone from the island to help. How it happened doesn’t matter to her at this moment. What mattered in this moment was her fight with Muzan who was now walking towards her. She planted her feet onto the ground and with strong arm movements made the earth beneath her roll like the waves towards Muzan.
Of course that man was undeterred by them and struck his spinal whips into the ground to make him stay still as the earth wave came at him but Korra just wanted him to stop coming forward.
She launched herself with earth bending towards him and instead of attacking his body she grabbed onto one of the spinal whips and spread her demonic flames onto it.
Muzan had a look of pain on his face. She had finally successfully hurt him and his hair by now has turned fully white. His speed should start slowing down soon she knew but she would hurt him even more with her flames.
“So the almighty Muzan can feel pain, huh?” She cackled out loud at the look on his face. He was enraged. Muzan knew he couldn’t absorb her, not yet. He actually had to risk the sun to see if she could conquer the sun and if she did and he was able to hide himself when the sun rose then he would absorb her and become the immortal being he dreamed of becoming.
It felt like forever till the sun would start to rise but it was nearing.
Just a little bit over an hour more.
Those whips had hurt every time Korra had got pierced with one and even right through her stomach. She had avoided the ones that aimed for her head even though she knew he wouldn’t kill her, yet. Even the mouths all over his body too. She managed to get nicked by them from time to time.
All Korra wanted was to be free of this man. For everyone to be free of him and the demons he created. To protect everyone from this man and even herself.
To be free of Muzan was to die.
This was her last tune.
As she was able to block an incoming spinal whip, she was unaware of the one that came behind it with an intense amount of strength that launched her into one of the buildings on the side. It had practically knocked the lights out of her. As she crashed into the building, she didn’t hear the crumbling of the roof that was beginning to fall as she spat out blood from her mouth.
She was too late to hear the yells from her friends.
The entire building fell down upon her, crushing her entire body.
Muzan smiled at this. He had managed to pin Korra down and set his sights on the humans in front of him, including Tamayo and Yushiro.
He was going to kill them all.
As Korra was pinned down by all the rubble she thought to herself, I’m so tired Raava.
I couldn’t even hold out for longer, you know?
She hadn’t talked to Raava since a year but here she was. Blood covering her face dripping down her chin, a big piece of earth on top of her side and one that split the crown of her head open. She could move if she wanted, she could get out of this just as fast as she crashed but her energy was like as if Muzan zapped it.
I know I said to watch me save them but here I am. I’m probably the worst Avatar ever huh Raava?
No response.
I don’t remember what I felt when I first came to figure out that I was the Avatar, but I bet you do. You probably know how all the past Avatar’s felt when they knew. It’s so unfair how I can’t remember my childhood.
A tear was now falling alongside the blood on her face.
I know I’m strong, but I feel so useless right now. Maybe the white lotus was right about me. I still can’t even air bend.
Air bending was the element of freedom and yet she didn’t have that.
Freedom. That’s all I have tried to attain. My most struggled element Raava.
She took a deep breath and then exhaled. Repeating the action a few times, even as she felt the taste of her own blood on her lips.
Free......free...
She repeated this multiple times in her head.
When we are at our lowest, we are open to the greatest change...Korra.
That voice wasn’t Raava.
Her eyes opened a bit wider at the revelation that that voice was Aang.
The energy that was almost gone had come back full force, running throughout her entire body. She was filled with renewed vigor and she felt even a little different. She focused on her arms and ripped them out from whatever earth they were under. She pulled her arm back as much as she could in this confined space, and she expected to crush the rocks on top of her, but she let out a large gust of wind out of her fist instead that blasted the rubble on top of her off.
She blinked once, twice.
Did I just air bend?
Korra was at her lowest which allowed her to open up. To finally be free of what was holding her but that was no more.
Your journey is your own Korra and I’ve always been watching. You were never once a bad Avatar.
That...that was Raava’s voice.
It came flooding to her all at once, her emotions, her feelings, her thoughts.
Free.
Was this how it felt like?
It was good to know that Raava wasn’t mad at her from their last conversation they had.
But she wasn’t free just yet, she had someone to take care of.
Korra stood up sluggishly on top of a piece of large rubble. Muzan had stopped his advance towards the group of humans when he had heard the sound of rubble being blasted off. He turned to where he had sent Korra crashing and found her looking at him. Her face covered in blood, head tilted to the side, all disheveled including her pants which were now mostly torn and showing her bandaged wrapped thighs and the white cloth that covered her front and backside. To everyone she looked terrifying and to Muzan, she was finally able to instill fear in this man.
She let out a breath of blue flames out her mouth and the image of Muzan made her snap. Her eyes had then changed, glowing a bright white.
Everyone was speechless.
Muzan was frightened.
Water, earth, fire, and air started to circle around Korra. She had control over all the elements now. Earth rumbled beneath like waves, the air circled around like a sphere, the water circled around her like a stream and the fire had come like blasts out of her fists and exhaled out her mouth.
Tamayo’s inkling of hope that she had in the beginning had now become more than just an inkling. She clutched Yushiro’s hand, both sharing the same sentiment. Soon they’d have to hide in the shade in fear of the sun but there was no doubt in their minds that Korra would make it out alive even if she herself didn’t think so.
Muzan was stuck on his feet, unmoving.
Korra ripped what was left of her pants thus leaving her in her bandaged wrapped thighs and cloth. She lifted herself up with an air tornado while looking down at a frightened Muzan. Korra’s face had shown calmness but she was the storm.
She launched herself from the air and into Muzan, causing a ripple in the earth and his body as if you had tossed a pebble into a river.
Muzan couldn’t even dodge Korra.
I’m much faster than her though, did she get faster somehow?
Korra looked down on him as she was standing on top of him crushing him even more into the ground with sheer force.
With another tilt of her head and a cocky smirk, “You’re about 2,000 years old now Muzan, you’ve become much slower.”
A spinal whip headed towards Korra’s head and she didn’t avoid it. She wasn’t going to avoid any of them.
Muzan wanted to wipe that smirk off her face and did just that as he pierced right through her face with two spinal whips. Korra went sluggish for a moment but then clutched onto both of the whips. Using her blood demon art, her demonic fire started consuming them and traveled towards Muzan’s body. He screamed in agony.
As she pulled the spinal whips from her face, she healed.
“I’m sure it’s not as bad as the sun.”
She herself was then covered in her own demonic flames just like when she killed Akaza. The bones in her back started to sprout out and became whips themselves but of pure bone unlike Muzan’s which was flesh and then bone at the tip. They moved like tendrils when they shouldn’t have.
She started to slice up Muzan into pieces. His regeneration slowing down much faster. The sun was to rise very very soon she knew.
She picked him up with her bone like tendrils and threw him where the sun was to hit as it rose.
The sky had finally started to fade away from the dark night and into the new day. An end.
Muzan tried his very best to keep on attacking Korra but she was unstoppable.
He was much slower now, weakened you can say. The sun was now rising, and he was panicking, and he never did. In amidst of his panic, he tried to change his form to protect him from the sun but Korra wasn’t going to have any of that. She retracted her bones into her back and in an instant was at Muzan’s side now slamming his head down into the ground.
“Don’t become all forgetful now.”
The sun was now coming closer and closer to her and Muzan. Everyone opposite of them was also in a state of panic. They weren’t going to lose Korra and as soon as the sun started to hit Muzan, Tonraq would charge in to grab Korra and bring her into shelter. Though they hoped it would go smoothly.
The sun had finally hit Muzan. He started to burn, to crumble away into the air. This was Tonraq’s chance he thought. As he charged in towards them both, Korra sensed the footsteps in the ground coming towards her. Just as she kicked Muzan more into the sun, she turned her head to see who it was.
She was still in the Avatar state, her eyes still a glowing white.
They never were supposed to be involved in this.
She punched into the air releasing a gust of wind from her fist towards her father sending him back but not harsh enough.
Behind her, Muzan’s head was now beginning to burn away. No piece of him left to torment the world anymore.
As she felt the sun now hit her, she went out of the Avatar state. Her eyes back to cerulean, her pupils now slit like. She felt the energy she had before now leave her body. Her last sight on this earth would be of the ones she loved, her father, Tenzin and Kya, Lin, Mako and Bolin, and Asami...
She had this soft calm look on her face, bittersweetness written in her eyes. An opened mouthed smile on her face as she began to fall to the ground as her legs went weak.
I hope that in another life we can be together again but for now I’ll keep the memories that I have with all of you...thank you everyone, thank you Raava...
All she knew now was that she was burning from the sun. Her eyes closed as her body hit the ground. She couldn’t hear the screams of her name; she couldn’t see them running towards her. Darkness was all she could see. She was free now, free from him. He couldn’t hurt anyone now and the world could be free of demons, including herself.
Tonraq and the others rushed towards Korra. Tamayo and Yushiro left behind to shield themselves from the sun but they had not given up hope.
As they surrounded Korra, Tonraq lifted her up into his arms.
“Korra, it’s me...dad,” tears started streaming his face as he saw parts of his daughter’s face burn. “Please come back to us...”
Tears were in everyone’s eyes as they tried to shield her but not even shade was saving her. Asami felt crushed, as if her heart had split in half. She couldn’t lose Korra. They were supposed to save her, this wasn’t supposed to happen.
However, as Korra burned she had suddenly stopped. Her body started to heal till she was back to normal. Her demon form had retracted but the mark of Raava on her back was pulsing though nobody noticed. She wasn’t breathing but there was a heartbeat. Tonraq lifted her up and carried her towards Naga.
Tamayo and Yushiro saw this from where they were, Korra had conquered the sun. She needed to wake up now.
Relief was now felt among everyone but still left with worry that she wasn’t waking up.
If anyone knew how to help, it was Korra’s water bending master, Katara.
Their next stop was bringing her to the south pole.