Fire exploded in all directions.
Korra dropped into a roll, narrowly dodging a spiraling blaze that ripped through the training field like a comet. She came to a stop, panting and singed, her eyes wide.
Across from her stood Kaiqok—cloaked in golden chakra, eyes glowing, body humming with heat and precision.
He didn't look exhausted.
He looked alive.
"Again!" he shouted, voice thunderous but excited.
Korra groaned, coughing out smoke. "Do you ever get tired?"
"Not when I'm having this much fun!"
A fireball the size of a cart flew toward her. She jumped high, flipped, and bent a shield of water around herself midair, then retaliated with a massive ice spike that shot toward his chest.
Kaiqok grinned and shifted—his chakra cloak morphing instantly into the form of a serpent. His body flowed around the spike, golden scales shimmering as he coiled midair and countered with a fire blast from his fanged mouth.
The training dummies nearby evaporated into ash.
"Okay," Korra said, landing hard and wiping sweat from her brow, "now you're showing off."
"Hey," he called, retracting the cloak into his usual glowing shroud. "You told me to stop holding back."
"Yeah, but I didn't say 'murder me with dragon fire.'"
He chuckled, walking over and offering her a hand. "You're improving. Way faster than last week."
Korra took his hand, letting him pull her up. "Because someone keeps pushing me like I'm already a master."
"You are. You just don't realize it yet."
They stood in the center of the scorched training ground behind Air Temple Island. Tenzin had given them permission to use the area—provided they didn't destroy too many statues. So far, they'd melted three and cracked one clean in half.
"Let's take a break," Korra said, flopping onto a boulder and gulping down water.
Kaiqok sat beside her, crossing his legs. "We're getting close."
"To what?"
"Synchronization."
Korra raised an eyebrow.
"When we fight together, when we train like this... our elements are starting to blend," he said, hands glowing faintly. "Not just overlapping—combining. That's more than just teamwork."
"You're talking about fusion bending?"
He nodded. "Something like that. It's rare. Even in my last life, I never saw anyone do it willingly. But with you… it's happening naturally."
Korra leaned back, looking up at the sky. "Do you think it's because I'm the Avatar?"
Kaiqok hesitated. "Partly. But I think it's more than that."
She glanced at him, eyes searching. "Then what is it?"
He paused before speaking.
"It's because we trust each other. More than that—we believe in each other. That kind of connection goes deeper than bending or chakra or reincarnation."
Korra looked away quickly, but not before he saw the slight blush creeping into her cheeks. "You really know how to ruin a break with cheesy talk."
Kaiqok laughed. "And yet here you are, still sitting next to me."
"Only because you glow like a personal campfire. It's freezing out here."
Suddenly, the boulder beneath them cracked—and with a yelp, they tumbled forward together, landing in a heap on the ground. Korra burst into laughter, pinned beneath Kaiqok.
"I knew you were hot," she wheezed, "but now you're literally breaking rocks."
Kaiqok didn't move.
Instead, he looked down at her—eyes soft, hand brushing her hair out of her face.
"You okay?" he asked quietly.
Korra's laughter faded. "Yeah. You?"
"I think I broke my dignity," he said, smirking. "But I'll recover."
They stayed there for a moment longer, caught in that strange space where tension and affection mixed like fire and oxygen.
Then Korra gave him a shove. "Come on, get up before someone walks in and thinks we're—"
"—Practicing advanced grappling?" he offered innocently.
She rolled her eyes. "Tenzin would faint."
They stood, brushing snow and dirt off themselves. But before they could reset for another round, a voice echoed from the temple path.
"You two have a visitor!" It was Ikki, waving frantically. "Someone weird-looking!"
Kaiqok frowned and exchanged a look with Korra. "Weird how?"
Ikki shrugged. "Weird like 'they-have-glowing-eyes-and-the-air-feels-weird' weird."
Kaiqok's brow furrowed. That wasn't good.
They hurried back up the hill toward the temple courtyard—and stopped cold when they saw who was waiting.
A tall figure stood cloaked in black and violet, with skin like polished stone and a staff topped with a swirling spirit crystal. Their presence pulsed with ancient energy, and their eyes burned with shifting colors—red, blue, gold, and green.
A spirit.
No—a spirit-bound human.
"I am Rinzo, servant of the Veil," the figure announced. "And I come bearing a warning. The Gate between realms is weakening. And you, Kaiqok… are the key."
Kaiqok narrowed his eyes. "The key to what?"
"To the end. Or the beginning. Depending on the choices you make next."
The wind howled suddenly, cold and sharp.
Behind him, Korra stepped forward. "He's not alone."
Rinzo's gaze flicked to her, lips curling into a strange smile. "No. He never was."
And then, like mist in moonlight, he vanished.