Under the pale glow of the moon, the Azula before Li Ke bore little resemblance to the manic whirlwind he'd faced during the day. Though the embers of madness still flickered deep within her eyes, the silver light softened her sharp edges, lending even a woman as dangerous as her a rare touch of feminine grace.
Seeing as she hadn't attempted to ambush him in his sleep, Li Ke refrained from an immediate strike. Instead, he spoke with blunt, unceremonious indifference.
"Are the cells in this world made of paper? How did you get out?"
He had only slept soundly because he'd trusted the locals to be somewhat competent. But this was the problem—if they were going to be "competent," could they at least try not to be so utterly useless?
How could they let a prisoner this volatile just walk away? While he hadn't paid much attention to the local power scaling, there was no doubt that this girl, Azula, had only been behind bars for a few hours.
It hadn't even been half a day.
"My apologies. Their locks were... laughably fragile. Slipping out was quite effortless," Azula said. She offered a faint, gentle smile—one that looked almost innocent—as she tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "I'm sorry for the misunderstanding. Initially, I only intended to wound you. I wanted to force Zuko and the Avatar to stop and treat you, giving me the chance to put some distance between us... I truly am sorry."
Despite the performance, Li Ke saw right through her.
It wasn't a difficult read. Azula's gaze was hollow, lacking any true focus. She appeared to be looking at him, but Li Ke sensed she was actually staring at something—or someone—invisible. Her pupils were darting fitfully, her lips twitched, and her hands were far from steady.
She was playing the part of the composed princess, but Li Ke knew the truth: this woman was standing on the precipice of a total mental collapse.
He recognized the signs because he had been there himself.
Faced with death and the ruin of one's world, who can truly remain sane? Li Ke's feelings toward the 7 Days to Die world were complicated precisely because he had been pushed to his psychological breaking point there time and again. He'd had to force himself into a state of cold, clinical survival just to see the next dawn. That world was what had forged an ordinary office worker into the man he was now, and it was the reason he felt an instinctive urge to rebuild things.
People in this state don't need logic to act. A spark of a motive—no matter how small—is enough to make them do anything, regardless of the cost to themselves or others.
Because of that shared experience, Li Ke felt he could guess exactly what she was thinking.
"I have a pretty good idea of what you're playing at. You either want to use my strength for revenge, or you're trying to drive a wedge between me and Toph," Li Ke said, his voice cold. "But Azula, I'm not particularly interested in women who try to kill me. And as a prisoner, you don't exactly have much to offer."
Li Ke reached out, his fingers clamping firmly onto Azula's chin to tilt it upward.
"True, your beauty is enough to make most men lose their heads. And I'll admit—I like beautiful women, and I prefer a mature figure like yours over a kid like Toph any day. But make no mistake: if I have to choose, I'm picking Toph every single time."
He wasn't exaggerating. He meant every word.
"That other girl might be a social terrorist, but you're different—you're a genuine monster," Li Ke said bluntly. "I can handle her jokes; I can even wrap my head around her hobbies and quirks. But you? You're beyond my understanding. You tried to kill me for absolutely no reason. It's as if you aren't a girl at all, but some kind of monster."
To Li Ke, her wanting to steal his sword wasn't a real motive—her blue flames and lightning were already far more lethal than any blade.
The moment that last word left his lips, Azula's eyes snapped wide. Her hand flew toward his throat in a reflexive, murderous twitch, as if she intended to choke the life out of him right there.
Li Ke didn't flinch. Internally, he began channeling his Draconic Might; if Azula made even the slightest aggressive move, a burst of Life-Binder's Flame would incinerate her heart in an instant.
But instead of attacking, a name tore itself from Azula's lips.
"Ursa! You do think I'm a monster!"
Her expression twisted back into a mask of ferocity. Li Ke, meanwhile, was just confused.
"Ursa who? Look, whether you're a monster isn't for other people to decide—it's on you. I call you a monster because you tried to hurt me. Simple as that. You think people enjoy being around those who try to kill them? Don't be ridiculous. Now get lost. Whether you're running away or doing something else, I couldn't care less. Just make sure I never see your face again."
Normally, if a woman showed up at his door like this, Li Ke might not be so cold, but he had zero interest in a psycho—even if he wasn't quite ready to finish her off yet.
Unless, of course, she tried to kill him again.
Suddenly, Azula's manic expression vanished, replaced by a hollowed-out look that left Li Ke feeling utterly speechless.
"So... you think seeking power is a mistake? Is it really wrong to rule through fear?"
She stared at him with vacant eyes. Li Ke wasn't even sure if she was actually talking to him, but being a polite man by nature, he answered anyway.
"Huh? Are you even talking to me right now? Besides, what's wrong with seeking power? And there's nothing wrong with using fear to keep people in line, either."
To Li Ke's mounting annoyance, Azula spiraled back into her madness. She looked at him with a frantic, unfocused intensity.
"Then why did they all betray me?! Ty Lee! Mai! Zuko! Even my father! And now you! Why did everyone betray me?!"
Li Ke's patience was officially at its limit.
"If you're going to have a mental breakdown, go do it somewhere else... If you don't leave now, I'm going to start swinging."
"Tell me why! Tell me, and I'll leave!"
"You really think you're that special, don't you?" Li Ke retorted mercilessly.
For a brief second, Azula's consciousness seemed to clear. In her eyes, Li Ke was no longer a hallucination of her mother, Ursa, but the man himself. Yet, in her fractured state, she instinctively projected onto him the roles of both her mother and father—the two people whose validation she craved most, and who had both cast her aside.
But this was Li Ke—the only outsider in the Avatar's circle. Aside from the Avatar himself, he was the only man she'd seen who commanded two different elemental disciplines!
"I will teach you how to generate lightning! Your "Fire Bending" is already refined; all you lack is a master! Zuko won't teach you! Iroh won't either! And the Avatar—who's terrified you'll surpass him—certainly won't! Only I can show you how to forge fire into lightning! Once you learn it, you'll see! You'll know why I said I never meant to kill you! How was I supposed to know you were carrying explosives!?"
Azula's desperation peaked. She lunged forward, grabbing Li Ke's hand and pressing it firmly against her chest.
"Not just Lightning Generation—I can be yours, too! Just give me the answer! Tell me why!!"
When it came to Lightning Generation, Li Ke was honestly a bit tempted. However, he wasn't entirely sure if he could actually master it, so he kept his expression indifferent.
But at that exact moment, the ground suddenly lurched. In a flash, Azula leaped back as a thick wall of earth and stone erupted between them, sealing the gap.
A split second later, a bald kid smashed through Li Ke's door. Lunging into the room, Avatar Aang let out a furious shout toward Azula, who had already reached the window.
"Azula! Get back to your cell! Zuko and I aren't trying to hurt you!"
Aang breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Li Ke unharmed. Azula, however, had no intention of listening; she blurred into motion, vanishing from the courtyard. Aang gave Li Ke a quick, frantic nod before immediately giving chase.
Li Ke stood up and looked out the window. The rest of the "Gaang"—including Toph—were in hot pursuit. Some were Earthbending or Waterbending to move, while Aang coasted on a sphere of swirling air. Zuko's method of travel was particularly flashy; fire blasted from his hands and feet, propelling him forward like a low-budget Iron Man.
"Tsk. Hopefully, they lock her up a bit tighter this time," Li Ke muttered.
He promptly climbed back into bed. Whatever drama those bratty prisoners were cooking up was none of his business. As long as they stopped bothering him, he didn't care.
But Li Ke was destined for disappointment. By breakfast the next morning, the Avatar's team had returned, looking dejected—it was clear they hadn't caught her.
Watching their slumped shoulders, Li Ke thanked the servant bringing his food and turned his curiosity toward the Avatar.
"So, is there anything... weird about my bending?"
Li Ke extended his hand. Expending a bit of Stamina, he manifested a sphere of fire in his palm, looking toward the sighing Aang and Zuko.
One was the Fire Lord (though he certainly didn't look the part), and the other was the Avatar—the strongest person in the world and the ultimate authority on Bending. Li Ke wanted to know if his Pyrokinesis actually counted as "Bending" by their standards.
Aang pulled his hand back, his expression a mix of wonder and unease. As the Avatar, he was the bridge between worlds, sustained by the Spirit of Light to balance the conflicting energies of the elements. But Li Ke was an anomaly—a man with no resident deity, no ancient spirit, and no cosmic tether. Yet, there he stood, harmonizing opposing forces with impossible ease, his spirit as stable as a mountain.
As Aang watched him, a single, chilling thought remained: If there was no god within Li Ke to keep the elements from tearing him apart, then what kind of power was holding him together?