Avatar the Last Airbender: Jedi Outcast - Book 1 - Prodigal Butcher

Chapter 18 - Shatterpoints

In the solitude that followed the murder of the old man, he had returned to the camp. The encounter with Katara had been a mere accident. He wished he could reach out to his master, Meetra, through their Force bond. He needed guidance, absolution, anything to quell the inferno of rage consuming his heart.

Ever since he had uncovered that Holocron in the cave, his soul had been corroded by hate and anger, a darkness that consumed him. He thought of his master, desperate for her guidance.

But now, doubt gnawed at him. Could he still consider himself a Jedi when he had shattered one of the order's most sacred tenets?

"I don't know if I can be a Jedi anymore," he confessed to Katara, his eyes fixed on the distant forest, avoiding her gaze. "I've violated a fundamental precept of our order."

His thoughts spiraled deeper into a dark abyss. The memories of those he had killed haunted him, especially the Fire Nation soldier whom he had killed unnecessarily. It had become disturbingly easy for him to take life since Kiara's death and the encounter in the cave. He couldn't pinpoint when or why he had become so adept at ending lives.

After the murder of the old man, he struggled to connect with the Force. It no longer whispered in his ear, but felt distant, as though he were reaching for it from light-years away. He closed his eyes, seeking the cosmic energies of the Force, but encountered nothing.

"Why should I feel remorse?" he questioned himself, his thoughts dark and twisted. "He was a Mandalorian. They all deserve death. They deserve more than that, in fact. I merely gave him what he had coming, what he deserved. All Mandalorians deserve death, like the Sith, like the Fire Nation!"

But these realizations did little to soothe the restless turmoil in his chest. When he closed his eyes once more, he was jolted awake by the visage of a dead Mandalorian.

Ben couldn't bring himself to tell Katara. The words stuck in his throat, heavy and insurmountable. So, with his lips forced apart and teeth clenched, he remained silent.

Suddenly, one of the freedom fighters emerged from the thick underbrush of the forest. His breaths came in ragged gasps, echoing through the tense silence. His eyes gleamed with a wild intensity as they locked onto Katara and Ben. Even though the Force felt distant, its connection severed, he could still sense the palpable fear emanating from the young man.

"The Fire Nation," he gasped, his voice trembling with dread, "they've attacked!"

Ben gripped his ignited purple blade tightly, ready for whatever lay ahead. Beside him, Katara conjured her waterbending, forming a swirling, protective barrier of water to aid them. They advanced toward the tree line, the place where the freedom fighters had established their home. The acrid stench of burning wood and flames reached Ben's nostrils, a scent that had become all too familiar after countless battles and journeys. It made him snarl in disgust.

As they approached, the devastating scene unfolded before them. The intricate housing system the freedom fighters had built lay in ruins, consumed by merciless flames. The trees that had once provided shelter were reduced to charred skeletons, their branches reaching out like skeletal arms. The fire threatened to engulf the entire valley, a relentless force of destruction.

Ben's mind raced. "Are they insane?" he thought, his anger simmering beneath the surface. "If they set this whole place on fire, they'll not only wipe out the freedom fighters but possibly the entire village, the whole valley!"

Katara, quick-thinking and determined, began bending water from her flask and any other available sources to combat the encroaching flames.

Meanwhile, Ben forged ahead, his ignited blade slicing through fallen branches and scorched wood that obstructed his path. He needed to locate Aang and Sokka and get them, along with the freedom fighters, out of this inferno.