"Everyone, please listen to me. I know we all feel pain for the warriors who gave their lives, but that is exactly why we cannot let their sacrifice be wasted. Only by living and leaving this place can we keep the fire of our resistance alive!" Standing before the Tree of Souls, Jake Sully was still making his final effort, trying to convince the remaining Na'vi to move.
"Why did everyone else die, but you're the only one still alive?"
But what answered him was a question that seemed impossible to solve.
The first to ask this was a young Na'vi.
Jake knew him—his name was Rota. He was younger than Neytiri and Tsu'tey, but like them, he once studied in the human school that Dr. Grace had run.
Because he was still young, he hadn't yet become a full warrior of the tribe, staying behind instead as a guard. Now, he had become one of the few young leaders left in the tribe.
Before this, he had admired Jake, their clan leader, very much.
So Jake never thought Rota would be the first to step forward and challenge him.
"Rota, listen to me!" Jake hurriedly tried to calm him.
"Enough! We've heard enough of you Sky People's lies. From the moment you came to Pandora, you brought only disaster! Neytiri and Tsu'tey died because they trusted you too much!" Rota didn't want to hear Jake's words. He waved his hand, and several young Na'vi stepped out from behind him, surrounding Jake.
"What are you trying to do?" Jake was both angry and worried.
"You are no longer fit to be our leader. And we have reason to believe that, like the other humans, you betrayed our warriors just to return to the Sky People!" Rota pointed into the distance, his face cold.
"What?" Jake followed his finger—and saw, to his shock, that his human friends, those who once stood by him to help the Na'vi, were now tied and hanging from a tree.
"What did you do to them?" Jake shouted in rage.
"This is the fate of traitors!" Rota roared back.
Earlier, when Jake led the warriors against Quaritch, two human scientists—just like Norm before—had heard Quaritch's broadcast, calling for them to surrender. When they saw that the Na'vi had no hope of winning, they wanted to return to the humans.
Many of the young Na'vi, already angry because Norm had been set free, were furious when they discovered this. While Jake was away, they captured all the humans still living in the tribe's lands and hung them on the trees.
If Jake had come back today with the main force of warriors safe, maybe things would have been left alone. But instead, every Na'vi warrior was lost—except Jake.
That made him the target for the young Na'vi's anger, and now they wanted to take him down as leader.
"Ohhh, let me see what kind of good show is going on here!"
Just as Jake was surrounded and trapped by the young Na'vi, a mocking voice came from the jungle not far away.
Everyone, including Jake, turned toward the sound—just in time to see Quaritch, fully armed, pushing aside the thick branches as he came in front of them.
"Quaritch!" When Jake saw him, his heart sank in fear. How had he gotten here without anyone noticing?
"Hmph, just another human here to die—catch him!" Rota shouted. He had never faced Quaritch before and didn't know this man was the Na'vi's, and even Pandora's, greatest enemy. He didn't even stop to wonder why this human wasn't wearing a mask. He simply ordered his men forward.
But before they could take more than a few steps, a massive head pushed out from the jungle behind Quaritch—it was a towering Tyrannosaurus Rex.
Then, two Tauren and a huge wave of robotic soldiers emerged from the trees one after another, surrounding the entire area.
The Na'vi panicked at once, and despair filled Jake Sully's heart.
"Kill them! Avenge our people!" Rota shouted and rushed at Quaritch with his weapon.
But what met him was the energy blasts from the robots' guns.
In flashes of deadly light, every Na'vi who dared to resist fell instantly to the ground.
The rest of the Na'vi were still full of anger, but even more, they were filled with fear.
"Stop it, damn it, stop!" Jake Sully shouted in shock and fury as he saw his people fall one by one.
Quaritch waved his hand lightly, and all the robots instantly pulled back their weapons.
But this time, no Na'vi dared to fight back.
"Jake, we meet again. It looks like you really do enjoy this life of yours. Too bad, though—from the looks on their faces just now, they don't seem to truly accept you at all." Quaritch walked slowly up the altar of the Tree of Souls with the two Tauren brothers beside him, speaking to Jake in a mocking tone.
"You madman, butcher, murderer! You will face your punishment!" Jake Sully cursed at him wildly, but he didn't dare to make a single reckless move—deep down, he was still afraid to die.
Quaritch noticed the way Jake's eyes kept shifting over him. He knew that look very well… it was someone searching for weakness, hoping to grab him and force him to retreat.
Na'vi reflexes were many times faster than humans'. At close range, a normal man could never match them.
But instead of showing caution, Quaritch deliberately stepped closer, moving even nearer to Jake Sully.
Jake's heart leapt with secret joy at the chance. He didn't show it on his face, though, and just kept cursing louder.
"You're right," Quaritch said calmly. "I don't deny that what I've done is unforgivable from a moral point of view… But so what? The winner is king, the loser is nothing! History is always written by those who win—that is the eternal truth.
If I win, if I shape Pandora into a world fit for human life, then in the books a hundred years from now, my name will be remembered with glory. I'll be honored like Washington, respected by generations. And you? You'll be nothing but a traitor."
Jake had no words to reply—because what Quaritch said was true.
On Earth, many only knew Washington as the man who won independence and built the strongest nation of his time. But how many remembered the massacres of natives he commanded?
History was full of such examples.
Civilization was never as clean as it looked on the surface.
"Masters, this is the Na'vi's Tree of Souls. From here, it's your turn." Quaritch ignored Jake and turned to the two Tauren brothers, pointing at Eywa.
It was at that moment that Jake made his move. He suddenly pulled out a knife and lunged at Quaritch.
But just as Quaritch had guessed, Jake wasn't aiming to kill him. In Jake's old view, Quaritch was nothing more than a regular officer of the Sky People. Killing him outright would only bring more slaughter from their army, with no real benefit.
Instead, Jake planned to take him hostage, force him to withdraw, and buy time for the Na'vi to survive this crisis.
But Jake had completely misjudged his opponent's strength.
He had wondered, briefly, why Quaritch could breathe freely without a mask in Pandora's air, but there was no time to think deeper. He just assumed the Sky People had made some new technology.
What he couldn't imagine was that Quaritch was no longer someone who could be judged by ordinary human limits.
When Jake struck, Quaritch only tilted his body slightly, dodging with ease, then swung a heavy fist straight into Jake's stomach.
The blow sent Jake stumbling back several meters before crashing onto the ground.
Before he could react further, Quaritch was already on him. A brutal kick lashed out, smashing into Jake's right leg.
Crack! The sound of bone breaking rang out.
Even with the toughness of Na'vi bones, Quaritch's power was overwhelming. Jake's shin snapped instantly.
Jake let out a scream of agony.
But before he could move, another vicious kick struck his left leg.
Crack! The other leg broke as well.
In just a few seconds, Jake Sully was once again reduced to the cripple he had been when he first came to Pandora—his lower body useless.
"Hmm. Yes, this is the look that suits you best. Much easier on the eyes," Quaritch said calmly, watching Jake clutch his broken legs and cry out on the ground.
Once, he had admired Jake—a young corporal with potential. He had even promised him the chance to walk again. Earth's technology could have restored Jake's legs, but the cost was far too high for a simple Marine to afford.
But Jake had betrayed that trust. He had chosen the Na'vi, helped them fight against him, and nearly killed him.
That betrayal was why Quaritch carried such deep hatred. Only betrayal from someone you value can cut that deeply. If Jake had just been another scientist, Quaritch wouldn't have cared at all.
"Stay right there, flat on the ground…" Quaritch sneered, then turned to the two Tauren brothers. "Sirs, begin."
"What are they? What do you want to do?" Jake, writhing in pain, looked at the two massive, terrifying bull-headed beings and couldn't help asking.
"Hey, show some respect," Quaritch kicked him in the stomach and said coldly. "These two are powerful beings from an advanced civilization. They are nothing like your primitive friends."
The truth was harsh but clear. Back in Northrend, Tauren weren't in much better shape than the Na'vi were now.
But once they joined Ouroboros and became subordinates of Josh, the Shanhoof brothers instantly rose to a higher rank whenever they stood before weaker civilizations—or even before those who knew Josh's true power.
Strength speaks. That has always been the eternal rule of civilization.
If you want to argue, you must first have the power to make your words matter.
Otherwise, no matter how "civilized" you are, savagery will crush you with ease!
"As for what we're doing? I'm honored to tell you this—your Tree of Souls has been chosen by a greater being… Now, kneel down and be grateful!" Quaritch raised his head proudly, speaking to the surviving Na'vi.
If Josh had been here to see him, he might have thought Ebony Maw had crossed over into this world too!
But the Shanhoof brothers had no interest in Quaritch's theatrics. Once he finished speaking, they solemnly opened the box holding the Seed of the Celestial.
The moment the box was opened, golden light burst forth, making the mountainside where Tree of Souls stood shine even brighter.
Yet when the Na'vi saw that light, their hearts were instantly overwhelmed with a swirl of fear, prayer, and rage.
"On guard!" Quaritch, watching them carefully, immediately noticed the change and ordered his machines to prepare.
"What's happening? What is that thing?" Jake Sully also felt the surge of emotions and saw how wrong his people were acting. But in the end, he was only an Avatar with a human soul—never a true Na'vi. The influence on him was far weaker.
But no one listened to him now. As the Shanhoof brothers lifted the Seed of the Celestial and brought it close to Eywa's branches, every Na'vi present fell fully under Eywa's control.
Their fear vanished. Eyes glowing red, they charged toward the shining seed, determined to destroy it at any cost.
The last time something like this happened, the Na'vi had been untouched. Their evolution had raised them far above the animals, letting them resist Pandora's influence. The strange beasts that appeared—ancient dragons and such—were not enough to trigger a full planetary frenzy.
But this time was different. This place is the closest connection to Eywa on Pandora. And from the Seed of the Celestial, Pandora felt a mortal threat. The pressure on the Na'vi soared to its peak.
But all of that was useless.
The charging Na'vi were met with cold, unfeeling robots and their merciless weapons.
"No… Don't do it!" Jake Sully tried again to stop it, but no one would hear him.
"It's useless. Do you know why? Because it's your so-called Tree of Souls that's sending them to their deaths!" Quaritch sneered. "This is no longer a war between humans and Na'vi. This is a war of gods. Against gods, you and I are nothing but tiny insects."
As his words fell, the Shanhoof brothers pressed the Seed of the Celestial into the Tree of Souls's trunk.
At once, countless golden threads flowed from the seed, sinking into Tree of Souls's body and spreading downward through her roots, diving deeper and deeper into the planet.
Tree of Souls was only Pandora's outward face. Her true core—like Tiamat, like Azeroth—was buried deep within the planet's heart.
"General! Countless native beasts are closing in on the perimeter!"
As the Seed of the Celestial began to drain Pandora's world-soul through the Tree of Souls, a greater frenzy erupted.
And not just beasts—Pandora's very climate itself began to turn against them.
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