The group trudged back to the inn, exhaustion clinging to them like wet clothes. The day's chaos had taken its toll—battling terrorists, awakening powers, and forming uneasy alliances with gang leaders would drain anyone. At least the destruction had been limited to Lavvy's abandoned room, sparing their own accommodations.

Sol collapsed onto his bed with a dramatic huff, his silver hair splaying across the pillow. "What. A. Day." The words escaped as a long exhale rather than a complaint.

"No shit," Red agreed, sprawling into a chair and propping his feet on the small table. "Nothing like fighting for your life to really get the blood pumping. Or whatever the hell passes for blood in my case."

Neiva perched on the edge of her bed, twiddling with her fingers. "So what exactly does being Hugo's 'honorary guests' mean for us now? Like, are we under his protection or just being watched?"

Sol pushed himself up on his elbows, wincing as the movement pulled at his chest wound. "Hopefully it means some actual medical attention. This magical band-aid won't hold forever." He tapped the glowing energy patch with a grimace. "Pretty sure internal bleeding isn't supposed to last this long."

"What's our next move?" Neiva asked, her voice softer with genuine concern. "Do we even have a plan anymore?"

"Well," Sol said, flashing his trademark confident smile despite the pain, "according to the brilliant cover story Angelo made up, I'm apparently a geologist now." He shot Angelo a playful glare. "Got a mysterious Geodite deposit to investigate, right? Preferably without anymore evolved terrorists or gang bosses interrupting." He flopped back down with a pained grunt. "Starting tomorrow, that is. Tonight I'm officially on medical leave."

Sol glanced around the room, eyebrows raised. "What about the rest of you? Joining my geological expedition, or do you have other plans?"

Blue cleared his throat, standing with perfect posture beside the window. "Actually, given Neiva's recent aura manifestation, I believe it would be prudent to immediately commence a structured training regimen to facilitate her control over these newfound capabilities."

Neiva's eyes widened, excitement brightening her face. "For real? You're actually taking me to train with you guys? Not just meditation exercises this time?"

"Wait, you're taking Neiva too?" Sol protested, pushing himself upright again. "That's not fair! I'm supposed to be the wounded hero getting all the sidekick support."

Angelo leaned against the wall, arms crossed over his chest. "Do some detective work on your own. Isn't that what you're good at?" His voice remained neutral, but there was an undercurrent of challenge.

"Yeah, you're right," Sol admitted, relaxing back into the bed. "Maybe some solo sleuthing is exactly what I need. My dad always worked best alone anyway. Who knows? I might actually uncover something useful without all the..." he waved his hand vaguely, "distractions."

"Thanks for that," Neiva said flatly, shooting him a cool look.

She turned toward the small mirror on the wall, her expression shifting to intense concentration. She blinked repeatedly, staring hard at her reflection.

Red watched her with growing amusement, his predatory grin widening. "Got something stuck in your eye there, sugar-tits? Or are you practicing your flirting techniques?"

"No, I'm trying to..." Neiva blinked harder, frustration creeping into her voice. "How do you guys make just your eyes glow without activating your whole aura? You know, that thing Angelo does when he wants to intimidate people?"

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Angelo rolled his eyes with obvious irritation, which only made Neiva point at him excitedly.

"See! Like that! Well, not exactly, but you know what I mean."

Sol chuckled from his bed. "You mean energy vision?"

"Ah, the energy vision," Blue nodded, closing his eyes briefly. When he opened them again, they glowed with piercing azure light.

"Yes! That!" Neiva jabbed a finger toward Blue. "What's the trick?"

Blue adjusted his non-existent glasses, his scholarly demeanor intensifying. "The technique is relatively straightforward now that you've established control over your internal energy flow. Simply accelerate the energy circulation, but limited to your eyes area."

Neiva stared at him blankly. "Right. Just around my eyes. Got it." She turned back to the mirror, closing her eyes in concentration, her forehead creasing with effort.

"Oh!" Red suddenly leapt to his feet, bouncing with unexpected excitement. "Oh! you're almost there! I can feel it starting! Open your eyes!"

Everyone stared at Red's outburst before turning to Neiva, who slowly opened her eyes—now glowing a brilliant neon blue. Light danced across her face as she gasped at her reflection.

"I did it!" Neiva squealed, bouncing on her toes. She spun back to the mirror, striking various poses—flipping her bright red hair, making exaggerated duck lips, batting her now-luminous eyes. "This is so cool!"

"What exactly are you doing?" Angelo asked, his stern expression cracking just enough to reveal a hint of amusement.

"Trying to decide if I look better with blue eyes than green," Neiva replied, still posing. "I'm kinda feeling this whole glowy vibe. Maybe I'll just keep them like this."

"Bad move," Sol called from his bed without opening his eyes. "Still burns stamina—just less than a full aura. You'll exhaust yourself in a few hours."

"Ugh, seriously?" Neiva's shoulders slumped. "But the blue looks so good with my hair..."

"Just do what Mr. Doom-and-Gloom over there does," Red suggested, jabbing a thumb toward Angelo. "Flash 'em when you need to put the fear of god into someone!" He poked Angelo's ribs, earning a swift smack to the back of his head.

Blue stepped forward, his perfect posture somehow becoming even more rigid. "I must caution against treating this skill with such causality. For energy Aurons like ourselves, this vision serves a crucial tactical function beyond mere intimidation."

"What do you mean?" Neiva turned toward him, her glowing eyes wide with curiosity.

"Every Auron type possesses a specialized visual perception aligned with their elemental affinity," Blue explained, his voice taking on the cadence of a university lecture. "Energy Aurons are particularly fortunate, as our vision allows us to perceive the relative concentration and flow of energy in our surroundings. Other types have more specialized capabilities—fire Aurons detect thermal variations, lightning Aurons observe electrical currents, and so forth."

"I had no idea," Neiva admitted, then turned to Sol. "What about you? Can you do it too?"

Sol propped himself up, his eyes suddenly flashing brilliant silver. He contorted his face into an exaggerated menacing expression before collapsing back onto the bed with a theatrical groan.

"What can darkness Aurons even see?" Neiva asked, genuinely curious.

"Well," Sol pushed himself up again, his expression unnaturally serious, eyes still glowing silver. "Darkness is all about decay, right? My eyes let me see the life force within people—like little numbers ticking down above your head." He lowered his voice to a dramatic whisper. "When those numbers hit zero... you die."

"Stop that!" Neiva shifted uncomfortably. "That's not funny!"

Sol's serious facade cracked into his usual confident smile as he flopped back down. "No, but seriously—it lets me see the state of decay in objects. Pretty useful for determining how long something's been dead or dying. Great for forensics."

"Huh," Neiva hummed thoughtfully, turning back to the mirror. Her brow furrowed in confusion. "That's strange."

"What is?" Angelo's voice sharpened with sudden interest.

"I just see some weird glowing bits on the mirror frame. Like, parts of it are... glowing blue? I'm not sure what I'm looking at." Neiva leaned closer to the mirror, squinting.

Angelo's expression darkened instantly. "The metal parts," he said, his voice carefully controlled. "Are those the sections glowing?"

Red and Blue exchanged loaded glances, tension suddenly crackling between them.

"Maybe? It's hard to tell," Neiva replied, oblivious to the shift in atmosphere. "I'm still new at this whole Auron thing, you know? Everything looks weird with—"

She turned around to find Angelo already walking to his bed, conversation clearly over. Sol had somehow fallen asleep in seconds, while Red and Blue stood frozen, their expressions uncharacteristically serious.

"What?" Neiva asked, glancing between them. "What did I say?"

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