Darkness had settled over Thunderclap Port, painting the inn room windows pitch-black. Sol peeled off his silver-white jacket, dropping it carelessly over a nearby chair before collapsing face-first onto his bed with the dramatic flair of someone who'd just survived three apocalypses. The ancient mattress creaked under his weight, protesting almost as loudly as he was about to.

  Angelo perched on the edge of his own bed, methodically unlacing his boots while Neiva settled beside him, her bright red hair catching the dim lamplight as she glanced between her companions.

  "Sweet merciful cosmos," Sol groaned into his pillow, his voice muffled by cotton and exhaustion. He turned his head just enough to breathe properly, silver-white hair falling messily across one eye.

  Angelo shot him a sideways glance but remained focused on his task, fingers working at the stubborn knots in his laces.

  "What's wrong now?" Neiva asked, unable to resist the obvious invitation to Sol's pity party.

  Sol pushed himself up with a wince, the movement pulling at his chest wound. He shifted to sit properly, swinging his legs over the side of the bed to face them.

  "Where do I even begin with this beautiful disaster?" He swept his hand through the air with mock grandeur. "First, we've made exactly zero progress on how this mystical Heart of Geovale actually vanished." He ticked off on one finger, then added another. "Then we've got these charming Cliffhangers who'd probably love to introduce us to the bottom of the ocean if they catch us investigating."

  Sol's blue eyes fixed on Angelo, his voice dropping to something sharper. "And then there's our very own Angel of Death, apparently itching to declare war on the entire town's criminal element."

  Angelo continued working on his boot, deliberately avoiding Sol's gaze.

  Red's crimson smoke leaked from Angelo's body, solidifying into his gray-tinted duplicate form. He bounced on his heels with that predatory grin that made him look like trouble personified.

  "Don't forget those psychotic twins hunting us down!" Red exclaimed with disturbing enthusiasm, as if discussing an upcoming party rather than a life-threatening situation. "And who knows when they'll pop back up for round two of 'Let's Skewer the Strangers!'"

  "Thanks for that brilliant addition," Sol replied with a forced smile that didn't reach his eyes. He jabbed a finger at the glowing energy patch on his chest. "Let's not overlook this souvenir they left me with! I also need to find an actual doctor before this magical band-aid wears off and I bleed out in my sleep. Spectacular!" He flopped backward onto the mattress with theatrical despair.

  Angelo finally kicked his boots aside and straightened up. "I'm not concerned about the twins."

  "Excuse me?" Sol propped himself up on his elbows, disbelief written across his face.

  "We know their techniques now," Angelo stated flatly, rolling his shoulders. "Plus we've got our new weapons. We're better prepared."

  "Are you being deliberately dense?" Sol snapped, sitting fully upright. "They fought us toe-to-toe without even being evolved! That doesn't worry you?"

  Angelo went still, jaw tightening before he finally admitted, "Yeah. It does."

  The sudden tension made Neiva shift uncomfortably. She glanced between them, the silence heavy as lead. "Um... what am I missing here?" she ventured hesitantly.

  "You don't know much about evolved auras, do you?" Angelo asked, while Red snickered behind him.

  Neiva's cheeks flushed as she crossed her arms defensively. "Well, whose fault is that? You're supposed to be my teacher! You too, Red!"

  Red's laughter cut off abruptly as he threw up his hands. "Whoa, don't drag me into this education racket!"

  "I wasn't planning to cover that yet," Angelo said, examining his fist absently. "You haven't even unlocked your aura."

  "That's not fair!" Neiva's voice rose with genuine frustration. "You two always talk about this stuff without explaining anything to me. I'm just left in the dark trying to figure it out!"

  Angelo sighed, shoulders dropping slightly. "Fine, fine..." He waved a dismissive hand toward the empty air. "Blue, you do it."

  Blue's azure smoke materialized from Angelo, forming into his perfect-posture duplicate. He adjusted his non-existent glasses, standing as though addressing a lecture hall. Red immediately rolled his eyes so dramatically it looked painful.

  "I would be delighted to delve into this matter," Blue declared with scholarly precision. "The term 'evolution' derives from the identical biological principle that governs species adaptation in nature."

  "Like humans evolving from primates?" Neiva tilted her head, trying to follow.

  "Precisely," Blue nodded approvingly. "Evolution manifests as a survival mechanism—an adaptive response to environmental pressures that facilitates gradual genetic mutation. The identical principle applies to Auron evolution."

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  Neiva's brow furrowed as she visibly struggled to maintain focus.

  "For an Auron to achieve evolutionary status," Blue continued, oblivious to her confusion, "they must encounter circumstances where their continued existence is profoundly jeopardized, thus rendering evolution the sole pathway to survival."

  "So basically," Neiva brightened, "if an Auron almost dies, they evolve!"

  Her smile faltered when she noticed everyone's grim expressions.

  "Not exactly," Sol said quietly, gesturing to his chest wound. "If it were that simple, I'd have evolved when the twins nearly turned me into a kebab."

  "Oh..." Neiva's enthusiasm deflated. "Now I'm confused again."

  "The concept is rather nuanced," Blue reassured her, his scholarly tone softening slightly. "The Auron must experience a psychological state where they subconsciously accept imminent mortality with no conceivable means of escape."

  "It happens when you're convinced you're about to die," Sol translated, his mouth quirking into a half-smile. "Like, absolutely certain there's no way out."

  "And usually," Angelo added soberly, "you don't survive long enough for evolution to happen."

  Neiva's eyes widened. "So Aurons evolve if they somehow survive what should have killed them?"

  "Hit the nail right on the head, sugar-tits!" Red flopped into a chair, propping his feet on the small table.

  "But really... What does evolution actually do?" Neiva asked, leaning forward with renewed curiosity.

  "It substantially augments an Auron's capabilities," Blue explained, hands clasped behind his back. "Approximately tenfold enhancement in both energy control capacity and energy draw rate."

  "Whoa!" Neiva's jaw dropped. "That's why evolution was banned during your sparring match?" She turned to Sol excitedly.

  "Exactly." Sol nodded. "Would've made things ridiculously one-sided."

  "Even with my condition cutting everything in half," Angelo added, his mouth tightening at the admission. "It would still be unfair."

  "Furthermore," Blue continued, warming to his subject, "evolved Aurons develop what's called an 'evolved ability' that stems directly from their original aura type. Allowing them to control or create new elements that are derived from their type."

  Neiva's hands shot up in surrender. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Professor, I'm drowning in syllables here!"

  Blue cleared his non-existent throat. "My apologies. Consider Angelo's forged energy—energy solidified into tangible matter. Or Dray, whom we've mentioned—his fire still burns but also sticks to whatever it touches, making it exceptionally dangerous."

  "So basically they get a power upgrade?" Neiva simplified, trying to process everything.

  "That characterization is somewhat reductive, but essentially accurate," Blue conceded. "Evolved Aurons can sometimes make creations that don't exist in nature but theoretically could exist. Even if our current understanding of physics can't fully explain how they work."

  Neiva twisted a strand of red hair around her finger, her forehead creasing with lingering confusion. "I think I get how evolution works now, but what does all that have to do with the twins not being evolved?"

  Red let out a sharp laugh, leaning forward with that troublemaker gleam in his eye. "Let me put it this way – when's the best time to take down a lion?"

  "What? A lion?" Neiva blinked at the sudden question. "I don't know... when it's sleeping?"

  Red made an exaggerated buzzer sound, slicing his hand through the air. "WRONG! When it's still a cub, obviously."

  Sol sighed, shooting Red an exasperated look before turning to Neiva. "What our tactful friend is trying to say is that fighting non-evolved Aurons always comes with a risk. If they get pushed to their breaking point..." He let the implication hang in the air.

  "And considering those twins already match us without being evolved," Angelo added quietly.

  The pieces clicked together in Neiva's mind, her eyes widening. "If they evolve, they get ten times stronger." Her voice dropped to barely above a whisper. "You'd be completely outmatched."

  "Exactly," Sol nodded grimly, his hand unconsciously drifting to the energy patch on his chest. "That's why we can't let it happen."

  The room fell into heavy silence, broken only by the distant sounds of the inn settling for the night. Suddenly, Neiva sat bolt upright, her green eyes locking onto Angelo.

  "Wait a second," she said, the realization hitting her like a physical blow. "If you're evolved, that means you almost died!"

  Angelo's eyebrows rose slightly, caught off guard by her concern. "Uh, yeah. Comes with the territory. Aurons run into these situations all the time." He turned away, suddenly finding the window extremely interesting.

  "No, but..." Neiva leaned forward, her voice softening. "It means you were right at death's door, and somehow survived." Her gaze dropped to her hands.

  "That's not... that's not how I evolved," Angelo said, his voice darkening like storm clouds gathering.

  "What do you mean?" Neiva looked up, confusion plain on her face.

  Blue stepped forward smoothly, hands clasped behind his back. "There exists an alternative evolutionary catalyst," he explained, his scholarly tone gentler than usual. "What we term 'Emotional Evolution.'"

  "Emotional...?" Neiva repeated, testing the word.

  "Indeed," Blue nodded. "Fundamentally identical in outcome, but triggered somewhat differently. The individual experiences such profound inner turmoil that their psychological state mirrors a survival situation." His perfect posture softened slightly. "Evolution manifests as if responding to this perceived threat. Standard evolution is already uncommon, but Emotional Evolution is exceptionally rare."

  Understanding dawned in Neiva's eyes, her expression shifting to something more tender. "Your partner... Bill?"

  Angelo's jaw tightened, the name striking him like a physical blow. He closed his eyes briefly, as if gathering strength, then turned to stare out the darkened window. When he finally spoke, his voice carried the weight of old wounds.

  "Yeah," he said quietly. "We somehow got tangled up with Jill the Reaper. She was about to kill me, but he..." Angelo's fist clenched at his side. "He jumped between us. Took the hit meant for me." His shoulders rose and fell with a deep breath. "That's when it happened."

  The confession hung in the air between them. Neiva's hand hovered over Angelo's arm before gently settling on his shoulder. "He must have meant a great deal to you."

  A sad chuckle escaped Angelo, so unlike his usual stern demeanor. "Yeah, like the little brother I never had." His voice roughened around the edges. "I only realized that when it was too late."

  Sol cleared his throat softly. "Maybe we should change the subject," he suggested, his usual playfulness replaced by genuine compassion. He gestured to the glowing patch on his chest. "One severe wound is enough. No need to reopen old ones."

  Angelo nodded, gratitude flickering briefly across his face. "Yeah... you're right."

  The conversation drifted to lighter topics as the night deepened around them. Outside their window, Thunderclap Port settled into darkness, unaware of the storm brewing within its borders – or of the people who would soon bring it to light.