The dust from the explosion had barely begun to settle when Sol and Neiva scrambled backward, putting desperate distance between themselves and the epicenter.

  In the settling cloud, silhouettes moved. Angelo and Red recovered instantly, rolling to their feet with practiced synchronicity. The air crackled with their auras flaring—Angelo's orange and Red’s violent crimson—flashing like warning lights in the gloom.

  The stranger remained on the fountain's edge. He hadn't flinched. He hadn't moved. He simply sat there, watching the figures with the mild interest of a human observing ants.

  "Trinergy Mode! Now!" Angelo’s mental command screamed through their shared link.

  Neither argued. Red and Blue dropped their auras, channeling their output to synchronize with Angelo. A heartbeat later, Angelo’s aura exploded outward, transforming into a chaotic storm of silver shot through with violent veins of crimson, orange and azure.

  Under the shadow of the stranger's hood, the glowing red eyes narrowed slightly. He gave a low, impressed whistle. "Now that is a neat trick."

  He closed his eyes slowly. "But aren't we a little tense? I wouldn't do that if I were you."

  When they snapped back open, the world tilted.

  The air pressure in the town square multiplied a hundredfold. It wasn't just gravity; it was a crushing, spiritual weight that forced the oxygen from their lungs and locked their muscles in place.

  Angelo hit one knee, his boots cracking the pavement. Red snarled, fighting to stay upright but being forced down inch by inch, his knees shaking. Blue simply froze, his logical mind calculating the overwhelming odds and realizing resistance was futile.

  One look at the stranger's eyes was all the explanation they needed.

  Within the glowing red irises, nebulae swirled. Galaxies were born and died in the span of a blink. It wasn't just a unique eye color; it was a doorway to the cosmos.

  "Enlightened..." Blue whispered, his voice strained under the pressure. He dropped his combat stance immediately, his hands hanging uselessly at his sides.

  The silver reinforcement around Angelo shattered, leaving him in his blood-orange, Sub-Trinergy Mode. Without the support, the pressure hit him like a physical hammer.

  Sol was trembling, his heart hammering against his ribs like a trapped bird. "This is bad," he thought, his mind racing through worst-case scenarios. "If this Enlightened has gone rogue, we’re dead. We are literally deleted."

  Then, a realization struck him. It was a gamble, a desperate logic puzzle, but it was the only card they had. He straightened his spine, fighting the crushing weight, and cut off his aura.

  "Oh?" The Enlightened let out a soft sound of curiosity, eyeing Sol.

  "Everyone, stand down," Sol commanded, his voice strained but steady.

  "But—" Neiva started, her hands still glowing yellow.

  "He won't hurt us," Sol stated, forcing conviction into his tone.

  "How can you know that?!" Red yelled, his crimson eyes wild with fury as he tried to push against the invisible weight. "I don't trust these cosmic runts!"

  Sol shook his head, keeping his eyes fixed on the stranger. "If he had truly gone rogue and wanted us dead, we wouldn't be having this conversation. We’d be ash before our neurons could fire." He took a step forward. "Which means you are bound by the NIL. Aren't you?"

  The stranger chuckled. The sound was rich and amused. He stood up, hands in his pockets, though the crushing pressure didn't abate.

  "Haha. You're a sharp one, kid. I like you." His grin widened, revealing teeth that looked too white in the twilight. It was a predatory expression. "But I wouldn't get comfortable just yet. The Non-Intervention Law forbids me from interfering in human affairs. But I'm here to determine if you are a human affair, or a threat to the natural order. And if you're the latter? The rules change."

  A collective shudder ran down their spines. He took a casual step forward, the dust parting around his boots. "Alright, I'll cut to the chase. Which one of you summoned the phenomenon described as 'frozen lightning in the sky'?"

  The question hung in the air, bizarre and specific.

  "Shit," Angelo cursed under his breath.

  "Do we run? Play stupid? What does he want from us?!" Red panicked in the shared headspace.

  The stranger let out a laugh, tilting his head. "I think I’ll hazard a guess and say... it’s you three." He pointed a lazy finger, sweeping it across Angelo, Red, and Blue.

  "What makes you say that?" Angelo asked through clenched teeth, sweat stinging his eyes.

  "Oh, I don't know. Maybe the fact that your aura changed colors twice just now?" He pointed a finger at Angelo, then wagged it toward Red and Blue. "And it looks like that little light show is directly connected to your twins here." He tapped his chin. "That ain't normal. Even for us."

  Angelo felt cold sweat stick his shirt to his back. "If we say yes... then what?"

  "Then I get to the bottom of it," he explained simply. "What? You thought you could just light up the atmosphere, rewrite a few laws of physics, and not answer some very serious questions afterwards?"

  "How is this not intervention?!" Red shouted, taking a step forward despite the pressure. "You coming here and—mmpphn!"

  Sol moved faster than he had all day, grabbing Red in a headlock and clapping a hand over his mouth. "What my fiery friend here meant to ask is: what are you permitted to do after you hear the answer?"

  The stranger rocked back on his heels. "That depends on the answer." His gaze shifted back to Angelo. "So. Who were you trying to contact?"

  They blinked.

  "What?" Angelo mumbled.

  "Don't make me repeat myself," the Enlightened said. Crimson energy crackled around him.

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  Blue stepped forward, deftly moving into the spotlight. He executed a bow that wouldn't shame a royal butler. "My apologies, Mister...?"

  There was a pause. The red eyes twinkled. "Fang. Yan Fang."

  "Of course, Mr. Fang," Blue said smoothly. "Please excuse my colleagues. Allow me to clear up any confusion. We, in fact, did not attempt to contact anyone."

  "Didn't you now?" Yan didn't sound convinced.

  "If you don't mind," Neiva stepped forward, her voice trembling slightly. "What makes you assume he was contacting someone?"

  Yan glanced at her, and she flinched as if touched. "Because we Enlightened can communicate using a cosmic link," he stated casually. He turned back to Angelo. "Though, truth be told, what was described didn't sound like you undergoing enlightenment. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been frozen lightning, but an aurora."

  "Doesn't that answer your question then?!" Red snapped, shoving Sol’s arm away.

  "Yeah!" Angelo agreed, standing beside his crimson counterpart.

  Yan wiggled a finger playfully. "Nuh-uh. I asked what it was, not what it wasn't."

  Angelo grumbled, but Blue continued. "To put it simply, we attempted to draw our collective energies through Angelo’s energy connection. We were backed against a wall during a previous conflict. Desperation breeds innovation."

  "And that's putting it simply..." Neiva deadpanned.

  Yan started chuckling. Then the chuckle turned into a full-blown laugh. "Jackpot." He clapped his hands together, the sound like a gunshot. "You Angelo, right?"

  Angelo squinted suspiciously. "Yes... why?"

  Yan's grin turned sharp. "The Angel of Death? The one mentioned in Goldstein's theoretical paper? That Angelo?"

  "You know me?" Angelo asked, completely thrown off balance.

  "Know you?" Yan exclaimed, throwing his hands up. "I've been obsessed with you for a while! I've been dying to meet you!" He leaned in, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "And just like that, destiny delivers. We meet at last."

  Sol and Angelo both took sharp, shaky breaths. "Great," Angelo muttered. "I have a fan club."

  Yan began circling the three manifestations like a shark in shallow water. "When I first heard the about you, I didn't think much of it. Novaria isn’t known for it’s Aurons. But I did a little digging..."

  The Trio watched him warily, turning their heads in unison as he paced around them.

  "...That's when I found Professor Goldstein's paper on the 'Components of Pure Energy.'" He stopped pacing, facing them. "As an Enlightened Energy Auron myself, I felt compelled to read it." He pointed at Red, then Angelo, then Blue. "Negative. Neutral. Positive. The Trinity of energy. I put two and two together... Let's just say I'm not surprised to see three of you standing here."

  Blue looked utterly shocked, his composure cracking. "Are you saying you deduced our specific condition from the theoretical framework alone? Impossible. The Professor made no direct mentions precisely to prevent—"

  "Save your outrage," Yan cut him off with a wave of his hand. "He may be brilliant, but he lacks foresight. If I were you, I'd remove your names from the paper before someone less... friendly catches on." He paused, his voice turning somber. "Though, it's probably too late for that."

  "Wait," Sol cut through the tension, his detective mind latching onto a loose thread. "You said you heard about Angelo before the paper. From where?"

  Yan turned to Sol, hands deep in his jacket pockets. "Oh, just an old friend of mine. An old soul who’s seen better days. He regarded Angelo quite highly."

  "An old soul? Friend of an Enlightened..." Neiva muttered, connecting dots. Her eyes went wide. "Wait. Rorck!?"

  Yan winked. "Heh. That's the one."

  "Rorck told you how to find us?" Sol asked, confused. "No, that makes zero sense. He couldn’t have known."

  "Yeah, how did you find us anyway?!" Red shouted, fists clenched.

  "I told you. Destiny," Yan said, smirking.

  "Destiny, shmestiny! You think we buy that cosmic BS!?" Red yelled.

  "It's true," Yan said, unfazed. "The Society received reports of the frozen lightning event. They looked for a volunteer to investigate." He dusted off his jacket. "I volunteered specifically because I had a gut feeling I was going to run into this particular anomaly." He jabbed a finger at the Trio.

  Yan’s expression sobered. "Which brings me to the next line of questioning." He locked eyes with them. "When I arrived, you were attempting something. What was it?"

  "And why should we tell you? Eh?!" Red crossed his arms defiantly. "We told you what you wanted, right? So fuck off."

  Yan’s shoulders shook with silent laughter. "Ah, courage. Or stupidity. Hard to tell." The pressure in the air spiked, cracking the pavement beneath their feet. "From where I stand, you three are a walking natural disaster. For all I know, you were attempting to tear the fabric of reality, summon demons, or collapse a dimension. I don't know. The Enlightened Society doesn't know."

  "You can't be serious..." Angelo hissed through clenched teeth.

  "If you refuse to cooperate, I am within full authority to define you as a 'Threat to Nature' and eliminate you where you stand." His aura shifted, the air around him distorting like heat haze.

  "Alright, alright! We'll talk," Angelo said, raising his hands. "Blue."

  "Allow me." Blue stepped forward again, adjusting his imaginary glasses. "If you recall the Professor's paper, our energies naturally repel one another."

  "Make it short," Yan demanded.

  "Of course," Blue sighed. "A method to fuse the components was discovered. Neutral and Negative yield a tenfold increase in potency. What you witnessed was practice for Energy Fusion."

  Silence followed Blue's words. Yan didn't speak; he just stared at them, the galaxies in his eyes swirling lazily.

  "P-please, believe them," Sol started, stepping up beside Angelo. "They are telling the truth."

  "Alright," Yan said simply. “I believe you.”

  The pressure vanished instantly.

  Yan pulled down his hood, revealing messy, windblown brown hair. His aura winked out, and his eyes returned to a natural, albeit intense, blue. He chuckled, the sound entirely human. "Man, you guys are tense. You need to learn to chill."

  "CHILL?!" Red screamed, his voice cracking with outrage. "The guy literally comes here, flexes his big cosmic muscles, threatens to execute us, and tells US to CHILL?!"

  Yan plugged one ear with a pinky finger as Sol and Angelo tried to physically restrain Red, who was thrashing and cursing.

  "Please try to understand," Neiva said softly, trying to salvage the diplomacy. "We've been... hunted. We’re jumpy."

  Yan nodded sympathetically. "Makes sense." He looked at the wrestling men. "Guess I was right. It's already too late to remove those names from the paper." He sighed. "Still. Good practice to scrub your digital footprint."

  He walked over and tapped Blue on the shoulder, ignoring Red’s frothing rage. "Blue, right? How far along are you with this fusion thing?"

  Blue straightened his suit. "Truth be told, we haven't had a major breakthrough. It is volatile."

  Yan hummed. "Can't push it together?"

  Blue shook his head. "We can force the contact. But the result is incredibly unstable. It detonates the moment control wavers."

  Yan nodded thoughtfully. "Have you tried rotation?" he asked, sounding like a mechanic suggesting an oil change. "I find spin helps with stabilization. Centrifugal force creates a heck of a binding."

  "As a matter of fact, we did. But alas, to no avail."

  "You know, rotation comes in many forms," Yan continued, lifting a finger. "Take electrons orbiting atoms, well not really orbit but—"

  "Don't pretend like you care!" Red broke free from Sol’s grip, marching toward the Enlightened. "You treated us like weaklings! Ants on your boot! If it weren't for that NIL or whatever, we wouldn't even be having this conversation."

  Yan smiled at him, a genuine, sunny smile. "Think so?"

  Red crossed his arms, leaning into the taller man's space. "Don't act cute with me. You got your answers, right? So how about you run along and go report back to your overlords?"

  "Red, please, that's no way to—" Blue started.

  "I'm with Red on this one," Angelo said, his voice cold. He stepped up beside his other self. "You got what you came for. Leave us."

  Blue looked absolutely shocked. He glanced between his brothers and the cosmic entity, looking for a trapdoor to fall through. Sol looked away, hands in his pockets. Neiva studied the ground.

  "M-Mr. Fang, I... I—" Blue was at a loss for words.

  "Don't worry about it," Yan said. There was an edge to his casualness now, a sharpness that warned them not to push further. "We get the cold shoulder all the time. Comes with the territory."

  He turned his back to them. A gentle, terrifying aura ignited around his frame—crimson and silent.

  "It was nice meeting you all. Back to the shadows with me." He looked over his shoulder, one red eye flashing visible again. "Thanks. It has been... Enlightening."

  He offered a lazy, backhanded wave.

  And then he was gone.

  No sound. No flash. Just... absence. It was faster than their brains could process the visual data.

  "Cosmic prick," Red muttered into the silence. He turned and started marching toward the CampShip. "Let's ditch this place. The mood is completely ruined."

  They followed Red's lead, the adrenaline crash leaving them exhausted. Blue, however, lingered for a moment, staring at the empty space where Yan had stood, looking conflicted.

  As they walked away, the shadows of the ghost town seemed to stretch longer, deeper.

  Yan Fang had returned to the darkness. The question was: what else was waiting in there with him?