The air grew thinner as Adlet and Polo left the valley behind, ascending the rocky path toward the next mountain. Their limbs were still stiff from the Stonefang Goat battle, but both boys walked with renewed determination. The valley's oppressive silence had lifted, yet in the mountains, danger felt sharper—cleaner, as if every exposed ridge were a blade pressed against the back of their necks.
No trees.
No alcoves to hide behind.
Only stone, wind, and the distant cries of unseen Apexes sweeping across the peaks above.
"I want us to find a place with at least a bit of cover," Polo said after some time, scanning the barren slope. "Somewhere stable enough for me to explain that… thing I mentioned earlier."
Adlet nodded. "Right. The new way to use Aura. I've been thinking about it nonstop."
They continued upward until they reached a narrow indentation in the mountainside—a shallow recess carved by erosion, just deep enough to shelter them from the wind and hide them from aerial predators. It wasn't much, but compared to the rest of the exposed cliffs, it felt almost safe.
They settled inside. Polo inhaled, the faint glow of his Aura forming at the tips of his fingers.
"Alright," he began. "Before anything else… I should tell you the name of my Guardian."
Adlet leaned forward, attentive.
"It's a Sinuous Octopus," Polo said. "A very elastic creature. It can stretch its body, absorb impacts most creatures couldn't survive… and compress itself to strike or grapple with shocking force."
To illustrate, he extended a single tentacle-shaped strand of blue Aura, letting it coil fluidly around his arm before retracting it in a ribbon-like snap.
Adlet blinked in awe. Even after seeing Polo use his Aura in combat, watching it displayed with such control felt different—calm, refined, intentional.
"But that's the point," Polo continued. "I don't just give my Aura the shape of a tentacle. I manifest the tentacle itself—its nature, its elasticity, its purpose. I channel the Guardian's body as if it were my own."
Adlet felt an uncomfortable jolt in his chest.
He thought of his own Aura—of the green whip he'd been so proud of, sharpened through endless training.
Almost defensively, his hand rose, and with a spark of emerald light, the familiar Aura whip unfurled from his fingers. It hissed softly through the air.
"I've already learned how to do this," Adlet said. "Materializing its form, extending it, reinforcing—"
Polo raised a hand. Not mocking. Just patient.
"You've shaped it beautifully," he said. "But tell me something… What species gave you that power?"
"A Bind Lizard," Adlet replied. "Its tail is a deadly weapon—sharp, flexible, fast. It can split bark in one strike. And its whip attack is famous for—"
"And have you ever used it like that?" Polo interrupted gently.
Adlet opened his mouth. Closed it.
Heat rose to his cheeks.
"No… I still struggle to control it properly," he admitted.
Polo nodded with a knowing hum.
"That's because, up until now, you've only made an Aura rope that looks like a Bind Lizard's tail. But you haven't manifested the tail itself. You haven't embodied the creature's intent."
Adlet stared at his glowing whip. For the first time, it felt… hollow.
"You've been focusing on reinforcing your body with Aura," Polo said. "And you're incredible at it. Truly. But that's only half of what a Protector does. To really unleash a Guardian's potential, you must manifest its body—its instincts—its function."
Adlet swallowed. Images of the Ruby Turtle flashed in his mind—the weight of its shell, the crushing force of its charge.
"A destructive whip," Polo murmured. "An unbreakable shell. A Guardian's gifts aren't tricks, Adlet. They're parts of us."
Something clicked in Adlet's chest. Not a revelation—more like recognition.
As if he had always known there was a missing piece.
"I understand," Adlet whispered. "Or… I think I'm starting to."
"Good," Polo said with a grin. "Then let's start practicing."
Training began with the Bind Lizard's tail. Polo insisted on it.
"It's already the form you're most familiar with," he said. "Once you get the mechanics right, transferring the method to your other Aura will be much easier."
Adlet closed his eyes.
He pictured the Bind Lizard—not just the tail but the creature as a whole. Its way of moving, the coil of its body before it struck, the tension running down its spine. He imagined its tail not attached to it…
…but attached to him.
He wasn't just Adlet.
He was a boy and a lizard.
Strength in muscle.
Whiplash speed in the spine.
Motion feeding into impact.
The Aura whip flickered.
Then it shifted.
Its color deepened.
The edges sharpened.
The coil vibrated with something alive.
When Adlet cracked it toward the stone wall, the sound split the air in a sharp, violent snap—far louder than ever before. A long scar tore across the rock.
Polo's eyes widened. "That… that was incredible. You felt it, didn't you? The difference?"
Adlet let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. "Yeah. It felt like… like the tail moved on its own. I didn't force it. I just let it strike."
"That's it," Polo said, smiling. "You're really talented, Adlet. Not many can grasp this technique so quickly."
A warm rush of pride spread through Adlet's chest.
But he knew this was only the beginning.
"Next," he said, turning toward the red Aura humming gently in his body, "the Ruby Turtle."
Polo nodded approvingly.
If mastering the Bind Lizard tail felt natural, manifesting the Ruby Turtle's carapace felt like wrestling with a boulder.
The turtle was heavy.
Dense.
Ancient.
Adlet focused, imagining its shell—not as a shape, but as an anchor, a fortress, a weight that nothing could shatter.
His Aura cracked and flickered, forming incomplete plates, unstable layers that shattered before taking form.
"Don't force it," Polo reminded gently. "A shell doesn't rush. It endures."
Hours passed. Darkness settled over the mountain. Polo gathered stones, vines, and dry grass, assembling a small camp while Adlet continued his silent struggle with the carapace.
Finally…
A heartbeat.
A pulse.
A shift in the air.
Adlet extended his hand.
A deep crimson glow burst outward, stopping exactly half a meter in front of his palm. The light folded into itself, hardening, sharpening, until a Ruby Aura shell materialized—one meter wide, hexagonal patterns etched naturally into its surface.
An actual carapace.
Polo froze mid-step.
"Adlet…" he whispered. "That's—"
He struck the shield with a blue Aura tentacle.
Full force.
The shell didn't even tremble.
Polo lowered his arm slowly, stunned. "Prodigious."
Adlet let out a shaky laugh. "I have to honor your advice somehow."
"You already did," Polo replied, eyes shining with genuine pride. "But that's enough for today. We should eat and rest. Tomorrow… we'll need all our strength."
Adlet dispelled the carapace and sank down beside the small fire Polo had prepared. The night settled around them, cold but strangely comforting after such progress.
They ate in companionable silence, muscles aching, spirits full.
When they finally lay down to rest, Adlet stared at the shadowed ceiling of the rock alcove, unable to stop the faint smile tugging at his lips.
Tomorrow…
Tomorrow felt like a doorway waiting to be opened.
And the mountains, harsh and dangerous as they were, seemed to hold their breath—
as if something was coming.
Something that would test everything he had just learned.