The migraine hit just before dusk.
Not a headache. A violation.
It started behind Teo's left eye—the one that now saw the world in grayscale aura—and spread like cracks in glass across his skull. Every pulse of his heartbeat sent white-hot needles through his temples. Light became pain. Sound became pressure. Even the Lucario's breathing beside him felt like thunder.
He curled on the cracked earth, hands pressed to his forehead, teeth gritted so hard his jaw ached.
"Breathe," he whispered to himself. "Just… breathe."
But breathing didn't stop the aura-vision from overwhelming him. Through his left eye, every rock, every blade of ash-grass, every insect crawling in the dust glowed with faint life-signatures. It was too much. Too loud. Like standing in a silent room while a thousand radios played at once.
The Lucario nudged his shoulder, then pressed its forehead against his temple.
Warmth spread—not physical, but energetic. The chaotic aura-static in Teo's vision softened, just slightly. Focused.
[ SYNCHRONIZATION: 43% ]
[ AURA DAMPING DETECTED — LUCARIO INITIATED PASSIVE SHIELDING ]
Teo exhaled shakily. "Thanks, buddy."
He sat up slowly, wiping blood from his nose with the back of his hand. His shirt was stiff with dried sweat and ash. His ankle still throbbed, but the swelling had gone down—thanks to an awkward but effective compress of crushed obsidian moss and spit, a trick he'd seen his lola use on sprains.
"Alright," he said, voice hoarse. "We can't stay here. Kaelen knows we're alive. And that Milotic… it wasn't fighting. It was obeying. Like a machine."
He looked northeast, toward the shimmer he'd seen earlier. "Water means life. Even in hell."
They moved at a limping pace, Teo leaning on a shard of black rock as a makeshift crutch, the Lucario walking close beside him—its steps steadier now, its aura less frayed.
By midday, the Glass Wastes gave way to jagged cliffs overlooking a vast, sunken basin.
And there, half-drowned in brackish, rust-colored water, stood the ruins of a city.
Towers of steel and concrete leaned like broken teeth. Bridges hung snapped in the middle, their cables trailing into the murky tide. Ships—cargo vessels, fishing trawlers, even a small cruise liner—lay beached or half-submerged, hulls corroded by something far worse than saltwater.
Teo's breath caught.
"Port Ceniza," he murmured, reading the faded letters on a crumbling archway.
Not a name from any Pokémon region he knew. But the architecture—coastal, colonial-era, with hints of Southeast Asian design—felt hauntingly familiar. Like a distorted echo of Manila's old port districts.
"This place…" He swallowed. "It was alive once."
Now, it was a tomb.
The water lapping at the ruins wasn't just dirty. It hissed where it touched metal, leaving behind a white, chalky residue. Acidic. Toxic.
And yet—movement.
Not Scorchclaws. Not Kaelen.
A figure darted between the skeletal remains of a market stall. Small. Quick. Cloaked in layered gray fabric that blended with the ruins.
Teo tensed. "Stay close."
They descended the cliff via a collapsed staircase, every step sending tremors through Teo's ribs. The air smelled of rot, ozone, and something herbal—like burnt sage and wet bark.
As they neared the waterline, a small shape dropped from a rusted crane.
It landed silently in front of them.
A girl. Maybe sixteen. Barefoot, hair cropped short, eyes sharp and watchful. She wore a satchel woven from dried seaweed and bone. At her side stood a Phantump—but unlike the cheerful, stump-like Pokémon from the games, this one was scarred. Half its bark was charred black. One eye glowed faintly; the other was a hollow socket. Vines wrapped around its body like restraints—or armor.
The girl didn't speak.
Instead, she raised a hand and flicked three fingers in a quick sequence: thumb to index, index to chin, palm open downward.
Teo blinked. "You… you're using hand signs?"
She nodded, then tapped the Phantump's head. It released a puff of glowing spores into the air. The scent shifted—now sharp, medicinal, calming.
Teo recognized it. Lagundi. A Filipino herb his lola used for coughs and anxiety.
His guard lowered slightly. "You're from this world?"
She shook her head. Pointed to herself, then drew a circle in the air with her finger—cycle. Then pointed to the sky, where the crimson veins pulsed.
"She's not native," Teo realized aloud. "She's like me. Transferred."
The girl—Yumi, as he'd later learn her name—nodded again. She pulled a small clay cup from her satchel and offered it to him. Inside was a murky green liquid.
Teo hesitated. "What is it?"
She mimed drinking, then pointed to his head, then to her own temple. She closed her eyes and took a slow, deep breath.
Teo understood. For the pain.
He drank.
The taste was bitter—roots, seaweed, something metallic—but within minutes, the migraine dulled from a scream to a whisper.
[ NEURAL STABILIZATION ACHIEVED — TEMPORARY ]
[ TOXICITY WARNING: HERBAL CONCOCTION CONTAINS LOW-GRADE AURA SUPPRESSANTS — USE RESTRICTED TO 3 DOSES/WEEK ]
Teo blinked. "You… you've dealt with people like me before?"
Yumi nodded grimly. She pointed to Teo's left eye, then to the Lucario, then made a fist and opened it—power, released, controlled.
"She knows about synchronization," Teo said, awe creeping into his voice.
Yumi turned and gestured for them to follow.
She led them through the ruins to a hidden chamber beneath a collapsed lighthouse. The space was dry, lined with shelves of dried herbs, vials of glowing fungi, and jars of preserved Pokémon organs—some Teo recognized, others he didn't dare ask about.
Yumi lit a small brazier. The flames burned blue.
She sat and signed again: Safe here. Kaelen avoids the drowned zones. Water disrupts his control.
"Because of the acid?" Teo asked.
She nodded. Then pointed to the Lucario and made a circling motion with her hands around her own chest—core. Breath. Rhythm.
Teo's eyes widened. "You know about Nen?"
Yumi tapped her temple, then pointed to the Phantump. It floated a small, smooth stone into the air and held it perfectly still.
Ren. Aura emission to maintain levitation.
"She's been training," Teo whispered.
Yumi smiled faintly. Then she grew serious. She pointed to Teo, then to the acidic sea outside, then mimed holding her breath underwater.
"You want me to… train in the water?"
She nodded. Pain forces focus. Breath is the bridge. Without control, aura burns you from the inside.
Teo looked at the Lucario. It met his gaze, then gave a single, firm nod.
He sighed. "Of course. Why would training be easy?"
An hour later, Teo stood knee-deep in the acidic tide, teeth clenched against the sting burning his skin. Yumi had coated him in a thick salve that slowed the corrosion, but it didn't stop the pain.
"Alright," he muttered. "Zero. Neutral state. Just… exist."
He closed his eyes. Breathed in for four. Held for four. Out for six.
The Lucario stood on the shore, aura flaring faintly, ready to pull him out if he collapsed.
Teo sank deeper—waist, chest, shoulders.
The water burned like fire.
He held his breath.
And pushed—not outward, but inward. Trying to feel the energy coiled in his core, the same spark that had shielded them from Kaelen's attack.
Nothing.
Just pain. Panic. The urge to surface.
He surfaced, gasping.
"Again," he growled.
He went under.
Failed.
Again.
Failed.
On the fifth try, something shifted.
In the darkness beneath the water, with his lungs screaming and his skin on fire, he stopped trying to push.
He just… let go.
And there it was.
A soft hum in his chest. A warmth. Not bright. Not explosive.
Just present.
Like his breath had become a thread, and the aura was the needle.
[ NEN STAGE 1 UNLOCKED — REN (AURA EMISSION) ]
[ WARNING: NEURAL FRICTION DETECTED — AURA CIRCULATION MISALIGNED ]
He surfaced, coughing, but this time a faint blue glow surrounded his body—flickering, unstable, but there.
Yumi clapped once—quiet, approving.
The Lucario let out a low, proud sound.
Teo sank to his knees in the shallows, exhausted but grinning. "We did it."
Then the vision hit.
Not his own.
A memory—his memory.
Manila. Night. Rain slicking the streets. Teo walks home from work, hoodie up, phone in hand. He types a message to his lola: "On my way home. Save me sinigang?"
He hits send.
Looks up.
Headlight. Blinding. Too close.
No time to scream.
Just impact.
He gasped, tears mixing with acid water.
Yumi was beside him in an instant, pressing a dry cloth to his face, her eyes full of understanding.
She knew. She'd died too.
Teo looked at the Lucario, then at Yumi and her scarred Phantump.
They weren't just survivors.
They were the left behind.
And in this broken world, that was enough to build something new.
Above the ruins, the sky split with purple lightning.
And deep beneath the waves, something ancient stirred.
It had tasted their aura.
And it was curious.