The abandoned laboratory stood silent and forgotten, its walls scarred by time and decay. Seven years of neglect had transformed the once-pristine facility into a hollow shell of broken glass and rusted metal. Thick layers of dust coated the remnants of equipment, their shapes made strange by the passing years. The sound of small footsteps echoed through empty corridors as a young boy made his way through the ruins.
His fingers traced along the crumbling walls, leaving trails in the dust. Brown eyes, still wet with tears, searched every corner and crevice as if the answers he sought might be hidden in the decay. Yellowed papers rustled beneath his feet, their contents long since faded. Creeping vines had found their way through cracks in the ceiling, draping the ruins in curtains of green.
The late afternoon sun filtered through broken windows, casting strange shadows across the boy's path. Each step stirred up clouds of dust, making the air shimmer around him.
"This place is depressing!" a voice echoed in his mind, bubbling with restless energy. "Come on, let's do something fun instead! I know exactly how to get back at those jerks from recess—"
The boy squeezed his eyes shut, pressing his small hands against his ears as if that could silence the voice inside his head. Fresh tears threatened to spill as he shook his head.
"Don't listen to him," another voice chimed in, trying to sound grown-up but still unmistakably childish. "The other kids are only mean because you keep doing what he says. Just ignore them and—"
"You're no fun!" the first voice shot back. "They pushed us down and laughed! We can't just let them get away with it!"
The voices continued their argument as the boy pressed his forehead against the cool, damp wall. His shoulders trembled as new tears carved paths down his dust-stained cheeks.
A heavy door creaked behind him.
"There you are, Angelo," a gentle voice called out, silencing the internal argument. "I had a feeling I'd find you here."
The boy turned, hastily wiping his eyes with his sleeve. Sleeser stood in the doorway, his spiky hair catching the light of sunset. "Come on," he said, his voice carrying a mix of sympathy and purpose. "You've got more aura training to do. Can't get stronger hiding in old ruins, now can you?"
Twenty minutes later, in a small clearing behind the lab, Angelo's eyes snapped open. He scratched his head furiously, his whole body fidgeting with pent-up energy from sitting still in mediation for so long.
"I can't take this anymore!" he wailed, bouncing up and down where he sat. "I think I'm starting to prefer the pushups and situps!"
"Now, now," Sleeser said, a hint of amusement playing across his features. "The mental training is just as important as the physical training."
"I hate this stupid training!" Angelo jumped to his feet and kicked a loose rock, sending it skittering across the ground. His face scrunched up in frustration. The voices in his head seemed equally restless - one urging him to kick more rocks, the other suggesting he at least try to understand.
Sleeser watched his young student's tantrum with patient eyes. "I thought you wanted to be an Auron like me?"
"I doooooo," Angelo dragged out the word, slumping his shoulders dramatically. "But this is so boring! Why do I even need to do this?"
Sleeser's expression grew more serious. "Do you know what makes someone an Auron, Angelo?"
Angelo shook his head, his frustration momentarily forgotten.
"All around us, there are invisible channels where energy flows, like rivers that we can't see." Sleeser held out his hand, letting his orange aura flicker to life. "We call these 'energy connections.' What makes Aurons special is that we can sense these channels and learn to draw energy from them."
"Really?" Angelo's eyes widened. Even the voices in his head grew quiet with interest.
"Yes, but it's not easy. That's why we need both physical and mental training. Your body needs to be strong enough to handle the energy, and your mind needs to be focused enough to sense and control it." Sleeser let his aura fade. "That's what the meditation is for - learning to quiet your mind so you can feel these energy connections. Only then can you connect to the universe and draw from its infinite energy."
Angelo frowned thoughtfully. "I've seen you in action, Sleeser. I really don't think its as infinite as you say."
"Ah, good observation." Sleeser smiled. "Let me explain it this way. Have you ever seen the ocean?"
Angelo shook his head again.
"Well, imagine the biggest pool of water you can think of - so big it goes on forever. That's like the universe's energy - endless, infinite. Now, imagine you have a small swimming pool on a piece of land near the ocean, and you want to fill it with ocean water through a pipe."
"Okay..." Angelo nodded slowly.
"The ocean never runs out of water, right? But your pool can only hold so much. And the pipe can only move water so fast. That's exactly how it works for Aurons. We have access to unlimited energy, but we can only control as much as our 'pool' can hold, and we can only draw it as fast as our 'pipe' allows."
Sleeser created a sphere of orange energy. "This isn't even a fraction of the energy that's out there. But it's what I can safely control right now. That's why we train - to make our 'pool' bigger and our 'pipe' wider."
Understanding dawned in Angelo's eyes. For once, both voices in his head were completely silent, absorbing this new information. Then, suddenly, excitement overtook him.
"When I unlock my aura, I hope it's silver!" he bounced excitedly in his seated position. "That would look so cool! Like a superhero!"
"Anything but orange," one of the voices groaned in his head. "Look at Sleeser, he's so boring! All proper and stuff. If we get orange, we might end up like that!"
"I don't think that's how it works," the other voice chimed in. "Though silver would be nice..."
Sleeser chuckled, shaking his head at Angelo's excited chatter. "The color isn't something you can choose, you know. It's just part of who you are."
"Aww," Angelo's shoulders slumped momentarily before perking up again. "Well, whatever color it is, I bet it'll be awesome! Way cooler than orange!"
"Hey!" Sleeser raised an eyebrow, trying to look stern but failing to hide his amusement. "What's wrong with orange?"
"Nothing!" Angelo said quickly, then added in a stage whisper, "But silver would still be cooler."
"Alright, alright," Sleeser laughed. "Less dreaming about colors, more meditation. You won't unlock any aura at all if you don't focus."
This time when Angelo closed his eyes, he couldn't quite suppress his grin as he imagined himself surrounded by a brilliant silver glow. The late afternoon sun continued its descent, casting long shadows across the training ground as master and student sat in companionable silence, the ruins of the old lab standing guard behind them.