Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-32.208.226.199-20160526161241/@comment-7622429-20160906172526

SpiritedDreaming wrote: We have actually been told outright by the creators that aura "is a health bar", and also that it is similar to the overshield from Halo. That's why we make the comparisons.

In fact, here's a link. Line 19, Miles says it. Okay, that helps clear things up. However, knowing how shielding works in Halo, I can make a more educated guess on the matter. Energy shielding can negate kinetic energy from projectiles and other sources of harm, but they still depend on the physical limits of the user and how they interact with the environment. For example, shots to the head, whilst they won't cause harm until they pierce the shielding, can still cause the head to reel back since the shields don't negate "all" kinetic energy.

Aura, then, isn't simply an additional layer of defense, but a reactive and body-dependent mechanism that still adheres to certain physical principles and limitations. We can see this in how Aura users may not be harmed by an attack's totality, but their bodies still react to leftover kinetic energy that hasn't been negated. Thus, my comparisons to Ki in terms of usage retain credence, since the manner of channeling Aura through the body and external objects is quite similar compared to energy shielding, thus leading to situations where someone like Ren can stop a King Taijitu's fangs from overwhelming his block.