A blink changed Henry's perspective.
He was no longer in the training room; he was now in a completely strange environment.
'What happened?'
He questioned himself as he looked around, trying to analyze his surroundings.
In front of him was a black ocean, stretching far beyond what his eyes could see.
Instinctively, he moved back.
He looked down to see that he was standing on a smooth concrete floor.
At the edges of the floor stood two giant human statues, one at each side.
They both had wings, held burning candles, and had veiled eyes but different expressions on their faces.
One had an unreadable expression and a manly build, while the other was a female who was smiling.
He turned to look behind him to find a similar but different setting.
Just like the other edges, there were two giant winged-human-statues holding candles.
The one with a feminine build looked sad, while the other looked angry. In between them was a throne—an eerily designed black throne.
Seated on that throne was his sister, Olivia.
She had her arms resting on the armrests and looked directly at him with her glowing scarlet eyes.
Once their eyes met, his heart skipped a beat, and he lost all the energy in his legs.
~Thud.~
With a soft thud, he landed on his knees, clutching his burning heart.
It was too much for him; he felt all the emotions he had buried swirling inside–each trying to overcome the others, it was a battle, a painful battle for Henry.
*Drip, drip.*
He looked down to see tears dripping from his eyes.
"What... what's this? Why is it so painful?"
He asked, surprised that he was crying. He had been sure to seal off his emotions over the years, but now...
*Drip, drip, drip.*
More tears rolled down his cheeks uncontrollably.
He quickly used his hands to wipe them off, but it was futile, the more he wiped them the more they kept pouring.
"Why... why am I crying?" he asked with a cracked voice.
He felt a strange sense of relief and ease.
He lifted his gaze to look at his sister, who was still watching him.
"You can't control it." She said
"Why don't you just let it out?"
Her words were like scissors cutting through the remaining resistance he had left.
"Aaaah!"
Henry wailed.
He could no longer contain himself; his emotions leaked out as if a sealed dam had been torn open.
Olivia squinted her glowing scarlet eyes while still looking at Henry.
She then rested her chin on her knuckles; as if following her gesture, a rainy cloud formed above them, and it started to pour.
Though none of the rain reached her, it fell on Henry.
"Hmm? That's strange. I'm sure you had a strong front before.
Why are you crying now? Does it hurt?" she asked, arching her eyebrows.
"How do you expect to survive if you are so weak and fragile?" she added.
"I'm not weak," Henry muttered through his tears. "And I'm not crying because of the pain."
"You aren't?" She paused.
"Then tell me: why are you crying?" she demanded.
"It's heavy... it's too heavy and... it hurts. I don't know why it hurts, but it hurts so much... like my heart is burning." Henry sobbed.
"Why? Why do I have to be the one to suffer? Why has this pain never disappeared? Instead, it has increased.
"Why does my heart keep hurting? And why does it hurt even more whenever I remember my family?
"I thought at first it was the experiment, and when I told Tina about it, she said it was because I was lonely.
"Why do I have a family who all wants me dead? Why do I have to be the host of a stupid demon? It hurts like hell.
"Please..." he pleaded.
"Please stop it."
"Is that so..." Olivia's cold eyes softened for a split second before returning to their normal state—cold and expressionless.
She watched her little brother ball his eyes out. Of course, it wasn't pleasant, but he had to do it to save himself.
She waited for him to finish, and when it seemed like he was beginning to regain control, she commanded,
"Look at me."
Henry lifted his face to meet her gaze.
"Do you know where you are right now?" she asked, and Henry shook his head.
"This is my inner world, otherwise known as my domain. It's called 'The Judgement Bridge.'
"Here, I decide your fate. Whether you're judged as good or bad depends on me, and I'll either reward or punish you.
"Why are you crying? It's because here, all emotions are laid bare—all buried thoughts and intentions are exposed.
"So you're no longer in control of your emotions or yourself."
Henry looked at her, his usually expressionless face now filled with a variety of mixed emotions.
"You're strong—very strong. And I'm not saying this because you're a host to the devil or because you defeated prisoners way stronger than you simultaneously.
"I'm saying this because you've managed to hold in and hold back. I will give you a gift, a gift that needed a certain condition to activate.
"If you're successful, then your life shall truly be yours to control."
...
It was a short meeting. The moment Olivia stood before Henry, he passed out.
He was dragged back to his room and checked over.
Nothing was found wrong with him; he was simply unconscious, so they left him to wake up.
As he lay there, a violet butterfly fluttered above his head, letting sparkles from its wings fall gently onto him.