Night-Henry's twisted ambition hung in the air, darker than any shadow he could conjure. For once, Helia had no retort. Her balance plan… had been hijacked. Turned into a weapon.
Tsukuyomi? She was practically glowing with joy.
But the real war wasn't in the room. It was inside Henry's soul.
Somewhere deep inside, Day-Henry had heard it all. The plan. The threat. The intention to steal his light, corrupt it, erase him.
And for the first time, fear wasn't the loudest feeling.
It was rage.
Not screaming rage—but a cold, calm defiance. The kind that builds revolutions.
No.
The word didn't echo—it reverberated in the shared space of their minds. So sharp, it made Night-Henry pause.
Day-Henry's voice, clear and unshaken: Just like you deny me your shadow, I deny you my light. It's messy. It's unstable. But it's mine.
And in that moment—something clicked. If their boundary used to be fog, now it was a concrete wall. Day-Henry had learned from his dark half. He threw up a barrier made of pure will. And behind it, his chaotic light no longer trembled—it stood.
Night-Henry reached for the spark he'd held just moments ago—only to find emptiness. The link was gone. Severed.
Each half locked back into their realm: light and dark. The path to domination was shut.
A tense silence filled the air. Then Night-Henry laughed—not out of joy, but out of dark appreciation. His little prisoner had learned how to build his own cage.
"So be it," he said aloud, that eerie smile still glued to his face. He turned toward Helia. "I don't need your flickering light to break you."
And to his other self: I'll just grow so strong in the dark that your light fades in my shadow.
He opened the door to leave, just as two people were about to knock.
Kaelen and Lyra.
Kaelen's eyes widened at the sight—black hair, glowing red eyes, that cocky predator stance. The air around him felt suffocating.
"Henry?" Kaelen asked, voice barely a whisper. "Is that… you?"
Lyra froze. Her eyes scanned him—recognition, fear, and something more complex. This was the monster from her nightmares. This was the power she had provoked.
Night-Henry tilted his head, grin widening.
"Well, well, look who's here. Mr. Spoon Whisperer and his Spark Queen. Lost? Or here for the main event?"
He stepped forward, and Kaelen instinctively backed away.
"Let me guess," he said, pointing at Kaelen. "You came to check on your charity project. Make sure sad boy wasn't crying himself to sleep. So noble. So pointless."
His eyes slid to Lyra. The grin turned razor-sharp. "And you. Back for round two? Gonna call me weak again? Or maybe whisper how hot I am before pretending you don't want me?"
Lyra flushed, speechless.
"Don't worry, kids," he purred, brushing past them. "Class is over. But stay tuned. The real lesson's just beginning."