The days that followed fell into a new, exhausting routine. Mornings were spent in the silent meditation room with Helia, where Henry fought just to exist in the space between his light and darkness. He could only manage the balance for a few seconds at a time, and the effort left him more drained than any physical fight ever had. Afternoons were filled with academic classes, each one a performance of normality under the watchful eyes of Helia, the sneers of Lyra, and the curious whispers of the other students.
Today's class was "Basic Magic Theory" with Master Kael. The amphitheater classroom was quiet as the smoke-handed professor moved across the lecture stage.
"Up to now, we've focused on manifestation," Master Kael began, his calm voice filling the space. "Today, we discuss the source of that power. Mana. The internal soul-energy you all use to shape reality. Think of it like your breath. You can hold it, you can release it, but it's finite. Every spell has a cost."
He gestured, and a small blue crystal floated down in front of every student. "These are mana gauges. Today, the exercise is simple. You will form a sphere of your personal energy, the purest manifestation of your mana, and hold it. The gauge will measure your total reserves and the rate of consumption required to maintain the sphere. Control and efficiency are the pillars of a powerful mage."
A low hum filled the room as the students began. In front of him, Lyra effortlessly produced a perfectly stable, crackling orb of electricity, her gauge flaring with a bright light, indicating vast reserves. Kaelen, a few rows down, created a sphere of soft, warm light, his gauge showing a slow, steady drain.
Henry closed his eyes. His task was different. He wasn't trying to manifest power; he was trying to tap his source. He reached his consciousness inward, to the familiar battlefield. He reached for the darkness, his Lunari heritage, the source of the power he needed for this exercise.
And he hit a wall.
It wasn't a wall of stone or force, but one of pure, stubborn will. His night-self. He could feel the vast, calm reservoir of shadow power, but he couldn't access it. It was like trying to draw water from a well guarded by a jealous dragon.
*This is mine,* a voice hissed in his mind, not with anger, but with an icy possessiveness. *You will not waste it on parlor tricks. This power is not meant to be measured. It is meant to be used.*
His other self was actively blocking him, hoarding the darkness like treasure. He wasn't sharing.
Frustrated and starting to panic, Henry switched tactics. He turned his attention to the light, his Solari heritage. Just like before, it was a skittish, crackling ball of energy. He tried to draw on it, not with fear, but with the focused intent Helia was teaching him.
For a split second, it worked. A tiny, flickering flame of white light, the size of his fingernail, sparked into existence in his palm. It wasn't stable, it wasn't controlled, but it was there.
And then, it vanished. Snuffed out like a candle in a hurricane. It had lasted less than a second.
Henry opened his eyes, his heart sinking. Another failure. He looked down at his mana gauge. Unlike the others, which glowed with the energy of their users, his was dark. Inactive.
"Interesting," Master Kael's voice made Henry jump. The professor was standing beside him, his smoke-hands swirling as he stared at the inert gauge. "Mr. Henry, the gauge has registered no mana consumption. At all."
Henry frowned. "But… I did something. I saw it."
"Indeed," Master Kael said, his eyes narrowing in deep thought. "A photokinetic manifestation, however brief. And yet, your mana pool is completely untouched. It is as if… the power didn't come from you."
The room went quiet as everyone turned to listen in. Lyra snorted, whispering to her friend, "Of course it didn't come from him. He doesn't have any."
*She's not entirely wrong,* Tsukuyomi's voice laughed in his head. *Why would you need a bucket of water when you're the ocean itself?*
Her words, coupled with Master Kael's observation, collided in Henry's mind. He hadn't spent anything. The little flicker of light hadn't drained a resource. It had just… happened. The shadow power his other self hoarded… it wasn't fuel. It was a fundamental part of him. And the light… it was, too.
He wasn't a mage using mana to create magic.
He *was* the magic.
The darkness and the light weren't spells he cast; they were his very nature at war. He didn't have a power reserve to draw from. He *was* the source.
The realization hit him with the force of a physical blow. This was why he couldn't control anything. He was trying to follow the rules of a game he wasn't even playing. Everyone else had an engine and a fuel tank. He was two rival stars, one dark and one bright, trapped in the same fragile orbit.
Master Kael looked at Henry, his expression a mix of academic wonder and genuine concern. Helia, sitting beside Henry, didn't look surprised at all. She just watched, her golden gaze confirming what he was only now beginning to understand.
He wasn't like them. And that truth was a far scarier abyss than any rivalry or runaway power.