Henry walked off the arena floor, his body aching but his mind strangely clear. He had won. He looked at his hands, then at the sunstone pendant. It was a victory born of desperation, strategy, and a terrifying partnership with the darkness inside him.
As he climbed the steps back to his section, the reaction was immediate and overwhelming. The students from his class were on their feet, cheering. The wary fear that had followed him for days was gone, replaced by a wave of boisterous, shocked approval. He had won the deciding match. He was their champion, whether he liked it or not.
He sat down next to Kaelen, who gave him a hearty slap on the back. "That was incredible! The flashbang, the dome! How did you even—"
Kaelen's words were cut off as Lyra pushed past him, stopping directly in front of Henry. Her face was a complicated storm of emotions.
"Good job, dweeb," she said, the insult lacking its usual bite.
Then, in a move that shocked Henry, Kaelen, and probably herself, she leaned in and gave him a quick, awkward hug. The contact was stiff and lasted only a second before she seemed to realize what she was doing. She sprang back, her face instantly flushing a deep red.
"I-I got carried away!" she stammered, avoiding his eyes. "S-stop looking at me like that!"
Before Henry could even form a thought, Master Vorn's voice announced the next match. "Terra of Class 2-B versus Faelan of Class 2-C!"
Lyra immediately seized the distraction, her focus shifting to the arena. "CRUSH HIM, TERRA!" she screamed, her loud, abrasive persona returning like a shield.
Down in the medical bay area, Ganriki groaned, slowly regaining consciousness. "Ouch... did I win?" he mumbled, sitting up. "That's why I got knocked out, right? From the strain of my victory?"
One of his friends, who was waiting nearby, shook his head grimly. "You lost, Ganriki. To Henry."
"What?!" Ganriki slammed his fist on the ground. "Dammit! I shouldn't have used the dome! That guy... he's a monster."
"You don't know the half of it," his friend said, his voice low. "I was at the auditorium the other night. The night he blanketed the school in darkness and told everyone not to cross him. Even the teachers were scared, man."
Ganriki went pale, a cold sweat breaking out on his forehead. "His... his changes were so fast as soon as the dome went pitch black. His actions, his moves... even the way he talked and looked. Maybe that's why Master Helia follows him around everywhere." The two boys fell silent, a new, more profound fear replacing their bravado.
In the arena, the fight was intense. Terra's control over plants was impressive, with vines and roots erupting from the sand, but Faelan's summoned familiars—a spectral wolf and a hawk made of wind, were too fast and coordinated. In the last second, the wolf managed to trip Terra, and the hawk pinned her down, forcing her to concede.
Terra returned to the stands, looking dejected. Lyra was fuming. "You had him! Why did you let him get behind you?!"
"Ah, I lost," Terra sighed, ignoring Lyra and plopping down on Henry's other side. "But-" Her face suddenly lit up. She turned and threw her arms around Henry in a cheerful, friendly hug. "At least our Henry won!"
The effect on Lyra was instantaneous. It was like a switch had been flipped. Her face contorted with a rage that seemed to make the air crackle. Tiny arcs of electricity sparked in her eyes. "TERRA!"
Terra pulled back, laughing. "I was just kidding, Lyra! Don't get your circuits in a twist."
"You're insufferable," Lyra hissed. She pointed a trembling finger at the seat Terra was in. "Switch. Now."
Terra rolled her eyes but complied, moving to sit next to Kaelen. Lyra sat down stiffly next to Henry, her face still flushed, refusing to look at him. The spoils of his victory, Henry was beginning to realize, were far more complicated than just a win for his class.
Henry sat in the grandstands, the cheers for his victory a distant, hollow sound. He was waiting for the next match to be announced when a sharp, searing pain shot through his left arm. He cried out, clutching the spot where his tattoo was. It felt like his skin was on fire. Looking down, he saw it. Another of the seven spectral locks on the gate had clicked open.
"Henry." Helia's voice was sharp. She was beside him in an instant, her hand coming to rest on the back of his neck. A wave of cool, calming energy flowed from her touch, not healing the pain, but giving his mind a focal point. He knew what he had to do.
He closed his eyes and dove inward.
The void was chaos. Joseph was fighting desperately, his light-form flickering like a dying candle against the oppressive darkness of Night-Henry. This time, his dark self wasn't alone. Tsukuyomi was there, a solid, gleeful presence, her laughter echoing as she sent tendrils of shadow to harass and distract Joseph, aiding her champion.
Then, a new light bloomed in the darkness. Henry looked to his side and saw a radiant, spectral form of Helia standing beside his own shimmering light-form.
"I can help you," her voice resonated in the void, calm and powerful, "but the battle is yours. Tsukuyomi is connected to him, a part of his essence. I am merely a guest here."
Henry looked at the gate. Two locks now hung open, a gaping invitation to the power sealed within.
"The show's about to start," Dark-Henry said, his gaze flicking from them to Tsukuyomi. She smiled, touching his shoulder, and two shadows detached from his form, solidifying into perfect, silent replicas of him. They rushed forward, one toward Light-Henry, the other toward Helia's astral form.
While the main Dark-Henry and Tsukuyomi continued to press their attack on Joseph, the battle split. Joseph, needing a moment of respite, channeled his energy, forming a tiny, complex seal in his hand. He threw it at Tsukuyomi. It struck her, and with a flash of containing light, she was forcibly ejected from the void.
Back in the real world, Tsukuyomi reappeared on the grandstand bench with a pout. "Boring..." she sighed.
In the void, Henry and Helia defeated the shadow clones with a combined burst of light, their movements surprisingly in sync. They rushed to aid Joseph.
"Even you came," Dark-Henry sighed, a sound of pure annoyance. "All I want is my power back." With a speed that defied logic, he appeared directly behind Helia's light-form. "Bye, bye." His dark katana plunged into her back.
In the real world, Helia gasped, her physical body jolting as if struck. She was awake, her connection severed.
Now it was two against one. Henry, remembering his previous success, tried the tactic again. He threw a small ball of light into the air. But Dark-Henry was ready. He threw a ball of pure shadow to meet it. Instead of a flashbang, the two energies annihilated each other in a contained, silent explosion.
Dark-Henry wagged his finger. "Nuh uh," he mocked. "That will not work."
Joseph rushed forward, his sword a blur. Dark-Henry sighed. "Trying to outnumber me will not work when your ally is weak." In the blink of an eye, he vanished from Joseph's front and appeared behind Light-Henry. The black katana plunged through his back.
Henry awoke with a violent cough, blood spattering his uniform. The world swam back into focus. "I've failed," he whispered to Helia, the taste of defeat bitter in his mouth.
He looked up at the arena. Time had passed. Several matches had already gone by while he was fighting his own internal war.
"Henry! You finally awoke!" Kaelen's voice was filled with relief. "Look!" He pointed to the arena floor. "Lyra is fighting now!"
Henry looked. She was magnificent. An electric field crackled around the arena, and she moved within it like a storm queen, sparks of lightning arcing from her fingertips to strike her opponent with unerring accuracy. She glanced up at the stands, saw Henry watching her, and a faint blush touched her cheeks before she turned away, focusing her full, devastating power on her match. Her opponent, overwhelmed, forfeited.
"The winner is Lyra!" Master Vorn announced.
As Lyra walked off the floor, Headmistress Elara appeared before the students of Class 2-B. "This concludes the demonstrations," she said, a rare smile on her face. "Congratulations on your overall victory. Your performance today has given us valuable insight into how we will form the new expedition teams."