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Chapter 29 - The Price of a Broken Seal

Day-Henry stood frozen in the spectral void, the reality of his situation crashing down on him. This wasn't a separate world; it was the battlefield inside his own soul.

"I bet I can beat you in five seconds," Night-Henry said, his voice laced with bored confidence.

And then he was gone. He didn't run; he dissolved into a flat, featureless shadow on the ground, which shot across the void with impossible speed. Day-Henry's eyes widened, but he had no time to react. The shadow reappeared directly behind him, solidifying back into his dark counterpart. A single, brutal punch connected with his spine.

The impact was absolute. Day-Henry was launched through the empty air, tumbling like a ragdoll toward where Joseph's spirit was struggling to stand. The old warrior's shimmering arms caught him, the spectral contact feeling both insubstantial and grounding.

"Only one punch? Weak," Tsukuyomi's laughter echoed, a sound of pure, cruel delight.

"Henry, are you okay?" Joseph's voice was strained, filled with a weariness that went soul-deep. "I've been trying to talk to you, but he found a way into me... into the connection. Since the seal broke, I've been here, protecting the gate. But my soul is getting tired. If the seal completely breaks, my soul will vanish, and he will become unstoppable."

Henry nodded weakly, the non-physical pain of the blow radiating through him.

Night-Henry laughed, a low, rumbling sound. "Once I get my full power, I'm going to enjoy destroying everything. I've been locked away for fourteen years, just watching this weakling on his daily struggles. I refuse to only be out for half of the day. It's your time to be the watcher."

He moved, a blur of darkness, his katana a streak of silver aimed to pierce Joseph's heart. The old warrior reacted with the instinct of a lifetime, his own spectral sword deflecting the attack with a shower of sparks. As they fought, their blades a dance of light and shadow, Day-Henry forced himself to his feet. He had to help.

He rushed in, trying to flank his dark self, throwing a series of clumsy but desperate punches and kicks. He wasn't a match for his counterpart's skill, but his interference created an opening. Joseph saw it and, with a powerful lunge, disarmed Night-Henry, sending his katana spinning away.

But before Joseph could press his advantage, a tendril of shadow shot out from where Tsukuyomi stood watching, wrapping around the hilt of the falling sword and yanking it away into the darkness.

"No cheating, old man," she chirped.

The fight devolved into hand-to-hand combat. Joseph and Day-Henry against the avatar of darkness. Night-Henry moved with a fluid, terrifying grace, easily deflecting their combined attacks. He blocked a punch from Joseph, parried a kick from Henry, and let out a theatrical yawn.

"I'm getting tired, so..."

Faster than a thought, he spun. There was a flash of dark metal. Day-Henry looked down. The black katana was impaled through his chest. A phantom pain, so intense it felt real, exploded within him. He gasped, falling to his knees as the world around him began to waver.

"Oh no, he's gone," Tsukuyomi sighed with exaggerated sadness. "I was enjoying this so much~."

The last thing Day-Henry saw was Joseph's horrified face as the old warrior continued to fight, his own form dissolving, vanishing from the battlefield of his mind.

A powerful light flooded his vision. He woke up with a gut-wrenching sob, his body convulsing on the training grounds. He coughed, and a spray of blood splattered onto the pristine grass. The psychic wound had manifested physically.

Helia was immediately at his side, helping him sit up. Her usual stern expression was replaced by one of grave understanding. "As I expected," she said softly. "You fought him, didn't you?"

Henry could only nod, trembling, tears of pain and terror streaming down his face.

"Listen to me, Henry," Helia said, her voice firm, pulling his focus. "This is what you must do. Your new training begins now. During the day, you will focus on mastering your Solari light, on giving it form and purpose. At night, when the change takes control, you must fight. You must immediately force your consciousness back into this place and speak with Joseph, help him guard the gate. This is the only way."

He nodded again, the plan a sliver of hope in his despair. "What... what's inside that gate Joseph is guarding?" he choked out. "Is it... his full power?"

Helia's golden eyes were grim. "Yes. Some people are naturally strong, intelligent, as soon as they are born. Your counterpart is one of them. But it is worse than that. I have a suspicion... that for the fourteen years you were locked away from him, he was not alone. I suspect Tsukuyomi was in there with him, a whisper in his dark prison. She trained him. She shaped his hate for the world, for the light, for you. She made him into the perfect weapon."

Henry stared at her, the blood cold on his lips. The situation was bad enough. But the thought of his other self being honed for fourteen years by a malevolent goddess, patiently waiting in the dark... He wasn't just fighting a monster. He was fighting a masterpiece of hatred. And he had to get stronger. Now.

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