The cave was easy to find. It was less of a secret location and more of a media circus. The area was cordoned off, swarming with guards, and a gaggle of what looked like reporters from a much cleaner, more civilized part of the world. Henry pushed through the crowd until a guard blocked his path.
"Halt! Restricted area."
A woman in ornate armor, clearly the commander, looked him up and down. "Who's this kid?" She pulled out a handheld scanner and aimed it at him. A studious-looking girl with glasses and a floating magical orb at her side peered at the device.
"Hmmm, you're different," the commander mused. "No mana signature? Even the weakest civilians have something."
The girl with the orb gasped. "Commander, isn't that the same reading we got from Helia?"
The commander nodded slowly, her eyes fixed on Henry. "Yeah... She was special, too. Okay, boy. You can try to enter the cave. If you can actually open it, I'll even let you grab something from inside."
"Look at this kid," one of the guards snickered to his buddy. "Not even our best battle mages could scratch that thing."
Henry ignored them all. He walked to the massive boulder blocking the entrance, remembering Joseph's training. Everything has a weak spot. He scanned the rock, his eyes tracing the faint lines until he found it: a single point right in the center. He focused, took a breath, and punched.
A strange, silent light flared from the point of impact. Then, with a deep groan, the unmovable boulder crumbled into fine dust.
The commander's jaw was practically on the floor. "I knew you were special... just like her. A deal's a deal. Go on, you get first pick."
The inside of the cave was a treasure trove. Piles of gold, gleaming weapons, enchanted armor. But none of it called to him. His eyes were drawn to a dark hallway at the back. Lighting a small torch from his bag, he walked into the oppressive darkness. At the very end, a single object stood on a pedestal carved to look like a crescent moon: a black-sheathed katana. He reached out and touched the hilt.
The world vanished.
He was in a realm of shadow and silver light. A full moon hung in the black sky, and beneath it, a breathtakingly beautiful woman materialized.
"Who dares enter my domain?" she asked, her voice clearly irritated. Then she saw Henry. "Oh. It's you. The kid who started all this. What are you doing here, you filthy thing?"
"What did you call me?" Rage, hot and pure, erased his fear. He rushed her. She simply dissolved into shadow and reappeared behind him, wrapping him in a cold hug.
"Don't be so angry," she whispered, her voice a dangerous purr in his ear. "I was waiting for you." He tensed, unsure if she was an enemy or just messing with him. "You look so weak. My curse is clearly working perfectly." She laughed.
"So it was you," he choked out. "You're the one who put that... that monster inside me."
She squeezed him tighter, her chest pressing against his back. "That, my dear, is you. Your family wanted you to be unique, so I just made you more unique than ever." She laughed again and started patting his head. "I'm not evil, but you do look good enough to eat right now."
Henry's face flushed. This was his first real contact with a woman, and she was a goddess who was practically grinding on him. "I don't need—"
"Shhh," she said, putting a cool finger to his lips. "I'm coming with you, like it or not. My name is Tsukuyomi, as you might have guessed. I'm the Moon Goddess." He opened his mouth to argue, but a wisp of shadow shot out and sealed his lips shut. "Be careful around me," she whispered, leaning in close. "'Cause I bite." She opened her mouth as if to prove it, and he woke up.
He was back in the cave, gasping, the katana clutched in his hand. It felt perfect, an extension of his arm, but he had no idea how to use it. As he took a step, Tsukuyomi's form shimmered into existence from the sword itself.
"Take good care of me," she winked. "Or I might just split you in two again."
On pure impulse, he reached out to see if she was real, but his hand was clumsy and went straight through her, ending up awkwardly at her chest.
Tsukuyomi raised an eyebrow, a playful smirk on her lips. "Whoa there. And here I thought you were the shy type."
Henry snatched his hand back, his face burning. "I... I thought you weren't real! I thought I imagined it all."
"Of course I'm real," she laughed, pulling him into a hug. "At least, to you. We can keep going if you want, but the people outside might think you're being a little forward on our first date."
Embarrassed, Henry pulled away. "W-we are not... Ugh, I'm going."
He walked out of the cave. The commander spotted the sword immediately. "Oh, looks like you found a weapon."
The girl with the orb stared at it. "But... isn't he holding a—"
"He opened it, he gets what's inside," the commander cut her off, then turned to Henry. "Did you let a woman inside the cave?"
"No one entered after me," Henry replied, sweating a little. "Right, well, I'll be going..."
"Be careful out there," the commander said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Kha'thox is a dangerous place."
Henry nodded and walked away. As soon as he was out of earshot, the studious girl turned to her leader. "Commander, why? Isn't that the sword Tsukuyomi was sealed in?"
The commander sighed. "Yes. But he could be the child from the legend. Who else could have opened that seal? He walked right in and grabbed that specific katana. Let's just focus on searching the cave."
Henry walked back into the heart of Kha'thox and paid for the same cheap room with the last of his money. Night was falling. He sat on the bed and drew the katana, wanting to get a feel for it.
"Not tired, huh?" Tsukuyomi materialized on his bed, lounging seductively. "Come here for some hugs."
Henry yelped and dropped the sword. "W-what are you doing? You can't just appear out of nowhere!" He looked away, blushing. "A-and no hugs!"
She laughed. "The night is coming. You better rest."
"As if," Henry shot back, a new determination in his eyes. "I want to take a good look this time. I want to see what happens."
He stood in front of the cracked mirror as the last of the light died. He watched, fascinated and horrified, as his white hair bled to inky black. His blue eyes ignited, becoming pools of crimson fire. His features sharpened, and a slow, predatory smile spread across his new face. Dark Henry had emerged.
"Uh, finally," he said to his reflection, his voice a low, confident rumble. "I had the chance to meet you."
Tsukuyomi giggled from the bed. "Come to thank me for making you strong all these years?"
Dark Henry scoffed. "As if. I don't care about that. All I ever wanted was to be free. And now, with that old fart's spirit stuck inside him, it's even easier to take control, just like you said it would be."
"Of course I knew," she purred, yawning and stretching her arms out to him. "Now come to your goddess."
"Stop. That won't work on me," he said flatly.
"Oh well, at least I tried," she smiled, vanishing back into the sword.
Henry smirked. Time to get things going. He focused, recalling the map the thug had given him. He remembered the exact location. He left the room and stalked through the night-shrouded streets until he reached an abandoned warehouse. He kicked the front door off its hinges.
Inside, a group of robed mages scrambled in surprise, already conjuring fireballs.
Henry laughed, raising a hand as a wall of solid shadow erupted from the floor, swallowing their spells whole. "Is that all you've got?"
A man who was clearly their leader stepped forward. "What's happening? Leave him to me! Just protect me!" The leader summoned a small, giggling imp that stuck its tongue out at Henry.
Henry laughed, a genuinely amused sound. "What's that? You summoned a low-level pet against me?" He vanished. A heartbeat later, he reappeared behind the imp and stabbed it through the heart. It dissolved into ash as a magic shield flared to life around the leader.
"Yeah, he was weak!" the leader gloated. "I was just testing you!" He slammed his hand on the floor, and a pillar of fire erupted where Henry had been standing. "See? No match for me!"
"Oops," a voice whispered directly behind him. "You missed."
The leader's eyes went wide as the black katana slid through his chest. The other mages launched a volley of fireballs at Henry. He didn't even turn, simply holding up his free hand as a giant, shadowy maw opened in the air and devoured the flames.
"H-how?" the leader gurgled, blood frothing at his lips. "W-who are you?"
Henry leaned in close, pulling the katana free. "I'm the new god here."
The leader fell to the floor, dead. Henry turned his crimson gaze on the terrified mages. They screamed and started to run. He smiled. Time to end this.
"W-what is this? Give me back control!" a small, pathetic voice whimpered in the back of his mind.
Henry laughed out loud. "Quiet," he said, the shadows swirling around him. "I'm focusing on the things you couldn't handle."