Henry stood over the fallen form of Ganriki, his heart pounding with a mixture of adrenaline and disbelief. He had him. For the first time, in a real fight, he had the upper hand.
But Ganriki wasn't finished.
"ENOUGH!" he roared, his voice muffled by the sand. He slammed his palms flat against the arena floor. "I wasn't hoping to use this on you, but you left me no option!"
The ground began to shake violently. All around the perimeter of the arena, a thick wall of rock and earth erupted from the ground, curving inwards, rising higher and higher. It was creating a massive dome, sealing them off from the rest of the world.
"Let's see if you can see in the dark, light boy!" Ganriki yelled, his eyes still squeezed shut from the flash.
He scrambled to his feet. The dome closed above them with a final, grinding thud, plunging the entire arena into absolute, pitch-black darkness. Henry couldn't see his own hand in front of his face.
Suddenly, a fist slammed into his gut. He gasped, stumbling back into the oppressive dark. Ganriki was moving towards him, his steps sure and steady. He could somehow sense Henry's location through the vibrations in the earth. Another punch caught Henry on the jaw. He was blind, helpless, and taking a beating.
The darkness was total. It was suffocating. It was perfect.
A tremor went through Henry's body, not from fear, but from change. His heart, which had been pounding with panic, steadied into a slow, powerful rhythm. The pain from Ganriki's blows faded into a distant annoyance.
Two points of soft, crimson light ignited in the pitch-black void.
Night-Henry smiled. He hadn't known. He couldn't have planned it better. That dumb, arrogant Ganriki had, in his desperation, created the perfect environment for him. In the absolute absence of light, he didn't need the sun to set.
He could see everything. The darkness was his element, and in it, Ganriki was a clumsy, blind child.
Night-Henry didn't just dodge the next punch; he flowed around it, his movement silent and fluid. He overwhelmed Ganriki. His speed, his strength, his skill—they were on a completely different plane. A jab to the ribs, an elbow to the back of the neck, a sweeping kick that sent the larger boy crashing to the ground. Ganriki had no time to recover, no chance to even sense where the next attack was coming from.
"Weren't you the strong one?" Night-Henry's voice whispered from the darkness all around him.
Outside, the audience stared at the massive, silent dome of rock, their excitement turning to anxious murmurs. They didn't know what was happening inside. Who was winning? Was anyone hurt?
Inside, Ganriki was desperate. His mana was low. He had one final trick. He scrambled away, touching the wall of the dome. A small hole opened up, just big enough for him to squeeze through. As he tumbled out into the sunlight, he slammed his hands back on the dome's exterior.
"CRUSH HIM!" he roared, pouring the last of his energy into his final gambit. The dome began to shrink, the walls groaning as they closed in, intending to crush Henry inside.
Master Vorn stood, his face a mask of conflict, unsure if he should allow such a lethal tactic.
But it was too late.
A burst of pure, shadowy energy exploded from the top of the shrinking dome. A massive hand, made of solid darkness, shot out with incredible speed. It slammed into Ganriki's chest, and the big brute was lifted off his feet before being thrown back, unconscious, onto the sand.
The dome collapsed into a shower of dust and rock.
The bright, unfiltered sunlight hit the figure standing in the center of the arena. The transformation was instant. The black hair faded to white, the red eyes dimmed, and Henry's day form returned. He blinked, regaining consciousness with a gasp, and looked at the unconscious form of Ganriki on the ground. A wave of relief washed over him. He was alive. His other self hadn't killed him.
In the stands, Helia looked genuinely surprised.
"Oh, don't tell me you're surprised," Tsukuyomi's voice purred in her mind. "The same way you can create a fake sun to force his change, he can create a patch of absolute night. It's only logical."
Master Vorn stared for a moment, then raised his hand. "The... the winner is Henry!"
A beat of stunned silence, then the section for Class 2-B erupted. Kaelen was on his feet, screaming with joy. And beside him, Lyra was also standing, a look of shocked, grudging, and utterly confusing triumph on her face.