Chapter 297: One Above the Rest Part 2 (1/2)

Henry's father left him at a young age. As young as he could possibly remember. He never indeed remembered a time where he was around. Because of this, his mother was forced to look after him and his sister alone. During that time, everything from an onlooker's perspective was normal. They lived an everyday life as a happy family; even with their little ones, the three were still grateful to have each other. The neighbours would know Henry to be a sweet boy, always helping others. But something about him was always off, not quite right. The curiosity of his father's whereabouts would always plague his mind until the truth would be revealed.

On his way from school, Henry was trapped in a trance of the news report, which would be talked about for weeks to come. A crooked villain attacked and killed six police officers, three streamers while leaving two more in a critical condition. It would take the number one streamer at the time, Vanguard, to stop the fiend once and for all. That villain was none other than Henry's father; he knew it from the moment his picture was shown. It was the first time he had seen his father in years, but he recognised him nonetheless. Others would be disturbed by these events. Angered or upset, their father would do this. Henry was different. He was in awe over the fact his own father could handle so many streamers at once that it took the number one streamer to step up to take him down. His father was strong—the strongest he had seen.

Taking this into account, Henry became drunk on the idea that his father left because they were weak. His father would have stayed if Henry was just as strong. From that day, his twisted desires and motives took shape-holding on forever; Henry would make it his life goal to be just as decisive as his father, stronger in fact. He aimed to be the strongest there was, no matter what. This started on the playgrounds with petty fights in which Henry's bold nature and willpower would cause him to win every battle. All apart from one; A boy two years older who was the head boy at the time. No matter what, Henry couldn't beat him no matter how many times he fought him. The situation got so bad Henry was expelled from his school for violence against others. His mother was devastated by these events, but Henry didn't care; he was furious at the fact there was someone stronger than him out there.

That was until not long after his twelve birthday, he discovered the key to all his problems. His powers awoke, and he became an Anti-Human. Blessed with powers similar to his own sister but on a whole different level. The next time Henry would confront his rival, it wasn't through raw power and tendency but with trickery and wit. His illusions decimated his foe with no chance of winning. Blessed with his new ability, Henry's ego would only grow into a crazed obsession with finding stronger opponents to defeat. He would build a legacy, one that far surpassed his own father's, whose actions still echoed to that day. It wouldn't be until the new year when his actions would go officially too far.

*****

Florence stared idly at her clock as the time began ticking slowly and surely. Two o'clock, that's all it was, and to her, it was frustrating. She couldn't quite describe it, but she hadn't struggled to sleep in a while; feeling a weight on her chest, she rolled over in a cold sweat. Unable to stand it anymore, she crawled out of bed only to recall burning her foot. Startled, she wrapped herself in her blanket, blinking only to see a small flash of the house in flames. Her face dropped as the illusion began to fizzle and fade before the illusion burned away, weaving in echoes of blazing flames. Stunned, Florence crawled back, falling off her bed as her entire room was ignited with no escape. Pinned against the wall, she had only one chance to survive. Pivoting her window up, she began crawling out, preparing for a fall. As the flames roared out, Florence burst out of her window, breaking her arm. Watching her house in flames, she didn't wait long, hoping to get back in to save her family.

As she stood up, she saw Henry idly standing by watching her. ”Henry?! Where's mum?! Henry?”

As she went running back in, Henry held her back, slapping her with the back of his hand, knocking her to the floor. ”She's gone, Florence! She's gone.”

”No, that's not true. I can still save her!”

”She won't survive. She's too weak for that.”

Florence stumbled to her feet, walking back traumatised. ”I…. I wouldn't have known if your illusion didn't fade. Were you trying to kill us?!”

Henry stared at the fire, smirking. ”You two were always so weak it made me sick. If I was stronger, maybe our father would have stayed. I'm going to make a name for myself. Florence having weaklings like you related to me only dampers that image. I just needed to wipe my past clean to start anew.”

Florence stared on in disbelief, whispering. ”Weak? You…. You killed our mum because she was weak…. She raised you alone! Did everything for you, fed you, clothed you, she did everything all for you! That is not weakness!”

”Whatever, like you'd ever understood. You took measures to survive, though, so I guess you aren't totally useless.” Florence snapped, tackling Henry to the ground punching him serval times built up with rage. Throwing another punch, Henry bent over, kneeling down next to her with a smug look. ”You've almost got him.”

Looking down, Florence stumbled back, finding nothing there but her own bloody hands. Turning, Henry kept appearing everywhere, messing with Florence as she held her head whimpering. ”Stop it…. Stop it, Henry!”

”I'm not Henry anymore!” He barked in union with his fakes striking a pose laughing. ”You may call me as Eyes Over Reality. This is who I am, and soon the whole world will know that name.”

Years would go by with Henry's powers going unchecked as he began making a name for himself, causing chaos all around. It would only be when he finally met his match, encountering a streamer who completely outmatched and classed him in almost everywhere. That streamer went by Diego Jolts. But even with the first loss under his belt, another from Team Rhapsody's hand, he hasn't let his goal wither at all. He will become the strongest person in the world.

****

Denial sat on her Titan lowering her head sighing. ”How long does this ceasefire go on for?! I'm losing my little mind here.”

”Bargaining told us to hold until he said so. He'll get mad if you don't listen to him.” Depression whispered, leaning his body over the edge staring at the city below. ”How much longer do we have to keep fighting for again….”

”For as long as it takes!” Denial pouted, stomping the ground. ”Until we take our home back and get revenge against Fairy-Tale. You know this Depression.”