Chapter 15: The Split Mind
The silence that fell over the desolate planet of souls was heavier than any silence Valerian had ever known. It wasn't the silence of space, but the oppressive quiet of profound loss and sudden, unimaginable power. He stood before his father, the static energy of Charles's lightning refusing to subside, clinging to his black scales like a shroud.
"You have done well, **Valerian**," Marcellus boomed, his voice devoid of paternal warmth, filled only with the satisfaction of a scientist viewing a successful result. "You are the heir. The perfect vessel. Go, take us home."
The command was instant, arrogant, and dismissive of the horror that had just occurred. Valerian felt a spike of searing rage—a feeling that was not entirely his own.
***It was the first time he heard the other voice.***
*Kill him, Valerian. Kill the bastard now. He murdered me.*
The voice was **Charles's**. It was frantic, raw with pain, and echoing within the deepest recesses of Valerian's mind. The effect was immediate and dizzying. Valerian stumbled, his colossal form—still bearing the residue of black electricity—shaking visibly.
Marcellus, misinterpreting the tremor, chuckled, a low, pleased rumble. "A bit rattled, are we, boy? The shock of true power will do that. Gather yourself."
But Valerian was barely listening. He was locked in a sudden, desperate mental battle. Charles's newly housed soul was a storm of grief, speed, and lightning essence, thrashing against the calm, scholarly control of Valerian's mind.
*No, Charles. Not yet. We can't.*
*Can't? Look at what he did! He watched me burn! He planned it!*
Valerian used his full mental ability, the power that had saved him from the souls, not to suppress Charles entirely, but to create a mental buffer. He partitioned his consciousness, forcing Charles's furious essence into a separate, silent chamber within his own mind. The effort was immense, and when he finally reasserted control, his sadness had hardened into cold purpose.
He looked at Marcellus, the two-mile-wide shadow of his father. "Yes, Father," Valerian replied, his voice a low, smooth baritone that betrayed none of the internal chaos. "I am ready."
Valerian knew, in that instant, that their lives were over. Charles was gone, but he was also *here*. The perfect triad Marcellus craved was not just three children, but three *fused* minds under a single command. **Serafina** was consumed by loyalty, **Damien** was bound by duty, and now **Valerian** carried the seeds of ultimate vengeance. He had the strength of the scholar, the fury of the warrior, and the secret knowledge of his father's cruelty. The true ultimate experiment had just begun.
Valerian turned his vast body and launched toward his father's ship, a newly forged god carrying a devastating secret. He was no longer just Valerian. He was the **Split Mind**, and his ultimate enemy would never see the betrayal coming.