Hello, guys! This is the rewrite of the original "God Game". Please, tell me what you think of the prologue and the idea behind it.


The fight in the center of the city raged on. People were running away from the center of the danger, screaming for help and heroes. The rampaging giant roared like a thunder, his bronze hands tearing through buildings and roads without effort. His blood red eyes flared bright, thirsty for blood and destruction. As if panic and fear were virus, it spread throughout the hordes of people and infected their minds.

And against the never ending flow of citizens fleeing in panic, one single young man ran towards the threat, his pace steady and fast. As if he was the light, the young man cut through the crowd, his bright smile radiating confidence and resolve.

Those who passed by him could only slow down and watch in awe as the man's body glowed bright as red lines spread across his exposed flesh. Without much look, one could clearly see the pure power course through his veins as if his very blood became the energy itself

"Never fear!"

Cars. Trees. Buildings parts. All those and many other things were launched by the villain as he obviously recognized who exactly was coming at him. But all those attempts were for naught.

The young man simply smirked before taking off and flying into the battle against the giant monster, fist drawn back and aura of overwhelming power around him. Spinning around in the air, with a simple wave of hand, he turned all the projectiles into dust before continuing his flight towards the monster.

"For I am here!"

The giant monster gritted his teeth before slamming his hands together, sending the powerful shockwave in the hero's direction. The sheer force would be enough to destroy a skyscraper. But it did nothing to the man in the sky as he only smiled in return.

"We are saved!"

People cheered, fear and panic gone and forgotten. They knew they had no reason to fear now. The villain trashed his hands around, trying to catch the hero but with no success. The hero dodged and blocked the giant limbs with his bare hands, not showing even the hint of exhaustion. And then, with just one swift punch to the giant's jaw, the hero rendered him unconscious.

Did anyone expect anything else? No way. This man was the Symbol of Peace, after all.

"You rock, Lumillion!"

Standing behind the quickly gathering crowd, the young college student watched the hero getting praised for saving all of them. As the current Symbol of Peace humbly accepted the compliments and raised people's mood by throwing some light jokes and comments, Izuku reached inside his bag with a small smirk of excitement.

Click.

One more photo added to his constantly growing collection, Izuku thought as he readjusted the backpack on his shoulder before leaving the scene. Passing the hurrying reporters, Izuku couldn't help the small part of his brain that imagined him in the top hero's place. But it was not the fame and wealth that he desired, no. He wanted to be a hero just to protect people who couldn't do it themselves. To be someone people could rely on and live peacefully, knowing that he would be there to fight for their lives.

If only he could –

No, I am not thinking about it, he shook his head, pushing those thoughts away deeper into the corners of his mind. He wasn't a child anymore. He needed to stop pitying himself over things that weren't just meant to be. Some people were meant to be heroes. People who were born with gifts like this and who could actually do something! I was not born to be a hero.

It was the second year in Junior High school in Orudera city when Izuku accepted the truth.

You can't be a hero without good Quirk. You will put yourself in danger for nothing. Without Quirk, what could he do? He heard all these things so many times, always aware of the truth but never quite accepting it. He knew all of it, he was not an idiot. But he wasn't going to let Bakugou and his lackeys spit on his dreams just like that either. He would train harder than any of them and find his way to become a hero whom people could look up to. He would do all he could to become just like All Might, such was his plan. That was his dream.

Until the very man he admired crushed that dream in an instant.

"I am sorry, young Midoriya. I can see your determination and can't help but feel happy about it, but that is simply not possible." They stood in the tunnel, the slime villain contained inside a simple plastic bottle, green eyes looking into blue in the mixture of despair and hope. He wanted to be wrong. All Might, hi hero, couldn't possibly be saying this, right? "Heroes are always expected to put their lives at stake when fighting against evil. Your enthusiasm is worth the praise but, I am afraid, without the edge a Quirk gives, you can't become a hero. I am sorry..."

These words hurt... They crushed him worse than anything Bakugou and anyone else had ever done or said to him before. Not because they were cruel or insensitive. But because it was him who said them. The man whom he put on the pedestal and worshipped as the greatest hero to ever exist... All Might, the Symbol of Peace and Hope, who always fought against the impossible odds and won... He didn't believe in his dreams.

All Might didn't believe in him.

He was broken and hurt but he still wanted to be a hero. He trained like crazy to enter Yuuei. He took up martial arts and started training for two years straight, every single day ignoring pain and discomfort. Back then he wanted to believe his hard work would pay off. That, somehow, he would be able to score enough on practical part to enroll. He would give the exam his all even if it broke him in the process.

Was it the desire to be a hero that drove him to push himself to the limits? Or was it simple wish to spite all those who didn't believe in him? They probably mixed together at some point down the road, but that wasn't what mattered to him back then. He would pass. He would become a hero!

With his hopes high and silent prayer to the God, he took a step through the steel doors and prepared to fight.

The prayer was left unanswered.

His hope was dying faster than the time was running out. Surrounded by the heroes in making, Izuku, for the first time, experienced just how large gap between him and his peers was. He was pretty fast and strong for someone his age and condition, but that mattered little when compared to those around him. All his hard work was for nothing, in the end.

He was pretty fast. But not faster than the guy who could outrun cars and destroy robots with his legs alone. He was quite strong but his strength paled in comparison to the sheer destructive force some of the teens here displayed. He was just a mere human... And they were the monsters. The living weapons in teenagers' bodies. The raw power unleashed upon the hordes of robots.

To them, robots were no danger. Lasers, rockets, blades and giant fists the mechanical beasts had were no threat to any of them. Some of them dispatched them with calculative look in the eyes, not even regarding them as anything but obstacle. Some looked like children in candy stores, their arms and legs and other limbs cutting down their opponents like blades of grass. And then there were those who looked bored with such task. To them, this exercise was nothing. Just a mere game of who scores the most.

But not to him.

This test was the starting point for his dream. That one moment when your further life depended on whether you succeeded or not. He put everything on stake in hopes of passing this test and earning his right to stand among the, sadly, he was falling further and further behind everyone.

"29!"

All around him, the robots were destroyed and cut through as if mocking all his hard work. His staff slammed against the metal plates but did little more than light dents in it. He dodged and blocked the strikes but barely escaped the deadly lasers and rockets two- and three-pointers used. Meanwhile, the rest dispatched the robots like mere toys, ignoring any danger. Not that there was any for them.

"40!"

His bo staff was destroyed so he grabbed the nearby steel pipe and rushed over to the closest 1-Point robot ready to smash its head off. He got brushed off by one mere sweep of the android's hand and slammed into the wall. He could feel some of his ribs, his vision blurring. But he refused to give up. Not yet. Not when there was still time!

He ran around, desperately trying to score even one measly point. As the people around him laughed and cheered in battle glory, he was like a headless chicken in desperate search for the opportunity to strike. But no such luck as every single robot was taken down seconds before he could deliver a blow. With each metal adversary crushed, his hopes were being demolished as well.

"52!"

Just one point. That was all he asked for. He begged whatever God would listen to let him find and defeat at least one!

"TIIIIIME OUT!" He froze as the Present Mic's booming voice shook the air, people and robots alike stopping. Some looked confident and happy. Some more doubtful but nevertheless pleased with themselves. They all did their best. He did his best too.

But his 'Best' wasn't good enough.

He fell on his knees, all strength suddenly leaving his body. He could feel hot tears well up in the corners of his eyes. He wanted to stand back up and run away. To hide his pain and anger at himself from everyone, from the world. But he didn't. His body simply refused to move. So he just sat on the ground, tears streaming down his cheeks and body shaking with sobs. And then...

He felt all the eyes looking at him.

With whatever remnants of strength he had, he could only shakily move his head towards the gathered crowd, looking into their eyes. Pity. Amusement. Sense of superiority. That was all he saw. That was all there was as they looked down on him, a mere Quirkless kid who once again proved just how much higher they stood than him.

There's nothing I can do,he thought back then as he finally arrived home, devastated and weak. He didn't even bother to check the letter that arrived to him a few weeks later. No way did he actually earn the right to enroll. He knew what that letter would give him. A few more words of pity mixed in with some weak encouragement to try better next time and not give up. But he was done. I am not a hero...

He couldn't go on anymore.

He couldn't be a hero.

He tried putting himself back into training. He honestly tried but... Something just didn't work. Something was missing. His confidence was destroyed and he couldn't get himself to push on. He gave the exam his all. His best. But it all failed and his dream came down burning in flames and ruins. So why try and put himself through this all over again if he knew the results already?

One week after the exam, he took down all his posters and hid all the hero memorabilia. His notebooks were tossed into the same boxes before he asked his mom to help him put them away. And so four years ago, at the age of fifteen, Midoriya Izuku officially gave up on his dream.

If the world was better off without him on the frontlines... If people like him could only be saved and never save the others... If he couldn't be a hero.

Then he wouldn't be one.


And that's it for Prologue, readers.

So, a couple of things to address here:

1) As stated above, the meeting between all Might and Izuku took place when he was only 13. At the same time, Mirio and his classmates were already in their third year.

2) Since the incident with Slime villain doesn't happen, you can see that Mirio inherited the One For All and is on his way to becoming a new top hero. How did Izuku's absence affect his class is anyone's guess.


Update is going to be soon so stay tuned in!