On this episode of Author's Notes Time, welcome to my second fanfic. If you're here you probably read Runic Legacy and the announcement over there, but in case anyone didn't long story short, I'll be swapping between this and Runic Legacy to write whenever writer's block decides to screw with me so I can keep making stuff for you all to read.
By no means is this just a side thing to occupy time until the writer's block disappears though. I intend to finish both of these fanfics over time and hope that everyone will enjoy the stories I've written. Without further distractions, please enjoy the start of Voidborne.
Izuku Midoriya, Age 10
Alright it was official now. The universe was out to screw my life up in as many different ways as it possibly could to try and find my breaking point. Being born quirkless without any great power to call my own in a world of superheroes and supervillains was bad enough. Being treated as less than human constantly for something I could never change or improve was disgusting and a massive indication of how royally fucked society was to this day. It didn't help my situation when one of the few, if not the only, person I called friend and grew up with almost as a sister turned around and started to abuse me. Just today was the tipping point, the moment I decided that I stopped believing in heroes.
First on the list of bullshit was when I got saved from a sludge villain by All Might and told in no uncertain terms that without a quirk I could never become a hero. Then after knocking a knife out of the hands of a villain who was holding a child hostage while heroes did nothing to save them, I got scolded for interfering in their work and how I was an idiot for thinking I could get involved.
I decide to just to say fuck it all for a few minutes and roared in the heroes face in front of the cameras "Oh what a terrible shame for you that a ten-year-old child had to do something about the situation that trained adults were too cowardly to risk their skins to save a little girl from a lunatic with a knife to her throat. INCOMPATIBLE QUIRKS MY ASS! I'm fucking quirkless and I still managed to do something about it, so what does that say about you jokes that prance around expecting the world to bow to you WHEN YOU CAN'T EVEN DO THE ONE THING YOU'RE MEANT TO! Now I'm going to put this is a way so simple even you could understand it. WHAT'S THE POINT OF HEROES THAT DON'T SAVE PEOPLE! What's that, don't have some smug answer for me to save your precious reputation? I thought as much. Maybe go home and take a look at yourself chucklefuck"
Sprinting off before any of those fakes could catch me, I ran through the back alleys and rooftops I knew all too well from escaping Kazumi's ambushes and attacks on the way home. Getting home I march to my bedroom and look at the merchandise of that despicable fake. For all his inspiring words and motivational quotes, he didn't believe them himself. He didn't believe that anyone could be a hero. Taking down all the posters and figures from my room and boxing them all up in my closet I take a deep breath and grin maniacally.
If I couldn't become a hero and refused to become a villain what other option was there but to bring some justice of my own?
Elsewhere that night
Waking up to the bright shrill sound of the alarm heralding another night of my crusade I feel a strange sense of anticipation in the air. A sense that things were going to change drastically and that today would mark the beginning of a new era. A low buzz comes from the cluttered table near my bed as my phone rang. The one reserved for those that sought out the world I spoke of, a world of true heroes. My Roses.
A single message simply stating "You might be interested in this master" and a video clip ready to play. Watching the mess that those fakes created and the little girl no more than ten they risked due to their own cowardice reminded me more than ever of the rot that was taking root in society. Wondering what exactly they thought would capture my interest, a blur dashed out of the alleyway behind the villain and wrapped a small section of chain around the knife's blade before planting both feet of the villain's back and hauling the knife away from the girl's throat. Apparently only deeming it safe for them to intervene now that a child had taken down the arm wielding the knife, they grab the girl and start to mock and berate the young boy. Taking mental note of those that seemed to enjoy this session as targets for taking pleasure in belittling others the child in the video snaps and roars at the hero for all their inadequacies and mistakes, their cowardice and obsession over reputation.
It was glorious, unlike anything I had seen before.
This child on the screen spoke with all the passion and bitterness of someone who expected better, who saw these false heroes for what they were. His eyes held a burning conviction that seemed to cause the heroes, the news crews and the crowd to cease speaking, unwilling to distract anyone from those words of rage and disappointment towards the way things were. His aura matched and even surpassed the one true hero's, an almost visible air of majesty and grandeur that caused my breath to halt for a second.
Thrilled by this discovery, I send my word to the one I trust to lead the Roses during my absences on my crusade and order in no uncertain terms "Find the child. Protect him. Find a way to help him become the true hero that this world needs. He shall show this society all its flaws and act as an embodiment of a true hero"
For the first time since I last saw my loyal apprentice face to face, a kind gentle smile spread across my face. There was hope for this world yet. I would leave the purging of the rot in this world to myself and the Roses, so that he may show what a hero should be to the word. Grabbing my knives and the katana my apprentice gifted my before we parted eight months ago, I donned my garb to continue my crusade.
To cleanse the world of its stains.
The next morning, Izuku
Calming down as I woke up; I start to work on my plan to train my body into something resembling a decent condition. If I want to bring justice, I'll need the strength necessary to do so. Most villains and many heroes have quirks that could fairly easily be replicated using some good technology and many are so obsessed with the idea that only quirks can make you powerful that they never bother to consider alternate methods of gaining strength. Guns, exo-suits, analysis and countermeasures for various commonly occurring quirks, martial arts were just a few of the possible ways to gain the strength to fight without a quirk, all completely slipping the minds of people unless there's something about their quirk that forces them to study them, an excellent example being Eraserhead needing martial arts to fight quirkless or Snipe, needing a gun to make use of his tracking quirk.
A burst of pain explodes in my head as I collapse to the floor and wake up in an empty jet-black void of absolute nothingness. Stretching out in seemed to stretch out "All the way to infinity child? That would be because it does" came the voice of a young woman. Her appearance seemed to constantly change and shift as she floated besides me, sometime young and playful, others mature and dignified, always with a sad smile on her lips. Guessing my thoughts yet again she casually speaks "No I can't read your mind; I just took a guess at what you were thinking. You get fairly good at it after a few trillion years with nothing else to do except watch the timelines shift and split" gesturing to a wall of floating squares of light showing different worlds, the what-ifs and the maybes of the timelines.
For a moment I spotted myself in dozens of timelines, some as a hero becoming the next Symbol of Peace, others as a villain dedicated to tearing down a world that had wronged me too many times for me to care anymore at the side of a man in a suit and a black skull-like mask, others rushing to replace the images on those screens. The woman muttered in confusion "You seem to have one of the most unique circumstances in existence. While most peoples' possible timeline varies massively, few have possible futures as varied as yours. You seem to be an integral part of the upcoming age. I brought you here to make a deal of sorts, a way to enact your own dreams with your own power. Are you interested?"
Two minutes later or as near as I could tell in this endless void, we reach an agreement. As the void fades away, I hear her whisper "There will be things left unremembered once you return. Know that you will regain those memories in time and that I will never bring harm to you. After all, why would I harm you my..." and I return to myself on the floor of my bedroom.
Panting slightly at the strange encounter I get up and change before stuff my breakfast down my throat and sprinting to Dagobah Beach. It would take a lot of work to understand what the hell was going on with this gifted power and the sooner I started the better.
Dagobah Beach
Looking out at the twisted mess of metal and other waste brought a strange sadness to my heart. A once beautiful place destroyed for no other reason than simple apathy to fix something that doesn't affect them. It seemed a lot like the world in a strange way. If it doesn't affect them, why should they bother to change things? It was no wonder that so many people with weak, mutant, "villainous" or no quirk at all ended up as villains simply because if they were going to be treated as monsters anyway, what is the point in being a good person and restricting yourself so that the society that hates them can continue on peacefully.
I let out a sad sigh at the way things were. I knew I was creepy and too mature for my age, I just felt too out of touch with the boundless enthusiasm others my age had, even more so now that I had lost faith in heroes. I wasn't a boundless optimist anymore; I'd had that hopeful part of me broken alongside my bones by Kazumi. It wasn't fair how she got a quirk that could be used for heroics by dumb luck and she acted more like a villain than a hero, but the school and everyone never told here where she was going wrong.
As much as I hated Kazumi, I hated this society that failed to help her grow up to be the better person I know that she could have been even more. Stewing in my anger and indignation I notice something odd in my mid. Something that felt like it was a part of me, yet resided somewhere else. Reaching for it a small orb of black liquid that seemed to devour the light and heat around it appeared floating over my palm. Yelping in surprise I lost focus and it splashed to the floor as a puddle.
Curious as to what it could do, I poke it with my finger and it rushes up my right arm, covering it in a thin layer of the black liquid. Tapping a loose piece of scrap, the liquid flowed off my shoulder and consumed the scrap completely as it grew slightly in size. Realising that this was a way to make it stronger, I push the liquid back into the strange space in my mind and it twisted in on itself before vanishing completely.
As I wander the carcasses of gutted fridges and smashed microwaves, I call the black liquid to only cover the first joint of my right pointer finger to tap on small bits of scrap that won't be missed if they vanish and devour them to improve the liquid. Pausing for a moment to consider what I should call the liquid to sound cooler; I remember that huge void that I met the strange woman in. Chuckling slightly, I mumble "Guess I'll call you Void Heart" as the orb in that strange space seems to hum in contentment.
Pondering for a second as an idea struck me, I think "I could control Void Heart with my mind, so can I leave a bit here to devour stuff from Dagobah beach while I'm at school?" filling me with curiosity. Kneeling and focusing my senses to see if anyone was watching me, a trick I had gotten an unfortunate amount of practise with trying to avoid Kazumi's bullshit, I sensed no-one and swiftly left half of Void Heart on the Beach trying to give it clear instructions "No attacking people, avoid being noticed, and devour only half of the scrap that gets washed ashore each night. Think you can do that?" sensing an eager sense of confirmation from Void Heart in response. Unsure of why I was doing it I knelt down and stoked the half I was leaving at the beach with the parting words of "I'm trusting you, okay".
Needless to say, I wasn't expecting it to give of a sense of euphoria at being acknowledged. Blinking slightly as I realise that Void Heart was sentient. My power was a separate sentient entity that just wanted to be loved and approved of. Think carefully I try to transmit a short message "Follow those rules and send the extra you gain back to me, if you get noticed or hurt people, we could be in danger of being captured and experimented on. People might hurt us really badly, so please be careful and do as I say, okay?"
The fear and anger at the idea of me getting hurt pours from it as it acknowledges those rules. It does however point a tendril at a recent picture of Kazumi I had taken to record her slow descent into being a bitch and make a tiny fist with a middle finger up at it. Chuckling slightly, I comfort it and remind it not to attack anyone, even Kazumi if she is nearby and hurting me. I'd rather get bullied than experimented on.
The confusion from the little thing amuses me as I explain "Sometimes there is no best option, only the lesser of two evils and that girl is unfortunately the lesser of the possible evils I could have to deal with" which seems to mollify its anger if only a little.
Heading home I realise a little oddity about my new power. Why did I ask Void Heart at the beach to transfer extra mass to me? I don't even know if it can do that unless...my quirk is trying to tell me what it can do, but can't communicate properly yet due to the recent acquisition. A confused confirmation that it was possible from Void Heart settle my theory, especially the odd sensation that it thought that it was obvious.
After wolfing down dinner and avoiding dealing with Mum I head to my bedroom to relax as best I could. I don't dislike Mum is the slightest, I get that she's worried I would end up getting hurt as a hero and she has fallen into the same tired trap everyone in the world seemed to be in that quirks were the only way to have the power necessary to become a hero. Grinning to myself as I lay down to sleep a thought rings out in my head.
"Look out world, I'm going to make a mark you'll never be able to ignore"