First, worship the Lord.
Second, praise the Lord.
Third, prove your faith.
Midoriya Izuku stared blankly at the massive stone foot hovering over his head.
Who could have faith in a Lord like this?
The foot descended, and the fourteen-year old was turned into a bloody paste for the dozenth time.
Reset.
Today… Was not a good day. Kacchan telling him to jump off a roof, a slime Villain violating his body, and All Might himself revealing he was nothing more than a washed-up has-been and telling Izuku he could never be a Hero on account of being Quirkless. Then, to top it all off, everything came together like some sort of sick climax to a movie when Izuku tried to save Kacchan from the slime Villain, and they were both saved by All Might.
Standing on the sidewalk, gaze firmly set on his feet, Izuku said nothing as Death Arms, Kamui Woods, Backdraft and Mount Lady all scolded him for acting recklessly. For doing what they did not. What they were too scared to do.
Slowly, the young boy turned on his heel and walked away, heedless of how the Heroes were yelling at him to come back. He walked, and walked, and walked, with no particular destination in mind. His clothes and hair reeked of sewage, ensuring nobody attempted to approach him, and the smell clogged his own nose so much he didn't notice the stench of the beach in front of him, until the gentle lapping of the waves broke him from his daze.
What… The hell... Am I doing here?
He stood at the edge of the sand, just a few meters away from the rolling waterfront. If he hadn't miraculously snapped out of his daze, he probably would've been neck deep in the ocean by now, dragged out to sea by a vicious riptide. Glancing around, he saw mountains of scrap metal and other assorted junk, piled high for as far as the eye could see. It was honestly a bit impressive that this much trash could accumulate in a place that wasn't a landfill. Then again, maybe it was a landfill, and that sign at the top of the concrete stairs saying Welcome to Dagobah Municipal Beach! was just satire.
Still, isn't this too much? Wait… Is that an eighteen-wheeler!?
Izuku gaped at the truck cab casually sitting on the sand. How could something like that possibly get here? He could understand stuff washing up from the tide, or the heavier appliances being dumped here by people that lived in the area, but something like that was just…
It made him feel less out of place.
After all, if something as insane as a big rig could simply be parked here and forgotten about without anyone batting an eye, then couldn't the same happen to a scrawny, worthless kid? They were all trash here- nobody would even notice the difference.
The events of the day finally caught up to his frail body, and Izuku couldn't fight the urge that made him sling his backpack off to the side and lay down. Without a second, or even first thought for what his mother must be thinking, Izuku drifted off to sleep.
He woke up in a different place. Instead of soft, white sand under him, he felt nothing but hard stone. Confused, the green-haired boy rose into a sitting position, only to find he could barely see anything. At least, that was until the little orb of light popped into existence, flitting around his head like a pixie. Giggling at the slight tickling sensation when it passed near his nose and ears, Izuku climbed to his feet and started chasing after it, paying no mind to how childish it was. There was no one here to judge him, so what was the harm?
"Hey, come back!" Izuku cried joyfully, laughing as his hand phased through his little friend. He stopped cold when he saw that it had led him to a massive pair of double doors. They were made of some blue stone, with an ornate, but not overdone gold trim. There were two massive knockers, about level with Izuku's head. "Whoa…" he breathed, slowly approaching, the pixie completely forgotten about. "I've only seen doors like this in games. Is this a boss room or something?" Izuku joked, chuckling to himself. "Yeah, right," he snorted. That would just be ridiculous. Well, this whole situation was kinda ridiculous, but he was far past caring. Izuku just wanted to do something other than think too much, and the orb of light had provided.
He laid a hand on the cold stone, and jolted back when it swung open with hardly even a push, as if the hinges had been dunked in a vat of grease. Hesitantly, Izuku tapped the other door, a bit less startled when it also moved without much resistance.
"Lighter than I expected stone doors of this size to be," Izuku muttered. "Unless it just feels like stone, and it's actually something else? Well, whatever." The teen walked into a massive circular chamber, and two braziers lit with a ghostly blue fire. Following suit were a series of torches high up on the wall, all flickering with that eerie flame. Izuku shivered at both the creepiness, and the slight chill that permeated the room.
The domed roof extended high above, almost higher than most skyscrapers Izuku had seen in the modest town of Musutafu. Circling the edges of the chambers were a series of statues. Some wore medieval armor and were holding weapons of all sorts, while others grasped instruments in their granite hands. In the center of the room was a giant throne, and upon it sat a giant statue that made the others look miniscule by comparison. It had some odd sort of headwear on, almost like a crown, but with a lot more pointy bits. It's blank face stared above the door Izuku came through, streaks running from its eyes down to its jaws, almost like it was crying blood.
"Well this isn't weird at all," Izuku murmured sarcastically, wincing as his voice echoed through the otherwise silent room. "Where even am I?" he wondered, finally unable to ignore the oddities. "...Did I get kidnapped?" He was remarkably unperturbed by that thought. Why would anyone kidnap a Quirkless kid? He wasn't from a rich or famous family, so that dismissed the possibility of a ransom, and he wasn't particularly good-looking, so sex trafficking was probably out (probably, because some people were into weird things). Was it just to do it? If so, then why would they go through all the trouble of dumping him in some cavern, instead of killing him on the spot? Did they want to bring him somewhere without witnesses? If that was the case, then where was his kidnapper? Or maybe kidnappers, plural, because he didn't even know that much.
That's when Izuku noticed something; he was wearing his gakuran. That wasn't the odd part, though, because he'd been wearing it when he fell asleep on that beach. He raised a sleeve to his nose, and took a hesitant sniff. It… Didn't smell. He glanced at his shoulder, where Kacchan had burned it, and found the burned material to be very much so not burned.
"Did they clean me up?" He was thoroughly disturbed now. Why would his captors go through the trouble of giving him a wash and repairing his uniform? Maybe it was a trafficking ring. Izuku shuddered. At this point, the best he could probably hope for was that the person who ended up owning him wasn't too cruel. At least, no more cruel than anyone Izuku had ever met after being diagnosed as Quirkless. But, until then, he'd relish in his last few moments of freedom, and explore this creepy-ass chamber.
Off to the left of the huge statue (on Izuku's right, since he was standing in front of it) was another statue, but it was different from the others. Instead of a weapon or instrument, it was holding a stone tablet, with kanji inscribed into it. It had a hood instead of a head, and wings sprouted from the back of its robes. Wandering closer, Izuku peered at the tablet.
"Carthenon Temple's Commandments," Izuku read. "Is that what this place is called? Cool." He continued. "First; worship the Lord. Second; praise the Lord. Third; prove your faith. Those who do not follow these commandments…"
The air grew chilled, and a violent shiver wracked Izuku's spine.
"Will never return alive."
Izuku swallowed thickly, his throat suddenly dry. For some reason, he dreaded the idea of turning around, but his rational mind dismissed his fear as inconsequential, and his curiosity was too strong to deny.
He regretted ignoring the instinctive terror when he saw the pupils of the massive statue looking straight at him. Horror settled deep in his frame, and every single nerve in Izuku's body was screaming at him to run. To leave this room and never return, even if he had to sit in that dark cavern until he starved to death. Surely, it would be a kinder fate than whatever this malevolent being had in store for him. His feet were moving before his mind could catch up, and he was sprinting for the doors so forcefully his feet ached after the third step. He ignored the discomfort, though- it was minor in the face of his terror.
Terror which was amplified when he realized the doors had closed of their own volition. The pounding of his heart in his ears had been so loud, he hadn't heard the stone barrier slide back into place. But, they opened easily earlier, and there didn't seem to be any sort of locking mechanism, so all he had to do was open them again. Right?
Right!?
Wrong.
Izuku placed a hand on one of the knockers, tunnel vision almost preventing him from noticing when the statue to his right moved, swinging its spiked mace and taking his head off with a single swipe.
Izuku woke with a gasp, bolting upright. His lungs rattled as he heaved, his enormous exhales making him lightheaded and blackening his vision. Eventually, he calmed down, only to almost slip into another panic attack when he noticed he was back in the chamber, sitting right in front of the angel statue that held the tablet.
"Wha- what…?" he squeaked, heavy tongue unable to properly form words.
Did I just die? I just died, didn't I? I think I just died.
But… How was he here, then? He felt alive. He was breathing, his blood was warm, his heart was beating… Didn't all of that mean he was still alive? So, what happened?
A dream?
Izuku pinched himself, wincing at how it stung. No, this was real, alright. A real-life nightmare. He stood on shaky legs, glancing warily around the room. The huge statue was still eying him, sending a pang of fear through his heart. The blue stone doors were still closed, still covered in blood-
Wait, blood?
Oh.
That's my blood.
Then the tears start. Loud, ugly sobs wrack his frame, and Izuku wraps his arms around himself as his mind tries to piece together the events of the last few minutes. Whatever this was, it wasn't kidnapping. This was something much, much worse.
The grinding of stone catches his attention, and Izuku's neck cracks from moving so fast, watching with muted shock as the giant statue's head turns. It's eyes glow an intense yellow, lightning crackling around its pointy crown, and all Izuku can do is look on as a beam of pure energy rockets across the room and vaporizes his upper body.
Izuku wakes up screaming, arms flying up uselessly to protect himself from an attack that had already killed him. Cold sweat covers his body, and all his muscles are tense. It takes a few long moments before Izuku is able to comprehend that he's not in danger. For now. His hands drop to his side bonelessly, and his heart is palpitating so fast his chest hurts.
His head moves of its own volition, and he locks gazes with the huge statue. It's eyes are no longer glowing, but streams of smoke are rising from its pupils. He glances to the side, and sees a large gouge carved in the ground, cracks running along the ground like spiderwebs, the rock glowing red-hot from the heat. Just like his first death, he hadn't imagined the second.
Oh, how he wished it was all just his imagination.
Keeping his focus locked on the statue, Izuku slowly begins to rise to his feet, only to fall forward when its eyes begin glowing once more. The instant his knees hit the floor, however, it stops, and resumes simply staring at him.
"...What?" Izuku murmurs. He attempts to stand once more, only for the entire process to repeat.
So, I'm not allowed to stand? Or, I'm not allowed to go past a certain height.
He glances at the crimson stain on the double doors, and the blood splattered across one of the knights guarding it- the same one that had decapitated him. His fists clenched.
And I'm not allowed to touch the door. What the hell am I supposed to do?
Those who do not follow…
The Commandments. What were they…?
Izuku glanced back at the tablet-holding statue.
First, worship the Lord. And I'm willing to bet that big guy's the Lord. Worship… I'm not allowed to leave. That means I can't turn my back on him. I'm not allowed to get up. That means I have to stay on my knees. There must be more than that, though… What's more worshipful than kneeling? Groveling?
It was the only idea he had. Izuku breathed in deeply, then lowered his forehead to the stone, flinching a bit at how cold it was, but otherwise not moving.
Five seconds.
Ten seconds…
Fifteen, and a creaking noise grinded against Izuku's ear drums. He forced himself to stay put for a little while longer, before finally working up the courage to raise his head.
"Holy… Shit."
The Lord was smiling. It was not a pleasant smile. Stone lips pulled across the width of its face, exposing every single one of its flat teeth and plenty of its gums. This was the type of smile that would hurt the face of a normal person, but the Lord only looked satisfied. Izuku had to resist the urge to empty his bladder in his pants.
"Okay. Okay- that worked, I guess," Izuku mumbled to himself. "That was the first commandment. The second was to praise the Lord, but how-?"
The chamber rumbled. Bits of rock fell from the ceiling, and Izuku's pulse began racing. He watched with terror as the Lord rose from his throne, stretching to his full, immense height.
That's… He's taller than Mount Lady! She's twenty meters tall in her giant mode, and he's nearly twice that! What the f-!?
The Lord was moving. Walking. He was heading right for Izuku.
"N-No… Wait, no, stop!" He teetered backwards and landed on his ass, scuttling backwards like a crab. "D-Don't come closer! Stay away! Stop!"
The Lord squashed him underfoot like an insect.
Izuku woke up choking on his saliva. He rolled to his hands and knees, hacking violently. It passed eventually, but his throat was left sore. That was forgotten a moment later, when he realized the ground under him was wet. Wet, and red.
He woke up in a puddle of his own blood.
Acid flowed up his esophagus, forcing its way out of his mouth and splashing into the crimson lake, causing some of it to splash back onto Izuku's face. A trembling arm came up, index and middle finger touching the liquid on his cheek. Instead of wiping it off, though, it felt like all he did was smear it around. He pulled his hand back, and stared at his bloody palm. Something in his mind snapped.
"Ah… Ah…!"
His hoarse screams echoed throughout the chamber. Izuku scrambled to his feet, only to slip on the slick granite and fall face-first into the puddle, his nose crunching harshly. The ichor was still warm, covering the green-haired boy in a sickly heat. He curled up in a ball, covered in his own life liquid, and began to sob.
Why? Why is this happening to me? I don't want to be here anymore! I wanna go home! I'll deal with Kacchan for the rest of my life! Mom… All Might… Someone, save me.
Izuku woke up an unknown amount of time later. He'd cried himself empty, before exhaustion, both physical and mental, knocked him out. Dried tears and crusted blood flaked off his cheeks, and his broken nose twinged painfully, but Izuku was just too drained to care. He pushed himself upright, looking around the room to reacquaint himself with his current situation, only to notice the Lord's eyes glowing.
"Oh, sh-"
Izuku woke up rather calmly.
"Fuck. I forgot about that," he muttered. "Does it reset every time? I didn't think it did, since he was looking at me after the second… Death," he finished, forcing his brain to come to terms with reality. He'd died. Four times. Yet, he was still alive.
"Okay, so first, worship the Lord." Izuku crawled into a grovel, forehead touching the chilly floor. He waited until he heard that creaking noise, indicating that the Lord was smiling, before both of them got to their feet. "Now, praise the Lord. What does that mean?" For now, he had to avoid the walking behemoth until he figured something out. He eyed the smaller knights lining the perimeter of the chamber, remembering how the one next to the door had violently murdered him the first time. "Should probably stay away from the ones with weapons," he murmured.
Praise doesn't actually mean praise, right?
"You have, uh, really nice… Teeth?" Izuku called, as he began jogging a loop around the room. The Lord didn't seem to move very fast, but his steps were powerful enough to fracture the ground, so Izuku had to make sure to stay a certain distance away, or the shockwaves would unbalance him. He also needed to stay away from the knights, or they would eviscerate him.
His feeble attempt at complimenting the stone giant went ignored. "Figures. That would've been too easy."
It was on his second loop around the chamber that Izuku found a problem with his current strategy; namely, the craters in the floor required him to make wider turns to avoid stepping in one and twisting his ankle, bringing him close to the guards. Of course, by the time he realized this, a knight with a sword was bearing down on him, hefty blade poised to bisect him vertically.
"Son of a-"
Five deaths.
"Can't touch the door. Can't stand before I worship the Lord." Izuku quickly performed the necessary grovel. He rose quickly afterwards, casting his gaze around the chamber for perhaps the hundredth time, looking for something he might've missed. "Can't run. Can't go near the statues with weapons… What about the ones with instruments?" Izuku made a beeline for the nearest angel. This one had a horn of some sort, which looked rather similar to a saxophone. When he came within a meter of its base, the angel started playing a bass-heavy melody, which reverberated deep within Izuku's skeleton.
"Okay… That sorta worked. Do I have to activate all of them?" he wondered. The Lord was still moving, so maybe. It looked like there were three knights between each angel, and twelve angels around the chamber, meaning that he had to avoid thirty-six guards. Plus the Lord. Couldn't forget the big bastard stomping around. "Alright," Izuku breathed, trying to pump himself up. "Let's do this."
He took off in an explosive sprint, activating the bugle, drum, and lyre angels in quick succession. His luck ran out, though, when he came into the crosshairs of a guard with a bow. He wasn't even near it, but the damned thing nocked an arrow, pulled back the string, and let loose.
The arrow ripped a hole straight through his stomach, and Izuku fell to the ground. He would have bled out in a minute or less, if the Lord hadn't caught up and stomped him into a red paste.
Six.
Something was different about this time, though. Music was still playing throughout the chamber, and the Lord was already standing.
"Don't have to worship him anymore, huh?" Izuku asked, climbing to his feet and taking off. This time, he got to the violin angel, before he made another mistake. Following the three knight one angel pattern, Izuku gave three of the statues a wide berth, only to realize that the fourth wasn't an angel at all. Instead, it was a knight with a shield. Izuku desperately attempted to launch himself backwards, but the stone warrior slammed its tower shield on his left leg, crushing his kneecap and cutting off everything below.
Izuku shrieked in agony, hands hovering over the amputated limb. Blood gushed like a fountain, quickly covering the ground in shining crimson. The guard took a step forward, and Izuku's survival instincts kicked in, forcing him to drag himself backwards despite the pain screaming through his nerves. He shimmied and jerked and tossed himself as far from the shield-bearer as he could, only to notice a moment too late that there was a rapidly-growing shadow over his mangled body.
He glanced up, just in time to be stepped upon by the Lord.
The bow-wielding knight got him again, this time a bit higher. His heart was destroyed instantly.
The Lord stomped harder than normal, causing Izuku to misstep and get in range of a guard holding a glaive. It slashed him diagonally across the torso, then bisected him horizontally while he lay bleeding on the ground.
The archer almost got him, but Izuku finally dodged the stone arrow by diving out of the way. Only for a warhammer to descend upon his head.
Naginata.
Sword.
Spear.
Dead.
Dead.
Dead.
Sixteen, if he counted right. Sixteen times he was cut down, crushed, shot, bludgeoned, or otherwise killed in a manner most brutal. His blood was splattered around the room in so many places, across so many stone weapons.
For all that he'd died, though, Izuku had been making progress. He'd activated ten out of eleven angels (since one of them was actually the shield-bearer). All that was left was the one holding an open book. The choir singer. It was directly across the room from him, behind the Lord, and right next to the archer. The two biggest pains in the ass.
"God, this is bullshit," Izuku growled, bending his knees and preparing for his reckless rush. It might have just been his imagination, but it felt like his legs were moving just a little faster, his reaction time just a little quicker. Bursting into motion, Izuku easily skirted around the close-range knights, barely giving the Lord more than a passing glance. It was when he made it past the throne that the archer noticed him. Quickly nocking an arrow, it let loose the devastating projectile, only for Izuku to roll underneath it. A grin stretched across his face, unbidden, and the green-haired teen whooped triumphantly. By the time the archer knight had drawn back for another shot, Izuku was diving for the base of the choir singer. He came up in a role, nearly braining himself on the angel's solid legs, but he didn't care. He'd made it!
A haunting, ominous warble came streaming from the choir singer's mouth, but it only filled Izuku with relief, because it obviously seemed to calm the Lord. It stopped stomping around, and instead turned to a golden circle in the ground, in front of the throne. Raising its arms, two circular pedestals rose, the one on the inside higher than the outside.
"...An altar," Izuku realized, blood running cold. "Like from mythology, where they sacrificed living beings to appease their Lord… Cows, pig, sheep… Children."
The Third Commandment.
Prove your faith.
"No."
The Lord stared down at him expectantly.
"N-No. I won't."
The Lord took a menacing step forward. Izuku took three back.
"Stop."
The Lord's horrendous smile stretched impossibly wider.
"I-"
Dead.
Again.
Again.
Again.
How many times had he died now? At least thirty. Maybe forty. Izuku didn't really know. He hadn't moved in the past five or so resets, too… Something, to even be bothered. He didn't even flinch as the Lord's enormous bare foot was raised over his spread-eagled body.
Dead.
A hundred. Probably.
Izuku didn't have many positive traits. He didn't have a Quirk. He wasn't the smartest kid around, as evidenced by Bakugou always taking first place in their class. He definitely wasn't the strongest, if his bony body was any indication.
But Izuku thought he had willpower.
So many people had told Izuku he couldn't become a Hero. His doctor, Bakguou, everyone in school… His own mother didn't believe in him. Instead of comforting him, at least lying to him that he could be a Hero, she broke down crying, wailing apologies over and over and over.
That's not what I wanted you to say, Mom. That's not what you were supposed to say.
Still, Izuku persevered. He went into Hero and Quirk analysis. He learned how to break down a person's skills, their strengths and weaknesses, with just a scant few glimpses of their Quirk (because in this day and age, almost everyone's fighting style revolved around their Quirk. Counter the Quirk, and they become fodder). He kept going.
Izuku couldn't keep going now. He was… Broken sounded too cliché. No, he was completely fucking wasted.
The Lord's foot descended once more.
So much for willpower.
Occasionally, he would fade back into lucidity. Not enough to put together coherent thoughts, but he could at least process the world around.
Or rather, the Hell around him. There was… So much blood. Sometimes, Izuku woke up drowning. Most of the time, he didn't even remember waking up. He'd died so many times, in this exact same position, that it was all starting to blur together. It was like someone was rewinding his life, and then pressing play, only to do it again and again.
He woke up.
He was killed by the Lord.
He woke up again.
Rinse and repeat.
Izuku wondered if maybe he was going insane. Well, of course he was. Nobody could stay sane after being stomped to death hundreds of times.
What happened to being a Hero?
Saving people with a smile on my face?
Just like All Might?
...No. Fuck All Might. I'll be my own type of Hero.
For the first time in over a thousand resets, Midoriya Izuku stood up. He waded through a crimson ocean, and stepped up on to the lower concentric layer, dripping ichor like an overdone horror movie. He stared down at the intricate design on the altar, focused around some sort of malformed sun.
Whoosh.
Orange fireballs burst into existence, forming a ring around him. Then, from them, blue lines shot out across the ground, evaporating the blood on it and exposing the stone floor for the first time in a while. Another ring of flames appeared, though these were blue, smaller, and more numerous.
Then, on the other side of the chamber, the doors swung open.
Izuku blinked, staring at the Gates of Hell. It didn't even take him a second to dismiss the possibility of rushing through with as much speed as he could muster. There was no way it wasn't a trap. Instead, he was much more focused on the statues of the knights, who began grinding into motion, stepping slowly but surely towards the altar.
The beginnings of dread welled up in his heart, but Izuku crushed it down ruthlessly. There was no place for fear here. Not anymore.
Prove your faith.
This was just another trial. Another way to strike terror into him. It wouldn't work if Izuku didn't let it.
The blue flames were slowly flickering out. A timer, he realized. With each azure will-o-wisp that vanished, the doors inched closer and closer to shutting, probably for the rest of eternity.
Prove your faith.
More tricks. More things for him to ignore.
The knights crept ever closer. All except the archer, who remained where it was, frozen in place. This confirmed Izuku's theory that the Lord didn't actually want him dead now. Otherwise, there would've been an arrow lodged in his chest at the moment. Izuku's gaze idly passed across the room, and he noticed something rather interesting; the statues in his line of sight stopped moving. He could hear the others moving, the creaking of their granite joints grating on his ears, but the ones directly in front of him paused. Izuku chuckled.
"What is this, red light, green light?" he joked morbidly. Then, because he was bored, he began spinning in place, slowly casting his sight upon every statue. Each time they halted, it took them a moment or two to start moving again, only to freeze up again when Izuku completed another revolution. The green-haired boy couldn't help the laugh that bubbled out of his throat.
"I feel like Eraserhead," he murmured with a grin. The Underground Hero who could Erase the Quirks of anyone in his line of sight, the effects of which were broken whenever he blinked.
The timer ticked down. The door shut. The statues burst into motion.
"Wha-?"
A spear pierced clean through his shoulder, pinning him to the floor below, before being brutally ripped upwards. The momentum flung Izuku into the air, and he landed back-first on the altar. His blood seeped into the carvings below him, wetting the stone and filling the air with an even more pungent scent of iron.
"Ergh…" Izuku groaned, the pain sending supernovas through his neurons. For all the times he died, most of them were instant. He still wasn't quite used to this sort of torture. It didn't stop the red smile that his lips formed.
Prove your faith.
Is this the end? Will I actually die this time?
A guard with a curved blade- a scimitar- stepped forward, raising its cruel weapon high into the air. His smile became weak, then disappeared altogether.
I… I don't want to die.
The sword descended.
I want to become a Hero.
Closer and closer it approached, like a guillotine.
I want to see Mom again.
Time froze.
I want just one more chance. Please.
Ding!
! Alarm
You have completed all the necessary requirements of the secret quest;
"Courage of the Weak."
You have earned the right to become a Player.
Will you accept?