Chapter 7: The Days Before

After the fight with Harrok Izuku was unconscious. Thankfully the heroes he saved were there and with what little strength they had rushed him to the hospital. When they arrived, the doctors took him in and noticed that he was just simply extremely exhausted. When the doctors asked what happened to him, the heroes told them the story, and how they think it was the villain's quirk that made the world change. It was the only logical explanation to them. Though as they talked, something was happening to Izuku. His temperature was starting to rise, his body shaking as he grew a fever out of nowhere. The doctor was quick to act, the nurse called his mother while the doctors took Izuku to an ice bath to lower his temperature. To them they had no idea why this fever sprouted, but inside Izuku's mind held the answer.

~~Within a unknown realm~~

Izuku was unsure what was happening as he stood in a different place within his mind. Before him sat only a single throne sitting on the ground that resembled the night sky and before the throne sat a pedestal with what looked like three cards floating over it. He approached the pedestal, looking at the cards. To his surprise, it was Red Eyes Black Dragon, Red Eyes Black Wyvern, and a new spell called Dragon's Gunfire.

"Those are your rewards."

Izuku turned to look behind him, finding a woman. She wore robes similar to the Shadow Hunter, though instead of purple her cloak was a pure white. Under her hood was flowing silver-blue hair, her eyes a piercing white while the dress under her cloak was a simple summer dress that was solid blue to match her hair. Izuku was about to speak, but she raised her hand.

"I know you have questions, Izuku Mirodirya, but sadly I can not keep you for long. Your connection to this realm is still not strong enough for that."

Izuku sighed, he couldn't deny that the longer he stood here the more he felt his body straining.

"As a reward for defeating one of Yultix's henchmen, I have brought the creatures of his you defeated to be added to your deck along with a spell that will be useful for the dragons. The more of his minions you defeat, the more I will work to give you their monsters." The woman looked to Izuku, sighing as she sat on her throne. "We have enough time for you to ask me two questions. Pick them wisely."

Izuku blinked as he went to touch the three cards before him, but before he could they disappeared like the others and were added to his deck. "Okay, first thing is who are you."

The woman looked into Izuku's eyes, smiling as she folded a leg over the other as she sat. "I am Auset, and for being so kind as to ask me my name first I'll give you a bonus. You are still in the Duelists' Realm, but you are at its core. You stand before the center of what you call your Quirk. Now, your second question."

Izuku blinked, sighing as he looked around to see the swirling stars and planets around them before looking back at her. "Who is Yultix?"

Auset sighed, letting her head hang low. "Yulix, sadly, is my opposite. As I stand for the balance of magic and power, he stands for the imbalance. But to be more direct, he is an agent of the Shadow Realm. Through the corruption and torment of the World of Darkness he discovered a path to harness it and use it to cause destruction."

He could only stare at Auset, about to open his mouth to ask another question but was stopped as she raised her hand again for him to go silent. "Two questions, that's all the time I can give you. But before you go I will say this."

She took a deep breath before looking Izuku in the eye again. "As much as I wanted to keep your world out of this conflict, the contract I made with the Ancient Pharaoh of your world has been nullified. I still do not understand how, but without the contract to bind your world without contact with the Shadow Realm the Shadow Duelists will invade like they did the worlds of the heroes I placed within you. I had hoped adding them to your quirk I gave you would empower you and prepare the world for what is to come. I am glad to see that it is working so far."

Izuku desperately wanted to speak up, but he was barely able to keep himself standing as she spoke. She noticed his struggle, and with a wave of her hand he started to vanish from the realm. "Know this, Izuku Midoriya, the forces of the Shadow Duelists are conspiring with the natural foes of your world. You must prepare yourself, for an evil far greater than was intended for this world is growing. Unlock more power with the Duelists, prepare your arsenal of spells, and perhaps in doing so you can defeat Yultix and restore order once again. Become the hero I hoped you would be." She gave him a weak smile before he was gone, now left alone once again within her throne. "I pray for your swift growth, Izuku. Darkness has come for your world, and you must muster the forces to protect it…"

~~Within the Duelists' Realm~~

Izuku grunted as he fell ass first on the ground, scratching the back of his head as he sat on the middle of the pedestal of the six thrones. Jaden rushed down from this throne, kneeling beside Izuku as he helped him sit up. "Easier there Izuku, where were you?"

"Yes, we were waiting for you once you went unconscious but you just now arrived." The Pharaoh stood in front of Izuku, looking down at him with mild concern.

"I thought you up and died on us." Seta huffed as he leaned against the pillar sitting his throne, turning his head away despite being glad Izuku survived.

Joey rolled his eyes at Seto. "Grumpy over there means he is happy you beat that Harrok fella. But where were you, Izuku? You made us worried sick."

The teenager sighed, taking a deep breath as he smiled up at them. "I know more about what is going on."

After explaining to them what happened, who he encountered, and what she told him, the duelists were all lost in thought. The information brought with it sombering news. If her words are true, then their homes were now lost to the Shadow Realm. This sobering realization made the mood within the room tense. Izuku wished he could tell them something to make things better, but how could he cheer up those who realized that their friends could very well be dead.

"You said she made a deal with a pharaoh, did she say what their name was?" The Pharaoh asked, looking down at Izuku while Joey sat on his throne within his own thoughts while Seto sat on his while looking at a locket he opened to see the picture inside.

"Yeah, she said something about making a deal with him to keep the Shadow Realm away from my world. Maybe that's why Duel Monsters never existed in this world?"

"Perhaps, but I am not sure. There is still much we do not know of." The Pharaoh looked down while he thought. "What we do know is that we have a chance to redeem ourselves if our homes are truly gone. We must help you protect yours. And perhaps defeating this Yultix can restore our worlds."

"Maybe, either way it's the best chance we got. So let's put this bastard in his place." Jaden said as he stayed at Izuku's side, helping his stand as he was still recovering his LP very slowly.

"What do you two say?" Izuku asked as he looked up to the thrones, only to be greeted by a scornful look on Seto's face and a look of anguish on Joey's.

"They need time to think, Izuku." the Pharaoh said while looking up at his comrades. "They lost much if the information you gave us is real."

Izuku nodded, looking down to his feet as he felt rage building inside him. "I promise you all, once I become stronger and defeat this monster, I will do whatever it takes to bring back your homes. I swear it on my honor as a future hero!"

This only made the four of the duelists look at him before they returned to their thrones. Times were tough now, the threat dire, but even as they were lost in their thoughts, Izuku could feel the anger and vengeance boiling in their veins far more than his own. They will right the wrongs Yultix did!

~~Meanwhile in Izuku's hospital room~~

Inko was once again sitting at her son's side as he lay unconscious again. The amount of stress that peeled years off her life because of Izuku's brazen acts were starting to pile up. When she got the call from the hospital at the restaurant with the Kendos she made a scene, apologizing profusely to them before making her way to the hospital. The Kendos called her cellphone not too long after she got there, telling her they would stop by to visit him once they had the chance to later that afternoon. And as much as Inko was worrying about Izuku, Itsuka was worrying just as hard.

For Itsuka Izuku was growing to be more than just a friend to her. The more time they spent together she saw him in a different light. At first she thought it was just the fact of Izuku being the first boy to treat her as an equal instead of looking down at her or treating her differently like the boys in her High School did to her. But as the time went on, the sight of his smile made her heart skip beats. His drive to be a hero matched her own, but to her Izuku was doing more than trying to become a pro. He wanted to be the hero that saved everyone with a fearless smile, to be a beacon of hope just like his idol All Might. All these things, combined with the toned muscles she saw often when they trained together, made the teenage girl feel something for him. So when Inko freaked and told her and her family what had happened, her first instinct was to go with Inko. However, her father made the point that Inko needs to be at her son's side first, not her nor themselves.

By the time Itsuka and her family got to Izuku, Inko was already holding his hand as she smiled down at him. The doctors said that when he first came in he had nothing major to worry about, just a mild case of exhaustion. However when he entered an intense fever that seemed to fight their methods and medicine, the doctors grew concerned as they feared the intense effects of his body's temperature rising so quickly may have caused more damage then they had seen. For now, it was a waiting game for Inko and the Kendos.

As the group waited around Izuku's room, Itsuka couldn't help but wonder what really happened to Izuku. The doctors informed Inko when she was around that Izuku stepped into a fight between a villain and pro heroes. The heroes related to the doctors that when Izuku fought the villain, it was as if he was brought into another world. A place of darkness, where the light never seemed to shine. The thought of Izuku being in such a place broke Itsuka's heart, how come a boy so bright be dragged into a place like that? When the doctor's told Inko about the fight from the heroes' points of view, she almost cried as they told her that Izuku was losing at first, but did some sort of bold tactic to get the edge over the villain. When she asked about what happened to the villain, the doctor had no answer. The only clue that the villain was there was the heroes' testimony and the golden mask left behind. The doctor did warn Inko that once Izuku was awake and stable, he would have to inform the police so they could get Izuku's statement and discuss what to do about him breaking the law and using his quirk to fight the villain. Even if it was with heroic intentions, the law is the law.

Sadly, for Inko, the wait for her son to awake would take some time.

~~At the local police precinct~~

Detective Naomasa grunted as he stretched, his desk a thicker mess of documents, reports, ledgers and so much more. For the last few weeks his investigation was practically at a stand still with Izuku Midoriya. The only lead he had, the Pharaoh Atem, ended up being another dead end as no other information could be discovered. He had sent letters with All Might's signature to the Egyption Hero Agency, hoping they could dig up some info on Atem since that was their territory. When he got the letter back, explaining that the pharaoh he was looking into was nothing more than a story, it annoyed him. With the letter, however, they sent a copy of a children's fairy tale book from their country. The book was full of myths about creatures, people and the gods of Egypt and had a single entry about Atem. Despite his annoyance to the Egyption heroes, he did indulge his curiosity and read the passage about Atem.

The story that one day across the skies of Egypt, tears in the skies tore through the clouds. From the tears monsters descended to the sands of Egypt and terrorized the people. It is said that during these times the Gods abandoned the people, leaving them to defend their lands from the otherworldly invaders while they sat aside to their own devices. Though through the chaos a single man rose to take on the monsters. A young Pharaoh named Atem stood at the forefront of his people's armies, leading them into victories against the monsters as he used a strange rod to cast magic to destroy his foes. Beside him, a single God stood at his back. The dark robbed God with no name fought alongside the people of Egypt, laying waste to the invading monsters time and time again. Though as the campaign to free Egypt continued, priests in shadowy purple robes came from the tears in the skies to fight the Pharaoh and his god. During these battles whole parts of the Egyptian deserts would be transformed to mires of black and purple muck…

Black and purple muck.

Naomasa's eyes widened at the description of these battles, his hand still on the page of the book as he reached for the police report filed earlier that day. His eyes looked through the description of the battle, his eyes narrowing as he saw the place the villain allegedly took them:a black where the ground was a mire of black and purple. He put the report aside, leaning back to the book and continuing where he left off. Maybe it was just a coincidence the two were described the same.

The story continued to describe how the battles were waged, the robbed priests summoning their own gods to their side to battle against Atem's. In these battles the pharaoh always seemed to win against the priests, turning their own gods to his side. As the campaign to free Egypt of the monster threat more and more tears in the sky erupted from the heavens. Slowly but surely the lands of egypt were being swallowed into the darkness around them, taking their home into a realm of darkness where the purple and black muck now replaced the sands. Despite Atem's efforts and countless victories he was not able to push back the darkness. He let despair swallow his heart as he looked from his palace to see his people suffer as the darkness tortured them alongside the monsters. However, as he sulked in his throne in his woe, a goddess descended onto him. The goddess, like the black robbed god, was unknown as she talked to the Pharaoh, speaking to him of the way to seal the darkness back to where it belongs at the price of locking magic away from their world. The goddess told him that since magic was growing strong in their lands, the people from the World of Darkness were able to find their lands through the dimensions of their reality. And though she was strong in her own right, and the Pharaoh fought bravely, the darkness could not be defeated.

With a heavy heart the Pharaoh agreed to the pact with the goddess, taking her hand as he sealed the pact with the sacrifice of his life for he was the strongest magician throughout the world. As the pact ended, and the Pharaoh stayed sitting on his throne lifeless, the goddess mustered the power she had and the power of the pact to push back the darkness and seal away the evil monsters it brought with them. With the rifts into the darkness sealed, the priests from the World of Darkness also vanished, being tossed back into their own world and unable to locate Egypt again for the pact protected the land from their gaze.

After reading the last of the passage Naomasa leaned back in his chair, his face unreadable as he was in deep thought about the story. A battle where the ground turned to a purple and black mire, unknown gods brought to battle one another at the command of someone else…this is almost exactly the same as how the heroes described the battle with Izuku against the villain. However, the last time he checked there were no black tears in the sky, nor were their monsters fighting on the streets. No, there was only one similarity, but that one similarity was hard proof that something was going on. And it seems to revolve around Izuku Midoriya.

~~UA Meeting Room~~

Aizawa was snoring softly as he slept in his large, yellow sleeping bag on the floor as the other teachers and the principal were discussing what to do for the entrance exams in a few days. Like usual the faculty were happy to do the practical with robots like they have been for years, ignoring the protests of Aizawa in the years past. To the sleepy teacher the practical was irrational, since it favored those with powerful, combat oriented quirks over those like his own that were meant for more practical uses. Though he always brought it up every year, no one ever really agreed with him. That's the reason why he was sleeping during the meeting this time around. No point in wasting precious sleep time over it.

The meeting continued on, but before they could agree on upping the difficulty of the robots a phone started buzzing.

"A phone call is here! A phone call is here! A phone ca-!"

All Might looked down and pulled his phone from his pocket, bowing in apology to his colleagues before standing up and leaving to answer the phone. He brought the phone to his ear, about to speak before Naomasa interrupted him.

"All Might, it's about that boy."

For the next twenty minutes All Might listened to his friend talk, listening to the odd tale of the Egyption pharaoh and his battle against the forces of darkness. At first he thought Naomasa may have lost it from working long hours, but when he was told about the battle between Izuku and the villain he started to take the detective more seriously. Even if it was only one thing, it was enough of a parallel to start thinking that Izuku's quirk was something more than what they originally thought. After explaining to All Might that he plans on visiting Izuku in the hospital, Naomasa ended the call. All Might stayed in the hallway for a few minutes, thinking about what to do next with this information.

"Toshinori?"

All Might turned around to see the mouse bear principal, Nezo, standing at the door to the meeting room with a concerned look on his face as he saw his newest faculty member in deep thought. "What's going on?"

"Nothing, sir, just an investigation I have been working on got a lead. Uhm, sir, can you see if a boy named Izuku Midoriya has put the papers in for the entrance exam?"

The principal raised an eyebrow before motioning to the meeting room. "Certainly! Come back inside and I will see if he did on my laptop!"

All Might had a visible sweat drop on his face before nodding, going back to the meeting where the teachers, including Aizawa who was now standing at full intention, were looking up at the projection on the wall to see an application.

Name: Izuku Midoriya

Age: 15

Eye Color: Green

Hair Color: Dark-Green

Blood Type: O

Quirk: Duelist

Izuku hears voices in his head that tell him how to summon powerful monsters he calls Duel Monsters, and how to cast equally powerful spells from them. His Quirk relies on something he calls Life Points (LP). When his Life Points reach 0 he is rendered unconscious til it replenishes.

"Now that is an interesting Quirk…" Vlad King said, looking up at the projection as he had a hand on his chin in thought. "Summon monsters to fight for him? Seems like he'd pass with no issue."

"Totally, the little dj could probably turn the course of a fight with whipping out one of his monsters." Present Mic added, looking to Vlad King with a nod.

"You talk about his monsters, but what about his spells? What can they do? Are they only destructive or can they do other things besides battle?" Cementoss added in, leaning back in his chair with fingers pressing together.

"Indeed, if anything we can't be too sure what his capabilities are unless he tells us directly." The cowboy hat wearing Snipe said as he was cleaning one of his pistols.

"Why are we even looking at this kid's application?" Aizawa asked, getting a bit annoyed as he dropped eye solution into his pupils.

"Yes, that is a good question. Why did you want to see this child's application, All Might?" Nezo asked, smiling up at All Might with a hint of a snicker growing. If this kid was important enough to interrupt his scheduled meeting, then he would make sure the faculty knew about him.

All Might sighed in defeat before retelling the story of the Pharaoh Atem and the similarities the story and Izuku's quirk had. He explained to Nezo and the others he encountered Izuku the day he fought the Sludge Villain and rescued Izuku since his quirk wasn't able to properly counter the villain. When Izuku told him that his quirk had multiple abilities that didn't make sense for a single quirk he worried that he may be connected to an old foe of his, so he asked his friend in the police to investigate. Which led to his friend learning about Atem and the story.

"I see, so his quirk is highly tied to this story. Though it sounds impossible, we have had quirks in the past that resembled myths and legends from across the world. So why does he sound like something else?" Midnight asked as she sat at the table, looking at Izuku's picture. Typically she would be making remarks about how cute the boy looked, but right now his quirk had most of her interest. Most.

"Maybe because his quirk doesn't just resemble the myth, how he fights and how his quirk works is almost identical to the battles with Atem. The only major difference is the fact that Atem didn't have Life Points, and likely didn't have voices in his head." Aizawa spoke out as he opened a juice pouch before sitting down at his chair. This now got more interesting for him.

"Indeed. It seems that something more is going on than we can see currently. That being said, it is a good sign he is trying to be a hero. With a quirk like that, and the potential history it may have, he has the potential of becoming a powerful villain alongside the potential of becoming an outstanding hero." Nezo added, looking to All Might. "So you said he is currently in the hospital unconscious? Do you know which hospital? I would like to visit him. And maybe Recovery Girl can do something about his injuries."