Chapter 5: Burn My Dread
The Velvet Room greeted Izuku with a piano melody accompanied by opera singing, so faintly you wouldn't realize it's there unless you focus on it.
Izuku looked at the tapestries' wall, wanting to see the images of his new Oaths. The first was The Magician tapestry right beside The Fool, depicting a figure shrouded by a black cloak. Only his red eyes were visible, a raven perched on his right shoulder while holding a book on his left hand. A twisting green landscape surrounded him, but the figure remained unperturbed by it.
The other tapestry now restored to glory was Strength, the ninth from left to right. It depicted a girl with ivory hair donning a velvet blue dress sitting on the ground while calmly petting the mane of a green lion lying at her side. Both were looking up, at the fading sunset.
"It seems you had quite the eventful day, Hero. Sit, there is something I would like to tell you." Igor's cheerful voice got Izuku's attention. Looking at the master of this realm, Izuku had the impression he was more excited based on his smile.
Taking his seat on the couch he was growing progressively more familiar with, Izuku listened to Igor's next words.
"You encountered another like you today. Someone that had Awakened despite the current state of society, a very fortunate development. This vow will be much-needed in your mission, Hero, as a lonely pillar is bound to crumble against the weight of the world." Igor's words made Izuku glance at The Hierophant tapestry.
"You are right, as the saying goes 'United we stand, divided we fall'," He looked the long nosed man in his pinstriped eyes, "I wanted to be a hero like All Might more than anything, but now I see that's not enough, it never was, he was only one person, I'm only one person." He looked back at the tapestries, the restored ones and those that were still waiting for their day to showcase the representation of his Oaths.
"I can't save everyone, not alone," Izuku's eyes focused on The Magician once more, "If there's others that can help me do it, if they want to help me to save everyone that needs it, then who am I to say no?"
Igor's joyful laugh filled the room, his applause following right after, "Yes! This World that stands against you, ruled by a twisted being that already won a game where no one could oppose them, will need more than a single individual could ever be capable of. The true power of Humanity is what if not to face impossible odds together? If you can find those that swear to stay at your side, then Humanity will prevail," Igor then calmly, almost sadly, finished, "Maybe then you can right my wrongs against my Master."
Igor's final words shocked Izuku, he looked at Angela but she was as surprised as him. Sighing, he shook his head, one more question, one more person to help.
And he would help them all.
—
More days passed, each filled with training and diving into the beyond, now with the guidance and help of his new friend. Izuku had almost settled into a routine, wake up, train, go to school, train, see if Tokoyami wanted to dive in any Anomaly they had found or look for one if there wasn't any, train, sleep (maybe dream with more training) and repeat. The weekend was much the same, but without school he had even more time for training and Anomaly hunting.
Now at least the time he had to spend in attending school was more tolerable with his Personas to keep him company, the insults and mean spirited jokes were nothing more than white noise in the background compared to the voice of the other parts of himself dwelling within his mind. Of course that caused its own share of trouble, as Izuku caught himself more than once spacing out when in a silent conversation or chuckling at a joke only he could hear.
But all in all, his school life was getting better. As if mocking him, his childhood friend turned bully came from a corner he was about to turn, causing both to collide.
Bakugo Katsuki turned, his eyes burning with a molten rage. He glared at Izuku, which was pretty much what Izuku expected these days.
Izuku was about to apologize out of habit when a sparkling palm flew towards his face. New instincts, beaten into his body by battles against monsters and demons, made him take a half step back, dodging the strike, and let Omoikane take the lead in his mind. His Persona protected him against the explosion to his face, the inherent ability against fire keeping the heat and smoldering smoke away from damaging him, leaving only the blunt force that Izuku was more than capable of withstanding, being used to it as he is.
'I'm so glad that you have Repel Fire.'
"With the experiences that you had endured under the flames of those blinded by their ignorance, it is not unreasonable you had such an aversion to it that I acquired this natural ability." Omoikane's matter of fact and clinical way of speaking helped Izuku to detach himself from any painful memory that might have popped up.
With a surprisingly clear mind, Izuku's voice cut through the not so clear air, "You can't just attack everyone that stumbles upon Bakugo, you could hurt someone!"
"Shut the fuck up! You can't tell me what to do, your useless Deku!" The enraged shouts got the attention of everyone in the near vicinity. Various pairs of eyes focused on the scene, even if not a finger was raised to stop it.
Izuku knew a small part of him was still scared of Bakugo, but that part took a backseat to the steady presence of the Personas within his mind. All of them had wonderful powers capable of bringing ruin, bending the elements and much more, and they were all a part of him. This was what he was working for, to be a hero, to stand against anyone that tried to cause harm to others, how could he be like that if he didn't stand up to a bully that wasn't half as scary as some of the weaker Shadows he faced just the day before?
"Look, I am just trying to say that something could happen if you're not careful, not 'telling you what to do'. Not everything has to be about you, Bakugo." The use of his real name was enough to make the boy flinch back, as Izuku never called him by that, ever.
"What did you call me?!" Bakugo seemed to default to his usual response, anger.
'"Bakugou." Izuku said, more clearly, not backing down from the murderous glare he was receiving, "That is your name, isn't it? I won't waste my time calling someone by a nickname if they clearly don't want to be my friend. I should have stopped a long time ago." With his piece said, Izuku passed the boy and continued on his way, not bothering to look back. But he should have, then he would have seen the twisted shadow that started to form in what was once his friend.
—
Izuku finished hauling one of the never ending fridges Dagoba held within it's mountains of garbage into the truck. All Might had excused himself to take care of a villain attack in the vicinity, leaving the boy the only one on the beach.
Or at least he thought so.
"Good job!" Angela's voice came from the side, where the ethereal blue door stood, the girl leaving it's side and approaching him.
"Hi! Paying a visit?"
"Yup, that and I wanted to see if you're busy."
Izuku raised an eyebrow at that, "Not really. I was about to stop for a minute either way, there're only so many fridges I can carry here before it gets boring." Really, how many of the things are there abandoned in the sand? He counted at least fifty since he had started.
Angela giggled, "I can imagine. So, I was working on something that could help you and finished it today. I don't know if it will work exactly as I want but it should and-" Her spiraling words were interrupted by a hand on her shoulder.
"Hey no need to worry about it, let's go see what it is, if anything maybe I can help you if it does not work like you intended." His reassuring words made the girl smile.
"Okay! Huh, you started to speak a lot more eloquently since you started to spend time with The Magician." She softly laughed while Izuku blushed, he had noticed that too.
"Well, some of the credit goes for Omoikane, he too is better with the words, I'm trying to base myself in them to better talk with others, is it working?" He explained with a fair share of embarrassment.
"Yes, it's a little different but suits you, know what I mean?"
Izuku nodded, "Yeah, more or less. Anyway, let's go check on your work?"
"Lets!" With a quick step over the door, both were back in the Velvet Room.
Angela guided Izuku to a new station on a corner of the room, in it a chest with the emblem of the Velvet Room in its lid, above it an elevated slot for a Record hang by chains, pipes connected it to the sides of the chest.
"Take off your shoes."
Izuku did a double take, "Wait what?"
"Trust me!" With her eyes locked in his, and her pouting face looking fairly adorable in his private opinion, Izuku's resolve crumbled and he took off his trusty red sneakers.
Angela grabbed them and put them inside the chest, closed the lid and locked it. She turned back to him, "I know you want to summon Eligor now that you have the Power, so you can spare Berith right?"
"I think so?" Izuku was more than a little confused, but he followed along.
"Good, then send him to the spare Record over there," She pointed to the book overhead. Angela watched while hopping in place, she knew it would work, probably, hopefully, that was her chance to start making good of her promise and be better, for her Hero.
When the burning pages entered the new Record it took barely a second for the ink in it to start flowing down, travel along the pipes and into the chest. The two waited with bated breaths, after a minute a light shone from inside it, Angela unlocked the chest and inside was the result of her hard work.
The old red shoes were now different, changed by the Power infused into them. The soles had been transformed into a solid dark metal, while the red top was now a scarlet hard leather. And yet, when he lifted them up Izuku perceived that the weight of the footwear had remained the same, "Amazing," He said in awe, "you could pass this off as a support item from a big company with how well made it is. I'm sure it is a lot more resistant now and will probably give my kicks some extra oomph." He swiftly descended into an analytical fit as he took in the finer details, "If I could completely equip both Tokoyami and myself in items of this quality then we can clear Anomalies in less time and…" Izuku started to speak faster and faster until he became unintelligible to others, creating plans for possible equipment and how to fit it in their fighting styles.
Angela barely heard him though, too happy with herself, "I did it!"
Izuku was brought back from the maddening abyss that is his mind to the scene of Angela doing a little happy dance. He laughed, getting the attendant's attention and causing her to blush bright red, "Don't laugh!"
"Sorry, sorry," Izuku tried to stifle his chuckles, "But yeah, that is incredible! I will be a lot better equipped if I can use my Personas to enhance my gear. Thanks Angela!" He gave her a sincere smile.
For some reason the girl just blushed even harder, saying something he didn't catch before nodding and turning away. The bond of the Strength deepened, with it the tapestry in the other wall became more vibrant.
Igor watched all that with his usual grin, but the ones that really know him would notice how it was softer than usual, witnessing his creations grow had always brought him joy.
—
The Magician: I have almost reached my stop, five more minutes and I will be there.
Putting his phone away, Izuku got back to his reps. He had agreed to Tokoyami's proposal of training together and, after confirming with All Might that the hero would not suddenly appear today, marked the session to happen in Dagoba.
Izuku wouldn't exactly call it "hanging out" but spending time with a friend with a common interest would surely be a novel and hopefully pleasant experience.
Not much later the boy heard the sound of Dark Shadow complaining about the smell and Tokoyami trying to calm him down even while agreeing. Izuku finished his set and walked over, the feeling of his improved shoes still new to him, it was capable of much more traction even in the sand. Even better, they seemed to resist sand getting in.
"Tokoyami! Good to see you!"
"You as well my friend," Tokoyami said while petting a distraught Dark Shadow who was covering his beak with both hands. The capability of the Persona manifestation by the quirk being able to smell made Izuku's finger twitch for his analysis notebooks.
"How are things going for you?" Izuku asked, guiding Tokoyami to his current training area.
"Very good, my parents are still quite joyful knowing I have a fellow Persona-user to accompany me in the Metaverse."
That made Izuku pause, a subject he had been delaying with all his might and the procrastination a teen could muster coming to the forefront of his thoughts with a vengeance, "Oh, your parents know about… everything?"
Noticing the shift in Izuku's tone, Tokoyami threaded his way forward in the conversation carefully, "Yes. Since I was a child, my parents were the first people that I sought for guidance. Some convincing was needed, especially after my Awakening, however they never truly doubted me. They only tried to understand the truth of my situation." He weaved the words carefully to best convey events to his friend, and Izuku's current state of deep thought indicated that the boy was weighing every single one of them.
"Your family should be the people most deserving of your trust. If you cannot share your burdens with them, even if for the tiniest amount, then who can you?"
Izuku gave a deep sight, more pain escaping in it than he thought, "I know, but it is hard when they already broke my trust once already."
Fumikage reached out and put a hand on Midoriya's shoulder, grasping it firmly, the him within already agitated by the boy's downcast mood, "I am here to hear if you are willing to speak."
The green haired boy smiled appreciatively, even if it carried a deeply rooted sadness, "I'm quirkless and for a very long time, that seemed to mean I was useless."
Fumikage didn't reacted outwardly at all, but inside he was shocked, not for the lack of his friend's quirk as for him it was inconsequential in the grand scheme of things, but for what it said about what Midoriya had to face since the tender age of four. Pieces started to fall into place, and for every one Tsukuyomi's rage only grew, only by heavily exerting his will power did Fumikage stop any Curse energy slipping over to Reality, didn't matter how weaker it would be it still was more than dangerous.
Izuku didn't notice any of that, too focused in a distant but oh so painful past, "My sorry excuse of a father," He spat the word, "He left me and my mother without a second thought, right when we needed him most. And even mom didn't believe my dream of becoming a hero could be achieved. While my father isn't someone I would spare any time of my day, my mom has been there with me all the way. She's worried for my safety and wishes for my happiness even if she believed it impossible... But lately she changed." *insert him looking up or something like it* "After I removed the source of her suffering."
Drawing a sharp breath to help calm down the wrath bubbling inside himself, Tokoyami whispered, "There was an Anomaly."
Izuku nodded, "Yes, I dealt with it the day after my Awakening. It took barely the same amount of time that I spent in it to see my mom get better. I want to trust her! I want to believe the reason she didn't support me right from the beginning was because of him... But I'm still afraid."
They stayed silent for a long minute, then Tokoyami spoke, in a surprisingly serious tone even compared to his normal self, "Take this leap of faith instead of letting your past shackle you. Either way, you will find the closure you need."
Feeling tears starting to fall, Izuku dried them with his arm before they could hit the sand. Turning to his friend, his true and genuine friend, who cared about him even after hearing all of that, he gave a brilliant smile, "Right! Now let's begin, we are burning daylight here!"
Picking up his makeshift spear and passing a similarly crafted approximation of a katana to Tokoyami, the two began to duel who accepted it graciously. Sparks flew as their weapons clashed and the Oath of The Magician strengthened, a newfound respect over each other serving as a new layer of their Bond.
—
Izuku was panicking.
Omoikane seemed to be the part of him that knew what he was doing, but Jack Frost was laughing in his face, but that's neither here nor there. After his talk with Tokoyami, he had finally found the courage to tell his mentor and his mother about his current situation. At least most of it.
But now that the moment had arrived the anxiety was almost crippling. So noticeable was it that Inko and Toshinori were shooting him worried glances from their seats, the three having dinner together in the Midoriya house.
Izuku turned to his mentor and tried to talk, but his voice got caught in his throat while his stomach twisted in knots. He couldn't, the fear of being rejected again when things finally started getting better for him froze his insides and the sound of his Personas trying to reassure him barely registered in his mind.
Seeing the boy trying to say something, Toshinori tried to break the ice, "Is there something you want to talk about Young Midoriya? Maybe some help with a lady friend?" His joke, while well intentioned, caused Izuku to blush like a strawberry, his original topic of discussion forgotten in his embarrassment.
"No! There's no girl, I mean there is but she is not important, I mean she is but she is not the focus here and…" Realizing what he just said, Izuku somehow blushed even harder.
Inko and Toshinori traded amused glances, "Well that is also good to know, Young Midoriya. I can give you some tips if you want," The hero buffed up and flexed, for dramatics more than anything, "I was fairly popular when I was your age, all the training had some extra perks!" He patted his bulging arm.
Izuku's hard work on trying to be proficient with his words had gone up in the flames of his embarrassment, "No, I, she, we're not like that!" His outburst made the adults laugh, "And there's no way someone like her would like someone like me."
Inko sighed wistfully, her baby was growing, "Don't say that, you'll never know unless you ask."
Toshinori nodded, "As a wise man once said 'once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth', so ask her and try to take the 'impossible' out the equation!" He then gave his signature boisterous laugh, he was the boy's mentor so he would help him, even if his experience with the opposite sex was… limited.
Inko giggled, "Did you really just quote Sherlock Holmes?"
Toshinori bashfully looked aside, "Yes, I don't just punch all my problems, I'm a man of culture!"
The sight of a mountain of muscle like All Might acting like a dork amused Inko to no end, "Good to know someone still knows how to appreciate the classics."
While Inko and Toshinori had gone on their own little tangent, Izuku stared at them with glazed eyes, 'What am I seeing?'
"It seems The Empress and The Hierophant have a deeper relationship than we had originally assumed." Omoikane laughed awkwardly, feeling the same as his counterpart.
'And by that you mean…'
"They like each other," Ame-no-Uzume's melodic voice sounded in his mind, the dancer enjoying the show of love slowly blooming, even if the Hero tried to deny what was so painfully obvious.
All the other Personas currently inside Izuku's mind watched as the Hero was driven away from the matter that almost drowned him, they all knew that it was just delaying the inevitable, but forcing it when their contractor was not ready would only end in disaster.
Inko turned back to Izuku, not noticing how the boy's world was crumbling or how her and Toshinori had slightly red cheeks, "I believe in you Izuku, just be yourself and I know anyone would be interested."
Her words were enough to make Izuku focus back on the present, and drive the final nail in the coffin, someday he might tell them, but today was not that day, "Okay, can we please move to another topic? Please?!"
She nodded, deciding the boy was off the rook, for now, "Okay, okay. How is your training going?"
"I too would like to know how much progress you've made." Toshinori said while buffing down, "I have to hand it to you kid, you're the most hardworking person that I ever met!" He offered his sincere praise, Izuku becoming a little mist eyed by it.
They then devolved into a pleasant conversation, passing the time talking about anything that crossed their minds. The feeling of being part of a family, of spending his time with people he loved, made both the Oaths of The Empress and The Hierophant to grow even more, the sentiment not only warmed his heart while giving his Bonds new Power, it also put a weight on his shoulders, he didn't want to lose this. Izuku made his mind there, he could shoulder that burden on his own, the Metaverse and everything it entailed was his responsibility, and his alone. Even with Tokoyami at his side, the Enemy was his foe to defeat, while he would be forever grateful to The Magician, he would not risk the first friend he had since the day his dream was deemed as impossible at risk.
—
Hitting his bed, Izuku closed his eyes, completely exhausted from the emotional rollercoaster that day had been. Giving himself to slumber, he dreamed of demons and gods aimlessly wandering the infinite world within his own, until the sound of a bell once more dragged him to the sanctuary of the Velvet Room.
Waking in the couch he was already getting familiar with, he was greeted by Igor with his usual grin, "Welcome Hero, it is good to see you are cultivating the Bonds you forged," He waved his arm in the direction of the tapestries, all more vibrant than when they originally were, except for The Fool, but it also felt different, like it was changing, "It is finally time, to grow more yourself."
"What do you mean?" Izuku's answer was a book offered by Igor, standing up he walked to the desk and accepted it with both hands. It was a simple book with a blue cover, "The Messiah" written in it on a blocky and slightly pixelated white font.
Throwing a quick glance to Angela who was quietly standing aside, he saw her worried expression, when their eyes met she looked down while biting her lower lip, as if she wanted to say something but was holding herself back.
"Open it," Igor merely encouraged, "Discover the fate of one of thy own, and with it put to the test your own resolve!" He laughed, the sound echoing across the room.
Izuku's confusion was quickly overthrown by his curiosity. "One of thy own" could mean only one thing in this scenario. The Legend of another Wild Card lay within his grasp, and as his friend wisely said, he just needed to take a leap of faith.
Taking a deep breath to prepare himself, Izuku grasped the edge of the cover and opened the book.
In a flash his surroundings disappeared, the feeling of falling endlessly while not moving at all, his feet firmly planted on the ground even if there wasn't any ground at all, clouds covering his vision, being colored by the dying light of the setting sun.
"Hello." A voice came from behind him, turning, Izuku came face to face with a massive door, but they were secondary compared with the statue sealing it, crucified by barbed wire at its center. The stone effigy was in the image of a teen, not much older than Izuku, a school uniform with a sash in the left arm, hair swept over covering the right eye, it was extremely well crafted, almost like it was truly a human.
"Who…" His voice failed him, the suddenness of it all robbing his ability to speak.
"My name is Arisato Minato, or it was, long ago." The voice responded, giving the confirmation that it was indeed coming from the statue.
"It was?"
"Yes, my name in life doesn't mean much now, especially since so much time has passed and almost all that would have a reason to remember with it."
"Wait, how long have you been here?" Izuku turned his head from one side to the other, only an infinity to greet him at all sides.
"It doesn't matter, time is meaningless for the dead." The statue was as emotionless as the voice's tone, it was detached, and it makes sense in a way, as what the dead should be concerned about?
"So you are dead, I should have guessed, if I'm the only Wild Card that appeared since the turn of the age, you would be more than two centuries old. But I do not think you got that far." His awkward joke was just as bad as the awkward laugh that followed, his brain reached for any way to continue the conversation, unfortunately humor was what came up first.
"That is true, I couldn't even reach adulthood after all." The bland words were said with disinterest, but they hit Izuku like a truck.
"Wait a second! You died before you were even eighteen?!"
"Yes. It's not something that you should find surprising, as you could as easily die tomorrow. Being human is having the certainty that one day death will knock on your door."
Izuku felt the book still in his hands shook along with his body. That was true wasn't it?
One day the road would end.
"You will suffer less if you accept it. Humanity already has. They desire it, the end of their suffering." As the words traveled along the immensity of clouds, something shifted. A Shadow grew, countless cries of dread formed a cacophony of despair, and from the deep abyss beyond, a pitch black hand arose, moving to the sealed gates.
Izuku kept his back to it, his heart dropping to his feet, Humanity always had suffered, but had it really been to the point of coveting death? The thought of giving up, of taking the leap, not of faith, but of finality, made every single fiber of his being revolt.
"This is not the answer!" The shout that clawed its way out of his mouth halted everything, even the colossal dark hand that hovered just behind him, "Giving up is not the answer, rising again, as many times as it takes, is!"
"It might be, but not everyone is strong enough to." The peace in the voice was broken by the events unfolding, it kept a serenity that bordered the apathy, but never crossed it.
"Not alone, but no one has to be alone! If one person does not have the strength to shoulder their burdens alone, then they can share it, if a person sees other suffering, then they can offer a hand! Humanity is what it is because we united ourselves to stand when alone we would fall." Izuku's eyes focused on the open book in his hand, and what it contained, not pages, but an ornate gun, a pistol with S.E.E.S engraved in the barrel, "I refuse to accept that death is all that awaits at the end."
"You speak like you believe Humanity could really be like that, but it isn't, people will always choose themselves over the other. Do you want this brilliant future? Then what would you do to achieve it? Words alone mean nothing."
Izuku chuckled, "I know, so I will have to use my actions to show all of mankind the right way, if I have to pave the way to a bright future with my own two hands, then I will!"
For a second the statue remained silent, but then its words cut through the air, "Then you will die, a martyr for your ideals. Would you go that far? Would you keep marching forward even if you know the day will come where none will remember your sacrifice?"
Now Izuku full blown laughed, "That is where you are mistaken, Heroes always get remembered, even if I die my Legend never will!" He grasped the gun with his right hand, putting it against his temple, as a sign of acceptance, but not to his ultimate end, instead to the story that would come after. With a smile in his face, as bright and as enraged as the the boy heart was, he said the words that would be forever marked in his soul, "For my dream, not only for myself but for all those who I wish to save, there is no distance I would not cross, no price I would not pay, for my sacrifice is what makes of me the Hero I desire to be!"
At his words the very World trembled, the realm he found himself cracking, the statue along with it, until it completely shattered and its place, The Messiah, Arisaro Minato stood, "Then prove it." He said, the same peace in his voice, but also another emotion, a hope for the future he perished to protect.
With his smile only growing, Izuku pulled the trigger. The sound of the gunshot and glass breaking filling the mysterious place that finally crumbled, and with it the resolve of The Fool strengthened once more.
Now again in the Velvet Room, gun still pressed in his head, Izuku saw the tapestry of The Fool turning into something else, no longer it depicted the green figure kneeling before a long nosed man receiving a book, but of it standing in a sea of golden clouds beside a blue statue, a book in the figure left hand while the other had a gun pressed at the side of the head, the figure unafraid.
From the Record of The Messiah in Izuku's left hand, a flurry of burning pages flew, converging in the middle of the room. The flames subsided, leaving a Persona calmly floating, his body was entirely mechanical with white mechanical limbs and metal colored joints except from his black skinned head, where white hair was swept over his right eye, even if it could not completely hide the crimson red eye underneath, a scarf of the same color covered his neck and chin. An ivory lyre hovered in his back, the instrument as big as his blue torso.
When he spoke his melodious voice came from a speaker embedded in his "stomach", "I am Orpheus, Master of Strings, from the Sea of Souls I cometh, my Legend is yours to aid in creating the future you envision, even if tragedy awaits at the roads end." With his words said, he turned into another storm of paper and azure fire, fusing with the Izuku's Record now in his hand.
The boy relaxed, feeling his shoulders drop, staring at his Record in one hand and the Evoker in the other, he replayed what had just occurred in his mind, and all paths led to the same conclusion, the lesson he learned at the tender age of four being finally completed. Men are not created equal, but all men are equal in death, what defines men after are their actions in life, the legacy they left, the Legend that they carved into the very World they returned to. Izuku was created without a tool to create his path, but with his own hand he would, for all people that need saving, for is that the future his resolve would create.
This piece of fluff mixed with philosophical reflections and bad life decisions was brought to you by me, with the help of Jurodan, Annaliese and Silverbits. If you want to find them on AO3 look for Beribits, littlemissoyashirou and Jurodan.
Also, this is probably being posted on my birthday, so consider this chapter my present to you!
Join the Discord to celebrate (don't forget to delete the spaces)
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