Chapter 6: Verisimilitude

Infinite Corridors

That was the title of the magical tome that Acarius recovered from the old collector downtown. The title wasn't written anywhere on the cover, nor on the inside. As soon as he lay his fingers on the leathery book, the mage simply knew it.

Perhaps a wiser Mer would take that as a sign not to tamper with such a thing, but Acarius was always the type of mage who had to get burned to avoid the fire. His mentor had called it endearing in his youth, but changed the label to "too stubborn for his own good" as he got older.

Knowing the source of a piece of magic was almost as important as the content of the magic itself, sometimes even more important. One never knew what kind of nasty traps an old arch-mage would place on a spell tome to ward away seekers of knowledge.

Even worse, there was the possibility of Daedric influence on something that was old enough. More than one mage has gone mad or blown themselves up peering into the depths of something they weren't prepared for.

Don't even get him started on the Moth Priests and their fixation at peering through the veil of creation, usually losing their sight at a minimum for their efforts.

Were he in Tamriel, safely within the borders of the College of Winterhold, Acarius would have performed hundreds of probing identification spells and rituals while among the company of his very qualified peers before even contemplating doing something as stupid as opening the book.

Alas, he wasn't in Tamriel.

That was the crux of it. He deliberated for quite a while in the midst of the identification spells he did do, weighing the decision in his mind. From the perspective of everything that he has ever known, Acarius was already dead. He walked into a cave in the Rift and never returned. That thought leaned toward opening the book, as he doubted the thing could do much worse than kill him.

He was already impossibly far from home. Other than outright killing him, what could this book possibly do to him?

What, would he become double-stranded in another universe?

A reckless attitude to take for the mage under normal circumstances, but it did make sense as long as he held on to a fatalistic need to return to Nirn. But, what if he didn't need to return? What if returning required sacrifices that he wasn't willing to make?

Who would he be willing to kill to return to his mundane life? What was he even returning to? He was essentially a homeless criminal. His occupation is just that, an occupation. His friends are just that, friends. Both can be found on Earth.

Is there a moral obligation to make his peace where he resides, or is it right to rip the boundaries of space and time asunder just to return to his empty life?

There's also the consideration of what would happen to his soul on Earth, however. If he perished tomorrow, where would his soul go to? His connection to Aetherius should be intact, as he can still act as a conduit to its power, but did that necessarily mean that his soul would reach the immortal plane?

Acarius may have serious problems with the governance of his people, but he was still an Altmer. There's nothing he longed for more than the warm embrace of Auri-El when his time came. Is Earth, in all of its shallow complexity and strange way of ruling people, worth giving up the afterlife? At the same time, wouldn't being incinerated by this tome mean the same empty end?

The longer Acarius sat in that apartment staring at the source of his questions, the worse the doubts became. This was a topic that philosophers could debate for decades, never reaching a definitive conclusion. Such indecisiveness was not a luxury he possessed.

In the end, it wasn't a desperate need to move on from the philosophical quandary of what one's home entailed that drove him to open the dark tome that night. No, instead it was boiled down to simple mathematics in his head.

He owed Tamriel a debt due to his assistance in the Dominion's upheaval of peace, as well as the atrocities he personally carried out. Living out his next 600 years on Earth could never alleviate that guilt, no matter what good deeds he may accomplish.

Acarius Aediath would either die with a clean soul or perish in pursuit of one. There was simply no other option.

Second chances were reserved for those who have earned them. Maybe, gods willing, he might experience happiness in Aetherius, but not here. He had no right.

When the Aldmeri Dominion became a footnote in his people's history, after being destroyed by their own corruption made manifest, and only then, would Acarius feel the desire to move on to the next phase of his life.

If need be, he would personally end the life of every single Altmer who held up that rotten system. And to do that, he needed to be on Nirn.

Conviction guided his hands to the dark tome, allowing him to grasp the cover despite the quickly forming tremors that ripped through his arms. It was a strange feeling: shaking like a scared animal while not being afraid. Another warning, perhaps, that he was tampering with something beyond himself.

It was a warning that he left unheeded.

Ripping open the cover, his eyes immediately fell onto the first page. Just as Ishikawa had informed him, there was no text. Instead, he was gazing upon an arcane formula. Destruction. An agonizingly complex array of geometric shapes that drew the curious mage in.

His mind raced, calculating the possibilities that the array promised. Things done with the power of the elements on a scale that Acarius had never attempted. Fire that could consume cities. Ice sapping the heat away from infernos. Lightning that blocked out the sky in its glory, capable of breaking anything that dared to make contact.

More pages, more arrays.

Alteration. Restoration. Illusion. Mysticism. Enchantment.

So much knowledge. Too much for him to memorize in one sitting. He didn't know how long he sat in his apartment, nor did he know when exactly he drifted off into a slumber while staring into the darkness within the Black Book.

Acarius jumped up as soon as his eyes opened. Frantically, he looked around, armed with lightning and fire, attempting to discern his environment. The mage was no longer in his quaint little Japanese apartment.

A green and milky sky filled with a wispy fog that seemed a mockery of the clouds of Mundus. An equally green ocean that grew darker the longer his eyes lingered, hinting at a depth that he couldn't fathom.

Towers of stacked books jutting from the ocean like natural rock formations, reaching thousands of feet into the air. Inky black tendrils slithered and writhed from every surface in sight. Small appendages growing from the towers to mile-long tentacles coming out of the ocean, trying to grasp at something the mage couldn't perceive.

The air was thick and heavy, as if he were breathing soup. He was surrounded in a cage of some tightly-woven black material that seemed to straddle the line between metallic and organic. There was enough room for him to move around, but he had nowhere to go.

Panic began to set in almost immediately as he took in his prison. This cage was isolated high in the air, no other platforms or land-forms anywhere near him. His first instinct was to lash out with a spell to test the strength of the cage, and perhaps figure something out from there, but that plan seemed rash. Even if he cushioned the fall enough to not shatter his body against the ocean below, he was certain that the dark green liquid was not water. It could be acidic, poisonous, or both.

The floor of the cage had too many gaps to draw an array, so teleportation was out. Just as well, he had no arrays marked anyway. No bag, no weapons, no provisions. This was not ideal.

Before he could strategize further, everything around him seemed to spring to life. His prison simply unraveled before him, as if obeying an unseen command, peeling off into strips and forming a flat platform that allowed him to move freely.

The sky darkened, a large black cloud forming slightly above the mage. Darkness shifted in the space, manifesting itself into several indistinct shapes that rapidly grew sharper. Acarius tensed, seeing the first shape reveal itself to be an eye larger than his torso. Its irregular black pupil was as if two circles had been smashed together, coming halfway into each other inside the large white space.

Out of the dark cloud several more tentacles, seemingly identical to the countless others around the area, framed the blackness and eye, making the entire spectacle seem more like an entity. What had to be a thousand eyes, much smaller than the one in the center, emerged. More tentacles sticking out of the circular blackness that made up what he perceived as the entity's body. It seemed so vast, his vision blurred trying to reach the edge of its form.

Acarius was saved from having to make the first move when a noise entered his brain, seemingly coming from every direction. From the water, the books, and everything in between. It was as if this entire disgusting world around him crawled into his ear and began shrieking. And much like the surroundings it occupied, the voice was dark and oily, leaving the mage immediately numb and nauseous.

Ah, if it isn't my other wayward champion.

A low rumble that vaguely resembled a chuckle echoed around him. Unnatural. Unsettling. His skin began to crawl at just how familiar the sensation was.

You have managed to find yourself in quite the dilemma. Slipping through the veil of Mundus without finding oneself stuck in Oblivion is a feat that few can claim, even if it was through blunder. It has been quite fascinating to observe.

Naturally, the mage had dozens of questions fly through his mind. Unfortunately, he was completely unable to voice any of them, nor move from the spot he started in. The panic was subsiding, but he was certainly paralyzed. The inability to exert one's own will was a common symptom of making contact with a Daedric Prince, after all.

Normally, I would not deign to deceive my own champions, but you obtained the Oghma Infinium at quite the unfortunate time. Perhaps I could have deterred you from seeking out Septimus, but I had no way of knowing that I would gain a most interesting new champion at the same time. She is a greater being than yourself, but would be quite incompatible with the knowledge of Xarxes.

Septimus Signus. Hearing the name of the elderly scholar shook a memory loose from the mage's brain. Shortly after the defeat of Ancano, Acarius was asked by Mirabelle to check on Septimus's outpost, as he hadn't checked in to the college in several months at the time.

A visitor had recently asked about him before heading north, but that person hadn't returned either. They were completely in the dark on his status.

He was quite suited to the treacherous journey across the ice fields that made up the Sea of Ghosts. Having the utility of his many Alteration spells, as well as the ability to start fires quite easily without kindling allowed him to mitigate much of the danger.

When he arrived, he found out that Septimus was more than a little mad. Completely fixated on on a large vault left behind by the Dwemer. His theory on opening the vault relied on a blank Dwemer Lexicon that he gave to an adventurer before sending them to Blackreach.

Septimus believed that the mercenary absconded with it after applying the Dwemer runes to it, perhaps to resell it to another scholar. It was quite the believable tale, as he knew that a man such as Calcelmo would gladly pay any amount for Dwemer artifacts of that rarity.

Acarius was of the mind that they had likely just perished in a dark hole with a Falmer blade stuck in them. Such was the fate of many would-be adventurers.

In the end, he agreed to enter Blackreach and find some trace of the mercenary. Septimus was a genius who worked hard for his research. It simply wouldn't do to let a member of the College, no matter how distant, allow his discoveries be stolen. And if the mercenary had simply died, he would be doing an esteemed researcher a favor. After all, he was the new Arch-Mage now, and had a reputation to uphold.

Blackreach was a special kind of hell that he couldn't imagine ever setting foot in again. A monument to everything wrong with ancient Dwemer society coupled with the tragic fall of the Falmer race. Luckily, his trek through the now-open underground chasm wasn't as rife with conflict as it should have been. Dozens of Falmer were already dead when he arrived, as well as the many Chaurus that accompanied them.

It was an easy trail for the mage to follow, leading all the way to the tower connected to Alftand. Instead of clues for him to follow, however, he had actually found the Lexicon itself still embedded in its socket. Signus's mercenary had simply used it to open whatever container it was connected to and left the now-runed cube where it lay.

A confusing ordeal that left Acarius with no answers as to the mercenary's motives. Perhaps whatever was housed in Alftand was simply more valuable than the Lexicon, leaving them to pick the greater prize. Or maybe the Lexicon was never their goal at all, simply the means to acquire something that they were hired to grab. Either way, Septimus got lucky.

It was upon his return to the crazed scholar's outpost that Acarius first encountered him.

Hermaeus Mora, Watcher of the Unseen, and Knower of the Unknown.

The Daedric Prince of Fate and Knowledge.

Memories began to return to Acarius quickly. Collecting the blood. Opening the box. Trying desperately to stop Septimus, only to watch him disintegrate upon touching that damned book. Taking the book for himself. Being stopped by Hermaeus Mora before he could leave.

The next memory he had was reporting to Tolfdir that Septimus Signus had frozen to death in the midst of his research.

He simply couldn't remember anything after being stopped by the Prince, which he would normally consider an impossibility. His memory was by all means flawless. Eidetic. A natural wonder.

That is the source of your imperfection, mortal. Such a strong recollection is an intriguing aspect of your mind, but it is still bound by the limitations of nature. And nature is nothing compared to me.

Yes, he supposed that did make sense. Blocking a few memories is a paltry feat for a Prince, after all. But it still didn't explain why it was done to him.

Your memory was altered so you would not interfere with my other project in Solstheim. Fate was putting you on a collision course with my newest champion, and I still had need of both of you. The results of any meetings between the two of you at the time would have been...messy. I simply altered your fate.

Another oily chuckle echoed around the platform.

You continue to exist by my whims. Worry not. Your gratitude is understood. The Black Book you have obtained is my only connection to this plane for now, and it shall be your guide. It functions as a copy of the Oghma Infinium, and you shall be able to study it unaffected by my influence this time. I always grant my champions that which they have earned...as dear Miraak was forced to learn firsthand.

Miraak? Was that this "newest champion" the Daedra spoke of? And what would this book guide him towards? For what purpose?

Your purpose is one that you should not find disagreeable. I crave knowledge. A new world full of secrets to uncover is a delightful opportunity. You shall simply continue as you have, uncovering the truths of your surroundings for me. It is a simple task, made easier with a new gift. A simple spell to bring forth one of my seekers.

A painful moment where he could feel the surge of knowledge enter his brain. His Seeker would be completely beyond the comprehension of the mortals of Earth, for they lacked even a basic connection to Oblivion that mortals of Mundus possessed. Perfect for stealthily gathering information.

Indeed. They shall absorb the more mundane trivia of the planet, while you delve into the truly interesting minutia. Something tells me there is much more to these 'Quirks' than meets the eye. Go now, heed your master's call, champion.

With that last echo in his skull, reality began to shift. The oppressive void that made up the sky began to lighten. Eyes and appendages quickly dissipated, swirling around back into a center point before vanishing completely.

As soon as the last of the Prince was gone, a weight was lifted from his mind, the nausea and pressure fading at last. At the very least he was free to move once again.

Acarius finally released a breath that he didn't know he was holding. He looked around once more, taking in the disgusting realm of Apocrypha with newfound understanding. More nausea hammered his stomach, sending him to his knees. A stream of vomit left him, sending what remained of his last meal into the depth below.

Gods, this was bad.

His earlier moral quandary about the fate of his soul now had a definite answer. There would be no warm embrace from the king of the gods in his afterlife. No ancestors, no glory. Only the cursed knowledge that he paid for with his very being. Apocrypha was his inevitable destiny now. Hermaeus Mora owned him.

Any more thoughts on the matter would have to wait. Movement on the other end of the metal platform caught his eye. It was a small platform housing what looked to be a white pedestal, both rapidly accelerating to match elevation with him. On the pedestal was the object that ruined his life. That accursed Black Book.

Doing his best to fight off the urge to vomit once more, he approached the book and instinctively knew to place his hand upon it. There was no texture to the book. It was like touching solid air. Nonetheless, it responded to his touch with a sickly glow that consumed his vision.

The plain walls of Acarius's apartment greeted him as his eyes opened once more. He was back on Earth, sitting at his desk exactly as he had been when he opened the Black Book. As he eyed the artifact, he almost desperately wished that he could pretend that what just occurred never happened.

Maybe weaker beings could convince themselves of such, but Acarius knew that he would have no such luck. He now knew the truth, and nothing could save him from it now. Already, a large amount of knowledge on the Prince that he was certain he didn't know yesterday had found its way into his head. The nature of his Black Books and several of their locations being just a taste.

The true benefit of serving Hermaeus Mora was the knowledge, he supposed. Not often could one learn so much simply by being in the presence of an artifact. Said artifact was still right in front of him on the desk, now closed, beckoning him to peer inside once more.

It took some willpower to stand up and place his back to the cursed object. He had already gained a lot of magical knowledge from peering once, but it came at the cost of having his collar tugged by a leash that he wasn't aware of. Now he was a dog once more, albeit one with a kinder master, if he was being honest.

Hermaeus Mora truly disgusted him, and merely standing in his presence was becoming dangerous for his sanity. But he knew at his core, that the Prince was not as malevolent as the Aldmeri Dominion. Mora represented a crushing need to seek knowledge and power, one that Acarius might call dangerous on its own. However, it was knowledge for the sake of knowledge. Power for the sake of power. There was no hidden agenda, no grand scheme to the Daedra.

As blasphemous and completely against his being as it was, he would still rather obey Hermaeus Mora than go back to the Dominion. For while his old masters or a Prince like Dagon were evil, Mora was simply greedy. He simply wanted to know more, the same as most mages.

Acarius could feel the connection to the Prince pushing him toward that same pursuit. His desires were still his own, unchanged as far as he was aware. To be fair, how could he exactly tell what was his own desire anymore? At the very least, he was certain that his new master would not prevent him from doing good deeds. He had no interest in causing random havoc through the mage.

However, his mind was in a very unfortunate state at the moment. His memories were still somewhat scrambled from the Daedra's influence. Everything from right after the defeat of Ancano up until he left the College to find the Dragonborn was still hazy, something that he had no experience dealing with.

One thing that struck the mage was that passing thought during his resurfacing memories of Septimus Signus. He agreed to assist Septimus because of the College's reputation, and the reputation of the Arch-Mage. That was not Arch-Mage Ervine, as he thought.

There were no more memories in his head about Mirabelle being raised to the position after the Eye of Magnus was taken away. He only had memories on Earth still about thinking about Mirabelle being the Arch-Mage. In fact, he had no memories of her at all after Ancano. Was she even alive?

The only conclusion he could draw was an unpleasant one. In the aftermath of Ancano's betrayal, he must have agreed to the Psijic's forward suggestion of him taking over the College. Too many questions were raised by that realization.

Why? Who was his Master Wizard? Experienced but scatter-brained Tolfdir? Ambitious but hot-headed Faralda?

A dull throb in the elf's head stopped him from bothering to pursue that particular line of inquiry. There was no point until his memory was restored, if that was going to happen at all. As it was now, he was just driving himself crazy for nothing. It was time to move on.

Acarius turned back to the object of his ire. Releasing a sigh, he sat back down at his desk. The Black Book was still there, patiently waiting for him.

He felt tired. Drained.

Gods, he didn't want to do this.

However, he already knew the truth. Life was rarely about the whims of mortals. His wants were inconsequential drops weighed against the ocean of need that bound him.

He turned a page and peered back into the depths of Apocrypha.

Three days slipped by before Acarius even knew it. Every waking moment was consumed by study of the faux Oghma Infinium. The only times he could bear to look away from it were to eat and use the restroom.

His side project of creating an enchanting table became a moot point after the first day, the solution hitting the mage like a truck. The book itself was a suitable vessel for enchantment. All of the necessary magic was contained within, and the material was that of Nirn.

Enchanting was an easy process using the Black Book as the catalyst. However, the mage still lacked soul gems. Without the concentrated energy of a soul, his only option was to use his own magicka to power the enchantment. He was forced to face the known problem of enchanting in that replicating the power of even a common soul took an ungodly amount of energy. It was like comparing a human's physical labor to something akin to diesel fuel.

It took almost the full three days for the basic fire enchantment he desired to bind to the ebony short-sword, but the result was more than adequate for Acarius. Being a simplistic enchantment allowed him to make it all the more potent for the amount of energy contained within. There should be more than enough use in the sword for any encounter he could think of. Of course, the manual nature of its power would mean that it would require him to drain himself of magicka to restore the enchantment eventually.

The prospect was not entirely hopeless, as Acarius was blessed with a very large reserve of magicka, even for an Altmer. Combined with two centuries of pushing his abilities to their absolute limit in service to his people, he rarely felt in danger of having his magicka falter. Well, not unless it was forcibly sucked out of his body. Even now the memories of those cursed halls of Labyrinthian caused him to shudder.

Now, with a flashy martial weapon, hopefully bringing the out the Staff of Magnus in combat wouldn't raise too many eyebrows. Still, attempting to explain the energy being emitted from the Staff would be a tough sell, he imagined. An astute observer may even question why he only channeled fire through the sword and strange green energy through the staff.

Or perhaps they'd think it a waste of brain cells trying to explain. Auri-El knows he has felt the same way about the many Quirks he had seen in his time here.

Gods, this planet was irritating.

However, finishing this particular side project was quite the weight off of the mage's shoulders. Now, he could freely study the Oghma Infinium while still finalizing his goals. Assuming Nezu actually responded to his absurd application and accepted him into UA, he would be able to form a more concrete schedule and hopefully leverage some other heroes in his search for that damn assassin. The actual teaching would be more like leisure than work, hopefully. Paperwork was something that Acarius had always found more therapeutic than annoying, unlike most clerks he had met.

Perhaps he might even instill some wisdom in the youths of Japan. One could only hope.

It was another week before he received a letter from U.A. The envelope was rather plain, with the only thing standing out being a watermark with the school's symbol.

After retrieving the document from the mail slot of the apartment complex, he immediately took it back upstairs. Despite his best efforts, he still felt some anxiety over the contents. His mind raced, considering the possibility that these last weeks' efforts would all be for naught. Then he would be back where he started: ignorantly blundering his way through the underworld of a foreign country.

Perhaps he would be able to find a different source of income and assistance in the Florist's employ, but he wasn't sure he wanted to indebt himself too far with that man. It could cause more problems in the long run if he got in too deep. Not to mention, this opportunity wasn't just a convenient way to accomplish his goals.

As selfish as it was, and whether or not he deserved it, Acarius wanted this. Teaching was a part of him now, despite only doing it for a relatively short time. His connection to his students was something he cherished, whether or not they knew it. It was a pure thing, completely untouched by his sins. Being able to form such a positive bond was one of the few ways he felt he could possibly atone for being the way he was.

Now, with the certainty of his soul's fate known, perhaps some might give up on redemption as a lost cause. And they would be right. There was no changing the past for him at this point. Apocrypha was now his final destination.

However, redemption is not a transaction between oneself and the divine. Redemption was fundamentally between the wronged and the man who wronged them. Those he wronged are long dead, buried in shallow graves or reduced to ashes in the wind.

No, this was now between him and the world. No matter how it ends up, he would give back to the world all he had.

Perhaps it would be easier to accept his fate and live instead in reckless hedonism, but he would not be walking the easy path. Instead, he would tread a path of daggers leading to nowhere, solely for the sake of others.

For that is what it means to be good.

With a tight and burning stomach, he began a silent prayer to Auriel as he ripped open the letter. As soon as the paper was in his hands, he began fervently reading.

After a minute, he went back and read the thing again. And then a third time. However, the words remained the same, no matter how many times he went over them again.

A shaky laugh left him as he put the letter down. By the gods, he couldn't believe what he read was real. Principal Nezu was apparently quite interested in his potential employment, with the condition of an in-person interview being first required. He also wanted an updated copy of his Quirk registry, for whatever reason.

This was exactly as he hoped. Perhaps his assessment of Nezu's character wasn't so far off if he actually took that kind of bait. Well, Acarius would certainly do his best to keep the rat-creature interested in him if it let him fulfill this desire.

With determined hands, he clenched the document tightly. Not all was lost. He would be a good man, no matter the cost. He would find a way home.

For now though, he needed to deal with some silly government paperwork.

Updating one's Quirk registry was a rather simple affair for children and foreigners, the former out of necessity and the latter to sate Japan's endless quest for complete security. They were happy to let foreigners, especially dangerous ones like himself, register themselves and become part of the system.

Thankfully, his license expedited the process even further, allowing him to leave the government building after only three hours of waiting instead of five. He spent those hours wondering how modern electronic filing systems could somehow be less efficient than a few good scribes and a bottle of ink.

One more session of fumbling with a fax machine left Acarius free once more. Well, free to get started on his not-so-divine task, that is. Seeing that it was just before noon, he figured there was still time to locate some libraries and plant the seeds. A job best left to the internet, once again. These mobile devices were quite handy for mundane activities, at the very last.

There were three decently sized libraries in Musutafu alone, and he would be able to plan an efficient route leading back home. Should be enough time to run his errands and get food on the way back.

Making his way to the nearest location, he was somewhat annoyed to find that the establishment was not at all a public institution. More of a club than a library proper. Oh, but don't worry, for a small fee every month you too can feel the absolute privilege of reading the same gods-damned books available in a high school. What an absolute waste of 3,000 yen.

After being robbed in broad daylight by the pompous bandits, he found his way into their reading section, a pitiful array of furniture than contained more recliners than actual bookshelves. There were exactly two patrons of the establishment, one napping in said recliner with a cup of coffee on the table next to him. The other was reading a fucking newspaper while drinking a similar beverage.

Alright, no use getting worked up over it. It's simply not his type of place. At the very least, this made it especially easy to hide behind a bookshelf and begin the spell. A textbook conjuration spell that he would normally barely be able to cast. Controlling Daedra took a certain type of person, and he was not one of them. But this was no ordinary conjuration, now was it?

It was a spell created by a Prince specifically for those in his service. His hands began moving almost on their own to complete the necessary somatic gestures. A dull purple light leaked from his hands and he completed a circular motion in front of him. He could almost taste the thick air of Apocrypha as the rift opened.

Emerging from Oblivion was a putrid mass of tentacles in a mocking resemblance to a man's body clad in a thick robe. It glided unnaturally a foot off of the ground as in came closer to him. Its octopus-like head had no mouth, and two beady eyes spaced strangely apart. Two gangly human arms that revealed the creature's origin stuck out of its body more like accessories than actual working appendages.

"Do your master's bidding, creature." he hissed quietly.

Following his command, or more likely a previous one, it silently floated away from him and to a random selection of books before picking one up and reading it. Acarius was comforted by the fact that Mora was such a greedy entity. Nothing the Daedra learned from Earth would have any affect on Nirn, he was certain. After all, sharing his vast knowledge would only diminish its value.

Leaving that mislabeled café, he made his way to the second location. A smaller building, but large glass windows assured him that the place was an actual library that was quite densely packed with books. The second summoning was just as easy as the first, and left him with the same revulsion.

The third location was further downtown, closer to the shadier neighborhoods that he resided in. Heroes were typically few and far between in other parts of the city, especially close to U.A. There was simply no need for tight patrols there. Nobody wanted to do criminal activity anywhere near a school for heroes. Things were different in this part of the city, however.

There was some little-known hero or sidekick on every other street corner, usually just casually strolling down the sidewalk. Dozens of normal citizens shuffled along doing their normal routines right beside them. He did earn some looks from several Heroes, as he was also clad his "uniform" while making his way around town. None bothered questioning him, probably thinking a Villain wouldn't boldly walk the streets like he was.

Acarius wasn't certain how effective of an actual deterrent these Heroes were, but their presence and numbers did seem to keep people calmer. It grew harder every day not to compare the average civilian to a sheep, comforted by a shepherd's crook and dog.

Acarius felt no such comfort. Especially since he could now feel himself being followed.

One suspect, they were maintaining his pace almost perfectly. Both of them just passed one of the patrolling heroes, so they clearly weren't outwardly suspicious. Hard to determine their skill since Acarius himself wasn't an expert at weaving through such crowds. He walked down several more streets, with his tail following exactly along his path.

This was now a game of cat and mouse, with the mage being the mouse, for once. Very well, he would simply force a confrontation.

Back alleys were as common in this neighborhood as anywhere else, perhaps even more common. The mage ducked into the first one he could and began to confidently strut forward, making it seem like his destination was naturally down this way. His stalker followed him right into the alley. An amateur then. Didn't realize they had been made already.

Stopping abruptly in his tracks, he could practically feel the other freeze. Calmly turning around, he faced his tail. This stalker was not quite what he was expecting. She was a teenager, around 15 or possibly 16. Very skinny, perhaps a little too much so. Unruly ash-blonde hair that was haphazardly tied into two buns. Wearing a school uniform, but he wasn't familiar with it. She was also wielding a small knife, but that didn't really concern him. It was her eyes that caught the mage.

A striking gold with almost cat-like pupils. However, there was nothing feline about the way she was looking at him. No, if he had to liken her gaze to an animal's, it would be a canine. A starving coyote who thought they had ensnared a rabbit. She was now frantically looking him over, calculating her next move quickly. Once her eyes caught his, they widened even further. Whatever she saw, she didn't like.

Knowing that the youth was about to bolt, he had to halt her.

"Girl, wait." he said in what he hoped what a soothing tone.

No such luck, she was already moving by the time the last word left his lips. The mage made chase after her back out of the alley, if nothing else to see where she fled, but she was fast. He watched her turn the corner and quickened his pace. Only, when he turned that corner himself, she was simply gone. There were a couple people startled from all the running, but they were also looking around in a confused manner.

Acarius cursed, seeing no sign of the girl. Either she was a lot better than he gave her credit for, or she had a Quirk suited to stealth. No matter, he had no trail to follow or even a desire to scare her too much. The only reason a schoolgirl would try to mug him like that would be because she had to. Homeless, perhaps. Runaway turned to crime, even.

He would have liked to help her, even if it was just to get her a meal. Poor thing looked half-starved. But you can't save them all, he supposed. Maybe she didn't even want to be saved. Later, he would have to make time and look into missing persons cases. She might have a case open on her already.

With that distraction over with, he continued along to the final library of his route. A smaller, dingier establishment than the last. It was likely set up to help along the more down-trodden of the city, but the building itself simply became down-trodden instead. After all, what use did the truly poor have for books when they can barely keep themselves fed, like that young girl.

Nonetheless, it was an a simple task to set his third Seeker upon the dilapidated stacks. This time, he was at least able to mask his disgust of this work with the satisfaction of a successful mission.

Before he headed home to continue his other distasteful work, he did make sure to loop back around to where he spotted the girl. Unfortunately, his rudimentary search turned up nothing. If he had just managed to snatch something of hers, he would have been able to cast a divination spell to locate her within a mile radius.

Disappointing, but expected.

With a sigh, he located the nearest eating establishment and made his way back home, dinner in tow.

Today was the day of his first official job interview. His appointment with Principal Nezu was scheduled for 7:00 in the morning. He woke up at 5:00, as he did every morning without fail, full of anticipation.

So far, Japan was leaving quite the sour taste in his mouth, but seeing something like U.A. might change his opinion on this country's particular hero system. Surely there had to be worth in an institution capable of producing such a man as All Might, right?

After planning his route to the address of the prestigious Hero school, Acarius made sure to use Prestidigitation to clean off his robes. As pristine as ever. Truth be told, he should probably buy more clothing, but he felt strange wearing the styles of Earth. Too tight in places, too loose in others. Perhaps a trip to a tailor would accommodate him better.

His journey to the gates of U.A. went very smoothly. The initial jitters brought by a new experience subsided somewhere along the way, and his thoughts were not plagued by the potential consequences of failure as he feared.

What he did think of along the way was just how strangely isolated the school was. One might think it would be in the middle of the city, considering the place's importance to Hero society as a whole. However, that was not at all the case. Compared to most of the government buildings in the same city, U.A. was almost in the suburbs.

It lay on a large hill overlooking the city proper, its four connected towers a large beacon that many could see from a mile away. Because that's what the school really was at its core. A shining symbol of the Hero system in much the same way All Might was hailed as the Symbol of Peace.

As Acarius approached the large walls of the school, he couldn't help but liken it to one of the smaller Holds of Skyrim. The campus must be massive, judging by the perimeter of wall that was visible. He knew that the type of curriculum a Hero school had would require a lot of specialized facilities, but seeing it himself put it into a new light. Without a doubt, U.A. was the largest learning institution the mage had ever seen.

School was in still in session for a a couple of months, so the gate was a busy hive of staff members checking the identification of both students and the occasional visitor. Informal lines quickly formed, no doubt a routine that the students developed naturally. The mage took his place in this line, trying to ignore the large amount of staring that came with being a darkly-dressed adult among a group of children.

As he passed his own eyes over the student body at the gate, he was impressed with the sheer diversity that U.A. allowed within its walls. While one might be able to sense some lingering prejudice against Heteromorphs in the general populace, such a thing had no place among the youth. He could only imagine the amount of interesting Quirks that they also possessed.

Eventually, he reached the front of the gate and showed a stern-faced young man his Hero ID and appointment. The boy nodded and handed him a visitor's pass, and before he knew it, he was inside U.A.

The inside wasn't actually as grandiose and jaw-dropping as he imagined it would be. Frankly, it looked like what he knew any Japanese high school to look like inside. It made sense, since most of the children actually enrolled in the school weren't in the Hero program. Actual schoolwork was plentiful, he was sure.

He managed to locate an interior guide for new students on a wall, pointing him the direction of Principal Nezu's office. For a moment, Acarius was puzzled by the almost labyrinthine design of the school, with many intersecting hallways and areas that looped back into each other. However, it quickly struck him that this place was designed to efficiently repel any and all incursions from hostile forces. It was made up of choke points, many of which could probably be closed at will from a Hero such as Cementoss.

Part of his mind was curious to see how the school and its genius leader would fare from a true invasion. Whatever the outcome would be, it would be a rough battle for the aggressor. Urban fighting in general was pure suffering, let alone in spaces as tight as these.

His speculation on the Principal's defensive measures were cut short when he finally reached the office. The door was slightly ajar, allowing him to see a strip of the bright interior. He was ten minutes early, so he made sure to alert the principal with a sharp rap on the door.

"Yes, do come in." he heard a shrill voice happily chirp.

Acarius did so, fully opening the door and entering slightly before setting it back the way it was. He turned and inspected the room with a quick glance. A large office befitting the head of a massive institution, but it was furnished minimally. Quite a bit of empty space. Modesty, or was it another security measure? Impossible to tell from this perspective.

Nezu himself was just sitting at his desk, sipping on what appeared to be a cup of tea. The principal was just as he was described. Short, especially compared to him, comprised of varying animal features. Based on the profile, he was primarily mouse, but his ears and paws seemed to indicate other creatures were mixed in. His white was fur was a pristine white tint, almost shining when sunlight from his window touched it.

His face was marred with a large scar that trailed down his from his forehead to the mouth. The mage's face almost twitched at the sight, a slight ache in his own wounds seeming to form.

"Principal Nezu," he stated, politely bowing. "I am Acarius Aediath. A pleasure to meet you."

Said animal put down the teacup and looked up at the mage with a joyous expression, or at least that was how his mind interpreted it. Then, he abruptly stood up before jumping on his desk with his arms high into the air. This allowed to the mage to finally notice his specially tailored suit, complete with a tie and all.

"That's right. It's me, Nezu, the one who could be a dog or a mouse or a bear, but more importantly...I'm the principal!" he excitedly shrieked.

Acarius wasn't certain how to respond, and ended up just staring for several seconds at the dramatic display. Nezu awkwardly stared back, before getting off of his desk and sitting back down. "Not much for levity, are you?" he asked with a sigh.

"Maybe we can call it a cultural difference, sir." he supplied, hoping to move on.

"Very well, very well. Come sit down, Acarius-san. We have much to discuss."

The would-be teacher took his seat at the principal's desk, right across from the man (?) himself. It took some self-control not to look too closely at the stack of books that Nezu was perched on top of to appear taller. Unfortunately for him, having an Altmer in his vicinity only made the creature seem even shorter than before.

"Now, I've read over all the documentation you've provided. It's a fascinating tale. I've even spoken to that old police chief in St. Petersburg, who managed to get me in contact with your partner during that big raid. When I spoke to her, she described you as 'professional, deadly, and even-tempered.' Very high praise from Anya Volstaja, considering her own record.

Oh, I have no doubt that you are skilled. None at all. What I am more interested in is the missing pieces of your life. All of these service records, all of this documentation, is quite frankly ancient. I'd like you to answer some questions for me, if you would, about the years between your departure from South America, to your sudden arrival in Iceland, then Russia. Quite the time gap, as well as distance."

"I'll answer your questions. Ask as many as you wish." Acarius said.

"Alright, then. Let's start with what you were doing immediately after your expulsion from the New Republic of Brazil. Your resume has you teaching at a small institution in Iceland, but there is a seven year gap between the two."

Yes, leaving the Isles was quite the journey for Acarius. He was sick, both physically and mentally, at the time. He hardly remembered how he got on a ship and made it to the mainland. Valenwood was hardly any better for him, in the midst of their genocide against the Bosmer people. He had to keep running, until he reached Cyrodil. Even there, Dominion presence was too high for him to live comfortably.

It was around that time he gave up on living publicly anywhere. His best bet was Skyrim, where the Thalmor incursion was only just beginning thanks to Ulfric's reckless actions. Now, he just had to tell this tale with as few lies as possible.

"I made my way onto a ship as quickly as possible. There was no land around that was safe for me, I knew. Their influence was too vast at the time, so anywhere nearby was out of the question. My only option was distance, so I just began traveling. North, mainly. The cold, distant Nordic countries were my best bet. Norway, specifically. It took me a few years even to get there. I got by on odd jobs and mercenary work in the less-stable areas." he explained.

Nezu nodded and looked down at his notes once more. "So, things must have not been ideal in Norway, for you to end up in Iceland." he reasoned.

"Well, my people had an embassy in Norway, but it was small and distant from me. I wasn't even living my life out in the open. I'm still not entirely certain how they ended up finding me. Perhaps I had left a trail despite my best efforts. But, in any case, I was discovered. One of the dangers of living a secret life in a city's underworld was that there was no boundary your enemies couldn't cross. Agents were sent after me, for they had no fear of repercussion, and I was captured.

They held me in captivity in that little embassy for months, torturing me and planning how to ship me back to my homeland for execution. Most of my scars are not trophies from hard-fought battles, you see. My face was slashed because of the value we put into looks. I'm sure you know the discrimination Heteromorphs faced in Brazil. Looks were almost as important as character to them." he let out, while taking deep breaths in between certain sentences.

Nezu was simply observing him while he spoke, his face in a neutral position the entire time. He didn't even lift his teacup.

"Anyway, I was eventually freed from that forsaken place. A woman had broken into the embassy to steal some documents, but she wasn't really the quiet type. Slaughtered nearly everyone inside. She didn't display any powers at the time, either. Just brutalized all of the guards and let the prisoners free. There was just me and this fellow named Etienne."

He paused for a moment, lost in thought. "Principal Nezu, you might not understand this, but I want to share it regardless. I hated my captors and the their masters more than I wanted to live. In those times, I would have burned myself to a cinder if it meant taking some of those dogs with me. But when that woman arrived, it changed my life.

She wasn't a Hero, not by your standards, but she saved me. Watching her decapitate the guard in front of my cell reminded me of something that I had forgotten. There are always those in the world who will wish to do good, just as there are always those who will wish to do evil, like my captors. In that moment, she was everything right in the world. My hero."

Nezu also thought for a moment. There might have been a small twitch in the mask, but his face remained as it was. "And what is it that this woman inspired you to do, then?" he asked, with that same neutral expression.

"To live. Really, truly live. Add something back to the world. Make amends. After leaving that embassy, I went even further north while nursing my wounds. I went north until there wasn't really anywhere else to go. Eventually, I found my way to the College and asked for a job."

Looking back at the notes, the diminutive principal nodded along. "Yes, the College of Winter, right? An institution for those with especially volatile or specialized Quirks. You were employed there for almost two years, teaching 'survival' to your students. What kind of instruction is that, exactly?"

Well, really it was a course on how to optimize the various schools for combat. A self-defense course for the magically inclined. Mainly how to use the novice Destruction spells to their fullest potential. He also made certain that each of the students could at least form a basic armor spell and ward. Anything that could save their life should they be beset by danger.

When that was complete, he tried to cram as much advice about wilderness survival and how to spot potential dangers as he could, as well. Some, like J'zargo, took to the lessons like a fish to water. The more passive students like Onmund had a harder time putting themselves in such a mindset.

"Self-defense, primarily. My students were all very gifted with varying abilities, but the world is not free of danger in the slightest. I did my best to ensure that they would be able to get out of any situation they found themselves in safely, or at least quickly. The exact methods varied greatly on the student. Some needed to hone more destructive powers, while others needed ways to buy time in order to actually use their talents."

"Something like our Hero courses, then?"

"Yes, but without as much purpose, honestly. There was no particular goal in mind for the students. Mastery of their skills was the reward for their service. I just wanted them to survive long enough to enjoy that reward."

A small grin found its way on the mouse's face at that. "It sounds like you valued your students greatly, Acarius-san. Would I be wrong to assume as much?" he asked.

"Not at all. Teaching those kids was quite the experience, and they were always studious."

Nezu leaned forward slightly in his chair, shaking his head. "I want to know how it made you feel, Acarius-san." he pressed eagerly.

Was this some kind of test? Or was this just curiosity on the mouse's part?

Either way, Acarius had vowed to be as honest as possible. If he had to hide who he was to get into this profession, then he simply didn't deserve the job.

"Teaching made me feel...less like a monster. Like I could actually give something of value instead of always taking. I was happy, but at the same time I knew that I didn't deserve the chance. My tenure as an instructor was the best time of my adult life." he squeezed out, trying not to let his face show any particular emotion.

Acarius must not have done such a good job of that, because Nezu's smile only widened. "Teaching is perhaps the most important profession in the world, I say. Second only to being a Hero, really. I'm glad you understand the joy of passing on knowledge to the younger generation. It's one of the requirements of being a great teacher, in my experience." the principal rambled, somehow never running short on breath.

That smile faded quickly though, and Acarius was faced with that same neutral expression once more. "We've talked a bit about the past, Acarius-san, but now I'd like to redirect the conversation back to the present. What made you come to Japan? Your first job as a Hero in Russia was quite the success, and I dare say you could have made your way up the ranks rather quickly had you stayed. Instead, after a handful of weeks, you fled straight here. Explain that to me, please."

The mage had expected this, and was already prepared to answer truthfully. "Principal Nezu, are you familiar with the specifics of the Bratva raid I took part in? Beyond the public file?" he asked, getting a small nod in return from the mouse. "Then you probably saw my combat with the last smuggler, underneath the warehouse. The truth is, I recognized that man. Not him specifically, but he showed me a symbol belonging to a cult of assassins from my homeland. The Dark Brotherhood, they're known as. Sycophantic murderers, with varying levels of religious fervor toward their ethereal master, Sithis."

Nezu's eyebrow rose at this turn, clearly interested. He nodded once more and waited for the mage to continue.

"I have only seen one of their ilk before, during my service years. They would rather die than be captured, and always found a way to succeed in that endeavor. Seeing a man like him involved in the sale of children disgusted me. During our clash, he mentioned doing a favor for a "friend" of his here in Japan. Presumably, the buyer for the children we found. This was all terrible to me, but it's not even the most intriguing aspect of the situation." he continued.

"And what would that be, then?" Nezu asked, not even trying to conceal his excitement.

"This might be hard to believe, as it runs counter to everything I understand about Quirks. I know for a fact that the assassin I fought was not born with a Quirk. No one in their cult has Quirks, ever in the organization's entire history. They predate Quirks, you see, and hold tightly to their ancient tenants. I believe that this smuggler in Japan has some way of transferring Quirks to other people. That's why I'm in this country, to learn the truth." the mage finished, closely observing Nezu as he spoke.

The principal's face had darkened as soon as he mentioned the assassin's Quirk. The entire room seemed to drop in temperature, as he asked, "How do you know that this person is actually a part of this cult? It's entirely possible that he is simply an imitator, no?

Acarius shook his head. "He knew far too much about the religious aspects of the cult. The only reason I know as much as I do is because my government did their best to purge them a long while ago. We succeeded, as far as we know, but the specifics of their religion is something we painstakingly had to put together ourselves. Literature is very limited on the subject. I'd go as far as to say that I'm probably the only person in Eurasia who has any real knowledge on the Brotherhood." he stated.

Nezu was much too quick to jump on his argument this time. "There is simply no way for someone born without a Quirk to gain one. I would argue that a more likely scenario is that this Dark Brotherhood has changed in recent years, or they're a different branch than the one you are so familiar with, Acarius-san. In any case, your arrival in Japan is not an unwelcome one. We're always in need of more Heroes." he almost blurted out.

Not many people would have caught this change in cadence, but Acarius was used to discerning the truth from lies, with years of interrogation experience under his belt. He knew not the motive behind it, but he was certain that Principal Nezu was lying to him. Very well, he would play along.

"It's entirely possible that you're correct, principal. Merely an inconsistency that I picked up on. Either way, I do not intend to let this particular criminal escape me again. It's best to learn the truth directly from the source, is it not? Now, was there more you wished to know?" he offered.

The principal was much more composed this time, looking at his notes once more before answering his question. "Yes, I simply have one more question for you, Acarius-san. Are you aware that All Might is supposed to be teaching with us this coming year?" he asked, face more serious than ever.

Acarius was somewhat taken aback by the question. All Might teaching at U.A? Fascinating.

"No, I had no knowledge of that. I'm sure he will be a good fit, though. A man as experienced as All Might should have much to show the younger generation." he said.

Nezu let out a laugh that was somewhat forced, in his opinon. "Yes, it will be quite the shock to the new students, being taught by the number one Hero himself. I can only hope that his teaching skills are as impressive as his service record is. Well, that concludes this interview, then. You will have our official answer tomorrow. I have a lot to think about, but I want you to know that either way, it was interesting meeting you, Acarius-san."

He then got up from his desk and bowed at the mage, who quickly made his own bow.

"It was just as interesting for me, Principal Nezu. I eagerly await your response. Farewell." Acarius said, making his way back out the way he came.

The trek back through U.A. felt somewhat like a walk of shame. It was difficult to read Nezu's animal features most of the time, but he felt that he still had a shot. Until he let his theory regarding the Brotherhood assassin slip, that is. Whatever the mouse knew, he did not want anyone digging into the matter of Quirk transfer.

It was almost certain that he wouldn't be getting the position now, even if they had decided to overlook his past. Once he was past the gates of the school, he let out a string of curses. No doubt he would need to formulate an alternative plan now. All the way back to his apartment, one thought echoed through this head.

If only he had simply lied, this might have been avoided.

Principal Nezu waited until the shady Hero was well out of the building before walking over to the small side-room connected to his office. Reaching up and opening the door, he waved to the man standing on the other side. "Well, Naomasa-san, what was your read on Acarius Aediath?" he asked.

Said man, Tsukauchi Naomasa, was tall, dark-haired, and wearing a black suit with a large tan overcoat typically worn by detectives of the Japanese police forces. The man's black eyes were deadly focused after hearing the same testimony as Nezu.

Both of them walked back over to the principal's desk before sitting down. "He was much more honest than I thought he would be, after reading those records. Everything he said about his journey was true, as well as his story about the embassy. But, he was lying when he mentioned Norway and Iceland specifically. What he said about his teaching was also truthful, as well as his love for his students." Naomasa rattled off, consulting his own notes that he had written down while hidden in the other room.

"Yes, I had suspected as much already. The specifics of his location during those years are still record-less. It seemed flimsy from the start. Now, the important part, Naomasa-san. The cult member." Nezu spoke.

Naomasa sighed, looking down at his notes again. "I'm almost sorry to say it, but he was completely truthful there. The only lie was when he conceded that he might have been wrong about the matter. He absolutely believes that this assassin of his was born Quirkless, and that someone must have given him a Quirk. He was truthfully ignorant about All Might as well. Damn it, Nezu, you know what this means, right?" he spat out.

"Yes, I am aware. If Acarius-san is correct, then there is only one man who could be responsible. The fact that it has a direct tie to the smuggling of Quirked children is also a bad sign. I dare say that the probability is too high to ignore. The only logical conclusion is that he has returned.." Nezu sighed.

The detective slammed the desk in front of Nezu, a loud thud echoing through the office. "After all Yagi-san did to kill him? It's not right. It shouldn't be possible!" he let out a small cry. "When do we tell him?"

"He's already in the city. Last I heard, he finally found a worthy successor. With the school year about to start, there will be ample time to warn him. Let me handle that. I want to know your opinion on Acarius-san." Nezu stated, trying to calm the detective down.

Changing the topic to that particular subject did not succeed in quelling the detectives anger. "You can't really want to give that man a job. That's insane." he said, volume beginning to increase.

"Oh, and why is it insane to want to higher someone so experienced?" Nezu argued.

"He's a criminal, Nezu. A dangerous one. Whatever else he may be, you cannot forget that. According to this file, he's killed more people than an entire prefecture's worth of villains. Would you really let someone like that guide these kids into being Heroes?" Naomasa let out, still bristling.

"Surely you believe in redemption, Naomasa-san? If a man truly wishes to change, is it not our duty to facilitate it?" Nezu prodded.

"If he had actually served time for his crimes, I might agree. But he ran from the law. He might not have broken any laws here, but you can't just forget the things he did." Naomasa argued, pointing to the file on the desk. "This isn't like a teenager with a volatile Quirk falling to crime, Nezu. This is a man who helped propagate a genocide. And that's just what remains of the records. Imagine what else he was involved in."

"Yet, after seeing the worst humanity has to offer, after being the worst, he still found his way here, wanting to give instead of take. That has to mean something."

Naomasa got up from the desk at that, and began heading for the door. "You better hope so, Nezu. The rest of us can only pray that your optimism will pay off." he said before leaving the principal's sight.

Nezu watched the now-irate friend of All Might leave with an half-amused expression. Such a good man, but weighed down by that ceaseless pessimism and strict adherence to the rules. Now, he had to begin some paperwork to formally accept a new employee. If all goes well, it will be another mark in the "mad genius" column for his public perception. And it would go well, he was certain. The man in front of him today had wanted this job, in a way he hadn't seen in a Hero for a very long time. Perhaps not since Aizawa-kun.

He was excited to see Acarius Aediath in action.

AN: It's that time again, kiddies. Time for me to scrounge up enough freedom and willpower to actually type up a chapter.

It ran a little long, but I swore that this U.A. interview had to happen this chapter, and by God I made it happen.

Overall, I'm pretty happy how this turned out. Got my plot threads out, revealed some stuff, and now we are on course to really get into the My Hero plot proper. This would be about eight months into Izuku's training with All Might, with their first year starting in two months.

Next chapter, expect some fireworks.