My Dear Son,

I know that I have not been there for you, and I have no idea what it is your mother has told you of me. I imagine that if she has said anything, it has hardly been the most flattering depicture. Debauchery, greed, lasciviousness, and who knows what else are potential subjects of complaint.

To be perfectly frank, I doubt that it scratches the very surface of my sins.

I ask that you continue reading as I explain the purpose of this letter, and though I have no right to ask this of you, I pray that you will honor the wish of a dying man.

Our family was quite prosperous in it's prime - our venerable house, opulent and imperial, gazed proudly from it's stoic perch above the moor, overlooking the village and land about it. I lived all my years in that ancient shadowed manor, fattened by decadence and luxury. It was during the later years of extravagance that my dearest wife, Inko, left me after I let the oath of marital responsibility fade from my mind and focused more towards… material pursuits.

Despite my words at the time, I do not blame her for her decision, and she was quite valiant in her attempts to sway me from my self-destructive activities. But in the end, she left despite being pregnant with you.

I suppose I should be grateful that she left, for she was not here to witness what happened.

After years of the lifestyle I have mentioned, I began to tire of… conventional extravagance. Singular unsettling tales suggested our mansion itself was a gateway to some fabulous and unnameable power. With relic and ritual, I bent every effort towards the excavation and recovery of those long buried secrets, exhausting what remained of our family fortune on swarthy workmen and sturdy shovels.

At last, in the salt soaked crags beneath the lowest foundations, we unearthed that damnable portal of antediluvian evil. Our every step unsettled the ancient earth, but we were in a realm of death and madness. In the end, I alone fled, laughing and wailing through those blackened arcades of antiquity. Until consciousness failed me.

Our venerable house, opulent and imperial… It is now a festering abomination! Izuku, my son, I have no claim to you, and yet I beg of you, come to the manor, claim your birthright, and deliver our family from the ravenous clutching shadows of the darkest dungeon.


A loud bang thudded through the carriage, causing Izuku to jump in fright, nearly upsetting the pile of books at his side.

"Bakugou!" The armored crusader, Tenya Iida, scolded the third occupant of the carriage, "Remove your feet from the seat! This carriage is merely rented, and not ours!"

The rough looking blonde with a pistol and several grenades at his side scoffed, "Shove it Tin Can, if they have a problem with it, then they can take it up with me!" He spat out as the carriage hit another rough spot.

"Dang it!" He snarled as he was jolted forward again, "If they want freakin' courtesy from me, then they should STEER THIS PIECE OF CRAP CORRECTLY!"

"T-the road is p-probably just in bad condition Kacchan," Izuku offered, trying to appease his childhood friend, "We were warned before leaving the last town after all." He resisted a flinch as the blonde glared at him before turning back to his pistol.

He breathed a sigh of relief. 24 years old and the blonde still managed to intimidate him. Still, considering what the letter described, he was grateful that Bakugou was willing to come with him on this trip. The reforming highwayman was one of the strongest people that Izuku knew, and despite his attitude was the person he could trust most to take on whatever was out there.

While most people would have thought that the letter was a prank of some sort, Izuku suspected differently. Suspected, and worried all the more.

His mother hadn't spoken much of his father at all, and he hadn't even been aware that they were rich. Though he certainly suspected as his mother never seemed to run out of money despite her low paying job. It was certainly enough to put him through the prestigious Miskatonic University.

Izuku had always been curious, and stories of the world truly fascinated him. It was during his time at the University that he learned of the more… esoteric side of the world. Of rituals and the dark powers that existed, and the extreme dangers that they posed. It was while learning about these beings and powers that Izuku found a desire rise deep within him.

Where there is power, men would attempt to take what they could. But from what research Izuku could glean, these ancient beings were on such a higher scale than anybody on earth that humanity was viewed as mere insects. Bacteria within a Petri dish even. The only reasons that these beings would grant the power men sought was for their own amusement.

And when this power was given, people suffered. Even now, there were places that suffered from the result of men desiring power.

As Izuku learned more, the desire grew within him to find a way to help these people, to learn what he could of this eldritch threat so he could help fight it, to protect the people who were innocent in such dealings.

He wished to be a hero, though none might know his name or efforts.

He would admit that the sentiment was rather naive. And yet it described his wishes perfectly. If he could learn more and find a way to help those who were suffering, then how could he do anything else?

He had spoken extensively with colleagues and had bartered with many to gain items that they had gained on their expeditions, in addition to several items he discovered on his own. Ancient trinkets and protective talismans, he had gained quite the eye for such distinctions, and it was with these and the knowledge he had gained that he was determined to help people with. Already he had managed to assist several villages during a couple expeditions in the jungle.

It might have been nothing more than setting up protective charms at the perimeter of their villages, or helping heal a group of sick people with more conventional efforts, but it still filled him with happiness.

Receiving the letter from his father had been a shock, the contents therein filling him with anticipation and fear. This sort of thing was exactly why he studied and prepared! And yet, it was those same studies that told him that this was… not normal. Whatever it was, it was dangerous. Which is why he went out of his way to bring Kacchan and Iida. With the three of them it would hopefully be enough to at least get an idea of what was -

Izuku was knocked out of his thoughts as the road became a lot bumpier, and he gathered his books and put them in his bag before they were thrown on the ground.

"What the- HEY! WHAT'S GOING ON OUT THERE!" Bakugou shouted angrily, banging on the roof of the carriage.

Iida grunted, pushing aside a suitcase that flew in front of his face, "It appears that the roads were in even worse condition than we thought,"

All three stiffened at the sound of gunfire outside, and the horses began to neigh loudly, the carriage shaking even more than before.

"DANG IT!" Bakugou readied his pistol and looked out the window, "What kind of scrubs rob a carriage they don't know the contents of?!"

Iida blinked in confusion at him even as he started attaching his helmet, "What makes you believe they would care about that? Or that they don't?" He asked, grabbing onto his sword.

Bakugou let out a laugh, "Because they'd have to be complete morons to take me on!" He declared with a sneer, looking outside in the dusky light of the forest in vain.

A loud musket shot rang out, followed by the cry of the driver and a thump as the body hit the road.

All three passengers froze. "Shit." Bakugou snarled, disgusted.

The horses went out of control - where once they were panicked, now they were in a frenzy - stampeding down the road wildly as musket fire and buckshot hit the side of the carriage. Iida rose from his seat and shielded Izuku with his armored body in an attempt to deflect some of the more accurate bullets.

At least, Izuku hoped that that's what he was doing, as opposed to having been thrown on him by accident.

"Oi! Morons!" Bakugou shouted, as he aimed his own pistol out the window, "Keep shooting like that and you'll do our job for us!" A couple shots fired out.

"Did you get them?" Iida grunted.

"Tch! Hardly. Just want to make them more cautious of us." Bakugou snarled as he covered his face with his scarf to ward off potential glass shards from the window. "Most highwaymen are weak trash. One shot fired and they flee like pansies."

Several holes appeared in the carriage in an explosive reply to Bakugou's taunt.

"Huh," he grunted with an eager grin, "Guess that's not these morons."

"M-maybe we shouldn't antagonize the guys with guns?" Suggested Izuku as he readied his censure and bandages.

Bakugou glared at his green haired friend and current employer, "We've got guns as well!" he retorted, ducking when more bullets came through the side.

"W-well yeah, b-but it sounds like t-they have more than us." Izuku replied tensely.

Before Bakugou could reply, the carriage slammed against the side of the road, and they heard the wheel grind before breaking, the entire carriage starting to tilt.

"Hold on!" Iida called out, grabbing Izuku securely.

"Yeah no kidding!" Bakugou glared at the crusader as he grabbed a hold of the side, "And here I was thinking of NOT doing that! What was I thinking?"

With two wheels gone, one half of the carriage ground against the ground, leaving the whole thing at an awkward angle. Hitting one last large bump, and it proved too much for the armored individual, and he and Izuku were thrown against the door, which shattered open. Wrapping his arms around Izuku, Iida grunted painfully as he skidded in a screech of metal against the road, his armor protecting him from the road, though not doing well to protect him from itself.

Just as they stopped, Bakugou came flying out of the carriage and slammed into the crusader with a grunt, and the three of them watched as the horses galloped off, suitcases falling from the top of the carriage haphazardly.

Iida got up with a groan, pushing Bakugou off of him, before looking at Izuku, "Are you all right sir?" He asked worriedly, to which Izuku gaped at.

"Am I alright? Y-you're the one that just had a trip with the road!" He cried out, bringing out his bandages, "Just… Hold still for a moment," He murmured, before Iida stopped him.

"Please, you are my employer, so your safety comes first. Furthermore, the bandits are still around, so we can't let our guard down." Iida stated calmly. "If I may, I don't believe the hamlet was very far, so I would recommend we wait till then to treat my wounds."

Izuku put away the bandages reluctantly, "Ok, um" He thought to the map and on what the driver had told them earlier. "O-ok, so, the hamlet should be, maybe half an hour's walk?" He responded hesitantly.

"Tch, the trash will have focused their efforts on the road." Bakugou stated matter of factly, "They'll also be distracted by the luggage; that's the real target. We'll take the trails in the forest."

Iida narrowed his eyes at the order from the ruffian, but the words did make sense… He decided to just go with it for now.

"Well," Izuku said with forced brightness as he straightened his clothes, making sure his dagger was still with him. "Shall we go?"

As the trio hastily took to the woods, they were unknowing of the watchful eyes and knowing smirks of a couple of shadowed figures hiding behind some trees.

The figures watched the travelers with great interest. It had been a while for anybody of worth to come through these parts. Ever since the 'incident' with the late lord of the manor, and pickings had been mighty slim.

They were the only ones that had noticed the travelers, the rest having been farther back and were focused on the fallen luggage. The two decided to leave them to that - let them squabble over clothes and trinkets, for surely one would keep the items of most value on their own person - and stealthily followed the three. There was no need to tell the others. Why bother sharing if they weren't smart enough to see the obvious?

And thus the journey to the Darkest Dungeon began.


"You will arrive along the old road. It winds with troubling, serpent-like suggestions through the corrupted countryside. Leading only, I fear, to ever more tenebrous places. There is a sickness in the ancient pitted cobbles of the old road and on its writhing path you will face viciousness, violence, and perhaps other damnably transcendent terrors. So still yourself and remember: There can be no bravery without madness. The old road will take you to hell, but in that gaping abyss we will find our redemption."


Authors Notes:

Hey there! This is a new story idea that I had and wanted to write out. I've been playing Darkest Dungeon lately, a game that my brother Autumnstar gave me for my birthday, and have really enjoyed it. I mean, still can't beat it, the last dungeon is kicking my butt, but I am enjoying it at least, lol.

Members of class 1A and 1B, as well as the teachers and villains, shall be making appearances throughout the story if I continue this story. For example, I'm thinking about giving Shigaraki the position of the Necromancer, or maybe Muscular as the Bandit Chief. Haven't thought it all the way through yet - it's mostly just ideas, but I thought it was a neat idea.

Anyways, let me know what you guys think of it, I look forward to hearing your thoughts and opinions.

I'd like to thank my brother, Autumnstar, and my sisters, Bluefires and CaptainDarkElf, for beta reading this chapter for me.