'I fear death but I embrace the inevitability of my lifespan. Humans are short-lived and we fear death all the more for it. We fear leaving those we love behind. We fear leaving a pile of mistakes behind us. We fear leaving the horde of enemies we all inevitably make without finding our revenge. No human goes to their death without clinging to some aspect of the terrible joys of life. Yet I cannot help but notice that humans also embrace death. Short-lived as we are, it is only natural that death is our final enemy. Humans will face death screaming defiance, heads high and swords raised to face the final enemy.'
—Excerpt from 'My Eclipse' by Hawkmoon.
Hisashi Midoriya spends the final hours before the assault committing murder. Assassination, technically, but the idea is the same. He targets critical members of government from the most influential countries. He targets well-respected generals and admirals from militaries the world over. Headmasters of hero academies and notable public figures.
He chooses those that will have the best chance of bringing stability after the chaos. He does this quickly and efficiently, leaving no trace of his presence.
With an hour left before the assault begins, he warps towards the compound hiding the last of the Royal family. The base is hidden in the sunken depths of Taiwan. Here they are, hiding behind their own act of genocide, irreverent to the dead screaming out in agony.
He waves to the guards who let him through without question. There isn't a single moment where someone questions his intentions or his location. Why would they? After all, they've known Hisashi since he was a boy. And since he became a man, capable in his own right, he has been their protector. Even Guardsman Ryujin pays him no heed, distracted by other thoughts.
There they are, the last of the royal family. Not all of them wear the white that is theirs by right but enough do.
"Uncle Hisashi."
He smiles at the girl who rushes forward. She trips on her dress but he is there to catch her. On his knees, he smiles benevolently at her.
"You know I'm not your uncle. I'm not your father's brother."
He glances over her shoulder at those watching the spectacle. There is a current of humour there, so necessary in these bleak times that no one chastises her. The Emperor may hate Hisashi but most still remember his sacrifices.
Her grin is radiant, so similar to Akane that he can't help but be ill for a moment at the sudden wave of vertigo. He was the one who stole the corpse of Kurogiri's daughter so that her quirk could be harvested. Some nights it haunts him to know what was done to Kurogiri's daughter but he justifies it because Princess Mayuko is much nicer than Akane ever was.
"If I say you're my uncle then you are."
"I guess that's why you're the princess."
"Of course. And why are you so young?"
"I just stumbled across the fountain of youth."
"Why are you here, uncle?"
And now they come to the crux of the matter. This girl is fifteen, maybe a bit older. Young enough that he knows both Izuku and Mikumo would have loved her and taken care of her had he made different decisions.
"I just came to settle some business before I head out."
"You're going to win, right?"
He ruffles her hair. "Yes. And when that's done there will be a lot that needs to be rebuilt."
"I'm here. Me and dad and you can help with that."
"I don't think so."
He doesn't give anyone a moment to react. In a moment, dozens of doorways to the abyss appear throughout the compound. Some lead to legions singing the litanies of their fell gods. Some lead to monsters feasting on black holes. The most important leads to a creature that eats the electromagnetic signals the guards try to send in their panic. That one will be the ultimate counter to Ryujin by eating his lightning.
His smile is cruel and dead as a doorway opens past him, right where the rest of the group stand. Something old and made of nuclear fire stalks slowly past the doorway and into the room.
"You see, all of us will be dead," he says to the petrified girl. "I'm wiping the slate clean for my son. The royal lines will die. The government will fall. Only Izuku has a right to inherit this world."
He shoves her back, not caring that her scream is shrill and haunting and full of betrayal. Another doorway opens and he walks through it. The World Walker takes control and finds the optimal route to the bunker the prime minister and his officials reside in.
It takes little effort to bypass their defences. The World Walker has little interest in the grandstanding of its operator. It chooses worlds and creatures that will annihilate the targets with extreme prejudice. In less than twenty minutes, Japan no longer has anything resembling a functioning line of succession for its government.
He checks his watch. There's still time to bring chaos to Europe.
-TDB-
Katsuki Bakugou is angry once more. Everything is going to shit and he hates being helpless. He's done little to help compared to others. Momo provided them with a home and resources. She's busy right now organising things with that green villain Izuku's buddy-buddy with, but even Katsuki can't be angry at the dude. Not after he faced off a horde of monsters alone like it had been nothing.
Without him, Katsuki would probably be dead. No, that's a lie. Katsuki would be dead. He knows that for a fact.
And now he's faced with explaining a choice he has made. Momo told him the top-secret plan that the highest bodies of Japan are going with. It's a shitty plan with too many holes and nothing approaching certainty. It's also the only plan they have. It hinges on three of his former classmates doing some major bullshit and a portal that needs to be defended from endless hordes of monsters.
He's in a room with his team. Jirou and Ibara huddle together, watching him warily. Intelli who is resigned and he'll always thank her for siding with him. Shindo who is pissed and his two friends ready to back him up if he decides violence is the answer.
Katsuki doesn't blame them. If he was in their shoes, he wouldn't even have hesitated.
"I'm going to fight and you can't stop me," he tells them. "I don't care if I'll die because maybe, just maybe, all of you will live."
It's hypocritical as fuck after he stopped Shindo from walking to his death. But he's the team lead. Making sacrifices is in Katsuki's job description.
The only reason they haven't pinned him down is that he isn't swearing nor is he outwardly angry.
"You don't get to make that choice for us," Shindo says, rage in his eyes. Katsuki finds it weak.
Jirou snorts. "Hey, Bakugou"—He winces because she hasn't called him by his last name in a year—"you ever listen to someone and realise they're an idiot? Because that idiot is you right now. What the hell do you think you can do? What difference do you think you can make?"
"I'm the greatest damned fighter there ever was."
He dodges Shindo's punch and trips the asshole up, letting Shindo crash to the ground. Shindo lands in a crouch then launches himself at Katsuki.
It doesn't take Katsuki more than a few seconds to have Shindo pinned to the ground like the brat he is.
Unlike the rest of these assholes, hand-to-hand is where he excels. They always see his explosions and think he fights from a distance, but Edgeshot taught him the power in ending a fight cleanly in an instant.
He'll always miss his mentor and regrets never seeing him again. It's why he went to Shikoku, Edgeshot's home island, and picked up where he left off. Doing so had been the only way to honour his legacy.
None of his team realises exactly how much he's been holding back. He could take them all on and win easily. At this point, he could probably take on Hawks and win. In another year, he knows for a fact that he's beat the shit out of Endeavour with no stress.
"I'm going because Izuku Midoriya is asking for help and I owe him everything," Katsuki snaps, silencing them. He breathes harshly. "None of you understand what he's forgiven me for. If he's asking for help, there's no chance in hell I'll abandon him."
"That doesn't matter," Ibara says. "You're throwing away your life—"
"He gave me my life back! He's the only reason I wasn't in prison by fifteen. He gave me three years of my life and they're the best damned years I've ever had." He's smiling now, smiling at them because they're the reason he's willing to do this. "And you know what, I don't regret a single moment of it. You're all dumb fucks, but you're my dumb fucks."
"You can't do this to us. You have no right."
Intelli raises her arm to stop Jirou. "He's made his choice. There's nothing we can do about it."
He always did appreciate her intelligence. Katsuki lets Shindo go, hopping back to avoid his violent swipe.
"I guess this is the last mission of… fuck, we don't even have a name." Katsuki grins. "Fuck it, who needs a name. You bastards are stronger than I could ever be anyway. Figure something out on your own."
He stops at the door and looks back at them. Seeing Jirou's tears hurts more than he thought possible. It's Shindo's grief as if he's already mourning Katsuki, that stops him short.
"Make me a promise. All of you promise me that you'll keep trying to make things better." He grins. "Fight the good fucking fight and don't give up. Don't matter who the enemy is. Fight until you can't fight no more."
He doesn't wait to see if they'll listen. He hopes they will. They're better than he is anyway. Together, they can figure something out.
Helicopters are waiting for any fighter on the other side of the estate. Six of them for the few that answered the call. It isn't a lot but it's more than enough.
One of them reminds him of someone he swears he's met. Blue hair and elfish ears. Then he sees the pouches on his chest and recognises him as Suneater, last of UA's Big 3. The same person who saved him during the attack on their camp.
Katsuki nods to him but is met with confusion. Fucking figures the bastard wouldn't remember him.
Standing on the landing pad is the one person he'd hoped not to meet. He'd hoped against hope that this would be a cleaner break than it already isn't.
"Katsuki."
He raises a brow. "Hey, Momo."
She looks beautiful as always. She wears a black dress; a practical one he can imagine her running in. Her hair falls like a shower around her shoulders, silken and soft. Her arms are crossed and her back straight with the same authority that lets her stare down admirals and villains with wings and a spear. It is the same strength that tamed Katsuki even if he'll never admit to it.
"I don't want you to leave."
People are walking past them to get on the helicopter. He can see the pilot is agitated but he doesn't dare start the helicopter with Momo nearby. Given that she doesn't need the security guards always nearby to protect her, it's a smart move.
"I have to."
"You don't have to do anything. Stay with me. Please."
He takes a step forward and she tenses. She's afraid but he's come to know her well enough that she's not afraid of him. She'll never be afraid of him, no matter how much he shouts and threatens people with violence.
When there is no space between them, he tucks a loose lock of hair behind her ear. When a tear falls, he brushes it away gently with his thumb.
He leans forward and kisses her on the corner of her lips. Fuck if it doesn't hurt. This is the last one and they both know it.
"Live a good life," he orders gruffly. "Be happy without me. And thank you for everything."
He walks past her, hating each step and knowing he'll never forgive himself.
"Katsuki, say it. Just say it." Makeup runs down her face. "You never said those words. All the time we've been together and you never did."
He grins and gives her the middle finger. "I fucking love you, you crazy rich bitch. I would have been your god damned boy toy if you let me."
Katsuki Bakugou ducks into the helicopter, knowing that he's never going to see her again.
-TDB-
Enji Todoroki is no fool and never has been. Too many see his muscles and think he is a dumb brute. Others see his fire and temper and assume there is nothing more. Those people are the true fools. Enji knows what will happen today and walks to it gladly.
Today is the day he dies.
He has done his best to make amends with his children ever since the war ended, no matter how difficult that had been. He stopped telling them what to do and put up with their nonsense. He permitted Natsuo's angry words without retaliation and spoke to Touya softly to not trigger whatever memories grip his soul. Most of all, he's given control of the household to Fuyumi. He hopes it is enough.
Rei is the only person he can never truly understand. What does she want from him? A lover? A friend? An equal? Maybe all that and more. Maybe something else completely. It has been difficult speaking to her in the wake of the war because of that.
They are in her bedroom. He hasn't entered it before today, unwilling to breach her privacy or trust like that. Today, she has permitted his entry.
She's sitting on her bed and smiles when he entered. "You're allowed to be weak."
Enji kneels before her so that they're close to the same height. He doesn't need to. The first time he'd truly fallen in love with her had been the day she stood on a chair, grabbed him by the collar, and threatened to leave if he didn't start talking to her.
She thinks he was shy and he's always allowed that falsehood to exist between them. It hadn't been shyness but confusion. Why had she chosen him over all other contenders to her hand in marriage? And there had been many. Oh, so many. The Emperor's son amongst them.
His wife is strong and doesn't need him to lower himself. But he wants to.
"I've never been allowed to be weak. I've always had to be the strongest."
"That's because you're a fool, Enji."
Her hands are tiny and yet, when she runs them through his hair, it feels like she is holding everything that he is and will never be. She could destroy him very easily. Not only with her ice quirk, but she could destroy him as a person. If Rei had ever been cruel, Enji wouldn't have made it this far. He'd never have worked up the confidence to face All For One.
"Maybe I am."
She laughs. "You were a fool from the day I met you and you're still a fool. You're my fool."
"I'm so sorry. I wasn't a good friend or a good husband to you. I wasn't a good father. Everything I've done has come to mean nothing."
Rei is everything he would ever want in a wife. It's a shame he's barely been a husband to her.
"Enji, I forgave you a long time ago." Her smile is still as radiant as he remembers. "I love you."
"You shouldn't love me. You shouldn't forgive me."
"And yet I do."
She leans forward and presses her lips to his. They are cold as they always are. But his lips run hot and together, they find equilibrium. Opposites attract, so they say, but Rei has always been the strong one, the confident one. It isn't brash or obnoxious strength like Enji's, but quiet and understated.
A weak person wouldn't have been able to say no to an Emperor. A weak person couldn't have given birth to four perfect children. A weak person couldn't have tempered Enji's youthful arrogance and brought him down to size with her soft words.
Rei Todoroki is the strongest person he knows. He loves her and she means everything to him. He tries to impart his feelings with his kiss, hoping against hope that his emotions reach her.
She pulls back and Enji opens his eyes. The world is blurry. She wipes away his tears delicately.
"Rei, be strong for Shouto. He'll need you more now than ever."
"He's our son."
Enji shakes his head. "There's too much of me in him. I wish he was your son through and through. I wish Fuyumi had my anger. I wish Natsuo picked up my spite. I wish Touya had my arrogance. I wish Shouto hadn't taken all of those traits."
Rei pokes him in the forehead. "I chose you for all those reasons. You see the worst in him because you only see the worst in yourself. I don't think you understand how deep his love goes and that love is scorching hot. He's cold and indifferent like I can be. He picked up my penchant for threatening people bigger than me. He's the best and worst of us."
"He's our son." Enji smiles. "You're right. I am a fool. Thank you."
The screech of an alarm interrupts them. They both know what it means. This is the final alarm. After this, there can be no waiting around. He's glad he isn't a technician or engineer or anyone who has had to work around the clock. Enji is nothing more than a weapon and weapons aren't helpful in evacuations.
She kisses him once more.
"Do what you do best and show them your hellfire."
Those words are the last he will share with Rei. He etches them on his heart, tattoos each letter on his soul. He'll keep them close when the fighting starts and hold true to them when the fighting ends.
His son waits for him outside, sombre and quiet. Not at all like the little shit Enji is used to. He says nothing as Shouto envelops them in fire and delicately warps them to Tanegashima.
The light of dawn hit them, illuminating the beach they stand on. Enji can see the long platform extending out into the ocean, the same platform that he will have to protect. The breeze is pleasant and the salt strong today. It's not a bad place to die.
Shouto stares at him with his black eye that sees everything. "You will die."
Enji scoffs. "I don't fear death."
"You… don't?"
"Only those with regrets fear death. I have none."
"How? After everything you've done?"
"Because I'm not a fool."
Enji walks past his son, ready to face oblivion. He knows where the defensive lines will be formed and he will stand at the forefront of it all.
"Wait."
It is the desperation in his son's voice that stops him.
The boy isn't about to cry or anything so extreme. But he is tense, a whipcord of emotions he can't process. He looks so like Rei that it hurts. The shape of his ears, the sharp tip of his jaw and the defiance she once possessed when facing him.
What hurts most of all is the strength he shows. The pure unbowed determination to face the world. There is no one Enji respects more.
"Speak," Enji commands.
His son snaps to attention at that old command, the roots of Enji's training dug deep. The boy stands upright and only now does Endeavour realise that the boy is now a man.
For the first time in his life, Endeavour must look up to meet his son's eyes as an equal.
"I lived in your shadow a long time," Shouto says. "This is the end of your road but it's the start of mine. You taught me to fear the flame so that I would know to use its power. And I have. I'm stronger than you could ever hope to be."
Enji shakes his head, disappointed. That isn't the lesson he hoped his son would learn.
"I suppose you're a man now, Shouto. Take care of Rei and Fuyumi. That's your responsibility now."
"I don't forgive you," his son roars, black flames spreading down his side. "I won't ever forget what you did to us."
Enji expects that. He has never once asked for absolution and will never seek it. Some may look at his actions and find them monstrous, perhaps redundant in the face of what has happened. Enji will simply sneer at those weak-willed people hiding behind screens and smearing his name.
Enji engineered his son's ascension. He taught him to fear the flame so that he wouldn't be consumed by it. Perhaps it hasn't been perfect: Shouto is callous and indifferent towards human suffering except for a few people. Enji hopes that they will guide him towards empathy and kindness.
He's going to entrust Rei and Fuyumi and Midoriya and all the rest with Shouto's future. He has faith that they can shape Shouto into a benevolent god.
"But," his son continues, voice soft as a dying fire, "despite it all, you're the man I respect the most. You stood by your beliefs and didn't let anyone sway them. No matter the cost, you stood fast because you knew how dark the future would be if you failed. You turned me into a weapon but I wouldn't have met those I love without you. For that, if nothing else, thank you, father."
It shocks him right down to the bone the relief that follows his son's words. They're the closest to absolution he will ever receive. And they are more than he deserves.
"I don't need your forgiveness."
He truly doesn't. Rei forgave him and she was the one he harmed the most.
Knowing this will be the last time he sees his son, Enji does something he hasn't in nearly a decade.
Enji smiles.
His son stumbles back and trips in shock, still burning on one side.
"But," he says slowly, "thank you for surpassing me. Go make a future without me."
His son is going to space to save them all. Enji couldn't be prouder of the young man.
-TDB-
Katsuki Bakugou is ready when he steps out of the helicopter. He walks with a graceful sort of arrogance, the same predatory slink of a panther stalking its prey. Orders are being given to those that have arrived, dozens upon dozens of fighters here to defend one spot.
Katsui ignores them all. There's one person he needs to find. He walks past too many people in white uniforms, giving them a wide berth. They're killers through and through.
It is like there's a beacon in Katsuki's head leading him past the meeting grounds and down an empty road to his destination. It is a home on a plot of land, lush grass swaying gently in the wind.
His target is standing, staring eastward towards the thing that's probably gonna kill them all.
"I heard you need fighters," he says cockily.
Izuku turns on the spot, surprise crossing his features. "You shouldn't be here. Don't you know—"
"Fucking hell, you bleeding heart pansy. You think I don't know. I'm here because I know." His grin slips. "Apparently there's a portal we've got to open or everything goes to shit."
"I should just knock you out and send you back."
Izuku thinks he's fast and he is, but he's also underestimating Katsuki. So, when Izuku vanishes on the spot, Katsuki has already ducked, Izuku's kick flying harmlessly over Katsuki's head.
Crouched, he twists and spins low, sweeping Izuku off his feet. Izuku lands with a hard thud.
Katsuki offers him a hand. Katsuki glares at him. Izuku stares back.
He takes his offered hand. Katsuki hauls him up. They both know that had Izuku taken him seriously, there'd be little Katsuki could do.
"We need to keep the portal open," Izuku says. It's as close to an apology as he's getting and they both know it.
"Yeah, I fucking heard. How's that gonna work?"
"There's three spawning point. There's gonna be monsters coming from them and you're going to need to defend them. You guys here are gonna be the first line of defence for the eastern spawning ground. The Imperials are dealing with the one south."
"And the other one."
"Fumikage's got that one covered."
"You trusting go damned bird brain. I could fucking deal with that better than him."
A tiny smile cracks Izuku's features. "Probably. Weren't you going to beat the shit out of me if I kept on acting like an idiot? That's what you told Kaminari when we all met up."
Katsuki feels his blood run cold. He'd almost forgotten that evening, only a few days after Izuku walked free.
"What's wrong?"
"He's gone."
Izuku closes his eyes. "I'm sorry. I know I wasn't friends but… was he alone?"
"He'd been gone for hours before I found him."
Izuku reaches out and grips his shoulder. "It hurts, doesn't it. That feeling of failing. Of not being good enough. That grief that's choking you."
"Fuck you and your bullshit." Katsuki steps back, glaring at Izuku. "You keep on doing this. Like you're responsible for everyone. Like you need to forgive everyone. Fuck you. You don't have a monopoly on pain."
His words are hard and sharp. They cut Izuku and he drips grief like blood.
"My parents died! I'm the last Bakugou. After me, there ain't anyone left." He grabs Izuku's collar. "I'm not here because I want to fight. I'm here because I know how much of a pussy you are. Now listen here you rat bastard, you get your ass on the moon and fucking win. If you don't, then we're all fucked."
Izuku's eyes are wide.
"You were always terrible at motivating people."
"It's fucking working. You're already standing taller."
And he is. The doubt and hesitation that Katsuki had seen immediately are gone. They know each other better than anyone else. No matter how far they've drifted, Katsuki will always know Izuku, and that's a fact of the universe. They know each other to the very core where the important stuff can be found.
"This won't make me forgive you—"
"So fucking skip the heartfelt speech—"
Izuku pulls him into a hug. It's awkward since he's holding Izuku's collar and Katsuki is a head taller than him. It's weird and messy and exactly what he expects out of the dumb fuck.
"I wish things could have been different and we were friends, but our paths diverged a long time ago. You were there when my mother died. Thank you. Thank you for being you, Kacchan. I'll always remember you."
He shoves Izuku back. Izuku only laughs, joy radiating from every pore. They both know Katsuki isn't making it. No point in being upset.
"I'm sorry, Deku."
Izuku chuckles. "I forgave you a long time ago, Kacchan."
Then the weirdo extends his palm and slices it with a sudden blade of wind. Katsuki raises his brow. It only rises higher when the blood flows upward, congealing into something solid and hard as a rock.
"You still keep on doing some weird shit." Katsuki catches it when he throws it. "The fuck am I supposed to do with this."
"Eat it."
The shit says it as if that makes any sense. But then again, they're living in a world that doesn't make any sense. Eating a blood crystal isn't that strange.
At least it doesn't taste like blood.
"Go show them how badass you are, Kacchan."
"Fuck you, Deku."
And yet, he can already feel the warmth rising in his chest. It is raw power, the kind that makes it hard to breathe.
He struggles to contain it as he heads to the first defensive line. He takes his place at the forefront, muscling his way past some pussy shits who are quaking in their boots. Suneater is there, frowning at Katsuki for a moment, before turning his back to the man at the front.
Calling him a man is a bit disingenuous. He's a mountain of muscle and physical perfection. He looks like he could crush a mountain and set a land speed record across Japan.
That stops mattering when the first wave of monsters approach. They are shambling things in the shape of humans with long spikes where there should be hair. Even from here, Katsuki can see the burning orange of their eyes.
The dumb fucks walk right into the minefields. One explosion after another taking them down. Katsuki almost scoffs before remembering that mines are only useful once.
When that happens, the artillery platforms and tanks take over. It's boring watching the hordes get taken down.
"This isn't so bad."
Katsuki closes his eyes. "You fucking idiot."
Because of course, that's when shit goes to hell. The ground cracks amongst them, deep trenches from which tentacles emerge. Katsuki leaps aside, pulling the idiot with him as they land on solid ground.
He shoves the guy aside just as… a something cuts up the ground. Katsuki can barely see it and when he does, it's little more than a patch of smoke that exists in spectrums he's certain humans shouldn't be able to see.
Katsuki dodges as people scream around him, heart hammering in his chest and ears ringing from tanks firing. From then on, everything is a haze. He moves quick, ducking and evading blows from whatever the fuck is chasing him.
He still hasn't fired his quirk. It hasn't been the right time. But now, the power within him rises to a crescendo. His body is overflowing with energy and if he doesn't let it loose, it feels like he's going to burst.
Katsuki activates his quirk and the world goes silent.
A beam of light so hot and intense that it leaves him blind sears through the smoky monster, and all the ones behind it. The beam cuts straight through tentacles and the hordes appearing in the air. For a single second, it's like there is a second sun.
Katsuki stares at the endless hordes in disappointment. The fuckers around him are failing to do their job. They're falling left and right. Just like the defensive lines around the tanks and artillery.
He cracks his fists together. Looks like he's going to have to do everything as usual and be the fucking hero of the day.
"Bring it."
He leaps forward, right in the centre of the horde. He fires his quirk indiscriminately, his explosions carving up trenches and leaving craters. He reigns destruction like a god of explosion, wielding more power than he could ever hope to imagine.
He fights off dozens, then hundreds of creatures. He faces off against splintering creatures that give him a headache to stare at. He fights reanimated humans that drip darkness with every step. He rips apart a fucking giant and blows its head off its body. And when dozens of serpents emerge from that head, Katsuki destroys them as well.
"If I'm gonna die, then I'm taking all you fucks with me."
Katsuki launches himself forward and proves once and for all that he's the greatest fucking hero of all time. His blasts are large enough to reshape the landscape. He destroys a hill by mistake killing. One of his blasts bisects the land and shoots down a flying nightmare. Katsuki fires his quirk like rockets and ascends to the heavens.
The power within him is killing him. With each blast, he can feel himself closer to death's door. When he should have no time left, Katsuki grabs a monster that looks like the grim reaper by the neck.
He stares into its skull. "Not today."
It is impossible to win, impossible to hold back the tide forever. He doesn't need forever. He just needs to hold them off long enough.
Katsuki Bakugou is angry for the last time.
-TDB-
Enji Todoroki meditates in preparation for his final battle. He sits cross-legged on the edge of the glacier his son formed to freeze a spawning ground in place. It thrums with an echo of Shouto's power over entropy.
As it stands, communing with hellfire isn't something he's done before. His quirk has always come whenever he called it forth. Now, he searches the seat of his power, finding new connections and depths that are magnificent. Ever since his battle with All For One, his power had expanded greatly. Where before, he wouldn't compare to Toshinori, now he towers above him.
It won't mean much to the creatures of the abyss. Power alone isn't enough. It will never be enough.
The battle begins with a simple crack that runs along the glacier. It sounds like glass shattering and makes the iceberg lurch violently. Chunks of it fall off, crashing into the ocean with claps like thunder. Then the ice darkens as the spawning ground becomes active once more.
A hand nearly five times as long as Enji emerges from the spawning ground. A tsunami rises from the displacement, an endless wave that crashes over the remaining section of the iceberg. It races across the ocean, heading straight for the space centre and the launch platform extending out onto the ocean.
The tsunami stops in place as if frozen in time. The water lurches and then it surges back whence it came just in time to smack the emerging godling in the face. Enji finds it funny that the Emperor's supposedly dead son just slapped a godling in the face.
Enji finally stands, ready to fight.
The godling is recovering, a long gash running the length of its gargantuan face. It has bones like a muzzle hiding most of its face, but what little is visible is covered in scales and feathers. Vibrant orange ichor spills into the ocean, instantly vaporising the water. The stench is acrid and reminds Enji oddly of acid, sulphur and rosemary. An odd combination, certainly.
It raises one of its many arms, this one dangling with something like seaweed if seaweed was a thick liquid. The liquid expands, glowing brightly with energy as it readies an attack.
Enji will not let it. Hellfire comes to life around him. Flames hotter than any natural fire surround his body. He hears the screams of the damned, all those he killed before this fire and knows they will haunt him till his final days.
Thankfully, this is his final day.
He flings a spear of hellfire the same size as his body. It looks minuscule, pathetic compared to the godling. Perhaps that's why it ignores it as it just misses the godling's head.
Enji snaps his fingers. The spear destabilises, the compressed hellfire expanding outwardly in a spectacular conflagration that consumes the godling's head. As it collapses back, Enji fires five more, repeating the process for its arms and torso and leg until not even ash remains.
Killing it with hellfire is to burn it in his own image, it is to burn it as an offering to himself. Hellfire and its ability to tithe deaths and victories back to Enji is the reason he has become as powerful as he is. As such, he can feel the power of the godling flow into him. It isn't much.
"Pathetic."
The sea lurches, bubbling violently. The spawning point is activating, truly awakening. That godling was only a harbinger of what is to come, nothing but a prelude to a violent conclusion. What emerges can only be described as a flying shark. Sure, it has three arms and eyes everywhere on its body, but it reminds Enji entirely of a hammerhead shark.
Then it vanishes.
Enji's eyes widen and he whirls on the spot, flinging hellfire at the creature suddenly behind him. It screeches, but Enji has no time for patience. Not when he can feel more leaving the spawning ground. His flames brighten as he engulfs the creature, burning it to ash.
He flings his arm out and forms a massive curtain of hellfire, a towering sight of heat and flame. With a mighty grunt, he flings the mile-long wall of fire forward, feeling everything as it dies before him. The water vaporises as do the creatures that have been summoned.
A violent hum reaches his ears. He glances back at the beach, seeing the technicians there evacuating quickly. The long pad has lit up with green light.
Enji smiles as the shuttle sets off, magnetic rails propelling it faster and faster. Inside is his son. He has hope that the boy will win. They're all fucked anyway if he doesn't.
The sound barrier breaks as the shuttle is propelled by the rails angled upward. Then its thruster activates, a bright bloom of radiation and blue light. It's like looking at a miniature sun as it accelerates faster than Enji tracks.
Then it's off, climbing up the atmosphere. The shuttle becomes smaller and smaller until Enji can't see it.
"Be better than I ever could be."
Now, he just needs to deal with the endless hordes of sea creatures that spawned in his distraction. Might as well be a hero and save the rest of Japan before they're overrun.
The longer he fights, the more precise his manipulation gets. So long as he fights stronger enemies, then Enji will continue to grow. As he fights for his life, he feels his quirk shatter its previous limits. It isn't just fire that he flings or temperature that he controls. No, he feels the radiation in the area and wields it like a weapon to annihilate a shambling monstrosity.
He feels the oscillating electromagnetic fields and plucks at them like a composer. It generates a sudden discharge of lightning that roasts a dozen rat-like abominations struggling to swim through the churning water.
He flings hellfire and energy and radiation at the mouth of the spawning pit, holding back the tide alone.
It isn't enough. Another spawning ground appears, this time on the far side of the island. "Fuck."
It doesn't take Enji any effort to propel himself upward like a rocket to survey the island. He can see the effects of the Imperial Heir in the sudden spears of rock in the ocean or the way there are vortexes in certain parts whilst the rest is perfectly still.
He draws upon waves of hellfire, flinging them at the mouth of the newest spawning pit in the air. It burns creatures made entirely out of gas and malevolence. His best acts aren't good enough and soon, more monstrosities exist in the real world.
But then he feels it, a well of heat and energy so powerful that he almost falls out of the sky. It's like being blind and suddenly seeing the sun without protection. Sensing it now, he knows he can control it.
Enji Todoroki pulls heat and energy from the earth's molten core and forces it to rise.
The ocean boils as he summons forth magma, endless gouts of molten earth supercharged by hellfire. It is like trying to move a boulder through the ocean but Enji is a man of determination. Roaring, he flings a wave of magma on top of one spawning pit.
With a heave, he spews forth a gout of magma like a volcano erupting. He directs the chunks of molten rock like an orchestra conductor, each one finding their mark with unerring precision.
Pain.
He's falling from the sky, vision blurry. It takes him too long to figure out what's going on before he hits the ground with a wet crunch.
Enji groans, his body rebelling from the pain. He shouldn't be alive. An hour ago, he knows for a fact that he'd be dead. And yet, he feels the power in his soul, power to become the strongest man alive and stand uncontested.
He stumbles to his feet and faces the thing that struck him down from the sky. It looks exactly like the godling he immolated right at the beginning, far smaller now. It's only thrice as tall as Enji.
It has also brought friends. Packs of giant, serpent-like creatures with fangs the gleam with poison. Legions of lurching giants with massive swords. Endless hordes of creatures that flicker between higher dimensions with impunity.
"I have an army of my own."
His fire is called hellfire. It isn't a pretty name with no meaning.
The earth cracks, fire rising and spreading from those cracks. With each step he takes, the eternal hellscape spreads further and further. The sky turns a horrid orange streaked with sickly yellows.
The dead rise, some he has killed, but most are the creatures Shouto killed in the abyss. It is a legion of eternal suffering, and it is his to command.
The armies clash, Enji summoning more and more power with each kill. He can feel it, a barrier he hadn't known existed. He started with fire and that became temperature and heat before evolving to pure energy. Now, there's something he can see. A final barrier before he can… Enji isn't sure, but he knows that if can break that barrier he'll tower over every human who ever lived.
His fire disappears, the temperature dropping suddenly. He looks around in shock before he finds it. It isn't a creature so much as it is a nightmare given form, a vision of the heat-death of the universe. It is a concept in motion, a metaphor of annihilation.
He stares at the monster, knowing his powers cannot beat it. It consumes heat and rejects the reality Enji imposes. His army is collapsing and vanishing as he loses control. His quirk is wholly unsuited to this.
So, he cheats.
His remaining flames become as hot as the sun as he tears through reality. Once, months ago, his son created an infernal sun of black flames to defeat an Elder thing. This creature isn't anywhere near as dangerous. That's why the portal he creates isn't massive.
It happens quickly. A wave of black flames rushes out at lightspeed, burning potential futures and chewing through the unwritten laws of reality. It incinerates the island and boils the ocean. The air itself catches on fire from the heat.
The creature dies in those flames instantly.
Enji's body burns as well.
These are not his flames to wield. He has no right to survive this attack. And he cannot. He can, however, close the portal before the fire spreads across the world and kills everyone.
And yet, though his body is ash, his soul remains.
The expanse of his soul observes the final stand of the man he once was. The island is gone, burnt to a crisp. All that remains is barren earth and burning ocean.
In the very centre, however, in the place he perished, there is a pyre of dark flames.
You are the one who ignored my call, a tiny sliver of the godflame says in this moment of suspended time.
Yes, Enji's soul says. I do not fear you.
Love is known to fire, this echo of the godflame says. His love for you is true. His forgiveness will come one day.
A burden he didn't know he was holding leaves. Enji would smile if he had a body to do so.
Then let me pass.
It is my heart's wish that you be remembered. Upon this fire, your memories and life shall stand as a monument. You will be remembered eternally by the flame. Enji Todoroki, your endeavour will not be forgotten
The flame embraces his soul, burning him away. But it does not sear away his future. Every memory he holds, every experience and moment he holds dear is fed to the infernal flame. And those flames burn just the slightest bit brighter. His hopes and dreams, his failings and successes, and everything that he is burns as kindling to this pyre.
Goodbye, Rei.
Enji Todoroki will be remembered eternally.
-TDB-
Izuku Midoriya listens to the world.
The square where they will open the portal is quiet. For now, at least. Once the defensive lines fall, then it's going to be overrun. All the civilians in the city will be slaughtered.
They'll be slaughtered anyway if the plan fails.
He listens to the howls of the dying and the screams of the wounded. Most of all, he pays attention to the explosions lighting up the sky. Katsuki Bakugou is fighting ferociously, standing undaunted against the enemies arrayed before him. His strength shakes the world.
Knowing that someone as strong as Katsuki is fighting to defend the world makes Izuku glad. Sorrowful, yes, but he refuses to let that feeling overtake him. Not after the aggressive motivational speech.
Whatever may come, Katsuki will protect Kouta till the end. And Izuku can never thank him for it.
The world shifts as though another sun has appeared right next to Izuku. He turns around and finds himself face to face with his father. Except, it's not the Hisashi he remembers.
His father looks like the picture he saw of his parents' wedding, young and sharp and not battered down by time. There is power in every pore of his body, a luminous bastion of strength permeating his soul. The air around him shimmers, tinged green by the power leaking from his father's soul.
"He gave you all his power."
Hisashi shakes his head. "A lot of it but I'm not… I'm still bound to the godflame and he stands above even that. I didn't steal his crown."
There is a man with him dressed in Imperial white. He stands straight-backed and grim-faced. Izuku thinks his name might be Itinerant, one of the Royal Guard.
The Guardsman cracks his neck. "Let's get this shit over with."
Hisashi nods and summons a doorway, cutting straight through the fabric of reality. Through it, Izuku can see the insanity of the abyss. The madness that always permeates it is worse than usual, a chaotic and churning sea of darkness.
The further he looks, the more he can see the outline of the Singer's influence. Oh, they are coming, and they will show no mercy. He snaps his gaze away before they notice him. If he so much as steps through the doorway, they will all converge on his location immediately.
He hates being useless. For all his powers, he can do nothing. And if he does something, he will cause endless destruction. Billions of lives will be on his hands if he can't restrain himself.
Hisashi extends his hand and the Guardsman takes it. A wave of frozen time washes over them, surrounding the doorway. Izuku feels a flare of godflame as the two warp powers are brought together. The mix is hard and fast, both powers being slammed together and forced to mesh.
The Guardsman screams in agony, his body segmenting apart along dozens of clean lines. There is no blood. Slowly, the sections fade out of reality. A pillar of frozen time rises from where his body once was, invisible to most people. It arcs upward past what Izuku can see.
The doorway is different now. Instead of leading to the abyss, it leads to a rocky plain Izuku recognises as the moon.
"I was hoping he'd survive."
Izuku understands the hesitance in his father's voice. Their plan had hinged on using Itinerant's warping powers to get the last Singer to the moon.
"We'll figure something out. You do your job and we'll do ours."
Hisashi stares at Izuku for a long minute. It makes him uncomfortable to be the focus of someone he barely knows.
"They need something to follow," Hisashi says eventually. "They'll follow their king anywhere."
Izuku touches the small of his back. In the base of his spine is a red orb that has been with him since the beginning. It is the same orb that connects him to his powers.
That was always a lie. He is shadowking, inviolable and untouchable. Darkness is his right and his divinity cannot fade. But the orb has been marked by his divinity, melded and intertwined with Izuku's station as a king. It is a piece of his dominion no matter how tiny.
It materialises in his hand, obeying his command perfectly. He gives it to Hisashi. His father looks it over.
"It's not enough, unfortunately."
Izuku nods, understanding. "I suppose this is how I die."
Seeing Katsuki has given him the strength to accept this possibility. He understands why Katsuki would come here when it would only mean death. Every explosion is a constant reminder of everything that made Katsuki who he is. Angry. Bombastic. Confident. Most of all, it's the raw drive to be the best.
Kacchan is giving his life for those he loves. The least Izuku could do is match that determination.
"I'm so sorry, son. I wish I could have been with you longer. I wish you could have seen more and been happy. I wish your brother loved you better or that I was there for you when you needed me most."
Izuku refuses to cry. He's done enough of that. He's going to have to break his promise to Fumikage and Shouto. Hopefully, they will one day forgive him. He knows they will figure out a way to deal with the last Singer.
How they will survive a future alone terrifies Izuku. They'll be angry and listless without Izuku's unerring gaze towards the future.
"It's okay."
He isn't talking to you, Mikumo says quietly.
"What?" He stares at his father. "What's he talking about?"
"It's not fair you didn't get to live longer," Hisashi continues, looking past Izuku. "None of this is fair. I know I'm asking a lot, but it's all we have."
I'll do it.
"What the fuck are you going to do?"
Hisashi smiles gently. "I'm going to use Mikumo as a beacon to get them to follow me."
"Why the fuck will this work?"
I'm real, brother, but I'm going to hitch a ride in father's mind. I'll be real, but it will only be one person travelling the doorway. We have no choice.
"You can't do this," Izuku says. "I just lost mum. You can't both just leave me."
"I killed Aizawa," his father says casually.
"What?"
"I killed your teacher. I killed someone you respected. If I had been more careful, I could have saved All Might."
"Why are you telling me this?"
Because you won't stop us now.
"This isn't fair."
I'm the older twin, Izuku. I'd be a shit brother to let you die. Besides, you have Kouta to take care of.
Kouta who is hiding in a bunker right now. Kouta who will die if Izuku fails. Kouta whom Izuku promised to always protect.
He has a responsibility to the boy that can't simply be ignored. And they all know it.
"Damn you."
"I should be damned," Hisashi says. "No matter what, I want you to know that everything I did, I did to give you a future. It's no excuse and I'm not asking you to forgive me. But It'll be up to you from now on."
Hisashi reaches out and pats Izuku on the head, tracing his features for the last time. It's like he's trying to engrave Izuku's features in his soul. Then, Izuku feels him reach beyond space and into the void where Mikumo resides.
Gently, he coaxes Mikumo out of his hiding place. The sensation is disconcerting. Who wants someone to rifle through their mind?
Hisashi pulls back. In his hand, he holds a flickering flame that represents Mikumo in all his glory. Perhaps once it would have been untainted and clear, but at its core is a pit of darkness. The same darkness that infuses Izuku.
The air shimmers, slowly solidifying.
He sees Mikumo for the last time, solid as any other person. And it breaks his heart. He wears a green costume with a rabbit mask and white lines. He wears Izuku's costume, the one he envisioned as a child.
Mikumo looks so much like a true hero, standing tall and proud and unscarred by time. He smiles at Izuku, gentle as the sun and just as bright.
"Goodbye, brother. I'm proud of you. I will always love you. But you're going to have to learn to stand tall without me and make your own future. Make something beautiful out of your shattered faith and broken dreams."
"Mikumo," Izuku snarls. "Don't you dare die. You have no right to death. Live. Do you understand? Live for all the years you didn't. Live for mum. Live for everyone you never got to meet."
His brother chuckles, pawing at his tears. It doesn't help much.
"I will. I promise you that."
Izuku feels it when it begins. Every living creature on earth feels it when the end of the world begins. It is a sensation deep in the soul, a promise that the end is nigh.
They.
Are.
Singing.
"Go!" Izuku roars.
-TDB-
This is what it feels like to be alive on the day the world ends.
This what it feels like to be Nkeshi Abe, an immigrant living in New York and trying to make a living in the nuclear wasteland it became. You have just witnessed every cardinal rule you held about the world shatter. And now, you witness these abominations awaken. They singasongthatwillendalllife and it is glorious. You watch the sky darken and die. You witness everything organic wither away and die. You observe all of this as the wave of the songoffinality reaches you and extinguishes your life.
Hisashi Midoriya exists in many places at once. He is frantic and moves urgently. His first step is incorporating Mikumo into his mind. The boy slots into space easily, genetic and abyssal familiarity helping. It isn't seamless because Hisashi's mind was never meant to hold it. He ignores the sudden and violent nosebleed.
This is what it feels like to be Mateo Gonzalez, a hundred miles from Asuncion. You are five when you witness an event that will be seared into your genetic memory. You flee with your family, your mother and father at the back urging your siblings Valentina and Alfredo forward. You look back and witness the songthatspellsthefinalconclusionoflife consume thousands in your vision and the millions within the city. You witness this until you disintegrate.
There are four Singers Hisashi must deal with. Four doorways he must generate. He cannot go near them or he will die, but he doesn't need to. He knows where the Singers are located and knows exactly how large the doorway must be for them to enter. An infinitely large space existing under finite dimensions.
This is what it feels like to be Shadia Al-Assad, a girl of seven, watching your homeland die. At the final moment before death, before you hear the songthatwillexpungeyoursoulfromexistence, it vanishes. You look up and do not see the harbinger of final death. You celebrate only until your throat has been torn apart by monsters.
Only one thing will tempt the Singers. They are beings of true dark, borne before the godflame existed. They will follow the shadowking anywhere. Right now, Hisashi has the next best thing. Mikumo, tainted by Izuku's darkness and genetically similar, is close enough.
This is what it feels like to be Kohei of the Horikoshi Cult, first amongst equals. It was by your grace that the great god was summoned where you chose. It has been centuries of communing with sympathetic powers, centuries of sacrificing hundreds to satiate the hunger of the ascended beings your ancestors became by incubating undying gods. Today is the day of ascension. Your gods are here and they have passed judgement on the world. You spread your arms wide and you lead your sect as they chant the songthatdestroysthemeaningoflife, waiting until the wave judges you and ends you. In the final moments, all you feel is enlightenment as you see the world you will one day create, beloved by all. You see your godhood and ascend. All is good in the world.
The doorways open and Hisashi stands before them. Mikumo materialises beside him, his body composed of light and dark. The boy holds the internal engine Izuku gave them, an engine that thrums with unholy power. It is the mark of the king held by one identical to the king. The Singers turn their gaze toward it. And then they step through.
This is what it feels like to be Amelia Burke, of British Columbia's Auditor General's office. You are a census taker by training and a painter in your spare time. How do you begin to count the dead when there is nothing that remains of them? How do you paint a picture of this so that others will understand? Do you paint a picture of the lifeless cities in the immediate blast zone, perhaps paint cities of corpses reaching twenty million? Do you believe the UN death estimates as they pour in once they climb past half a billion? By what measure will you remember this day?
This is what it means to be alive. Your life has no inherent meaning. You are nothing to ancient gods. They do not care for your tiny love or acts of compassion.
One remains, unbound and free. One Singer remains, causing havoc with each moment that passes. Millions upon millions falling to its Song. It does not hate you for your failings. It does not care for you or your tiny acts of love and compassion. It simply does that which it was made to do.
It sings a song named death.
-TDB-
Hisashi Midoriya, once a man known as Hisashi Atakani, is genuinely surprised by his own brilliance.
They're really following us, Mikumo says.
Hisashi doesn't look back. He doesn't want to know what they look like and he doesn't want to think about them. Though his soul has been fortified by Shouto's powers, Hisashi knows he will die if he thinks too hard on them.
This journey isn't real by any stretch. Shouto's powers have completely distorted Hisashi's quirk. He is in many places at once. A part of him has only just opened the doorway. Another part is still talking to his son. A tiny fraction of him is at their destination. Most of him are here, walking an endless highway followed by the Singers, their songthatwillendmankind always one step behind him.
None of that matters. He's already sealed off the entrance and snipped it away, cutting apart any ties to their old reality. Right now, this section of the abyss and the universe they are to enter are self-contained.
Whatever the case, his plan is working. They are following. His hastily cobbled together plan with no hope of succeeding is doing just that.
You head is kinda empty, Mikumo says. Just you and the World Walker.
Talking to his son is a decent distraction from his impending death. What better time to catch up?
"What's Izuku's like?"
Always full. Lots of dying gods and One For All's ghost and whatever else he picks up. It takes forever to clean it.
"Thank you for keeping him safe. You're a good brother."
Yes, his son says tiredly. Were you really going to inherit the throne?
"I hate that question. Everyone wants an answer and no one is ever happy about it."
Will you tell me if I ask?
"Yes."
I want to know.
"I was eighth in line. The Emperor is my first cousin." Hisashi sighs, wistful. "When my parents died, I retreated from it all. I didn't want anything to do with the Throne. When I met Inko, I knew it would be a mistake. She would never have been happy with my family."
Thank you for telling me the truth.
"I would never lie to you."
I'm scared. He killed me once before. But this time I know what's coming.
"Maybe we'll live. I don't know. I promise I'll try my best. Once we seal them in another world, that's it. We can't ever escape that universe."
Then maybe we beat them there?
"Maybe. More likely, we'll die with everyone from that world." He feels Mikumo's fear and knows he has failed as a father. "But there's a chance the universe will grow and expand. The Singers might provide the necessary push for the universe to evolve once more. All you have to do is ride the wave."
How?
"One last magic trick."
Hisashi opens the door to another world and steps through it.
He inverts the doorway they travelled through and seals it shut, cutting it off from every other plane of reality. And then he throws away the key. Without the beating flame of the godflame to empower him, his power to sustain the doorways vanishes. It leaves him only with his first quirk, the power to breathe fire.
He lands in the middle of UA during a training session. It feels weird being here, seeing this school up and running. It hasn't been razed to the ground by missiles because of the quarantine.
No, UA stands tall and undaunted.
It's sickening to see. Hisashi can see Aizawa and how the man wants to leap forward and defend his students. As if he genuinely cares. He's nothing more than Nezu's dog.
"Dad?"
That stops everyone. A boy that looks like his son walks forward. This one lacks the scars and the divinity of his true son, but he has the same awkward nervousness.
"I guess I am Hisashi Midoriya." Hisashi smiles sadly. "But, I'm not your father. And I'm sorry."
And across the world, four more portals open.
The Singers materialise in massive rips of reality. Hisashi dumped most of their bodies in the black hole a few galaxies over. Still, their physical forms have followed him all the way to the Earth.
They will escape one day if they ever decide to. It's not like that will stop them. But maybe, just maybe, a black hole will remind them of home enough that they don't come here.
Still, there are their physical forms to contend with. They are silent, thankfully. For whatever reason, they aren't Singing.
He can feel as their presence begins mutating the land around them, turning humans to monsters and bringing forth an influx of darkness this world has been devoid of. It is the start of the world's death and the children in the training ground don't know it.
I'm scared.
"I'll give you my body. I'll give you control. The World Walker will keep you safe. This is the best I can do to atone."
"Who are you talking to?" this pale imitation of his son asks, struck still in his terror.
"No one you'll know," he says errantly to the child. "Find another planet and run."
Thank you.
"You're my son."
Hisashi smiles for the last time, indifferent to the panic his son's copy has. This isn't the boy he sired, who saw gods and became a legend. This boy has no scars and seems to be a perfect hero student. He doesn't have the flaws that make his son special.
And yet, Hisashi doesn't want him to die. Izuku Midoriya will always be the child of Hisashi Atakani. And even if this Izuku isn't his son, Hisashi will still protect him.
"Keep him safe. He'll need you, Mikumo."
I will.
"Goodbye. Forgive me."
Hisashi cedes control to his son.
-TDB-
Mikumo Atakani feels the shock of a real body. There are sudden pains and aches and the world isn't shades of darkness and it all makes no sense for one agonisingly long moment. Even with Izuku, he wasn't in total control. That was sending commands to be followed, not being the one executing the commands.
Then, with a snap, his senses align.
Colours, vibrant and true colours. Glorious and riotous sounds. Sharp and acrid smells. Scratchy clothes and the wind ruffling his skin. Blood on his tongue, tangy and coppery.
He looks down at his wrinkled hands and undoubtedly old face and decides against that form.
He isn't his brother, doesn't have the endless darkness to sustain him or the living lightning of One For All to empower him. But he is still connected to the fading embers of both, supercharged by his father's brilliant soul. He draws slivers of that power and lets it strengthen the battered body he resides in.
Youth infuses the body he wears. He looks at the unblemished skin of his hands. Dark hair cascades down his shoulders, tickling his neck. When he inhales, he feels his stomach churn with the power of burning plasma.
In the back of his mind, he feels the World Walker lurking. The feeling is disquieting. Usually, he's the one doing the lurking.
This one will guide you, Operator, to a place untouched by the void.
He looks to the boy who bears the mortal name of his brother. This is an Izuku Midoriya, not his brother the shadowking. This boy is terrified and painfully confused, powerless in the face of monsters and demons.
"Come with me if you wanna live."
"Who are you?"
He looks to the side at one of the creatures approaching them. He forces a smile just as his brother would.
"Call me Atakani. Mikumo Atakani."
At his core, in the very centre of his being, there is a spark of godflame, a burning cauldron of untapped power. It is the flame of the gods, his inheritance from his father, a sun that burns within him. It is a flicker of Creation and he knows that had things been different, had he lived, then he may have stood beside his brother as king.
Mikumo opens his mouth and spews a stream of blindingly hot plasma to incinerate the creature.
"I'm your brother. Come with me if you want to live."
It's a gamble to make that promise. Mikumo has no plan, no idea how they will live. The future is uncertain and terrifying. It only makes him joyous. Isn't that what it means to be alive?
Mikumo is alive and he doesn't mean to waste this gift.