Izuku stared at the pulsing light in front of him in confusion, looking around for the source of the Quirk effect as he did. Nothing. No one. Weird, who would just leave a glowing light sitting in the middle of a street? That was sure to get you in trouble with the police…
Izuku reached out and poked the light experimentally, watching it pulse. Ok, that was interesting, it was like there was… colder air inside it? How did that work, shouldn't air inside a bright light like that be hotter? Izuku pulled out his burned journal from his backpack and began to jot down notes about the mystery Quirk in front of him.
"Did I just see a hand?" Izuku jumped back as a female voice came from the light. The voice continued a second later, "Hello~ Hero, is that you?"
Hero- what now?
"Uh… I'm pretty sure I'm not the person you're looking for?" Izuku called into the light.
The voice came a second later, "Oh, so someone is there?"
"Uh, yes, I'm Midoriya Izuku?" Izuku stepped closer to the portal, breathing in and preparing to do something stupid that would change his life.
He plunged his head into it, coming out nose to nose with the source of the voice, a woman with red hair and equally red eyes wearing a suit of armor and leaning on a battleaxe.
What.
"Oh!" The woman chirped, a cat-like smile on her face as she stared at Izuku, "Hello there! You said you didn't think you were the legendary hero that the Breidablik was supposed to summon?"
Well, considering he was a fourteen year old Quirkless nobody, he strongly doubted it, but… "Breidablik?"
The woman held up to the hand not resting on her axe, drawing attention to its contents, a gun shaped device carved from white stone with gold filigree inlay across it. Just the brief look Izuku got before she lowered it again left him deeply aware that the weapon was worth more than his entire collection. Quietly, instinctively, Izuku reached his arm through the portal to grab the Breidablik from the woman, who, after a second to look at him strangely, flipped it so she was offering the relic to him by the barrel.
Izuku swallowed as the gun settled into his hand, feeling it press against the palm with a comfortable weight, an unbidden "Where have you been all my life?" coming from his mouth as he stared at the Breidablik with unrestrained infatuation. It felt right, holding it. Quietly, the other hand joined the first through the portal so he could cradle the weapon.
"Do you, ah, need a moment?" The woman said with obvious amusement as Izuku suddenly snapped back to reality with an embarrassed yelp. Yeah, this was a look. Halfway through a portal, cradling a gun to his chest like a baby.
"I'm, ah, I'm not normally like this?" Izuku offered in embarrassment, lowering the Breidablik. The woman pressed a finger into her cheek, smiling at him.
"Are you sure you're not the hero the Breidablik was supposed to go to?" She said.
Izuku's gaze turned towards the Breidablik, lowering the gun and holding it out to the woman reluctantly, "No, I don't think I am. But I'd love to meet the- look out!"
Izuku rushed the rest of the way through the portal before he could think, shoving the woman aside as a man holding a sword rushed at her from behind. A burning lit up his arm as the sword stabbed into his shoulder joint with a squelch, and Izuku did what came natural.
He headbutted the man, forcing him to stagger back from with the sword still in Izuku's arm, and raised the Breidablik. His finger brushed the trigger guard before landing on the trigger proper and as it did, Izuku felt something deep in his soul sing and pulse. A exhalation exited his mouth as a beam of multicolored life left the Breidablik.
Oh, wait, he had just shot someone…
That was .. uh… well it wasn't something a hero would do, was it? Maybe All Might was right, he wasn't suited for this…
Before the shot could hit the man, however, it stopped and exploded into another portal of light. Izuku, the woman and the man both blinked in confusion, looking between the light and each other for several seconds even as more soldiers arrived in the clearing. Finally, the man drew a dagger, beginning to charge at them.
That was when a bone spear exploded from the portal that had just been opened, passing through the man's chest and driving a trench into the ground before stopping. A second later, a man in black armor prowled out of the portal, grabbed the spear, wrenched it out of the cooling body before scanning the clearing with one icy blue eye, the right eye covered by a black eyepatch. At the same time, pain sprouted along Izuku's hand as golden lettering he couldn't read appeared along his index finger.
"You," he growled, pointing his spear at the woman, "Your name is Anna, right?"
"How'd you know that?" She asked, even as she gripped her axe.
"Does it matter?" He asked with a half snarl, "Help me protect the boy. Boy, what's your name?"
"I- Ah, I'm Midoriya Izuku, sir," He said, snapping to attention despite himself.
"Keep summoning," the man said, the snarl leaving his voice, "I don't care who you summon, just do it!"
— X Dimitri X—
Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd stepped out of the portal, casting his half gaze around the clearing and meeting the eye of each warrior there before landing on his summoner. Grabbing Areadbhar from its place sheathed in the man he had killed before crossing the threshold, Dimitri focused on the woman behind the boy. She seemed familiar, but from where?
Right, Professor Blyeth had brought her on a couple of missions back at Garreg Mach. The years had been… kind to her. Kinder than they had been to him, that was true.
"You," Dimitri said, pointing Areadbhar at the woman and watching her adjust her grip on her axe, "Your name is Anna, right?"
"How'd you know that?" She asked.
"Does it matter? Help me protect the boy," Dimitri snapped, turning his eye to the now approaching soldiers and barring Areadbhar, before calling to his summoner, "Boy, what's your name?"
Dimitri heard the noise of someone jumping and the squelch of metal moving through flesh behind him, followed by a hiss of pain. Finally, the younger man stuttered out, "I'm, ah, I'm Midoriya Izuku, sir."
Hmm. He was nervous, like the Black Eagle girl back then. Fine, probably not that nervous, but not what you would expect from a commander either.
"Keep summoning," Dimitri said, softening his voice slightly, "I don't care who you summon, just do it!"
Dimitri's eye head snapped to the right as he heard the noise of a bow pulling back, catching sight of the archer sighting up the boy and pushing his body as fast as it could, the Crest of Blaiddyd pulsing through his blood as he did. He caught the arrow halfway towards the boy and tightened his grip until the projectile snapped under his black gauntlet. In the next second, he was ramming Areadbhar through the archer's chest and drawing it out their back, feeling disgust as he his fingers wrapped around the blood coated haft and moved onto the next enemy. More bodies, more ghosts.
A portal was punched into reality by the strange relic Midoriya held, the summoned stepped through, and Dimitri saw red, his blind eye aching beneath his eyepatch and his grip on Areadbhar growing so tight the relic groaned audibly under the force.
Out of the portal stepped a girl with silver hair and pale lavender eyes, wearing a black Officer's uniform with a red cape over her left shoulder, equally red tights on underneath it and holding an axe and a shield and- and-
Of all the people in this Goddess forsaken world, it would be her, wouldn't it. WOULDN'T IT!?
"EDELGARD!" Dimitri bellowed, changing tracks halfway through the charge to lunge at Edelgard, dropping Areadbhar and barring his teeth as he moved to tear her damn kinslaying head from her shoulders with lightning speed… only to stop as the Summoner stepped between them with wide eyes.
— X Edelgard X—
Edelgard von Hresvelg, Imperial Princess and Emperor-to-be of the Adrestian Empire, strode through the portal confidently, hand on her shield and axe. Her gaze swept across the gathered soldiers before immediately landing on a man with dirt-matted, neck length, blond hair wearing black armor and an equally disheveled blue, fur lined cape. His one eye landed on her, and his breath picked up, before he threw aside his spear and charged at her like a boar, arms stretching towards her as he went, "EDELGARD!"
Edelgard shifted her axe carefully, moving her shield in front of her. Because she could do anything else, a plain looking boy with black-green hair rushed between them with spread arms, a sword in his left shoulder and a strange item in his right hand. The charging man slowed, before finally stopping in front of them, "Move."
"You're- you're gonna hurt her," the boy stuttered, staring at the man.
"I'm going to kill her," the man snarled, looming over the boy so he could stare directly at Edelgard with murder in his eye. The boy swallowed, raising his chin as Edelgard focused on the spear the man had dropped, still trying to get her bearings after the abrupt summoning.
Wait, she recognized that spear, it was Areadbhar… it couldn't be… but-
"King Lambert?" The man stopped, staring at her quietly. Edelgard swallowed before addressing the man she was fairly certain was her stepfather, "King Lambert, is that you? But, I thought you died at Duscar! We all did! Dimitri-"
The pupil became a pinprick, and Lambert picked up the boy and placed him to the side with mechanical precision before turning towards Edelgard and lunging at her, "Don't you dare speak his name you-!"
Before he could touch her, something impacted Edelgard from the side and knocked her away from the crazed form of King Lambert, sending her rolling along the ground several times. Blood dripped down onto Edelgard's face as she stared up at the chest of the Summoner, who had tackled her away and jarred the sword in his arm up and out of it with a whimper of pain from him.
"Are- ah- are you alright?" He asked through gritted teeth, the hand holding his relic pressing against the wound. At Edelgard's bewildered nod, he gave a wide, if clearly pained, smile, "G-good, I-I wouldn't want you to be hur- AH!"
"Move," Lambert growled, grabbing the boy by the shoulder, shoving one of his metal clad fingers into the wound as he did so and-
The other arm came up then, still holding the relic and the boy said, quietly enough that it caused chills but loud enough for Edelgard to hear it, "I'm sorry, King Lamber-"
"My name is-!" Before the man could finish, a bolt of lightning lept from the weapon and hit him dead in the chest. The man went ramrod straight before being blasted off his feet and slammed into the ground.
"Is- is he dead?" The boy asked weakly. Before Edelgard could say anything, to point out he had just used an artifact to fire a spell at someone she was fairly certain was the thought dead King Lambert of Faerghus, one of the soldiers that had been watching the confrontation charged forwards with a barred sword, ignoring the woman fighting them to go right for the summoner, who was still staring at the collapsed body. Edelgard grabbed her axe and lept up, aware she wasn't going to get there in time but-
*Bang*
Another bolt cracked the air, striking the man in the center of his chest as the Summoner stared at him with nervous eyes, clutching the weapon with a shaking hand… before he doubled over and vomited.
Oh, ah… well that was… all around unpleasant.
Edelgard walked past him, carefully watching the other soldiers that were now watching them like eagles, and checked Lambert's pulse, "He's still alive."
Well, Edelgard didn't do this easily, but thank the Goddess for Crests for once. She didn't want to be the one to tell Dimitri they had discovered his father alive and been forced to kill him in self defense. Somehow, even with the inevitability of a war with Faerghus on her path, that way seemed particularly… unpleasant, for ways to start it.
"He is?" The summoner said, voice shaking, "What- what about-?"
Edelgard checked the other body. Crestless, probably. She shook her head, watching the boy pale and double back over, tears joining the vomit this time. He was… soft hearted, she supposed.
A part of Edelgard that had died beneath the imperial palace envied him that luxury. She had resolved that no amount of death wasn't worth making sure the same thing didn't happen to anyone else, that mankind would rule it's own fate.
"Help me protect him," the red haired woman who looked vaguely familiar said, nodding to the boy. Edelgard nodded, taking up a wide guard around him so as to not step in the vomit.
—X Anna X—
Anna had expected many things when she had taken the Breidablik that day. Punishment, jail time, ect. What she hadn't expected was to be fighting Emblian Empire troops as the hero that had been summoned sat on the ground blubbering.
Alright, backing up to the start. She was Anna, Commander of the Kingdom of Askr's Order of Heroes in the world of Zenith. They were facing invasion from the Empire of Embla, also of Zenith, who were invading worlds across the multiverse and forcibly forming contracts with Heroes from them to swell their ranks. Today, she had taken the legendary relic Breidablik, which was supposed to summon a Hero to level the balance…
And he was apparently completely green when it came to killing people. Even if he was apparently capable of summoning Heroes using the Breidablik, that was… less than perfect and not what you would expect from a Hero picked by a
sacred relic. She just hoped he got over it quickly, because now was not the time to be having a meltdown, thank you very much. He didn't even seem to know that Heroes under the same contractor could be stopped from hurting each other.
Was he from a world without contracts? Without battles like this?
Anna's axe hewed through two of the Emblian soldiers without slowing before safely lodging in the crook of a third's neck. Behind her, she heard the heavy thunk of arrows hitting the leather shield of the Hero that had been summoned.
"Summon someone else!" She rushed over, dodging the vomit.
"Bu- but," the boy sniffled out around tears.
"If you want to live long enough to regret killing him, we're going to need back up," where were Alfonse and Sharena? Dealing with their own soldiers, maybe? "Listen, Izuku, we need help. We need more Heroes."
Izuku stared at her, tears in his eyes, before offering the Breidablik to her, "Y-you do it."
"It won't work for me," Anna said, glancing back to see Edelgard catch an axe on her shield, "it has to be you."
"It let you summon me!" Izuku said.
"And I don't think it would do anything but summon you again," Anna said, wrapping her hand around Izuku's and pushing the Breidablik back into his arms, "Breidablik picked you, Izuku. Use it, summon someone to save us-"
"Die!" Another soldier rushed past Edelgard and swung his sword for them, Anna batting the blade away with her axe, only for the blade to transition into a thrust. Before anything else could happen, another portal was punched into reality by the Breidablik between them.
— X Izuku X—
Izuku lowered his shaking hand as the portal pulsed for a second as the blade vanished into it. Please, someone like All Might. Someone who could stop this fight. Anyone who could…
A second later, an icy wave seemed to radiate from the portal, sending chills down his spine. At the same time, a third scrawl joined the ones on his index and middle finger on his ring finger.
"Wha-what-?" The soldier tugged on the sword halfway through the portal, only for it to stay fast like it had stuck in rock. The noise of wrenching steel echoed through the clearing before the sword was shoved back through the portal and against the woman's chest by an arm, the blade twisted like a wrung dishrag.
The owner of the arm joined it then, the portal snapping shut behind them. They were of nondescript height, wearing a dark purple robe with golden embroidery on it, purple gloves, a white shirt and pants and clutching a book that was such a dark purple it was almost black, except for a blood red symbol in the middle of it.
Two arrows flew straight at them, only to freeze in midair, covered by purple mist, "Is that the best you can do, worms?"
Purple flames exploded around her, knocking back her hood and revealing long white pigtails that Izuku wasn't sure how she hid. Above her and around Izuku, Edelgard and Anna appeared a large, serpentine dragon with bird-like wings, the icy-ness in the air growing so heavy Izuku could swear he saw his breath in the air. Despite that, he reached out a hand and pressed it against the dragon in awe.
Then he noticed both the dragon and the woman's head had turned to face him, a dead look in both her eyes and, somehow, the six eyes embedded in the skull-like head of the dragon. Izuku lifted his hand off the scales in embarrassment, rubbing the back of his head. This was the sort of thing he was gonna freak out about at ho-
Oh, no. How the heck did he get home from here? Where even was here?
"Uh, Anna-?"
"Not now," Anna said, shuffling in front of him as the dragon left the woman's side to coil around them tighter. Right, priorities.
"Don't do that again," the dragon ordered, "I may tolerate your existence as my Summoner, worm, but there is only so far I will do so."
"Right, ma- er- si- er…?"
"I am the wings of despair. I am the breath of ruin. I am the fell dragon, Grima," yeah, that clarified nothing on what they were supposed to call it.
Edelgard muttered something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like "typical dragon."
"And, uh… you are?" Izuku asked the woman, who was standing there woodenly, still staring directly at him with glassy eyes, "Uh…?"
"I just answered you," She said after a second.
"You didn't-"
"I just answered you, worm," She repeated, this time at the same time as Grima.
"...You're also Grima?" Izuku took a shot in the dark, before noticing a soldier charging at her, "Look-!"
Her head swiveled around like a machine, eyes glowing as she did, four marks shaped like more eyes appearing under them. The next second, the cloying stink of blood covered the area… as… as…
"Please don't throw up on me," Anna said, even though she looked just as green as Izuku felt, "at- at least move to the side before- urg- Oh, Askr…"
Over a dozen spikes of purple-black energy quivered in the sack of meat that had been a soldier a second before, lifting it high above the fight. Izuku swallowed when two wide eyes met his own and a confused gurgle came from the jarred open mouth. Finally, the spikes retracted with lightning speed, letting the body drop with a loud splat.
Izuku felt vomit dribble out of his mouth as he continued to stare at the dead body, watching blood leak out of the punctured and broken frame. No. Nononono-
Grima took a step forwards, a grin that should have been beautiful- but was to wide, too sharp, too hungry- splitting her face while the eyes, two real and four markings, landed on different men and women across the clearing, leaving Izuku stepping forwards with a yell, "NO-!"
Every soldier in the clearing, except one, were lifted into the air by the same purple spikes. Behind him, Izuku could hear Anna gagging as the watched the bodies enter their death throws on the spikes. Izuku forced himself to focus on Grima, both Grimas, who were approaching the last, retreating survivor. No, this wasn't happening, no, no, no-
The dragon lunged forwards, grabbing the last survivor in their mouth and lifting them up into the air- and then stopped when Izuku slammed his hand against their side, both Grimas turning towards him, "No! Bad! Drop him, now!"
"Are you-" Edelgard started behind him before stopping and sighing, "He does realize it's a dragon, not a dog, right?"
"Drop him, Grima," Izuku said, a warning in his voice.
"Very well, he's treating it like a dog."
"Grima," Izuku said, meeting the dragon's eyes and refusing to blink. Finally, they opened their mouth with a wet, bloody pop and let the victim drop to the ground. Izuku breathed in, closing his eyes and thinking. There was no way they would get him to someone to patch them up in time, but… maybe…
No, it had ended badly literally every time he had done it. What was he thinking…?
But he couldn't leave the man to die, even if it wasn't his fault for summoning Grima he wouldn't have been able to. Even if the man hadn't been attacking them for some reason.
Izuku raised the Breidablik and pulled the trigger, punching another hole in reality.
—