Chapter 01 Lost World
The world that you knew is gone. How far you will try to bring it back?
Captain John Price, Call of Duty Modern Warfare
Light…
That is the first thing I register unto my brain when I'm fully awake, a bright neon light that shine above in the ceiling shining the entire room. There is no one in this room except me, at least not yet.
"I see that you finally awake Midoriya-san" a doctor walk through the door, he's quite old the lack of hair in the top of his head indicate that, he also wears a white coat, a glass, a checkered shirt and holding a note. "It's been three months ever since we admitted you here in Musutafu hospital, and now it seems you finally awake" he adds, smiling cheerfully. I, however am not. I keep my gaze on him.
"Now, I was expecting someone with serious injuries like yours would take six months to regain consciousness, to do that in three months? Just, wow! are you sure you're not quirkless?" He asks still with cheerful smile
"No" I answered still wary of him, it seems old habit of keeping guard anywhere, anytime died hard.
"Good, now I have some questions regarding your condition right now, after that surely your mother would be delighted to see his son awake. So, I'll let you meet her" he took out the note he brought with him.
The questions are quite simple, how are you feeling, any hurt, yada yada yada. Regular stuff I'm quite surprised he's willing to treat me since a quirkless, like me, are treated worse than trash in this quirk-worshipping society. Ever since the birth of the shining baby, man and woman in this world start having their own special powers dubbed as quirk. And as time continues the number of people with quirk soon dwarf the people without quirk.
Having quirk has become the new normal in this world and those that without quirk are seen as anomaly, a freak of nature, they are discriminated, forgotten, abandoned. And those that have powerful quirk soon becomes heroes and villains like in the comic of days of old.
I know this for I am one of the quirkless individual, an Izuku Midoriya, a kid aspired to become as heroes to make people smile and safe. Bullied, abused, and trashed by his so-called friend, ignored and hated by his own sister. But what I was before died, died little by little when my comrades died in service to the Last City and the final nail in the coffin is Cayde's death
"Izuku" a trembling voice comes from the door a green-haired woman and a girl stood over there.
"You're alive, my son!" the green haired woman quickly running to my bed and hugged me tightly. The girl still stands over the door, she scowls over me.
'So, you still hate me huh? ,my sister, Izumi Midoriya' I thought. No surprises there she has a powerful quirk and like my old "friend" Katsuki Bakugo she sees my existance as a burden to my family
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry my son. I'm a terrible mother" she cried on me begging for forgiveness, which I will not give, for she have done no wrong. I jumped from the top of the school in order to save my family from pain of having me, a worthless, in family. But it seems that I only cause even more pain.
"It seems that you still alive, eh? Nii-san" Izumi spoke with a sarcasm in her voice, again, I was expecting it. In which I replied "Unfortunately, yes"
"NO!" I hear my mother shout, "NO! Never say that again my son, I cannot let my own flesh and blood throw away his own life without accomplishing his dream." She no longer crying and now looking at me with a stern glare. "Don't you want to become a hero?" she asks
"Mom he's quirkless there is no way he can become a hero" Izumi quickly cut in, which I have to agree. "Izumi! Show some respect to your brother! He has suffered a lot!" she chastises Izumi and the two broke into argument. Izumi insists that I will only bring trouble and the expenses on me would not worth the cause citing me as a burden to the family and my mother arguing that I'm her son and it's her duty to raise me
But I no longer pay any attention to it, my mind wanders to other place. I call upon her, my loyal assistant, my companion, my ghost… Aria
'Could you hear me Aria my Ghost? my companion?' I tried to all upon her, no anwer. 'Could you hear me Aria my Ghost? my companion?' I asked again hoping for an answer.
'I'm here my dearest Guardian, mine beloved Warlock. I never left, here waiting for you to regain your light' she spoke to me. 'Where are we my dearest Guardian? I have not seen this place before'
'We are in the age before the Traveler here Aria, the age before mankind took to the stars' I clarified. 'Or at least that's what I hoped to be'
'What do you mean by that my dearest Guardian?' he asks clearly confused. 'Are you saying that we are in an alternate dimension?'
'Yes, but I specifically meant that your reality, Aria, is the alternate dimension. I have scoured the library in the Tower and not a single mention of mankind having powers before we meet the Traveler' I said to her, and I hesitated for her reply, for ghosts Traveler is akin to a god. For they come from Traveler itself.
'I'm sorry if this revelation is hard to take Aria, I hope you'll forgive me for telling you this' I spoke to her in a hushed tone, to know your world might not be real, to realize that your faith, the thing that keeps you going might be fake, to be stranded in a new world, alone, is terrifying. Perhaps it's better to kept her in the dark about this
'You have nothing to be sorry about my beloved warlock, I know that Traveler is still there at home, waiting for us. And if that is false? then… I still have you, don't I?' she lovingly hovers above me before finally rested near my shoulder, of course only I can see her. Should the wider world know about her existence…, I cannot bear the thought of losing her.
"My decision if final Izumi he is your brother and my son he will stay with us as soon as the hospital deem he's fit to go!" my mother's voice brought me back to reality.
"Fine, but don't blame me when our expenses increase" Izumi fold her hand and looked at me with scornful eye.
When the darkness of the night fall upon the city I still awake, for us guardians' food and sleep are not required to live although many still do as a way to keep our psyche stable.
'I guess I could go out… get some fresh air' I thought to myself, so I open the window letting some chilling air of the night flow in.
'This reminds me of our missions to cosmodrome, I love the gentle breeze. What about you my beloved warlock?' Aria spoke to me
'Yes, the nostalgia of a simpler times. Just get in find stuff or awake Rasputin to bother him while killing Vexs and Fallens in our way, good times, good times…' I replied to her
I soon equipped my hunter outfit, my White Wolf set. Hood of the Exile, Gloves of the Exile, Moonfang-X7 Robe, Transversive steps and Solstice Bond. I reach out my left hand and open my palm and she's here, by Ghost Aria. In her glory of Filigree of Light shell.
"Why don't we see the new world, Aria?" after all this time telepathically speaking to her, I let MY voice do the job. And how satisfying it was, to break my Vow of Silence that plague me ever since my awakening during the Red War.
"Of course, by dearest Guardian" she replied, her voice still soft and melodious as ever.
That night I jump, dash from roof to roof, from darkness to darkness, but nevertheless enjoying the chill of the night, the peacefulness of the neighborhood, the silence of night.
"So, what are you going to do now my beloved warlock? Since mankind haven't reach the age of stars and neither Vex or Fallen, or any other creature that exist only to make mankind's live difficult yet exist, what will you do?" Aria said, and she continues "As a Guardian you know your duty and obligation, with no external threat what will you do? Become a hero that you once wish to be?"
I took some break after running from the hospital, it's quite far now so much so that the red cross looked so small. Currently we are standing on top of an electric pole, on a road near a small hill there's no people here so no one would see us
"No" I growl. "In this world Heroes do not kill Aria" I let the reason hanging in front of her, after all she could deduce it herself
"And you do..." she solemnly answers "But you could change my dearest Guardian, I know the death of Cayde would have a lasting impact on your method completing your task. But we no longer operate in such a hostile area" she hovers in front of my face
"And how would you know that? You know nothing about this world Aria" I replied to her, before realizing how harsh it may sound "Look, I'm so-" I tried to apologize to her
"No, my dearest Guardian, after our conversation this noon, I decided to 'open the lock to the libraries' so to speak, and I learn a lot about this world" she cut my apology with a stern answer "I may or may not also gain several VERY interesting codes ~" she adds
Sigh*
Of course, ghosts have abilities to open locks, so much so that some guardian only uses them as a lock pick. But they also great at hacking considering they are amalgamation of Light from the Traveler and a super computer.
"You still haven't given your reasoning on why you could not change my dearest guardian" ah, she still waiting for it, damn. I hope she would forget about it
"Haah…" I exhale, this will be a long night. "I cannot lose another chance on protect someone I cared about, to keep them safe and alive is to exterminate any threat before they got close Aria" I explained to her
"…." She did not reply. "We will continue this conversation at later date my beloved warlock. For now, let as enjoy the breeze of the night" she said, willingly drop this problem. For now, that is…
"I wish to go back Aria" I murmur to her. "I hate the discrimination, the pain and suffering, the hatred towards quirkless. I hate it all…"
"You are scared aren't you my dearest Guardian?" she asks to me, already knowing the answer.
"Yes, bad memories, pile up day after day, month after month, year after year. And it became a trauma for me, did you know I was 12 when I tried to jumped from the roof of my school?" I shiver, not because of the cold. But the memories of pain and suffering "I cannot tell my mother as she already burdened being a single parent, and my sister… you see how she acts towards me"
"Almost every night I cried, I cry and cry and cry hooping for a change, hoping to have a quirk, not a strong one, just a quirk to stop the pain" I add to her
"But it never stopped isn't it my dearest Guardian?" she said and I nodded. "Is that why you throw yourself to the fray every mission?"
I nodded
"The light from Traveler gives me what I wanted, and it gave me friends and families that I never have. I'm willing to do anything to protect them, to keep them smiling" Beneath my hood I smiled, remembering the past.
The party for Cayde's birthday, drinking contest with Zavala, or discussing Light with Ikora, Hangout with Petra in the Hangar, going in guns blazing in the crucible, chuckling because of Lord Shaxx comments and pranking the ever grumpy Osiris.
Alone with Aria in the chilling night of Cosmodrome….
My breath stared to became erratic "But now… it all gone, and now I'm trapped in the place I wanted to forget, where the memories of my past caught up to me, where my trauma is in every breath, where-"
"Calm yourself my dearest Guardian, mine beloved warlock" Aria's soft melodious voice cooed upon my ear
"They might be gone Cayde, Zavala, Ikora, Petra… But I'm here, my dearest Guardian, beloved Warlock. I'm always here as your companion from now and always" she hovers near my ear "For our bond eternal, unwavering, unchanging"
I feel tears swelling in my eye, ah yes… how could I forget Aria, my eternal companion, she's always there for me even in the darkest hour of the Red War, to the fight with Emperor Calus, the death of The Disciples of The Witness. She always there, small enough to be forgotten by many, but always near me.
"And whatever the future would bring, we will face it together my beloved warlock" she set her sights on the lights of the town of Musutafu, her shell spins around her body
We both fell unto silence, enjoy each other's company. Until…
"Help!"
A voice of desperation, scared, and alone. A voice of hopelessness, and as a guardian…
I ANSWER THEIR CALL!