Deku awoke to the sound of the Hero Agency's alarms blaring. Heart pounding, he stumbled into the main room, scanning his surroundings—then froze. A shadowed figure floated ominously in the air, her presence chilling the room.
She was tall, with long, flowing dark hair that cascaded down her back. A faintly glowing star mark adorned her forehead, and her skin was pale as if untouched by sunlight. Her eyes were dark and fathomless, like an endless void. She wore a long dress, the color of the midnight sky, seeming to pull in every bit of light around her.
She looked directly at him.
"Deku…" The voice calling him was Miko's, soft yet haunting.
Deku instinctively took a step forward, but Tsukuyomi's shadowy hand shot out, holding him back.
"No," Tsukuyomi said, his voice calm but firm. "That's not her."
"Who is she?" Uraraka asked, floating just behind them. "She looks like something from a Yokai legend."
"Maybe she's not all bad!" Dynamight scoffed, his usual irritation showing as he clenched his fists. But his bravado was cut short when an unseen force struck him and Shoto, flinging them into the wall with a brutal impact.
"Silence, heroes!" the figure commanded, her voice layered with a dark, echoing resonance. "I am Sadako! This form is temporary—soon, this world will belong to me, and my true form will be revealed. None of you possess the power to stop me. None of you hold the pure light! This body is mine now, and soon—"
Her hand, raised and ready to strike at Deku, wavered suddenly, as if restrained by something deep within.
Sadako's body seized, her form shuddering as the star on her forehead fractured, splintering in a radiant burst of light. She flickered like a dimming shadow, then collapsed to the floor, her form crumpling.
A voice emerged, soft but resolute.
"This body…belongs to me. I am Miko.""