Castlevania: Dominion of the Soul
The sound of mocking laughter echoed through the halls of Aldera Junior High School. It wasn't new. The taunts and jeers followed Izuku Midoriya wherever he went, the word "quirkless" a brand etched into his very existence. Today was no different.
"Still dreaming of being a hero, Deku?" Katsuki Bakugo sneered, his palms crackling with the faint glow of sparks. "You'll never be more than a pebble under my boots!"
Izuku clenched his fists but didn't retort. What could he say? In a world dominated by quirks, he was nothing. Yet, even as he walked home that evening, head bowed, a strange sense of unease crept over him—a feeling as though shadows clung to his heels.
That night, his world changed forever.
The dream was unlike anything Izuku had ever experienced. He was standing in a vast, empty throne room, cold and imposing. At its center sat a figure cloaked in regal darkness—a man whose presence seemed to bend reality around him. Crimson eyes bore into Izuku's soul, piercing and unyielding.
"Child," the man's voice was deep, resonating like a thunderclap in the void, "you have been chosen."
"W-who are you?" Izuku stammered, trembling under the weight of the figure's gaze.
"I am Vlad Dracula Tepes," the man said, rising from his throne with an air of unchallenged authority. "The power you lack in your waking life lies dormant within you. The Power of Dominance. You are my heir."
"Dominance?" Izuku repeated, his voice barely above a whisper.
"The ability to command and wield the souls of the defeated," Dracula explained. "It is both a gift and a curse, forged through suffering. But such power does not come freely. You must prove yourself."
Before Izuku could respond, the ground beneath him shattered, and he found himself falling into darkness.
When Izuku landed, he was inside a labyrinth—a twisting, ever-shifting maze filled with grotesque creatures. He barely had time to process his surroundings before a massive beast lunged at him. He ran, his heart pounding, but there was no escape. Razor-sharp claws tore into him, and his vision went black.
Pain brought him back to the throne room, gasping and clutching his chest.
"You will die many times," Dracula said, his tone unyielding. "Each death is a lesson. Each pain a step closer to awakening your power."
Izuku wanted to argue, to beg for an explanation, but the next thing he knew, he was back in the labyrinth. Again, and again, the cycle repeated. Each time he fell, his body screamed in agony, but each time he returned, something within him grew. He began to notice patterns in the maze, weaknesses in the monsters. He started to fight back.
Days turned into weeks, and weeks into months. At school, he remained the same meek, quirkless boy, enduring the torment of his classmates. But every night, he returned to the infinite corridor, honing his skills. The throne room became his sanctuary, and Dracula, his relentless mentor.
One night, after countless deaths, Izuku stood over the broken body of a Undead Barbarian. He was battered, his breathing ragged, but his resolve was unshaken. As the undead dissolved into shadows, a shimmering orb of light floated toward him.
"Take it," Dracula's voice echoed in his mind. "Claim its power."
Izuku reached out, and the orb merged with his chest. A surge of energy coursed through him, and for the first time, he felt it—the Power of Dominance. His hand glowed with a dark aura, and he instinctively summoned the Undead Barbarian's axe, its weight familiar in his grip.
The next day at school, something was different. The usual taunts barely registered. Izuku's mind was elsewhere, replaying the battle from the night before. When Bakugo shoved him against the lockers, Izuku didn't cower.
"What's this, Deku?" Bakugo growled, his eyes narrowing. "You grow a spine overnight?"
Izuku said nothing, but a faint, confident smirk played at the corners of his lips. For the first time, he wasn't afraid.
As months passed, Izuku continued to unlock more of the Power of Dominance, summoning creatures to aid him in battle and mastering the labyrinth's secrets. But with each victory, he felt the weight of the curse Dracula had spoken of. The more power he gained, the more the darkness within him grew. It whispered to him, tempting him to abandon his dream of heroism and embrace his new identity.
"I will not be consumed," Izuku declared one night, standing before Dracula in the throne room.
"Your resolve is admirable," Dracula replied, his expression unreadable. "But understand this, my heir—power demands sacrifice. The question is, how much are you willing to lose?"
The story of Izuku Midoriya, the quirkless boy who dared to dream of heroism, was no longer so simple. With each step into the darkness, he inched closer to the precipice of becoming something the world had never seen: a savior cloaked in shadow, or a tyrant born anew.
Hello guy's it's me. Yes I'm back and yes I'm sorry for the long silence. My wife died and leaving me a depression and the twins me. So as my psychiatrist said to write more to keep my mind off the depression so yeah... My new collaboration. My hero academia and castlevania. Hope you leave review and follow. Sporadic updates by the way due to me taking care of the girls with the help of my parents and in-laws.