1,535'Know this, dear reader, that we live in a world that tests us. It tests out decency and compassion. It tests the depths of our love. It tests the resiliency of our hopes and dreams. In the face of these many challenges, it is easy to fall to despair. If only now you listen, then I ask you to lend me your ears. If there is but one lesson, I can impart upon you, dear reader, then it is this: take what is offered.
Where there is comfort, embrace it. Where there is love, cling to it. Where there is imperfection, accept what is. And where there is good, uplift it.'
—Excerpt from 'My Thought and My Failings' by Stormwind
It is the dawning of a new day, and perhaps a new future, for Izuku Midoriya. The bright streaks of orange enrich the dark sky, almost setting it ablaze as dark gives way to light.
Kouta is asleep on the couch. Shuichi leans against the wall. Shouto sits comfortably on Izuku's desk, his legs swaying absently, whilst Fumikage sits cross-legged on the floor, eyes closed.
"It's been a long night," Izuku says, staring outside at the rising sun. Its warm rays have yet to crest the horizon and fully banish the dark.
"I believe we all feel the winds of change. All the choices we made have culminated to this one dawn. I told you once that our meeting was destiny."
He glares at Fumikage. "Oh, shut it. You've all been trying to force me to make a choice. You all want me to step out and change the world."
Shuichi steps forward. "You were willing to do so before. What's changed?"
"Everything," Shouto says for them. "Back then, it was only about his morals. The only person who would suffer would be him. He doesn't want to make a choice that will have other people suffer."
"No, back then, I didn't know I'd done all this," Izuku says. "Those Singers? They called me father. Every life is on me."
"The word you search for is cowardice," Fumikage says.
"I'm fine with being a coward. I'm willing to die for anyone but I don't know if I'm ready to do what you're all expecting of me. I don't even know what you're expecting of me."
"The future is bleak," Shouto says. "The godflame allows me to see many things, including the possible futures. I ask you to tell us of Jupiter, Fumikage."
Fumikage does not open his eyes to answer. "Something is growing in the red spot. I believe it to be an infernal engine, larger even than the Earth. The Singer's physical form was larger than a mountain yet each one caused great levels of destruction. The red spot is larger than Earth."
Shuichi grunts. "We barely survived one of those whilst they were practically sleeping."
"My dragon scouted further past the Kuiper Belt and ventured as far as Proxima Centauri. That star is being consumed. I do not want to imagine the threats further out in the depths of space."
Izuku hums, crossing his arms. "You've made a good argument but any of us can fight that threat."
"We can but mankind will be extinct in a few years," Shouto says. "Even without nukes, they still have quirks. They kill each other in most futures I see. In the few they don't, they are ruled under a new generation of Warlords. Is that the world you want, Izuku?"
"They wouldn't. People know they need to work together."
"I've dealt with three attacks this week," Shuichi says. "It's a Wednesday morning. People aren't interested in working together."
"People can learn. We just have to show them the path."
Shouto rolls his eyes. "What path? You think the world needs another All Might? All Might couldn't even save Japan."
Izuku forces down his rage before he leaps forward and breaks Shouto. He knows the bastard is doing it to get a rise out of Izuku. He won't give him that satisfaction.
"The threats from space are not threats to our divinity," Fumikage says before the situation worsens, "but the power required to defeat them would invalidate this entire argument. The power we must wield would annihilate the solar system. Mankind must find their own way to face the threats."
Shouto pushes off from the desk, coming to stand beside Fumikage. "In the short term, humanity's greatest enemy is itself. In the long-term, they need to face the abyss. We need to address both issues at once."
He looks at the three of them, his disciple and his two peers. And they all seem to agree. Izuku sighs, deflating. They are the only counsel he has left in this world, the only people he can trust to have his best interests at heart.
"What's the plan, then?" he asks tiredly.
"We unify the world under our rule," Shouto says casually as though he's speaking of the weather. "It's the only way to ensure mankind's survival."
"Dictatorship," Izuku snaps, cutting past all the bullshit. "You want me to be a dictator."
"A Federation of nations at first. And then of earth and her colonies. When things are stable, you'll lead mankind past the solar system."
"This is the path Titan took," Fumikage reminds them. "Titan is reviled for his crimes and atrocities. He is no example we should follow. Yet, Stormwind also took this path. She surrendered and failed in the end, but she walked the same road. Was Stormwind a villain?"
"I'm fucking sick and tired of that question."
"In your words," Shuichi says, his wings shifting, "Stormwind was a tyrant but she brought peace to Europe. She ushered in an era of prosperity to Europe decades before Hero's Golden Age was a dream."
"You shall lead them and be a moral example for people to strive towards," Shouto says. "Spinner will lead the armies we create. He will be your Wrath. In the long-term, I will focus on ensuring the solar system is safe and creating the myth of our godhood. In the coming years, I'll deal with terraforming and diplomacy. Fumikage will battle the abyss in the shadows and serve as our spymaster. Kouta will—"
"No," Izuku growls, staring at the sleeping form of his brother. Small, tiny, and fragile all describe Kouta. "Whatever plan you make won't involve him."
"All of us must have a role to play." Izuku merely glares at Shouto. "It will cause you personally more pain."
"I don't care. Leave him out of this."
Shouto inclines his head slightly. "Fine. I'm sorry for what you'll go through."
"Then we are agreed?" Fumikage asks, opening his eyes for the first time. "We are to take the world by force. We cannot falter once we choose this path. They will revile us and rightly call us monsters for what we do. It may very well be our friends and family we face. There can be no hesitation."
"If Izuku agrees then yes. I never thought I would lead an army." Spinner shakes his head. "To war, then."
"To Federation," Shouto says, looking at Izuku.
Fumikage nods, meeting Izuku's gaze. "To life itself."
Izuku sighs, so tired of being manipulated. But what more can he do? What choice is there? If everyone he trusts agrees on this path, then is there truly a better path?
"To Federation," he spits, bitter. "Better Stormwind than Titan. Better tyranny than extinction."
Izuku bows his head, knowing his great teachers would be disappointed.
-TDB-
Izuku sits through a sham of a trial only months after that conversation. The tribunal of Japan's remaining judges knows it to be a farce. How can it be anything else when Izuku cannot be held prisoner by any means? Should they pass a sentence of imprisonment, then it will come down to whether he is willing to submit to their authority or not.
Just as Stormwind in the past was unbeatable, only her surrender had ended a war. Master Railroad didn't win. In the end, Stormwind's love for her people spared them a bloody war.
Also, there's absolutely no chance of him being found guilty in any way. The evidence is being stacked against the Imperial household for their hand in hiding their knowledge of the abyss and in All For One's fabricated experiments.
He knows Fumikage had wished to have his Crows pay the judges a visit, but Izuku refuses to subvert the rule of law any more than his very presence already does. This is the final day of the trial. Usually, a case like this would take years, but most of the defendants are dead and no one would ever find them innocent.
"After deliberating this case, this tribunal, empowered by the United Nations Court of Justice to carry out this decision, being of sound mind and body, finds the villain All For One to be guilty of twelve counts of subversive activities against the state, including but not limited to acts of terrorism; innumerable counts of murder; illegal and unethical experimentation of individuals with quirks; and most importantly, he is found guilty of both abyssal malfeasance and crimes against humanity. He is to be held directly responsible for the creation of the incursion sites. A full list of his crimes shall be posted."
Nothing unexpected. Izuku feels the slightest bit of bitterness that Sensei will only be remembered as the worst villain in history. A Great Tyrant and a mass-murderer without morals. But that is the nature of history: it is the powerful who tell it. And right now, Izuku needs to tell the story of a horrendous monster to justify his future actions.
The world must see Izuku's actions as necessary. They will only see that if they have a horrifying example to compare him against.
"The second defendant, the Imperial Household, has been found guilty of subversive activities to the state and abyssal malfeasance. The former Emperor is charged with hiding critical information regarding abyssal malfeasance, ordering multiple murders, and willingly aiding his son in avoiding punishment for the Sinking of Taiwan. The former Imperial Heir is charged with an act of genocide unheard-of form a single individual. Finally, it has been found that considering their role in battling the Singers, the Royal Guard is acquitted of their actions in service of the Emperor."
The sentences continue onwards for close to an hour. There are so many guilty of some crime or other. UA bears a litany of crimes so long that it almost puts All For One to shame, not least of which because of Nezu and Snipe. Officials in the government now-defunct receive judgement.
Former generals are stripped of their ranks and granted monstrous prison sentences for the role in ensuring a military junta over Shikoku. The admiralty escapes largely unscathed, part of a deal Izuku forged in secret with them.
The Heroics Industry is systematically torn down starting with Endeavour. His crimes are posted publicly, accusations of abuse, domestic violence, and dozens of deaths. He'd stood as the last great hero after All Might. With both gone, and the rest dead, the age of heroes is truly ending.
I didn't kill it, he tells himself over and over.
"The final defendant is the only one alive to receive judgement. Come forth, Izuku Midoriya."
Izuku walks forward, head held high and back straight. His arms are folded behind his back and he stands with the bearing of a soldier.
"The nature of your case is odd. In truth, should you choose to resist, there is no means by which we can hold you outside of your own volition. Should this court find you guilty, will you accept the verdict and the sentence?"
He inhales deeply and lets his fears of arrest wash away.
"I said once that a hero is one who sees injustice and says no to it. I believe in the system of law and I will submit to your ruling regardless of the outcome."
The judge nods. They both know this hearing is a farce.
"So be it. Izuku Midoriya, you have been found guilty of multiple counts of unauthorised quirk use in the months leading up to the Incursion. You will serve one thousand community service hours for unauthorised quirk use and perhaps put your quirks to better use.
"On the matter of abyssal malfeasance, you have proven to be honest in our enquiries, and recovered documents from UA and the now-defunct League of Villains show that you were both unaware of the full extent of your quirk nor were you responsible for All For One's experiments that led to the creation of the Incursion sites. In addition, multiple other documents show that experimentation regarding the alternate dimension colloquially known as the abyss have been conducted by other groups and they bear the primary burden of responsibility. Finally, you chose to willingly battle the final Singer in a conflict that ended with the destruction of the moon. We find you not guilty of abyssal malfeasance.
The punishment is light and not at all surprising. The judges know that if he wants those assets back then there's little to stop him. He is simply too powerful, too more important, and too well connected.
But this is all part of the plan.
He walks out of the court a relatively free man. Shouto will be heading back to space to build a new mon and Fumikage is working in the background to build the foundation of their nation. Right now, he must become the image of a great man both lawful and compassionate. It is why he works in hospitals serving his sentence. The world sees him in hospitals or repairing cities and working with the common man.
He speaks in small places at first, a random phrase to another construction worker or a lesson he gives a group of children who want his autograph. His words propagate till he hears people say his name in the same breath as Stormwind and All Might and Hawkmoon and Hinata Ononoki.
As the violence and chaos get worse, people look to him for wisdom. He urges calm and faith in the law. He speaks of unity now more than ever. No region is more unified than Hokkaido, once a hellhole but now a stronghold of the Lightning Bolts. There is power and running water. Massive resources are poured into the north of Japan. Whether it is the remnants of the League fully under his control or the Imperial Household's remaining assets propping up the Lightning Bolts, or even the wealth of the Yaoyoroze conglomerate, northern Japan serves as a beacon of prosperity.
In the south, he works tirelessly to spread the image of his benevolence. It is his powers that stop a hospital from being destroyed in Osaka. It is his winds that stop an armed attack from the Taiwanese Remnant in Miyazaki. It is his words that stay the hands of a terrorist seeking revenge for the death of his family in Hiroshima.
More and more people look to him as a pillar of this society. He may not be a hero but he stops attacks and the world sees.
'Susanoo,' they whisper when he isn't looking and he understands why they think that. The winds are his to command, and the sight of a green bolt of lightning raining down destruction is stuck in their minds. Already, he can see the influence of Shouto's work and the shape it will take in the future.
Three sibling gods for three kings. Susanoo, God of storms, sovereign in the dark. Tsukiyomi, God of the moon, lord of life. Amaterasu, God of fire, monarch of time.
He's too dramatic for his own good, Izuku thinks, reading a pamphlet speaking of their divinity.
One day, he feels a change in the nature of the air. The threat of danger fills the world. One For All fills his body, enhances his senses, and on instinct alone, he dashes towards a child just as hears the crack of a bullet. It hits him in the gut but he does not falter as he calls upon wind and shadow to stop the enemies.
They operate on him that night and into the next day. Without Recovery Girl, there is no instant healing permitted any longer in this world. Eri would be useful, but she's missing and may very well be dead.
Regardless of how foolish it is, he gets up on the second day and goes to work. They see him, shirtless and covered in bandages. He works the full eight hours of a normal day and proceeds to work the next for the day he missed. A reporter asks him why he doesn't rest.
"Because people are hurting and bleeding across the world. I'm no different from them." Perhaps that he says this whilst his bandages are soaked with his lifeblood makes it memorable.
Weeks after the event, he receives an invitation to a place he hasn't thought about in a long time. The cat café he met Shinsou—and the grief still runs deep—is open, somehow managing to source coffee beans and hot water even if there is no electricity to light it. It is quiet but for the owners and the two patrons that are, in fact, Fumikage's agents.
He is greeted to the sight of Kirishima and Ojiro looking as battered and bruised as the average person in this world. They aren't the only people from his class still alive. He knows Momo is preparing for moon launch with Shouto. Ashido is the only other person he can say he was friendly with before events, and it is telling that she has chosen not to come. Little else can be said of Jirou or Aoyama.
"Hey," he says, sitting gingerly. There is no point aggravating his injuries any further.
He could heal them, but they serve a purpose. Anyone who seems him bleeding will be reminded that he bled for them. Izuku Midoriya, the saviour of mankind, bleeds for anyone in sight. It's a powerful statement to manipulate.
"Hey yourself," Ojiro says, uncertain. "I hear you were acquitted."
Izuku takes a sip of coffee. He hates the taste but the smell reminds him of his mother and of home. He forces down his grief before it can consume him. He's had to do that a lot.
"I suppose I was."
"That was a sham trial," Kirishima adds, restless. Angry. Hateful. "They weren't ever going to find you guilty."
Ojiro's brows rise. "That's not… I mean, you're accusing an entire panel of judges of doing something unethical."
"It's true. They can't lock me up because I can walk out. Can't give me the death penalty cause… well, you know what happens."
"You'd stay, wouldn't you?" Ojiro asks. "If they locked you up."
"They can't risk me not staying. They did the best they could."
"I'm not hearing a yes."
Izuku sighs. "Look, the answer doesn't matter, and it's yes. I'm a symbol, a metaphor, more than anything now. If I submit to, what is on the surface, a fair ruling, it empowers the courts and legitimises them. Every day a camera is on me is another day reminding the rest of the world that I'm still here. That Japan still has the most powerful quirks on its side. I'm a deterrent against invasion."
Ojiro frowns. "That's messed up."
"There's something you're not telling us."
"If I tell you then you become involved in something that you don't deserve to go through. I… I don't think that's fair to either one of you."
"You don't get to make that choice," Kirishima says tiredly. "Every time you've tried to hide stuff—your quirk, your mental health, anything—it's all gone to hell. After all you put us through, just man up and tell the truth. You owe us that fucking much."
Izuku gestures. And just like that, Tokoyami's Crows that always follow him are in the building, removing the owners with gentle but insistent words. Kirishima and Ojiro just watch this, perhaps only now realising that he isn't the same person he was just a few months ago.
"That was pretty harsh," Izuku admits. "Are you certain? Once I tell you, I'm drawing a line in the sand. You're gonna stand on my side or against me. Everyone will have to make that choice one day."
"I'd rather know now." Kirishima says it as if he's already drawn his line. Izuku knows he has.
The only reason he accepted this meeting was that he hoped he could dissuade Kirishima. He doesn't want to fight a friend. Even after everything that's happened between them, he still considers Kirishima a friend.
At the very least, he doesn't want to wage a war against him.
"Do you know the story of the New Age heroes and how they were founded?" Izuku asks slowly, deliberately. "The remnants of the UN's Peacekeeping Intelligence sat at a council and saw where the world was going. There was an idea to bring together a group of remarkable people and see if they could become something more. To see if they could work together and fight the battles others could not. Hawkmoon and Master Railroad were the first. Graviton Lance would join them later. They brought peace to a chaotic world by defeating the Great Tyrants Stormwind and Titan."
Kirishima's frown deepens. "I see where this is going."
"And you're not impressed," Izuku surmises. "There's a new plan. One to bring peace in our time. In truth, though you may not notice it, Japan is in a civil war. It is quiet now, conducted in the background, but you need to understand that we're one of the most peaceful countries at the moment. In a year, there will be a war on every island, in every prefecture and city. The Kamino Ward War will be nothing compared to it if we do nothing. We want to stop it."
"Whose we?" Ojiro asks.
"Shouto in space, doing the work only he can. Fumikage in the shadow, fighting to hold back the war until we are ready." He places his palm against his chest. "And myself. I must stand in the light and become a demagogue. I need to become a pillar like All Might, a legend like Hawkmoon, a threat like All For One, and a leader like Stormwind."
"She was a tyrant," Ojiro whispers, watching him with wide eyes.
"A Great Tyrant," he corrects sadly. "One who brought peace to Europe. Even now, Europe is unified where we are divided."
"How many are going to die for your plan?" Kirishima asks, fists shaking with anger and horror.
"One is too many," Izuku says. "But it will be more than one. If we succeed, then this world will be drenched in blood."
"I thought you were a hero," Ojiro whispers.
"So, did I," Izuku agrees. "But the hero I want to be can't save this world. One day, Jupiter will be a threat worse than the Singers. And if we aren't one people, then we will not survive. I'm not going to ask you to stand beside me. I just ask that you don't stand against me."
Kirishima pushes his chair back and rises to his feet. "You said you're drawing a line. And if that line is another Stormwind, then I'm standing against it. We're not having another Great Tyrant. The world doesn't deserve that horror. Not when you'll become a monster far worse." He looks to Ojiro. "Don't tell me you're going to stand aside and let him do what he wants."
"How many of us are still alive?" Ojiro asks. "We've lost too many. I don't want to go to another funeral."
"You're a coward," Kirishima snarls, before turning back to Izuku. "And I regret ever calling you a friend. No matter how long it takes, I'm going to stop you."
Izuku closes his eyes, unwilling to see the hate and disappointment any longer. "I wish you the best. May the odds be ever in your favour."
He never speaks to Kirishima formally after that but they will communicate often. Theirs will be a dialogue spoken in the blood of clashing ideals, whispered by grieving mothers mourning the loss of their fool boys swayed by the ideals Izuku and Kirishima will represent.
One day, Kirishima will go on to join a rebellion in Shikoku and take with him Jirou and Aoyama, and a whole slew of people from what was once class 1-B. Katsuki's group will form the core of Kirishima's failed rebellion, picked off one by one as needed. They will fight for close to a century, dying one by one till only Kirishima remains, and even he will fall to Spinner's Lance.
Ojiro leaves him as well, sickened by much of what he does, but he does not stand against Izuku. He will start a dojo and train a generation of children to only ever take up arms in self-defence. It will be a good and simple life, one that Ojiro will find fulfilling.
But those are events to come. They are not the story of the speech that will spark a revolution and birth a new nation.
When the time is right, when Japan is polarised to its deepest extent, when society is at a breaking point, Izuku steps forward once more and lets the world hear his words.
It is at the site All Might and All For One had their last battle that he speaks to a crowd of thousands, all unified by his symbol, the green lightning bolt. It is night-time and the wind chilly, but this serves his point better than any sunny day. The moon, after all, shines bright tonight for the first time in months.
He chooses this place instead of his strongholds up north for the simple reason that it will remind everyone of who he is. Izuku Midoriya, heir to the Great Tyrant All For One and the great All Might. Izuku Midoriya who saved mankind in its darkest hour. Susanoo, God of storms. There are a dozen different stories of him and hopefully, this will remind them of the positive ones.
"All Might was many things to many people," he begins, voice steady and clear. "He was my mentor and my friend. He was the Symbol of Peace, the pillar that upheld society. He was a hero matched only by his legendary predecessors: Hero, who ennobled all of us to act justly and compassionately; and Hawkmoon, may she never be forgotten, whose actions freed the world and her example we can only hope to emulate. I believe, quite strongly, that he is equal to their legacy. But he is gone now, and we must be worthy of his legacy. I ask, on this anniversary of his final battle, that we observe a moment of peace."
Izuku bows his head and waits a full three minutes. He lets them stew in their memories of the great hero, their protector and exemplar. He lets them remember the burning determination of Toshinori's final battle, his steely-blue eyes demanding everyone stand tall and move toward the rising sun.
Then, he raises his head and points straight up. The moon shines brightly on this auspicious evening, its rings bright and visible.
"So many looked to the moon and saw a shattered ruin. People saw their guiding light in the dark broken and rightfully feared. But, when you look up, what do you see? You see a moon. Not the same moon but a moon all the same. This is the power of the human spirit. Mankind endured the harshest test. Mankind prevailed against nightmares that would sunder any single man's mind. But our collective will is greater! We will become immortal by our actions. There was no moon, but I promise you this, one day we will breathe the air of Luna and be unshackled by the bonds tying us to this world. There is no challenge too great. It is your heart, your conviction, your drive that will see this world rebuilt and the stars conquered!"
Their excitement rises to a fever pitch. The roar of thousands shakes his bones and deafens Izuku. His hearts hammer violently, beating a tattoo on his chest.
He pauses and lets the shouts fade to silence.
"It is my privilege to remind you of the qualities that make you immortal. Your sacrifice. Your dedication. Your hope. I am not a great man as many say. You are the great men and women, forged by the fire of imminent destruction. I am a lesser man, but it is my privilege, and my honour, to remind you of your greatness.
"Many of you call me to lead for I upheld peace and sanity in the final moments when our freedom was in its hour of maximum danger. I will not shirk this responsibility that you ask of me. But I cannot lead a people divided. Our beliefs and faiths are different, but more unites us than divides us. Now, more than ever, we require unity.
"Our old nation failed, birthed as it was through treachery and force. I extend my hand to all people in peace and unity: my friends and allies, my detractors and critics, my enemies as well. Let us forge a path to the future. The energy, the faith, and the devotion which we bring to the enormous undertaking of creating a new nation that will serve the people first, protect them and embolden them to undertake new ventures—that light will be as a new sun and we will once again be the Land of Rising Sun."
This speech is the birth of the Federation.
This speech will lead to war.
This speech will lead to peace.
-TDB-
In the decades since that speech, they have expanded the Federation greatly. Japan and the Philippines and Korea and Russia and many more are citizens of the nation he has created. Some welcomed him as a saviour and others fought back until they had no choice but to accept Izuku's will.
No matter the choice, people died. Too many on most days.
The name Izuku Midoriya has always been controversial since his childhood. His words and actions started a movement no one could have predicted. In the past, he wanted to be a hero. The closest he's come to that is being called a fallen hero.
In polite company, they call him High Consul, the title by which he has led the Federation for fifty years. It commands respect and awe and happens to be his preferred title. In less polite company, they call him the Bloody Peacemaker. When they think he can't hear them, many call him the Fourth Great Tyrant.
Izuku finds most days that he can't argue with that. He modelled himself after Stormwind, trying to bring prosperity to the countries he conquered. He is an overwhelming pinnacle of strength just as All For One was.
Today is the day he becomes like Titan, reviled and loathed for his acts.
The city of Hanoi in the Federated province of Vietnam welcomes the Midoriya siblings with open arms. Izuku and Kouta sit in the back of a sleek vehicle with the top down, their vehicle in the middle of the procession. This is the last destination of the fiftieth anniversary of Federation.
"Why did you drag me along?" Kouta asks, waving to the cheering crowds.
Izuku glances at his brother though Kouta hasn't called him that in years. They've argued about it often, but Izuku always loses. He can't force Kouta to do anything, and the last time he had, he'd dropped him in America and promptly forgotten about him.
They don't talk about the five years he spent there. Izuku read the reports and they still haunt him. He'd forced his brother to suffer for convenience, for the simplicity of not having to deal with someone who called him out on his decisions.
"People like you."
Of the two brothers, Kouta is the one most people would prefer to have around. Being quirkless means he can't summon enough wind to shred a city or punch a mountain to dust. As a humanitarian and staunch advocate of human rights, he's seen favourably by most people. And his few critics lose steam whenever he publicly criticises the Federation. And Izuku.
"You know these people aren't an accurate representation of the city's sentiments. I bet half were paid to be here and the other half are religious zealots."
Probably, he thinks, feeling a sudden pang of loneliness. Mikumo hasn't provided running commentary in his head for decades but Izuku feels the loss more and more. His head is quiet, only a singular voice that belongs to Izuku.
"How are your courses?"
"Fine. The university's trying to get me to teach full-time and they've someone managed to convince me to be Acting Chair."
Izuku smiles. "That's what, the third year running? I think you should just accept the position and be the Chair of the Department."
"I'll die before I give them that victory."
With the massive crowd generating so much noise and moving shadows, his senses struggle to notice anything amiss. But nothing can truly hurt him so he lets those senses fade to the background like white noise, relaxing into his seat and talking to Kouta.
When he is calm and relaxed, bad things always happen. Why should today be any different?
One moment, Kouta is complaining about his husband, the next, a red stain has bloomed on his blue suit. Izuku stares dumbstruck as Kouta is slammed back into his seat, his head slamming into the headrest. He hears his guards mobilise, the cars lurching into action.
Izuku doesn't care about any of that. His senses are working in overdrive, searching for the distinctive shadow of a rifle or the displacement of air from someone escaping. He catalogues hundreds, then thousands, of people in a split second before he finds his target.
There, on a balcony that should have been vetted. Then he sees the body of the unconscious guards beside the sniper.
He knows that pink skin. Mina Ashido. How could he ever fail to recognise Kirishima's favoured companion?
Rage does not describe his feelings. To call it rage would imply a mortal could possibly understand the deep and blackened hatred in his soul, hatred so endless that Creation trembles from the aftershocks. This attack from Kirishima is nothing short of vile. It breaks the unspoken agreement between them.
Their armies have clashed often but they've never directly gone after family members. They've never gone after the innocent.
He hears dead gods awaken, chanting litanies to his blinding madness. He feels the strength to crush the world fill his veins. He feels the endless darkness that is his right.
All his powers are in sync and they want one thing. They want blood spilt for the blood spilt. Izuku's lips curl, baring his endlessly long teeth.
"Die."
His words are deep, guttural and cruel. They are laced with the whispers of a songthatwillendlife and as the King commands, the universe obeys.
The sky above churns with a sudden and violent storm, pregnant with the weight of his loathing. The world stops, time slowing as people look up at the pitch-black sky, the rumbling thunder that shakes buildings, and the oppressive burden of his rage.
It can't be called a bolt of lightning. It is nothing short of a god's judgement on Earth. The land and sea and skies are bathed green as his judgement consumes the city.
When it fades, there is nothing. The market is gone. The cars have vanished. The trees are non-existent.
Nothing remains but a flattened expanse of the earth for miles.
Nothing but Izuku and Kouta sitting on the barren earth. Izuku quickly unbuttons Kouta's shirt, searching for the bullet wound. There in his shoulder, looking much worse than it is. He plugs the wound up with darkness. A temporary measure until he can get to a hospital.
"Kouta, stay with me," he says softly, shaking his brother gently.
He feels wrinkles on Kouta's skin, startled at the reminder of his brother's mortality. Slowly, his eyes open, fluttering to awareness.
"What…"
Izuku smiles. "You'll be fine. I just need you to stay awake."
Pain marks his face. Kouta glances down, seeing his bloody shoulder. "Oh."
He looks around, confused at the sudden change in scenery. His eyes slowly sharpen as he takes in the coastline and the distant mountains.
"What did—no, no, no—Izuku, what did you do?"
He answers honestly. "They hurt you."
The expression that crosses Kouta is nothing short of revulsion. It is disgust and horror all directed at Izuku.
They say nothing more as Izuku warps them back to the palace. Nurses take Kouta from his arms and doctors operate on him immediately. They work feverishly, terrified. After his act of genocide, they all wonder who might be next.
In the hours after the event, he watches the news, numb and in shock. Crawler speaks to him and even Shuichi says something, but Iuzku can't focus on them. Not when he has just committed genocide out of anger.
He watches the reporters speak in terror as they detail the body count. It fills his with revulsion. But worse than those who are hateful or those who present the facts are those who speak in tones of adulation and worship. Those who call him a god and justify it as his divine right to choose who lives and dies.
Susanoo, God of storms and now God of genocide. In one instance, he's killed as many as All For One did and he doesn't even have a justification for it. Kouta is fine, the wound will scar but he'll be fine in a few weeks.
For a few drops of blood spilt, Izuku willing spilt an ocean of it.
A special broadcast starts. Kirishima is older, hair turning white and scarred heavily. He isn't the young Red Revolutionary, known for his tireless work against Federation. No, that has been tempered into a man willing to stand against the world and history. He stands tall and undaunted. It isn't a live broadcast. He's much too clever and cunning for that, not when he's the only person to successfully hold off Izuku's armies time and time again across the world.
"They were innocent and he slaughtered them all," Kirishima shouts at the end. "This is the monster who leads you. This is the Tyrant I fight. This is the Butcher I will stop. Say no to this injustice. He is no god. He is a monster and monsters must be put down."
Izuku can't find it in him to argue against those words. He retreats to his palace and away from all media. The duties of High Consul he foists onto the Council as he contemplates exile. Better that than a monster rule.
Already, many call for Kouta to take control. After all, he is Izuku's brother and heir designate. Better the Great Historian than a cruel god for protector.
Decades ago, he remembers Shouto warning him to groom Kouta as a successor. He chose not to out of love. And now he must consider how viable it will be to force Kouta into that role.
"No," he says weeks later and rises. "I won't be a coward."
He leaves the palace and heads to the place once known as Kamino Ward but now is simply the Memorial Site. The destruction from the final battle between All Might and Sensei has been preserved and is one of the more popular sites for pilgrimage.
He kneels before the simple placard.
Here, the hero All Might and the villain All For One battled. Here they both fell. They were legends of their times. One was the Great Tyrant of Japan. One was the Pillar of Society. Their legacy shall be felt for generations to come.
Izuku chooses to speak to the lesser of his two teachers. He respects them both for the lives they lived, uncompromising and unrepentant.
"Sensei, you were a villain but you had a code that you never broke. Hawkmoon guided you to make one. I understand why now. We set ourselves on a path but gave ourselves no limits. We've drowned so much of the world in blood. For what? A promise of a brighter future? What future will it be if we rule as blood drunk kings, mad on our own power?"
The power to control the winds is always at his fingertips, but he feels it so much more kneeling here. He feels every current and takes control. The winds are harsh and swirl around him, a self-contained vortex in the middle of this memorial site.
"All Might, you were the greatest teacher I could ask for. You lived by your ideals before death. Hold your head high and keep walking to the rising sun. You taught me that."
One For All comes to life and his body glows with the power of his mentor. He has perfected it, capable of using it further than All Might at his peak. It is a legacy of two centuries, a promise to free Japan from the grips of villainy.
And, what has he done but become a worse villain?
The bloody peacemaker, the Shadowshield, stood amongst the Warlord as a young man in his twenties. The name Izuku Midoriya is said in the same breath as Luciana Cisneros and Pedro Salvatore, the first two Great Tyrants. He is now the fourth Great Tyrant, heir to All For One whom they proclaimed Tyrant, a title borne of bloodshed and conflict.
He gazes at the sparks of green lightning running across his body and knows that if he wished he could call upon more and more and judge the world as a cruel god. Just as he did in Hanoi.
"You were strong before you were weak," he continues reverently. "Not matter your fears, you always used your strength to protect the weak. Strength doesn't give us the right to rule. It gives us the right to serve those who are weak. It gives us the right to uplift good where we see it and embrace justice and compassion. It gives us the right to help them walk the path and carry them when they stumble and fall.
The shadows are always with Izuku. They are his to control. They rise, a tidal wave of his colossal strength.
The influx of power summons Shouto in a burst of dark fire and Fumikage who dives to the ground, surrounded by purple light. Both look concerned, not for fear that Izuku will hurt himself. But fear that he is breaking.
He can tell by every line of tension in Fumikage's broad shoulders or the worry in Shouto's blue eye. He loves them all the more for the implicit trust they give him, for the loyalty and devotion they have. Even though they fight and argue, he will never stop loving them. Even alone, feeling their abandonment in every waking moment, he can't stop loving them.
But, at the same time, he is disappointed in their actions, in the path they forced him to walk. A path he walked without once faltering, even when they both abandoned him at different stages and for different reasons.
"This is my oath to you, Toshi. I will save everyone in front of me. This is my oath to you, Sensei. I promise to make a world where a girl in a sunflower dress can be happy, a world where brothers don't have to fight."
He looks around at the devastation, at this place where so many people died, their names lost to history. They are but a fraction of those who have fallen, lost and crying out for salvation. So many who were forced to choose between Federation or death. Their army broke families and destroyed cities.
"This my oath to the legends of the past, to Hawkmoon and Hero. I will stand where others fall. I will unite instead of divide."
He looks to Fumikage and Shouto, both engulfed in the mantle of their kingdoms. Shouto bathed in the infernal light of creation and destruction, entropy and the forward arrow of time.
Fumikage strengthened by Dark Shadow, his mortal limits surpassed by the endless horde slaved to his will. His soul is the Disparity between dark and light, and the life that arises from it.
Izuku lifts his hands dripping with the inky darkness of the abyss. This is his right, his kingdom and inheritance. His bounty is worlds of ruin and calamity. And yet, there is no reason it cannot be used by good.
His gaze is hard as he speaks to his peers. "We must be better. No matter the pain it causes me, I will not let us walk this path without limits. And when mankind is saved, we will give them the right to choose a future. If we can't give them that then we walk away right now."
Fumikage nods. "I accept your oaths."
"I'm sorry," Shouto says, "for the pain this will cause you."
"Rather me than the world."
-TDB-
It is three years since the day of his oaths. It is three years since the decline of the Federation began through his actions.
He shuffles through report after report tiredly. Half of the Federation is in open arms, the other half ready to join the first.
The option to give Fumikage's Crows carte blanche to operate is always there. They could sweep in and do what they always do: assassinate, intimidate, and extort. Izuku hesitates to do so. It is an easy option.
The hard option is to unify his people through his words. Except, no one trusts them anymore. The Butcher of Hanoi is his latest title. Who cares to listen to a Butcher preaching peace?
"Hello, High Consul," Kouta says.
His brother is older now, much older. His hair is white but his eyes sharp. He comes bearing a stack of papers. The scar from his bullet wound still gives him trouble on occasion.
"More work?" he asks politely, leaning back in his chair in the palace.
Kouta throws the files on the table contemptuously. "Work? You haven't done any work in the last two years."
"What?"
His brother takes a seat. "I thought I might as well talk to you if you aren't doing anything productive."
"I'm doing my best to—"
"Run from your problems, yes," Kouta says, voice flat and even. "Oh, Taiwan's island of Luzon is in open rebellion now."
"But they were the first to accept Federation."
"So what? That was forty years ago. Things are different now and your supporters have changed. Many have forgotten the power you wield. Even worse, they don't care. Why should someone fear gravity? It's always going to be there."
He grimaces. Kouta's reminders of his divinity always leave him uncomfortable. Ever since Hanoi, every conversation they've had has been frosty. Once, Kouta even punched him. It didn't physically hurt, but the pain in his soul had almost sent him into a self-destructive spiral.
Kouta had dragged him out of bed and forced him to keep on working, saying nothing.
He skims the executive summary of the report. It details the major players in the Luzon rebellion, their leaders and major backers. At the end is a simple recommendation to eliminate the leaders and the minimal cost in manpower.
"You know the laws of power and the Great Game. I learnt them at your knee," Kouta says ruefully. "Why are people loyal, fundamentally? Say it in the simplest way you can."
"Payment," he answers.
"Exactly. Even those who are devoted to you are paid by seeing their faith fulfilled. But these people rebelling aren't in it for faith. You've failed at the most basic law for a ruler. You failed to ensure the flow of payment to your most important subjects and now you're being deposed."
"They can't depose me."
"Literally, of course not. Practically, they're already doing so. You can't be everywhere. And if there's no reason to stay in the Federation, then they might as well make their own fiefdoms and secure a future."
"I've tried negotiating and treating them fairly," Izuku says. "I made an oath."
"For the sake of your oaths, you're willing to condemn your loyal citizens to a third Dark Age?" Kouta holds his gaze. "That's what will happen. Another Dark Age. Quirks emerged and destroyed the global power structure, plunging the globe into a Dark Age of Warlords and mad villains. Stormwind's Empire fell and Europe was plunged into a Dark Age. Now, we live in the Dark Age the Singers left for us."
"I have faith in mankind."
"Don't be a fool," Kouta says sternly. "In a dictatorship—"
"This isn't—"
"It is and you know it. The representatives of the Council serve at your behest. Their only hope is to convince you to spend money on their projects and countries. But that only occurs if you approve. Was it not you who rejected the budget five years ago and imposed your own with a snap of your fingers? Was it not you who unilaterally stripped New Zealand of their voting rights without approval from the Senate?"
He winces. That hadn't been his best moment. He'd been angry with their economic policies at the time and took away their autonomy until he felt they were ready to make choices on their own. It's a common bit in comedy sketches to guess when he'll return those rights.
Izuku deflates with a long sigh. "You've made your point."
"In a dictatorship, benevolence is synonymous with weakness. A benevolent dictator is too weak to impose their power. A benevolent dictator cannot ensure the wealth of his followers. Most importantly, a benevolent dictator cannot ensure their own security, in this case, your personal security is replaced by the Federation's stability."
Tyrant. Dictator. What is the difference between them but nuance? A Tyrant is a dictator with the power to reshape continents. That's what the word meant ever since Stormwind and Titan took power.
"What do you want me to do?"
"What do all good dictators do? Eliminate your dissenters. Make examples of them and their families. Impose absurd penalties on the people who rebelled. Break up country lines and insert leaders loyal to you with obscene bonuses." Kouta shrugs. "Do what your Federation has always done, High Consul."
Izuku wipes away his tears. "You were supposed to be better than us."
"I don't care for your crocodile tears, High Consul. I know my history very well, and I know the Federation can only fail if you permit it. Right now, in your hesitance and weakness, you are consigning the entire world to another Dark Age. One that will end in extinction."
Kouta stands slowly. Izuku can hear his bones creak and feels a pang of loneliness. One day, Kouta's life will end. For whatever reason, Kouta refused all their treatments to extend his life. He made the choice to die when his time came.
Fear grips him knowing that the day Kouta passes will come sooner than he can imagine. He'll blink and Kouta will be dead. And then he'll look back and realise a thousand years have passed since that day.
Maybe the pain will fade, but Izuku doubts it. He feels the pain of his mother, his father, the pain of losing Toshinori and Mikumo and Sensei. That pain is tempered by relief because none of them saw what he became in their absence.
"Kouta, I don't know what to do."
"You do. You've always known. I love you, but I cannot forgive you your crimes and your sins," Kouta says softly. "Someone must account for them and I refuse to allow them to be forgotten."
His features soften. "But I refuse to let the brother I love crumble. This is the last time I will call you that so listen well." Kouta takes a breath. "Izuku, dear brother, you're only strong when you walk forward. And sometimes, you must trample over people. I'm sorry for everything and I love you for not making me make these decisions. Take care, brother. I hope you make the right decision. Be the Tyrant the world needs."
Two years later, he is still attempting peace and benevolence. It isn't working. Izuku MIdoriya has become a laughingstock, his name dragged through the mud by everyone. Even the Senators of his Federation openly mock him, ignoring his suggestions.
Where he goes, he inspires hate without fear, the power of his divinity fading in the eyes of mankind. They're moving on from him, leaving him in the dust whilst he fails to keep up.
"The Fourth Fleet is consorting with the North African League. They're well and truly gone."
Izuku bangs his head against his desk. There hasn't been any good news and that is worse than most. The Fourth Fleet is their expedition fleet, the one with much of their experimental materials and technologies. It explains why Shuichi had called and proceeded to rage at Izuku for a long few minutes, inarticulate in his anger.
"Then how do we fix this?"
Shouto, pacing the ceiling, stops. "You won't like it."
"I've never liked your solutions."
"We crash the global economy."
He bangs his head against the desk once more. "Explain."
"It'll hurt us, badly. But, if we do it right, we'll have adequate resources to last a few years. Especially with Momo and me. It will deprive the rebellions of the wealth they need to continue. Europe will have to look inward and abandon the Americas. Africa will have its hands full trying to prop up Europe when it happens."
A simple enough plan. "How many will die?"
"Does that matter? We're watching the beginning stages of mankind's extinction and you're worried about that?"
"Yes. Unlike you, I actually care about people."
Shouto drops down, landing softly. His full height is imposing, and with Izuku sitting, that feeling is magnified.
"You just want to play at being a hero and hold some moral high ground over everyone."
"I can still be a hero."
"No, you can't. Heroes are dead. There'll never be another All Might or Endeavour or Hawkmoon. We've moved past those definitions. You're the only one still clinging to them."
"Why? Why can't heroes live?"
"Because you're trying to use methods from a century ago to force a future. Did you learn nothing from All Might and All For One? You can't stay in the past to make the future you want."
"Tell me why?"
"Which hero ever built roads?" Shouto asks. "Did Hero build dams to generate power? Did All Might clean the streets? We can't have heroes because heroes can only exist in a stabilised society. The idea of heroics lives and dies with society. That society that made heroes is dead. This is what you wanted, Izuku. You have to let go of the past and move forward."
Each word is an attack at his crumbling convictions. All his life he wanted to be a hero, he wanted to be greater than All Might and beloved by the people. But, in a world where the abyss exists and filled by bloodshed, what can a hero truly do? Stormwind brought peace, not the heroes of Europe. Hawkmoon's war against Titan left millions dead and decades later, it would be a stronghold for All For One, the same man whose influence brought peace to Western Canada and Japan.
Izuku bows his head. "Do it."
"As you say, High Consul." He feels more than he sees Shouto shrug. "You know, I think it's time you let Fumikage act freely."
"No," Izuku snaps, feeling his temper flare. "He fucking ditched me. And then he went galivanting with you. Both of you spat on my friendship. You abandoned me."
"You abandoned us as well," Shouto says softly. "When I told you about Fuyumi, you didn't even pretend to care. This is hard on all of us and you blame the both of us for your own actions. You asked for this—"
"Don't you dare accuse me of that," Izuku snaps, standing and marching towards Shouto. "I wanted peace. I wanted sanity. I never wanted the blood of hundreds of millions on my hands."
"Neither did we. You made your choices but you're the one failing to live with them. You're just letting your guilt consume you and you're using that as an excuse to lash out at everyone."
"I hate you."
"Yeah, and guess what, I hate you as well. Fumikage hates you." Shouto grabs him by the shoulders. "And we still love you. Listen to me and stop fighting. The age of heroes is dead and you killed it. More will die because of your indecision. If you hesitate anymore, we won't have a Federation. And when that happens, the loss of life will be colossal but it will not hold a candle to the death that will come if mankind is not ready for Jupiter."
Izuku wants to punch him. It wars within him, but he's so tired of it all. He's tired of fighting with his friends and tired of watching everything he built crumble around him.
"I'm so tired," he whispers.
Shouto leans forward, their foreheads touching. It has been so, so long since they were last this close. It reminds him of being young and hopeful. It reminds him of a time when he had more than shattered faith and broken dreams. A time when the future was bright and an endless dawn stretched out forever. A time when he had friends and family who supported him.
"Be strong. Be brave. Be you."
When Shouto leaves, he feels heavier and lighter all at once. There is a pit in the bottom of his stomach, but his steps feel light. He feels dread at the choice he will make but he also feels freed, knowing that this is the best choice.
He makes a call.
"Yes?" Fumikage ask. He is surrounded by the swirling clouds of Venus, his latest passion project, in the hologram.
Izuku swallows. "Stabilise the Federation."
"This is your order. I won't accept your guilt."
"I know."
"Then say it. Don't circle around the issue."
"Fumikage, by whatever means it takes, whether it be a knife or money, stabilise the Federation. Execute the leaders of every rebellion. Execute their families. Imprison the traitors. Make everyone understand the punishment for treason. That is my order as High Consul: bleed my nation until it is dry of all dissent."
"One day, we'll be called to account for our sins."
"By who?" he asks bitterly. "As God is my witness."
"Who judges God but God himself?"
-TDB-
Fifty years pass since he gives those orders.
The global economy plummets overnight and the federation is racked by violence. It is a time of fear and cruelty, a time when Izuku stops pretending that their Federation is anything but a dictatorship. His orders are law and those who fail to follow tend to find themselves dead in a variety of creative ways. Soon enough, no one has the confidence to defy him.
The armies of the Federation march into rebelling lands and annihilate rebels without mercy. The cost in human life and materials is disgustingly high, but Izuku forced himself to look at the big picture. After the blood has been spilt, then he can focus on trying to usher in peace. And if that doesn't work, well, he'll figure out a new path to the future.
That future had been found by Kouta Midoriya, the Great Historian and bloodless peacemaker. The man who unified Earth with his words. The most celebrated individual in the last four centuries.
Thanks to Kouta mankind could reach the stars peacefully. Thanks to Kouta, the Federation and the Euro-African Coalition could unify under one banner. Yes, it is Izuku's banner, but that compromise had been better than billions of deaths.
He finds himself relaxing in a park in Jakarta, enjoying the peace and quiet. In the distance, he sees crystal spires winding around each other, casting their protection over the city. They, amongst others, serve as a network to protect Earth from abyssal incursions.
Almost as soon as he entered the park with brilliant red grass, the adults had evacuated with their families. He stares at the retreating figures. They are strong and healthy and whole, and yet they hate him. The adults who lived through the bloodshed, or remember it from their childhood, loathe him to varying extents.
But the children don't. The new generation, billions of them spread across the core worlds of and the seat of the Federation, Earth and Luna, Mars and its moons Phobos and Deimos, and Mercury with its first cities. More still surviving on space stations built in the depths of the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, networks of asteroid cities joined by diamond tethers, all orbiting the capital of Ceres.
An entire generation of children who have grown up knowing the peace and stability that Izuku Midoriya, the man called the Bloody Peacemaker and Great Tyrant by their parents, Butcher of Hanoi, ushered in through war after war. Shuichi, his loyal Disciple, personally slaughtered hundreds of thousands at his command and killed millions more in war. Fumikage and Shouto kept entire regions destabilised and in a perpetual war at his behest.
Those are all things he willingly did. And yet, despite it all, he finds himself smiling. In time, they will forget his monstrous actions. No, they will remember and see them as necessary for peace and prosperity. They may never forgive him but they will know he was necessary. Just as Stormwind before him, they will see a person who brought order where there was chaos.
"Hey."
Izuku opens his eyes and stares at a boy of ten. He has sharp quills in place of hair and gills on his neck. Squinting, Izuku can see further mutations suited to deal with the warmth of Venus and its denser atmosphere.
"Hello there. Shouldn't you be with your parents?"
The kid frowns. "Um, maybe? Anyway, I have a bet with my friends."
"Really now?"
"Yeah, I keep on telling them you're the Consul and they don't believe me.
"I am Izuku Midoriya," he says softly, warmed by the sun. "I wanted to be a hero as a child. In my twenties, they called my High Consul or Warlord. In my thirties, I was the bloody peacemaker and the Fourth Great Tyrant, the Shadowshield. I've got a whole bunch of names."
He ruffles the kid's hair. "What do you want to be when you're older?"
"I wanna terraform Jupiter."
Izuku smiles kindly. "Jupiter won't be safe for a long time. I'll make Earth safe first, and then we'll go to Jupiter."
"How long will that take?"
"A century if I'm unlucky."
The kid grins. "I'll just start getting white hairs by then."
"Alright. I'll make sure you see Jupiter terraformed." He shoos the kid with a gesture. "Go play with your friends."
Izuku sits in the afternoon sun, watching children play happily. Those children will become adults and contribute to the endless machine that is the Federation. They'll be good citizens in a peaceful world.
This society is one he forged through blood and bone. A society where mankind is free to colonise the stars. Yes, they have the threat of Jupiter to face, but mankind's ships will be at the forefront of that battle. Built in the depths of space or the many dockyards on each planet, they are the first step in the human empire.
"The Age of Heroes and Villains is dead and I ended it."
It has taken him a century to accept that fact. This is a world where heroes and villains can't exist. Those titles had polarised three centuries of history from the emergence of quirks to the end of the Modern Era of Heroes.
He opens his eyes and embraces the afternoon light. The sun is at its zenith just as his empire. There is time yet to reach new heights of glory.
For a moment, he sees the outline of his great mentors in the clouds. Toshinori and Sensei, watching on from wherever they are. He blinks and then they are gone, an illusion of the light and perhaps a bit of nostalgia.
"You gave me everything you knew. I tried my best. Thank you for all the lessons you taught me."
Finally, at peace, Izuku can close his eyes.
-TDB-
It all comes full circle one day centuries later. He is no longer the scared little boy unable to comprehend the nature of his powers, or the uncertain teen thrust into leadership. He is not the man that boy became, five-parts tyrant and one-part hero.
He is all those things and far more. His fears have been conquered; his uncertainty quashed. The labels of hero and villain and tyrant and butcher hold no meaning in this world that they have created.
This pier, the one at the beach he inherited All Might's power, the beach that he died for the first time and started on a path no one would ever imagine, is one of the few places untouched by the techno-organic technology that makes up every city.
If he turns back, he can see the Ayatan spires of the capital, spires impervious to age and proof of their mastery over entropy itself. There in the distance, he can see the Solar Needle, harnessing the energy of the sun and supercharging it with a spark of the godflame. In the centre of it all is the orbital tower, a monument to technology both mortal and abyssal—glimmering webs of abyssal metamaterials carrying gargantuan supercities in its cradle, rising far past the clouds and into the reaches of space.
Every planet they've colonised, from Luna in orbit to the clouds of Jupiter, from Mercury all the way to Sedna in the outer reaches of the solar system, has one of these orbital towers. They are the beating heart of humanity across the solar system, the one commonality amongst the many forms humanity has taken.
They form the major portions of the relay hub which will push mankind past the confines of the solar system. Soon, they will make their first voyages to every star system out there, growing and spreading. Izuku wishes he could see the majesty of humanity in the far reaches of space, strong and proud and free.
But the wish won't come true. He sets his gaze back to Earth.
The world is so different that there is little point comparing it to the one of his youth. And, it will no longer matter by the time this day ends. There, flying in the sky, are the Dragon Riders with their moonlight greatswords. In the sea, he can see the descendants of the whales he met so long ago, returned to true life and given a new future.
Shouto appears in a flash of black fire. He is dressed oddly, his clothing alive with cybernetic implants. Oddest of all is that he is clean-shaven, looking more like the boy Izuku first came to love.
"How long?" Shouto asks bluntly.
"Hello to you too." Izuku smiles, reaching up and brushing a stray strand of Shouto's hair. "Thirty years now. You get lost again?"
"Yes."
"Where have you been?"
"There was a girl who needed a father. I think she became Shuichi's second wife."
Izuku nods. Time and space mean little to Shouto these days. He travels the flows of time, working in the background to ensure Izuku's relative past remains constant. Based on his best estimates, Shouto is somewhere shy of two thousand years old.
In terms of maturity, he might as well be seventeen.
"How's the old dragon doing?"
Space is not his domain, unlike Shouto who thrives in it or Shuichi who can only live there since he is as large as a small country these days. He had to spend time walking the final frontier in the fight over Jupiter but that was decades ago and there has been no reason to return. Running Earth and her colonies take time and setting up a viable means of succession takes up even more time.
It had been worth it. Changing his legacy from Tyrant and Butcher to a wise ruler had been worth it. He's learnt to rule through kindness and empathy, unlike the fear he utilised in his worst years.
"Tired."
"He really was my finest disciple. Never gave up or gave in." Izuku looks up at the sun, knowing Shuichi is finally at peace within the warm embrace of those nuclear fires. "He deserves his rest."
"His last wish."
"He's given out so many wishes," Izuku agrees. "Let him have his wish of resting at last."
Fumikage appears in a bubble of twisted spacetime, carefully balancing godflame and darkness. A glowing sword is in his hand, thin and sleek unlike the huge broadsword of his youth, forged after the broadsword was shattered in the battle of Jupiter.
He looks like a knight of yore, dragonscale armour gleaming brightly in the sun, a stark change to the Inquisitor and spymaster he once was. It is expected. The roles they took on as children are no longer needed.
Fumikage bows theatrically, his sword and armour fading. It leaves him in simple clothes, black vest over black shirt and trousers. "Greetings."
"Hey." Shouto says nothing. "You get everything sorted?"
"Yes. I said my goodbyes to Dark Shadow. He seems to be enjoying Venus with his descendants."
"That's good. And the grandkids?"
Fumikage smiles. Or does as well as he can, his posture loosening and his stance becoming more inviting.
"I had enough time to be introduced to Maya's grandchild. They'll be naming him Kouta."
Izuku closes his eyes. The memories are ancient, but they are fresh as the day he said goodbye to his brother.
"That's… a good name."
Shouto brushes his hand against Izuku's shoulder. "A good teacher."
"And a better friend," Fumikage says.
They know each other well enough that Izuku does not need to ask them to give him time to push aside his grief. They do not hurry him as he masters his emotions. Because to think of Kouta is to think of everyone else—his parents; All Might; Sensei; his classmates from so long ago, some who became enemies and most who perished before they made it to twenty; and his true friends taken so abruptly that there was never time to truly mourn.
He opens his eyes when the pain has faded. Fumikage's gaze is gentle, the same he has given to generations of descendants, the youngest mourning the passing of the oldest. It is a gaze that urges Izuku to accept what has passed and to move on but to never forget.
"Shall we relinquish power?" Fumikage asks once Izuku is composed.
It is time now to discharge their duties. This day is centuries overdue. Izuku extends his hand, resolute in this path. This is the culmination of centuries of work and he is glad for the opportunity to be free of the shackles of duty and responsibility.
"I declare, by the oaths we forged, that the world is safe. Mankind is ready to stand without us. One-third aspect, the aspect of true dark and infernal engines, finds this true. Do you agree?"
Fumikage steps forward and places his hand over Izuku's. "One-third aspect, the aspect of abyssal life and disparity, finds this true."
Shouto steps forward and places his hand over them both. "One-third aspect, the aspect of godflame and light, find this true."
"Then let the seat of High Consul be dissolved and the Senate of Free Worlds take authority," Izuku says once more.
"So be it. Let the position of Lord Inquisitor of the Crows fade and the Order of United Dragon Knights stand in place."
"So be it. Let the role of High Priest of the Stars fade and self-determination rule. Let the pantheon pass to nothingness and the spirit of man become a god."
And like that, they give up the power to rule the solar system. In a few simple words, they give up their right to rule and control the destiny of mankind. It should be freeing and liberating to no longer bear that responsibility.
"I don't feel different," Izuku admits, sitting at the edge of the pier and letting his legs dangle over. "I thought there'd be some cathartic moment."
"Things rarely live up to expectation," Fumikage agrees.
"It's funny," Izuku says. "We're the last humans."
Mankind barely looks human anymore. Quirk mutations had been prevalent when he was young, but baseline humans are extinct now. In all honesty, the three of them are the only people that look like baseline humans. Fumikage has the head of a crow and they consider him so.
Fumikage inclines his head. "And when there were humans, they saw us as gods and monsters. They still do, but they associate pure humans as divinities. Your work to turn us into a pantheon was efficient, Shouto."
Space and radiation, it had turned out, were a secondary catalyst to mutation quirks. Whatever factor originated in quirks seemed to evolve humans to be creatures capable of surviving the vacuum of space, the immense pressure of Venus, the darkness of Ganymede and the floating cities of Jupiter. Mankind is no longer defined by mundane things like skin colour or mutation or bipedal body structure. No, it is the immaterial that binds them together, the promise of the stars colonised by mankind; the final act of prayer Shouto's faith created.
So long as you live and strive towards a future, then you are human.
"It was necessary." Shouto shrugs. "Most of it."
"The question of necessity has bothered me often," Fumikage says. "We made our paradise. The cost was high and paid in blood. We should never have thought even one life justified utopia."
"I know," Izuku says with an old bitterness that has never really faded. "You argued very much for the necessity of what we did. Yet you faltered, and I had to bear the burden our actions alone for decades."
"We all made sacrifices, old friend. We all lost and made terrible decisions. You included." Fumikage's words are a gentle rebuke, one which Izuku accepts. "Knowing what we know now, with all the centuries of experience we have, would you change anything?"
"No," Shouto answers for them. "Fewer deaths in the beginning would mean extinction at Jupiter. No Federation meant humanity extinct in three decades. There were no good choices. Only the least bad."
"We lost too many friends."
"Yes. We learnt to be cold and callous." Fumikage sighs. "I am glad we all found something to keep us… human. And is that not the greatest irony? We three, gods in truth, are the last humans. Just as Kouta intended."
"I think that's more sad than good," Shouto says. "Let the spirit of man itself attain godhood. They should worship their achievements, not those who tower above them. They must learn to love themselves, not us.
Izuku stands. "I believe it's time we left and allowed them to make their own legends. Let them forget us in the same way they've forgotten the legends of our past."
"Indeed, my friends. We have overstayed our welcome."
"We're not needed anymore," Shouto adds. "They'll figure out a path to the future without us."
Shouto raises his hand and burns a path to a new reality before them.
He extends his left hand and Shouto takes it. He does the same with his right hand and Fumikage grips it. They are his oldest friends, those who stood with him from the very beginning. Three broken boys who made a single promise on this very beach.
"We three kings."
They've learnt to fit together like cogs in their pain, broken and scarred in different ways, but fitting perfectly for each other. Through it all, through all the fights and anger, the bedrock of their promise has kept them together. Divine though they are, the greatest blessing they could receive was finding each other.
There is no telling what the future will hold for them. There are so many paths left to walk and new experiences to discover. There is time left to learn to love again, to learn to find happiness with those beside them. They will have an eternity to find new ways to be kind and compassionate, to see the best in each other and uplift one another when they struggle.
Everything between them, every memory and experience and emotion, the puzzle pieces that defined their story, are immaterial and transient, nothing more than tears in the rain and ash on snow. The bond between them will mend their broken dreams and find the scattered pieces of their faith, forging it into something that will last an eternity.
Their loves and loses, their drives and desires, their every glory and guilt, those events will stand testament to those that moulded them into the people they are now. Those disparate moments in their lives, those edifying events that permeate every iota of their souls, are fragments of their relationship to humanity.
Here, where his story began, there is no one he would rather have at his side in this moment.
Together, the three of them walk away from it all.
There is no path laid out before you.
Beyond the scope of light,
Beyond the reach of dark,
Beyond the grasp of disparity,
Lay only the future you choose.
THE END