Disclaimer: This chapter and probably future chapters will be using A.I. art from MidJourney to express some of my imagery better. I would love to commission artists for all of this, but just a single image can be like 60 USD and can take weeks if not months to deliver. And unfortunately I don't have that sort of time or cash flow for a fanfiction that's being read for free. And I can't draw for shit lol. Anyways, enjoy!

*******

"Oh... Oh my god..." Aoi Akari, the head of broadcasting at Hero News Japan, was staring at the last footage captured by the camera at site Charlie. It was the view of a headless man... her employee, her friend.

"Ma'am! Call from the Safety Commission!"

"P-Put it through..." She muttered.

"My name is Takashi Arata, the current head of the Hero Safety Commission. Those cameras, they're high speed right?"

"Uh... What?"

"Miss Akari, I understand this is a difficult time, but I need you to focus."

Akari shook her head. "Yes... Yes, the cameras were designed with magical cores, and high speed shutters. They're able to capture a couple frames of even S-Ranks. Hawks is the fastest S-Rank in Japan aside from All Might, and we managed to even get some footage of him at full speed."

"Good, I need you to scrub through the footage, right before... right before Hawks died. I need to see what did this."

"Okay..." Akari gestured to one of her staff. "I need the footage for Charlie-Cam, rewind to just before Hawks... you know. Advance frame-by-frame until you have something."

The footage on one of the displays jumped back to a view of Hawks... with his head still attached. He was smiling, chatting with Endeavor and pushing the nutjob's buttons.

The footage advanced until his head disappeared from his shoulders. The man staffing the station rewinded just a few frames and began scrubbing through. But nothing revealed itself. Hawks' head was there... then it wasn't.

"You're going too fast..." Akari said, moving down to the station and adjusting the footage herself. "Or... you're not..."

One frame Hawks was there, the next, he was dead.

"This can't be..." Akari muttered under her breath. She took a step back, falling into her chair. "Whatever it is... it's moving so fast that it makes Hawks look... slow... We can't even see what it is... Not a single frame."

Takashi licked his lips, his mouth going dry. "I see. Thank you." He hung up, turning to one particular part of the command center. The part he never used. "Be ready to evacuate."

The men and women stared at Takashi. "Evacuate what?"

"Japan itself..." Takashi punched the table with all his might, denting the metal before him. "Be ready to evacuate the country. Because if Nagant can't handle this..." He lowered his voice to a whisper. "Where are you... Izuku Midoriya?"

*******

5 Hours Earlier:

"You sure this will work?" Izuku asked Momo as he played around with his new armor, and while Merix set up the Spatial Magic artifact. The Dark Gems embedded in the armor all seemed to be S-Rank, meaning they gave him a level of magical control like never before. At least when it came to Dark Magic.

It wasn't just control either, Izuku felt like he could look through every single square inch of shadow. Anywhere touched by darkness was a source of information for Izuku.

Momo had her arms crossed. "I'm sure!"

Usually Izuku believed basically anything she said, but he was a tiny bit skeptical this time. Not because he doubted Momo, just that he doubted the safety of the technique she was proposing.

"No one in the world is capable of using S-Rank Dark Magic, but the ones that can use A-Rank Dark Magic have postulated that S-Ranks should be able to do it."

Izuku made a face, screwing up his courage to try it.

Momo rolled her eyes. "A few months ago, you asked me what superpower I would choose if I didn't have any. And when I asked you the same question, you responded with this."

"Because it would be convenient." Izuku finished. But even still, he hesitated.

"Okay what's going on?" She asked. "Normally you'd be all for a power-up and would experiment with it till you knew it back to front. When you got the Shadows you messed around with their capabilities for a while, and when you got Dominator's Touch you used it to no end."

"This is just a little different..." Izuku trailed off, Momo's gaze telling him to be honest.

"Okay... I'm scared..."

"Of what?"

Izuku chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Of losing this all. I wasn't afraid of heights... I mean, I was a little nervous when we were climbing the Skytree, but that's just a natural human reaction. The stronger I get, the more I worry about moving forwards..."

Momo's eyes softened, out of all the things she expected him to say, him being scared was not one of them.

"This power, this life with you... all of it, it's perfect. And I'm afraid to lose it. I want everything to just... stop right where it is and just... exist."

Momo took his hands in her own. "I still have nightmares, about my parents coming to take me away from you, from Kei, from this life. It's okay to be afraid. Courage isn't a lack of fear,"

"Courage is the act of overcoming fear."

Momo nodded. "Exactly. And I believe that's why the System chose you. You were the weakest Awakened Hero in the world. Yet you never stopped moving forwards, for your family. You should have these fears, I have 'em too. The important thing is that you don't let them control you."

Izuku looked down at their hands, clasped tightly together, and took a few deep breaths. After a long silence he finally lifted his head and said, "Okay."

Momo smiled and let go of his hands, taking a step back to let him do his thing.

Izuku closed his eyes, reaching out to the darkness, the shadows cast by the molten liquid flowing from the forge. He focused on a particular patch, right by the doors they had entered the forge through. Then, he began to break down his own body, turning it into an inky liquid form, just like how the Shadows vanished or emerged. That was the most dangerous part of the process. If it was an incredibly difficult magic to pull off, and he messed it up, he wouldn't be able to pull himself back together.

But, contrary to that worry, it worked almost on autopilot. Either the System was making things easier, or it really was as easy as snapping your fingers, because in no time flat, Izuku emerged near the door, in one complete piece.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Momo said with a dramatic flair, "We have teleportation."

"Wow... I can feel... a lot," Izuku said, his melding with the shadows opening his mind to just how much darkness there was in the world. Not in some metaphorical sense about how bad humanity was, but how much literal darkness there was... everywhere.

"Can you feel the outside world?" Momo asked. "Earth, I mean."

"Yeah..." Izuku breathed. "I can see the apartment, I can see my mom's hospital room, I can see..." His entire body revolted as he looked into the darkness on Jeju Island.

"What's wrong?!" Momo asked, rushing over to Izuku, who was clutching his chest like he'd had a heart attack.

"We need to hurry... The Jeju Raid," He looked into her eyes. "It was doomed from the start..."

"Why? What's happening?"

Izuku shook his head. "There's something inside of that mountain... something that's so dense in Mana that it feels like black hole."

Merix walked over to them, a somber look on his face. "You should go. Your people will need you, and with these bracelets, myself and Quorra can rescue Esil on our-"

"We can't," Izuku gasped out, recovering from the shock of something so powerful. "I don't know if I can use my Dark Magic to leave this Gate, but I do know that whatever is on Jeju Island... it's stronger than either of us," He said, referring to himself and Momo.

"But we can help the other S-Ranks. With them and the Shadows, we might stand a chance. We have to try."

Izuku hesitated for a moment, before nodding. "Let me try to leave." He focused on his apartment, the place he knew the best and targeted a shadowy patch in his own room.

[Player cannot leave Dungeon until it is completed.]

"Damn..." The duo looked to Merix. "We have to finish this... now."

Merix nodded. "Then let's not waste any time." He turned back to the small box on the ground, now lit with crimson light. He held out his hand, sending Spatial magic out to the box, activating it.

The box split open into eight distinct sections, each connected by a wall of energy, forming a cube just large enough for all four of the group to stand inside. And Izuku assumed that was exactly what they were going to do, but before he could move forwards into the box and embarrass himself, red particles within the confines of the cube began to coalesce, spinning around the center of the box. It was like watching the formation of a galaxy.

The spiral shape leveled out, turning vertically before expanding outwards, like the center of the galaxy had exploded. In no time at all, the galaxy had formed the shape of a Gate.

"A Red Gate?" Momo exclaimed as the cube shrunk down back to a small black box, leaving the Gate behind.

Merix picked up the box, setting it on the forge. "Most Spatial Magic is blue or green or white. But the strongest Spatial Magic is red or black, much like Izuku's Dark Magic. Red and Black Gates can be configured differently for more advantageous qualities."

"Like trapping a party inside so that you can't just send in team after team and wear the Villains down..." Izuku looked to Momo, then back to Merix. "So... that means that all Gates have to be personally configured right, through Spatial Magic?"

Merix nodded.

"Which means there is an actual intelligence behind the Gates," Momo said, answering a long held question for humanity.

Some assumed that the Gates were a strange natural phenomenon. Others assumed the Villains themselves made the Gates. But if each Gate had to be configured, then it couldn't have been the Villains, as not every Gate had a Spatial user. Not to mention, Villain testimony seemed to confirm that most of them were trapped inside the Gates, not traveling with them.

"Monarchs and Rulers. One chaos, one order."

Momo sighed. "And that's not even half of it. We still have no idea what the Architect is. Bael said he was the Lord of Synthetics. Sounds different from a Ruler or Monarch to me."

"Questions for another time," Quorra said, ending the conversation as she strolled over to the Gate.

"Right!" Izuku shook his head, getting back into the game. He was still shaken by the sensation he had gotten from Jeju Island, but he didn't hesitate to walk straight into the Gate. He was the strongest amongst them physically, so it only made sense that he go first.

As always, he felt the slight disorientation of traveling through space, coming out the other end into a massive city similar to the Tenebris's. The difference being that it was pearly white, with blue lines of energy running through the buildings, as opposed to obsidian metal and crimson light. And above them there seemed to be a cloudy blue sky, as if they were outside in the real world. It was almost peaceful.

At the center of the city, there was a single tower that stood taller than the rest, an orb of crystal that blared with a series of high-pitched beeping noises.

"I guess that's the alarm huh?"

[Tower of Eden has spotted an intruder. All Lux who attack the targeted enemy will be given a 10% buff to their Stats.]

Izuku's hand snapped out as a Lux came rocketing towards him. Any normal human would have assumed they traveled at the speed of light, there was simply no other way to describe their velocity. Contrails followed behind them, like a comet streaking through the night.

And yet, it was stopped short by Izuku's hand wrapped around its neck. His armor robbed the Lux of their Stats, and the Set Bonus dispelled the Stats they would have gained from the Tower of Eden. Where before, Izuku saw them in the same light as humans would have, as little more than streaks of light, they were now little more than fodder. He could have crushed the Lux's neck into a shattered mess, but he didn't.

As the other three emerged from the portal behind him, Izuku yelled out.

"My people are in danger! I don't wish to fight, but if I have to, I won't show any mercy!" Izuku threw the Lux aside, having him crash into a nearby structure. He cracked his knuckles, ready to try out his new gauntlets and magic. "Let us pass and we won't have any need to fight!"

A ringing sound, like a chorus of angels singing, echoed over the beeping of the Tower of Eden.

"They're pissed off..." Quorra remarked.

As the chorus began to crescendo, a shape rose over the buildings. Perching atop the Tower of Eden, was a raptor-like shape. Made completely of white metal, with blue energy flowing from its wings, Izuku mentally compared it to that of a Gundam.

*******

[Kaisellin, The Divine Machine]

Rank: XS

Species: Luxian Mechana

Skills: Lightspeed, Divine Retribution, Target Lock, Configuration

*******

"Just-!" Izuku flinched as all of his instincts went into red-alert.

Crossing his gauntlets across his chest, hundreds of shadowy spikes shot from the ground, spearing the few dozen Lux that had rushed towards them.

[You have Leveled Up!]

Izuku scowled as the Shadow army began to emerge around him. "Surrender or die!"

"Kiiiiii!" Kaisellin shrieked with all his might, jumping from the top of the tower, his wings carrying him towards the group with a roar of blue energy, like the exhaust of a rocket.

Izuku slashed his clawed fingers through the air, sending talons of dark energy towards Kaisellin's wings. The flying beast was fast, but his wings were designed for speed, not maneuverability.

[Kaisellin is using Skill: Configuration - Drake Form]

Just as the claws of darkness were about to tear through the metal joints connecting the wings to its body, Kaisellin fell from the sky. Its body twisted and contorted, metal plates shifting as new parts from its insides expanded and worked themselves into place.

Kaiselling slammed into the ground with a thunderous roar, his body now resembling that of a Drake. A dragon with no wings.

"Oh it's a goddamn Predacon!" Momo exclaimed, rushing to put together her go to weapon for heavily armored foes, an anti-material rifle.

Izuku's scowl turned up into a light smirk as he swept his arms, pinning down any Lux trying to reach them. "I've always loved Transformers."

"The first three Michael Bay ones were good, the rest were crap." Momo commented, chambering a round as the beast continued to charge down the streets of the city, gaining immense velocity.

Izuku raised an eyebrow in shock. "You didn't like the Bumblebee movie?"

"It was okay I guess," Momo said, raising the scope to her eye.

"Atric, link us up," Izuku requested of the Eldritch being.

[Atric is using Skill: Tether]

Transparent strings shot out from Atric's body, connecting to Izuku, Momo, Merix, Quorra, and the entire Shadow Army, giving them a 15% Boost to their Stats.

Momo went to pull the trigger and put a magically enhanced bullet between Kaisellin's eyes. But just as her finger came to rest on the metal lever, Kaisellin opened his maw. Pure blue light began to build within his mouth and all over his body.

[Kaisellin is using Skill: Divine Retribution - Drake Form]

"SCATTER!" Quorra shouted.

Everyone, including the Shadows, broke off from where they had exited the Gate, throwing themselves into the city for cover. Atric was the only one who stood still, but that was because he had the Vitality Stats of everything he was connected to. He was essentially immortal until the Tether disconnected.

In a standard human Raid, one of the most important aspects was communication. Some newbies yelled things like, "Duck" or "Run" without considering the consequences. Many more skilled Heroes would listen to their team and duck, only to get beheaded, which created a stigma surrounding such commands.

But when you had a millenia old being telling to scatter, if you didn't listen, you'd be dead. And that theory was proven seconds later, as Kaisellin's Divine Retribution discharged, a beam of pure energy slamming into Atric.

Even with his immense defensive powers, it began to wear away at his body. Had it not been for his new existence as a Shadow, it might've been enough to kill him outright. But as it was, most of the beam spilled around his body, impacting the pearly white walls surrounding the city. Even in their weakened state, the energy tore through the white material like a diamond drill bit through clay. The spilling of the light magic even bounced back at some of the city, slicing buildings in half.

There was no doubt in Izuku's mind that, had he been hit by the beam, he would have been disintegrated down to the smallest atoms.

Now, Izuku and the others were separated, moving their way throughout the streets of the city. But it worked to their advantage. Kaisellin would have to chase after one of them, meanwhile the Shadows and everyone else would be free to tear through the Lux.

Quorra and Merix were utilizing their new artifacts to their fullest potential. By default, they were maybe A or S-Rank, but with the bracelets stealing the power of their surrounding enemies, they were bordering on National-Rank because of how many Lux were flying about the city. The more they killed the weaker they'd get.

Izuku, meanwhile, was just making everything around him weaker with his armor. Using Shatterspeed and Epicenter, he ran from building to building, bouncing off the high-rises to reach the flying Lux. All he needed was a single punch for Epicenter to activate and his enemies practically exploded from the resulting shockwaves.

And with his new