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Midoriya Izuku wasn’t one to pray to a higher power. His analytical mind wouldn’t let his heart believe such a thing could exist. The Scientific Method his father had instilled in him before he left for his occupation overseas compounded such a mindset within Izuku from a young age.
And yet, as he watched Kacchan suffocate beneath a torrent of slime while multiple heroes watched on impotently, he prayed. Subconsciously, he knew it was for naught. His mind wouldn’t let him have faith that something or someone would answer his plea. The so-called heroes stood uselessly and All Might’s time had run out. Who would come to the rescue? At this point, anyone would do. Anything would do. All he wanted was to help.
And so, Izuku Prayed.
...
...
And something Heard him.
Dragonlord Placidusax twitched. The First Elden lord unraveled his two remaining necks and drifted down to the arena’s floor, ruminating on this Prayer he had heard. A call for help, if anything. Rumbling deep in his chest with interest, Placidusax flicked a fore-claw to summon an image of the supplicant. Existing outside of Time was an unusual thing, but one he had become used to. The Crumbling Ruins of Farum Azula drifted listlessly outside his tornado and kept all from him.
A soft verdant spark settled between his fore-claws and Placidusax blinked both sets of eyes at what he saw. A clump of moss? Ah, no. The head of a youth. A youth in need of help. A youth praying, despite his thoughts, for someone or something to save a friend from death. No one else was assisting. No one else was coming. The youth prayed for help so that he could assist himself.
Dragonlord Placidusax hummed. The supplicant’s faith was paltry. But, with time, the First Elden Lord was certain it would grow. And with growth came power. And with power came understanding. But first, the youth needed proof. Proof that his faith and wishes had been heard and acknowledged .
Placidusax brought the green spark to his chest and rumbled. The Boy needed a Heart. And Placidusax’s Heart was the greatest of all Dragons.
Time stood still.
It took a moment for Izuku to realize what had happened. Everything and everyone came to a steady halt. Blinking owlishly, he peered around. He lifted a hand and waved it in front of a random salaryman.
Nothing.
A thought struck the teenager and he whirled around, eyes hunting for Kacchan. The sludge villain was a picture of wrathful fear, coiling backwards as he used Kacchan to defend himself from heroes that were, in essence, no threat.
Izuku stepped forward eagerly, intent on using his chance to save his friend. With a lurch, he fell to his knees.
“What?” he wondered. “Why-”
MIDORIYA IZUKU
The boy froze as a voice pounded through his skull.
I HAVE HEARD YOU AND ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR DESIRE
BUT WILL YOUR FAITH PERSIST
TAKE THIS HEART AND SHOW ME YOUR RESOLVE
A gold flame burst into life before Izuku’s eyes and hovered there, pulsing slowly. Izuku stared at it, noting its life despite the standstill around him.
“T-this will h-h-help me save Kacchan?” he stammered. The flame pulsed strongly, but the voice said nothing. Izuku watched the flame for a heartbeat more, then gulped. With a shaking hand, he reached out and touched the flame.
A roar of colossal proportions filled the street as Time resumed and Izuku stood, eyes bright with golden fire. With a sweep of his hand, a sigil formed before him and just as quick as it came, vanished. A massive claw swept the crowd of civilians gently aside. People gawked and screamed at the appendage’s sudden appearance, too frightened to resist as it pushed them away from the picket-line formed by the heroes. The heroes in turn stared at this new variable to a situation they had little control over in the first place.
“HEY! KID! WHAT ARE YOU-” Any further shouted words from Death Arms ran right back down his throat as Izuku threw back his head, created a second sigil, and roared . A massive, gray, western inspired dragon’s head materialized above the greenette, somehow echoing and augmenting the boy’s roar with its own. Everyone was silent as if the air had been sucked away, preventing the travel of sound and the possibility of breath. Only the sludge villain spoke, trying to mask his terror with false bravado.
“OI! Think you’re hot shit, or something?! Think you can take me on?! HUH?!”
Izuku leveled his fiery gaze to his quarry and pushed past a hapless Death Arms. His mind was awhirl with the knowledge from his newfound patron, each Incantation more fantastical than the next. He knew he was on autopilot as he effortlessly maneuvered around the sludge’s frantic attempts to dissuade his approach. Izuku stopped mere inches away from Kacchan’s surprised face. With a sharp inhale and a third sigil, green lightning coated his body and he thrust his right hand into the sludge. Squealing in pain, the sludge villain recoiled, releasing his hostage. Izuku snatched Kacchan’s collar and yanked him from his prison, pulling him with him as he turned and strode back to the line of heroes and civilians gawping at his actions.
“NO! GET BACK HERE!”
The sludge villain lunged.
Izuku flung Kacchan away and turned on his heel, inhaling a deep breath. For a fourth time, the crimson sigil appeared, then vanished. Just as the sludge villain reached out to consume him, Izuku exhaled.
Dragonfire
A dragon’s head appeared over Izuku’s and promptly sparked fire to life from its cavernous maw. Heroes and civilians alike flinched back as the torrent of flame blanketed the sludge villain. Crying, the animate slime puddled himself in an attempt to escape the fiery onslaught. Izuku found his second wind and redoubled his efforts, bringing forth another wave of flame to incinerate the villain.
Then his rational mind kicked back into gear.
The flame stopped. All that could be heard was the pained whimpering from the sludge villain.
Izuku eyed the crumpled man for but a second, then turned, walking past the line of heroes. He paused, looking up at Death Arms.
“There. Your quick should be able to do something now,” Izuku said coldly. He stalked on through the crowd that parted unconsciously for him to walk past. Yagi Toshinori blinked his sunken eyes as the boy turned down an alley and disappeared.
But… the skeletal man thought, isn’t he Quirkless?