To Ash

Edit 06-24-23: Fixed a minor mistake at the beginning that copied a paragraph (I was tired /)

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Disclaimer: I don't own My Hero Academia and Dark Souls, both belongs to their respective owners, Kohei Horikoshi and FromSoftware respectively (Miyazaki, where the Elden Ring DLC?)

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Eyes squinting in the dark, his eyes adjusted in the dimly lit room, the grave chill of the terrifying atmosphere snaking its way into his core.

The smell of rot and decay filled his nose, eyes scrunching at the scent and mouth puckering as if he could taste the rot, but ignored it in favor of finally getting out of this hellhole.

The earth rumbled as he took his first steps into the dark and damp hallway, the only sources of light hung on the walls by scones and glowing symbols written on the floors.

He looked at them for a brief moment, only for his eyes to widen at the sight.

"I can... read them...?" He muttered to himself, arms still pushing against the wall due to his lethargy. "Kill... Kill...? Kill hollows... Gather their souls... Become stronger..."

A pit formed within his gut, mouth slightly agape at the underlying implication of what the written symbols meant. And as if further proving the point, a few meters northwest laid a seemingly shriveled up husk of a human rocking back and forth as it sat against a wall, gibberish mutterings coming out from its incredibly dry mouth.

'No... I... I can't...' He trembled. Even if he didn't know what a hollow meant, or what it looked like, in his subconscious, he knew what they were. He wanted to be a hero, not some kind of killer. But even then, he felt something... something of a sixth sense warning him that not doing so would be detrimental in the future. "No... I won't... I won't kill..."

Vigor renewed, he paced forward at a snail's pace, his arms still supporting his weight by extending against the wall. A rusty cell door barred shut on his right made his slow gait pause. Within the confines of the claustrophobic room, a single one of the hollows stood on his knees as it scribbled on the walls.

He felt his eyes shake at the sight. That could've been him if he was subjected to even more time of isolation. Shaking his head at the grim thoughts, he pushed forward.

It was only a few more steps until his newfound resolve shook as he gazed between the rusty bars acting as a window to another giant room.

It was filled with rotting meat, pools of blood staining the ground as waves rippled on endlessly due to the rumbling the ground. Eyes widened with pupils turning into pinpricks, he stared at the giant figure aimlessly roaming the halls.

It was a massive, grotesque creature with charred and decaying flesh. It sported large horns on his head and wielded a massive stone hammer.

He gulped, already looking back at the hollow rocking back and forth on the ground. Facing towards the other end of the corridor showed him some more hollows near the wall aimlessly shuffling about, their dead eyes striking a resonating chord within his soul.

'No... I can't... can't be discouraged... I need to go home... go home... to mom...' With gritted teeth, he continued onwards, shoving the thought of the giant monster to the back of his head in favor of getting out of this hellhole.

A set of stairs was his next obstacle. Feeling the dull pain in his legs and entire body, he breathed out a pained sigh and lifted his leg onto the first step.

One step... Two steps... Three steps... Then suddenly, he was scaling the stairs as his legs grew used to the movement and repeating actions.

Now near the end of the corridor, he let go of the wall as his legs finally supported his weight without a crutch. Even with this depressing and grim atmosphere, he managed a shaky smile as he finally walked towards another room without the help of his hands and the decaying walls.

Inside said room, a lone hollow sat in the corner, half of its emaciated body submerged underneath the murky water. He grimaced at the smell of feces and urine, making a mental note not to even go near the water.

It wasn't long before he came to another dark and damp corridor leading to another room, but this time, a ray of light shone from above. Hope filled his heart and he quickly made his way towards the light-filled room.

His efforts were not wasted, as he was rewarded with a ladder going upwards, and the light was even stronger coming from above.

His smile grew at the sight.

"I'm coming home..."

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"Just one more push... Hehe... Just one more..."

Feeling giddy, a lone figure traversed the ashen plains of the Kiln of the First Flame, the corpses of the Black Knights buried in his wake.

Feeling the clinking and clunking of his armor as he trod the landscape made of ash, he grumbled as he shook off the ash off his boots.

"And just when I polished them earlier..." He pouted. "At least it's almost the end."

Looking at the giant structure of him filled him with anticipation and budding hope. If he saw this when he was still back in the Undead Asylum, he would've gone mad for sure.

Unfortunately, or fortunately in his case, his experience in Lordran proved to be beneficial in the long run, no matter how fucked up or depressing it was.

"May their souls rest in peace." He grew solemn for a moment as he remembered the faces (or armor) of those fallen, before it turned into a lighthearted scowl. "Except Patches, fuck that guy."

He didn't notice that he was already standing in front of the entrance while he reminisced of the time he spent in Lordran for...

"How long was I stuck here again...?" He mulled the thought over, mind going hazy as he tried to recall the days he spent in the confusing place that was Lordran. "The others said that time was... convoluted... Not like it matters."

Eyes resolute, he placed his hand on the fog gate and gripped his zweihander tightly within his grasp. He closed his eyes and felt the telltale signs of passing through a fog gate, before opening them and seeing a depressing sight.

"... I guess even Gods have their ends." He muttered as he readied his weapon, before he blinked and saw the husk of Gwyn, the Lord of Sunlight, directly in front os him with his flaming sword mid-swing. "Oh sh-"

And his body promptly got bisected in half.

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"You... are one tough bastard..." He panted as he stared at the remains of Gwyn's husk, his zweihander thoroughly buried halfway through Gwyn's torso and the ashen ground. "Now I can finally... Finally go home..."

He was tasked to link the fire, to feed the souls of those he had gathered to keep the flame burning. Lady Guinevere had said to him that once he did so, he would be able to finally go home once time and space would finally be restored to normality.

And so he did just that...

And he burned.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The pain was too much. His skin melted into a puddle as he felt all of his organs combust into flames. He couldn't breathe... He couldn't think...

He wanted the pain to stop...

And stop it did, but so did the sudden burst of flame as it faded silently into a speck of cinder.

As he laid there waiting to die, the feelings of betrayal wedged itself into his heart as his consciousness faded.

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Eyes opened wide once more, darkness consuming his entire vision. He raged, screamed, and struggled as he pushed against the ceiling of whatever he was buried in.

His strength rushed back into his body, albeit he noticed that he was weaker, and pushed harder.

And after his ordeal, he finally reclaimed freedom, only to find himself in a well-kept graveyard surrounded by lush trees and green grass.

Looking behind him, he saw the tombstone placed directly on top of his burial ground.

[Here lies Izuku Midoriya]