Chapter 8 - First Breath III

The countless life-and-death situations Ikiru had experienced had sharpened him. Ikiru's superiors knew that the situation was similar for most soldiers returning from the war zone. Therefore, after referring Ikiru for mental evaluation, they did not care about his condition. A week after Ikiru returned to the army, he applied for retirement. His superiors tried a lot of persuasions, but Ikiru remained resolute. Ikiru retired from the army at the age of thirty-one. In his retirement, he settled in a metropolitan city. Until the age of sixty-nine, he ran a gym he had opened with the money he had earned in the army. At the age of sixty-nine, he died of old age.

Of course, this was Ikiru's life known to the public. After Ikiru retired from the army, he started working as a mercenary in the underground world. He worked as a mercenary for a year to gather information about the cult that used to enslave him. During this one year, he gathered many sources and information. After deciding that he had enough information and resources, he quit mercenary work. Then he took action, and what happened next was a bloodbath that sent shivers down the spine of society. He started with the leaders of the cult. Every single one of them who abused him, he killed. Their deaths were so bloody that anyone who witnessed the crime scene had nightmares for months.

After the cult leaders, it was time for the couple who adopted him. He didn't kill them right away. First, he kidnapped them and placed them in a secret underground base. After dealing with all those who had abused him and those who had infected him with the cult, Ikiru sent all the information and evidence he had gathered about the cult to media outlets and social networks. The public reaction was as expected. They started hunting down every member of the cult. And just like that, the cult was gone forever. Of course, there was only the couple who adopted Ikiru. Ikiru kept this couple alive for years. He used all known physical and psychological torture on the couple. By spreading this process over the years, he caused them more pain.

After six years of suffering at his hands, the couple went mad. Ikiru decided that there was no point in keeping them alive any more, and killed them both. Thus, Ikiru no longer had any purpose or goal for his life. He continued with the same routine for the rest of his life, without committing any crimes. At the age of sixty-nine, he passed away for the last time, as sullen as ever. The Creator chose Ikiru because he liked his past. He added characters similar to Ikiru to the alternate reality he created. Since the Creator did not like the protagonist of the original world, he wanted to create an alternative and see the effect of his protagonist on the story.

Thus, Ikiru made the transition to the alternative BNHA universe. This was the story of Ikiru Ackermen's existence. Although it would never be known by the universe in which he would live, this story would be entertaining to some. When Ikiru was transferred to this universe, his past memories were taken. He would not know much of the universe he would be in, except the origin story, the Quirk he possessed, and who his appearance actually belonged to. This information was bestowed upon Ikiru by the creator of the universe. Ikiru, because the creator liked it, would have the appearance of the character named 'Yuta Okkotsu' from Jujutsu Kaisen (Friends who have the image, please add the image to the paragraph so that readers who do not know can have an idea. The appearance on the cover image).

It was not only his appearance that the creator specially chose for his character. Instead of creating an unknown power for his Quirk, he transformed the power from an anime he enjoyed reading and watching into Quirk and gave it to Ikiru. Ikiru's Quirk was the psychic power possessed by the character named 'Shigeo Kageyama' from Mob Psycho 100. The creator added some restrictions when turning this power into Quirk. Ikiru would have all of Shigeo's powers. However, he would not have the '100%' mode that Shigeo obtained through his emotional fluctuations.

In order to use all of his power, he would need high control over his Quirk. So as his control increased, the power he could access would increase exponentially. And he would also have the '?????' mode that Shigeo had. Shigeo Kageyama had the most broken power in the universe he was in. But the creator didn't care, since the BNHA universe had a higher power scale, he wouldn't immediately become overpowered due to the Ikiru Quirk. With enough time and practice, he was sure to become invincible, but it wasn't like the creator was going to let his chosen hero become cannon fodder, was he?

In order not to disturb the balance of power in the BNHA world, the Creator turned the power he gave to Ikiru into Quirk. However, the espers/mediums in the 'Mob Psycho 100' universe were not available in the BNHA universe. Ikiru would be advantageous as the first esper/medium in the BNHA universe. But some disadvantages came with this power. Seeing the spirits of dead people and being able to communicate with them could be a disadvantage for some. People are cursed by these spirits, and the fact that these cursed spirits would see Ikiru as a delicious food would be the biggest disadvantage Ikiru would experience.

Fortunately, the creator had given Ikiru a second chance to live again, with the exception of strength and appearance. With his transition to this universe, his already strong spirit became even stronger. This was because of the Quirk the creator had given him. In the BNHA universe, Quirks gave their users certain evolutionary advantages. Such as increasing the body's capacity, strength and endurance in various ways. Ikiru's Quirk gave him none of these advantages. Espers were capable of using psychic powers. Psychic powers were more about spirits. The power that Quirks provided for the use of people and the origin of this power were called the 'Quirk Factor'.

The powers of Espers/Mediums also came from their spirits. When the Creator transformed Shigeo Kageyama's power into Quirk, and gave this Quirk to Ikiru, Ikiru's Quirk Factor became his soul. Since the Quirk's power was fundamentally linked to his soul, the Quirk Factor was his soul. This was unprecedented in the BNHA world. This was the reason why Ikiru's spirit was stronger than before. The reason why the Creator chose the power of Shigeo Kageyama from the Mob Psycho 100 universe for Ikiru was not that Shigeo was the strongest in that universe.

No, it was for the same reason that the creator restricted Ikiru when giving him this power. The creator chose Shigeo because his talent was at a very high level compared to the others. That was the reason why he gave Ikiru his powers with some restrictions. This power, which turned into Quirk, required very high control to reach the power output it would show in '100%' mode. '?????' mode could only be activated in life-threatening situations. So, the more control Ikiru had over his Quirk, the greater the amount of his power would be. When he reached level 1 control over his Quirk, he would have 100 psychic power, and when he reached level 2 control, he would have 200 psychic power.

With a Quirk like no other in the BNHA universe, he would eventually become very powerful. For Ikiru, the creator believed that by arranging for Ackerman's bloodline power, a handsome appearance, a powerful Quirk and a beautiful wife, he was making up for his selfishness by using Ikiru for his enjoyment. Thus, the creator's arrangements were completed, and Ikiru's soul fell into Mikasa's womb. The creator had taken the memories of Ikiru's past life. However, it had imprinted his characteristic structure into his soul. In addition, he gave Ikiru the main story about the origin of the alternate universe he was in, the universe to which the Ackerman family originally belonged, the character from which he took his appearance, the universe from which the Quirk he had originally come from, and how he could achieve complete understanding over his Quirk.

Thus, Ikiru would know that he had been reborn in this world. He would know that the Creator had given him this information in the face of his old memories and that he had the freedom to live as he wished. The reason why the Creator gave this information to Ikiru was that he believed that it would be more fun this way. It was more fun for the creator to let him know that he had a second chance and to make good use of it, rather than living in this universe in the shadow of what he had experienced in his past life.

However, the creator was confident that Ikiru would behave as a resident of this world. Ikiru's mind had been moulded by the creator so that he could not perceive this alternate universe as a world of fiction and could not question reality. Since the Creator was in charge of the souls of the Earth known to humans, he knew that people imagined situations similar to what he had done on Earth. Many Earth dwellers believed that there was an afterlife and that they would have a second chance after death. He was also aware that some people wrote stories/novels in this way. For this reason, the creator was sure that Ikiru, whom he chose as his hero, would adapt to this reality. This was one of the reasons why the creator took the memories of Ikiru's past life from him. So Ikiru's soul remained in Mikasa's womb for nine months and ten days. When his birthday came, Ikiru finally opened his eyes for the first time in this universe.