Branded an Undead

He couldn't take it anymore. The beatings, the torment, the despair, all of it. It all started as tiny jabs, but along the years, it escalated into physical and mental abuse, ranging from toxic verbal harassment, to bruises and burns. He was bullied, only because for the sole reason of wanting to be a hero without a superpower.

And if that wasn't enough, his only mental and emotional lifeline, his idol, All Might, just flat out denied him. He crushed his dreams, he crushed his hope, but most importantly, he crushed his soul.

Once All Might left through the stairs leading down the building, Izuku looked so lifeless that he might as well be mistaken as a corpse, or a doll. A few minutes later of just staring into empty space, he decided to act.

Taking one step right after another, he brought himself towards the edge of the building. The sun was nearly down, the darkness of the night threatening to consume the bright sky. Oh, how it resembled his current predicament.

All the memories, all the decisions, all the effort…

All the pain, all the humiliation, all the torture…

He couldn't bear it anymore. Not after what just happened. A human only has so much before he breaks after all. And Izuku Midoriya has now joined the society of broken humans all across the world.

Standing at the edge of the building, he saw the everyday civilians going about their merry way. He saw the Pro Heroes patrolling the streets in search of crime or even just there to protect the peace. Weren't Pro Heroes' job to help save anyone? And so, where is his saving? Where is his rescue?

Seeing the flaws of today's society, the flaws of the heroes, even All Might's, he realized that the world of heroes he believed in was just a load of bullshit. He cried, and cried, moments later, the pedestrians below noticed the sobbing child from above and their blood ran cold.

And they were right to do so, because within the next second, Izuku jumped, not caring for his life anymore. He might as well just take his childhood friend Kacchan's advice and hope to be reborn with a quirk in his next life.

The civilians screamed as Izuku plummeted towards the ground. They screamed for a hero to help save him. But nobody came to the rescue. All of them, calling for help, telling themselves that the heroes will save him.

They didn't even consider to save him themselves.

As the ground grew closer, Izuku's memories flashed before his eyes. He experienced once more, all of the pain, humiliation, and torture all in one sitting. His mind screamed release from the torment, but then he remembered his mother. What would she think if she found out that her only son committed suicide?

She would be devastated.

Forget about his pain, his trauma, and his torment. He didn't wish that upon his only loving mother. The flame of the want to live spiked and grew into a blazing inferno. His mind racing and only one thought looped through his thoughts.

"I WANT TO LIVE!"

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Izuku awoke from a sudden thud and looked around with caution. He was inside some kind of cell, an incredible dirty cell. One that has not been maintained for years. He spotted an out of place characteristic within the cell he inhabited.

In the center lie a dried-up corpse, dressed in only rags that covered its indecent parts. This got Izuku's mind racing.

"W-what in the world? W-where am I?" Izuku wondered nervously as a sudden shuffling of steps was heard from above. He directed his gaze towards the ceiling to spot some kind of hole, and on the other side of the hole was someone dressed in some kind of knight armor. Without even bothering to talk with Izuku, the knight vanished from his sight as the sound of footsteps grew quieter and quieter until no more could be heard.

"W-who was that?" Izuku anxiously stood up and shook his head. Then, the memories returned. The encounter with the sludge villain, then with All Might, then the crushing of his dreams… And then the memory of…

Jumping off a building��

Izuku paled and started having a panic attack. Why? Why would he do that? He knew himself best. He wouldn't do that. Not because for his sake, but for his…

"M-mom?" Izuku's eyes began to water. He would never see her again. Hell, he wouldn't be able to continue his dream of being a hero. But worst of all…

"W-what would mom feel…?" Izuku despaired, blaming his own self for causing more suffering to his mother. But then, he realized.

"W-wait… If I am here… If I'm still alive…" Izuku stood back up, calming his nerves. His shaking got less and less, until his beating heart calmed down and he began to breathe normally again. "I will return, mom."

And so, he took his first step towards freedom.

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His journey started in the Undead Asylum. After removing the key from the corpse that was dropped by that unknown knight, Izuku began traversing the dungeon of the Undead Asylum. He first encountered the unresponsive hollows in the corridor.

There were also writing on the ground, telling Izuku to kill them. He didn't want to, in fact, he never wanted to kill a person in his entire life. But in here, life means nothing. All of them revives, even if you kill them again and again and again.

The writing stated that if he didn't kill and collect the souls, he wouldn't even be able to survive an hour in this unforgiving place. So, with great hesitation, using a broken sword hilt that he had on his person, he swung the chipped and broken blade towards the unprotected head of the hollow.

The squelching of meat and groans of pain coming from the mouth of the hollow made Izuku blanch. Once the hollow was killed, Izuku straight out collapsed and hurled the contents of his stomach. He didn't even realize some souls entered his body after the kill.

It continued like that for a few moments, wallowing in the realization that he had killed a living creature for the first time in his life. The first time was always the hardest, and always the most challenging. He justified that the hollow he killed was nothing more than a puppet, a shell of a former living being and that it deserved mercy. To be put to rest from its eternal torment.

But no matter how much he justified himself, he just couldn't get over the feeling of killing someone. It disgusted him. He wanted to be a hero, he wanted to save people, he didn't want to kill people.

He remembered the reason why he was even doing this. He wanted to go back home. To return to his mother and apologize for doing the stupid things he did. Stacking excuse upon excuse upon excuse for the reason of his bruises and burns every time he returned home.

He didn't want to do that anymore. So with great determination, he stood back up and continued onwards.

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Izuku met the knight that helped him escape, Oscar of Astora, his name was. Seeing him at death's door brought out a torrent of emotions within him. He saved him, so he wanted to return the favor.

Sadly, the favor was never returned. Oscar lost his purpose, the only thing keeping him from turning into a hollow, like the one that kept on shooting arrows at him in another corridor right after running away from the huge, ugly demon that almost mashed him to paste.

He tried giving him reasons to live. Anything was good at all, but nothing sparked the flame of hope within the knight. With great reluctance, Izuku left Oscar and bid him goodbye. Oscar wished him luck and hoped that Izuku could make a change to this ruined kingdom.

Right after leaving him, Izuku recalled the information he gleamed from him. For some reason, he was not in Japan anymore. Hell, he probably wasn't on Earth. It seemed more likely that he really died back when he jumped and was reborn here.

He didn't know if this was the afterlife, some sort of purgatory, or another world in which he was reincarnated in.

He continued pondering on these thoughts until he was stabbed in the chest by a hollow. His body felt weak, blood draining from his wound every second. The pain was unbearable. He knew, he was going to die. He didn't want to die. Not again. Not until he was safe back at home with his mother.

So he gripped the Bandit's Dagger tight and retaliated with a stab towards the hollow's head. Too bad the hollow somehow dodged and launched more strikes, sending Izuku down into a puddle of his own blood.

"I-is this where I d-die…" Izuku was tearing up. He wanted to return so badly. He didn't want to give up. He forced his body to move, only for his consciousness to be reaped when the hollow stabbed him in the head.

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Izuku woke up in a shock and looked around. It was the flooded zone where he lit a bonfire earlier, just past the area where that huge demon was lurking around. He was confused, he died right? So why was he here, alive and breathing…

Except, he wasn't breathing.

Quickly, he checked out his arms and found something horrifying. His skin was rotting. It was dried-up, just like those hollows he killed. He was going into a full-blown panic, until he recalled Oscar's words.

"The curse of the Undead…" Izuku recalled every bit of information he got from Oscar's lips. He couldn't really die since every time he did, he would be revived at the last bonfire he rested at. But at the cost of losing all of the souls in his possession.

This gave him hope, that even if he did make mistakes, he could continue again and again. He wouldn't give up. He would find a way to make it back home. He will return, just as he swore.

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How long has it been since then…? Days? Weeks? Months? Years? Izuku couldn't remember. Even his deathcount which he counted more than a hundred seemed to elude him in this god forsaken hellhole.

He has killed thousands upon thousands of hollows. He has killed demons. He has killed drakes, and even undead dragons. He even slayed Kalameet when he went back in time to Oolacile. He gave respite to Knight Artorias, gave his to soul Ciaran, killed Manus, and many more.

The only ones he remembered he didn't kill were Priscilla and Gwynevere.

He wanted to remember. After all, in this place, time is a concept that eludes even the veteran of Undeads. He wanted to remember the friends he made. He wanted to remember how they died. He wanted to remember everything.

But he couldn't. Undead or not, the brain of his body still belonged to a human. Even if he had the souls of Demi-gods raging within him, he couldn't seem to know why his body remained human. All he remembered was the reason why he kept going.

But that didn't matter anymore.

He was close. He could feel it. All that was left was to succeed Lord Gwyn and link the fire. Then, he could go home. Only one more… Just one more step…

Here it is, the final step. Ahead of him is the former Lord of Cinder, Gwyn. Readying his stance, Izuku got to work. Dodges, parries, attacking, fighting was now second nature to him. Exploiting weaknesses was also now deeply ingrained in his body that attacking the weakpoints was just that easy for him.

Couple that with years and years of experience of never-ending battle, death, and killing, and lo and behold, you have yourself a battle-hardened god.

They clashed with each other, both never resting, never giving each other the edge. Izuku didn't know how long this clash seemed to be. It could have been just seconds, but it could also be days. Just one mistake, and this fight is finished.

Then in an instant, Izuku noticed a brief opening in Gwyn's guard and took that opening in an instant, skewering Gwyn's body using the blades Ciaran gave him.

Gwyn heaved one last grunt before collapsing, life leaving his body as the soul of the God entered Izuku's body.

It was done. Finally, his journey has ended. Now all he needs to do was link the fire.

It was a mistake.

Pain, incredible pain, unimaginable pain coursed through his body. He was burning. And when he looked towards the exit, it was sealed shut. His only escape, cut off just like that.

He screamed. He cried. He pleaded for help. But nothing. He just burned. For seconds, minutes, days, weeks, months, and years. That was all he felt. He wanted to escape never-ending inferno. He just wanted to go home.

Why is fate so cruel?

He spent the entire time burning. His voice long gone from all the screaming, his tears all dried up from the intense heat. He never wanted this. Slowly, the memories returned. The bullying, the torment, his dream.

His mother…

With one last push with all of his strength, even if his throat was no longer functioning, he screamed.

"I WANT TO GO HOME!"

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Izuku opened his eyes. When he looked around, he found himself lying on a hospital bed. Wrapped up like some sore of mummy. His hands were in casts, as well as his feet. Strange feeling though, since he couldn't feel pain from it. If he was injured, he sure as felt not.

"IZUKU!" a loud cry interrupted his pondering and he quickly turned his head to the side. Standing there, was none other than his mother, sorrowful tears gushing out of her eyes as she looked towards her son.

"M-mom…?" Izuku too, could feel the tears well up in his eyes. How long has it been…? How long were they apart…? How long was it since he saw his mother again…?

It didn't take too long for the doctors to realize that their patient was conscious and they quickly went to work. While this was all happening, Izuku only had one thought looping through his head.

"I've returned…"