Do You Want To Be A Hero? (26) | Manifestation of Humanity's Mind

All Might's breath hitched, if only for a moment. His eyes widened, staring at the green-haired young man with a mix of disbelief and confusion.

"Quirks... are a manifestation of the mind?" The ghastly hero echoed back the words Izuku had spoken, his voice trailing off as though trying to wrap his head around the idea.

"I don't get it... what do you mean by that, young man?" he asked again, confusion etched on his face. "Aren't quirks some kind of biological or genetic mutation thing?"

The young man himself, Izuku, had already expected someone to question his theory... and to his own amusement, he wasn't annoyed by the thought.

"Oh, you're not wrong, All Might," Izuku began, his voice steady. "Quirks are indeed a genetic mutation, and there's definitely a biological factor involved in their existence. But..." He paused, letting his words linger for a moment. "There's more to it than just science. In fact, the origin of quirks might even be tied to something even more... outrageous."

"Outrageous...?" All Might questioned, his brow raised in confusion.

"Tell me, All Might... haven't you ever thought that some of these quirks are just... weird?" Izuku's voice carried a subtle intensity. "Not 'weird' in a way that discriminates, mind you, but... more like quirks that are so nonsensical, that it makes you question whether they are quirks at all?"

All Might fell silent, contemplating Izuku's words carefully.

"I mean, you're a Pro Hero, All Might. I highly assume you've encountered all kinds of 'unique' quirks... both from your fellow Pro Heroes... and from the villains you've faced, right?"

At the mention of 'villains,' Izuku noticed All Might tense up slightly. His expression darkened, his thoughts clearly drifting to past encounters.

"... and do you ever think about how some of those strange quirks even function? Sure, the simplest explanation would be that their Quirk Factor influenced their body's structure to allow their quirks to function..." Izuku paused, his eyes narrowing as if recalling the many quirks he had encountered himself as well.

"...but at what point does our understanding of biology and human anatomy start to get... hazy?"

All Might's brow furrowed, sensing the weight behind the young man's words.

"I asked myself that question a long time ago..." Izuku's voice softened for a moment, his expression distant, as if lost in a memory. "...back when I was studying and researching a way to obtain a quirk of my own."

"A way to get your own quirk...?" All Might repeated, his voice barely above a whisper, the disbelief slowly settling in. Then, as if the pieces finally clicked together, realization dawned on him. "You're... quirkless, young man?!"

"Indeed, I am," Izuku confirmed without hesitation. In fact, the small smirk on his lips suggested he took a strange kind of pride in it, a revelation that left All Might even more taken aback.

"I was born and diagnosed as quirkless from a young age..." Izuku began, his tone shifting to one of reflection. "And I'd agonized over the very notion of my powerlessness."

All Might's eyes softened slightly, sensing the weight of the young man's admission.

"From that very moment on, I tried to find a way to gain power—to gain a quirk of my own," Izuku continued, his voice growing firmer. "And that led me to learning about Quirk Factor and understanding its biological components."

All Might's brows furrowed in curiosity as he listened, the shift in the conversation drawing him in further.

"But the more I dug into it," Izuku said, pausing briefly, "I learned that the manifestation of quirks and Quirk Factor wasn't just influenced by random, luck-based genetics... but in fact, it might have been shaped by something deeper—by the mind of humanity itself."

All Might blinked, the statement catching him off guard. "The mind... of humanity...?" he muttered under his breath.

"Let's take, for example, the first-ever quirk user—the Luminescent Baby from China! You know about them, right?" Izuku asked, his gaze sharp, waiting for the hero's acknowledgment.

All Might nodded slowly, still processing everything.

Izuku then continued, his voice almost whimsical, "Born glowing like a star, able to produce and emit light from their skin... easily controlling it like a light switch inside their head. Strange, isn't it?"

"But have you ever thought of the parents of the shining baby?" Izuku suddenly broke his train of thought, looking directly at All Might, who was starting to get absorbed by the story. "Completely normal—Quirkless, you could say."

All Might's expression darkened as he listened closely.

"According to research conducted by their government, both parents—and even their entire family lineage—had no indication of Quirk Factor influence. No genetic history that could explain such a power appearing in their descendant."

Izuku's tone became more serious, the air around them growing heavier. "And yet, the Luminescent Baby was born with the ability to produce light... as if it was the most natural thing for them."

All Might's frown deepened.

"So... 'how?' I naturally wondered. Of course, I couldn't leave it there. I researched further into the sudden quirk manifestation of the Luminescent Baby and found something... interesting."

All Might leaned forward, hanging on the younger man's every word.

"There was a footnote in their government's report about the parents. Both of them had a troubled relationship... they were only together because of the mother's pregnancy. They had confided that they hoped their child would 'be a beacon of light for their failing marriage.'"

Izuku paused dramatically, letting the words sink in.

"And then... a child was born who could produce light."

All Might's eyes widened slightly as he tried to wrap his mind around this new concept. His brow furrowed, but there was a sense of growing realization, like the pieces were slowly clicking into place.

"Are you saying that... our minds, our desires... can influence quirks?" he muttered, almost to himself.

Izuku nodded, his expression serious yet calm. "Exactly. That's what led me to an even deeper understanding. If quirks can manifest from our subconscious desires or even our deepest thoughts... then what's stopping us from manipulating that very force?"

All Might stayed silent, absorbing the information.

"Quirk Factors aren't just biological components anymore, not to me. They're something more—something shaped by imagination, thoughts, and desires. That's why I started calling it... the Imagination Factor."

He paused for a moment, letting the weight of his words settle... then a smile of amusement crept onto his face.

"Or, to keep it simple... I just called it Imagi Factor~," he added, the playful smile still lingering.

All Might was taken aback by how casually Izuku had said it—as if he wasn't aware he'd just revealed a scientific breakthrough that could change the world of quirk biology forever.

The implications of everything the high school boy in front of him had just shared were staggering... revolutionary, even.

But as he processed the young man's explanation... a darker, more unsettling thought began to creep in as he remembered one crucial detail that Izuku had told him before.

The young man was quirkless.

A sinking feeling weighed in All Might's chest.

"Young man..." he hesitated for a moment, his voice unsteady as he spoke, "...you were quirkless, right? How… how did you procure this Quirk Factor... if you had none of your own?"

Izuku didn't respond right away.

The air around them suddenly grew heavier.

Gone was the playful smile that had been on his face. Slowly, it turned serious, devoid of any amusement. His eyes darkened, carrying a weight that hadn't been there before.

A tense silence ensued between them.

All Might's own heart pounded in his chest as his anxiety grew. His gaze locked onto Izuku, the dread in his gut twisting tighter with each passing second.

And finally... Izuku broke the silence, his voice quiet but firm, matter-of-fact.

"Where else?" His eyes met All Might's, unblinking.

"I extracted it... from those with quirks."

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Author note (and shameless shilling as usual):

Here goes another chapter. I'm starting to get the hang of writing again after almost one month of hiatus. I'm likened to a machine that needs some time to heat up.

Anyway...

This is my 'fanfiction' theory for the 'fanfiction' power of my 'fanfiction' story. It's so-so and pretty much made up, though I hope that it made sense at the very least.

Check out my P@treon(dot)com/demongkingakuma

for more fun stuff and early access chapters for this fanfiction of mine.

Stay tuned for more~