Undying Light (MHA x Dark Souls)

Chapter 2 - Hollow

"Izuku?"

As she stood at the edge of the clearing, her dead son sitting down in front of the bonfire, Inko was at a loss for words. She saw her son die: she was right there when his heart gave out. He was dead, there were no two ways about it, and yet he was right there, his face gaunt and wrinkled, with blackened eyes.

As Inko simply stood there beginning to sob, Izuku stood up. He walked over to her and hugged her tightly: she must have been swallowed by an indescribable grief while he was dead. How long was she alone with her tears...

"I-izu-ku-u...." Inko muttered through her cries. "H...h-ow are you..."

"I... I don't know. But I'm back, and I'm not leaving again, mom. I'm gonna be here..."

As Izuku tried to comfort his mother, he noticed something strange: he couldn't really feel much. And not just physically: it's as if all aspects of him had been dulled, leaving only a shell behind, nearly incapable of the emotions he was before.

He felt hollow.

Izuku's POV

I'm honestly not sure what to say... I'm dead, I shouldn't be here. What she must be feeling now... she needs comfort.

Why don't I feel sad?

"... are you alright?" Probably a stupid thing to say. Of course she isn't.

"N-no! I'm definitely not alright! You died! I was right there! How are you here!? I... I'm having a nightmare, that's the only way..."

"No... I died, and then I woke up at the bonfire... wait... what happened when I died? Something had to have happened, right? People don't just... come back."

A teary-eyed Inko tried to pull herself together enough to tell the story, as Izuku attentively listened. He was as confused as she was, and he wanted some answers.

"Well... when you... died... you started... glowing? That's the best way I can describe it... you started glowing a bright white light, and then you just faded away, completely gone... but there was something weird..."

"What do you mean?"

"That fiery ring, the one on your chest... it burned through your shirt when you faded away, and left a black mark on the hospital bed. Do... do you know something about that?"

Wait... the ring flared up? It burned more than ever before, and then I faded away, and then woke up at...

"The bonfire..."

"What?

"The bonfire. Wait, have I not told you about the bonfire? I thought I did-"

She cut me off.

"You did, you showed me it a few times. What does the bonfire have to do with you coming back to life?"

I recounted the entire story to her.

"Well, the day before we went to the doctor to find out my quirk, or lack of one, I found a little wisp of flame away from the fire, and when I touched it... I still don't know what I saw. It looked like I was shown the story of another world. After the vision went away, the ring was on my chest, and it's been there ever since. I guess it revives me when I die or something."

She stared at my black eyes for a few seconds, taking the story in.

"Wow... But, you come back looking like this. And you don't seem to be... As expressive as you usually are."

"Yeah, it's... Weird. I don't think I can feel emotions as much anymore. Actually, all feeling has been filled, even touch. I could probably stab myself in the arm and only feel a bit of stinging right now. Not that I would, of course."

"Oh... That's... Going to take a bit to get used to... I'm gonna miss your eccentricity-"

The fire behind them flared up. They both turned and stared at the bonfire, now burning brighter than they had ever seen before. As Izuku stared into the raging flame, now several feet taller than him, he noticed a strange shape.

"Hey mom... Do you see that? In the fire?"

"What? What are you..."

She squinted and stared into the flame.

"What... Is that?"

Izuku walked forward. He stood in front of the flame and stared downwards, and crouched down to see the thing in the fire more clearly.

"It looks like... A helmet?"

He reached his hands into the flame, and grabbed ahold of the helmet. He began to pull it out, and despite the weight, he felt no difficulty in pulling it towards him.

As he pulled the helmet out of the flame, he realized that it wasn't just a helmet: it was a full suit of armor, similar to that of a knight from the middle ages, with a sword and shield of the same style in each of the gauntlets, all emanating that same warmth that the bonfire did.

It was the exact same armor the knight in his vision from before was wearing.

"Woah... Izuku, where did this come from?"

"I-I have no idea. It was just... In the flame. I don't think it was there before... I spent hours just staring into the flame before you got here, and never once did I see the armor."

As he looked over the armor set, be noticed that one of the little pouches on the waist was open. He reached inside and pulled out a small bag. When he opened it, he found only 3 things.

A dull green jar, a note, and a little black sprite, floating just above the cloth. Izuku picked up the note, and read:

"To whoever this reaches, the flame has gone out in my world, and has rekindled in yours. You know its power, and what you will do with it is all up to you. Take these gifts from a dead world, and make sure yours doesn't follow the same path.

The green jar is an Estus Flask. It can capture the essence of the bonfire, and convert it to a liquid that can heal the wounds of an undead upon drinking it.

The weapons and armor are those of a legendary hero from ages past, the first to rekindle the flame by sacrificing their soul. An old friend of mine, they were. They are long gone, but their legacy will be carried on in a new world with you.

And the sprite is a humanity: the very essence of the human. Crush it in your hands to restore your own humanity, returning you to who you were before you died and reversing hollowing to an extent. It can also be used to rekindle a lesser bonfire if it ever goes out.

May these gifts help you on your journey, my friend, and may you never lose your mind to the darksign and go hollow. Praise the sun."

And that's the next chapter done. Changed how Izuku got his armor and how Inko found out about him being an undead, but overall it's basically the same. Izuku's gonna restore his humanity, and he's gonna wreck the villains' shit!

Praise the sun \[T]/