All Might stood tall and imposing, his voice heavy with a solemn tone, "Young Midoriya, my boy, to be a hero requires not just courage and determination but a Quirk that will enable you to save others. Without one, it's...it's just not possible."
Izuku's heart shattered into pieces at those words. The silence that followed was deafening, filled only with the echo of his shattered dreams. As All Might turned and jumped away, Izuku's mind replayed the cruel words of his childhood bully, Katsuki Bakugo: "Just pray that you'll be born with a quirk in your next life and take a swan dive off the roof of the building!
The weight of years of bullying, of being called "Quirkless," "useless," by his peers, and now the rejection by his idol, All Might, pushed Izuku to the edge-literally. With a heavy heart, he walked to the edge and jumped.
Before Izuku could end up a blood splatter on the ground, a sensation enveloped him, a shadow caught him, soft yet firm, halting his descent. Confused and startled, Izuku opened his eyes to see a shadowy figure shaped like an insect holding him.
"My Lord, there is no need to despair. You don't need a Quirk to become a hero when you have us," the shadowy figure, Beru, introduced himself.
Around them, more shadowy forms appeared, each one a monstrous, yet seemingly loyal servant.
"What...what are you?" Izuku managed to stammer, his heart racing with a mix of fear and awe.
"We are your army, my Lord. You are the reincarnation of the great Shadow Monarch, the one destined to command us," A knight explained with a tone of reverence.
Stunned, Izuku struggled to process the revelation. As he walked home, lost in thought about his newfound identity, he stumbled upon a commotion-an alleyway surrounded by news reporters and heroes, all focused on a horrifying scene. The sludge villain had captured Katsuki, his childhood bully, and was slowly consuming him. The heroes looked on helplessly, unable to intervene.
Without a second thought, Izuku's instincts took over. "Arrise," he commanded, directing his unseen shadow army towards the villain. The heroes and reporters noticed the sudden change but could not see the forces at work. The sludge villain recoiled and shrieked, assaulted by an invisible force, eventually releasing Katsuki.
As the villain was subdued and Katsuki rescued, Izuku remained in the shadows, realizing that he might not need a Quirk to be a hero. With the power of the Shadow Monarch and his army at his command, he could forge his own path to heroism, a path no one, not even All Might, could have anticipated.
