𝗥𝗜𝗦𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗧𝗜𝗗𝗘𝗦 ⌈𝐈⌔𝐌 ✗ 𝔽!𝑹𝑬𝑨𝑫𝑬𝑹⌋

Chapter 124

CHAPTER 124: Return from the Edge

The pressure hit you again.

A deep, low thrumming — not sound, not wind, not anything you had a name for — but it pulsed through your chest like a second heartbeat that didn’t belong to you.

Your breath stuttered.

You knew this wasn’t the storm.
This wasn’t the decay.
This wasn’t you.

This was inside Izuku.

The spiraling columns of water tightened at your command, pulling inward, forming a protective ring around him. Each rotation made your arms shake, your vision blur at the edges, but you refused to loosen your grip.

Lightning cracked above you — a jagged tear across the sky — and for a moment the whole battlefield was illuminated in blinding white.

You saw him.

Izuku, still unmoving, eyes unfocused, staring into something you couldn’t see.

“Come on,” you breathed, stepping closer, fingertips trembling from the strain of your quirk. “Izuku, come back to me. I’m right here.”

The decay clawed up from the ground again — a violent surge of eroding black — and slammed into your spirals.

The impact nearly knocked you to your knees.

A scream ripped from your throat as the spirals wavered, stretching thin under the force. Water hissed where it touched the decay, steam blasting upward like a volcanic burst.

But the spirals held.

Just barely.

You ground your teeth, forcing your legs to lock in place. “You’re not breaking through,” you growled. “You don’t get to take him again.”

The pressure inside the spirals surged — stronger this time — like Izuku’s spirit itself was spiraling deeper, slipping away through your fingers.

You took another step.
Then another.

Until you were right in front of him.

His lightning flickered, weak but there. Sparks danced across his arms like tiny dying stars.

You lifted your hand, placing your palm against his cheek. Your fingers felt cold compared to the heat radiating from him.

“Hey.” Your voice cracked. “Look at me. Please.”

Nothing.

Only that pressure — that terrifying, pulsing force — as if the world inside him was collapsing.

You swallowed hard.
You didn’t know what was happening in there.
You didn’t know what he was seeing, what he was fighting, what was breaking him from the inside out.

But you knew one thing for certain:

He wasn’t facing it alone.

“You don’t get to disappear,” you whispered fiercely. “Not like this. Not today. Not while I’m still breathing.”

Another surge of decay exploded outward, stronger than any before. The ground split beneath your feet — a jagged line racing toward you like a living thing.

You thrust your free hand down, water erupting from the soaked earth, forming a barrier. It clashed with the decay in a violent burst that sent shockwaves crawling up your spine.

Your vision blurred — just for a second — but you didn’t look away from him.

Your thumb brushed his cheek. “Izuku… I’m here. Follow my voice, okay? Just… follow me.”