Ashes to Ashes, Power to Power: Chapter 1.3

"Just believe in yourself and you too can become a Hero!" The wise words of the top hero of our country echoed in my mind as I stood near the edge, gritting my teeth before taking a deep breath as I carefully climbed over the railing.

Looking to where the heroes stood, I saw Mt. Lady looking down at me and her eyes widened as I made a gesture to keep quiet, slowly and quietly dropping down to the second floor and not too far from where the Slime Villain was cackling at the top of his lungs.

"Ehihihihihi! Come on heroes!! Come and save the day!" I took a slow and deep breath before exhaling softly as I readied myself, swaying two times before I grunted and leapt from the second floor with a roar.

"What the-!" The Slime sounded surprised to hear me as he spun around, but it was too late as I swung my arm down and chopped his tentacle arms off of the kid.

"Go!" I growled as I grabbed the kid by his collar before throwing him away, turning around and ducking just in time as a tentacle missed taking my head off.

Reaching up and grabbing the outstretched tentacle right as the Slime went to pull it back, he looked surprised before a pained scream escaped his lips when I punched my stone arm through his eye.

I was just as horrified as I pulled my arm back, gagging at the eyeball still attached to my wrist before I gagged as a tentacle came around and crashed into my side.

My entire left side felt as if it was on fire as I felt my legs leaving the ground, but I surprised myself as I grabbed the tentacle in a tight grip with my left arm while grabbing onto his remaining eye with my right stone arm.

"Let go!" He screamed as he swung and flailed his body, but I did not let up for even a single moment as I grabbed tightly before my eyes widened as the stone around my arm cracked and shattered.

'...Well, fu-!' My thought process was cut off by a sense of weightless enveloping me and I gagged as tendrils wrapped around my neck, the smoke in the air not helping as my vision began to blur.

'F-Fuck! K-Keep fighting!' I could hear some of the heroes shouting in the background and tried to swing a leg at him, but it took all of my energy to stay awake as I felt a piercing pain in my chest, the tentacles around my neck going away to reveal one of its tentacles holding a jagged piece of stone stabbed through my chest..

"Fuck you." The last thing I heard was the Slime's final whispered words and the sound of the air whistling before I took my final breath and everything went black.

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The moment I awoke, I felt nothing but a sense of eerie dread as I stood in pitch-black darkness, the only thing visible to my sight being my naked body.

'I...I actually died.' The thought itself sounded ludicrous to even myself, but as the memory of my death replayed over and over in my mind, I couldn't help the regretful sigh that escaped my lips as I slowly sat down.

'And just when I got my Quirk too. Shit...Shit..."

"Fuck!" I should have cared for the fact that my voice echoed the moment I shouted, but I didn't want to care for anything right now as I held the back of my head with gritted teeth.

"First, I lose my job. Then, I lose my apartment in that explosion and now...now I'm fucking dead. If this is the afterlife...is this what you had planned for me?! Is this what you fuckers all wanted from me?!" I shouted as I stood up, glaring out at the void and at whatever damn divine being was looking at me.

I didn't expect an answer, but I would be lying if I said I didn't feel a flash of fear when the void rumbled, something in the air rumbling and shifting as if some ancient primordial being was speaking to me.

The next, my eyes widened as a bright flash of light appeared in front of me, the light shimmering and floating in front of me before my eyes widened as I heard it speak.

"Did you die too?" It asked and I blinked before slowly nodding despite the shock rippling through my form.

"Y-Yeah. D-Did...did you?"

"Yep, and that's why I'm here. I'm about to take over your body, but I couldn't just do that so I came to ask if you want to come with."

"Is...is this some sick joke? Some last minute prank from the gods before I get cast off to hell?" I asked with a frown and the spirit hummed before it shimmered.

"I understand the doubt, but no, it is not. I was given a chance to live a second life in another reality and while I could just take over your body, it would be the equivalent of a baby in an adult's body. Therefore, would you care to join me in this endeavour?"

"What will happen? I'm...I'm guessing two souls can't exist in one body, right?" I don't even know why I was even entertaining the thought of the spirit talking to me, but the more we spoke, the more my mind just decided to take a vacation and let my instinct take over.

"You are right. We will become one. I will still be there, but parts of your personality will meld with my own and all of your memories will become mine."

"So, I'll still be dead, but alive in memory?" I asked, just feeling exhausted as the spirit hummed before it sighed.

"Listen, I would rather have just taken the spot, but I couldn't just take over and let your memory fade away. So, if you still want to join me, all you need to do is touch my light-!" Pain flared throughout my very being as I thrust my hand into the light, surprised to feel the spirit's shock before I chuckled as I saw it moulding into a perfect copy of me.

"Just like that?" It asked and I chuckled as I reached forward with my other hand and placed it on the spirit's shoulder.

"Just like that. I just want you to do one thing for me. ...Take care of Mom. She may be annoying sometimes, but she's the only one looking out for us right now."

"...Hahahaha~!! Very well. Know that she's in good hands, Kevin."

"Thank you, Eric." The spirit's name rolled off my tongue and he smiled before I closed my eyes, feeling my consciousness fading away as I got enveloped by a warm light.

'Good luck, Kevin.'

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A warm sensation flushed over my body as I felt my consciousness returning, wincing at the lack of the eerie cold from the void before I became aware of everything around me.

I could feel the hard ground beneath me, the fading ache in my chest and the faint, muffled sound of people shouting in the distance as I slowly sat up.

A soft groan escaped my lips as I forced my eyes open, wincing at the bright light and the pain that flared with every breath even as I looked up at the sky.

'I'm...I'm alive...' Struggling to push myself up, my eyes widened and I turned to the side right as I gagged, throwing up spittle and some sticky slime before steadying my trembling hands as I wiped away the residue on my mouth.

I could still feel the lingering ache from the wound that killed me, but as I looked down at my chest, I found myself greeted by freshly healed skin of a faint pink colour as well as the ripped shirt I was wearing.

"H-Hey! The guy's awake!" I blinked as I heard a voice shouting while standing up, turning and being surprised by the sight of Kamui Woods rushing over while extending out wooden tendrils that caught me as I fell forward.

"Urgh~T-Thanks." My voice sounded hoarse and rough, thankful for Kamui Woods shifting me around and letting me lie on my back as he slowly carried me away from the flames that Backdraft was putting out.

"No problem. I have to say, though. We thought you were...you know?"

"Dead? It will take more than that to kill me?" Despite the fact that I was talking to what was once a fictional character from a manga series I read in a language I did not know the slightest thing of a few seconds ago, it felt natural as I watched Kamui give an amused chuckle.

"I suppose it is?"

"The kid...is he safe?" I asked, referring to the menace to society that I had saved and watched as Kamui smiled while softly placing me on one of those gurney things ambulances use.

"See for yourself." He said as he nodded to the side and I turned my head to see Bakugo being spoken to by a guy with big forearms and another hero in some kind of blue bodysuit, his eyes wide as he looked at me before I smirked as he huffed and looked away.

"You are safe now, young man!" The sheer charisma and power radiating from that voice left me in awe as I watched the muscular behemoth known as the Symbol of Peace standing besides my gurney.

"T-Thanks."

"Hahaha! It is I who should thank you. Thanks to your bravery, I was able to get here in time to save you and the boy. I regret that I took so long and nearly cost you your life, but I along with every hero here am proud to congratulate you for the good work you did."

"Just don't do it again." Kamui Woods chimed in and I chuckled as All Might, giving a soft smile while shaking my head.

"No need to worry about that, man. I'm fine with just the one heroic act under my name." I spoke with a grin and All Might chuckled as he nodded, patting my shoulder with a soft yet firm hand before continuing on to address the press.

"You think you can make it home on your own?"

'Considering my home is a pile of rubble, I think I'll be fine.'

"Yeah, I think I can." I spoke and he nodded before I watched as he swung himself into the air, in awe at his skillful use of branches before turning to the EMT as he stopped in front of me.

"Do you feel any pain?" He asked and I ignored the fact that he had a third eye with a bullseye in its centre as I shook my head, to which he hummed as his third eye looked me over before nodding with a smile.

"Can't see anything with my X-Ray so you're good to go. Just take a few of these and you'll be okay by tomorrow."

"Pain meds?" I asked with a smirk and chuckled as he nodded, taking the bottle of four pills before climbing off of the gurney and taking a deep breath while he went to check up on the others.

"Just do one thing for me. Take care of Mom."

'One step at a time. I'll do my best to protect her, but first things first...' I thought as I turned to the rubble behind me before a slight frown spread across my face.

I need a new place to stay.

A/N: And so begins our quest story~!! For details of how it's going to work, check out the comment under the first chapter~!!

Anyway, Kevin and our SI are now one and we're on our way to become a hero to the people!!

As always, read, enjoy, review and until the next one...

Ba-Bye~!!