Authors note:
Speaking: "…."
Thinking: '….'
________
Four hours earlier
Ban Pov
"That boy, there's no mistake, he has it. Those eyes... it's the Void Veil. But how? He was supposed to be dead," the winged man thought out loud as he paced around his office in circles, a hand on his chin indicating that he was deep in thought. He was interrupted by a knock on the door.
Looking at the door with a hint of annoyance, he said, "Come in," in a commanding tone. However, after 30 seconds passed without anyone entering, he grew angry and went to open the door himself. "I swear, Nexus, if you don't have a damn good reason for this, I'll torture you tonight." But when he opened the door and looked into the hallway outside, no one was there, not even the regular guards he had stationed.
"Where the hell are these morons? They better be dead or..." he muttered, but stopped mid-sentence when he heard the sound of a lighter being ignited behind him.
Turning around, he froze briefly. Sitting in his chair was another man, his hair spiky and somewhat messy, silver with a windswept appearance, and red eyes. He had earrings that looked like two metallic golden rods connected by a single golden pearl on each ear. He wore an all-black, long-sleeved coat with black gloves and a simple black shirt, paired with somewhat baggy grey jeans and black boots.
After lighting a cigarette and exhaling a puff of smoke, the man began, "Hello, Ban. It's been a while, almost eleven years, right?"
"You've got some nerve showing up here now. But with you being here, that boy makes a lot more sense, isn't that right, Theodore?" Ban said in a disgusted tone, walking toward the man sitting behind the desk, who was peacefully smoking his cigarette. Slamming his hand on the desk, he questioned angrily, "So, what do you want? You don't just show up after eleven years for old times' sake. This is about the boy, isn't it?"
Now having crossed his legs, the red-eyed man calmly replied, "Indeed it is. It seems your mind is as sharp as ever. Nevertheless, I'm here to warn you."
"Warn me? What are you babbling about? Warn me of what? That the kid'll defeat me? Sorry, but that won't happen!" Ban suggested jokingly.
"No, not the kid. But if you kill him, I'll be the one to end you. And that's a promise, not a threat. You flipped my life upside down once before; I won't tolerate it happening again. Do you understand, Ban?" Theodore said, standing up and looking at Ban with sharp, threatening eyes.
Reacting angrily, the winged man spread his wings and coldly stated, "You dare look down on me? You haven't changed one bit, you egotistical ass. I'll have you know that—aggghh... Ahhh... Air—"
Seemingly having teleported in front of him, the silver-haired man began choking and lifting Ban with one hand with little effort.
"I've told you: you kill the boy, I kill you. I'm more than capable of doing it, so don't overestimate your abilities. You've always been weak, both emotionally and physically," the silver-haired man threatened before throwing Ban towards the door. Turning away but looking back one last time, he calmly said, "Don't disgrace yourself even more than you already have. Just hand the girl over like a good criminal," before vanishing from the room as lightning struck in the background.
"That damned Theodore and his stupid talent. Oh, how much I want to kill that brat now that he's so fixated on him. But maybe there's another way, one that will be even better," Ban thought, beginning to snicker a bit before calling for Nexus.
__________________________
Asahi pov
present time 4 am
'What was that? I could swear I just felt an awakening. But how? There haven't been any aura users in centuries,' the Phoenix man thought while turning in his single bed. After a few more minutes, he stood up and walked outside to the balcony railing.
"Maybe the erosion is finally catching up to me," he whispered under the cold night wind. Looking up at the stars, he smiled briefly before going back inside to get himself a glass of water. On the way back, he looked into the boy's room and found it empty.
'Seems like they decided to stay in Aincrad for the night. I wish I could have gone with them,' he thought, balling his fist in regret. 'But nevertheless, what Inko said today was rather interesting. I might have to look into it a bit more. Hisashi Midoriya... what kind of person were you? A happy one, I hope.' After drinking his glass of water, he went back to his bed to sleep.
_____________________
Morning
8am
Waking up to the smell of breakfast, Asahi put on some baggy clothes and headed toward the kitchen, where Inko was already serving two hungry boys who were eagerly waiting for their food.
"Morning. Did you sleep well, Mr. Daigo? I heard you walking around the rooms last night," the green-haired woman questioned while placing a plate with her homemade Tamagoyaki (Japanese rolled omelet) on the table. Sitting down and taking the first bite, Asahi was once again reminded of Inko's incredible cooking skills.
"Well, yes, I just woke up during the night and went to get myself a glass of water. Oh, and also, we're not on the job site, so please just call me Asahi," he answered calmly while enjoying every bite of his breakfast. Then, looking across the table, he saw Izuku and Katsuki happily eating their food, but that wasn't what caught his attention.
'Hmm, there are traces of aura surrounding both of them. So it was them I felt awakening last night. What on earth were they doing, because they weren't in Aincrad? But the bigger question is how they even possess aura. Now that I think about it, both of them have had very faint traces ever since I met them, but they were so small I thought I was hallucinating. It seems Izuku's quirk might have even more mysteries than I imagined. I just have to see the inside now,' Asahi thought while still eating his breakfast normally.
"Anyway, boys, how was your little trip to Aincrad last night? I hope you didn't stay up too late," the green-eyed woman asked the kids before sitting down and starting to eat her own breakfast.
"Well, Kaachan certainly got busy with Kurenai yesterday," Izuku said teasingly, glancing sharply at his friend, who was furious at the comment.
"You shitty liar! I didn't do anything with her, she just dragged me to the hot springs to relax!" Katsuki yelled, slamming his fist on the table.
'Both of them are good at lying. They most definitely talked about this beforehand. But acting talent like this isn't surprising, considering their mindset,' the orange-eyed man thought before continuing the conversation.
"My, my, Katsuki, so young, yet you're already a lady killer," the Phoenix man said jokingly.
"Ah, young love! You must tell me more about this Kurenai girl. It'd be a great gossiping topic for me and Mitsuki," Inko stated with a kind smile, but then noticed Katsuki getting pissed and leaving for his room. After that, the breakfast continued normally until they were about to depart for the second day of the quirk exhibition.
Asahi was just about to lock the door to the room when he said, "Oh, it seems I've left my wallet inside. Inko, would you please take the boys to the car? I'll get my wallet and catch up with you."
"Of course, see you in a bit. Let's go, boys," Inko answered before walking off with the boys. After the elevator doors closed, Asahi went back inside, grabbed his wallet, but stopped shortly before the door.
"Elara," Asahi called out to the room, and suddenly, a woman appeared behind him, bowing with her hands clasped together in front of her.
The woman had long silver hair and light violet eyes, and was wearing a traditional dark maid uniform with silver embroidery.
"Yes, sir, how can I be of service to you?" the silver-haired woman said, not a shred of emotion in her voice.
"Gather the Aegis. We'll be holding a meeting tomorrow evening at the Phoenix Castle, and make sure everyone is there," the mostly white-haired man commanded politely, in a casual manner.
"It shall be done, sir. I'll prepare everything for the meeting," the woman said with the same emotionless voice as before, before disappearing just as quickly as she had appeared.
'This meeting will be the most interesting one in a long while,' Asahi thought before leaving the room and heading towards the others.
_______________________
The next day
"I'm really sorry, Izuku, but an old friend of mine invited me to dinner, and I really can't refuse. But I've set up everything for our departure tomorrow. We'll be going back home, and you know what? I even have time now to go to Aincrad with you and Katsuki," Asahi stated, starting in a calm manner but soon becoming more excited.
"Hell yeah! Then I can finally show you how awesome I am. When I'm done, you'll be praising me so much that you'll forget all about our school work," the blond boy responded with a grin on his face, his hand giving off small explosions.
"Oh yes, I'd be happy to join you. But I'll also be visiting that Kurenai girl I've heard so much about. I'm sure she's quite lovely," the Phoenix man retorted teasingly.
"Hey, Izuku, don't you dare let him in there, you got that?" the crimson-eyed boy threatened his best friend, looking a bit flustered.
"Well, I'll head off now. Bye, guys," Asahi said before closing the door behind him and walking towards the elevator, where a familiar silver-haired maid was waiting for him.
"I have completed all preparations, sir. Shall we depart?" Elara questioned the man while bowing respectfully, her eyes downcast and emotionless.
"Yes, please. Let's not waste any more time," the orange-eyed man answered before tapping the woman's shoulder and vanishing with her.
They reappeared in a modern medieval castle, inside a long corridor. Flickering his aura, Asahi changed his clothes into a robe of deep crimson and gold, adorned with feathers and intricate patterns symbolizing flames and renewal. His hair now shimmered with streaks of red and gold among the white, while white and golden aura shaped like flames left his body in the process.
"Have the others arrived yet?" the man questioned calmly, smiling lightly while continuing to walk down the corridor.
"Yes, I brought the last member just before I arrived at the elevator," the violet-eyed woman answered, following her master a step behind, her eyes closed in her usual emotionless manner.
Walking up to a huge double door, he smiled lightly before saying, "Then let's not keep them waiting, shall we?" Opening the door revealed a large circular room with a round table at the center, where seven people were already seated.
"It has been too long, my dear com—" but he wasn't able to finish because a dark purple slash in the air was shot at him mid-sentence.
"I swear to God, Ignathar, if you dragged us here again because of some unimportant quirk discovery you made, I'm going to murder you," a black-haired woman with violet eyes said in an annoyed tone.
Brushing the smoke away, Asahi stood there unharmed, his hands behind his back.
"I see you're as spirited as ever, Noctra," he said before taking a seat in the last free chair, putting his hands together on the table.
"But no, I've summoned you for a different reason today," he said, intending to continue, but was interrupted by a woman with snow-white hair tied into a single braid down her back.
"You'd better. Last time, we sat here and listened to you ramble on about some 'revolutionary power' that could be passed from person to person for seven hours," she said calmly, her hands under the table.
"Let's just hear him out, Eira. I'm sure he has something good this time around," a blue-haired man said nonchalantly, holding his head up with one hand and smiling slightly.
"Thank you, Nerion. But let's get back on topic. I've summoned you here to tell you that I recently sensed two aura awakenings and have confirmed their existence in two individuals," Asahi stated calmly.
"Awakenings, you say? Well, that is indeed interesting," a large silver-haired man with a grey beard said, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
"Yes, Thaldrin, it is. And while I have regrettably not been able to witness it in person, I do have hypotheses as to why only these two individuals suddenly appear to possess aura," the Phoenix man said, leaning into his hands.
"Maybe it wasn't so bad coming here after all. This looks like it'll be an interesting meeting, hmm hmm. Don't you think so too, Caelum?" an ash-blonde young man questioned another older man with dark gray, streaked with electric blue bolts, hair and mustache. A monocle rested over his right eye.
"Of course, Zephyr. I'm always a big fan of this sort of meeting, unlike someone who is currently a bit distracted. That means you, Ceres," the man hinted calmly at a woman with long wavy auburn hair and bright green eyes, who was intently focused on a flower in her hand before noticing and shifting her attention to the meeting.
"Please continue, Ignathar," she said in a happy tone, smiling brightly with her hands clasped in front of her chest.
"Well then, let us officially start this meeting," Asahi said, gently getting everyone in the right mood before beginning to explain.
______________________
Ban pov
The winged man was sitting in his office, looking over some documents when a knock came at the door.
"It's me, Master," came Nexus's voice from the other side.
"Come in," the silver-haired man instructed, watching as the door opened to reveal his faithful lieutenant. "Did you finish the inventory inspection I instructed you to do?" he asked, anticipation in his voice.
"I did, but the results may upset you," Nexus answered regretfully, bowing his head slightly.
"Oh? What piece of equipment did they take?" Ban asked, growing increasingly nervous.
"That's the thing, they took about 70% of our entire inventory, along with all the prototypes of the nanite gloves we developed..." the astronaut-man answered, bracing himself for his master's rage.
"WHAT? How the hell did they take that much? That's about seven rooms full of equipment! And how did they even manage to get past all the guards? Or are they so weak that they can't even guard a simple hidden base?" the man with sunglasses screamed angrily, standing up and kicking things around the room.
"Curse you, brat! I'll make you regret stealing from me, just you wait!" the winged man exclaimed in fury.