"Long, long ago… there were two brothers."
All For One's voice echoed through the frozen, silent bar—calm, steady, almost gentle.
"They were born during the earliest days of Quirks."
That era…
The Extraordinary Dawn.
A time when Quirks first appeared—
and society shattered under their weight.
People's bodies twisted, warped, mutated.
Some grew animal traits; some changed shape entirely.
Humanity's definition fractured.
Violence erupted between "normal-looking humans" and those altered by their Quirks.
At the same time, countless individuals awakened powers far exceeding the government's control.
Crime surged.
Quirkless people were hunted, mocked, and abused.
The law collapsed.
Power alone ruled.
"The world," AFO continued, "fell into pure chaos. Technology halted. Governments broke. Order died."
He lifted one hand, slowly.
"And the first man to unite everyone was the older brother."
The villain's lip curled.
"He is who you know as All For One."
『Give choice to the powerless.
Give forgiveness to the guilty.
And give everyone what they desire.
As long as you… help me.』
That was his creed.
With the ability to steal Quirks from one person and bestow them upon another, he rose quickly.
People worshipped him.
Governments bowed.
Japan was swallowed whole beneath his rule.
Thus began
The Dark Age.
"But the younger brother," AFO said softly, "had a strong sense of justice."
The younger brother was frail, small, and—
Quirkless.
His rebellion meant nothing in the face of his brother's overwhelming power.
Still, he stood against him.
『This world is in chaos.
Quirks shouldn't be used selfishly!
You only care about your own desires—』
—he shouted, even knowing he couldn't win.
AFO shook his head.
The story continued to unfold on the imaginary stage between them.
AFO had presented two people to his younger brother.
One was a man whose face had been disfigured by a Quirk mutation, treated as a monster by society.
The other was a Quirkless man, bullied relentlessly by those with power.
"Please!"
"Hurry—help me!"
Both begged desperately.
The younger brother tried to intervene—
—but collapsed, weak and powerless.
The older brother placed a hand on each head.
One Quirk stripped.
One Quirk bestowed.
The disfigured man wept with relief as his face returned to normal.
The Quirkless man trembled as new strength filled his body.
Both fell to their knees.
『Thank you, thank you—!
I'll follow you forever!』
"And just like that," AFO said, "my brother gained two more loyal followers."
The younger brother shouted in anger.
『You manipulate people's hearts!
You exploit their pain!
You turn them into tools!』
But he was held down, face pressed to the ground.
"A poor creature," AFO said softly, almost pityingly, "born without a Quirk."
『Without power, you cannot enforce your ideals.
But even so, you are still my foolish, adorable little brother.
My only family.』
Out of "kindness"…
AFO bestowed a Quirk on him.
A Quirk that could stockpile power.
And then, unexpectedly—
The younger brother discovered he had always possessed his own Quirk:
a Quirk that allowed him to give power to others.
A Quirk with no stealing capability.
Only transferring.
When combined with the stockpiling Quirk—
One For All was born.
OFA.
But in that era of darkness, the younger brother alone could not save anything.
He passed on OFA.
And that successor passed it on.
And so on—
Until eight generations later,
the Quirk reached Toshinori Yagi.
All Might.
The Symbol of Peace.
The one who defeated All For One and brought the Dark Age to an end—
even though he was fatally wounded in doing so.
"Thus began the Hero Era," AFO concluded.
Silence fell.
Then AFO spoke again, voice filled with conviction.
"You made me feel something, Mage Lock. A possibility I've not sensed since my dear brother."
He extended his hand.
"Join me. Become my successor. Together, we will erase this fragile Hero society—and plunge Japan back into the glorious darkness."
Lock finally understood.
The multiple elemental powers he displayed—
AFO had mistaken them for a Quirk similar to his own.
A body capable of holding many Quirks.
The rarest of existences.
The same type that created both
All For One
and
One For All.
Now he understood exactly why AFO wanted him.
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