Work Text:
Prologue
(...)
I had never stopped to think about how I would die, although in recent months I had plenty of reasons to do so. However, not even in my worst nightmares could I have imagined a situation like this. I was on my knees in the middle of a room that stretched to infinity, an ethereal space where the floor, if it could be called that, seemed to be nothing more than a cloud without form or real substance. Despite the strangeness of the place, my gaze would have remained fixed on the ground were it not for the presence of the woman who was approaching me, with the calm confidence of someone who had been in this place a million times.
My clothes were soaked. The pajamas I used to wear at U.A. Academy clung to my skin, darkened by the blood oozing from two holes in my chest. The stain spread, dominating the characteristic green of the fabric. My trembling hands were also covered in my own blood. And, somehow, I knew it was all over.
The mysterious woman, whose blue and light blue eyes shone with an inhuman serenity, gave me a friendly smile. Her walk was carefree, as if this encounter were a mere formality, something routine. She stopped right in front of me, observing me with a hint of amusement in her expression.
"Welcome, Izuku Midoriya," she said, her soft voice resonating in the void.
I had no strength to respond, not even to get up. My entire body was anchored to the floor, if there really was a floor. I remained silent, trying to comprehend, but everything seemed surreal.
"You are officially dead," the woman continued bluntly. "Your soul has been manifested in this existential plane, outside of your world. And I... I am a cosmic entity, manifested in this physical form to guide you in what comes next."
Her statement hit me with the force of an absolute truth. My mind, accustomed to battles and physical challenges, struggled to process what I had just heard. I was dead. This strange place, with its cloud floor and infinite expanse, was a plane of existence beyond anything I had imagined.
I looked at my bloody hands, the phantom pain of the wounds in my chest reminding me that, indeed, there was no escape. And yet, something about the presence of that woman gave me a disquieting calm. I knew there was no turning back, but I also knew that, for some reason, I was in the hands of this entity that somehow seemed almost... familiar.
The woman, standing in front of me, kept her smile as her light blue eyes shone with an almost celestial intensity. The silence between us stretched for a few moments as my mind continued to struggle to assimilate what she had just told me. Finally, it was she who broke the silence, her voice resonating like a soft echo in the infinite void surrounding us.
"You can call me V," she said, her tone almost casual, as if we were in a mundane conversation. "Although, if you prefer, you could call me anything you want. In the end, names are just an illusion, aren't they?"
Strangely, there was a serene certainty in her, as if the concept of identity was as natural and simple as breathing to her. And yet, her presence was anything but trivial. I couldn't look away from her; her beauty was, for lack of a better word, almost superhuman. It was as if every physical detail that made up her face and body had been sculpted with a perfection that defied all logic. Her blonde hair fell in soft waves, with a tone that changed depending on the angle of the light, and her skin, of an ethereal, almost translucent paleness, seemed to let the same light pass through it that caressed it.
It was unsettling, in a strange way, to stand before someone who did not seem real, and yet to perceive every detail of her appearance with such intensity. There was something hypnotic in her eyes, a gleam that invited me to lose myself in them, although I knew that doing so would mean surrendering completely to her will. I forced myself to look away, feeling my thoughts begin to waver between what I had always believed about death and what I was now experiencing.
I, like many, grew up with the traditional conception of death: heaven and hell, a final judgment, souls judged by their actions. But this... this place and this figure before me were something entirely different. If this was the afterlife, it bore no resemblance to what I had imagined. There were no angels or demons, just an unreal calm and a woman who claimed to be a cosmic entity.
Indeed, it all seemed like a cruel game of the mind, and at the same time, I couldn't deny what I saw and felt. It was surreal, as if I were trapped in a dream from which I could not wake up. And the most disturbing thing of all was how calm I felt, as if a part of me had already accepted this strange reality.
"Why am I still... here?" I finally asked, my voice barely a whisper. I knew I was dead, or at least, that's what she had told me, but there was something more that didn't quite fit. I could still think, feel, ask questions. There was a spark of consciousness that persisted.
V tilted her head slightly, her smile softening as she looked at me with something that seemed like compassion... or maybe just contained amusement.
"You may wonder why, if you are officially dead, you are still conscious on this plane. It's simple, really." She paused, as if savoring the moment before delivering the revelation. "I need you, Izuku Midoriya. I have been here for eons, watching souls come and go. It's an endless cycle, and frankly, I'm bored."
A chill ran through my body at the casualness with which she said it, as if the fate of souls were nothing more than a passing entertainment for her.
"What do you want from me?" My voice trembled, but I forced myself to remain calm. After all, I had nothing left to lose.
V let out a soft laugh that resonated in the void, but it was not a cruel laugh, more... playful.
"I want you to entertain me, Izuku." She approached a bit more, her gaze now fixed on mine, as if she were waiting for me to understand something deeper. "I want you to be my champion. I need someone to break the monotony of my eternity, someone to play with. Not a hero, not a savior, just a playmate." Her voice took on a more serious tone at the end, though her lips maintained the smile.
I felt a pressure in my chest, different from the pain of the wounds. Was this what death was supposed to be? Becoming the toy of a cosmic entity, participating in some game I didn't even understand? Everything I had lived, everything I had fought for seemed irrelevant in the face of this new purpose she was proposing to me.
"A game..." I murmured, trying to understand.
"Oh, yes. A game, Izuku." V's eyes shone with an enthusiasm that deeply unsettled me. "And believe me, it will be anything but boring."
What followed was to look at her, confused and full of an anxiety that seemed to squeeze my chest more and more. V's words still echoed in my mind: "a game." But, what kind of game could there be after death?
However, V's next question caught me by surprise, her soft voice cutting through my thoughts like a knife, eliminating any doubt I might have initially had.
"Do you remember how you died?"
A shiver ran down my spine. The question resonated in my head, opening a wound I didn't even know existed. Until that moment, I hadn't stopped to think about the details, just about the fact that I was dead. But now, her words forced me to confront the truth. The truth I had been ignoring.
V raised a hand slowly, as if not wanting to disturb the air in this strange place, and with an almost delicate gesture, she pointed to the two holes in my chest. The blood kept flowing, although I no longer felt the pain. Only the emptiness.
"I know who you were in your world," she said, with an unsettling calm. "I know the life you led... and I also know that your death was nothing heroic."
Her words hit me like a slap. No, I didn't want to hear that. I didn't want to hear what I already knew deep down, but refused to accept. My breathing quickened, my heart—if I still had one—began to beat fiercely.
"You died in a dirty way, Izuku," she continued, her voice soft but relentless. "You were betrayed in the darkness while you slept in the dorms of your beloved Academy."
Images of that night began to surface in my mind, torn from the deepest corner where I had buried them. I saw myself, unsuspecting, confident. I thought we were safe, that after everything we had been through, at least we had that refuge. But no. It had been a lie. I had been betrayed.
My fists clenched involuntarily, my nails digging into my palms. The anger started to boil inside me like a pressure cooker about to explode. How did I not see it coming? How did I not notice? The memories became sharper: my classmates' screams, the confusion, the chaos. The edge of a blade piercing my skin, the searing sensation of my blood soaking the sheets. I had been naive. And that cost more than my life. It cost the lives of many.
Betrayal. The word echoed in my mind. Blurry and painful images began to sprout from the deepest corners of my memory: the night, the chaos, the betrayal of someone I trusted, the sharp pain that had pierced my chest. V was right. My death had not been glorious, nor honorable. I had not fallen fighting, defending others. I had been killed, in a vile way, by someone who knew every detail of my life.
The worst part is that I never got to recognize the identity of the person who betrayed me at the moment of my death. The only clue I got, when I opened my eyes slightly when I felt the first blow, was that he was wearing the male uniform of the Academy, which was getting stained with blood as he finally managed to kill me.
V, meanwhile, watched me with those bright eyes, as if she knew exactly what I was feeling. As if she enjoyed my pain, but not in a cruel way, rather... expectantly.
"That night," she continued, without taking her eyes off me, "the villains entered. They infiltrated the place you considered your home. And not only did you lose your life." She paused, her tone became more serious, sharper. "Many innocent souls fell that night, while you... while you, Izuku Midoriya, slept."
Her words pierced me like a dagger. It was true. I wasn't there to save anyone. I didn't fight. I didn't protect them. I was just... asleep. Asleep while everything I cared about was crumbling around me.
My hands trembled, not just with anger, but with helplessness. A helplessness that now dug into my chest like those open wounds. I wanted to scream, but the sound got stuck in my throat. I wanted to blame the villains, my classmates, anyone, but deep down, I also blamed myself.
And the anger... the anger only kept growing.
Eventually, the silence between us became unbearable. V's words still echoed in my mind, like a spiral of darkness that enveloped me more and more. The void in my chest, the bleeding wounds, and the fact that I was murdered in the night, in my own dorm, without having been able to do anything... It was as if everything was breaking into a thousand pieces.
"Izuku," V whispered, with a soft smile on her lips, her light blue eyes shining with an intensity that disturbed me. "Tell me something... what would you do if I told you that I can give you the opportunity to avenge yourself? To find out who took everything from you that night?"
Her question took me by surprise. The air in my lungs felt heavy, as if the void of this place were trying to devour me. Revenge... for my death? Despair coiled around my heart like a snake, squeezing with every beat. The rage I had felt earlier now took shape, transforming into a primal, visceral need. I didn't just want to know who it was, I didn't just want a name... I wanted blood. I wanted justice.
My mind was a whirlwind. I couldn't stop imagining it, feeling it. My body trembled, not from the cold, but from the fury that began to consume every cell. I wanted to scream, to hit, to destroy. Everything I had loved, everything I had protected, crumbled in an instant while I slept like a fool.
Desperation choked me, and in the midst of that whirlwind, there was only one question that needed an answer. I clung to the last spark of control I had left and looked up at her. My voice, broken, came out as a whisper full of contained rage:
"Who... who was it?"
V kept her smile, but before she could say anything else, her index finger gently rested on my lips, silencing my words. Her skin was cold, but the sensation of that contact burned more than any wound. Her proximity, her seductive voice, enveloped me in a way that made me feel vulnerable, too exposed. I tried to look away, to fight the magnetism that seemed to emanate from her, but it was impossible. There was something in that ethereal beauty, in those light blue eyes, that trapped me.
"Hush, Izuku," she murmured, her voice sliding like silk in the air. "The only way you could get your revenge..." She leaned a little closer, her lips dangerously close to mine, her breath caressing my skin, "is if you accept the game I have prepared for you."
I felt my heart race. Her closeness destabilized me, and even though my mind fought not to fall into her nets, every word she spoke made me sink deeper into that strange attraction. I knew she was playing with me, manipulating me, and yet... a part of me wanted to surrender. I wanted to give in to the desire to know, to the longing for revenge, to the promise she was offering. But there was something more in all of this. Her flirtation, her smile, the way her eyes shone... it was all part of her game.
I forced myself to stay firm, though I felt my control slipping away little by little. Her finger still brushed against my lips, and the warmth of her closeness made my mind blur.
"You are stronger than you think, Izuku," she continued, her tone so soft and persuasive it almost seemed like a caress. "But you need to be smarter. If you accept my offer, I'll give you what you want... I'll give you the identity of your killer, and the chance to make them pay for what they did to you. Isn't that what you really want?"
I couldn't deny it. I wanted it. I desired it with every fiber of my being. The image of the traitor, whoever it was, became a shadow that tormented me, a figure hiding deep in my mind. I wanted to tear it out, to find out who had betrayed me, and then... then I would do what was necessary.
But at the same time, I felt trapped by V, by her game. Her beauty was like a trap, a net that enveloped me, and no matter how much I fought, I couldn't escape. My thoughts became blurry, and my breathing quickened. I knew I was in danger, not from a physical threat, but from the inexplicable attraction I felt toward her.
"What do you say, Izuku?" she asked, her voice almost a whisper. "Will you play with me?"
I was on the verge of falling. I knew it. But the temptation of revenge, the need to know, was stronger than any resistance I could offer.
And the worst of all was that she knew it.
As the seconds passed, my breathing grew heavier, while my mind became a tangle of dark thoughts. I couldn't see beyond the promise she had placed before me, the possibility of avenging myself, of finding out who took everything from me. V looked at me with those bright eyes, expectant. Her smile seemed to challenge me, as if she knew the decision I was going to make was inevitable. And, despite the feeling of falling into a trap, of surrendering to an unknown fate, the words left my mouth before I could stop them.
"Yes," I said, barely recognizing my own voice, firmer than I actually felt. "I will play your game. But I need to know how it works and how I will get my revenge."
V smiled broadly, as if she had been waiting for exactly that answer. She took a step toward me, her finger still brushing my lips, before gently pulling it away. There was a gleam of satisfaction in her eyes, as if she had won a chess match I didn't know I was part of.
"Congratulations, Izuku," she replied in an almost coquettish tone, her voice caressing the air like a melody. "You have shown guts. Many others would have backed down, afraid of what they might face. But you..." Her smile widened. "You have accepted. And that pleases me."
I felt a strange tension between relief and distrust. I didn't know if she was really happy or if she simply enjoyed playing with my emotions, but it didn't matter. I had already taken the first step. I decided to stand up, shaking off the feeling of weakness I had been dragging along. My legs trembled, but I forced myself to remain firm. I could feel the weight of the void around me, but also a spark of determination igniting within me.
As I stood up, V did the same. Her movement was fluid, almost dance-like, as if she were floating rather than walking. She came closer still, and I noticed her expression change, becoming a little more serious, although the amusement never completely left her eyes.
"Oh, I have something else to tell you, Izuku," she said in a tone that bordered on casual, as if she were about to reveal a minor secret. "Your killer..." She paused, enjoying the tension she was causing in me. "Your killer is no longer in your world. They also died. But not for justice, rather for their own greed, consumed by what they gained by betraying you."
My eyes widened, and the surprise left me speechless for a moment. My killer... dead? Before I could process what that meant, V continued, with an air of nonchalance that put me on edge.
"And before you, Izuku, I already spoke with him," she added, her tone soft and dangerously charming. "And he is also going to participate in the game with you."
The rage surged through my throat like a wave, and I couldn't help but clench my hands into fists. A blind fury passed through me. The idea of being in a game with my killer made my stomach turn. I felt the blood boiling in my veins, and I was about to shout at her, but V, as if reading my mind, raised a hand to calm me.
"Calm down, Izuku," she said with a serene smile. "This will make the game much more interesting. I am giving you the opportunity to avenge yourself under the same circumstances and opportunities." Her eyes shone with a mischievous light, and her voice was soft, almost comforting. "Isn't that what you wanted?"
My heart was pounding, while anger and fury took hold of me. A game with my killer? Was that all she wanted? I bit my lip, trying to maintain composure, but the words escaped before I could stop them, harsher than I had planned.
"What is this damned game about?" I said, my voice laden with annoyance.
V laughed, a soft and musical laugh, as if my fury amused her.
"All in due time, Izuku," she replied, still with that smile that seemed to mock me. "The game is designed to test your wits, your will, your desire to live... and your desire for revenge." She paused, approaching a bit more, her warm breath brushing my cheek. "You only need to know one thing: to win, you will have to face your own fears... and your darkest desires."
I felt a lump form in my throat. I didn't know exactly what she meant, but every word she said made me feel like I was falling deeper and deeper into an abyss from which there would be no return.
"Prepare yourself, Izuku," she finally said, with a look that combined compassion and mockery. "Because this game will be more intense than you could ever imagine."
V's words floated in the air like an echo, resonating in my mind as I tried to understand everything she had just said. Before I could even formulate a response, she snapped her fingers, and a box appeared in my hands out of nowhere, as if materializing from the same void. I held it carefully, feeling its real and tangible weight. I looked down, and to my surprise, it was a game box.
An Otome game, to be exact. One I knew very well.
"Black Rose." I couldn't believe it. What kind of joke was this?
I had played it recently, at the urging of my friend Mina Ashido. She had convinced me with a mischievous smile, saying that I needed to distract myself and that this particular game was addictive. At first, I hadn't been very convinced. Me, playing an Otome? But after a few hours, I had been surprised at how immersed I was in that story, the intensity of the characters, the moral choices, the unexpected twists... And now, that same game, which I had played out of mere curiosity, was in my hands at a moment when nothing made sense.
I looked at the box closely, trying to absorb what was happening. The cover showed a young heroine surrounded by several male characters, each with an enigmatic look and a dark background. The title "Black Rose" was written in elegant letters, adorned with thorns that intertwined as if protecting a dark secret. I knew what it was about. In "Black Rose" the protagonist, a young woman from a small village, is drawn into a much greater conflict, a conflict involving warring kingdoms, family betrayals, and dark conspiracies.
The plot unfolds in a world torn apart by decades of conflict. The heroine, forced to assume a secret identity to survive, is taken to the epicenter of a struggle for power. She has several "capture targets," each of which represents not only a chance for love but also a risk. Some are princes of warring kingdoms, others treacherous mercenaries, and even one is the leader of an underground rebellion seeking to overthrow the aristocracy. All with their own secrets, desires, and traumas. Every decision made could lead to radically different endings: from finding true love to the tragic death of the protagonist amid a coup or at the hands of a treacherous lover.
It was a game full of dramatic twists, fragile alliances that broke at the slightest provocation, betrayals that tore the soul, and a war that forgave no one, not even the most innocent. I had played several endings, but I had never achieved what the game called the "legend ending," where the heroine becomes a mythical figure, a legend that changes the world's fate.
I looked at V, my expression incredulous. How did all this fit with what she had mentioned about revenge, about the game? My fingers trembled a bit as I held the box, and I couldn't help my voice showing some doubt.
"Why this game?" I asked, more confused than annoyed. "I don't understand how this has anything to do with what you proposed."
V smiled again, her expression playful and full of a mysterious air that made my hair stand on end. She took a step toward me, her eyes sparkling with malice, as if she enjoyed watching me try to piece together the puzzle she had placed before me.
"Oh, Izuku, dear," she said, her voice filled with a seductive sweetness. "Don't rush to conclusions. 'Black Rose' is not just a game... it is your destiny now." She leaned in a little closer, her tone low and tempting. "You and your killer will be thrown into that world. You will reincarnate in it, live in it... and you must survive in it. The goal? Claim the title of legend within that world. But here comes the real challenge..." Her smile broadened, mocking, coquettish. "Only one of you can achieve it. Only one will survive."
My heart raced again, pounding in my chest. The implications of her words hit like a cold wave. I... I would be thrown into the world of that game, along with my killer, and only one of us could emerge victorious. Only one could claim the legend and, with it, obtain my revenge.
"So... I'll have to live in this fictional world and face him?" I asked incredulously. "All this for a game?"
"Oh, Izuku, this is not just a game," V replied with a musical laugh, her expression a mirror of mischief. "It is a battle of wits, of will, of strength." Her eyes shone with an intensity that pierced through me. "And yes, there will be betrayals, difficult decisions, fragile alliances... but there will also be opportunities, moments when you can change your destiny or fall into the absolute darkness." Her words were like poisoned honey, filled with a dangerous allure. "As I told you recently, I am giving you an opportunity, a chance to avenge yourself, to get answers, to survive... but only if you play my game."
I felt my hands tighten around the box, while my mind swirled with conflicting emotions. This was a twist I never would have expected. But also... an opportunity I never thought I would have: to reincarnate in a world of betrayals, battles, and secrets, alongside the man who took my life, something that until recently would have seemed unimaginable to me.
Without warning, V leaned even closer, so close that I could feel her breath on my skin, her presence enveloping me once again.
"So, Izuku..." she whispered in an almost hypnotic tone. "Are you ready to play my game? To face your fears and your enemy, and become the legend that changes the course of this world?"
The answer, at this point, was more than obvious.
"Yes."
There was no turning back. I knew I was about to seal a fate from which there would be no return, but the need for revenge, for knowing the truth, was stronger than anything else. My hands trembled, not out of fear, but with a rage boiling just beneath the surface.
With this in mind, I turned to V, who was watching me with an expectant smile. I stepped closer to her, breathing deeply, trying to stay calm, although inside I felt a volcano about to erupt.
"Before I accept your game," I said, my voice firm, though I felt the tremor in every word, "I want to know something. I want to know the name of my killer. I want to know who betrayed me."
V's smile grew even wider, her lips curling with a mischief that only managed to ignite my anger more. She looked at me as if weighing the situation, as if enjoying the power she had over me at that moment.
"The name of your killer?" she repeated slowly, as if savoring each syllable. "Very well, Izuku. If that's what you wish..."
V took a step toward me, her tall and slender figure casting a shadow that lengthened on the ethereal floor of this unknown plane. Her face came closer to mine, and I could feel the brush of her breath, both cold and warm, like a midnight breeze that carried with it the echo of a forbidden secret.
Her lips barely moved, but her voice was like a whisper that cut through the silence between us.
"The one who betrayed you..." Her tone was soft, almost seductive, each word caressing the air with a malevolence disguised as sweetness, "was...."
Upon hearing the name, I felt as if a lightning bolt had struck my body. The surprise and disbelief mixed in a storm of emotions that hit me like a damn storm.
"No... It couldn't be..."
A scream got stuck in my throat, but I held it back, swallowing the anger that rose like an unstoppable tide. My hands clenched into fists so tightly that I felt my nails dig into the flesh of my palms. The pain brought me back, anchored me to the present moment. No, I couldn't lose control now.
But my heart was pounding, a dark and bitter fury swirling inside me. Every fiber of my being wanted to scream, to demand answers, to know why he, of all people, had decided to stab me in the back. The betrayal hurt more than the open wounds in my chest.
V took a step back, her smile even wider, as if she were enjoying every second of my reaction.
"Calm down, Izuku," she whispered with a softness that felt like a venomous caress. "There is time to scream, there is time to let it out... But that will come later. First, you must start the game at once. Or, if you prefer... you could give up and stay in this place forever, without answers, without being able to quench your long-desired revenge."
I gritted my teeth. No, I wasn't going to stay here, I wasn't going to let my killer get away so easily. That revelation burned in my chest like fire. I needed to avenge myself, I needed to know why he had done it, I needed him to pay for what he did to me. And I wasn't going to get it by staying in this damn limbo.
I raised my gaze to V, my breathing still ragged, but my voice came out firmer than I felt inside.
"As I said before, I will do it," I said with determination, though I felt the latent fury still pulsing in my veins. "Let's start right now."
V clapped softly, as if she had just witnessed a performance that delighted her.
"Excellent, Izuku," she replied with a mischievous sparkle in her eyes. "Let's seal it, then."
She extended her hand to me, an invitation to the abyss I couldn't refuse. My mind was still a chaos of emotions over what had happened, but I knew I had no choice. I had to enter that world, I had to face that bastard, I had to seek my revenge.
I took her hand firmly, squeezing it with all the pent-up rage inside me. V smiled, and I felt an electric current run through my arm, as if something ignited inside me, a spark that grew in intensity.
"This is just the beginning," V whispered, leaning in so only I could hear her, her voice soft as a summer breeze. "Get ready, Izuku. The game is about to begin."
The rage still burned inside me, but I forced myself to calm down. I took a deep breath, closed my eyes for a moment, and then opened them again, looking directly at her.
"Do it," I said, firmly, with a voice full of resolve.
V nodded with a smile of pure satisfaction and, in one swift motion, snapped her fingers. The world around us began to dissolve, transforming into a stream of lights and shadows that enveloped me, dragging me towards an uncertain fate.
The game had begun, and there was no turning back.