Chapter 227: Are my emotions affecting the mini-self…?

--Saturday, May 30, 2172 Unfortunately for the woman, her exploration of the outside ended up attracting Kai. From the monster woman's perspective, Kai realized that she saw him as some kind of demon, and filled with hatred over her father's death, she wanted to destroy him as quickly as possible. So, she ran toward a pyramid not far from the central one. Inside the pyramid, Kai saw a tank similar to the spider's, but in this one, a male Drider was sleeping. The woman quickly woke him up using her strange ability. Unlike with the spider, the woman seemed very confident in front of this Drider—to the point that, when he woke up, she calmly created a blood orb and pressed it against his chest, making it disappear. Thanks to those memories, Kai also realized that the monstrous woman was aware of his movements at all times. Apparently, she could use something similar to his observation haki, but with a much greater range. Additionally, this ability manifested as ghostly images through which the woman could move. But besides that, Kai saw one more thing: the female Drider he had faced also came from a tank and had awakened on her own at the moment the male Drider died—surprising even the monster woman. Though startled by the female Drider’s awakening, the monster woman quickly created a blood orb and placed it on the Drider’s chest, then gave her commands through that strange screech. Moments later, Kai saw how the woman cried tears of blood while staring unblinkingly at the fight against the female Drider. At the same time, she ordered the electric spider to sacrifice itself to awaken an egg. She already had the plan to kill him in her mind, even though the fight with the female Drider was only halfway through. “That woman, though ignorant, was truly intelligent.” Seeing that the woman was responsible for every trap that had pushed him to the brink of death—and that she had improvised most of them on the spot—Kai couldn’t help but comment with a hint of admiration. Sage, recording everything she saw, nodded and replied in a serious tone. “Indeed, Master. It’s fortunate she never had access to the outside world or more information—otherwise, we wouldn’t have survived the first time we came here…” Kai could only nod in silence, wearing a serious expression. With her quirk and intelligence, that woman could have been a villain on the same level—or even worse—than the quirk-stealer. Because even though he wasn’t stronger than All Might in his prime, he wasn’t that far behind either—and he was much more versatile.  So if she had been able to push him to the edge of death so many times, All Might simply wouldn’t have stood a chance. She would’ve had him dancing in the palm of her hand like a toy before killing him. “So she was actually controlling the female Drider like a puppet...” Analyzing the images, Kai commented with realization. He could see ghostly webs extending from the woman’s fingers, connecting to the distant female Drider—something he hadn’t even seen with Gyo at the time. Sage nodded and spoke in an analytical, reflective tone. “Although it’s still unclear, that woman clearly knows things we couldn’t see in her memories. She has far too much control over her abilities, and the fear she has of the spider in the tank seems to go beyond instinctive terror.” “Well, we saw a lot of ‘fragmented memories.’ There could be important information we missed in there.” Kai replied in a calm voice. Sage nodded and asked in a thoughtful tone. “Could it be that the fragmented memory phenomenon is because she’s the owner of the quirk? Or is it something else?” “Seems like we won’t be able to find out.” Kai commented as he watched in the images how the woman’s plan succeeded, allowing the electric spider to teleport through the conditional spiders and pierce through his chest. But while a sadistic smile formed on the woman’s blood-stained, madness-stricken face as she witnessed his final moments against the spiders, he began to laugh like a madman. “Master… why did you laugh at that moment?”  Upon seeing that traumatic scene again, Sage couldn’t help but look at his master and ask in a low, heavy voice. Kai looked at his ghostly figure through the monster woman’s perspective with a deep gaze and replied. “I’m not entirely sure. At that moment, it just felt genuinely funny that my second death also came from trying to save someone. Even more so because I was trying to save someone who looked so much like the daughter of the woman I tried to save the first time. Also… looking back on my whole new life, I felt a strong sense of fulfillment—like I had surpassed my former self. “Now I have everything I ever dreamed of, and I’ve had a lot of fun. But more importantly, in that moment I realized that—unlike in my first life—I haven’t wasted a single moment of this one. I have practically no regrets. And realizing that made me truly happy. So much so that I could only laugh, even as I forgot I was about to die and lose it all.” “…” Sage listened in silence to her master’s words while imagining herself in his place. She knew everything about her master—his first life, his bitterness, his sorrows, his regrets, and even more, how painful his final moments had been. At the time of his death, more than pain, her master had been filled with frustration—frustration at losing everything just when things were finally starting to get better. But the worst part was that he couldn’t express it—not even shed a tear. In that moment, all he could think about was how to ease, even just a little, the trauma his death would cause to the only woman who had helped him. That woman who had pulled him out of the pit he was in and set him back on the right path. And the only thing he could think to do… was smile. That macabre, blood-soaked smile of Kai—Daniel, at that moment—was his way of trying to show Mrs. Eva how grateful he was to her, that he was at peace with the life he’d lived and with how it ended. All of it was meant to give Mrs. Eva an excuse to ease any guilt she might feel for his death, which had happened while protecting her. “You’re way too sentimental, Master…” After a few moments, Sage commented with a knot in her throat, which made Kai laugh, and shortly after he replie. “Haha, a little—and with ‘old age’ it only gets worse. I just get more twisted. That’s exactly why I could never be a hero.” “…” Sage remained silent, deeply moved by her master’s words. Meanwhile, in the monster woman’s memories, the sky turned black and a literal rain of lightning began to fall—a phenomenon that, up to that point, neither Kai nor Sage had been able to explain or replicate. But that scene caused the monster woman to stumble backward and fall to the ground, gasping for air. As he watched how incredibly terrified and frustrated she was by his existence and his power, Kai began to focus on his mini-self. The memories were about to end, and he didn’t want to become a monster like that woman. Even though that quirk was truly powerful—especially the part that allowed her to view memories—he was far from weak. Besides, his own “quirk” had infinite potential, and now that he had experienced the “magical” phenomenon, with a bit of luck, he might be able to create an ability to view memories himself. Therefore, if that quirk worked the way they believed it did and he was about to inherit it, he had to resist it somehow—and the best idea he could come up with was to use haki. He had already confirmed with Mirko that the “spirit” seemed to have the ability to resist other people’s abilities. When combined with what he knew about his own haki and his theory of “soul-spirit-body,” there was a good chance he could resist it. Additionally, since his near-death experience, his haki had grown much stronger, and strange things had started happening with it—like that mental image of the halberd. … Closing his eyes, Kai took a deep breath and emptied his mind completely, entering a sort of meditative state. Soon, the image of himself in lotus position appeared in his mind—the mini-self—but Kai quickly noticed a change. The mini-self’s smile had shifted; what was once a soft smile now seemed like an angry one. Remembering the rage he had felt when Sage started crying, Kai quickly came to a conclusion. (Are my emotions affecting the mini-self...?) Thinking about it, the smile on the mini-self had appeared after he laughed like a madman when he was on the brink of death. Perhaps the combination of his intense emotional state and being at death’s door had caused a fundamental change in the mini-self, which had led to the strange changes happening with his haki. (If that’s the case, then maybe I’m slowly ‘merging’ with the mini-self, and that’s the reason for the increase in power. Could it be that if I fully merge with the mini-self, I’ll become much stronger…?) Filled with more questions than answers, Kai focused entirely on the mini-self, wanting to influence it somehow. This was something he had tried to do ever since he first discovered it a decade ago. But unlike all those previous attempts, this time he began to feel a kind of connection with the mini-self—one that grew stronger with every passing second. Along with the strange sensation, Kai began to feel something unusual. His observation haki, which had been inactive since he entered the dark space, started to return to him little by little. Through his haki, Kai could vaguely sense his surroundings in the “real world.”  This allowed him to realize that, even though he had seen who-knows-how-many years' worth of the monster woman’s memories, only a few moments had passed outside. But in those few moments, things had changed significantly. Vaguely, Kai could feel that the voices of Chatora and the others were fluctuating violently while also weakening. However, one strange thing he noticed was that the fluctuation in All Might’s voice was fading at an accelerated rate—almost as if it were being “extinguished” somehow. (Is One for All disappearing completely?) Kai quickly arrived at a hypothesis about what was happening in the “outside” world. But at that moment, Mirko’s voice seemed to take a heavy hit and was mostly “silenced”—something that soon happened to Chatora’s voice as well. Imagining what had just occurred, Kai was filled with rage and fear—emotions that were immediately reflected in the mini-self’s expression and in his aura, which began to violently “boil.” In that instant, the mini-self's eyes snapped open. … … … With his hand over his chest, Chatora looked up at Kai, suspended in the air and held in the arms of the monstrous woman. Worry, fear, and rage completely overtook him. Kai was far from perfect—at times, he even seemed more like a villain than a hero. But that boy was the child he had helped raise with his own hands, someone he loved like a son. And he would rather die a thousand times than let anyone hurt his kid. “AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!” Activating his [Vital Reactor] at full power, Chatora screamed with all his might, his bloodshot eyes locked on Kai’s figure. Using every ounce of his strength, Chatora launched himself toward Kai, pulling his right arm back and hardening it, pushing the ability of his Accomplice—who was running behind him—to its limit. At that moment, the humanoid insect appeared in front of him, and without a moment’s hesitation, Chatora retracted his extended arm. Using everything he had, he unleashed the most powerful blow he was capable of, shouting so hard that his vocal cords nearly tore apart. “Iron Recoil!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” As he threw his punch at the humanoid insect, Chatora felt something click deep within himself—and suddenly, his strength, speed, and durability surged, filling him with the confidence that he could save Kai.  But as if to shatter that foolish hope, the insect humanoid threw a punch of its own that collided head-on with his, creating a shockwave so powerful it blew everything around them away as lightning streaked through the air. Even with his strength enhanced, Chatora couldn’t withstand the power of the humanoid insect and was sent crashing toward the ground, the armor on his fist shattered. Though the damage was serious, his arm—despite the pain—was still fully functional, all thanks to the Accomplice, who had activated an electric shield just in time. But pain was the last thing on Chatora’s mind. He could only grit his teeth, filled with rage and helplessness, as he slammed into the ground, creating a massive crater. And just at that moment, the heroic voice of All Might echoed throughout the cave. “Detroit Smash!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” With apocalyptic force, All Might—who had suddenly appeared beside the humanoid insect—unleashed a powerful blow straight into its spider-like face. The punch triggered a violent shockwave that blasted out in all directions, sending everything flying, carving deep cracks into the cave walls, and making the entire cavern tremble. The full-force blow from All Might managed to send the humanoid insect crashing to the ground. At the same time, Mirko, using every ounce of strength in her legs—to the point that they swelled disproportionately—launched herself toward Kai, shattering the ground beneath her. The once predatory and crazed smile on her face now seemed filled with anxiety and urgency. As Mirko tore through the air, breaking the sound barrier, her teeth clenched from the discomfort in her sensitive ears, the rabbit hero suddenly saw, with disbelief, a blurry figure appear at the edge of her vision. Before she could even begin to process what was happening, Mirko was sent hurtling toward the ground at even greater speed, creating a brutal explosion upon impact. ... While attacking the surrounding spiders, Kamui Woods felt the ground shake violently, prompting him to look toward the source of the noise—only to see All Might falling to the ground, surrounded by a thick trail of smoke. Meanwhile, the humanoid insect, who was walking toward him with measured steps, suddenly extended its hand and caught a thin band flying toward it at the speed of sound. In an instant, Edgeshot returned to his original form, a thick thread of blood dripping from the corner of his mouth as he was firmly held by the neck in the insect’s grasp. Upon witnessing that scene, Kamui Woods knew his end had come. He took a deep breath, then screamed with all his strength as he plunged his arms into the ground. A true hero had to fight until the very end. “Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!” As branches shot from his arms and burst out of the ground in all directions, converging toward the humanoid insect, Kamui Woods saw Tiger’s brown panther appear beside him in a protective stance. Meanwhile, the 'cat hero' launched himself toward the man in the black armor, breaking the sound barrier with both arms extended behind him. Almost instantly, the humanoid insect blurred and reappeared in front of Chatora, kicking him in the chest. But the insect’s leg was blocked—five hexagonal electric light shields now covered the hero’s chest. At the same time, Chatora pulled back his arms at an impossible speed, then struck the insect’s chest with both palms. Because of the brutal shockwave, the humanoid insect was pushed backward—at that moment, Chatora spun on himself while extending his right arm, then retracted it quickly and delivered an open-palm strike, triggering a shockwave that launched himself toward the man in the black armor. Upon seeing all of that, Kamui Woods widened his eyes, filled with shock at the hero's skill—but before he could feel any relief, he saw the unconscious Edgeshot appear in front of Chatora. Almost in a panic, Chatora opened his arms to catch Edgeshot, but at that moment, he felt a sharp impact in his abdomen, prompting him to look down. There, Chatora saw a wooden spear that had completely pierced through his stomach. Blood began to pour from the wound, staining his armor. Seeing his condition, Chatora could only offer a bitter smile, then looked up at Kai in the sky with a sense of resignation and helplessness. Even after giving everything he had—and more—he hadn’t been able to save the one he loved like a son. On the ground, All Might watched as Chatora was impaled, his expression full of rage, surrounded by a trail of smoke. The last embers of One for All within him had practically faded; after that day, he might never be able to use that overwhelming power again—the power that made him the strongest. He would become just an ordinary man without a quirk. But even as his powers were disappearing, All Might, exhausted and with his arms covered in blood, took a step forward, gathering all his willpower for a single blow. A blow in which he would sacrifice everything to force open a door to everyone’s survival. He was the Symbol of Peace, and he would save the day—even if it was the last thing he ever did. “United Sta—” Using the last of his strength, All Might leapt toward the humanoid insect, shouting the beginning of his attack. But at that moment, an overwhelming pressure filled the air, and lightning so dark it seemed to absorb all light surged through the space—stopping him dead in his tracks.  Feeling as if a mountain had come crashing down on his shoulders, All Might looked toward the humanoid insect, who had begun to tremble in fear, staring up at the sky. Looking up at the sky, All Might saw Kai surrounded by absurdly thick arcs of electricity, and along with his black Kitsune helmet, he looked like a Demon King descending to earth, capable of commanding the very weather. But even more terrifying than Kai’s appearance was the inexplicable sense of reverence and fear that arose from the depths of All Might’s being. He felt as though he were witnessing something that went beyond what could be called 'human'. *** You can support me on /lordanl and get up to 11 advanced chapters.