Chapter 1: The Black-Eyed Man

The first time he met the black eyed-man, it had nothing to do with his abilities or lack thereof. It had nothing to do with the boy's emotions or fears. It was mere coincidence he came during a moment when his life was in danger.

The black-eyed man only came to him for one reason.

"Izuku Midoriya, aren't you quite the interesting puzzle piece of history? I have an offer for you. …..You've always wanted powers since that day? I can give them to you. I…. am the Outsider and this….This is my mark."

Midoriya had concluded one thing as fact this day as he struggled against the green slime of the villain taking over his body, it was probably the second worst day of his life. Oh sure he was dying but he was worthless quirkless nerd, who would care if he went missing? Still it hurt bad, being choked out like this.

The villain was saying something but the greenette was too focused on not dying to really take in his words.

'Can't breath!' My body…getting…..weak…..'

The slime suddenly increased in its quantity and Midoriya thought for sure he was about to choke to death.

'Somebody…..help…'

The world went black.

"Hm, it's truly amazing what just the tiny minute differences of an area in a moment of time can do to a whole timeline."

Midoriya blinked in shock. His throat was no longer clogged and he could move freely. He still felt tired from the sudden altercation and fell backwards onto the ground. He shivered as he felt what could only be described as an endless cold. Then his brain finally registered the voice he just heard.

"What the…W-who's there?!" He shouted out confused. "Am i…"

"Dead? A valid question I suppose and in fact one that does not have a set in stone answer. Whether you live or die now, that's your choice." The sudden voice was….haunting yet alluring. It was masculine but young and yet so old at the same time. Midoriya blinked as he tried to decipher what the heck his statement meant. However when his eyes opened again…..

The greenette's jaw dropped. He could feel the stone of the tunnel he had been in previously beneath his feet but it felt….different and sure enough it was. The roof above was no longer there, it almost looked as if it had exploded outwards but was frozen in time as its chunks where still visible in the air.

What truly grabbed his attention though, and confirmed for sure this was not the same place he had been before. What should have been the bright blue sky and bustling commuters of Musutafu instead was an empty swirling void of nothing. Some floating grey rocks where visible in the distance as the only features in this empty place.

A swirl of black shards and shadows appeared in front of him where the slime villain would once be. Immediately the boy was on guard, not that he would be any match for most normal people, let alone a villain with what appeared to be a teleportation quirk.

From the shards emerged tall dark-haired man with a rough face. He wore an outfit not to different from the one Midoriya himself was in. the only differences being the materials they were made of and the fact that the size of the collar on the dark man was quite a bit higher.

None of that truly caught the smaller quirkless boy's attention like the most defining feature of the mysterious man did. His eyes. An endless inky darkness from which it seemed one could see reflected all that ever had been and all that ever could be. The forest haired teen was in the habit of committing all he could about those he met to memory to analyze but even had he not developed that habit he doubted he could forget the entity before him.

"Izuku Midoriya." It was the voice from before that left the man's mouth. "Man? Hmph, maybe once I was but not anymore."

"Wait you can hear my thoughts?!" The boy exclaimed in surprise and his eyes widened. Losing himself to his own wonder he ran to the man and started properly taking in the form, causing said man to actually step back a bit. "Is that your quirk?! But I would of thought It had to do with the way you teleported just now? Is that something else?! I've never seen any kind of quirk with such an odd combination of attributes and—"

The boy never finished his rant as a pair of black, almost smoke like tendrils clamped over his mouth, it wasn't like the violent way the slime villain had attacked him though. In a way, this was oddly pleasant, calming. "Hm. Contary to the belief of some long forgotten men, I am not a malevolent force. I have no desire to harm you, of course I would not replicate that oversized slime's methods. Admittedly, I should have foreseen your incessant ramblings being a sticking point if I allowed you speech. However, as none in this world remember me I suppose I can share with you more knowledge than I normally would to those who capture my interest."

"I am…..not your average person as you can already tell. I walk between the fissures of reality where the laws of physics are devised by mad men. I've seen world's freeze and creations burn. I was here long before existence began and will be long after it runs out. And yet, I will never have existed either."

Confusion. That was undoubtedly Midoriya's most prominent feeling right now.

"Hmph. Mortal minds. Annoyingly frail and incapable of higher understanding. How I long for that ignorance. You asked what my quirk is? Is that what you call the varied abilities this era of humans possess?"

The smaller boy nodded, as it was all he was capable of doing. Who was this guy and how did he not know what quirks where.

"Quirks….what a curious decision. Even without my humanity fully intact I admit I do enjoy how simply….human such a name for these abilities are. Tell me Izuku, are you in anyway religious. Any belief in some god? The tendrils will let go now, please, refrain from wasting time."

As the man….no, entity before him stared him down waiting for his answer, Midoriya mulled it over in his mind. Normally he would say he had no belief in a god or a lack of one but with the way this conversation was panning out, with how the taller person before him spoke and acted, not to mention the undeniable powers he had.

Midoriya was many things, unobservant was rarely one of them, he could see where this was going. He looked up to the taller of the two he seemed to have a habit of pacing around and occasionally teleporting back beside the greenette. "You're saying….you're a god!?"

"Thankfully you are quick on the uptake. I am The Outsider and this place is my home, the void. Of course, you're probably wondering why I have no worshippers if I am a god. I am not someone who likes to be involved normally. I do not delude myself to think that I am entirely unbiased as my humanity still remains but I do have duties to fulfill. Letting you all worship others lets me stay away until my intervention is necessary or in some cases, much like this, a soul calls out to me in a way I simply can't ignore."

Midoriya stared out into the distance as he experienced a violent and sudden paradigm shift. There was a god? He was uninvolved regularly? He knew he probably shouldn't believe it so easily but it wasn't like he hadn't already seen a fair bit of evidence already.

One burning question entered Izuku's mind.

"And that question is?" Now the smaller boy had had a chance to truly calm down he noticed the constant almost bored, sardonic tone of voice the apparent god used.

"M-make it two. Could you p-please stop listening to my thoughts, its…" The boy couldn't find the words but 'The Outsider' seemed to understand what was unsaid.

"Done."

"So. If you're uninvolved, why come to me? What about me could be necessary?" The boy asked confused. His confusion only grew when an actual scowl crossed the god's face.

"There is no necessity to my contacting you." He told the quirkless boy.

"Then why?"

"Sometimes my lack of involvement leaves me frustrated. I do not meddle much because it's not my place to do so. A strict set of rules I imposed on myself long ago. You believe you would only be contacted by necessity. I assume that is to do with those classmates I saw earlier?"

Midoriya was sure he misheard the slight change in tone the Outsider. It sounded oddly protective. But that was ludicrous, surely? Still he had asked a question. "Well, im just a powerless nerd. They've made sure I know that. Regardless, I want to be a hero but even I know how pathetic I-"

"Stop. I must admit that you feel this way frustrates me. I am not one normally to care about mortal affairs as I'm sure is quite clear but I have my past same as anyone and bullies are something I simply can't stand. That's all they are Midoriya. Their words are not worth heeding, especially that blonde excuse for a human. There is no such thing as being worthless. If you were worthless you would not exist."

Midoriya almost doubled over in shock from the statement. He had never been old otherwise about being worthless before. His mother certainly hadn't encouraged those thoughts but sometimes he felt like she believed them deep down. So for not just anyone, but an actual god to tell him otherwise…..he could feel the tears welling up.

"I would appreciate it if you didn't soak the floor of my home." It didn't take much for the god to go back to his uninterested tone apparently. "I've wasted far more time on this encounter than I normal do. Then again that's exactly why I'm here. You are an anomaly, Izuku Midoriya, your future is undecided. You can be anything depending on your choices. Despite this world having so many little quirks to it, you were born without any powers at all, correct?"

"Yes sir. It was…..not my happiest day." Midoriya said, looking out into the distance of the grey landscape. Such an odd place, he mused.

"No, i'm quite aware of your despair over that diagnosis. In fact, I'd imagine that if you had the ability to change that, you'd like to take it. How fortunate then that I am a god who could grant you said powers then, eh?"

Midoriya's head whipped around to the taller entity so fast that it almost made him worry he had snapped his neck for a moment. The god had an amused grin on his face, it didn't really suit him. Midoriya might have nightmares for weeks about that face but it was nice in a way.

"You don't mean….?"

"Oh I do. There's a catch but not as major as you might think. Your hand will be marked by a symbol of a dead language, my name. It's been so long since I could read it and for all my power, I am still restricted to be unable to read it. It can be irritable in unpredictable ways. It might hurt or itch. It varies. A slight discomfort and marking is the price for an indeterminate amount of powers. I simply can't tell you what they may be, they vary from person to person. Though I suspect you will inherit ones from those already marked. Think carefully about this, you do have a choice. Once it's made you cannot go back." The outsider then remembered to add on. "Oh, and it's worth noting, when I release you from the void you will be back in that slimy monstrosities grasp. Without the mark perhaps you can still cling to life just long enough for help to arrive. The mark can guarantee that survival, as I will allow it to boost your natural vitality, respiration. Standard enhancements. Normal I would leave it to you to obtain these powers but considering the circumstance, I'm willing to make an exception."

The boy spent a fair amount of time considering it. For his part, the Outsider didn't rush him, respecting the difficult of the choice, even if the answer would seem obvious first glance. "Are they the only ones for certain?"

"The only catches? Yes. Well at least the only ones that are dictated by the mark, there may be others but that all depends on how you use it."

"Then I accept." Midoriya said with what for him was an unnatural amount of conviction in his voice. "I'll take your mark, Mister Outsider."

The god laughed. Somehow it was both creepy and alluring at the same time. Certainly another thing about this place he wouldn't be forgetting soon. "Millennia since I began this life and never once in all that time. Mister Outsider, thanks for the laugh. It's a rarity for me. Now-"

In an instance, he was right in front of Midoriya, black eyes meet green.

"This is my mark."

The young boy felt himself cringe as his left hand suddenly flared with pain, he lifted it to see the mark forming on his back hand. Burning itself from the inside into existence. He hissed from the pain but it finished in an instance. It was an odd symbol to be sure but in a way it brought comfort to the boy when he looked at it.

"Now, it's time for you to return to the real world. It will be a while before your powers manifest. That is different from those before you but I need some time to prepare. This world is different, it operates on different rules as a result."

Midoriya started to feel an odd pressure in his head. What was happening?

"Oh. I do apologize for this next part. But It will be more interesting and perhaps also more in your interest if you do not remember this encounter for a while. You'll remember when the time is right. I will let you remember this excuse at least for those who pry into the mark. Simply a tattoo artist with a quirk designed for it, managed to accidentally mar you instead. I'll let you figure out the specifics of that excuse if you use it."

Finally the greenette passed out once again.