A/N:

Hello dear readers! It's time to start a new, incredible journey.

To the newcomers, I gladly welcome you and encourage to stick in. To the older folks... Yes, I know that CTW was a bust, but here's the difference. I have next to none experience with the criminal genre, but the fantasy one? It's my bread and butter.

Also, a big thank you to HolyKnight5 and Papon777, who are helping me with this story.

No cover, for now, seeing as I can really find a suitable image.

I hope that you enjoy it and see on the next page!

TOME I: THE CURIOUS BEGINNINGS

Chapter 1

"A throve from another world"

Izuku stuck his body as close to the wall as he could. Silently, step by step, he moved closer to the living room. Poking his head around the corner, he checked for the presence of his mom. Not seeing her on the couch, neither in the kitchen, he decided that another method was needed.

"M-mom? I'm ho-home." Izuku said slightly louder than usual.

Waiting a few moments, he didn't hear any response. Good. He didn't want her to see him in his current state and fret over it. Who was he kidding, even after fixing himself, mom would still do it.

Releasing a quiet sigh, Izuku dragged his little feet to the bathroom. Grabbing a stole and pushing it to the sink, he climbed up on it and looked in the mirror.

His whole face was littered in scrapes, his curly mess of hair was even messier than usual. And was that a twig there? His shirt didn't fare any better. Luckily, it was an old one, so it wasn't that big of a deal.

Opening a cabinet, he pulled out a medkit and searched for the supplies. Dampening a swab in the stingy water, he still couldn't pronounce that one correctly, he quickly washed his face, bitting back the hisses of discomfort. After making sure that every scrape was clean, he started applying the bandages.

Why did Kacchan hurt him again? Izuku couldn't wrap his head around it. Before his friend got his Quirk, they were so close, doing every little thing together. Pushing each other on the swing, sharing their lunch, exploring the nearby forest, getting excited about the heroes. Sure, the boy was a bit mean to him, actually everyone around him, but he didn't get physical. Was it because Izuku wasn't as fast as Kacchan? Not as strong? That he stuttered daily? Because he was quirkless?

Quikless... how he hated that word. Ever since the doctor told him that he didn't have power like everyone around him, people started to treat him so differently. Mom fretted more about him, kids were mean to him, teachers didn't really know what to do with him... He wasn't sick! He was just... He was just quirkless. And that meant that his road to becoming a hero was that much harder.

But he would do it. He set his sight at heroics and wouldn't settle down before he achieved his goal. To be a hero with a bright smile that made everyone safe. Just like All Might, the greatest hero there was.

Releasing a wistful sigh, he cleared the bathroom from the mess he did. What would he do now? Mom certainly would come soon, she must have left to grab something swiftly at the local store. He couldn't watch the debut video of All Might without her, and at that hour there wasn't any good kids' program on the TV. That meant only one thing was left... reading.

Izuku loved to read, it was one of his favourites past-times activities. As mom put it, he was positively infected with a passion for books from his dad. Not only it brought him joy, but also he could learn new words, so his Quirk Observations, would sound better. Actually, 'observation' wasn't the best word for it, he would need to change it in the future.

His dad had an enormous collection of books in the parents' room. Most of them were stocked in the boxes in the closet, but there were still some on the bookshelf. Of course, he couldn't read all of them. His mom clearly said that some of those books weren't for a little kid like him. He wasn't small, he was a bit older than four. That wasn't little.

Entering the room, Izuku made a beeline to the bookshelf. The bottom row was dedicated to him, so he was sure that he could find a book that he hadn't read yet.

"Read that one and that one... Read it twice... Read it last week." He mumbled under his breath, slowly moving his finger along the books' spines.

Oh no! He read them all. Yeah, sure, he could always reread one of them, but he wasn't in the mood for it. Besides, it wouldn't feel the same. Reading was like an adventure, you step into the new world and learn about it along with the main character. You experience their joy, their sadness, learn what they do. If you how the story ends, then there's no fun in it.

Biting his lip, Izuku checked the books on the other rows, he saw that there were mostly some educational ones. At least he thought so. 'Fundamentals of Nursing' certainly sounded like something related to school.

Not willing to give up yet, Izuku walked to the closet and opened it. At the bottom of it, he saw multiple boxes, most of them having 'Hisashi's books' written on the cardboard. Opening some, Izuku found more books that he couldn't make sense of, like 'English as Lingua Franca', and some writing supplies.

Frowning a little, he dug deeper, moving the top boxes aside. He was getting a good book to read, or he wasn't eating greenies. Not that his mom would allow it, but he could always wish. Opening yet another carton, he saw that the books here were super dusty. Blowing at them, he immediately started coughing as dust rose into the air. Great move, Izuku.

With slightly teary eyes, he checked the titles, discovering that yet again he couldn't make sense of it. Izuku was just about to try his luck with another box, but something caught his eye. There was a small space between the books, and through it, he saw a binding. Intrigued by it, he took out the rest of the books.

There at the bottom was yet another book. It was quite large, barely fitting into the cardboard. Touching it, Izuku felt that the binding was made out of leather, but the colour mostly faded away. There were also some metal clips at the corners and a grey-ish, oval stone in the middle of the cover, about as large as his palm. Yet no title here. Taking it out with a grunt and checking around, he didn't spot any name, title or even a single letter.

Sitting on the floor and setting the book on his lap, he lifted the cover, already excited to see what kind of book it was.

Only to face a blank, yellow sheet of paper.

"W-what?" Izuku questioned, turning the pages.

Nothing. Not even a single word. Only disappointment. Why was this book here if it was empty inside? It couldn't be a photo album, those were stacked in the living room under the TV. A diary? That would be filled in.

Releasing a quiet sigh, Izuku grabbed the book to close it. No point in starring at the yellow paper.

"Au!" He shouted as he felt a pain in his finger.

Lifting it up to his face, he saw a small, red line with a bit of blood coming from it. Great, a papercut. He put it in his mouth, sucking at him, grimacing a little at the coppery taste.

Looking back at the book, he glared at it, letting it know his anger. However, when he spotted a droplet of his blood there, the panic overtook him. He ruined a book. Yes, it was empty inside, but it wasn't his. His dad loved his books and always treated them with respect. He knew that he could hide it back in the closet, but it wouldn't be fair. Heroes didn't lie. Besides, he couldn't lie even if he wanted.

Now what to...

A bright, white light suddenly shone, momentarily blinding him. Rubbing his eyes and blinking away the black spots, he looked around. What was that? It couldn't come from the closet or bed, not from the white page of the empty book, the lamp was turned off...

Wait, white?!

Doing a double-take, Izuku confirmed that the page was as white as the regular sheet of paper. Lifting up the cover, he gasped. The leather was now dark brown, almost black, and the clips were golden, shinning a little. A stone looked like a crystal filled with the changing colours.

Suddenly he felt a tug at the back of his head. It was like gentle pulling off his hair, but from the inside. Furrowing his brows, he looked back at the page and released a gasp. A WORD!

Hc:lc

Despite being somehow hard to read, due to the lack of the lines and gnarled look, Izuku somehow understood it. Then his mind caught up to his excitement. Why was there suddenly a word? Why did the book look so different? Was it some kind of prank? Maybe someone's Quirk was doing it? Where would that person be?

Gulping slightly, Izuku looked back at the page. "Um... H-hi?"

The word slowly disappeared from the paper, only to be replaced by a new one.

Ink

Blinking at it, Izuku thought for a few moments before speaking. "D-do you wa-want s-s-some ink?" He asked, groaning in his head at his stutter.

Yes

Being too wrapped up in his interest with a talking book, Izuku didn't think about the possible consequences of simply splashing the ink on it. Quickly searching the closet again, he grabbed the whole bottle of it and poured on the book. He watched with great interest as the ink was absorbed inside the pages, leaving them snow white. Then another message showed up, but it looked different. All of the words were written in a beautiful style, having all kinds of loops and hooks in the letters.

Thank you, young master. After many centuries, the ink that I was written in evaporated, leaving me with barely enough to communicate with you or anyone else on that matter. You have my gratitude.

Centuries? Was it similar to an hour or year? Maybe. "Y-you a-a-are welcome. I-if you-u d-don't mind... W-what are you?" Even if it was some kind of Quirk in action, he would still choose to stay here and talk with a book over getting bored. Besides, he could then write down that Quirk and 'nerd out' over it, as Kacchan put it.

Ah, where are my manners? Apologies, young master. I am the collection of many minds of the mighty wizards, who used their knowledge gathered through ages to accomplish great deeds, whose bodies most likely perished by this time. I am the testament of the old ages, the relic of the past that remained on its own to guide new generations in the sacred way of magic.

Izuku tilted his head. There were some words that he didn't understand. But one of them he knew from his previous books.

Magic. During one of the bedtime stories, that mom read to him, this word popped out several times. His mom described it to him as some kind of power that allowed mages and witches to cast spells such as changing the mice into horses.

Was someone making a joke of him? Magic couldn't be real. If it was, then someone would know about it. Right? Looking back at the page, he saw another message.

I am not surprised that you don't believe me, young master. The community of wizards was a solitary one, steering away from the covetous individuals. The ordinary people who couldn't wield their magic, mostly due to not knowing about its existence, feared wizards. Especially during the medieval era, wizards and witches were hunted down and killed.

What?... How did it know his thought?!

We're connected, young master. When your blood coloured my pages, a contract was formed, and along with it, a mystical bond was established between us. Thanks to it, I can read your thoughts, allowing me to assist you to the best of my abilities.

Izuku blinked, trying to process the information. This couldn't be a Quirk. Even if it was, there had to be more than one person to do it, and it was too much for a simple prank. It almost seemed like it was... magic.

Wait, it could read it thoughts, right? Then... "What do I call you?"

De Archanis Amores Universerum. The Arcana Of The Universe.