A Tarnished Hero

The trip up the hill wasn't anything special. Their eyes caught herds of goats and their young grazing amongst the green hills, the sounds of their baa's echoing through the landscape as they passed through.

Both Izuku and Katsuki remained silent with the trek uphill, the more experienced of the two feeling his heart thump against his chest. Katsuki, meanwhile, felt the ominous air radiating from the ruined church right at the top.

The closer they got, the more the two had their feelings magnified. Izuku's lips nearly ripped his face in half as his hands rummaged through his bottomless box that he had opened, while Katsuki's knees nearly buckled against the grassy slope.

Once they reached the top, the broken archway beckoned them closer. Izuku all too happily sauntered in, while Katsuki remained outside, hands gripping tight against the tools needed to set up their tent for the night.

It was good news that it wasn't that windy here than the last spot they had camped the night prior. Turning around, the ash blond focused on finding a good spot that wouldn't cause them to have problems in their sleep.

At least there was no presence of hostile beings in the island, so that was another plus point.

Meanwhile, inside the ruined church, Izuku came across the corpse of a giant dragon, its scales pale and as hard as rock. All around him laid statues of half-men, half-dragons, all in different poses.

"Been a while since I've come here." Izuku muttered to himself, his hand gliding across the scales of the dead dragon. His hand that was previously rummaging through his bottomless box slowly made its way out, in his palms the fresh heart of the dragon he had slain back in Liurnia.

It was large, bigger than two of his hands combined, and heavy to boot. He remembered the first time he grabbed the heart of the dragon, Agheel, he had killed in this region. His twig-like arms struggled to even hold it up for even a few seconds, the heart falling to the lake and splashing water all over him.

But now, the heart that had the same weight and size barely made one of his arms twitch, a sign of his progress. Smirking, he lifted it to the altar that resided next to the corpse of the dragon's head. With a single prayer and hope for the future, he brought it close to his lips.

Then took a bite.

Blood sprayed all over his face and armor, his helmet long forgotten within the confines of his bottomless box as he indulged in the profane ritual. His teeth ripped through the red flesh, blood oozing down his throat as he gulped down the dragon's remaining lifeblood.

The taste of iron tingled on his tongue, his eyes clenching shut as his gut filled with the sacred liquid. His knees buckled, forcing him to the ground as he felt power coursing through him, but he did not dare stop his consumption.

The ritual didn't last long, the heart slowly losing color as blood drained out of the organ. Once it was all drained, with nary a tinge of red remaining within, Izuku got to consuming the flesh.

He made sure that none were wasted, lickign the blood sticking onto his fingertips for good measure. The taste may have been unbearable the first time, but now, he couldn't help but lick his lips.

Izuku's eyes opened, the green orbs tinged with a hint of yellow glaring into the setting sun. A grin formed on his mouth, and he let the newfound power course through his veins.

It gathered within his chest, then rapidly climbed upwards, his throat feeling the burn. The spectral head of a dragon appeared over his own, and its maw opened wide. Flames belched out of its maw, embers flicking in the wind as the air grew hot.

Izuku continued his show for about five seconds before he stopped, his body ragged, but there was no mistaking the ferocious smile on his lips.

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Katsuki wiped the sweat off his brow, the tools used to set up the tent all but forgotten inside its kit. It's been a while now since Izuku had entered the church, and he was a bit curious as to what the greenette was doing within.

Inching forward towards the ruined church, Katsuki made sure not to make even a single sound to let Izuku know he was here. Bastard was very attentive during their spars, and even a single peep was enough to root him out from where he was hiding.

And that was during a melee where every single student in class 1-A was fighting.

His back slumped against the wall, dust falling from the cracks from the impact. Peeking through the open doorway, Katsuki's eyes widened when he saw Izuku gorging on a giant fucking heart! God, he could smell the stench from here, his nose cringing in response to the foul smell.

Hovering his hand over his nose, his eyes squinted as he tried to get a closer look as to what Izuku was doing, only to nearly puke as he saw the greenette tearing it flesh from flesh, blood dripping from his lips and onto the ground.

He closed his eyes, head slumping against the wall after having sated his curiosity. The hell was he doing anyway? It was Izuku's business, not his, and frankly, after having seen the shit that had happened over the course of two days, so what if he was eating a fucking heart? It was big enough to not come from a human, and he sure as hell knew that people sometimes ate the most horrible of shit.

Pushing off the wall, Katsuki was about to make his way to their camp, only for his ears to catch a roar, followed by the heat of a flame prickling at his skin. Peeking once more, his eyes widened when he saw a dragon's head forming over Izuku's own. What was even more mind-boggling was the fact that he was fucking breathing fire!

"Holy fucking hell…" Katsuki's mouth hung wide open as the fire died down, the dragon's head slowly disappearing, showing the grin floating over Izuku's face.

He continued watching for a moment, only for Izuku to twist and look in his direction. Quickly hiding behind the wall, Katsuki knew he had overstayed his welcome and swiftly made his way towards the camp he had just set up.

Taking a seat on one of the logs he had set down around the unlit campfire, Katsuki sighed and thought back to what he had seen. At first, when he saw Izuku use that… dragon arm of his, he was confused and incredibly shocked that the greenette had that kind of Quirk. And then, he reminded himself that Izuku had died before and came back to life because of reasons he didn't fucking know. So now, seeing him get a new kind of power, one he hadn't shown, but still bore resemblance to the dragon arm he had displayed before… He could theorize that the dragon powers Izuku got, he got it here in this church…

And all he had to do was eat… a fucking heart of all things… Now the dead dragon when they arrived here made sense.

Fucker probably killed it and took its heart out so he could gain more power. Now, wasn't that a fucked up way to get stronger. Then again, the results said it all. The last time he got hit by that dragon arm, he was flung towards the wall so hard, he felt his spine nearly crack from the impact. Good thing that his bones were used to explosive force already because of his quirk, otherwise, he would've had a great day with Recovery Girl tending to him, all the while the granny spew vitriol about why he was in that predicament in the first place.

"So, you saw that, huh?" Izuku's voice echoed behind him, causing the ash blond to jump slightly at the suddenness of it all. His boots left imprints in the ground as he slowly sat himself down opposite of Katsuki, his hands still tinged with blood. "So, what'd you think?"

"... Huh? The fuck you mean what'd I think?" Katsuki leaned forward, red pupils staring directly into Izuku's eyes, only for him to blink twice from what he'd been seeing. "Hold the fuck up, when'd your eyes change?"

"... What?" Izuku raised an eyebrow, clearly confused as to what Katsuki meant. Katsuki's finger was raised and he pointed towards his own eyes, making doubly sure to emphasize his pupils.

"Your eyes! They have slits!" Izuku blinked. His bloody hands rummaged through the box he always had on him, before withdrawing a mirror, one you would normally see back in Japan instead of this… medieval shit of a world.

"... Huh… That's… New…" Izuku brought a finger near his eye, the mirror leaning in closer as he examined it in earnest. "Last time I saw my eyes, there were hints of gold in them. Now, it's hard to notice."

Katsuki remained silent as Izuku continued examining his eyes, the greenette absorbed with the mirror like Narcissus… Then again, was he any different in the past?

Sighing, Katsuki tended to the fire, or the lack of one. The kindle was all prepared and ready to be lit ever since he had finished setting up camp earlier. Crouching down, he stretched his hand forward and let a little spark ignite from his palm.

As soon as the kindle caught flame and ignited, the fire spread through the firewood, embers drifting to the grass. The heat was palpable against his calloused palm, his head nodding for a job well done.

Setting his ass back on the log, Katsuki waited until Izuku was done with his impromptu inspection. A few minutes of crackling fire fighting against the silence passed by before the greenette sighed and deposited the mirror back in that box of his.

"Well, not like I didn't expect any drawbacks to doing the ritual." Izuku said, more to himself than Katsuki. "Anyway, best to eat then rest. Not much to do in the night without light, eh, Katsuki?"

The ash blond grumbled, arms crossed as he rolled his eyes. Second day into this fucking world and he already knew that the following days were gonna be a killer to his mood. There was next to nothing to do other than see the sights and have the occasional life-threatening fights, for fuck's sake!

Cracking his neck, Katsuki got up and waited until Izuku withdrew the food he was going to cook for the night. Damned Izuku didn't know how to cook to save his life, and fuck him if he's gonna make his tastebuds go through the horror that was Izuku's sense of taste again. Once in U.A. was enough to last him a lifetime.

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As Katsuki got to cooking, Izuku couldn't help but think back to what he had seen when the ash blond brought up the color of his eyes. Hell, it wasn't just the color, it was the shape too.

"Melina." Izuku whispered, his voice drowned out by the wind and the boiling of water as Katsuki continued to whip them up something good to eat. "Is there… Is there anything I need to know about the dragon ritual…?"

The spectral girl in question sat beside him, her dull, golden eyes staring directly into the campfire.

"... Yes…" Melina nodded, her head twisting to face Izuku directly. "The more you continue down this path, the more your humanity is lost in the pursuit of power. Are you sure you are ready to bear the price when the time comes?"

Izuku's breath hitched, his heart thumping in his chest as Melina laid out an ultimatum. Closing his eyes, he thought back to the ritual. The blood that he had nearly puked out during his first, and the blood he had somewhat savored during the second.

What if… during the third or so times… would the blood be even tastier? Would he be lost in the bliss of consuming dragon hearts that it would become an addiction? After all, the majority of his life, he'd spent it powerless, manipulated by those stronger than him.

It felt like he wasn't in control of his own life, his own fate. Like whatever decision he made, it was just moot in front of those with power behind their very being. He realized this more and more as he died numerous times during his journey through the Lands Between.

Even with the power of turning the Runes he'd taken from corpses he'd left in his wake, he still felt like nothing he ever did was going to amount to something. Until he managed to fell that dragon… Agheel, after dozens, if not hundreds, of tries.

A bit of asking around from the Nomadic Merchants and the people who still had their wits about told him of a place that helped with using Dragon Hearts to gain the power of dragons. Of course, when they mentioned it being in Caelid, Izuku quickly asked if there was any other alternative. Luckily, there was another Church of Dragon Communion, which was the ruined church just nearby.

The moment he consumed a heart, he felt his core pulse, and knew deep down in his brain that things were about to change for him. So, with the knowledge that continuing down this path was going to end up with him suffering more than not… it made him think…

Was the power of dragons really worth it?

"Izuku…" Melina laid a hand on his shoulder, the warmth from her palm snapping Izuku from his stupor. "We do not know how the future will pan out, nor do we know the consequences of your decisions." Her hand slipped away from his shoulder, the warm, gentle touch being replaced by the cold, biting wind that swished through the air. "Many before you have tried, and many have lost themselves to the power of the dragons. However, whether your actions be right or wrong, choosing those that you can live with is sometimes better than not choosing at all."

"But what if I regret all of it at the end?" Izuku turned his head around, his semi-slitted pupils gazing into Melina's lone open golden orb. The spectral girl remained silent, the two locked in a staredown.

Time passed with the two locked in their battle of eyes, only for Izuku to lose when Katsuki lightly bonked him on the head with a ladle.

"Food's done." The ash blond grumpily took his share and began slowly eating his stew. Izuku looked at the bowl that was lying right next to him with a pursed mouth, and turned around, only to see Melina gone from her spot.

Sighing, he grabbed the bowl and began eating. Their talk would have to be finished some time later in the future. The power of the dragons, tempting it may be, was not worth the loss of his humanity…

Or was it…?

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