chapter 3

I began to open my eyes, my body in pain. I could feel cool air coming from my right side. I looked to my right, seeing medical machines and a window that was opened, letting the wind in. I could see it was late - the sun was beginning to lower.

A beautiful sunset let an orange light through, hitting my eyes. "Where am I? And who was controlling my body?" I looked up, seeing the white ceiling staring at me.

I heard a click and I turned to see the door opening. A doctor walked in and her eyes immediately widened. She walked up to me instantly. "You're awake! Are you okay? Can you move?" She began to check my vitals, seeing how I was.

"You've been unconscious for 4 months already." My eyes widened. "Wait, 4 months...how did that happen?" I tried to get up but a wave of pain went through me and I fell down with a groan.

The doctor held me down gently. "Hey, hey, calm down. Your body is still healing. You need to relax." She put a blanket on me and sat down in the chair.

"My name is Doctor Aoi," she smiled gently. I took a breath and took a better look at her.

Doctor Aoi was a woman in her mid-20s with short black hair and black eyes.

Doctor Aoi, seeing I had calmed down, began to speak. "Do you remember what happened? How you ended up in that alleyway with stab marks?"

I kept quiet, looking at the ceiling. Memories of the alleyway and what happened surfaced. "Yes, I remember what happened."

Doctor Aoi smiled and got up. "Let me go get the police officers. They have a few questions for you, okay?" She smiled and walked out of the room, her heels clinking on the floor, and closed the door with a soft click.

"What happened? Who was that?" I was confused about what happened - who took over my body? The thought of someone in my body without me knowing sent a shiver up my spine.

After a few minutes, two police officers came in and asked me questions about what happened and how I got there.

Of course I lied, saying I was pulled in by a man and robbed before being left. After they left, Mrs. Riko came to check on me and how I was doing - and of course scolded me.

One night while sleeping, I opened my eyes and I could see I wasn't in my bed anymore. I was laying on top of snow, shaking a bit, my hands and feet freezing. It was cold.

"Where am I and what is this place?" I whispered and looked around. As I looked around, I saw a person sitting under what seemed to be an ice tree. I got up and began walking forward, each step making my feet sink into the snow.

As I got closer to the person, I could make out what I was looking at. It was a woman who looked like she was in her 20s with long white hair that reached her back and a long dress that reached her feet. But what made her different was her blue skin and long pointy ears like an elf. As she looked up from a book she was reading, I could see she had yellow eyes.

"Hmm, you're able to enter my domain, huh, human?" Her tone was unreadable.

I looked at her. "Who are you? Where am I? And what do you mean by domain?" The woman never looked up from her book. "In simple terms, you're in your mind. As for who I-"

"Inside me?" I looked at her. "How is that possible that you're inside me?"

The lady closed her book and got up. Before I could back away, she was in front of me and placed her index finger on my mouth. It was cold with red long nails, and my mouth got frozen. "When I speak, you keep quiet." My eyes widened at her commanding tone.

I tried to unfreeze myself but it was useless. Nothing changed at all. I looked at the lady, my eyes confused and a little intimidated.

"Now, as I was saying before, I am inside you. How is it possible? Because of that so-called 'quirk' of yours. My soul is bound to the abilities I was blessed with." Her tone was perfectly calm and collected, her eyes looking at me uninterestedly. She sat back down in her chair, putting one leg on top of another. "And to say the least, I am disappointed that my abilities fell to someone as pathetic as you."

Her yellow eyes scanned my expression. "I can see you have questions, and I will answer them."

She snapped her fingers, the ice unfreezing. My mouth was still cold. I looked at her. "You can't just freeze my mouth as you want." My tone was cold and emotionless, but rather than being surprised or terrified, she just chuckled - a melodic sound that seemed so unfazed and bored. "And who do you think you're talking to exactly?" She snapped her fingers and long chains stabbed my feet and shoulders, pulling me up and letting me dangle. I could feel the pain, my blood dripping onto the chains and landing on the snow, turning it blood red.

Her tone got dark and emotionless. "The next time you disrespect me, I won't hesitate to kill you." My eyes widened in fear and surprise because, unlike before, she wasn't lying. This woman could kill me at any moment she wanted.

"My name is Esdeath, Queen of the Ice Elves in my last life and world," she said, looking up at me with calm, collected eyes.

"When you asked for ice manipulation to be your quirk, you didn't specify whether you wanted your powers to be from this world or another."

My eyes widened. She was right - I didn't specify. I guess my special effect is here or something else.

"And since when I die, my powers travel to find a host, but my soul remains with them. And as far as I can see, I'm disappointed."

She walked forward, each step calculated and silent. She pulled the ice chains down to her level, causing pain in my body - the freezing flesh and open wounds made it worse. I groaned in pain.

"Listen to me very clearly, child. Because I won't have someone holding my power be pathetic. You will train yourself 24/7 until I'm satisfied." Her tone was cold and emotionless.

"And if you fail, you will regret it." She snapped her fingers and I woke up.

My eyes opened abruptly. I sat up immediately, breathing heavily, sweating profusely. I touched my shoulders, feeling for holes or anything, but there was nothing.

"What just happened?" I whispered.

After some time, I finally calmed down and was looking at the paper that had my training schedule:

100 push-ups everyday

Hand-to-hand everyday

Ice control everyday

Increase my speed everyday

Esdeath talked with me in my mind. "If you add sword training in that list of yours." It wasn't a request - it was an order.

I took the pen and wrote down sword training as well.

"Well, this should be my full list," I whispered softly.

My training shall begin tomorrow.

**Time Skip: 9 Years Later**

Nine full years had passed. I was now 14, and in those 9 years a lot had happened - one of the main things being my training and ice manipulation ability.

I had made a lot of improvements, and I can fully say I could handle low and mid-level villains with ease. I could control my ice to near-perfect, but I still had my weaknesses - though they were less severe. I could only use my ice abilities for a solid 40 minutes before beginning to freeze my body.

I not only gained skills in ice manipulation, but my hand-to-hand was at black belt level, and because of Esdeath - well, Queen Esdeath's help - I was able to learn how to handle and use a katana.

My relationship with her was the same - her bossing me around and telling me what to do, only talking when it was necessary (her being a queen and all).

She did help me train and understand the full capabilities of ice manipulation. When I was 9, she finally told me what the special effect was:

The ability to not only freeze solid and liquid but concepts as well. But it has some drawbacks and weaknesses:

1. **Requires Direct Contact**

Instead of freezing concepts at a distance, I must touch the target to apply concept freezing.

*Weakness*: If the enemy avoids direct contact, they can fight normally.

*Example*: To freeze One For All, I must physically grab Deku.

2. **Only Works on Active Quirks**

The ability can only freeze concepts related to active Quirks, not passive ones.

*Weakness*: This means it won't work on things like Gigantomachia's durability or Mirko's natural strength.

*Example*: I can stop Bakugo from creating explosions but not make his body lose its natural resistance to his blasts.

3. **Time-Limited Effect**

Concept freezing only lasts for a few seconds to a few minutes, depending on the target's power level.

*Weakness*: Stronger Quirk users recover faster, so high-tier fighters aren't permanently disabled.

*Example*: Aizawa's Quirk might be frozen for a full minute, but All Might's One For All might only freeze for 5 seconds.

4. **Drains Stamina Heavily**

Every time the ability is used, it drastically tires me out, limiting how often I can apply it.

*Weakness*: Using it too many times in a row makes me too exhausted to fight.

*Example*: If I freeze multiple Quirks back-to-back, I collapse from overuse.

5. **Conceptual Resistance Exists**

Some Quirks are harder to freeze than others based on their complexity or willpower.

*Weakness*: A simple Quirk like Explosion is easier to freeze than something deep-rooted like One For All, which carries the will of previous users.

*Example*: Shigaraki's Decay might be frozen easily in early fights but becomes resistant as he grows stronger.

It's a well-balanced hax, and if used right, I will most definitely kill All For One.

As for my orphanage life, things had changed after my mother was discharged. I moved back in with her in a normal house - not big, but not small either.

It was in a relatively quiet neighborhood, and I attended a middle school nearby, which wasn't the same one Deku and Bakugo attended (theirs was a little further away).

By now, Deku should have gotten his quirk and begun training. Only one day left until the UA entrance exam.

I woke up in the morning, getting ready. I was going to the cemetery... I hadn't visited in a long time.

I walked out of my room, going to the kitchen, seeing my mom already sitting down with food ready. Her white hair was in a ponytail, and she had a small smile on her face.

She looked healthier now - more muscular, her skin clean and softer, smoother.

She looked up at me and smiled. "Morning, dear."

"Morning, mom," I smiled gently - something most people don't get to see.

I sat down and began to eat. She had made some delicious pancakes with orange juice.

She looked up at me. "So, Alex, is that tattoo of yours healing?" I looked up at her and nodded, touching the left side of my neck.

"Yes, it's healing. Sorry I got it without asking you."

She smiled gently. "It's fine, but don't ever do it again."

I nodded. "I won't... I should take the bandage off tomorrow before I go to the entrance exam."

She looked at me, nodded, then looked at her food for a minute. "So, you're going to visit them?" She didn't look up from her food.

I looked down. "Yes. I've become stronger, and I want to tell them that."

She smiled. "Alright, dear."

"Well, I should get going," I got up, took my plate, walked to the sink, put them there, and walked out, taking my extra key.

I put on my black hoodie and walked out. As soon as I stepped outside, I could hear neighborhood kids playing hero and our neighbor's dog barking.

I began the long walk to the cemetery.

**40 Minutes Later**

I arrived at the cemetery. It looked different - they had painted the gate white and planted flowers near it with small trees.

I walked in, going to the 4th row, and then I saw them.

Hinata and Sakura's graves.

I sat down, looking at them. It had been years since I came here. "Hey, guys. Been a long time, huh?" I whispered softly.

"I'm here because I've gotten stronger, and tomorrow is the UA entrance exam." My tone was low, my hair covering my eyes, my hands shaking a little.

"Sakura, you always talked about this day." My voice cracked with emotion, and teardrops began to fall on my clenched hands.

After some time, I finally calmed down, taking a breath and letting it out. "I will make him pay."

"All For One," my tone was unreadable. "I am coming for you."

I got up, cleaning myself up, and turned to walk away. "See you guys later."

I walked away, each step calculated, my eyes determined and cold.

While walking, Esdeath spoke in my mind. *"I wonder if you're actually serious about killing All For One."*

I replied in my thoughts. *"I am."* My tone was cold and emotionless.

Esdeath chuckled. *"You seem to take the concept of killing someone as easily as you think. I'm here to tell you it's not. Will you have the resolve to kill someone, or will you hesitate or stop?"* Her tone was amused.

I knew she was right, but I trusted myself and believed I would kill All For One. *"Trust me, I will kill him. I won't hesitate or falter. All For One will die by my hands."*

She chuckled. *"We shall see, shall we, child?"* I could feel her leaving my mind.

As I walked to where I was going, I realized I was already home. I entered and found the house empty, meaning my mom was out shopping or at the neighbor's house.

I walked to my room, each step echoing because of the quietness. I went to my mirror.

What stared back at me were dark gray eyes. I pulled my hood down, and my long white hair fell over my shoulders. It had grown, reaching my spinal cord. On the left side of my neck was the bandage, which I began to peel off softly, revealing my tattoo - a long rose that was black and red in color, trailing down to the side of my stomach.

I looked at the mirror. "Tomorrow is the day."

**To Be Continued...**