Dr. Kyudai threw the Device on the table, metallic parts falling on the ground.
The old man slumped against the chair, sweat rolling down his bald head.
"First time seeing you this worked up, Dr. Ujiko," All For One chuckled from the shadows. "Is the Quirk Amplification Device too complex even for you?!"
"No!" Kyudai panicked. "Master, I…"
"Relax," All For One said, finding his loyal servant's uneasiness quite amusing. "Tell me."
Dr. Kyudai let out a breath. "It's not just recreating the Device, Master," he explained. "If it had just been about reverse engineering the Device and creating more using it, then I could have done it weeks ago."
"Oh?!" All For One's head, donning a metallic helmet, peeked out of the shadow. "Then, what's the issue?"
The old scientist looked at the Device. "Stain mentioned that it would amplify the Vestiges' retaliation within you, Master," he reminded. "I have been trying to bypass this ill effect, but… Sigh!"
All For One's lost a part of his amusement. "So, you can't finish it?" he asked.
A chill ran down Dr. Kyudai's spine. What to say?! What to do?! How to respond?!!
None in this world could match his expertise on individual Quirks and how they interacted with lifeforms. That's who he had created Nomus, to begin with. But the Quirk Amplification Device was more than mere manipulation of the Quirk. It possessed sophisticated bioengineering, along with a monstrous drawback.
Gritting his teeth, almost crying, Dr. Kyudai said, "Master… I…"
"Get Stain here." All For One didn't even look at Kyudai anymore, going back to the shadows as the scientist left the lab, shaking.
Slowly, he tapped the arm of the chair, thinking of their last conversation.
Nomus… Shigaraki… Schemes… They had their own places in All For One's mind. He knew how to let things take their course. After what happened with Number 6, he had learned it.
There was a factor of unpredictability involved in this world.
All For One, despite his immense strength, couldn't control this factor.
However, he could control the factors leading up to this unpredictability to some extent.
Sooner or later, he must do it with Tomura Shigaraki as well, All For One knew. Only then could the boy become a… suitable host.
But the Quirk Amplification Device presented an alternate route.
All For One didn't want to rely on a failed Device. Not now, when he had already come this far.
He knew scientific research could take years, if not decades. What if Kyudai failed to remove the imperfections in time? What if, despite claiming to recreate the Device with perfection, it didn't do as intended?
So, no.
All For One had no more hope from the Quirk Amplification Device than he had from Shigaraki's fate.
Still, opening up one more path, considering all the unpredictabilities, wouldn't be so bad.
Thinking such, by the time Stain entered the room, All For One had already made up his mind. And, from the smile on the noseless bastard's face, it seemed he had realized it as well.
Now that wasn't good at all, All For One told himself, instantly changing his mind.
Stain's smile flattened instantly. "What have you decided?"
"No," All For One said, seeing the bloody look in Stain's eyes. "I haven't made up my mind about… your Cult."
"Then…"
"BUT…" All For One added, his gaze landing on the Quirk Amplification Device. "I will consider it. Seriously."
Hero Killer: Stain's eyes narrowed. For The Claws of Conformity's future, All For One's reluctance to accept Conformity's faith was a major roadblock.
And, from his words, it seemed like the guy hadn't even thought about it since their last conversation.
Sensing All For One's gaze, Stain's eyes landed on the Device as well. "What do you want?"
"… The man who created this device," All For One said, smiling behind the mask.
Stain scoffed. "The entire world's Heroes are gathered on I-Island. Have you…"
"Hahaha!" All For One laughed. "Not that one. Weren't there… two of them?"
Stain paused, hisses and whispers bombarding his mind. After a while, the smile returned to his face, his hand resting on the Nomu's head at his waist.
"Alright," Stain accepted. "But… I will take the boy with me this time."
Perhaps… All For One considered it for a while, then nodded. Tomura Shigaraki's fate might take another interesting turn…
…
Rikuya Saionji opened his eyes within a dream.
He wasn't seated on the edge of a building's roof as usual. Nor was he flying in the sky, a dream he usually experienced, now and then.
No.
He was surrounded by blankness and silence. Absolute silence.
Suddenly, a blue aura washed over him, making him look up.
There, as if beyond the unseen skies, a hole was taking shape. Within the blackness, it was impossible to tell apart the presence of a hole, but Rikuya could… somehow.
Soon, the black hole became bigger and bigger, a blue ring of radiance manifesting around it.
And as the Blue Hole descended, becoming as large as the sky itself, Rikuya knew what he was looking at.
The same Thing that had contacted him for the first time two years ago.
"What do you need now?" Rikuya asked. "Couldn't you come normally…"
"Fate is changing…"
A BOOM echoed in Rikuya's mind, his knee striking the black grounds. Something was wrong. The Thing hadn't talked to him like this since the very beginning.
"… I'd thought my inaction would stall it. I was wrong. Something has changed. Something has… intruded OUR domain. The Boundary has been breached."
"What…" Rikuya held his head, veins popping up on his forehead. "What… the fuck… you are talking about?!"
What domain?! What Boundary?! Who had intruded where?!!
"It is time for US to reveal OURSELVES," the Blue Hole boomed. "For long, WE have remained in shadows. For long, WE have remained passive, letting Fate take its course. Unattended. Now, the time has come for US to guide it, once again — to its correct path. Stand together for justice, truth, and righteousness once again, Oh…"
Rikuya felt a wave of immense power wash over his soul, his eyes burning blue.
"… The Radiants of Singularity!"
********************
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