Chapter Text
Breathe
He could feel the freezing metal beneath his numb fingers as he lifted himself over the rusted railing. Standing on the ledge and closing his eyes, he jumped.
In the second he was in the air he could feel himself relax, it was all finally over for him before the reality of his decision became crashing down on him along with the gravity dragging him towards the concrete sidewalk. The sound of the air pressure as he plummeted to the ground whistled in his ear, it was their laughs at him, they all were-
Until silence.
Utter darkness took him over as his body crashed against the sidewalk taking everything from him. He was empty, a husk of the boy he used to be, ‘Izuku Midoriya’ oh how he wished people had known him by. His body was left abandoned and mangled near the place he was tormented the most. Time seemed to freeze, after he hit the ground, only the grasp of death could bring him the ease he longed for, it had been forever since he felt truly calm.
He was cold, colder than he's ever felt before. He tried to open his eyes, he tried to sit up away from the bitter touch surrounding him, but he was stuck like the sleep paralysis that plagued him and held him down with their icy hands. It felt suffocating, he couldn't breathe- Did he need to breathe? Was he still bound?
Exhale
He could feel his chest lowering as he let out the air he didn't know was left in his lungs, he inhaled deeply feeling warmth circulate throughout his body. He felt rejuvenated, more than he's ever felt living, only death could bring him light.
He stayed like that for who knows how long, time seemed to stop where he was. He opened his eyes taking in his surroundings, far in front of him he could see the rising sun leaving orange hues painting the sky, as he ran his fingers over the ground he felt the hot sand filling the crevasses of his knuckles. It looked like a desert, sand and hills stretching from as far as he could see, with the smell of caramel and earthen scent filling his senses.
“Where am I..” He mumbled aloud, zoning in on the scene in front of him.
“You are in a sacred place,” A voice called out from behind him, jolting him lucid.
The person behind him seemed to notice his surprise walking around to be in front of the boy and crouching down to the ground with him. He looked deeply into the younger's eyes, almost in a searching manner before grabbing the boy's hands in his own.
“Oh child, I’m so sorry,” The person whispered out so quietly he almost thought he imagined the apology. Before the boy could reply, confused about what he was apologizing about, the person answered the question for him.
“We failed you, it's our fault earth has swallowed you whole,” The person paused before adding quietly, “So young, but having felt so much… we shouldn't have let you get to this point, we shouldn't have let you be pushed this far,”
Izuku was a smart child, he could fill in the gaps of what the person was referring to,
“Where.. What exactly is this place?” He asked the stranger before adding on, “And who are you?”
“This is my sanctuary, we transcend time and reality in this in between,” the person replied cryptically, still staring deeply into his eyes and squeezing his hands. “This is where life meets death, where the in between of realities collide,”
Izuku’s eyes widened in shock, he didn't expect a place like this to exist, he never believed much in theories after death. He took a breath in steadying himself before repeating his other question, “And you are..?”
The person chuckled, smiling gently at him, “People can never agree on what to call me, but it always comes back to one, I am Death.”