The sky split open without warning.
Azelos Veylan stared up at the jagged white tear spreading across the afternoon clouds like someone had scratched the world with a knife.
"What… is that?"
He didn't expect an answer.
But the wind stopped.
The birds froze mid-flight.
Even the shadows on the ground stopped moving.
Aze felt his heart slam against his ribs.
"Okay. That's not normal."
Another crack spread across the sky.
Then another.
Each one glowing brighter, like the world's surface tension was giving way.
Something was wrong.
Not just locally.
Reality itself was glitching.
A pedestrian froze in front of him, mouth open mid-yawn.
A car stopped in the middle of the street, the driver unmoving.
Time didn't just slow.
It stopped.
Aze took a step back.
"What is happening…?"
The sky shattered.
Light swallowed everything.
He didn't even have time to scream.
Aze's eyes snapped open.
He stood in a white void.
Endless.
Silent.
Empty.
His breath fogged in front of him even though the air felt warm.
"Am I dead?" he whispered.
"No," a voice answered.
Aze whipped around.
An old man stood behind him, tall and thin, wearing layered white robes stitched with golden thread. His beard flowed down like clouds spilling from a mountain.
"My apologies," the old man said. "I should introduce myself."
Aze stepped back.
"Who are you?"
"I am the Librarian. Keeper of The Archive."
The old man raised his hand.
The void rippled.
Shelves appeared.
Thousands of them.
Stretching infinitely in every direction.
The shelves were filled with books, scrolls, glowing cubes, floating crystals.
Every single one was vibrating.
Erratic.
Flickering like damaged files.
Aze swallowed.
"What… is this place?"
"The end," the Librarian said softly. "And the beginning. These shelves hold all timelines. All worlds. All stories."
He walked past Aze without making a sound.
"They are collapsing."
A book fell from a shelf and dissolved into white dust before it hit the floor.
Aze flinched.
"What's causing it?"
"The Redactor." The Librarian rested a hand on a glowing cube that flickered violently. "He seeks to erase every unstable timeline so that only a single 'canon' remains."
Aze frowned.
"Canon? Like… a story canon?"
The Librarian nodded.
"Your world was erased first."
Aze froze.
"…My world is gone?"
"Yes."
Silence.
A bottomless silence.
Aze felt something hollow open inside him.
Then anger.
"Why me?" he asked. "Why bring me here?"
The Librarian turned.
"Because you have been chosen as the new Archivist. The only one who can repair what has been broken."
The shelves around them shook as more timelines began collapsing.
"You will restore worlds. Save characters erased by canon. Mend paradoxes. And ultimately…"
His eyes dimmed.
"…face the Redactor."
Aze opened his mouth.
But something appeared in front of him.
A floating screen.
Glowing black text burned across it.
REALITY SLOT SYSTEM INITIALISED
CHOOSE UP TO FIVE ABILITIES FROM ANY TIMELINE
SELECT YOUR STARTING LOADOUT
Aze stared.
"Is this… a game menu?"
"In a sense," the Librarian said. "Each slot grants you a power. And the moment you choose it, the ability becomes limitless. As strong as its absolute theoretical maximum."
Aze blinked.
"So if I choose something like One For All…?"
"Yes."
"It'll be… maxed out?"
"Beyond maxed."
Aze felt his pulse spike.
The shelves shook again.
One whole row collapsed into dust.
"You must choose," the Librarian said. "We have little time."
Aze inhaled.
"Fine. My five slots are—"
The void shook violently.
The Librarian snapped his fingers.
A portal opened beneath Aze's feet.
"Choose on the way," he said.
"What—wait—"
Aze fell.
The Librarian's final words echoed after him.
"Restore the worlds, young Archivist."
Then the portal sealed shut.
Aze plummeted into darkness.
A glowing blue screen appeared beside him.
SELECTED ABILITY: ONE FOR ALL
AMPLIFYING…
100% → 1,000% → 10,000% → ERROR → LIMIT REMOVED
Aze's eyes widened.
"Oh, that's insane."
The blue screen flickered again.
DESTINATION: PARADOX WORLD — MHA
LANDING IMMINENT
Aze braced himself as another crack of light burst open beneath him.
Wind roared in his ears.
A city unfolded below.
Then—
A scream echoed up from the streets.
"HELP! SOMEONE HELP HIM!"
Aze's eyes snapped to the source.
A boy with green hair was being thrown across the pavement by a sludge monster.
The boy's eyes were wide with terror.
Aze didn't hesitate.
He aimed himself toward the ground.
"Okay," he muttered. "Guess we're doing this."
The ground rushed toward him.
The monster roared.
Aze clenched his fist.
And dropped like a meteor.
Cliffhanger: Aze lands in the MHA world just as Deku is about to die. What happens next?
Author's Note
Thanks for reading the first chapter!
If you enjoyed the opening, let me know and I'll immediately continue with Chapter 2: "The 100,000,000% Entrance Exam."