Kenji woke up on the floor of the basement, gasping for air. His body felt heavy—impossibly heavy.
"Was it... a dream?" he choked out.
He looked at his hand. A faint, orange ember glowed beneath his skin.
[GAME CLEAR: DARK SOULS]
[EXPORTING REWARDS... INTEGRATING ENERGY SYSTEMS...]
[SOUL POOL: ACTIVATED]
[BONFIRE PROTOCOL: MAPPED]
Suddenly, a HUD flickered across his vision. It wasn't an external screen; it was burned into his retinas. He felt a reservoir of energy—Souls—thrumming in his veins like a second heartbeat. He realized then that his Quirk hadn't been missing; it had been an empty vessel, a console with no disk.
His grandfather hadn't just given him a library; he had given him a System.
To test it, Kenji focused on the empty air. Bonfire, he thought.
With a soft whoosh, a small, coiled sword erupted from the basement floor, wreathed in a gentle, warm flame. It didn't burn the wood; it radiated a sense of absolute safety. Kenji reached out and touched the flame. He felt his fatigue vanish. His muscles, sore from weeks of gaming and "diving," knitted back together instantly.
He was no longer Quirkless. He was the Emulator.