Chapter I - New Beginnings

Finally...finally it was time for Darius to stand up for himself.

For seven years he has been bullied, pushed around and picked on. This was all due to the fact his quirk, "Quintessence" had practically no combat usage and was looked down upon because of it.

However, unlike many others might have done, the young African American child did not simply take these insults and bullies and do nothing about it, no. What he did during those seven years might very well be the most important events of his life.

He researched and researched, any time he could, he'd research about energy and special effects given by objects, even diving into many mythologies. What he found was the infamously supernatural effects of certain Chinese medicines when put together to create "alchemy pills", though these pills were discarded as very few people could ever properly use the pills.

"I guess nobody thought that one day, someone would come along with a quirk like mine" he thought to himself.

However, the pills themselves aren't what caught his attention - it was a long lost art associated with these pills that caught his attention. This art was called cultivation, something that inspired many mangas and manhuas decades ago.

Cultivation was based around practitioners absorbing what is called "Heavenly Qi" to fortify and strengthen their body, mind and soul. Some are even able to reach the point of being able to "move the heavens" with a single movement of their hand.

This was all a myth of course, as nobody had ever seen this done with their own eyes, nor had anyone been able to absorb Heavenly Qi. He was intrigued on the potential power and strength he could obtain even if he wasn't able to reach the peak of cultivation, he'd be able to become a legendary hero. Just like the legendary hero "All Might", who inspired the now former Number 1 hero, Izuku Midoriya.

"Now...through all my research it seems this is the best method for absorbing this Heavenly Qi stuff." He was holding a book with details on the best breathing patterns, best posture and even best time to absorb Heavenly Qi.

As he sat alone on his bed in the room, he closed his eyes with impatience and exhaled deeply. This was do or die, this was the climax of the past seven years of his life. If this worked, if he really could absorb Heavenly Qi then he could finally become that legendary hero, he could finally write his name on the list of future heroes.

In the eerie quietness of his room, he sat there slowly breathing in and out in strange patterns. The patterns shouldn't be considered breathing with how fast and or slow they were mixed up to be, despite this however all that could be heard by Darius was his own heart beat.

He heard it speeding up, and he felt...SOMETHING, a good something however. It was something he had never felt before, a foreign energy entering his body and flowing throughout his veins.

Filling his body to the brim with energy, however it didn't stop there as he felt it in his veins, his tissue, his muscle, his nervous system, down to the very last cell in his body.

He felt it accumulating within him, it was different though...this time it wasn't being left there, it was creating some liquid? Yes, liquid indeed. The energy was accumulating into liquid drops, it felt like rain was inside of some other space within his body. It didn't take up any actual space within his body, yet he could clearly detail what this area was.

"This must be the theoretical subspace" He thought to himself, something he came across within his research on many forms of energy and what is considered "energy". Subspace itself is an "alternate" space adjacent to the "normal" three-dimensional space and an integral part of the space-time continuum that coexists with normal space but is also distinct.

This is all theoretical, but that definition alone made it feel like that is what he was experiencing. An ocean slowly began to form within this subspace, similar to a knowledge sea from the manhua "Martial Peak", one he took notice of as it had Novel with thousands of chapters that had much knowledge on what cultivators could achieve.

The rain had eventually come to an end, though it left an entire Ocean of Heavenly Qi behind. Realizing this was the end of what he could obtain as of right now, he disrupted his breathing pattern and opened his eyes, seeing it was now night time. He jumped up in shock as not only had eight hours passed, but his body felt entirely different.

Not only was he more muscular and felt a bit more energetic, he had grown in height and his body was filled with qi now. Using the knowledge of his research, he realized this was the Human Realm of cultivation, and he'd have to start his journey with Qi Refining.

For now, he wouldn't be able to perform any insane feats, but maybe soon, maybe he'll even catch up with his frenemy -- Tanguichi Kamiko AKA the current holder of One For All. Izuku Midoriya had announced she was his successor and even announced she'd earned powers from the previous users of One For All quicker than even he had done, which turned her into an overnight superstar and praised child prodigy.

"You're going to be the best hero of our generation without a doubt, if no surprises come along. I plan to be that surprise though Tanguichi." These were the contexts of the text message he had just sent to her from the pure excitement he felt after finishing his first round of cultivation.

He had many things to do right now, but most importantly he had to eat. Eight hours had passed in a flash during his time absorbing the Qi, and he was starving. Rushing down the stairs of his home, he came to quickly realize his relative speed had increased. Even if that guy used his quirk, attempting to bully him again by running around him and constantly punching at his body, he'd be able to react fast enough to defend himself.

He quickly made himself some cereal, eating it and realizing another thing; he was going to have to eat a lot more food. That single bowl of cereal, which could usually keep him satiated for the entire day, felt like a grain of sand in his stomach. From that moment on, he ate thirteen more bowls of cereal and nearly emptied the frosted flakes cereal box as a consequence. However, feeling his body finally being satisfied and properly satiated, he made his way back to his room and slept the night through.

As the next morning came, also came the time to test out what he could do now. It was a Saturday, so he was relatively free and had nothing planned for the weekends as he truly didn't expect for this to work out the way it did. Putting on a black puffer jacket he received as a gift from his family still in America, bleached white jeans and a pair of black and white Jordan 1s he'd make his way towards the junkyard of the city he lived in. It was here that he decided to test out his current physical capabilities, and boy was he surprised.

Even driving, it would take a car around 45 minutes with no traffic going around 58 mph to make the trip from his house to that junkyard. Not only did he run the entire distance, he cleared that distance in 30 minutes, an entire 15 minutes shorter than it would take a car. Taking a mental note of his speed, he was on to testing his strength and he wasn't able to do anything exceptional. Maybe he wasn't going to be as physically strong as he thought...maybe this was all for nothing?

"Why the hell can't I lift this thing!?"

Pure frustration and nothing but frustration was written over his face and his entire body language. All these years, seven goddamn years just for him to feel stronger and be barely faster? Sure, he was extremely fast for someone without a speed-enhancing quirk, but compared to many of his other peers, he wasn't even on the iceberg, he was buried deep beneath it.

Speed was the only thing he had to his name right now...that and muscles that couldn't do a damn thing. Or could they? Just as he was questioning himself, he tried one last time except this time as if he was working out. He still couldn't lift the car, but he was struggling a bit and finally got it lifted, the former frustration was washed away with nothing but relief. That is, however, until he dropped the car and the wheel landed on his right foot, completely crushing it as he fell forward onto the hood in pain.

"How am I gonna explain this to mom?.." He'd say through his tears and the pain of him biting his lip to try and soothe the more extreme pain of the 2-3 ton weight of a car on his foot.