6

Chapter Text

The first thing that hit him was the color.

Heaven was vibrant , the world around him incredible in detail. It was almost like he was in a dream, the woods they landed in so similar to what he knew but with amazing definition. His other senses caught up soon after; leaves rustling and a stream somewhere nearby. He could feel everything around him, his mana branching out like it was coming home. 

Izuku saw Aurora smile at him from the corner of his eye, probably from his reaction. He felt the familiar urge to adventure, to explore. She understood, taking his hand in hers, and they walked out of the forest.

Izuku didn't know what he had expected, maybe a futuristic sea of lights and skyscrapers, or a hall of golden towers. Instead, Heaven was more familiar. 

The buildings were traditional, something he could almost call Japanese. But the intricate detail spoke of centuries and centuries of construction. Looking around, Izuku could see things that he would probably never understand. Holograms walked around, carrying sentient conversation as they advertised products, and some kind of entertainment device was being held by a group of children.

Of course beings with a long, long lifespan would be far ahead in technology. 

"Aurora, do gods have flying cars?" Izuku asked, a bit of excitement leaking into his voice. 

Aurora laughed at the mental image. "We teleported here, didn't we? Easiest way to travel. Some gods can fly under their own power though."

Izuku's eyes widened. "You can fly ?" 

Aurora's smile faltered ever so slightly. "I wish. But no. Few have the ability to do so." 

Izuku wondered if there was more to it, but didn't push her. They began to merge with the crowd.

He knew, of course, that there would be other gods. This was a whole realm, one that hadn't all been whisked away. Cities were supposedly filled with people. But it was still so strange seeing so many people, walking near him, talking, living . It wasn't too crowded, but there were presences all around him, and he felt the sounds start to be smothering. The many conversations filling around him were quiet, but together it was like he was trapped in a sea of strangers.

Aurora didn't say anything, but she squeezed his hand in support. He took a deep breath, letting all the voices and footsteps and noise wash over him like a river. 

"Thanks." Izuku breathed.

"Anytime." Aurora said simply, like she wasn't anchoring him to reality.

They got some strange glances, but nobody approached them. Izuku wasn't surprised people stopped to stare at him, but the reverent looks Aurora received confused him. 

Then Izuku remembered Aurora was an actual princess. Huh.

He was brought out of thought as they approached something that could only be described as a palace. If he didn't know this was it from the architectural masterpiece in front of his eyes, the slight stiffening of Aurora's shoulders and the unmistakable feel of power made it clear. 

The guards didn't stop them, obviously informed they were coming. When they reached the office though, Aurora stopped outside the door.

"I can't go further than this, she sent for you alone." Aurora's voice was calm, determined. Only from centuries of knowing her could he hear the change in tone, the worry. 

Izuku pulled her in for a kiss(chaste, he wasn't trying to be killed before he even walked in). He watched the adorable furrow of her eyebrow lighten, a small blush at the unexpected affection. He grinned at her before turning to opening the door.

It closed behind him, royal purple mana sewing shut like a gap in reality. Izuku looked around the office, taking in the surprisingly homely room of couches and photos. Izuku hadn't ever had a job before, but this workspace felt like a home instead of work. 

Before he could look closer, a woman stood up from the desk. Her hair was silver, and she wore a simple blue kimono unexpected of someone ruling a realm. 

"Hello, Queen." Izuku started respectfully.

A faint smile curved into her jaded features at the title.

"Please, just call me Amaterasu. Have a seat." 

She gestured to the couches, and he sat across from her. It was ridiculously soft, and if Izuku wasn't so terrified he might have fallen asleep.

"Tea?"

Izuku nodded, and felt the fabric of reality shift in front of him. Instantly, there were two teacups on the wood table. He took his, carefully sipping. It was delicious and calming, the technique obviously developed over an incredibly long time. 

Amaterasu's posture was regal, sharp gray eyes cutting through him. 

Hospitalities over, the kind host he just saw slowly began to recede, and the feel of her mana laced the room like increased gravity. 

"Sekhmet said you requested a meeting with me." Amaterasu stated. "Why?"

"I wanted to talk to you about Aurora." 

She tilted her head slightly. "Is this about the engagement?" 

Izuku blinked. "You know?" 

"Of course, everyone's heard about it by now. A human marrying a god is exceptionally rare, and something like your case hasn't ever happened before. I am surprised you told me though."

"Why wouldn't I?" 

"I'm not completely omniscient. Of course, I could obliterate you before you could even blink-" Izuku's hands twitched, the threat said with absolute certainty without pause. "-but I wouldn't be able to stop the wedding if you chose to hide it from me. Did you tell me out of respect?" Amaterasu asked.

"Amaterasu-sama, If I marry Aurora you would be family." 

She raised a perfect eyebrow. "I would."

"Aurora doesn't mention you often, but I can tell how much your opinion affects her. She cares about you. That makes your approval important to me as well." Izuku said, meeting her eyes. 

Amaterasu stared at him for a moment. "I see why there is so much talk about you now. You are...unique for a human."

"Thanks?" He wondered what the rumors were. It was weird to consider a bunch of people he had never met knowing about him. 

"You certainly deserve a chance, so I'll give you a test." Amaterasu stood, and everything shifted.

The office was replaced with a completely empty, smaller room. The walls and floor were clouds, somehow solid. At the center was a mass of royal purple energy that Izuku now recognized as Amaterasu's mana, supporting something obscured by fluffy clouds.

"I have something to take care of, so in the meantime I need you to hold that. Support it for a few minutes till I get back, and I'll give you my blessing. Should be simple." 

Izuku walked over, putting his hands under the purple barrier. This would surely be difficult, but what were minutes to the centuries he had lived? Izuku placed his staff next to him, and tensed his legs, arms curling in preparation. Amaterasu vanished, and the barrier went with her. 

Something huge pressed down, threatening to crush him. Izuku pushed back, bringing it to a grudging standstill. A second passed, and then the pain started to hit. 

After ten seconds, the burning in his arms was impossible to ignore. Soon, the pain began to spread and every muscle in his body strained. He couldn't spare the effort to look up, but he finally realized what he was carrying.

Amaterasu had dropped the fucking sky on him.

Izuku stopped counting once a minute passed. His thoughts weren't coherent, beginning to blend, cutting off and swirling into each other. There was only his body screaming to let go, and himself screaming back.

Izuku knew the sky was slowly lowering, the ridiculous weight pushing down. But he had no idea how to stop it. Izuku was just a human. A human with 300 years of training of course, but still a human. He felt blood start to drip from his nose.

There was no one around him. For the first time Izuku could remember, time was moving so slowly . Every second he endured felt like another year. How much time had passed? 3 minutes? There was no way he could last, black was already curling in the edge of his vision. The darkness would take him, Izuku would pass out, turn into a pancake, and then the sky would fall down, down through the clouds-

If he was holding up the sky, the beautiful painting he had stared at for hours and hours until his neck hurt, then he was above Earth. Something this heavy with any velocity crashing into Earth would completely destroy it. Their home. 

He couldn't let that happen.

Izuku sighed, then took a deep breath. His taxed lungs almost made him regret it, but they worked, bringing air into his body. He focused, feeling his mana rushing through his circuits as he had thousands of times before. It was harder than ever, working under literal pressure, but he managed. Izuku flowed mana into the air around his arms, solidifying it. He shaped two gauntlets of violet light, surrounding his hands and forearms, as dense as he could make it. Then Izuku gritted his teeth, and pushed .

Ever so slowly, the sky began to lift. The pain seemed to increase.

Izuku couldn't tell if he was screaming or not.

The gauntlets had started to crack under the strain, pieces of air breaking off, but it was moving . He was lifting the fucking sky, using every bit of willpower he had.

Izuku didn't know how long he stood there.

By the time Amaterasu returned, Izuku was completely numb. As soon as he felt the overwhelming force disappear, Izuku let his arms drop to his sides and blacked out.

Izuku opened heavy eyes to Aurora's face looking down at him. 

"Sleep well?"

"Great actually. My arms are still dead, but I'm okay." Izuku answered, smiling at her unsaid concern. 

He sat up from her lap, noticing they were in the Queen's office. 

"Hello Izuku." Amaterasu said. Surprisingly, she seemed chastised, like someone had scolded her. 

"You dropped the sky on me." Izuku stated with a bit of uncharacteristic venom. He wasn't the type to hold grudges; Sekhmet had attacked him without warning the first time he had met her. That had been a spar though, this had been agony .

"She what?! " Aurora's head whipped to her mother's instantly in a powerful glare. 

Amaterasu nodded, a slight wince under her daughter's fury. Aurora was a powerful force. "I needed to know if he could handle my blessing."

"I thought this was about our marriage. Isn't that what that test was for?" Izuku asked, confused.

"I wasn't testing if you were worthy of my daughter. I already know you are."

Izuku's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Aurora can marry whoever she wants. But from what I've seen, you make her happy, enough to live in an entirely different realm. And you two trust each other." Amaterasu smiled at Aurora, who was speechless, before turning back to him. "I do approve of your marriage. And that's why I'm glad you can take my divine blessing."

" Thank you mother." Aurora said softly.

"Of course, dear. He's the one who earned it after all." 

"What's a divine blessing?" Izuku questioned cautiously.

Aurora turned to him, lifting his hand in hers. He could feel their similar magic circuits through her fingers. "It's an important thing for us, giving someone your blessing. It drains a lot of mana, and is a sign of trust. I gave you mine when I gifted you magic. But mother's..."

"Would essentially turn you into a god." Amaterasu finished. "Your body would be stronger and you would truly stop aging. You would also not need explicit permission to visit Heaven anymore." 

Izuku felt a pure smile take over his face as it sunk in. "You mean that even when Earth is unfrozen, I won't age." Izuku glanced at his fiancee, seeing his joy mirrored. "I could spend forever with her." 

He very nearly kissed Aurora, but with Amaterasu there settled for crushing her in a hug instead. She returned it, and they seperated after a few moments before turning back to the Queen.

"Can we hug you?" Izuku asked hesitantly. 

Amaterasu didn't say anything for a few moments, and he thought he went too far. Then she sighed.

"Just this once." 

Izuku pulled her into a grateful hug, and Aurora followed with a grin. 

If the Queen of Heaven let it go on for longer than needed, well, no one would know. 

"This was the hard part. The easy part is convincing the rest of Heaven that Izuku is worthy. He's going to become a prince, after all."

Izuku just pushed that thought for later, the idea of him being royalty too weird to think about right now. "How do I do that?" 

"The Arena. When I give you the blessing you'll be knocked out, so you can fight tomorrow once you're rested. If you defeat a powerful competitor in combat, Heaven will have to acknowledge you."

"So I beat some guy up with a stick and they'll think I'm cool?" 

"Exactly."

Aurora sighed. "Izuku shouldn't have to prove anything to them."

Amaterasu shrugged. "Politics are ridiculous."

Aurora met her gaze for a few moments in thought. "At least it'll be fun to see their faces when Izuku whacks them."

"I'll be looking forward to it."

With that, Amaterasu placed a hand on his forehead, filling his vision with purple.

The Arena was the biggest structure Izuku had ever been in. 

It was similar to a football stadium, yet with a Roman design. The ancient look clashed with how comfortable the seats looked, as well as the holographic billboards displaying views of the field. The Arena was almost completely filled, a mass of strangers. Izuku struggled to even process that many people. Thankfully, the stands were high up.

Izuku's competition hadn't arrived yet. He could feel his new divine blessing running through his magic circuits, brimming with power. He felt lighter, stronger. His mana capacity had probably risen as well, and he was excited to test it all.

On cue, a pillar of flame erupted on the other side of the field, making Izuku shield his eyes. The fire revealed a new figure glad in gleaming golden armor and tanned skin, a resting smirk on the man's lips. He was slightly taller than Izuku. All in all, Izuku felt like he was in a movie for a moment.

"You must be the human ." The word was said like a cat person would have mentioned dogs.

"My name is Izuku." Izuku said diplomatically. Even his limited social skills could sense the attitude radiating off the man in front of him.

"Agni."

Izuku tilted his head. "Like 'agony?'" 

Agni grinned, full of teeth.

"Exactly." He pulled out a long spear from his back, blade shining in the sun. 

Izuku brushed his white hair from his face, almost feeling underdressed in his t-shirt and pants against a fully equipped god. He lifted his trusty staff, letting his improved mana run through it. His feet spread into the familiar stance.

Agni struck first, spear lunging at high speeds at his heart. Izuku twisted, letting the blade rush past him and lashing out with his leg at Agni's side. The kick was blocked, forcing Izuku to leap back as Agni pushed him on the defensive with an array of stabs. 

Izuku's staff was holding up well, deflecting and striking back, the reinforcement holding strong. He noticed his violet mana was now a darker purple, clashing against the gold of Agni's spear with every parry. Izuku raised the tempo, landing his own strikes against the god. 

Minutes passed, Izuku only gaining small cuts. But the burning, fiery mana he sensed wasn't being shown at all. Izuku landed a clean punch, aiming towards the unarmored head, and whipped Agni's face back. The returning punch to the gut made him made him lose his breath. Izuku barely dodged the spear aimed at his head, drawing blood from his cheek.The crowd cheered.

Then Izuku started looking closer.

The same grin that Izuku finally placed as condescension still looked down at him, flashy thrusts and strikes to do maximum damage yet show off, the mana being held at bay. 

"That's all you got?" Agni laughed, the blade of the spear almost reaching Izuku's throat before being batted aside. 

Agni was making the fight into a game, leading the battle like a play with wide, dramatic strikes and apparent ease. If Izuku, the new prince, was killed here without any mana used with basically all of Heaven watching, Agni would get all the recognition a warrior could want and Aurora's name would probably be dragged into the mud.

He needed to turn this from a performance into a battle.

Stance Six: Javelin. 

Izuku moved his staff into position, focusing all of his new strength into his arms as he launched it with all his might. The practiced movement was almost supersonic. Izuku twisted the air around the projectile, curling it into a spiral to increase the momentum as it flew.

"YEET!"

Agni's red eyes widened with satisfying shock. The spear rose to block the missile on reflex, the impact knocking the golden weapon out of his hands as the arm dislocated. The staff went flipping up, up, into the air with a glint of metal. Izuku tensed his legs, and leapt .

"Stance Seven: Burst." 

Everything slowed down- the spear stabbing into the ground, the staff falling, Agni's body attempting to shift into higher gear with not enough time to do so. His arm gradually rose to block but Izuku was already in front of him, a purple gauntlet of air hardening around his fist as he drove it into Agni's face with everything he had. There was a crash as the man's head was introduced to the ground in a shockwave of force, and with his other hand Izuku caught the falling staff.

The crowd was silent, in awe or indignation he didn't know. 

For a brief second Izuku thought that was it, but then Agni started to glow . 

Izuku jumped back just in time, as everything was enveloped in flame. From it, a golden figure walked out. Izuku's enemy was now surrounded in beautiful sunset fire, weaving around his limbs and body like a cloak.

Agni spit out a tooth before turning back to him. The smirk looking down on him was gone. In its place were calculating, narrowed red eyes as he pushed his arm back into place with a crack. A trail of blood ran down the side of his head. His spear flew back into his outstretched palm, before being covered in fire as runes Izuku couldn't read appeared. 

The arrogant showman was gone, and in its place was a ruthless warrior.

"It seems I've underestimated you." Agni noted. 

Izuku nodded, bracing himself.

"I won't make that mistake again."

The battle finally started.

Agni's fire seemed alive, and for all Izuku knew it could be. It formed into whips and swords, creatures and fireballs, as Agni attacked. Izuku's reflexes were put in overdrive, staff carving through the flames. The spear blazed through the air, easily slicing through his air shields. He caught it with his staff, and the heat made him wince. He blocked a golden fist with his palm, feeling it burn through his gauntlet with the brief contact. 

Close range definitely wasn't safe, and the temperature would only increase as more and more flames covered the field. The crowd was excited, and Izuku was surprised to notice that some were shouting for him as well. 

Izuku began to get more creative. His air chains struck out at critical points, deflecting the spear or grabbing an arm. He shaped his air shields, curving flames back. Platforms of air let him move through the sky as he weaved through dragons of flame and bursts of fire.

He could feel the sweat through his shirt, dripping down his chin only to evaporate instantly. He couldn't handle the heat forever.

Agni was relentless. Thin but powerful threads of flame tore his chains. Returned flames were deflected with the spear, and Agni propelled himself with his fire to catch up to him.

Instead of dodging, Izuku shaped the air into a handheld shield as he turned to meet the fiery god. Izuku absorbed the impact as the spear tore through his shield like butter, giving him time to land a clean hit across his face. Something broke.

"Stance Two: Bash."

Izuku dissolved the platform under them, and Agni tumbled to the ground. Izuku swung the staff again, but Agni was already recovering and caught it in his hand, red eyes alight. Before he could move back, Agni stabbed forward with his other hand.

The spear sliced his forearm, the long gash instantly cauterizing as his vision briefly went white. Izuku tore his staff out of Agni's grip, a huge fist of air colliding with his enemy's gut in tangible desperation. Agni bent from the impact, but his arm still lashed out at lightning speed, catching Izuku's throat and lifting him up.

The gleaming hand burned , the pain making him scream.

Izuku couldn't win with just power.

He kicked out on reflex, being dropped. Izuku rolled under the next slash, and saw a burning fireball flying his way. Something tickled the back of Izuku's mind, of beaches and rackets. 

Instead of dodging, Izuku swung the staff and sent the ball of flame blazing back at Agni. It flew back at twice the speed before of course being absorbed into the spear-

Wait. Agni was immune to fire. Why was he blocking all flames? 

Agni was sweating too, and hadn't been walking through the burning fires around the field. Flames didn't affect him, but the heat did. 

Izuku grinned.

"Stance One: Sweep" 

His trusty staff struck Agni's knee, knocking him down. Forming a layered gauntlet around his arm, he gripped the blade of the spear and pushed until it was touching Agni's face. They both winced under the heat, but it clearly did more damage to Izuku's opponent. Agni stepped back, readying to counterattack-

And stopped, as his back pressed up against a wall. Surprised, he finally looked around. 

Izuku and Agni were surrounded by dense barriers of air, forming a glowing cube of purple. It was faintly see through, like coloured glass.

Agni stared around him before letting out a loud laugh. The cloak of flames grew larger, his face now seeming to glow as he gained a cowl. Fire curled around his armor, tensing for an attack.

"A fatal mistake. You've trapped yourself in with me."

Izuku let a smirk play upon his face, resembling Agni's earlier. 

It was the other way around.

"Stance Five:"

Izuku twisted his body as he began to spin at full speed, pushing his body to it's limit. His staff extended, the purple trailing it as he reinforced the swirling air into a powerful tornado-

"Whirlwind."

-inside an enclosed space full of heat.

The twister knocked Agni upward, along with all the flames and fire as the heated air rose. The beautiful tornado of orange and purple crashed into the top of the cube, and finally it shattered, letting the swirl of color rise high into the sky.

Agni dropped to the ground when it faded, broken spear hitting the field next to him. His armour was burned off at places, and he was completely unconscious. 

The crowd was silent in awe for a few beats, then it roared . 

Izuku blinked back at the cheering gods, moving his burnt hand in a sheepish wave. This only made them louder. He felt a smile stretch his face at being so accepted, at this many people not only knowing who he was but praising him.

Something strange to imagine mere years ago. Izuku wondered if his old self, the one before all this, would have enjoyed it as much as he did.

He slung his staff onto his back, turning to leave. He walked down the glowing hallway, leaving the arena.

Izuku chose to ignore the catcalls as he realized his t-shirt was burned off, a faint blush on his cheeks. He should have brought more shirts.

At least he had an excuse to try on divine clothing now.