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Once upon a time, in the old days, on a harsh day when a storm broke, two brothers were born. In the middle of the ocean, aboard a ship bound for the New World. In the farthest and darkest hold, a girl with no gender, no status, and even no health gave birth to two white-haired twins. However, she still had little time to consider her newborn sons, because all the remnants of her life force were spent on the birth itself. The baby's cry rang out at the same time as the last heartbeat of the new mother. Normally, the ship's crew would have noticed the birth of new passengers on board, but the merciless storm that had broken out had attracted all their attention. Mortals were not interested in the children of a dead slave girl who had been stolen from Asian colonnia. As the humans ran above, vainly fighting for their existence from the elements, two new lives clung to the remnants of their own mother. Babies were born interesting: one toddler is many times larger than the other. And all the time they were holding on to their little hands. However, the smaller brother was very weak to navigate. Big brother clung to him desperately, but the waves rocked the ship, taking away the smallest balance that the baby had. At a time when all children in the first minutes of life scream to breathe and announce their birth, the big twin screamed for himself and his brother. He screamed for help. A living being who was just about to experience this world, who did not yet know any words for help, desperately begged for salvation with his cry. No one alive could have heard it. Only Death was there, in the dark hold.... However, Death has ears. And hands. And a black heart... Which was the mercy that kept her from leaving two crumbs in the lurch.
She knew she shouldn't interfere. That it should preserve the sacred order of things of all living things. Usually, she waited in silence when children in deadly situations were overtaken by their cruel fate. Of course, she was sorry to take the souls so soon. But that was their fate.
But these twins.... In particular, the big twin.... something was pulling Lady Death towards them. But not to take it away... And to leave them in the world of the living. She felt that the little twin was extremely weak, and soon she would probably take him away. He didn't even scream. But here's his brother...There was such force in his cries, such stubbornness... That Death knew this little boy wanted to live.
She came closer. Standing over the maiden's lifeless body, Death looked into big brother's eyes. And in that moment, she understood.
"So you're a little witcher." – Lady Death confirmed ," Now it's clear how you were able to reach me."
Up close, you can immediately see that the children have witch blood in them. If the white hair could still be attributed to a freak of nature, then big brother's red eyes, which looked directly into the face of Death, indicated that the boy was granted more than mortals. Also, reaper smelled the witch smell from children.
And since big brother could see her... Death decided to do the following...
"The rats will come here. When they come, pull, " she said to the baby.
With a light flick of the primordial Green Witch's fingers, the rodents headed towards the children and their mother's corpse. Death felt the animal fear of the rats that were about to flee the ship. But for this they need strength, and food. Three poor bodies would have been just the thing, so the pack responded happily. But it cost the first rodents to crawl close to the babies.... Like a big twin holding a rat's head with his free hand. Then a purple-black glow appeared. And in an instant, the rat was turned to dry up alive. The pack didn't like this, and they bared their teeth as they charged at their stubborn prey. But the glow also quickly dried them out. The remnants of the pack fled, leaving their failed prey behind. While a new child's voice rang out, more thin and squeaky. The little twin let out a voice and opened his eyes as the light smoke of his brother's abilities soaked into his body. Big Brother's cries of despair were replaced by the joyous laughter of a baby. After all, he had achieved his goal-his brother was still alive.
"Congratulations, witcher," Lady Death said with a smile on her human face.
But thunder broke out. The ship rocked even harder. Death realized that the ship was doomed. She sensed that she would soon have all the passengers at her mercy... All except for the two little witchers. She knew this was their chance. She used her telekinesis to push the nearest barrel toward them. Lady Death conjured hay into it and gathered the babies into her arms, wrapping them in the cloth left over from their mother's rags. When she put the toddlers in the barrel before closing the lid of the barrel, the big twin once again stared at her with its red eyes with a questioning look.
"Don't be afraid, everything is just beginning for the two of you. The waves won't swallow you up today. Consider it a birthday present from the Green Witch! " she winked at him and closed the lid. In a matter of minutes, the hold began to fill with water, dragging the ship to a depth of. At that time, Lady Death, without actually having a physical body, held the barrel in her arms all the time, and then lifted it to the surface. In the future, she sent a fair wind to the barrel, which drove her to the coast of America until the very end.
Years passed. Lady Death continued her work of reaping the souls of mortals that had been assigned to her since the beginning of time. The Green Witch wandered between different stars and planets, no longer interfering with the lives of mortals. Otherwise, at this time, she didn't come across little witches in trouble. And so, more than a decade later, she set foot in Salem. She was a frequent visitor there at the time, much to her annoyance. In those lands, the witch family was actively exterminated, and in their thirst for blood, mortals did not notice that they were much more likely to destroy only their own kind.
And so, at sunset on a summer day, moving from one village to another, the reaper saw two boys running to meet her. Usually this ends up with children running past without noticing, as they are not able to see the deity without her permission. But this time... The older boy stopped the smaller one, staring straight at her.
The same red eyes.
"Big brother, why are you standing up!?" A shaggy-haired boy asked from behind his brother, " The guards are about to capture us!"
"Good lady! Help us! " the older boy pleaded loudly, ignoring his brother's question.
The shaggy man blinked in surprise. "Brother... Who are you talking to?"
Death revealed its face to the smaller boy. "Looks like it's with me," said a green-haired lady in a green cloak and headscarf.
"Ah! WHERE DID IT COME FROM!? " - the boy shouted and hid completely behind his brother.
"Lady, I'm asking you to teach us." Big brother crossed his arms in a plea.
"Why are you being chased?"– What is it? " she asked back, her eyes narrowing.
"I dried the preacher. She took a swing at my brother. " The boy rattled off. "Please, lady, there is no turning back! We don't know where to go! »
Death sighed. Part of her knew that her actions on that ship would come back to her and bite her in the ass. And now, the two witches are back at her mercy. Lady Death was obscured: that time, she had come close to breaking the rules between her and her brother and sister, the incarnations of both time and space....However, what happened back then was in the ocean, while her fiefdom was earth, so... the twins ' demise wasn't her area of responsibility there. And now... The boys are only on the run. They themselves have a great chance of saving their souls. You just need to point them in the right direction...
"Run north. There is a witch settlement there. " - she pointed towards the forest thicket ," There you will be welcomed and protected in your enchanted circle."
"To the witches!? Lady...they are sinners who are being hunted!" The little twin showed his head again, " Brother, we are already called the sorcerer and..."
"And so we need to go to our own people! "the big twin interrupted, and with determination again stared straight into the eyes of Death," Thank you very much, Your Honor. I will be grateful to you for the rest of my life!" He bowed, then abruptly grabbed his brother's hand and ran as fast as he could north.
Death stared after them, thinking that this definitely wouldn't be the last time she saw these two. And those red eyes.
And even though she is a green witch, her prediction turned out to be correct. Twenty-four hours later, at dusk the next day, as she was walking in the depths of the forest, she heard movement in the bushes. She didn't need eyes in the back of her head (and she didn't really need eyes to see) to know who was coming at her.
Those stubborn red eyes were staring back at her. Seriously, she'd never seen such a monumental look in an adult witch, let alone a child!
The boy stood straight, hands at his sides. He was wearing a different set of clothes: a dark linen shirt with a small image of the triune moon on it, dark trousers, and good shoes. It was a marked contrast to the rags the two brothers had worn yesterday.
"You can find me now, I suppose?" the green witch said, putting aside her formal surprise.
"It's not difficult... I often see you on the days of the witch trials. " - said boy with out missing a bit ," You walk on the outskirts in a green cloak... and you're taking the souls with you, aren't you?"
"Exactly," she confirmed. What the point to lie one very talented spirit witch?
"Did you know that my brother and I are witchers?"
"I do. Did you and your brother just find out yesterday?"
"My little brother denied it. I didn't want to believe it, because I was worried about what the rednecks would think of him."
"And you?" Death pressed.
"I had my suspicions.... Because ordinary guys don't know how to suck the life out of louts!" – the boy answered with a challenge.
"Hmm. So how do I address a shrewd sorcerer?" she asked, distracting him from her anger at the Puritans.
"Can I tell you my real name or my local name?"- the boy clarified.
"Why two names?" the green witch wondered.
"We are not local. The boy stated in a stern tone, " You remember, we came from the ocean."
She stiffened. "Do you remember that?" she asked in surprise.... perhaps for the first time in millennia.
"I remember... the barrel, the rats... and your face. "- the boy confessed, " Although then you were wearing a different raincoat!"
"It's not comfortable to wear a corset at sea," the lady explained, scratching her head.
"So I knew you would help us. You're the one who put us in that barrel, aren't you?"
Death nodded. "I decided to give you a chance to try out life. However, I didn't have time to see who opened the barrel– there were too many drowned souls."
"The slaves found us. At the port where the ship was supposed to arrive. They also explained later that we are from other lands. And they said that we need local names, " said the young witcher.
"And what is your name?"
"My name is Hisashi. And my brother is Yoichi....That's the only thing our mother had time to say to us." The boy said, looking down in sorrow, " To the locals, our names are Christopher and Joseph....Ridiculous, isn't it?"
The green witch giggled at the boy's irony. "Well, consider them your aliases. I have accumulated a huge amount of them!"
"What's your name?" he asked suddenly.
"My name... For living beings, the name is not considered as such. Not all of your torsos even see me as a person. So this name will feel strange to you, " she assured the boy.
"Maybe a nickname then?" Hisashi suggested.
"well... If you think European names are ridiculous.... Call me Midoriya. " she replied.
Hisashi bowed. "Thank you for the opportunity to call out to you when we meet."
«You are welcome. "She nodded at him with a smile, "But don't you think it's too dark to be your age in the forest? Don't scare your new craft sisters – go back to them."
Hisashi didn't argue and ran towards the witches ' thicket. But finally he stopped and turned around. "See you soon, Lady Death!" he waved with a sly smile and ran away.
Oh, that one sly red eyes!
The next day, Lady Death found the dried corpse of a Puritan on the outskirts of the village, with fruit and a thank-you note in his hands.
Time passed. And as the seasons laughed one after another, as human settlements grew on American soil, so did the brothers. And soon there were no white-haired twin boys running in the woods of Salem, but two young men walking. The younger one, although initially afraid of the witch people, grew stronger and opened up in the circle of his own kind. Soon, he began to fully display his witchcraft abilities. His luminous energy balls served as guiding stars for all the unfortunate victims of Puritan accusations and attacks. Whether they are mortals or real witches. Yoichi's kind heart pushed him to learn all possible protective charms to help the unfortunate ones. Which aroused in him, for the first time in his life, a hunger similar to that of his older brother-a thirst for knowledge. The older brother fully shared this aspiration. But unlike his little brother, Hisashi was not so merciful. Over the years, he has become more severe and quick to deal with. He easily emptied the bodies of rabid Puritans who decided to start hunting them. However, sometimes he took lives not only for revenge or self-defense, but also to... make gifts for one special lady.
Initially, Lady Death looked after the brothers to calm their conscience. But over time, she found it pleasant when a friendly conversation or even a gift was waiting for her after her "work". The green witch and the witcher began to wander along the forest roads together more and more often. And the higher Hisashi became, the more often the lady found gifts for herself.
In recent years, the Puritan corpses have been supplemented by the bodies of fallen witches who dared to attack the brothers for what they considered excessive thirst for knowledge. So the first coven of youths fell and became a gracious offering to their green patroness. Yoichi was not happy about it, but he knew that those witches were doomed when they sent beams of energy in their direction, wanting to harm them. His brother would never have spared them. In the future, they also came across initially aggressive-minded insidious witches, and little brother realized that witches can also be enemies to each other. However, he did not give up the urge to gather his reliable coven to bring good to this land.
And big brother, in addition to his twins, had only one green witch...
"Today is probably the biggest harvest you've ever given me, Red Eyes!" Midoriya praised him, "I don't even know how to express my gratitude to you."
The Witcher smiled slyly. "A joint walk through the woods is accepted as payment... Hand in hand... All night!"
"Are you really willing to chat with me for so long?" the lady asked playfully.
"I have a lot to tell you. And also... then we can do something else besides talk, don't you think?" he winked at her.
"Mmmm... will see." she grinned and stuck her elbow out, waiting for her date's hand. He followed her wishes, gossiping their hand together, and they walked into the depths of the forest.
"So, when we were recapturing those grimoires from those mad old women, my brother and I ran into two delitant hunters ..." I heard the young sorcerer say as the pair disappeared down the road they shared.
However, this entertaining story for a date was continued. Later on, Yoichi became friends with these hunters and, to the not-so-great delight of his brother. The hunters were also not happy with the witcher, who was able to draw strength from all living things, and without moral foundations. But for the sake of the long-haired, kindly wizard's peace of mind, they tolerated each other. Yoichi and his hunters decided to defend all the wrongly accused and then assemble a team of witches and hunters to fight the unjust punishers and evil dark witches. For big brother, this meant that he saw less of his twin.
Lady Death noticed the sadness of her beloved witcher, and began to pay him visits herself.
"What is it?" Hisashi asked, blinking in surprise.
"This is my gift to you!" – Midoriya explained, holding the hidden object in her hands, " I thought it was time for me to give you nice gifts in return."
"Yes, but what exactly is it?"
"This doll. Since you're giving me bodies from your worldly circle, I decided to give you one body from my world. And it's also dead, since a felled and hewn tree can no longer be called alive. " - Death chattered.
"What a pretty little body, though. Just like a toy "- Hisashi commented, " Just like a toy!... I've never owned any toys, though."
"Well, let this one be the first!" - approved Midoriya.
"And the most important one!" the sorcerer echoed, " But I have to give you something as a gift, too. I promised you I'd pay for your help to us!"
"Dear Hisashi, I don't need bodies for this souvenir that should please you!" she shook her head.
"Then... Can I suggest you a name that complements your nickname?"– What is it? " he asked, fixing her with red eyes full of joy.
"And what is that name?" The green witch asked curiously.
«Inko!» she laughed happily at the cute name from the young man, who then asked, "Inko, would you let me share Midoriya name with you?"
And for the first time in billions of years, she blushed with embarrassment.
Then came the reaper's agreement, and the two of them lived together as husband and wife. And their happiness was enormous. And their joy was shared with their little brother and his allies. And they would live happily ever after... until the fateful day came.
The day when one of the witches, rescued by Hunter Yi, betrayed Yoichi, will try to attack his brother. Many witches could not live in peace, knowing that a sorcerer lives nearby, who can steal their lives and powers. She decided to try him herself. That's just not taken into account that attacking Hisashi is a direct way to be exposed to his terrible gift. But at the moment when the brazen witch was drying up, Yoichi, filled with despair, for a moment forgot how his brother's powers work. And in an attempt to push him away... he met his demise.
«NO! NOOOO! PLEASE, PLEASE, I'M BEGGING YOU, DON'T!" His red eyes were filled with tears. And he was sitting on the ground, desperately clutching the dried corpse of his brother in his hands.
"I'm sorry," Death said softly.
"I didn't mean to... Don't punish me! I didn't mean to..."
"This is not a punishment. His time has come. " - she assured. Inko was standing in her originally black cape. Today she came to him "for her work".
"You helped us back then! Can't you?... Let him live!? "Hisashi desperately haggled," I can get you the corpses! I'm catching up with the hunters, take the hairy one with the scar! I'll give it to you in return!"
"My dear.... This is only possible while the heart is beating. Your brother's heart stopped beating. There's nothing we can do." She parted his hopes, walking slowly towards him, her hands outstretched.
They were both silent as Inko took the soul of the deceased sorcerer. To Hisashi's even greater dismay, it turned out that part of his soul had gone somewhere. The disconsolate brother already knew the answer: those damned hunters had taken the pieces.
She promised that she would help him find them when she got back. All the while, Hisashi silently wept over the corpse until her return.
Years passed. Hisashi was inconsolable. To lighten his burden, Inko helped him hunt down escaped hunters (which she still thinks was extremely ironic). The more time passed after Yoichi's demise, the more violent his big brother became. Now he could see his enemies as well as mortals and witches. He cursed villages, he quarreled with Puritans, he ruthlessly killed entire covens. Only Inko, his dear witch consort, remained the most significant to him. It was only with her that he sometimes smiled. Only with her could he think of anything other than revenge and the search for a fragment of his twin's magic.
But the green witch couldn't be around him all the time. Souls all over the universe were waiting for her to take them to the next world, she couldn't stay near her beloved all the time. She came back to him every time I went to places that were farther away from Salem. Their common road now led back across the ocean to the shores of Asia.
And then one day, when her dear sorcerer stopped on the island of Japan, she wandered from one place of death to another, felt.... a new life. A life like hers. She realized in horror: a life born out of Death itself. Living close to Hisashi.
She gave up everything. Oea moved to the island. Her feet stepped on the threshold of the temple, where the bodies of local witches lay. It was raining hard and threatening, and Hisashi was sitting under the awning, holding a bag in his hands. A child's crying could be heard from it. And there were splinters of wood in front of the wizard's feet...the remains of that doll.
"Hisashi, what have you done!?" she asked him in the sternest tone she had ever addressed him.
He was silent for a long time, not taking his eyes off the baby. There was a sad smile on his lips.
"More like: who Did I do?" he corrected her.
«Hisashi, what the meaning of this?» – Lady Death pressed.
"This is our dear important doll. Now he has a real body. "he replied, gently rocking the baby," It's Izuku Midoriya. " he said, finally looking at her. She had never seen his eyes so full of hope, not even on the first day of his life.
Lady Death sighed heavily. "Hisashi, you broke the rules!"
"Witchers are not forbidden to have children by themselves by magic," he rapped out.
"But you had a baby with me." She raised her voice.
"What's wrong with me wanting to start a family with my beloved!?" he shouted in frustration. The kid, Izuku, whined, letting it be known that he didn't like being shouting of... his parents.
"Hisashi...." she began, trying not to let her husband's tantrum develop, "Just... Look around you."
"These are the dead witches and... This is my doing. " He argued quietly.
"Take a look at everything else."
The sorcerer looked around indifferently. The two of them were silent as the sounds of thunderstorms echoed outside the temple walls. He stared at her in silence, one eyebrow raised.
"The weather is in disarray. The trees are rotting. The wind is raging. "- Inko explained, " Hisashi... The world is too young and weak... The world can't stand it... Izuku.»
"Please, my love!" Hisashi panicked. He hugged the baby tightly. Izuku started crying. "Let him live! His heart is beating!"
His red eyes were full of tears. There were more tears than on the day Yoichi died.
He was trembling. He was trembling with terror... in front of her. For the first time in his life, Hisashi was afraid of her!
The decision was made.
"I can give you time!" she said, " Our son will live.... But far away from this world, not in the world of the living."
"But ..." Hisashi croaked
"Not forever!" She hastened to reassure him, " He will live with me in the eternal forests... Until the world changes. When magic will fill everything around and will exist in every living being. When mortals are strong enough to contain our child's presence.... He will come to their world. I'll let him out."
"Thank you, my lady..."
"But!" Lady Death continued, " You won't be able to see it until then."
Hisashi's jaw clenched sharply. They fell silent. Inko was pained to tell him about this and decided to console him: "I can let you see each other once a year, for a short time, until -"
"No need," he said suddenly.
He stood up without a word. He cooed their son, while slowly coming closer to Inko. Izuku paused, smiling at his father.
"There is no need to poison his soul. He'll be safe with you," he said as he passed the baby into her arms, " He's my hope. And comfort. And I know you won't let anyone ruin it. And I... I can easily unleash all my revenge on those traitors."
Inko stiffened. Now the red eyes stared back at her with cold determination.
"I promised you that I would pay for your help for the rest of my life. Well, Green Witch, from now on I will do my best... So that this worthless world will be filled with magic!" he growled, "I will fill your entire land with it, fertilizing them with the corpses of witches. And I will fill the air with Iskra and their forces. I will fill the rivers, seas, and oceans of the witches with Noah's blood."
She frowned.
"But don't be afraid, my love. I'll tell you what the witch family is. For every fallen witch, I'll bring dozens of others. I'll raise them like cattle. They will multiply, be born and die... Until they turn this world into a decent home for our son, " he hissed, and clenched his fist, setting fire to the bodies around him with his magic. On the day when the temple burned down in the depths of the Japanese forest in a dark purple flame, the Coven of Two broke up....
"That's the end of the story, huh," Izuku finished reading the pages of the Darkhold book.
In the distance, between different worlds, in the depths of the eternal scarlet storm, the young witcher sat on his created twisted throne. Red lightning flashed all around, signaling that the owner of this dimension was in a bad mood. Because it's not every day that you find your parents ' dating history in an ancient, cursed book. In addition, few people will know that his mother is actually Death itself.
Izuku was really upset about this "fairy tale". He had lived among humans for so many years. Without strength, without friends, without a father, not understanding: why should he do this? But now he was remembering... in his early childhood, he had a constant sense of deja vu. It's like every day repeats itself. And he's walking on the edge of the woods with his mom... again and again.
And all because his father decided to revive his doll... a consolation prize.
Well, then... Now Izuku is playing with dolls... across the multiverse. After all, why would he cling to one world, as his parents wanted, when with chaos magic, hundreds of different worlds are available to him?
Inko was standing on the porch. The sun warmed her plump cheeks. And while there was no point in keeping this human form since her son's escape from the universe, she liked to remain as a middle-aged woman. To put it bluntly, she liked fat. Millions of years spent in the form of a skeleton in a single cloak did not allow her to appreciate the comfort of a physical meat shell. Yes, of course, sometimes the flesh felt disgusting... But Inko saw it as a fun costume.
And today, for the first time, she decided to show up in this costume in front of Red Eyes. She was standing outside a small house that the academy's leadership had built out of pity for the imprisoned sorcerer. The witcher himself was explaining something to his classmates and their son's friends, who listened carefully to his instructions. After he finished explaining, Hisashi came out to her with a tight smile on his face.
"Did the green witch pay me a visit?" he said in a fake cheerful tone.
"I've been coming to see you for a long time. You should have finally noticed that when the spell that bound you to this place loosened, " she reminded him.
"What are you doing here?" He abruptly changed his tone, " Aren't you looking for him?"
"I know where he is... The problem is that he doesn't want to come out of his 'hiding place'." She sighed, " Just as stubborn as his father."
"Well then, it makes it easier for us." Hisashi grinned.
"What kind of task do you have with the kids?" She questioned him, " I thought you decided to settle down with someone else's life force again. You've been fooling everyone for centuries with a fairy tale about a magic road that fulfills wishes."
"Yes, it's a fairy tale," he agreed, " Only fairy tales and legends have the ability to come true. I was convinced of this when our son turned out to be the harbinger of chaos promised in the dark book."
"Hold on... So are you seriously looking for magic roads?" she was startled.
"Why look for something?.. If there's already one we've trodden down? " he asked back in a conspiratorial tone.
"What do you mean?"
"You and I created a path out of our lives, out of a pure desire to see each other again." – he explained, "We saw each other again and again when it was most necessary. Because we wanted to see each other. Therefore... If we let these sentimental kids follow this path, they'll lead us right to our Izuku."
Inko glanced at the teenagers. Children from different families, countries, and even worlds (running away from all of them from the son left behind a noble brezh between reality) gathered here to see their boy again. And maybe he is offended by his parents...but he'll hear these guys. After all, what Izuku has inherited from his family is charity and love for his loved ones.
"Don't you need a green witch in your coven?" She asked, already knowing the answer.
"The red eyes smiled. "We are in dire need," he replied, inviting her inside the house.