Chapter Text
The fifth company had just left Favonious Keep and the wild hunt was already swarming their way.
The wild hunt has always been the same; skulking masses feigning life as they follow their base instincts of destruction. And each and every time, Lohen would sink his spear, his daggers, even his arrows into their lifeless bodies without mercy. It was a song and dance that Lohen had learnt the rhythm to for the past five years out on the expedition.
Now, on some other day, Lohen may have been overjoyed at the prospects of a new challenge - though, the wild hunt has only gotten progressively less challenging aside from their growth in numbers - but he was already in a pretty foul mood.
First was Rerir, beating him to a bloody pulp where the most Lohen could do was act as a meat shield before Varka dismissed him from the front lines. The next was the stinging pain that dragged on for weeks; not so much the stinging itself – Lohen had long learnt to savour pain – but rather the fact that all he could do whilst the knights continued working against the sinner was lay in bed, immobile. And the final nail in the coffin was that by the time he was ready for action, Rerir had already been dealt with, leaving Lohen and the rest of the 5th with nothing to do but to go back home to Mondstadt, with nothing more than a handful of letters in tow.
It was a slurry of ugly emotions that simmered beneath his skin like boiling lava waiting to explode. But for now, Lohen had other problems. Namely the wild hunt threatening to skin them alive, and so, he buried it deep inside his small body, focusing on eradicating the monsters as that same manic laughter somehow found its way to his throat as always.
“IS THAT ALL?!” His cry was gilded in a hollow laugh that echoed through against the ragged terrain as gunshots and arrows whistled past him, narrowly missing him by a hair. Yet, deep inside, a gut feeling was telling him that something was wrong, something wasn’t right, something was wrong.
But his gut feelings wouldn’t solve their problem, so whether or not Lohen felt something off, he continued piercing through the heart of the enemy as the strongest, sharpest and fastest arrow the 5th company owned.
And for once, things were working out. The wild hunt were dropping like flies and those of the fifth company were already breathing out sighs of relief – Lohen dully noted the need to train them more later tonight – until it stopped working out.
Lohen’s spear sunk into the next corpse of a body as a smile drowned out his thoughts. But, it started sinking in far too deep as abyssal power rose from out that ‘body’ like coiling snakes that refused to release his weapon. Lohen almost immediately abandoned his weapon but it didn’t work when abyssal power snatched his body and he could feel it seeping through his very bones; perhaps this was what abyssal corrosion was like?
He could vaguely hear the knights behind him scrambling to manage the situation, their vanguard being snatched up by abyssal energy, as Lohen had long accepted whatever was next with a smile on his face, a weary and small thing that didn’t quite reach his cheek bones. It sucks when your gut feeling is right.
And before long, everything went black.
…
To have a staff meeting on the roof of UA was a very Nezu move and Aizawa had no choice but to accept it, whether he liked it or not.
It, at the very least, was a smart move after the UA break in just a day prior – having a face to face meeting away from prying eyes certainly helped with information security but then again, an open roof wasn’t exactly secretive.
With a heavy sigh, Aizawa took a sip from his paper cup filled with coffee blacker than his costume - because God knows he needs it – as his eye drifted the rest of the school below their very feet. This year's students seemed to be the worst bunch yet. Talented and full of good ambition - save for one person - but that also led to recklessness and for some, cockiness to the brink of insanity. But, it was also one of his many duties to ensure these heroes were cut out for the job; whether that meant subduing these rougher tendencies or playing devil's advocate and crushing their dreams.
But for now, Aizawa was simply dreading the excursion in the coming weeks. An off campus training session was not ideal after the whole breach, but then again, there weren't many places besides the USJ that offered such good practical experience. Thirteen, himself and even All Might had their work cut out for them. If only life was as simple as this clear sky that blessed them today.
That was, until Aizawa had to do a double take. Because the sky suddenly stopped being clear. About 10 meters above the UA roof, a couple paces away, a purple mass started coagulating and expanding rapidly across the clear blue afternoon sky as soon enough, it wasn’t just Aizawa paying attention, but the entire UA staff team, and Nezu himself.
Whether it was a mere coincidence, taking place so close to a data breach, was not a chance Aizawa was taking. Snatching his scarf was only the first step as he and many others behind him braced for whatever came their way.
Whatever did, was not what they expected. There were many things it could’ve possibly been. A targeted, remote attack. A portal connecting to another area to send through who knows what, from a weapon to a bomb. Yet what came out from the skulking purple mass, was a small boy, forced out like pulling a man out of sludge.
But Aizawa didn’t even have long to consider what he just saw when they were barrelling at breakneck speed.
As they sank down, for just a brief moment, Aizawa met their eyes. A slurry of red pretending to be blue with a piercing quality he had never seen, even in a quirked world. They were wide open as if forced awake, where Aizawa saw a blank, surprised expression that seemingly mirrored his own.
Aizawa could only describe his response as dazed. And perhaps, he was stun locked a little too long. Snapping from his daze, he immediately yanked his scarf off his neck, throwing it out to them and yet, by the time his scarf reached them, the stranger had already fallen past the rooftop edge, heading straight for the ground.
Thankfully, or perhaps ominously, that stranger had far faster reaction speed than any single person there because the single moment they flew past the rooftop, the sounds of cracking glass echoed across the building, panes shattering one after another, until eventually, it came to a stop.
A quick peek over the edge revealed a single streak across UA’s perfect glass walls, glass fracturing like tree roots that diverged from the cut as a small boy, dangled from a single dagger that found itself lodged in the wall.
Aizawa couldn’t even let out a sigh of relief knowing this now confirmed small boy was still alive as he quickly scrambled to his feet, bolting through the rooftop door as the other bewildered staff members soon sprung into action too.
…
Lohen had to tick another ‘albedo was right’ off his mental list - which he didn’t actually care to remember - given where he found himself. Because Albedo was right; the abyss really is a strange thing.
Whatever engulfed him didn’t kill him. Yet most wouldn’t call the situation he was in an improvement.
A quick glance told him plenty.
The sun was setting in the backdrop as Lohen’s eyes met more than just that glowing orb with an expanse of what he could only guess were homes filling the skyline in shapes and colours he had never seen before. Designs were packed, organised, streamlined; looked like a hell to fight in without getting a scolding from the acting grandmaster.
And the glass his dagger sunk into was no different. And by no different, it meant very different from what Lohen knew of. Texture and feel definitely pointed to glass, yet it was extremely clear, with shards breaking off exceptionally sharp - he silently wondered how good an arrowhead or dagger would be if made of the same material.
Then again, Lohen should probably think about the situation he was currently in. Namely dangling from decently high up - maybe 70 meters? 80 if he was feeling generous - on one arm, swinging on nothing more than his dagger lodged relatively shallow.
It was a pretty nice feeling. The chilly yet soft wind rushed calmly through his hair as he precariously dangled one incident away from breaking his legs, spine and maybe his neck and/or ribs if he landed poorly. That was the kind of thrill Lohen could get behind, and it was certainly a better way to go than sinking into the abyss, being driven into madness, never to be seen again.
Sadly, he had to snap out of his daydream when he noticed a crowd like ants gathering beneath his feet. That and he could feel the dagger’s grip on the glass loosening quicker than his actual hands.
Now, that left him with a small problem he actually had to deal with. What to do?
Lohen was in an unfamiliar environment, stuck in a precarious position that was one misstep from instant death - last he checked, the only human dumb– strong enough to take a 70m freefall and live was Varka - and best of all, surrounded by enemies that seemed to start pooling together as their numbers only multiplied the longer he waited.
He could tell they were talking to each other, yet despite boasting unbelievably good hearing, Lohen couldn’t make out a single word they said. Yet, with an easy smile, he lightly hummed to himself, “Oh, what to do~?”
And then, he dropped.