The world was crumbling, but inside me, everything shattered.
The sky above Tokyo wasn't just storming—it was screaming. Lightning tore across the heavens like jagged scars. Winds howled with fury, shaking the ground beneath my feet. The air was thick with dust, ash, and the metallic scent of fear.
But none of it mattered.
What mattered was the storm inside me—the poison I was about to swallow, the fire I would carry in my veins.
Zane's eyes burned into mine, pleading and warning all at once. "You don't have to do this. Not alone."
I swallowed hard. "I do."
Because I'd lit the match that set this world on fire. And now, I had to be the one to hold it back—even if it meant burning myself alive.
Ryah stepped forward, her hands trembling as she held out the vial. Inside, the liquid pulsed like a heartbeat—a toxic flame, deadly and pure. One drop could consume me entirely.
My heart ached—not just for myself, but for everyone watching.
Izuku.
Bakugo.
Shoto.
My childhood friends—Diamond, Riley, Ryan, Eliza.
They looked at me like I was already gone, like I was about to vanish from their world forever.
I wanted to reach out, to tell them it would be okay.
That I wasn't afraid.
But words wouldn't come.
I could see the weight of my secret—Dark Phantom—crushing them. The pain of betrayal, confusion, hope… all tangled together.
I closed my eyes.
Memories flashed—my father's quiet pride, my brother's stubborn kindness, Riley's fierce determination, Zane's haunted gaze.
I wanted to hold on to those moments.
But the vial's cold glass pressed against my palm, a silent promise of sacrifice.
I raised it to my lips.
And swallowed.
Pain ripped through me like a thousand knives.
My lungs screamed. My blood boiled. My mind shattered.
I fell to my knees, the ground shaking beneath me.
I thought I'd lose myself—fade into the firestorm raging inside.
But then—
A flicker.
A voice.
A whisper in the chaos.
You are not alone.
I opened my eyes.
The storm above faltered.
Lightning curled back into the sky, tornadoes slowed their wrath.
I was no longer just a boy caught in the storm—I was the storm.
But the cost…
The cost was everything I'd ever loved.
Because now, as the power coursed through me—
I felt it.
The crushing loneliness.
The bitter weight of becoming something no one could reach.
I was burning.
And I was breaking.
And I didn't know if I could hold on.
But I had to.
For them.
For everyone who still believed.
The battlefield was silent.
Eyes wide.
Hearts breaking.
Waiting to see if their brother, their friend—the phantom in the shadows—would survive the fire he had swallowed.