From the skyscraper, Luke looked on as All Might and Alexander Becking, without planning anything, joined hands to fight All For One.
In the last two days, Luke had struggled immensely while deciding on the key checkpoints of this plan.
A feeling had been nagging him ever since his father had shared his nightmare with the Pros, prophesying the dark episode, which had gone by the name of KAMINO WARD INCIDENT in his previous life.
The event had been so great that even Luke, eight years later, had come to learn of it in detail.
It was largely due to Momo's involvement.
In that life, the Vanguard Action Squad had succeeded in kidnapping Bakugo. In the training camp, Momo had ingeniously planted a tracker on Chainsaw Nomu. That had led the Heroes to find the Nomu Factory in Kamino Ward, while Detective Tsukauchi found the secret bar hideout in the same region separately.
Then, Midoriya, Momo, Tenya, Kirishima, and Todoroki had gone to rescue Bakugo, using another tracking device that Momo had created for them.
Of course, their rescue of Bakugo hadn't been the highlight for which the world had remembered the Kamino Ward Incident.
It had been for All Might taking on the hidden boss, All For One.
In the end, All Might's secret of his weak physique had been revealed to the world, with him losing the embers of One For All entirely.
That had been the moment when All Might's story had ended, and Midoriya's had begun.
That had been the moment when All For One had secretly heralded Shigaraki's conquest as well.
Compared to his previous life, Luke found this world not even on the opposite end, but an entirely different and unimaginable reality.
Conformity, Singularity, The Boundary, Claws, Radiants…
These keywords hadn't even brushed the furthest corners of the world in his previous life, if they had even existed.
In his current world, though, they were gaining popularity by the day, depicting fates!
Everything seemed to have changed, Luke believed, making it impossible for him to pinpoint the details in the timeline as per his knowledge of the past, present, and future.
Some of these changes he had introduced willingly and desperately, trying to keep things in his control.
Most had been forced onto the world by the consequences of his actions.
And yet, time after time, after his resurrection, Luke was finding that no matter how ridiculous these changes were, the key events from his previous life were repeating themselves.
It was as if someone had etched the fates of every individual into the very fabric of the world itself.
It was as if no matter if that individual ran in circles or in opposite directions or even flew, one way or another, he would end up meeting the same fate.
It was as if the world was screaming to everyone involved — Do as you wish, but… Fate is eternal!
And Luke had a problem with that.
A big one.
The single reason he had made a deal with a foreign god to resurrect himself was to find the mystery behind his family's death at a possessed Bakugo's hands.
At this moment, Luke had all but confirmed that Bakugo alone could never have done that, no matter how horrible a personality he had. In the last year, he hadn't interacted with the boy overly. But he had studied him… closer than ever, had seen his reactions, and had tested his beliefs.
Bakugo was a Hero.
But Heroes could be influenced, too.
Luke knew not everything had revealed itself to him for him to draw any conclusions.
Still, if Fate was eternal, then, even if he succeeded in finding out what truly had happened with his family, would that be enough?
Luke could make his peace with not involving himself with Momo of this world, if that meant she would never be in danger.
But who could tell him that it was a surety? Could someone claim that she wouldn't face the same danger as she had in another life?
As Luke looked at All Might and Alexander breaking All For One's helmet, a BOOM echoing in the surroundings; his heart also boomed, skipping beats now and then.
Fate could not be eternal.
Fate must not be eternal.
Knowing what was at stake, Luke had first confirmed whether the playground was still Kamino Ward in this life by letting Melissa trace the GPS device's signal. Once that was done, he had contacted Alexander Becking, letting him know about All For One's probable appearance. Then, he had called Tsukauchi, giving info about the factory and leaving words for All Might.
Not for once had Luke worried about Momo being kidnapped by All For One; at least, not to the point of losing his wits. Momo had survived for eight more years after the Final War, which meant she wouldn't die before that time in this life, either.
And there lay the paradox, which Luke had found himself staring at.
He didn't want Fate to be eternal, but here he was, counting on Momo's fate for her survival.
Something struck Luke's mind as he stared at the paradox again.
It was an epiphany, blooming in his heart, words melting into his soul.
As Luke saw Endeavor, Gran Torino, Edgeshot, and Kamui Woods finally reaching the scene as well, he also stepped forward, the tips of his shoes passing the roof's edge.
Wind blasted his face, playing with his hair, Nyx's feet digging tighter on his shoulder.
The rest of the Apostles watched him as his white coat flapped mightily.
Suddenly, they heard him chuckle.
"Fate is eternal…" Dr. Blessed said. "… only when I want it to be…"
[What are you doing, Luke?!] Miss Justice screamed in his mind. [This wasn't the plan! Have you gone insane?!]
Behind him, Iwao, Melissa, and Kazuho's faces paled, realizing something amiss, too. Meanwhile, Mushroom silently watched the battle going on far away, throwing his hands like a child mimicking the punches.
Dr. Blessed leaned forward.
The Beyonders' hearts jumped.
"Wait for my signal—" Dr. Blessed's voice echoed in their ears through the masks. "The time has come… for me to decide the fate of this world."
Then, even as Iwao, Melissa, and Kazuho reached out, Luke fell from the 50-storey building, a clownish smile decorating his face.
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