It started with the advent of the extraordinary. Gods began appearing all across the globe, granting blessings to people for various deeds. These blessings often varied in power, and could range from lighting an object on fire with a snap of their fingers, to being able to lift a skyscraper with one hand. The power received depended entirely on the generosity of the god in question and how impressed you'd made them.

  The people who had been granted these blessings were called demigods. The avatars of these all powerful beings to impose their will on human affairs.

  There were all kinds of gods, from all kinds of beliefs and religions, although most who possessed different names were one and the same. Zeus and Thor for example, were the same being. Chronos and Father Time, Susanoo and Neptune, Thanatos and Death, Odin and capital G God.

  Every god was able to grant more than one mortal with a blessing, although they more often than not just blessed a handful at a time.

  Then, twenty years after the advent of the extraordinary, a second unusual event occured.

  A baby was born with the ability to emit light. A power that was not a blessing, not a divine ability granted to her, but a genetic mutation in her very DNA.

  And thus, Quirks were born.

  Things weren't as hectic as they could have been, with the world already aware of gods and special powers, although now it wasn't just the worthy receiving these gifts.

  Quirks began weak, unable to compete with even the weakest demigod, although with every generation these genetic abilities grew in power, slowly accumulating new and more powerful variants before quirks and blessings were on par with one another, excepting only the strongest of godly blessings from the strongest of gods, like Zeus or Odin.

  People began to abuse these quirks, powers that couldn't be taken away with unworthy actions. A solution was needed; Heroes. People who used their blessings or quirks to fight those that used them for evil, protecting the innocent and keeping order in this new, superpowered world.

  Quirks were quite common. Powerful quirks were rare, and blessings were even rarer than that. Powerful blessings were one in a million. Someone with a powerful quirk and a powerful blessing? They were garunteed to become the strongest man in the world.

  All Might. The world's number one hero and symbol of peace. Wielder of the world's most powerful strength quirk, and avatar of Heracles, the god of strength.

  He was unstoppable. Quirked villains surrendered in fear at the mere mention of his name, and other demigods watched in awe at his feats of strength.

  Endeavour was another quirked demigod, possessing both Hellflame and the blessing of Hephaestus, the god of fire, but even his power paled in comparison to All Might's.

  Of course, with all of these incredible powers being thrown about, there would be those unlucky few in possession of neither a quirk nor a blessing. They were shunned by society, treated worse than the dirt they often lay in.

  Izuku Midoriya was one such person.

  Quirkless and 2,000% mortal, Izuku dreamed of being a hero, even with no power to call his own.

  Followed by Death wherever he went, Izuku was alone. No friends. No family. Nobody to support his dream, or even give him a smile and a small "you can do it!".

  He was bullied on a daily basis, beaten and burned by his classmate's quirks, his former best friend's in particular, one Katsuki Bakugo.

  Bakugo was loud and brash, his explosion quirk earning him ridiculous amounts of unearned praise, swelling both his head and his ego to the size of a bus. He believed he would not only have his strong quirk, but a god would take notice of his greatness and grant him a powerful blessing, making him the ultimate hero.

  And of course, even the gods had to kiss the blonde's ass.

  Ares, the god of war, granted Katsuki a powerful blessing. Other than the basic strengthening of body and quirk it also sharpened the blonde's instincts and reflexes to an unnatural degree, turning him into the ultimate warrior.

  Compared to Bakugo, Izuku stood no chance of passing the gruelling UA entrance exams without power, but even so he had to at least try.

  Unbeknownst to Izuku, the very god that had watched him throughout his life had an offer to make.

_________

  Izuku was having an.. unusual day.

  Let's start from the beginning.

  The teenager woke up at 6, getting his morning routine over and done with before returning back to his notebooks. He had two types of notebook, his Quirk Analysis and his Blessing Analysis. Specifically, Izuku was looking over his blessing analysis.

  Strangely, there had been a sudden uptick in the number of blessings being granted to quirked individuals, most of whom were around the same age group as Izuku.

  The greenette in question had compiled a list of all the demigods he knew of, hero or otherwise, and ranked them in terms of power to compare them to the god tier list.

  Primordials, beings like Chaos and Father Time who wielded unfathomable power, even when compared to other gods. As far as people knew, no Primordial had ever granted a blessing.

  Elder gods, Zeus and Odin, the kings of their respective pantheons, were considered the strongest of the 'normal' gods.

  Gods, like Ares and Heimdall, powerful beings but not quite to the level of Elder gods.

  Lesser Gods, like Phobos, child of Ares.

  Demigods, while still mortal, wielded a portion of a god's power.

  The beings Life and Death did not fit in with the classification system. Technically they were above all others, even Chaos itself, but at the same time were seen far more often than other gods, in hospitals and at places where someone was about to die.

  With one exception.

  Death had haunted Izuku for as long as he could remember. It was a rare occurrence when Death was not watching Izuku from some dark corner. They'd never spoken, though Izuku always gave the god the respect she deserved.

  He was intimately familiar with death after all.

  Putting his notebooks away Izuku left his room and headed down the stairs, silently leaving the foster home and heading to school.

  He spotted the midnight black robes and bleached white skull standing in an alleyway, unnoticed by all but himself.

  Dipping his head respectfully, Izuku paused for a moment.

  "Good morning my Lady."

  Death inclined her own head, before vanishing from view.

  He knew just how cruel Death could become.

  The greenette walked quickly past an active hero fight, some battle between a villain with a gigantification quirk and Kamui Woods, avatar of Pan.

  But at the same time, how kind Death's final embrace could be.

  Entering the main gate of Aldera high school, Izuku prepared for another day of Hades.

___________

  "So take a swan dive off the roof, and pray for a quirk in your next life!" Katsuki's arrogant voice crowed.

  Behind the blonde, Death's expressionless skull tilted slightly to the side, as though asking Izuku a question. The greenette stared back at the god, unflinching.

  It was not yet his time.

  "When my time comes, I will greet lady Death with open arms. Until that time Kacchan, I will not hurry to her." He said, his gaze returning to the blonde.

  Death seemed approving, retreating back into the shadows.

  Katsuki just scoffed, turning to leave the room.

  "Cut it with the religious crap Deku! We get it, you're a weirdo that worships Death! Sounds like something a villain would do, but whatever!"

  Izuku frowned at that.

  "I do not worship any god. I'm just showing the proper respect to her like every living being should. You shouldn't talk about a god that way Kacchan.."

  The normally cocky brat looked out the window warily. Even he wasn't stupid enough to antagonize a god.

  "Whatever.." he scoffed, leaving the room.

_______

  Hisashi Midoriya died when Izuku was 6. The fire breather got caught in a vicious villain attack, killed by a collapsing apartment block.

  Izuku learned just how cruel Death was.

  Inko Midoriya fell into a depression, not taking proper care of herself and getting violently sick. She died two years later, her suffering ended by the being only Izuku had seen, standing at the foot of his mother's bed.

  Izuku leaned just how kind Death was.

  From the moment of his second revelation, Death began to follow Izuku wherever he went. Never speaking, never interfering.

  Until now.

  As Izuku struggled in the sludge villain's grasp, he knew that it was finally his time. Only an hour after he'd been told to kill himself, her was being suffocated to death.

  I thank Life for my time on this Earth, and I welcome Death with open arms...

  And Death moved.

  Her scythe made of steel blacker than shadow swept through the sludge villain's gelatinous form, missing Izuku's throat by a hair's width. Something was sucked into the metal, making the villain lose it's form and slosh away into the drains, never to live again.

  The greenette collapsed to the concrete, hacking coughs splattering a mixture of sludge and stomach acids onto the floor. He looked up at Death, confusion clear in his eyes.

  "...why?" He croaked.

  Death's scythe sank back into shadow, the being above all kneeling down to the half-dead child.

  "I wish to offer you a boon, Izuku Midoriya."

  The greenette's eyes widened to a seemingly impossible degree. A Primordial god offering Izuku a-

  "Y-you want to offer m-me a b-blessing..?!" He asked.

  Death seemed to chuckle, holding out a skeletal hand for Izuku to take. Almost reverently, Izuku allowed the god to help him to his feet.

  "Not quite, Young one." She began. "You who understand that Death is Cruel, that Death is Kind, that Death must be Impartial, shall be my successor."

  Izuku stared at the god, who waited patiently.

  "Successor..?" He asked. "I'm sorry my Lady, I don't understand."

  Death seemed to smile, despite having no lips to speak of.

  "I have decided to, for lack of a better word, retire, Young one. I deem you worthy of inheriting my mantle in it's entirety, not just as a mere blessing."

  "You want me to be... Well, you?" He choked.

  Death inclined her head, not requiring words to get her meaning across.

  "Would I.. be able to become a hero?" He asked.

  "You would not inherit the entirety of my power until your time comes, so until then yes, you can become a hero."

  "I accept." Izuku said, determination written across his features.

  "Then it is done." Death said, pressing a bony finger to Izuku's forehead.

  The world turned black.