A low, guttural growl rippled through the quiet of the room — deep enough that the old pipes in the walls seemed to vibrate in answer.

Y/N stirred, lashes fluttering as consciousness seeped back in. Her head lifted slowly, a few stray strands of white hair falling across her face. For a heartbeat, she looked dazed, still caught between sleep and wakefulness.

Then her gaze sharpened — and her lips curved into a faint, knowing smile.

"King," she breathed, voice soft but threaded with warmth.

The massive shikigami crouched before her, his golden eyes gleaming like molten suns beneath the dim light. His shadow filled the room, all muscle and otherworldly weight. He lowered his head, the heavy air thrumming as he leaned in to gnaw delicately at the ropes around her wrists.

"Persistent as ever," she murmured, tilting her head with lazy amusement. "How did you find me this time, hm?"

King paused, lifting his great head. The faint rumble of his chest was almost a purr as he flicked his tail — and pointed.

Y/N followed the motion, her gaze landing on Mr. Compress, who stood half in the corner, half against the wall, mask in place, one arm crossed over his chest like a spectator at a show he hadn't paid to see.

Y/N blinked, her brows lifting slightly. "You let him come in?"

Mr. Compress chuckled under his breath, adjusting the brim of his hat. "I didn't exactly invite him. He appeared, growling through Kurogiri's warp like he owned the place. Nearly scared poor Spinner into shedding his skin."

King let out a low, pleased rumble — which was very much not a denial.

Y/N's lips twitched, her eyes half-lidded in amusement. "So you just... allowed a divine beast to waltz into your villain headquarters unannounced?"

Compress shrugged lightly. "In my defense, I doubted it was wise to stop him."

"Smart man," she said, tone light but her smile sharp. "I do hate cleaning up after divine tantrums."

King rumbled again and finished tearing through the last thread of her restraints. The ropes snapped, falling to the floor in quiet surrender. Y/N flexed her fingers, rolling her wrists with an elegant little sigh.

"Thank you, darling," she said, glancing up at her familiar with a lazy grin. "Always punctual."

King's tail thumped once against the ground — a sound more like distant thunder than a gesture of affection.

Across the room, Compress tilted his head, his masked face unreadable. "You plan to leave now?" he asked cautiously. "Shigaraki won't take kindly to his guest walking out."

Y/N stood slowly, her movements graceful and unhurried, like the world itself would bend to her pace. "He can take it however he likes," she said, voice velvet and ice in equal measure. "He thinks he's about to prod and poke at divinity."

Her eyes glowed faintly as she glanced toward the door. "Let him try to hold me again. The last thing this hideout needs," she added, smiling faintly, "is a reminder of what happens when gods are inconvenienced."

King growled softly in agreement — and the walls seemed to hum in response.

Y/N swung herself smoothly onto King's back, her movements fluid and unhurried. The great shikigami crouched low, muscles rippling under its spectral hide before launching forward in a blur of pale light.

They surged down the narrow hall, shadows and dust splitting before them. The air tasted like rust and smoke — freedom was close enough to taste.

But then the world flared blue.

A wall of fire erupted across the corridor, hot enough to make the concrete hiss. King skidded to a halt, his claws digging trenches into the floor as heat rippled through the air.

Through the wavering flames, a tall figure stepped forward — half-shrouded in blue light, half-bathed in darkness. His staples caught the glow like cruel jewelry.

Dabi.

He had a hand outstretched, flames licking lazily at his fingertips.
And in his other hand —

Bakugo.

The boy dangled by the collar of his costume, teeth bared, eyes blazing fury. Dabi held him effortlessly, as though handling a wild animal that hadn't yet learned how small it truly was.

Y/N's posture stiffened immediately. Her expression cooled, the air around her darkening like the moment before lightning strikes.

"Why," she asked, her voice calm — too calm — "am I not allowed to leave?"

Her eyes narrowed, glinting like distant stars. "And why, in the heavens, would you bring him here?"

Dabi's grin curved upward, slow and lazy, but the firelight made it cruel. "Orders," he said simply. "Shigaraki wants the kid. Thinks he's got potential. We're gonna... convince him to switch sides."

Y/N stared at him for a long, still moment — then laughed.

It wasn't a mortal sound. It was something soft and resonant, like crystal cracking under pressure. The laugh echoed through the hall, low and melodic, both terrifying and beautiful.

"Oh," she said finally, stepping down from King's back with unhurried grace. "You want to recruit a boy who'd rather die than bow?"

Her eyes glowed faintly as she lifted one hand, fingers tracing a lazy circle in the air. "You people really do thrive on impossible dreams."

King rumbled behind her — a sound that made the floor tremble — but she raised a hand in silent command. "Go," she murmured.

The massive shikigami dipped its head once before dissolving into a swirl of black smoke and silver light, retreating into shadow. The air around her shimmered faintly as its presence faded, leaving Y/N alone with Dabi, the heat, and Bakugo's ragged breathing.

She looked at Dabi, her expression somewhere between amusement and faint disappointment.

"So," she said softly, her tone turning sharp as a blade. "You're the one standing between a god and the door."

Dabi's grin didn't falter. "Yeah," he said. "Guess I am."

The flames flared higher.

Y/N's smile returned — slow, dangerous, utterly divine.

"Then let's see," she whispered, "how long mortal fire burns against eternity."

Y/N moved before the sound even registered—one sharp burst of motion that blurred into light and smoke.
Dabi's eyes widened as a shockwave rippled through the corridor. The air cracked like glass.

When it cleared, Bakugo was gone from his grasp.

From the side wall, stone split open like skin giving way beneath a blade, and a massive white serpent uncoiled—its scales glowing faintly, its eyes bright as dying suns. It slithered forward, wrapping around Bakugo with protective precision, holding him firm but unharmed.

Dabi swore under his breath, blue flames roaring to life around his arms. "You—"

He didn't finish. Y/N stepped from the fire itself, her figure wreathed in the same blue light that should have consumed her. Her expression was calm, untouched.

"You should know by now," she murmured, brushing soot from her sleeve, "your flames don't burn gods, Dabi."

Before she could move again, knives flashed through the air—silver arcs of light and sound. They whistled past her cheek, embedding into the wall beside her with a dull thunk.

Toga landed in a crouch, eyes gleaming, her grin wide and wicked. "No holding back this time!" she sang, lunging.

Y/N turned to parry, but the knives came again—then the heat followed. Dabi's flames met Toga's steel, a deadly dance of chaos closing in around her.

In seconds, the two of them had her pinned—Toga's blade at her throat, Dabi's fire licking at her skin, his arm braced beside her head.

The goddess didn't struggle. She only smiled—serene, radiant, infuriating.

"Still smiling, huh?" Dabi said, his voice low, his breath warm against her face. He reached up and caught her chin between his fingers, forcing her to meet his mismatched eyes. "Tell me why. Why aren't you afraid?"

Her gaze met his—steady, unblinking. The flames reflected in her irises like stars sinking into an endless sea.

"Because," she said softly, "there's nothing your pathetic little league can do that I haven't already survived. I've been broken, burned, banished... and I'm still here."

Her smile deepened, a quiet promise more than mockery. "I always come back."

For a heartbeat, Dabi froze. Something flickered in his expression—doubt, maybe, or recognition. His hand remained against her face, fingers twitching as if torn between pulling away and holding on.

Y/N tilted her head slightly, stepping forward so that the distance between them disappeared. Her voice was almost a whisper now, honey-soft and terrible:

"Go ahead, blue flame. Burn me again."

Dabi didn't move. The air trembled between them, heavy with heat, threat, and something neither could quite name.

The corridor's heat still shimmered when Shigaraki and Kurogiri appeared in a swirl of dark mist.

"Enough."
The word snapped through the air like a gunshot.

Shigaraki's red eyes flicked from Dabi's flame to Toga's blade to Y/N's serene smile. His hand twitched at his side, impatience radiating off him. "Go back to your cage," he said, voice raw and cold. "Before I make you."

Y/N's head turned slightly, the light catching in her eyes like molten gold. "No."

That one syllable seemed to change the air itself.

In the next instant, the shadows behind her moved.
They stretched and twisted, glowing faintly—darkness laced with threads of blinding light.

Dabi barely had time to react before those tendrils slammed him back against the wall, pinning him there. The flames guttered and died, smothered by light that refused to burn.

Shigaraki lunged, but the ground buckled under his feet, gravity itself turning against him. In a blink, he was hurled upward—slamming into the ceiling, suspended there by invisible force, his snarl echoing through the room.

Only Toga remained untouched, perched on the edge of a table, laughter spilling from her like bells in a storm. "You're amazing, Y/N!" she said between giggles, eyes bright with something between fear and delight.

Y/N didn't answer.

Her body shimmered, light bleeding away from her form like dissolving ink. In the space where she had stood, the concrete cracked and burned, etching a single glowing mark into the floor—
a roaring dragon, its wings spread wide.

Then she was gone.

The silence that followed felt enormous.

The shadows dimmed. Dabi slid to the floor, coughing. Shigaraki dropped from the ceiling with a thud that rattled dust from the rafters.

That was when Twice stumbled in, breathless and wide-eyed. "Uh—boss? Should I... chase the glowing god-lady or—?"

Shigaraki's cough turned into a rasping laugh. "No," he said, voice hoarse. "Don't bother. She'll come back on her own."
He looked toward Kurogiri, eyes narrowing. "Get ready. My master will be here soon."

Kurogiri's mist pulsed once in acknowledgment—then thickened, darkening until the air itself began to warp.

The next breath anyone drew came out wrong—heavy, metallic.
Then the next—thicker.

Dabi swore and pressed a hand to his chest as black smoke began to pour from the walls, seeping into their lungs.

Coughs turned to chokes, curses to panicked gasps. The lights flickered and died as the mist swallowed everything.

Within seconds, the entire hideout was drowned in blackness—
a silence broken only by the faint echo of distant wings.