I locked my eyes on the man with dark hair, and his unsettlingly calm demeanor. His patched skin and lazy smirk were hauntingly familiar, yet I couldn't grasp where I had seen him before. My mind was a whirlpool of confusion, swirling faster and faster as I tried to hold onto something solid. My claws dug into the earth beneath me, my green eyes glowing ominously as mist began to rise around my head, curling like smoke.

I shook my head violently, trying to push back the fog that clouded my thoughts. I couldn't go back to that state—not again, not after everything I had fought to overcome. But the more I fought it, the more the confusion clawed at my insides, pulling me down.

"Look, the princess is losing herself, don't you see?" the man's voice sliced through the air, venomous and mocking. He took a step forward, the sneer never leaving his face. "Onyx, you're meant to be with us, with the League of Villains. Now be a good girl and come with me, so we don't need to kill your teacher here."

My heart hammered in my chest. The words felt like a cold hand around my throat. The League of Villains? I recoiled at the thought, even as the eerie familiarity of the situation gnawed at the back of my mind. I glanced at Aizawa, who stood tense and unwavering, but I could see the weight of the situation in his eyes—he was trying to find a way to protect us without making me break.

The shadows seemed to stretch around us as the tension thickened, and a cold shiver ran down my spine. If I don't follow them willingly, they'll burn this forest down and kill everyone here—that terrifying reality hung in the air like a dark cloud. I could feel the weight of it pressing on my wings, my claws, my very being. I was caught between two terrible choices: follow this man and betray everything I had fought for, or defy them and risk the lives of the people I had come to care for.

The fire of rage sparked inside me, fighting against the pull of confusion. My wings twitched, the familiar sensation of power coursing through my veins, but I could feel the disorienting pull of the fog still trying to cloud my mind. I was teetering on the edge of losing control, but I refused to let it consume me again.

Aizawa's gaze met mine—he knew. He knew the struggle I was facing, and he understood the weight of the choice I had to make. My body trembled with the effort of holding myself together, but I refused to back down. I had to stay strong, for them. For everyone.

But the man—he wasn't finished. "What's it gonna be, princess?" he taunted, taking another step forward. "You can come with us quietly, or we can make this... very painful." His smirk twisted as he raised his hand, and I could sense his quirk shifting in the air, a dangerous energy crackling around him.

I knew I had only moments before he would strike. The choice was slipping away, but I wouldn't let fear control me. I clenched my jaws, forcing the confusion down, drawing on the strength I had left.

"I'm not going anywhere with you," I growled through clenched teeth, my voice low and filled with quiet fury. The mist around my head started to dissipate, and my claws dug deep into the ground, feeling the power surge within me, ready to strike.

But even as I braced myself for what would come next, I knew that this moment would determine everything. The past, the present, and my very future—all hinged on the choice I made now.

My breath caught in my throat as the words echoed in the air, and before I could stop myself, the world around me seemed to slow. A voice, unmistakable and filled with desperation, broke through the tension: "ONYX, NO!"

I whirled around instinctively, my wings flaring as I spun on my heel. My heart clenched when I saw them—Izuku, Bakugo, Todoroki, Tokoyami, and even Shoji—all standing there, frozen in place. Their eyes were wide, filled with an amalgamation of fear, confusion, and something else I couldn't quite place.

Izuku's voice trembled with urgency, his green eyes wide and filled with panic. "Onyx, don't—please!"

Bakugo stood rigid, fists clenched at his sides, his sharp gaze cutting through the chaos like a knife. But even he couldn't mask the flicker of worry behind the fury. Todoroki's brows were furrowed in concern, his typically stoic expression betraying the depth of his unease. Tokoyami's dark eyes seemed to narrow, sensing the weight of the situation, while Shoji, ever the quiet observer, looked torn, as though struggling with an impossible choice.

I felt a pang in my chest, a sharp pain that shot through my veins. They didn't deserve this—none of them did. My thoughts screamed at me to turn away from the villains, to fight back, but the promise I had made to them—to keep them safe—weighed heavily on my shoulders.

I turned to the man, the one who had been speaking to me earlier, his patched skin twisted into a smirk that made my stomach churn. My claws flexed at my sides, and I took a step back, my wings fluttering slightly as I steadied myself. "If I come, will you promise to lay off my friends and leave the school alone?" My voice was barely above a whisper, but there was a certain steel to it now. I couldn't let them suffer for my mistake.

The man's grin only widened, his blue eyes gleaming with amusement as he nodded. The smirk on his lips was laced with an arrogance that made my skin crawl. "Of course," he purred. "We came for you, Onyx, and only you. The rest of them are insignificant."

The words hit me like a blow to the chest, and I couldn't stop the wave of guilt that crashed over me. The rest of them? Insignificant? My friends, my teammates—their lives were worth more than anything these monsters could offer.

But I had no choice.

The air shifted again, and the villains behind him began to reappear. The girl with golden eyes and twisted thoughts, her grin as unsettling as ever, and the man with the swords for teeth, his form dragging heavily as he staggered back into the clearing. His face was pale, his teeth bared in a feral smile, though the poison leaking from the gash in his arm was enough to make even him falter.

I stiffened, my wings instinctively flaring again, ready for anything. The villain with the swords for teeth spoke through gritted teeth, each word laced with malice and an eerie calmness. "We do not want to harm any innocent students. We came here for you, Onyx, and you alone."

I looked back at my friends, my gaze lingering on Izuku's face, his expression full of fear and helplessness. I can't do this to them. My breath was shallow, but I fought to control it. I had to do this. For them. For the school.

I turned to face the villains, my wings folding in a slow, calculated motion. I could hear my heart pounding in my ears, drowning out the rest of the world. But then, a deep breath. A painful choice.

"I'll go," I murmured, my voice a strange mix of resolve and sorrow. The words felt like an anchor, heavy and unrelenting.

As the villains began to circle closer, I glanced back one last time, locking eyes with Izuku. The look on his face—the pain, the fear, the trust—shattered me in a way I hadn't expected. And as I stepped forward, the world seemed to shift once more, leaving me with nothing but the cold weight of inevitability.

I was leaving them behind. But I had no other choice.

And as I took those final, reluctant steps toward the villains, my heart felt like it was cracking, piece by piece, with every movement. My wings flicked in slow, reluctant gestures as I approached the dark figures, their presence looming like shadows that threatened to swallow everything. The ground beneath me felt colder, more distant than ever, and I couldn't help but glance back one last time at the faces that had become my family—the faces of my friends, my teacher, the ones who had believed in me when I couldn't even believe in myself.

Izuku, his eyes wide with unshed tears. Bakugo, fists clenched, his usual fire replaced with a deep, frustrated anguish. Todoroki, the weight of his stoic silence masking a pain that mirrored my own. Shoji's calm yet pained expression, and Tokoyami, with his shadows, standing eerily still, his dark eyes following me with the weight of unspoken words.

I stood still for a moment, my wings folding tightly to my sides, my heart aching with the knowledge that I was abandoning them. I wasn't just leaving them physically—I was leaving behind a part of myself that would never be whole again. My tail dragged behind me, a silent sign of the burden I bore, of the decision I had made to protect them, even at the cost of my own peace.

Goodbye... The word felt like a stone lodged in my chest, heavy and final. I took a slow breath, steadying myself as the weight of the moment came crashing down, my heart breaking with every passing second.

"Goodbye, my starfires," I whispered softly, my voice barely a breath. I whispered it for them—my stars—the ones who had burned bright beside me, helping me find my way out of the dark. The ones who would always be my light, no matter the distance.

And then, the portal closed in front of me, an inky void that swallowed everything in its path. My breath caught in my throat, the darkness creeping in around me like a heavy fog. My wings twitched, and I felt the air shift one last time as the world behind me faded away.

The ground, the voices, the faces—they were all gone.

Only the darkness remained.