I opened my eyes to a world that was both familiar and alien, though my memory of my past life lingered like a faint perfume in the air. I remembered everything—my ambitions, my failures, my triumphs. I remembered the warmth of the Great Spirit of Fire, the boundless power that had once surged through me, the unstoppable aura that had made me feared and revered. And now… I was reborn.
The first thing I felt was my body—or rather, the fragility of it. My limbs were small, weak, and useless. My senses were crude, the world a blur of colors and sounds that made little sense. Yet beneath it all, I could feel something familiar, something that hummed like a quiet heartbeat. I opened my mind—and there it was: a tiny presence, coiled like a flame no bigger than a candle, yet infinitely powerful in essence. My Great Spirit of Fire had returned, but it too had been reborn into infancy.
I flexed my new fingers and marveled at the sensation. Even as a baby, my consciousness was intact—complete and aware. I was not like the ordinary humans around me; I was Hao Asakura, master of spirits, a being who had transcended mortality itself. But this world… this strange fusion of DC and Marvel, teeming with heroes, villains, and forces beyond comprehension… was new. A challenge. A playground.
I could hear faint voices nearby—soft, anxious, human. My first sight fell upon a pair of figures hovering over me. Two strangers, their faces a mixture of awe and fear. They were my parents—or so I would be told later. My new life had begun in the arms of mortals, unremarkable humans in a world already brimming with gods, mutants, and metahumans.
Even now, lying in this cradle of mortality, I could sense the currents of the world around me. A strange energy emanated from the sky above—towering structures and flashing lights, some familiar from stories I remembered from another life. Metropolis loomed to the east, a city of steel and hope. New York sprawled to the west, pulsing with chaotic life. Somewhere, far beyond human perception, heroes and villains moved like chess pieces, unaware that a new force had just been reborn among them.
I turned my attention inward, to the small flame coiled beside me. My Great Spirit of Fire—my eternal companion—stirred, tiny sparks flickering like distant stars. Even in its infancy, its presence was overwhelming, brushing against the edges of my consciousness. I smiled inwardly. Patience. Power takes time to cultivate. First, we would grow… together.
Time passed differently here, as it always does for someone like me. While the world moved forward in its clumsy, mortal way, I experienced life in bursts of awareness. I learned to move my arms, to reach, to recognize sound and light. With each new sensation, my Great Spirit of Fire responded, its tiny flames dancing in sync with my own burgeoning awareness. Already, I could feel the connection that would make me unstoppable one day.
By the time I could crawl, I had already begun the first lessons of my new life. Observation. Analysis. Strategy. The humans around me were predictable, their movements, their emotions, their decisions following patterns that even the most powerful heroes could not fully hide. I watched them carefully. Superman's aura, barely perceptible even from this distance, hummed with boundless strength. Batman… his presence was a shadow that could not be ignored, a mind sharper than any mortal's. And scattered across the world, I felt hints of mutants, sorcerers, and warriors—each with their own potential.
I reached out my tiny hand, and the flame beside me responded instantly. It expanded slightly, warm and comforting, but already attuned to my intent. This was our pact: I would guide it, it would grow with me. Together, we would rise. Together, we would dominate a world unprepared for our return.
Even now, as a baby, I began to experiment. A flicker of fire danced along my fingertips, subtle, almost imperceptible, yet enough to singe the air around me. My parents cried out in shock, thinking it a strange accident, but I knew better. Power recognizes its master, and even in infancy, I was a master reborn.
The world outside moved on, oblivious to my presence. Heroes patrolled the streets, villains plotted in shadows, and the ordinary humans went about their mundane lives. I was patient. I had all the time in the world. My goal was not just survival—it was absolute domination, the careful weaving of fate so that when I stood, no force in this universe could challenge me.
My Great Spirit of Fire cooed in response to my thoughts, small sparks lighting the room with a gentle glow. I whispered to it in my mind, and even as a baby, my words carried authority. "We are reborn, little one. We will grow. We will conquer. And nothing in this world will stand against us." The spirit responded with a wave of warmth that sent a shiver through my tiny body. Soon… very soon… the world would remember the name Hao Asakura.
Days turned into months, and months into years, though I experienced every moment with clarity. I learned to walk before I learned to speak, to focus my mind before uttering my first words. Each action, each gesture, was calculated, even in its infancy. Mortals called me precocious, unusual, extraordinary—but I knew the truth. They had no idea who had returned to this world, no idea of the storm that slept in the body of a child.
My powers, though dormant in the world's eyes, were anything but. Even as a baby, I could sense the ley lines of energy that threaded through cities like New York and Gotham. I could feel the pulse of magic in Kamar-Taj, the whispers of ancient forces in Themyscira, and the latent potential of mutants scattered across the continents. Each would become a tool, a pawn, or a challenge—depending on how I chose to manipulate them.
And always, my Great Spirit of Fire grew with me. Tiny at first, but already intelligent beyond its apparent age, it was both companion and weapon. I could feel its hunger for power, its instinct for battle, its connection to the very essence of the world. Together, we would shape this universe according to our will.
I remember the first time I truly exercised control. My fingers clenched around the air, and the flame responded like water to a sculptor's hand. It grew, expanding in intensity, radiating warmth and light that even adults would have found blinding. I felt joy, but also the cold, calculated satisfaction that comes from knowing the world could never comprehend what had just awakened.
Even now, in this infant body, I am patient. I will grow. I will learn. I will play the long game. And when the time comes, the fusion of DC and Marvel will tremble under the weight of a single name: Hao Asakura.
Because a force that was feared, revered, and unstoppable once… has returned.
And this time, nothing will hold me back.