Chapter 4 – The Beast Within the Maker
The hillside beyond Musutafu was quiet that morning, the city only a faint hum behind them. Dew shimmered on grass blades, sunlight catching in a thousand tiny sparks. To anyone else, it was just another empty stretch of land. To Sozo Midoriya, it was a proving ground.
He stood at the hill's crest, eyes closed, feeling the pulse of the hydra deep in his ribs. Every breath came with that faint echo—like an extra heartbeat, heavy and patient.
You've grown, the voice murmured, low as thunder behind clouds. Yet you hold back.
"Because I remember what happened last time," he answered quietly.
A few meters away, Deku fidgeted with a notebook, the same one he used for hero studies. His pencil was already tapping against the page. "Okay, today's goal: observe controlled transformation of the Man-Beast Form! Secondary goal: record any new elemental integration!"
Sozo cracked a smile. "You make it sound like a science fair project."
"Well… it kind of is." Deku grinned, the excitement barely contained. "And someone has to take notes before you break physics again."
---
He exhaled, spreading his stance. The Arc of Embodiment glowed faintly on his chest, sigils crawling outward across his skin. The ground hummed.
"Man-Beast Form—partial," he whispered.
Heat and cold flooded his body at once. Scales rippled up his arms, silver-green, glinting under the morning sun. Twin ethereal dragon heads shimmered behind him—translucent, breathing softly like shadows come alive.
Deku's pencil froze. "It's…way more stable than before."
Sozo nodded, feeling the hydra's energy circulate evenly. For the first time, it didn't feel like he was being pulled apart—it felt almost… centered. "Let's push it a little."
The hydra rumbled approval. Then call them. All of them.
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He drew a circle in the dirt with his heel and raised his hand. "Emberfang—ignite." A streak of red light burst to life beside him, taking the form of a feline with flame for fur.
"Frostcoil—emerge." The serpent of ice coiled around his shoulders, hissing steam where it met Emberfang's heat.
"Zephyris, Terragard—manifest." Wind and stone flared in perfect counterpoint. The four beasts stood arrayed around him, forming a compass of elements.
Deku's eyes shone. "You're combining them, aren't you?"
"Trying to."
He focused, drawing the energy of the four into his body. The fire's warmth, the cold's clarity, the earth's weight, the wind's freedom—they spun together inside him, not fighting this time but fusing. His aura shifted from blue to white-gold, brilliant enough that Deku shielded his face.
The hydra's voice surged, deeper now. You seek unity? Then carry the storm within you.
Sozo's back arched as pain sliced through his spine. Bones creaked, energy screaming through nerves. From his shoulder blades, light burst outward—shaping into translucent wings. They shimmered like molten glass, edges feathered with shifting colors.
Deku's mouth fell open. "You—you have wings!"
Sozo stumbled, the wings twitching, half-solid, half-energy. He tried flexing them, but balance wavered. The air around him warped with each flicker.
Higher, the hydra whispered. Creation is meant to rise.
He pushed, instincts overriding fear. The wings beat once. The gust threw dust and leaves into a spiral. Another beat—and suddenly his feet weren't touching the ground.
---
For the briefest moment, he was airborne. The hillside shrank beneath him. Wind screamed past his ears, cool and alive. The city shimmered in the distance, and for the first time, Sozo felt weightless—not just in body, but in soul.
Then the balance cracked.
Energy spiked, wild and molten. Flames burst from his wings' edges; ice crawled along his arms. The hydra roared inside him, each head fighting for dominance.
Deku shouted from below, voice barely reaching through the wind. "Sozo! You're losing control—come back down!"
He tried. The wings flared wide, but instead of gliding, he crashed hard, landing in a spray of dirt and sparks. The hillside trembled; a shockwave rattled nearby trees.
He knelt, panting, smoke curling from his shoulders. The wings flickered uncertainly behind him, fading in and out. His eyes glowed faintly gold, vertical pupils narrowing.
"Deku," he managed, "stay back."
But Deku didn't. He ran straight toward him, stumbling on loose rocks, voice breaking with fear and stubbornness. "No! You're still you! The hydra isn't in charge—you are!"
Sozo's claws dug into the earth. The hydra's growl echoed through his throat, half-man, half-beast. He wanted to retreat, but something about Deku's voice—its certainty—cut through the static.
He met Deku's eyes. Small, human. Steady.
He steadies you, the hydra murmured. Do not forget.
Sozo exhaled, forcing the energy inward. The scales faded first. Then the wings dissolved into light, particles scattering like embers in wind. Finally, silence.
He collapsed forward, catching himself on one hand. Sweat poured down his face, his breathing shallow but steady.
"Still here," he muttered, half to himself.
Deku grinned shakily, helping him sit. "You flew, Sozo. You actually flew."
"Barely." He managed a weak chuckle. "Next time, I'll try not to crash."
"Next time?" Deku said, half-laughing, half-scolding. "You almost caused a new weather pattern!"
"Progress," Sozo said, deadpan, and Deku snorted despite himself.
---
They rested on the grass until the world stopped spinning. The sun had climbed higher, the city now bright in the distance.
Sozo looked down at his hands. Faint traces of scale still glimmered beneath the skin, refusing to vanish entirely. "Every time I use it, it sticks a little more."
Deku frowned. "You mean—"
"I mean the hydra's fusing with me. The line between us gets thinner each time."
Deku's expression softened. "Then maybe that's not bad. You created it. Maybe it's just finding where it belongs."
"Inside me," Sozo said quietly.
"Where else?" Deku's tone carried no hesitation. "You made it to protect, not destroy. It's part of who you are."
Sozo turned that over in his head, watching the breeze ripple the grass. Maybe the kid was right. Creation didn't mean separation—it meant connection.
The hydra stirred again, but softer now, almost fond. He steadied you. The world will not always offer such kindness.
Sozo smiled faintly. "Then I'll learn to steady myself."
---
When they finally walked back down the hill, Deku was still scribbling notes, muttering to himself about lift ratios and energy flux. Sozo half-listened, gaze on the horizon. The sky above Musutafu stretched wide and clear, impossibly blue.
For a heartbeat, he could almost feel the wind again—the pull of flight.
He clenched his hand, and the faint image of the hydra's wings shimmered briefly before fading.
Someday, he thought, they'll hold for real.
He glanced at Deku. The boy was smiling again, full of quiet pride and determination.
Maybe they both were.
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End of Chapter 4 – The Beast Within the Maker