NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1: Motivation.
A teen walks through the alleyways of Musutafu on his way home, spiky black hair with two white spots on the sides, white skin containing small scales on a closer look, rows of sharp teeth, and an orca-like tail.
With a calm pace, he walks over a manhole cover, which is suddenly shot up as a mass of sludge wraps around his body and restrains him. From his side, a face emerged in the sludge. "Shh... it will only hurt for a minute, then it will be over, forever." The sludge cackles.
The teen responds with mild annoyance. "Look, man, I'm really not in the mood today. Can we just do it the easy way, where you turn yourself over and I pretend this didn't happen?"
"Oh, how presumptuous." The sludge starts to go inside him, through his mouth, nose, and ears, the boy providing no real resistance as the previous host's body falls limp on the ground.
The sludge spreads and starts to take control, feeling the strength of this new body, thinking how lucky he got. Until he tries to move, his body being the one not listening for a change, his vision blurs as everything feels just so cold.
The teen puts his hand in his mouth and pulls out the frozen villain, maintaining him only liquid enough to get out, then freezing him completely solid into cubes.
He walks over to the victim, checking his pulse, then makes some water appear out of the air to clean out any remnants of the villain inside the both of them. Then walks to the nearest police station, carrying the man on his back and the sludge cubes floating behind him.
From atop a building, a blonde man watches the teen hand over the villain and victim to the police and walk away, reluctantly accepting the praise and thanks from the cops. 'He dealt with the villain without needing my help, quite easily actually. Helped the victim and got the villain to the authorities... He's an absolute gem!'
-A week later-
As he looks over the railing of the abandoned lighthouse he calls home, the teen sees a little drone carry him a holo-letter, a small disc with a button. He presses with curiosity on the contents of the letter.
"19/01/2333
Dear Madow Lotan Bohai, we have the pleasure of announcing that you have been recommended by a pro-hero for the Irohe admission test. The physical and theoretical tests will take place in the first week of April. You can check the official website for more information. We eagerly await your arrival at our school, hero.
Sincerely, Mr. Nezu."
He throws away the projector, 'Pfft.. Why would I want to be a hero? They're just showoffs who only care about money and fame.' He goes back inside to sleep.
He lays in bed as his thoughts turn into dreams. In his mind, seeing memories of when he was younger. Some bigger kids fighting with him, throwing him to the ground, and as he looks back up at them, they hide behind a tall, dark figure. Its form is in constant change, and its voice sounds as if a different person said each word.
"I'll save you from this villain; after all, I'm a hero." The figure then jumps at him, making him close his eyes in fear, already remembering how this ended.
When he opens his eyes, he sees himself as he is in the present, grabbing the figure by the throat and smashing it to the ground in a cloud of smoke. His current self stares at his younger self and smiles.
Madow wakes up. He grabs his phone and looks up the Irohe website. "I'll show them a true hero."