Warning: Spoilers for My Hero Academia Chapter 388My Hero Academia is currently focused on Dabi's final acts of self-destruction, but a glimpse into his mind provides a tragic perspective on what the fiery villain has actually wanted all along.

Despite having taken massive damage and being defeated by his brother, Dabi has remained up and fighting. He even managed to pull himself through one of Kurogiri's portals despite his almost skeletal status, just so that he could have one last shot at Endeavor. Dabi also demonstrated that he's had an ice Quirk all along, as the ice power's cooling effect has been what's kept him from incinerating. Now, Dabi is deliberately overloading himself, intending to go out in one final bang that will take his father (and hundreds of others) with him--until his mother Rei and siblings (aside from Shoto) showed up. Both Dabi and Endeavor were shocked by Rei's sudden appearance, but Dabi's mind has regressed in the intense heat, giving him the mentality of a child.

My Hero Academia Gives Dabi His Family's Approval, With a Catch

MHA: Dabi imagines his family congratulating him on his new Quirk.

Dabi's childlike state misinterprets the calls from his family begging him to stop what he's doing, and the final page of chapter 388 reveals what he believes is going on: that the family is gathered to show how proud they are of him for demonstrating his new Quirk, and for finally becoming what his father always wanted him to be. In the imagined scene, Dabi is missing his arm, which was destroyed when he tried to land a punch in the previous chapter, showing that this isn't some sort of memory, nor is it an ideal scenario where things are the way that Dabi would like them to be. It's just a twisted interpretation of what's going on at that moment, as filtered through Dabi's rapidly incinerating brain.

This imagine spot proves that deep down, Dabi has always been trying to prove himself to his father, and that all he's ever really wanted was his father's praise. Even after becoming a villain, his desires didn't really change; by outdoing his father, he still hoped to prove himself worthy of the flame Quirk he'd inherited. It also shows that Dabi does indeed still have some love for his family, even if he's too far gone at this point to act on it. There's an emphasis here in this scene that things never had to unfold the way that they did, that perhaps there was still a time when Dabi could be saved... which only makes his inevitable death here all the more tragic.

My Hero Academia has spun up a heartbreaking end for one of the most troubled families in anime and manga, but Dabi's not quite done yet, and Shoto's still on the way. With one last confrontation between the two brothers incoming, is there any chance Shoto might get through to him, even for an instant? Only My Hero Academia's next chapter may have the answer to that.

New chapters of My Hero Academia are typically released on Sundays via Viz's Shonen Jump app.