The moment Admin descended as a new god, every being in the universe felt it. In the quickly collapsing CHET, every soul looked towards RON. In the ongoing battle between the DEPP rebels and the official government, every single man and women stopped to look. Even those on the other side of the universe, Asura and company all swore, sensing this new being, a being that hadn’t existed since long ago.
Above, in Otherworld, the Angel frowned. Their gaze looked down and for the first time, they were uncertain. The Majin, inside the barrier shook. Even with their new power, even they became afraid of the new descended god. Even from afar, even outside the universe, The Director spat out their drink and swore.
“That’s not supposed to happen!” He yelled out. This wasn’t supposed to happen. It was an impossibility. No matter how many times he simulated everything, having a true god descend wasn’t supposed to happen. It was impossible. Or, it should have been.
Those closer, all of them outside Elysium, the capital planet of Ron paused and looked. A pillar of light gathering all their attention. A sudden urge to kneel and pray assaulted them. Even those marked by the Majin stilled. Sensing the almighty power that scoured away the influence of the mark.
On a ship, Vega’s head shot towards the light. The light she couldn’t see outside the hull. She and the other children had come over to save the injured Saiyan teenagers. The marked enemies had proven a tough bone to chew, forcing Vega and company to put out fires, working overtime to protect the suicidal teenagers.
All at once, Vega felt it. A palpitation in her heart. A sudden ominous warning of impending doom. Instinctively she knew, she understood, Rettas was in trouble. Still, she hesitated, but…
“We have to help!” Seri yelled; however, Vega saw the way she shook. Shuddered. Fear was apparent in her eyes and body. A primal fear that every single one of them felt.
“We can’t, she told us to protect the others.” Vega said, unsure, knowing, that even if she did go, she wouldn’t be able to contribute much. That was what she felt.
“But if we don’t go, she’ll die!” Seri yelled back, catching her off guard. Her words, the words Seri spoke struck right through her heart. Vega couldn’t refute that, something deep inside her, no, her very blood screamed that Seri was right. That they had to go, do anything to save Rettas and yet…
“Go.” Cutting through Vega’s thoughts she turned bewildered. A bloodied female Saiyan, the same one that had smack talked Rettas to her face way back spoke. She forced herself up. Blood dripping from her wounds.
“Help her.” She said, her one good eye gleaming. Vega opened her mouth to reject, to refute, to say anything, but… “If we lose her, nothing else matters.” She continued, once more cutting off Vega, something in her gaze stopped Vega short. Killed off any desire to argue back.
“Why?” Was all Vega could muster. The female Saiyan huffed. Only to stifle a cough brought on by the action.
“She was right, even if she didn’t say it outright. We acted like spoiled brats. We chose to follow her, and we’ve just been making things harder for her.”
Vega didn’t know what to say, not even as the other teenagers nodded and grimaced.
“We can handle this, or at least, we will survive. Just… go.” She finished and sighed. Vega looked at her and saw, it wasn’t a challenging glint in her eye, but a desperation. A begging plea. An unvoiced response. Vega looked to each of them in turn and saw that same emotion. That same desire.
Seeing that, Vega clutched at her chest. Overwhelmed. Because she knew, she could feel what it was they felt. A grudging respect and something more. Perhaps they were too proud to voice it, but Vega understood the unspoken plea.
Please, save our mother. For they too had bonded to her, and in some way, they had even bonded to Vega. And seeing that, she felt something. Something she wasn’t sure how to begin to parse.
“You heard them, we have to leave, now!” Seri yelled out, and already she could feel the others making their way to the planet. Vega shot them a look and nodded.
“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure to bring my sister back, no matter what.” The Saiyan merely scoffed again, only to again cough.
“We’ll hold you to that, now get, we have our own battle to fight.” She followed up with, and Vega left with Seri in tow, hoping with all she had, that they’d make it in time.
Down on Elysium, Bailey fell to her knees. Her own intellect and knowledge filled in the gaps. She knew immediately what it was she was seeing; what it was she was witnessing. Knowing what she knew, she wept and despaired. Knowing, that there was nothing they could do.
From his vantage point, Aspa looked at the pillar of light numbly. The voice speaking to him now incessant, pestering, demanding. Elsewhere, Norman stopped and looked up. His hand clenched into a fist. Nails biting into his palm. Blood dripping down. His sister, seeing him stop and stare, walked up to him and stared at the pillar of light.
Beside her brother, she couldn’t feel what was up with the pillar, but… she knew based on the way he was acting, it was nothing good. The pair stared in silence. Waiting for what was to come.
Even Jake realized the severity of the situation, and yet, he was frozen. Staring. His entire body was frozen. Unable to move as he witnessed something unprecedented.
Before the pillar, Rettas and company gaped.
‘W-what the fuck!?’ ‘What the hell is that!?’ I screamed in my head. I couldn’t move. My body was shaking. My heart racing. But it wasn’t excitement, no it was a primal fear that had taken its hold. My ki was even screaming at me. Shouting and screaming.
Run, RUN! RUN!!! Over and over, telling me I had no chance against that thing. Even then, I couldn’t if I wanted to. I was frozen. A pressure, a daunting presence was holding me down. I couldn’t tear away my gaze, even my ki sense could only pick up that presence before me.
The moment the pillar of light faded; I felt the presence lighten. I almost fell to my knees. I gasped for breath; the presence having made me incapable of even breathing. My heart slamming against my chest, trying to rip itself out.
Where the pillar sat, at the very center of where the pillar was, floated an entity. A being whose very figure forced me to look at them. The fear in my bones, that primal imperative trying to overpower my senses continued to scream.
It was big, it looked like a doll. A mannequin. It’s body an off-white. A mix of silver, gold, and white. Giving it an ethereal, impossible visage. It hung in the air, almost like a puppet on its strings. Then, under our horrified gazes, it twitched. A finger, a toe. Then its whole body began to move, clicking and clacking. Like a puppet on strings, whose puppeteer was just getting started.
All at once, it shifted and moved, clicking into a hunched over position. Only to vibrate and move. To my horror, I could feel it. The thing was growing stronger by the second. Its power growing exponentially, surging higher and higher, until a loud buzzing scream filled our ears and all creation. Culminating into a shimmering light forming at its back.
Then all at once, the growing energy peaked. The light behind its back exploded out with the sound of shattering glass. A massive ring was behind it. A loud tick echoed out, like the ticking of a clock, and the ring turned. No, not a ring, a wheel.
But it wasn’t done. The wheel began to tick and tock, like a clock. Each sound accompanied by a wave of power. It straightened out slowly, light forming above it, energy flowing into it, faster and faster, until it became a blinding light. Then came the crack of thunder, a jagged noise that screeched on creation.
Above its head was a jagged halo, a thorned crown. And all at once, I knew, we were fucked. The entity, the being, the God, looked at us. Almost casually it lifted a hand, pointing a finger at my location. No, right at me. Every cell in my body screamed. Every soul with me cried out for me to do one and only one thing, Dodge.
Only, I couldn’t. I tried to muster my energy. I tried to do anything, but I couldn’t. I was frozen. Trapped. Like a mouse facing off with a viper. I felt like, for the first time, that I was well and truly outmatched. Frozen like a deer in headlights on a dark road.
I felt the energy gathering on the God’s finger. And I felt, un-resigned. It couldn’t end like this, not to this bullshit power scaling! What the fuck is that even!? Why the hell is it even here!
But, regardless of my thoughts, regardless of my raging anger, it wasn’t enough. The beam fired, coming for me. Seeking to end my life. A pillar of light, of golden energy that would scour me entirely from existence. I kept my eyes wide open, I grit my teeth, biting my lip. Trying to force myself to move to no avail.
Then suddenly, I felt something punch into me. A powerful blow, a punch to my side. I felt bones crack, and I went flying. Still, I turned, just in time to see the culprit. The source. I blinked. Arms, smiling a wide toothy grin looked at me. His mouth moved. His words, crystal clear.
“Looks like, I win.” Then, the beam of light engulfed him. Erasing him from existence. Continuing on, it left a massive ravine. Digging into the planet. Scouring everything in its path. I could easily imagine that the ravine could be seen from space, but… that wasn’t what was on my mind as I stared at where Arms had just been.
No.
“ARMS!!!” I cried out, the anger, the rage at having something taken from me broke the spell holding me still. My blood roiled and boiled. I cried out, transforming into Super Evil Saiyan blue and immediately transitioning to Kaio-Ken.
My scream, my hoarse cry, rippled out with physical force. Crashing into the others, breaking the spell over them. Without question, without thought, they all transformed and pulled out everything. There was no question. There was no hesitation.
For that thing before us, was no beast or sheep. No, it was a hunter.
“KILL THAT MOTHERFUCKER!” I cried out, and we charged.
The God simply floated. I was the first to meet it, with everything I had, I punched. Focusing all my energy on it. They didn’t even raise a hand, merely brought their empty face towards me, and a shield of light formed. My fist hit it, and yet, nothing happened. I felt like I had punched something impossibly hard. The bones in my arm exploded, my arm simply ceasing from the sheer force I had put into it. A breath later it reformed as my fiery blue ki reconstituted it, but still. It shook me.
The vampire had transformed, bloody energy gathering in their maw shot forward, a line of bloody energy that sent chills down my spine. It seemed to etch itself into reality, carving through existence. The God didn’t even look away from me, a barrier of light formed, the light hit it and harmlessly split off it. Yet, wherever the streams of energy went, annihilated whatever was in its path. Showcasing the absurd power behind it.
The Shinobi charged with all they had, their blade glowed and grew with now physical energy, expanding until it became the size of a house, they leapt above the God and slashed downwards, and yet, on impact the blade shattered. However, the ground beneath the God exploded, a massive crater forming with it at the center. A crater that reached to the depths, punching through into the vampire city below.
And Fera at the final moment launched a cascade of shooting stars, her scales along her body quivering and shaking, glowing with energy, covering the God in explosion, yet, when it ended. The golden light, that shield flickered in the cloud of debris. Leaving the God still untouched.
We floated, save for Fera hanging near the back, above the crumbling ground, the Shinobi used her flaming wings to fly, the vampire, now a giant bat creature her wings. Me, well, my ki. We stared awed and realized, we were completely and totally outmatched. Behind it, the God’s wheel floating behind it ticked. A wave of energy, a shockwave was sent out. Each of us were hit, despite our best attempts to dodge, sending us flying. I went through a ruined building. Crashing through walls and debris. Coming through on the other side, still being carried forward by force. Hitting and rolling off the ground, over and over. Until I finally came to a stop, I tried to stand, only to cough up blood and fall back. Strength leaving my body, my transformation undoing, reverting back to my base form.
I looked up, not a single cloud in the sky, the omnipresent clouds and rain, gone entirely. Exposing the vastness of space above. I stared up, and on a whim, I lifted a hand, grasping for those stars. Only for my vision to be blocked. The featureless face of the God stood before me. Judging me.
I chuckled, and twisted my upraised hand, and giving it my middle finger, even with blood in my lungs, I choked out, with all I had, “Fuck you.”
At my words, the God’s head twitched, a sudden jerk to the side. A sudden crack following the motion. Theatrically, slowly, surely, it extended a palm. I knew, this was my execution. I smiled, even with my imminent death, knowing that at least, I was going to go out with some style. Not everyone could say they flipped off a God.
Aspa, was staring in horror. The voices insistent. Crying out. “Are you going to just watch her die!? Your daughter!? Take my power, TAKE IT!”
Aspa blinked, and he knew, he had hesitated, not wanting to take that power, knowing that doing so would forever taint him, but if it was for Rettas, for his daughter, for that woman that claimed him as her father, in spite of everything. He would willingly sell his soul.
Sensing his determination, the voice shouted, “YES! TAKE IT!” And so, Aspa reached for the offered hand. That tendril of power, his arm reached out.
Then, just as he felt his fingers touch the energy. He blinked. A hand fell on his head. Warm, rough, and yet, it filled him with surety, safety. As if, those hands could weather any storm.
Aspa, his hand still extended looked up, looked up to see eyes the color of steel. A face, as if made of stone, weathered by storms and creased with worry and troubles. Even then, on that hardened face was a smile, in those eyes, the color of steel like a bared blade, was a glimmer of warmth and love. An emotion that stopped him short.
“Aspa, my son.” The man’s words struck Aspa’s heart. Straight through his hollowed core, filling it with something molten and burning. He tried to speak, to say anything, but found he could not. He was struck dumb and still. Hand extended, and in that moment, he realized, how tall that man was, how imposing he seemed. Then, Aspa realized, how small he truly was. Unbidden, his hand fell to his side. And, he listened.
“Know, that as a parent, as a father, that I only wish the best for you, that today, I send you out not for selfish reasons, but out of my unending love for you.” He paused, and Aspa waited. Every word flowed into him, filling him. Completing him in some way, memories slowly coming to the fore. The man before him, despite how imposing and tall he seemed, despite how grizzled he was.
Aspa saw the truth. The calloused hands. The worn and tattered robes. The weariness etched into his frame. The man before him, was at the end of his rope. A candle about to flicker out. Slowly, the man swallowed. His breathing hitched, and yet, his eyes never wavered, his face never changed. And despite being at the end of his rope, he sensed something inside that man, something that could never truly be extinguished.
“When you were born, before your mother died… she gave you your name. Aspa, it is… admittedly, not a good name. But it was a name we both agreed upon. We took it as short for, Aspire. Because, we wished for you, like any parent would their child, to Aspire for more. To reach for more, to wish for more.”
Once more, the man hesitated, no, his father swallowed, taking a moment to collect himself. A glimmer of wetness at the corner of the man’s eyes seemed to make itself known. His father, lowered his head and when he lifted it, that glimmer was gone. Replaced once more with that strict visage.
“A long time ago, humanity made a mistake. We birthed a curse, a curse that we had long thought buried. This curse, was the fault of our forefathers, of those that came before us. Now, now we must bear those sins ourselves.
However, even if that is the case, no father, no parent, would ever want their child to bear such a burden. Even cursed, even forced to live in this hellish world, we still survive and endure. Even thrive. Over the years, we have learned from the curse the Majin left behind for us. Over the years, we have learned more and more, making their power our own.”
Aspa watched as his father lifted a hand, a flicker of sparks lit up. Creating a fire from nothing.
“We do this, because that is who we are. Know this Aspa, my boy, my son. You, are a human, a man.” He spoke, his hand moved from his head to his shoulder, his other hand fell on his other shoulder. His eyes level with Aspa’s.
“Humanity, was not born special. We are not strong. We are not smart. We do not live long compared to others. We have truly nothing that makes us special, save for one thing. A single insignificant thing. Our spirit, our will.”
Every word spoken, crashed against Aspa. He drank it up, drinking every word in. Soaking it in. Not letting a single drop trickle out of his grasp.
“Since the very beginning, sine the ancient myths, where Prometheus is said to have given us the fire of the gods, we have continued to carry that inextinguishable fire inside us. That is our providence, our inheritance. It is what allowed us to survive, even when the gods fell one by one, allowed us to survive, even when our own mistakes came back to kill us.
It is that very same spirit, that undying fire that burns inside my chest today that tells me that tomorrow will be better. That there is a future for our kind. Even when everyone else says there is not.
It is that same spirit even now, assuring me that sending you away with this magic, that you will be safe, that you will find someone to care for you. Teach you. Protect you and raise you. That someday, you too will find friends, people to care for and even family. That same spirit tells me, that one day, when you find yourself facing the impossible, when everything seems well and truly lost, that you will remember these words I speak to you now.
That, is what it means to be human. To have an undying spirit an unbreakable will, a burning inextinguishable fire that may lead the way for others. Do you understand?”
He asked, and for the first time, Aspa found himself able to speak, yet, his mouth moved on its own. “But, how can I even do that?”
His father smiled, a proud smile. “When the time comes, it won’t be a question of can or cannot. Only what must be done. Because, that is what any human would do, man or women. For their family, for their loved ones. Like, now.”
And slowly, his father stood, taking his hands off his shoulders. All at once, Aspa felt alone, unsecured. He tried to move, his eyes shooting down, seeing a glowing circle at his feet. He struggled, but a calloused hand grasped his chin and lifted his head up. Forcing him to lock eyes with his father.
“Remember, to Aspire, to reach for more. To never give up. And most of all… know, that you are and always will be loved…”
The light at his feet grew brighter. Once more his hand left, leaving Aspa feeling all alone.
“Goodbye, my son.”
And all at once, he felt able to move. He reached out with his hand. He shouted with all he had, “FATHER!!!” Only to blink awake, his hand still extended, a tendril of shadow right before him.
All at once, Aspa knew what he had to do. He clenched his hand and pulled away, ignoring the Majin’s voice. And, he opened his eyes.
