I'm usually not one to enjoy such overwhelming festivity. However, even I can't help but flaunt a modest smile as I continuously keep being greeted on my way towards the palace. Today is an important day in the history of planet Hail as it marks the coronation of a new king. Perhaps I shouldn't smile, as nobody is truly happy that a new king is being appointed to the throne. Rather, the common folk are merely displaying their joy that the time King Artic ruled over them with an iron fist has passed. Foolishly, I may add, as the throne will be passed down to King Artic's son, Cold. So, if the lineage is the same, what makes these commoners think the soon-to-be King will be any less ruthless than the previous? Perhaps it's simply wishful thinking that there will be change. Be that as it may, it matters not to me. As soon as my battle power surpasses my father's, I will be the one to rule over Hail and the entire Hailan empire.
"Prince Coola!" It seems I got so caught up in my fantasies that I failed to notice that one of the guards at the palace's entrance was calling for me. "Will you be attending your father's coronation or are you here for other matters?"
"I'll greet my father in his chambers, but I most likely won't be attending the full ceremony." I checked the guard's outfit. It seems the royal army has already been updated with the new armor. In addition to that, the ever-present scouter technology developed by the Tsufruians. An intriguing species, the Tsufruians, to say the least; they seem entirely complacent in developing technology for planet Hail as long as we provide them with the necessary resources. Their planet has a problem with an invasive species, the barbaric Saiyans, but they have refused military assistance. Having them perish would be inconvenient, but there's no telling how these Saiyans may develop. They're low in number, so not much information is kept on them, but it is known, at least, that they do possess the necessary technology for space travel, as they were not native to planet Plant.
"Father," I call out to him as he seems to be preparing himself for the coronation. He's wearing a brand new armor. On top of that, a new addition to his attire: a cape of sorts. Grandfather never wore one, but I guess father has always been more pompous than him. "Are you ready?"
"Oh, Coola. Yes, I'm almost done. Will you be attending the ceremony?" He seems to already know what my answer will be or he doesn't care, since he keeps adjusting himself in the mirror whilst speaking to me.
"No. I promised myself to be present when brother is born."
"Oh, yes, Freeza. He should hatch from the egg at any time now," he said as he finally distanced himself from his mirror and faced me. "I have some time. Do you want to check on him before the celebrations begin?" I nodded.
Father laid the egg approximately four years ago. Freeza's taking a rather substantial amount of time to hatch, but he's still within the normal incubation period, meaning there's no risk of danger to his health as of now. The egg is located inside the palace, as any other place would be susceptible to an attack from those resentful towards the royal family. Even so, I've made it my mission to check on him every day and guarantee his safety. This will be the only time my little brother will be needing any kind of protection, however. It's almost guaranteed he'll be born with an abnormal strength level; he has my father's blood after all. Even if born with a mere battle power of five thousand units, it's still enough to completely outclass the average Hailan warrior.
"Soon," father interjects my thoughts. "Soon, the entire Hailan empire will be ours to rule over, son. Can you imagine that? With our ambition and power, we can achieve much more than my father did."
Father isn't wrong. King Artic's battle power was extraordinary, perhaps the greatest in the history of our planet, but he never displayed much interest in expanding the empire to the great heights father dreams about. Despite having other planets under his rule, all of our ancestors always seemed far more concerned with Hail. Perhaps they were afraid of conflict with the crews of space pirates present here in the North Galaxy or of attracting the attention of the other empires in the neighboring galaxies. These concerns are of low importance to the new king, however. Father is definitely going to seek conflict and expand on the territory he rules over.
"The entire galaxy will be mine. Perhaps even the entire universe!" He declares this with a fearless look in his eye. "And when you surpass me, all that we'll have achieved will be yours to do as you please. I'll take a step back and act as your counselor." It's Hailan tradition that the royal family passes the throne to the strongest member of the species. Of course, said individual is free to refuse the crown. Nevertheless, the throne has remained in our family for generations, ever since our ancestor King Chilled. The previous king's regime was, by far, the longest, as he ruled unchallenged. Father was never able to surpass him before King Artic died of old age.
We've arrived at the room Freeza's egg is being stored in. Two guards are securing the glass chamber filled with the blue revitalization liquid the Tsufruians provide us with. I can faintly recognize them. Glaze and Blizzard, the two brothers are among the elite of the royal army. I would trust nobody to keep an eye on Freeza's egg and would take the task on myself, but father seems to have almost complete faith on these two soldiers. It's possible that he may think that losing Freeza's life would be of no consequence to him, as he already has a successor. Father is a cold-hearted enough person to lead me to believe he may have these thoughts in his head. Even so, under no circumstances am I letting one of my own perish if I can prevent it.
"Lord Cold!" Glaze, the younger brother, greets his king, bowing. The other guard soon follows. Both of them seem to have ignored me. It's irksome, but calling attention to that fact would only make the prince seem petty, so I refrain from doing so. "You came at the right time! The egg has been moving frequently in the last few days, it seems to be close to hatching."
"Wonderful news." I establish my presence and approach the glass. "Have you measured his battle power yet?"
"Not yet," Blizzard says. "That's something to do only after the egg hatches."
"Not that it matters," the king speaks. "If he truly is my son, then his initial battle power should only be a fraction of what his future holds. It's when he reaches full maturity that his battle power begins to develop. Coola here is the perfect example."
"What was my battle power at birth?" I think I've never asked this question, nor was the information ever given to me, so the time seems appropriate.
"About ten thousand."
"That low?" I would have been more disappointed if not for father's previous statement. As well as the fact that currently my battle power is unmeasurable by any scouter technology.
"Ten thousand would have been something to be proud of if you were part of any other family. When I was born, we didn't have access to scouter technology yet, but estimates now calculate it to have been around the fifty thousand mark. Hey, boy!" Father calls out to the younger guard.
"Yes?"
"What is your battle power? Your current one, I mean."
"Forty… Forty eight thousand, sir."
Father couldn't help but smile at his own grandeur as soon as he heard those words escape the soldier's mouth. To have your battle power at birth be higher than one of our top soldiers is an impressive feat, indeed. But it strikes me as a bit hypocritical to bring up this point shortly after stating that battle powers at birth are irrelevant. The two guards are staring at us in awe while we speak of such large numbers so casually. It's obvious they would kill to possess even a fraction of our powers. Perhaps that's why so little has opposed our family; when the heirs have such astronomical strength, it leaves any conspiring opposition disheartened.
As I pay closer attention to the white egg, I notice a crack. It's small, but it's definitely present. "The egg is cracking!" Father walked calmly towards the glass, but I couldn't conceal my excitement and placed my hands on the chamber almost unconsciously.
"Step away from the glass," father stated. "The egg is most sensitive at this time. We don't want to damage Freeza in any way. What perfect timing, my son! It's almost as if you knew we would be visiting you on this faithful day."
The egg quickly began quivering as more and more cracks started to emerge. I'm now able to see my brother's body clearly. He's tiny, smaller than me. Surprising, considering I'm below the average height of our species. I'm a bit fearful that his battle power will be low as a result, but that's entirely unimportant at the moment, I should focus my full attention on brother's birth. I shouldn't be excited about the prospect of a younger brother, but the thought of having a loyal partner delights me. In reality, I shouldn't even feel the need to justify myself, as father is the exception in the lineage and the only one who seems distant towards his family members. The egg cracks now float around in the blue liquid. Freeza's body is no longer concealed. The older guard, Blizzard, quickly began to measure Freeza's battle power as soon as father looked in his direction.
"I'm… Impossible…"
"What? What's his battle power?" I inquire, now curious about my little brother's future as a soldier of the Hailan empire.
"It's… two hundred thousand… and it doesn't stop increasing…"
"What?!" Father immediately pulls off the scouter of the younger guard and begins measuring Freeza's battle power himself. "Three hundred thousand… Four hundred…" The two scouters then burst into pieces. "Five hundred thirty thousand… and rising…"
There's no telling how high Freeza's battle power will rise now. He may even surpass me or father as a baby! That's unheard of. That's too much power. How is he so strong? I can't react. His power fractured the glass. The liquid is now pouring out. As I look behind me, the two soldiers are on the floor, it seems like Freeza's power pushed them down. "Father!" I call out to him. Half of me is in fear, the other half in euphoria. Father doesn't seem to be paying any attention to me and keeps observing brother's movements.
"Lord Cold! Prince Coola! We must… control Prince Freeza's power! At this rate…!" I heard Blizzard's voice from behind. As I turned around and saw that the sheer pressure of Freeza's immense energy was keeping these elite soldiers unable to move, I smirked. This is great! Father's dreams can come true now. With Freeza's power, we'll rule over the entire universe!
"It's… too much!" Glaze barely musters enough energy to speak. The room is now starting to shake and it's collapsing under the weight of the energy Freeza is emitting. Not just the room, I suspect the entire palace is trembling. Perhaps even the entire planet is suffering the effects of brother's birth. Regardless of whatever is happening, one thing I know for sure: father and I are the only beings on the planet capable of withstanding this typhoon of power.
A cloak of purple energy started to cover Freeza and, in a single instant, the entire room was shrouded by a blinding light. I open my eyes. In front of me only Freeza… and the dusk of the cosmos. Useless rocks, remnants of the planet, float around me, as if mocking me for being unable to stop what had just happened. I turn around, father is still alive, undamaged just as I. Too close! Far too close! A bigger planet and the resulting explosion would have left us all heavily damaged. Freeza's asleep, he must have exhausted himself.
I can't believe it. Our planet is gone. Our species, our army, most of our empire! I must put father at ease before he gets outraged. Wait… father is smiling? No, he's laughing, even.
"Incredible… Truly incredible, Freeza! This is it, this is what I've been waiting for! With this, we'll be able to crush everyone that stands in our way! Freeza, my son, you have the greatest might in the universe!"
What is father saying? Can he not see how dangerous Freeza's power is? If Freeza is unable to control it properly, he can accidentally end our life with it. Relying on him is a big mistake.
"Father! Father! Do you hear me? We must help Freeza control his power before it turns into a problem for us!" It's useless. Father isn't listening. He's too focused on his own thoughts. I can comprehend him. The prospect of ruling over the universe is enticing. But does he not think of the potential consequences? We've just lost our planet, his kingdom, our strongest soldiers all perished, does he not care? No, he's too fixated on his fantasy right now. The shock of what just happened will soon come crashing down. I must calm myself down. If father doesn't listen, then I'll be sure to be voice of reason when the time comes. We may have lost our planet, but I'll make sure that an overdependence on Freeza's power will not be our downfall.