A/N: Bored, so I decided to get another chapter out of the way.
So I have to admit, I am growing very embarrassed of this fanfic. It's so damn long. I hope this story is both great quantity AND quality, and that the few of you who have stuck with this so far will see it through. If you do, I'd suspect that you must love reading. This is longer than many books I've seen. Not quite sure if that's a good thing.
Initially, I meant for this story to be very brief. Then I had an unexpected death in my family, and I found comfort through writing. After mourning, I felt obligated to continue with the detail and design. Note to self: never write when emotionally distressed. It will steal your SOUL!
The beginning of this chapter is intentionally a little awkward. It's a dream. This whole chapter pretty much lacks fluidity, since I was very eager to reunite our (eventual) lovers.
Just call Kaioshin "Mr. Denial".
Part XXV
When blessed with vision again, Kaioshin realized the world was somehow different.
The edges of each object within the range of his opening eyes was softer, with changes more subtle than allowed by the detail of reality. What air hung in the sky was lighter, as if less dense than before, but had in it a touch of mysterious fog. What soft sounds there were arose only from Kaioshin's body – the beat of his heart, the sound of shifting fabric and hair, and the crunch of stone beneath his boots as the deity rose cautiously to his feet.
His physicality seemed mysteriously intact, and it was only then Kaioshin realized he was in the midst of a dream. The throbbing in his shoulder had passed and his head no longer favored a single side as though one weighed significantly more than the other.
Though Kais had rapid healing reflexes, Kaioshin knew his form could not have corrected itself so shortly after his last time of consciousness. Then again, the deity had no methods of knowing just how long he had remained fainted.
Maybe I am truly awake and this is just a lingering affect of my head trauma, Kaioshin thought, turning to look about himself. His surroundings were the same as earth, though felt so very distinctly different. Maybe...
As Kaioshin looked down at himself with scrutiny, he realized that his garments were no longer tattered and he had not a lingering trace of blood on his face. He brushed his chin with his thumb and when he extended it for his eyes to study, there was nothing but the fine identifying lines of his fingerprints.
Perhaps I have died and now I am in Otherworld, the deity considered. It was very likely – he had been in a critical state during his last waking moment. He could have simply perished in his sleep.
Kaioshin frowned and began walking aimlessly, not knowing where to be or where his soul even remained. Though in his position as a Supreme Kai, he had peered into the dimension of the other side, he had never envisioned the entire dimension. Otherworld was an enormous place, required to house the countless numbers of souls it contained.
What the deity failed to realize was that there was no halo above his head. He was simply too cautious to do more than stare forward, walking throughout a maze of rock formations similar to those existing on earth while questioning his environment.
If Otherworld was truly the home of infinite souls, then why was he alone? Kaioshin could sense no other being, but perhaps he wouldn't, as they would lack necessary identifying life forces.
Kaioshin sighed and continued wandering, forfeiting his mental attempts at logic. Otherworld was a different dimension and it did not make the same sense as the living universe, and so he allowed his feet to take them wherever they pleased.
It wasn't until Kaioshin rounded a significantly large rock that he saw something of true interest in the distance. As Kaioshin approached it, it became obvious that the object was not simply part of the scenery. The colorations were different and the structure was increasingly humanoid. Whatever it was quickly became whoever it was, as Kaioshin drew nearer by the second.
With each passing second, the deity doubted his widening eyes. He hoped wildly that his sight was not cruelly playing tricks on him, as the figure became more familiar the closer the deity came. Kaioshin found himself staring at a broad back clothed in crimson red. Below it, an orange sash hung, reminiscent of the Supreme Kais' traditional garments.
The god's heart beat louder and quicker, and his steps increased their pace almost frantically. Soon, he found himself running, feeling his hair flow to one side of his face and backwards, moving like white fire from his excited visage.
Had he not seen a similar ivory fall of hair, Kaioshin would have suspected the individual was South Supreme Kai. The man was build was the same, though his powerful colleague had always worn differently colored apparel. Had it been South Supreme Kai that Kaioshin saw, he would not have been so rich with excitement as he was in that moment.
It has to be him, Kaioshin thought, happiness filling him with warmth and wonder. The person was too familiar to ever forget. It has to be!
A name parted Kaioshin's lips, even as he fought the smile trying to dominate his voice. He couldn't help but cry out for the friend he most wanted to see.
"Kibito!"
The man turned as if summoned, and soon, the laughter that had been collecting in Kaioshin's anticipating chest rose into the tenuous sky. Whether it was the the god's harmonious voice or simply the image of him that brought a small smile to Kibito's lips, Kaioshin wasn't positive. He decided it didn't matter then, when he slowed to a stop just before his assistant.
They stared at each other for far stretching moments, Kaioshin's chest heaving with physical exertion. It didn't make sense – if he was dead, how could he be so breathless? Still, the Supreme Kai's heavy breathing could not dampen the grin on his young face.
He had to be in heaven – of that, the deity was certain. The feeling that swelled inside of him was distinctly and unrealistically pleasant. It was like no other emotion or sensation he had ever experienced in his long life. At that point, it didn't make sense to Kaioshin why he had never felt so free and elated before. Only when he was near Kibito did he have this wonderful experience.
It was so intoxicating, the deity desired more of it – whatever it was. And so he stepped closer to the other, wanting to share his abundant delight with his ever-loyal friend and bodyguard.
Kibito knelt before the Supreme Kai, as if expecting the god's gesture before even Kaioshin did. Never before had the deity hugged another and not once had he had the undeniable urge to do so before now. All Kaioshin knew was that he was so happy to see Kibito, how strongly he cared for him, and how pleasant it might feel to touch him, if only just a little.
What contact occurred between their bodies became more than the Kaioshin innocently expected. The instant his fragile hands brushed broad shoulders, Kibito's arms easily captured his body. Kibito's massive biceps curled around the deity's petite waist with practiced grace, as if the man had envisioned and planned their connection all along.
The fabric of their clothes brushed, and only then did Kaioshin gasp as Kibito collected him against his broad chest. In reaction, the god tiny hands shifted to press upon the pectorals there, feeling the mighty beat of the other's heart against his right palm.
"Kibito," Kaioshin breathed, looking at his assistant with utmost confusion. His expression was meek, and he blinked very slowly, long lashes appearing as bold brush strokes on lavender porcelain. The god didn't understand how he had reached for a hug, only to be baffled by his bodyguard's reaction. "What are you doing?"
There was something more to Kibito's gesture, something Kaioshin had sensed but couldn't yet comprehend. Their embrace was more than a hug, as if their bodies melded to become a single entity. Vestal and innocent, Kaioshin assumed Kibito maintained sole responsibility for eliciting the feeling, though the deity's own body was more than willing to proceed.
Kibito said nothing. Instead, he was wholly focused on Kaioshin's blinking visage. The intensity of the bodyguard's actions turned mental happiness into physical, tangible, and forbidden delight.
One did not need to hold someone so close to satisfy their desires to welcome another. There was something more shared between the immortals that ached for fulfillment. Even as the Supreme Kai, Kaioshin was not all-knowing, and it was apparent in Kibito's gaze that the bodyguard knew with all his heart what was happening between them when the god did not.
Though a million thoughts raced through the deity's gem-cut eyes, the god could see only one profound desire stirring in the depths of his assistant's. Kibito's gaze expressed what Kaioshin had seen only in rare instances – during fleeting glances and unexpected turns – though before it had always remained shielded by the beholder.
Now, that expression was willingly exposed and Kaioshin felt all he had ever known melt away in the heat it sent flooding throughout his body. Though Kibito was terribly warm, his broad body like fire, what Kaioshin felt inside was so much deeper, as if it originated from his own soul.
Staring into the pitch black eyes of his assistant, Kaioshin felt his heart meet and finally exceed the racing beats of Kibito's. Only then did the deity sense his stomach aflutter with anticipation. Though Kaioshin's logic wasn't certain what to expect, his body knew all too well and breathed shallowly with excitement.
When Kibito's arms unfurled from around the deity's petite waist, the god could only marvel in how the feel of his powerful touch remained. Then, those thumbs brushed Kaioshin's fine jaw, tracing the line of it gently. The motion enticed the deity to part his full lips that felt heavy with wanton and increased sensitivity.
Kibito's touch was abrasive against Kaioshin's silken skin, but the difference was undeniably exciting. At the contact, the deity's doe eyes fluttered shut, just once. When they opened, Kibito smiled at the god's obvious abandon, his hands shifting to delicately cup the god's precious visage.
Their faces moved closer – gradually, if only because of the virgin anticipation of the deity. With each passing instant, Kibito's intimately close proximity suffocated Kaioshin with his radiating need. For same delicious reason pulsing through the god's tiny body, Kaioshin found himself forsaking his need for air. Instead, he wanted nothing but to take in all he could of the man before him.
It was a natural and so very flawless process. Kaioshin acted in the manner that made the most sense in his flushed haze. He leaned closer, shivering from the sensation of Kibito's breath stroking his lips...
Then, suddenly, a voice arose from behind them, causing Kaioshin to react with a start. Wide-eyed, his head rotated towards the familiar figure standing yards behind them.
"Supreme Kai!" called Gohan, suddenly present in the heavenly world. Kaioshin gasped with recognition and fully turned to face the young Saiyan, away from the man holding him.
It happened then, as Kaioshin opened his mouth to address the grinning teenager: Kibito simply vanished. His arms faded and dropped the deity that had been cradled sweetly within them. The sensation of suddenly falling shocked the deity, who opened his eyes-
And coughed abruptly , purple blood dripping to the earth below.
Kaioshin's bearings whirled wildly for a moment, though his physical entity remained collapsed on the dusty ground. Every part of his living existence came rushing back, from the sharp ache of his shoulder to the sharp throbbing in his head.
The deity groaned then, shifting his arms to hold his skull between two grit-covered hands, hissing as soil contacted with the nail wounds he had inflicted hours before. Pain became Kaioshin's greatest evidence that he was still indeed alive and he had survived, however barely.
Kaioshin groaned quietly, his eyes sealed in suffering. After many moments, his agony dulled but did not disappear. Only then did he open his eyes and lower his hands to look around himself, feeling though half of his head was filled with thick, viscous liquid.
The world was intact, and he remained in the same exact environment he had last experienced. Rocks and raw soil surrounded him, but in the distance, plant life was visible. It seemed as though a valley had been conveniently carved throughout the land and led to a lush forest dotting the distant horizon.
Cautiously, Kaioshin completed a brief status check of his body. He clenched his left hand, finding it fully functional. His right arm was still dislocated at the shoulder, and so he wisely didn't attempt making a fist with the respective hand. His legs, for the most part, felt intact though the dull throb in his lower spine and pelvis concerned him greatly.
Regardless, Kaioshin knew he would have to search for Gohan on foot. Surely he had escaped from Majin Buu's wrath unnoticed, and flying would only allow the Madoshi and his father's creation to detect him. Even if Kaioshin had been in perfect health, he knew he stood no chance against Majin Buu. His previous conflict with the demon made him certain of that and so Kaioshin wisely refused to take any unnecessary risks. He had survived through too much already to throw his life away, especially to Majin Buu.
Kaioshin found his mental capacity fully functional, if significantly decelerated from his head trauma. He knew he could sense the direction in which Gohan had fallen, but he couldn't accurately determine the distance in which the weak life force remained. In all truth, the length Kaioshin would have to travel meant nothing to him. All he knew was that he had to find Gohan soon, before the traces of him disappeared.
With great effort, Kaioshin pushed himself to his feet. He stumbled at first, thrown off balance by the heaviness favoring the left side of his head and the weight of his limp arm on his right. When Kaioshin finally regained his bearings, hissing from the shock of agony rushing down his spine, his instabilities seemed to level out enough for him to remain virtually upright.
As Kaioshin expected, standing was considerably physically demanding, and therefor most difficult task towards beginning his journey. The first steps were dangerously shaky, and he found himself leaning heavily forward as if to avoid placing pressure on his aching pelvis. Still, Kaioshin managed to move. Proceeding was all that mattered to the deity. It was more important to him than his own sanity, which wavered in the face of his intense suffering.
Kaioshin didn't have to stumble far to reach the first wall of rocks that lined the land-carved path. There was an immediate relief when he rested one trembling hand against the solid structure, using the earth to brace himself as he stumbled forward. But suddenly, as if his body subconsciously compared itself to the sturdy mass, Kaioshin felt weaker than he previously had. With each step, whatever energy he had regained was steadily draining.
There was no direction but forward, as Kaioshin made traveling onwards his sole purpose. His breathing was ragged and his body was damaged, but his will was unfaltering. Even the occasional trip he experienced was not enough to destroy his determination. Gohan was somewhere ahead, however far, and the Supreme Kai had to find him. His suffering was worth nothing compared to the reliance of the universe.
Minutes ticked by, and then what felt like hours had passed, and still, the forest in the horizon seemed as far away as it had ever been. Had Kaioshin not kept his eyes anchored to the tops of lush trees, he would have suspected he was walking in circles.
As time went on, the amount of effort it took to complete each stride increased. What Kaioshin had considered a constant gait had become broken, with his boots dropping to drag across the earth. Other times, his legs simply didn't want to obey and his steps became wider at times while narrower at others. Somehow, in his thickening haze, Kaioshin's feet seemed to tangle at the ankles. He only managed to stand by leaning against the wall he clung tenaciously to for support.
If I fall, Kaioshin said to himself, aware of the increasingly certain threat, I will not have the strength to get up.
There were times when the rock walls separated, filling Kaioshin with dread. In each instance, he felt like an acrobat walking across a tightrope rather than the solid span of ground across which he stumbled. After crossing each gap successfully, he immediately fell against the rock wall again to regain his lost breath.
As if to give himself strength, Kaioshin allowed his thoughts to pass through his parched and bloodied lips. His voice was feeble and minimal, as if the deity only needed the act of talking to bring his wavering energies back into focus.
"Gohan," Kaioshin whispered, and it hurt greatly to even talk. His harsh breathing stole all fluidity, and he managed to speak between each shallow inhale. "You have to...be alive...Where are you?"
Considering the Saiyan did nothing but force Kaioshin to continue his journey. He had a goal he had to achieve if he was indeed worthy of his status. To find Gohan, he had to continue walking, even if it meant destroying his own body in the process.
Sometimes, Kaioshin spoke aloud if only to interrupt the sounds of pain he gave with each and every suffering step. Most often, it was Gohan who he gasped for, feeling physically weaker and heavier with each passing moment.
Never before had Kaioshin felt so disoriented and ineffectual. To be the highest reigning god of the universe, only to be reduced to a struggling and feeble animal, was difficult for Kaioshin to accept. During his lifetime, he had never felt so ill, so vulnerable, and so mortal. He felt as though he walked on ice, waiting for the moment when the thin sheet would break and send him to his grave.
As the distance Kaioshin conquered increased, his abilities decreased. His body eventually began forcing him to take longer breaks in between footfalls. He found himself stumbling forward multiple steps, driven forth by his leaning body weight, and then he would have to stop completely for a few seconds to balance himself again. He trembled severely with each process, cursing his weakness. When Kaioshin resumed his travels, he often veered to one side and then over-corrected by listing to the other.
In the sky, clouds had begun to form and flow, casting dancing shadows along the rocky ground below. A small breeze had been born and from its soft touch, Kaioshin felt great relief. His clothes had begun soaking the rich sunlight that touched him, heating his body gradually. With each pass of cloud cover, Kaioshin was spared precious moments from the burning sun.
Kaioshin's frustration carried him further from the walls, suspecting they weakened him with their presence. It was more difficult to rely solely on himself, and yet he felt as though his progress quickened, if only because his travels focused directly towards his destination. No longer was he wasting precious seconds following the will of the rock walls around him.
With each passing minute, Kaioshin's gait became increasingly haphazard. Sometimes he balanced on his heels and at other times, his toes. Many times, the Supreme Kai stepped as if raising his boots from heavy invisible snow, feeling as though he had to lift his legs higher than usual if only to avoid the pain trailing down the backs of his tense thighs. At times, his knees bowed together, threatening to disrupt his balance.
His breath was becoming more ragged, and the edges of his vision became shadowed, begging Kaioshin to submit to his exhaustion. Just once Kaioshin submitted, falling heavily against a rock with his spine. Only then could he throw back his head and breathe deeply, welcoming air into his bruised lungs. Not even the pinch of his broken ribs could deter his will to live.
Kaioshin used the few seconds of stillness to stare into the sky, his eyes aligning with a cloud that effortlessly drifted by.
"Gohan," cried the Supreme Kai, speaking to the Saiyan who still remained so very away. His words touched the heavens, as if ordering the fates to obey his desperate wishes. "You have to be alive. We can't do this without you! You have to hold on!"
With a groan of suffering, Kaioshin thrust himself from the rocks and began staggering again, continuing his yearning journey. With each forced step, each overpowering of gravity, the deity addressed the Saiyan in which his hopes relied. "I will not..give up...until I find you..."
Even as a god, Kaioshin could not fight his overwhelming battle for long. He fell with an agonized breath, landing hard on his knees. Crying out from his pain, Kaioshin remained upright, if solely from his weight.
He could do nothing but toss his head back, eyes sealed tightly. With each gasping breath, Kaioshin's lungs ached and threatened to collapse. Even then, his heart was filled with hope, and his lips parted around his hero's name, clinging to the only remaining person that gave the god strength.
"Gohan..."
…
Halfway across the earth, companions of the Saiyans had gathered the seven mystical dragon balls with hopes of reviving the innocent and honest lives lost that day . With Bulma's cry, the orphic form of Shenron arose in a massive tendril of light, darkening the sky with his incredible presence. Once summoned, Shenron existed to fulfilled the wishes of the earthlings that had sought his majesty.
With his eyes shut to the sky, Kaioshin did not experience the blackening of the heavens. Had the deity experienced the abnormal nightfall, he would have feared for the planet's life. Even as the overseer of the universe, the Supreme Kai remained oblivious to the existence of Shenron – the dragon with the ability to revive lost lives.
…
Kibito woke with a generous gasp.
Reborn again, Kibito's body ached to take its first breath since his death. In doing so, Kibito's eyes widened and exposed to him the blackened sky above. For a moment, he expected to see nothing beyond the darkness, having experienced the consuming emptiness of death. Now, there was substance. There was air. There was life.
The guardian rose to look about him, blinking at his surroundings in disbelief. His body had come into existence in a massive crater, the origins of which Kibito could not be certain. There remained no sign of its infliction. Only the raw clay beneath Kibito's prone body knew what had maimed it. Though still teeming with life, the earth spoke no words.
A mysterious wind whispered to the baffled man who slowly rose at his waist. Kibito moved as if in a dream, cautiously and curiously testing each sensation his body experienced. He could smell the minerals in the clouds that swept across the raw space and feel the air stroke his sweaty visage. Still, nothing seemed to make sense.
Face slack with profound surprise, Kibito turned his head from side to side, scanning his surroundings with wide eyes. In doing so, the broad man lifted one leg to bend at the knee, bracing his body against his shock. By the time he gradually stood, the sky had ominously returned to the color of day. The abrupt change only added to Kibito's disarray.
Amidst his bewilderment, Kibito found himself staring down at his hands, expecting to see horror scribed on them with vibrant blood. Instead, the pink skin of his palms and digits was whole and unscathed. As if disbelieving his eyes, suspecting they lied, Kibito glanced from one hand to the other and back again repeatedly.
I don't understand, Kibito admitted, feeling as though his mind was somehow tricking him. It couldn't be – when dead, one couldn't think, or so the immortal servant assumed. My body appears to be in perfect physical condition. And this place - something's wrong. I shouldn't be here!
Even in his baffled haze, Kibito knew he remained on earth. The energy felt the same as the last planet he had existed on. It certainly wasn't the hallow sanctuary of Kaioshin-Kai.
Wait...Kibito thought, lowering both massive hands to his sides as he stared out into the azure atmosphere of the planet. Memories of his past life began flooding him, causing his heart to race as if the events continued around him.
I remember now, Kibito said darkly, feeling his fists clench with rage. I was attacked by Dabura.
The horrifying memory replayed vividly in Kibito's mind. Images of Kaioshin, the deity's hypnotic eyes staring deeply into his. The way his lips parted with unspoken questions when Kibito promised to reveal his secret admiration. Kaioshin's acceptance to retreat from the threat posed by Dabura. The elegance of his small hand, cradled in Kibito's powerful palm.
And then Dabura had suddenly attacked, denying Kibito the necessary time to react. Dabura's hand had suddenly appeared in Kibito's face and had stolen his life in an instant, leaving his victim clutching desperately to his lasting memories of his beloved.
Under his breath, Kibito growled darkly, hating the abominable devil more than he every suspected possible. How he wanted to tear the demon asunder and throw his remains in hellfire, sending his soul back to the perdition that birthed him.
For now, Dabura was no where in sight. The only living being was Kibito, who stared down at himself with features furrowed in thorough disorder. Kibito could not yet accept that his soul had been reborn or if he was the victim of some cruel joke.
"Have I been brought back to life?" Kibito asked the sky, staring down the length of his integral body. If Kibito had indeed been revived, he had been granted a gift by the heavens. "A miracle," he uttered then, standing to his full and proud height.
Just then, fear hit Kibito with a force unlike any he had ever experienced. The knowledge almost suffocated him then: he had been killed and forced to leave Kaioshin behind. Against his will, the bodyguard had been removed, leaving the deity of all that was virtuous and pure alone with the devil, ruler of the underworld.
Panic flashed through him instantly, with the strength of water erupting from a broken dam. Kibito became drowned in violent anxiety, his every fiber tensing with tendrils of barbwire knotting through his heart. With the sensation, he threw his head back, gasping with stricken eyes.
"The Supreme Kai!" Kibito cried, truly alone wherever he was. Not a single life form existed within his proximity, and for only the second time since their introduction, Kibito had become separated from the deity. "I must find and protect him! Where could he possibly be?"
Kibito's hair whipped with the movements of his turning head, his upper body following to cover the greatest circumference he could. He could see nothing but signs of chaos and destruction around him, realizing the crater to have been the result of a massive attack.
Though Kibito knew it was useless – Kaioshin was nowhere in sight, and his energy signature was nonexistent - he yelled for him anyway. "Master!"
Never before had such trouble filled Kibito, threatening to draw tears to his frightened eyes. Not once had he ever lost track of the deity - not even when they had separated after the World Martial Arts Tournament. To do so destroyed everything inside the bodyguard, who felt with all his impossibly living heart he had immensely failed to serve his purpose.
Where are you, Kaioshin? Kibito screamed telepathically, hoping desperately to rekindle their connection. Kaioshin was the most familiar life force to his guardian and Kibito could easily find the deity anywhere on a sizable planet. There was no other source of such pure, unadulterated, transcendent being in existence. And yet...
Kibito found nothing. No matter how far Kibito reached, how desperately he searched, he could sense no trace of his beloved deity.
Instead, there was something else – an undeniable, inexcusable, pungent evil. It soaked the earth in its disturbing darkness, plunging Kibito into an ice bath that numbed his body profoundly.
It can't be! Kibito gasped, the sense reminiscent of a darker life force he felt resembled that of Majin Buu when he had been sealed in his capsule, except the present aura was exponentially greater. Despite his knowing fright, Kibito didn't believe it to be possible.
M-Majin Buu...Kibito stuttered, feeling as though he had been reincarnated in hell. Even in his confusion, Kibito could simply not mistake the truth so evident before him. He could never construct such a malefic nightmare, even if he so dared. He has been resurrected!
Only then did Kibito tremble, flocks of shrieking banshees tearing through his physical body. There was no greater evil throughout the entire cosmos, and now Buu existed on earth. The emptiness of the creature's soul was starving, needing to feast on the essence of countless innocent lives. Majin Buu's powers, which were initially impressive, were rapidly growing with no sign of stopping and would not until the demon ceased to exist.
There was a threat more destructive than Dabura present. Compared to Majin Buu, the king of demons was innocent. Not even Dabura had taken so many lives since his birth, and he would never succeed in destroying a fraction of what Buu could take in a single day.
"I must find the Supreme Kai, but I can't detect his presence," growled Kibito, unable to contain his sudden recognition of the truly infernal situation. Already, the guardian was attacking himself, unable to accept that he had overlooked his purpose if even for an instant. The stupor induced by his revival from death was unacceptable, though even a god would have been disrupted by the unexpected miracle.
Sweat trickled down the side of Kibito's tense brow, sidling left and right with each searching turn of Kibito's head. His long hair shifted on his shoulders, the weight familiar and suffocating in the heating beams of the broad sunlight.
No matter how hard he tried, Kibito couldn't sense a single trace of Kaioshin and felt the dread inside of him build upon itself to create a vicious, sharp-toothed beast that savored his silent agony greatly.
I should have found Kaioshin by now, acknowledged Kibito vexedly. The bodyguard had always been impossibly receptive to his god, and now was no different. Perhaps my panic is clouding my judgment. If I clear my mind of these terrible thoughts, I may be able to see what I could not before.
And yet, what if there was no Kaioshin to be found? Given the dangerous situation, it was extremely possible for the Supreme Kai to be greatly injured or, dare Kibito consider, worse...
What if the worst has...? No! Kibito said forcefully, interrupting his gravest dread. I won't allow myself to think that. Not yet!
Moments passed and still, Kibito felt his abundant fear clouding his awareness. No matter how defiant Kibito's heart was to the possibility of Kaioshin's death, his mind was forced to consider the atrocious potential.
What will you do if you find that the Supreme Kai has indeed passed? inquired his internal voice, full of torturous sorrow.
Around Kibito, the winds of the earth had picked up. They lifted trails of dusty clouds from the crater, creating thin streams by Kibito's feet that then widened into expanding rivers flowing in the direction of the breeze. For a moment, Kibito found his dark eyes enamored with the snaking minerals, feeling as though the visual movement helped carry his arduous thoughts.
If I do not perish myself in that instant, the divine assistant vowed, swallowing hard with the effort of each unspoken word, I must return his remains to his hallowed planet. I will not allow him to be the only Kai to reunite with nature in an impure, unsanctified ground. I cannot bear to even think of it.
Truly, it was physically debilitating for Kibito to consider his plan of action. Never before had it been necessary to consider it. He had always been at Kaioshin's side and until that day, save for Kaioshin's brief battle with Bibidi, the god had never been in harms way. Kibito had made certain of his security and cursed himself darkly for allowing the god to leave Kaioshin-Kai in the first place.
If the Supreme Kai is no longer alive, I must search for another to assume his position. Though I know not a single being exists to rightfully oversee the universe, perhaps by some miracle, someone can feign the role until another Supreme Kai is born. Even if it occurs millions of years in the future, there will be another. There has to be, Kibito said desperately, knowing the cosmos could not exist for long without a guardian. Until then, perhaps the Grand Kai can rise to the grave occasion...
When I find a new guardian, continued the bodyguard, realizing his profound sense of duty and his dedication to his beloved deity, I will end my own existence. There is no life worth living without Kaioshin. Had I not accepted the responsibility of guarding him, I would have never been granted this cruel immortality. I would have lived thousands of years – not millions. And so I must lose my life again, if Kaioshin's was stolen, with no reason to remain if I truly failed to protect him.
There was not a single iota of doubt in Kibito's decision. He knew he would not survive long without his loved one, aware of how his body trembled on the verge of collapse when even considering the Supreme Kai's passing. For the sake of the deity above himself, Kibito hoped desperately that the visions of Kaioshin's death in his recent nightmares were horrible and meaningless contrivances.
Please, Kibito pleaded to the heavens, seeing distant stars winking to him from the darkening sky. Tell me all my previous dreams were not cruel premonitions.
The ancients in the sky must have been listening then, for as Kibito continued scanning the horizon with his senses, something hit him. It was like a quick spark, demanding Kibito turn his head in the opposite direction he had been searching.
Immediately, with his lips parted in promise, Kibito allowed himself a moment of uplifting shock. Far in the distance, a signal reminiscent of Kaioshin flickered in his vision. Despite the hope it brought the bodyguard, what Kibito discovered abruptly arrested his racing heart.
Kaioshin had the most inviolable life force in the universe, given his nature as the Supreme Kai, and yet the energy Kibito felt was nearly negligible in its frailty. No wonder he had overlooked the signature that wavered, fragile in its declining existence. The ki Kaioshin exuded was rapidly waning, as if contained in marbles balanced precariously on a smooth platform that had begun to decline. One by one, the measure of the deity's signature was dropping, with so very little time left until nothing remained.
"He's still alive!" Kibito exclaimed, hearing the urgency in his booming voice, and yet he couldn't help but grin in relief. There was still hope for the Supreme Kai if Kibito reached him in time. Arriving belated was not an option.
Kibito rose from the crater then, his arms flexed at his sides. It was necessary to consciously muster the energy in his revived body, wishing with his highest desperation that he could function to his greatest capacities. It took all Kibito's will to hold onto that life force, and when it nictated, retrieve it again. If he didn't hurry, Kaioshin would become too faint to detect. Kibito simply couldn't allow such a curse to befall them.
"Don't worry, Master!" Kibito yelled out, fueling his own urgency. If by some further miracle his voice could reach the dying deity and provide him with enough hope to hold on, if only for a little longer, then Kibito's efforts would be fruitful. "Wherever you are, I'll find you!"
Kibito thrust himself into the sky, flying at such speeds that he quickly left the massive crater behind. Soon, the blemish of the land seemed to be little more than a speck on the clouding horizon – a distant memory relinquished for a better future.