The Vicious Gods Wrath
Chapter 15: Ascension
Decades Ago, Arcos
He stands atop a snowy hill, trying to gaze into the blizzard and storm-ridden sky and catch a glimpse of the moon with the freezing cold assaulting him perpetually and mercilessly. He places his arms to the front in an attempt to shield himself from the blizzard but it is a futile effort, the wind merely continues its barrage, shaping the snow ridden landscape all around him as it has perpetually done since the great Frost covered their planet eons ago.
His father standing behind him chuckles at the youths attempts and opts to aid his son. Without moving a muscle, father forms a protective bubble around them both, protecting them from the blizzard. His son looks at the purple colored ball in astonishment, his enthusiasm not subsiding as the ball floats up into the air, beyond the cloudy skies and into the upper atmosphere of the planet.
"This is... "
"Amazing?" Father chuckles, joining him in partaking in the view above the snowy clouds of their barren homeworld. "I remember the first time I came here. I too was only a boy, not much older than you. I ventured beyond the protective dome despite everyone's protests that I would die out there without my suit. But I knew at a very early age that I was different from the others, that unlike them, I had power."
"D-do I have this power too?"
"Of course, you do." Father's hand rest atop his head. "Were it not so, you'd have perished out in the cold or even up here where there is no air to breathe. But you are special as well, you were meant for greater things than to spend your whole life underground. You and I, we will both venture beyond this snow covered wasteland and claim the universe as our own. When next someone speaks of the Arcosian's, they will not speak of us being these weak, suit wearing cowards. They will speak of you and me my son, of Cold and Freeza, the conquerors of the universe."
The boy smiles at this news, turning his gaze onto the millions of stars glowing above him, wondering just how many of them he and his father will lay claim to in the future. "But there is still much to do until then, today, however, you made the first and most important step. A step into a larger universe."
"Thank you for sharing this with me father."
Cold smiles approvingly. "Don't thank me just yet, today is also the start of your combat practice and I assure you, it will be a far less pleasant experience."
Commanding the ball downward, the two Arcosian's fly through the blizzard covered the surface of their world and land it near the entrance of one of the domes, startling a nearby group of Arcosians in the process who immediately bow to Cold and Freeza. "K-King Cold! It is an honor sire!"
"K-King Cold! It is an honor sire!"
Cold doesn't respond, merely walking inside first with the group following suite. Freeza, however, stares at them, how they're completely covered in hazmat suits protecting them from the volatile surface. Unlike himself and his father both of whom can exit it without any difficulty. The boy remembers his history lessons how his species did not always need to live in underground domes or clad themselves in hazmat suits to simply survive outside of their underground domains. There was once a time where they lived normally before the Frost changed everything.
All Arcosians, from the youngest to the oldest now cannot leave outside these domes without cladding themselves inside the suits, for their biological systems are fragile things, easily broken by the simplest of exposures.
"So this is what father meant by us having power," The boy concludes with a smile. "I like it."
"Lord Freeza?"
Present Day, Edge of Known Space
The tyrant's eyes burst open upon hearing the tiny commanders voice, he looks around and notices his pod still flies towards its destination. With a sigh and a crack of his neck, Freeza answers him. "What is it Sorbet?"
"I wanted to inform you that we've placed a series of power dampening generators all around the system to ensure you can use your powers without the fear of discovery. I've also placed some search parties nearby to look for you if anything happens-"
"If anything happens Sorbet, I'll be too dead and gone for your assistance to change anything," He interjects bluntly and ends all communication with his right-hand man. With a sigh, he leans back in pods seat and simply stares through the large window of the pod. "So much for having one last good sleep before the end."
Far off in the distance, he sees the object of his next and possibly last mission, a bright, orange-colored sun. Shining its rays throughout a system littered with lifeless worlds, ones barren as rocks upon which no life will ever sprout from. Inside of this sun is Freeza's objective, the power to attain true Godhood. Yet he cannot escape an uneasy feeling growing in his gut, one making him apprehensive as to what must be done next.
"How did he talk me into this?"
PTO Command Ship, 1 Hour Earlier
"That was a bold claim you made Sorbet," Freeza steely tells his second-in-command man, the diminutive being known as Sorbet. The two stand inside Freeza's private quarters, cloaked in darkness and utterly isolated from the remainder of the ship so no one can come in our out without his express permission.
"I do hope you've thought this through well enough, it would be a shame for a capable soldier such as yourself to die because your tongue was too fast for your brain."
"You and me both..." Freeza distinctly hears him mutter. "I mean! Of course Lord Freeza! I spent the entire week you were away amassing as much information as I could to aid you with this Super Saiyan God problem. I wouldn't even bring it up if I didn't believe it would work."
He scowls at his right-hand man, trying to keep a hold of his flaring temper. Not an easy task thanks to this latest, greatest slight courtesy from the Earth-bound enemies mocking him with every breath.
"We'll see."
Sorbet immediately summons a large holo-screen behind him, covering most of the back wall of his masters quarters. With a few button presses on a keypad, the monitor begins running through several pieces of footage from the Super Saiyan God ritual and battle. The scowl on Freeza's face somehow manages to grow in intensity. He clears his throat with a cough and tries to put on some air of confidence about him.
"As you know my Lord, recently the one known as Goku received a visit from the infamous Beerus, The God of Destruction. The result of which was him attaining a new form, allowing him to become a Super Saiyan God but more importantly, attain a vast amount of power in the span of but a few minutes."
"It appears that this Super Saiyan God, as the regular Super Saiyan, was some form of a myth or legend on Planet Vegeta though clearly far less known than the latter. It served as the launching point of my investigation, quickly I commanded all available intelligence units to begin scouring our databanks for legends or myths or anything from the various species of the cosmos where ordinary mortals seemingly become Gods."
With another button press on the keypad, the footage changes to images of tablets, ancient scribes and other folklore from across the universe.
"While most of these stories centered on egotistical deities or their bastard offspring, a handful of them did in fact claim to possess rituals or spells capable of turning mortals into Gods. As I scoured through this information I discovered a constant similarity between them and the Super Saiyan God ritual. "
"Which is?"
Sorbet presses on the keypad once more, showing another smaller screen of footage from the ritual. "As stated by the Earth Dragon, five righteous hearted Saiyan's must join hands and transfer this essence into another to unlock the hidden power of a God within one of their ranks. Here," He points to a table depicting lizard men on the holo-screen. "The reptilian species of Redania, a kind known for their vicious appearances yet calm, pacifist nature purported to have a God making ritual in their mythology. The most peaceful, calm and loving of them all found 10 others such as himself, then ripped their still-beating hearts out of their chests and devoured them. Transferring their essence inside himself and making him one of the 57 deities of their pantheon."
Freeza's boiling anger simmers down at this news, he leans forward to while Sorbet presses on the keypad once more. Now it shows images of scrolls detailing tribe of sand-dwelling warriors diving into the heart of the sea and finding a glowing energy underneath.
"These are the Tul-tek. A species residing on the planet of the same name, they live exclusively in the sandy wastelands of their home-world, for a fear of the seas is, for one reason or another, practically etched into their beings. Yet, some tales speak of a warrior who not only dared to enter the sea, but he ventured to the very depths of it and there, found a magical power which ascended him to Godhood. The very life blood of the planet according to this story."
Sorbet presses on the keypad once more, the monitor now shows cave paintings of a crab-like species constantly fighting amongst themselves, all except one. "Here we have the Moreen's. A vicious species with a foul temper and a penchant for perpetual civil war amongst themselves, not too dissimilar to the mostly extinct Saiyan's. Truly, many confirmed reports say that their inborn anger is so great they claw their way out of their mother's wombs before proper birth can take place. Yet, legends tell of one who overcame his anger, realizing the folly of it and not only forgave those around him but discovered love as well. After meeting a few more of his kind, their joining made the first one unlock a hidden power within himself, and thus he-"
"Became a God..." Freeza concludes, fully grasping the point Sorbet has been making since the start of this presentation. "Pacifists forced to devour hearts, revenge seekers finding love and peace, sea fearing tribes diving into the heart of what terrifies them most... And five good hearted Saiyan's... All rituals or feats which go against the very in-born nature of a species, all of which-"
"Produce Gods," Sorbet interjects with a sly smile on his face. "Truly my Lord, had I not seen the Saiyan's do it with my very own eyes I wouldn't have believed it. But yes, you are quite correct. In fact, I know of one specifically from your species."
His mostly extinct species, loathsome and cowardly in their disposition and horribly prone to sickness, Freeza quickly expunged them from the cosmos just as he has many others. For he has no love for them nor or decades ago when the choice was made, the most powerful being in the universe could not and would not be associated with such ilk. So thorough was his extermination of them, their name's are lost to all but those with the highest of clearance levels inside the Empire. People such as Sorbet, clearly.
With a few steps of his keypad, Sorbet shows the images of visual books detailing a being who resembles Freeza's first form though a bit fatter traveling towards the sun. "I'm sure you've heard this one in your youth master though you probably didn't think it important enough to keep in mind. Many eons ago, a powerful member of your race appeared by the name of Chilled. He was the first to leave your world and begin conquering the cosmos yet he met with a strong foe who nearly killed him. While recovering, he too researched ways to attain great power and came across creationist myths saying that the power of the Gods was in all living things. Not just people, but planets, suns, moons, anything which could create life or was alive itself had this power."
Sorbet presses on the keypad, changing the images to show Chilled heading towards the sun before being burned alive at the cusp of reaching its heart. "He too must've realized the polar opposite nature of attaining Godhood. For your home planet is a frozen, mostly barren wasteland and its polar opposite is, of course, the sun. So he headed towards it, his great power helping him approach the fiery star, it states he even managed to nearly reach the heart of it where the supposed power lay but lost focus, thus he was incinerated alive."
"Ah yes, now I remember it," Freeza's chuckles as it all comes back to him. "My bore of a father occasionally told me of it during my youth, he kept telling us the moral of it was never to allow our own arrogant delusions seal our fates."
Only once the words leave him does he realize how worthwhile of a lesson it was. "I should have heeded his advice and the hubris of Chilled more closely."
Sorbet wisely chooses not to comment, instead, proceeding onwards. "But you need to not worry anymore master! For now, you have the means of not only catching up to this Goku but surpassing him as well! By absorbing the heart of a star into yourself, you will attain Godhood and become the most powerful being in the universe once more!"
"Goku isn't who I'm entirely worried about. There is also Beerus, to say he detests me would be a grand understatement. In fact were it not for my life in secrecy following my return, he would've come to this very ship and killed us all to be rid of me. I also doubt he's returned to another long slumber, especially with Goku and potentially Vegeta to entertain him. I were to guess, Beerus shares a similar love of combat to Goku and being the most powerful being in the universe, a worthy challenge most certainly eludes him. He will want to fight again as quickly as possible, I'm certain of it. Vegeta will also present a problem, he will attain Godhood soon to keep up with Goku."
"That's why this ritual will prove beneficial! As you yourself said, if Beerus knew you were alive he would've already come for you! If you attain Godhood and continue with your training I am certain you will certainly surpass him in no time!"
Freeza stares at the images of Chilled entering into the sun, weighing his options to determine just how viable of a plan this really is. Though he cannot fault Sorbet for the effort he's put into this, doubt still lingers in his mind concerning it all. Just because one or two legends have turned out to be true doesn't mean all of them did and without Dragon Balls, he can use at his leisure, Freeza is denied the ability of fully determining the validity of all these stories. Then there's the act itself: entering inside a sun of all things. He knows he's far and away most durable and stronger than any of his species, besides his father and potentially Chilled if he really existed, but even with all of that, a sun remains a sun, one of the most hostile places you could want to enter, even for a being of his strength level...
"Lord Freeza...?"
"Hm?" He snaps back to reality at the urging of Sorbet. "Oh, I apologize, I was lost in my thoughts there for a moment. I must give you credit for pulling all of this together, I can see you've gone to great lengths in service to me. Entirely of your own volition, I must add, such initiative is something to be commended. But still..." Another glance is cast at the monitors. "If I am to do this, I need certain... assurances in the event of my second passing."
"Is there a point though master? Surely we could simply restore you with the Dragon Balls?"
"Not with the Earth Dragon Ball's, remember, those who've returned to life with them once cannot do so again, only the loathsome Namekian's still hiding away from us have the orbs capable of bringing me back a second time. Orbs we cannot find without potentially using the one's on Earth again, which we cannot use without arousing the suspicion of not just Goku and his menagerie, but of Beerus and his assistant as well. We have been incredibly lucky the Namekian took our decoy's destruction at face value, we may not be so lucky again."
"But my lord! Your return has been invaluable to us, surely you cannot mean-"
"To stay dead in case this fails? It may have no choice in the matter," He says it with a calm that surprises himself and Sorbet in equal measure. "My revenge hangs by a thread Sorbet after already dangling precariously off of an edge before all of this God business. If I cannot succeed at this, then it will be denied to me forever."
The silence hangs in the air as Freeza stares once more on the images of Chilled rushing into the sun and never emerging from it, is this his future fate as well? A foolish gambit to overcome an insurmountable gap and right a past wrong done to him? The potential failure and finality of it all stir the fury building inside, but it cannot burn perpetually as it has for the past week. Something behind the impossibility behind all this keeps it in check, creating a bizarre sort of acceptance of whatever happens next.
He looks over to Sorbet, patiently but awkwardly waiting on what he will say next. For some reason, Freeza finds himself compelled to reassure him instead of simply barking out another order and concluding it all there.
"Do not fret so, Sorbet," The words slip out, once again surprising him. "You brought me back so I could restore the Empire to old glory, yet through my discoveries of Earth, I've made it something better. Should I perish... It will not all crumble around you as it has before. You've led it restoration efforts while I've spent the year's punching and kicking across the cosmos to strengthen myself, my second death will matter very, very little now."
"Very well my lord," Sorbet relents with a sigh, no doubt realizing the truth behind the words as well. "If this should fail, I will not compromise the Empire into bringing you back."
Freeza nods approvingly. "Very good, now then, I assume you've already found a good sun for me to try this out on?"
"Of course, the system in question has nothing but barren, lifeless worlds on the edge of known space. No one will look or find you there."
"You have served me well once more Sorbet, do try not to muck everything up should I die again."
Sorbet lets out a small laugh and bows once more to his master. "I'll try my best not to."
Freeza drifts in the empty, silent void of space, his eyes never leaving the shining, orange sun inside of which are the supposed means to his ascension. Despite his overbearing desire to simply plunge into the ball shaped inferno before him, a part of him holds back. A part of him that wants some insurance that this isn't a fool's gambit, yet the only being capable of that would be Earth's Dragon. A place he cannot go to without being discovered and perishing anyway. Even if the Dragon did confirm it, it would not make plunging himself into the sun any less dangerous.
Placing himself in a meditative position, Freeza powers up, putting as much of his Ki as he can into creating the most powerful energy bubble he can muster. He knows that even with all his biological advantages, he cannot survive plunging himself into the sun. Thus, the bubble is his sole chance of accomplishing this task, if a single crack appears on it, he will be incinerated alive and vaporized out of existence almost instantly.
The purple colored orbs shape solidifies with all the Ki going into it, almost giving it a tangible shape with a faint glow emanating from it. The tyrant opens his eyes and with a deep breath, commands the orbs forward. The ball races at speeds that could split a moon in half, and in a matter of seconds smashes into the very surface of the sun, causing a small shockwave to erupt from the impact zone.
Freeza's jaw instantly clenches as he must divide his attention between keeping the orb stable, ensuring it's getting a constant refill of energy and moving forward all at once. The orbs energy protects him from the heat as it enters into the burning star. A fiery inferno completely surrounds him on all sides, reminding the tyrant of the fiery death ball he created on the day planet Vegeta was destroyed. If he didn't have to concentrate so intensely, he might even let himself chuckle at the irony of dying in a similar way to the Saiyans.
The heat starts to somewhat break through the orb though not much of it, still, it is enough to make the tyrant sweat all over. The flames twist and turn all around him, changing colors as their intensity grows. From red to orange, to green, anyone else would be amazed by this display of colors, Freeza cannot afford himself this luxury.
His composed outside somewhat falters when he lays eyes on his objective: the sun's heart. At the heart of the star, he sees a blue colored, ethereal flame no bigger than the overlords fist. One which resembles the blue light which enveloped Goku after he first transformed into a Super Saiyan God. Despite himself, he gazes into the heart and finds himself mesmerized by its beauty, a nearly fatal mistake as his ball begins to shake. "Damn it!"
Stretching his hands outward, the overlord clenches his fist and puts more Ki into the ball, stabilizing it yet halting its advance. His heart races so quickly and loudly he's almost afraid it will explode in his chest, but he ignores it and turns his attention back to the heart. Commanding the orb forward, he draws closer and closer to the heart finally with it only being a few feet away.
However, his orb begins to falter once again, as the white flames heat is too much even with most of Freeza's power placed into it. The tyrant clenches his jaw harder and moves forward, for he knows there's no going back, his orb wouldn't last for a return journey. He must press on no matter what. Aiming his hand towards the tiny, ethereal flame, the heat rises with his faltering barrier but Freeza ignores it.
With all his remaining Ki and willpower he lets out a mighty roar and manages to inch his way closer towards the heart with his entire body straining under the pressure. And then he does it, with a quick motion of his hand, he grabs the blue flame in it and smirks victoriously. However, a moment later, his barrier breaks.
"Status report soldier, what's going on out there?" Asks Sorbet to one of the officers of the rescue parties position on the edge of the system, placed there by Sorbet to retrieve Freeza should anything happen. Though, he neglected to inform them of who precisely they're there to rescue in keeping with his oath of secrecy to his master.
"Nothing's happened yet sir, the Ki orb entered the sun and it doesn't appear to have done anything. Should we continue observing-" Behind him, the sun unleashes several spiraling pillars of flame outward with its entire body suddenly expanding.
Sorbet's eyes widen in shock, prompting him to swiftly command the cameras observing the star zoom in as much as they can. In a mix of terror and amazement, he watches the star grow and growing before suddenly shrinking quickly into itself as if a black hole had just opened in the center of it. Thousands of small, yellow pieces of flame scatter outward with the convulsing sun with its deteriorating size.
A blood-curdling scream can be heard from inside the soon, one no doubt belonging to Freeza as the flames consume him. "Men! Move to the star at once! Our agent requires your aid!"
"Yes, sir!" States the commander before he and the six other groups of soldiers fly as quickly as they can towards the shrinking sun, they along with Sorbet listen to Freeza's horrifying scream until it abruptly halts just as the sun completely, and utterly disappears mere moments later. The soldiers draw closer, unsure of what it is that exactly happened, bringing in the cameras closer and revealing a peculiar sight to Sorbet.
Where the sun once was, they find a large, rock-like cocoon floating in the void of space. The soldiers approach it cautiously, with their science officers going to it first and trying to get some readings off of it. Their devices, however, can find nothing. "Lord Sorbet, what do you want us to do with this?"
Sorbet leans back in his chair with a sigh, his mind racing with what this could mean. Did Freeza succeed? Or is this strange object a form of punishment made by the Gods to trap him for all time. Then, a crack appears on the rock, catching the interest of the scientists. An orange colored light escapes from it, with more and more cracks appearing through the cocoon.
Soon the rock begins to shake violently with whatever is inside trying its hardest to break out, the soldiers immediately flee to put some distance between themselves and the object. But their fates are sealed, for the cocoon not only breaks open before they can get away, it unleashes a supernova-like explosion that incinerates everyone and everything in a hundred mile radius, vaporizing them out of existence.
The tiny commander of the PTO looks on in shock as he tries to desperately restore the live feed. "You there!" He points his finger to one of the soldiers on the ship's bridge. "Restore our link to the search parties at once before I-"
"You should really calm down Sorbet, such outbursts are not fit for one of your standing," States a familiar, formal voice in a mocking tone followed by a chuckle, a voice which sends shivers down the spines of everyone present, freezing them in place. "Whats wrong, cat got your tongue?"
"L-Lord Freeza!" Sorbet blurts out in shock. "A-are you alright?! I thought you were dead for certain when that sun started collapsing!"
"Oh, I'm more than alright," Freeza takes a moment to examine his new and improved form as a fiery, orange aura surrounds him. With a pleased smile on his face, he releases a simple death beam towards one of the nearby planets and in a matter of seconds, wipes it from existence itself. "I'm better than ever."
And so, Golden Freeza is born and we enter the final home stretch for the story! I must say, this chapter really took its toll out of my but given its overall importance if there's anyone that should've gotten the longer treatment, it was definitely this one. Hopefully, you all liked why I chose this way of giving Freeza his godly power though I'm sure it won't be to everyone's liking.
And no, the Chilled mentioned here is NOT the same one from Episode of Bardock. He's just an ancestor of Freeza's who spawned the line, got beaten by a powerful alien who's NOT Super Saiyan Bardock and went to find more power.