Previously on Dragon Ball Aftermath: The Primal God

"You have to enter your new transformation, dad!" Gohan says. Goku yells and powers up, his hair turning dark red, and the entire palace shaking. The walls crack and he raises his fist.

"FORTE!" He coats his fist in all of his energy and he slams it on the eye. A massive shock wave spreads across the Metempiric Space, as it begins to crack. The eye shatters, and there would be a hidden room.

"Bingo!" Goku leaps down and there would be cobwebs everywhere. "What is this place? Hmm..." He turns to see a glowing lever made entirely out of the same essence he used against Gohan earlier. "What the...?"

He sees a sign up above and he wipes the dust off of it, but the text would be too faded to read. Vegeta and Gohan leap down behind him and he places a hand on the lever. "Well, here goes nothing."

He pulls it, and dust rains down from the ceiling, as the entire palace shakes. Guard angels would be hurrying around, trying to figure out what is going on. A secret panel opens up in the room, as a floating ring would begin rapidly spinning.

A portal lights up, and electricity shoots out of it, slowly melting the area around it. They would see many, many dots in the distance, but there would be a large one close to them.

"Let's leave home and go visit the ancient god," Goku says. The three of them hesitate, before walking straight into the portal, it closing behind them due to being too unstable to maintain itself.

Chapter Nine

Music: Jo Blankenburg - Fear No Man

They walk through the portal to the other side and find themselves in a massive reality similar to the Metempiric Space. However, it would be in terrible shape. Reality would constantly be fighting itself.

Winds faster than trillions of miles per hour shoot in all directions, and lightning travels everywhere. Chunks of Omniverses float everywhere, as most of the reality would have been destroyed.

"What is going on?" Vegeta asks. "This place... it must be an older reality. What could've happened to it?"

"I don't know, but it isn't safe here," Gohan replies. "We need to hurry and find the ancient god. He must be the creator of this reality."

Billions of lightning bolts travel around them at once. It would be clear that this reality doesn't have much longer before it explodes. Goku teleports them to the only energy signature.

They teleport in front of a dimly glowing figure, sitting down. He slowly looks up at them. "I'm assuming you're... not one of this reality."

"That's correct," Gohan replies. "We need your help. The Void is coming for our reality. We need to learn the truth and try and fight her."

The god's eyes widen, as he gets up from his throne. "Mother is...? Who sent you?"

"Lord Arhenahin sent us," Goku replies, surprising the god even more. "He said you were an old friend of his."

The god sighs. "I'll introduce myself. My name is Materia, the owner of the Verum Hakai Orb."

"Orb?" Vegeta asks. "What do you mean? We've heard of Verum Hakai. Nyg- I mean... Caelicola had it."

"That impossible," Materia replies. "Caelicola is alive after the Spatium Space has been destroyed? How can this be?"

"So, will you help us?" Goku asks. Materia scratches his chin, before sitting back down. "Why should I trust you? How do I know you aren't lying?"

Goku powers up into Omni Evolution then powers up into the red-hair form. He raises his arm and covers it in the mysterious glowing essence. Materia looks closer, silent for a moment. "How did you obtain that?"

"You know what it is?" Goku asks. Materia grabs his arm and examines it closer. "How did you obtain God Essence, mortal? You aren't a Caeleste."

"What's a Caeleste?" Gohan asks.

"It's what us Omni-Creators are," Materia explains. "Mother created us, most likely out of boredom. Our purpose was to create our own realities. I suppose I will explain as much as I know. You will need to know about this."

He raises his hand and a pulsating orb appears in it. It warps reality around it, as it seems to slowly revolve around the orb. "This... is the origin of Verum Hakai, the ultimate destructive power."

"This can't be!" Vegeta says, sweat going down the side of his face. "I thought Celestial Essence was the origin of everything!"

"That is where you are wrong," Materia replies. "Celestial Essence was created by Arhenahin. It composes of all of the types of energy in his reality, minus Verum Hakai and God Essence."

He leans in, his face deadly serious. "Mother must never know about this orb. It is the very embodiment of destruction itself. If she got her hands on it, she could simply squeeze it and erase everything."

He holds it out toward Goku, and the Saiyan steps back in surprise. "You... want me to have it? Why do you trust me that much?"

"I know who you are, Son Goku," Materia says. "You are... the Infinitum Mortale. The prophecy is true."

Goku takes a step back, his eyes wide. "The... what now?! Me? But... I'm Goku!"

"Nygyn was going to say that a while back, but Piccolo stopped him," Gohan adds.

Materia waves his hand and a giant board showing an ancient drawing of a figure made purely of energy taking on the Void. The figure's hairstyle would be similar to that of a Super Saiyan. Behind it, there would be bunches of different gods.

He waves his hand again and it changes to show a bunch of orbs surrounding the Void's body, then finally, it shows everybody disintegrating behind Goku.

Goku falls to his knees, sweat dripping on the floor in front of him. "How can this... be...? That drawing... It means we're going to be destroyed!"

"No, we won't!" Vegeta says, stomping on Goku's back. "Screw fate and all that! Do you think we are going to be stopped by a prophecy? Don't make me laugh."

Goku gets up and sighs. "Alright. We need to think of something fast. Material, what are those orbs?"

"It's Materia, and they are the Orbs of Creation," Materia responds. "Every essence has its own orb, minus the diluted ones, such as the energies that split from Celestial Essence. Every Caeleste was born with a Void Orb. However, Mother took them away a googolplex years after that happened after some of the gods rebelled. Eventually, all of the Caeleste ran out of Void energy."

He raises his hand and a bright light appears before he summons half an orb of Void Essence. "This is what I have left, more than any of the other gods. I was one of the gods that rebelled against Mother. I was the only one who survived her wrath. She learned very recently that I still was alive. She didn't realize I still had Voidic energy and punished me by destroying my reality."

Goku picks up the Verum Hakai orb, stumbling back. "Hey, uh... Is there a way to shrink this thing?"

"Oh, right," Materia replies. He touches the orb and shrinks it down to the size of a quarter. Goku places it into his pocket, as he then holds the Void orb out to him.

The three of them go completely silent, as Materia sighs. "Void Essence is so valuable, that no amount of currency can buy it. This is all I have left. I will die soon anyway. Put good use to it."

Goku takes it, then suddenly drops to the ground, grunting. He yells as a pillar of energy lights up the entire reality. His hair turns pure white and a red marking appears on his chest, before turning white.

Just before the transformation completes, he powers down and falls onto one knee, panting. "Wh-What the...?"

"You need to be careful and preserve that," Materia warns. "Be careful. One more thing: There is one more Caeleste in the Void that holds the God Essence orb. You may know him as a former enemy..."

"What's his name?" Gohan asks. Materia exhales through his nose. "His name... is Akuma."

All three of the Saiyans gasp in shock, remembering how their encounter with him went. Vegeta would be the first one to step forward. "He nearly destroyed our reality for good! How is he a Caeleste?!"

"He was created by Mother to watch over the Void long before Arhenahin was born, and Mother sent him to sabotage Arhenahin," Materia replies. "His original name was Tiias. Little did Arhenahin know, he summoned Akuma, rather than create him at the beginning of the Metempiric Space."

"That explains how he knew about the Void powers, and why he mentioned he was stronger than in his prime, despite being far weaker than Arhenahin when he first died," Gohan says.

FLASHBACK

Akuma chuckles, as he looks up at the cosmos. "I see the truth now... Heh... I can see through it all.."

He looks down at all of the fighters and Arhenahin, having become a god beyond God. He raises his hands, as existence begins to slowly eradicate around him. "I am now as strong... AS I WAS IN MY PRIME!"

The powerful essence of the infinite void flows through Goku. He opens his eyes, as his hair turns pure white. Red lines travel across his body, as he begins to walk toward Akuma.

Akuma gasps, sweat going down his face. "That's... IMPOSSIBLE! How were you able to utilize the power of the void?! I was never able to even grasp that power!"

Arhenahin squints at him. "Then... The Tier Four, Gilo... His disappearing was because of you...?"

Akuma smirks, licking his lips. "Yes... All of you are considered good... However... I will consider myself a new term... Evil... I am the first evil to ever exist... There is no more balance..."

Suddenly, Arhenahin would have him lifted up by the neck before he could even react. "GU... GUHCK-"

Arhenahin's face would be dark in the lighting. "You have broken... the most ancient of laws..." He looks up, his eyes glowing. "You never... stray from the path of good..."

FLASHBACK - END

The reality shakes, as explosions happen in the distance, the wind and lightning getting worse. Materia looks up, then sighs. "You must get going. You must find a way to unseal Akuma and take his power. It will not be easy."

The three Saiyans fly out of the palace and dodge a lot of lightning and explosions. They fly to where they came from, but the portal would be gone. Sweat goes down Goku's face, as he realizes they are trapped.

"The portal must've been unstable and closed!" Gohan says, alarmed. "What are we going to do?! We'll blow up along with the rest of this reality!"

"I haven't come this far to let everybody down!" Vegeta says. He reaches over and touches the orb that Goku has, and yells, but is unable to transform. "Tch... Kakarot, go get Materia!"

Goku nods and vanishes in front of Materia, surprising him. "What are you doing here? This reality is going to explode any second now! Get out while you still can!"

"You're coming with me!" Goku replies, grabbing him and pulling him off his throne. "You aren't going to die here!" He Instant Transmissions to Vegeta and Gohan, who are opening a portal.

They create a portal just big enough for them to fit in. Reality begins to implode and heat up, explosions destroying the entire dimension.

"NOW!" Gohan yells, as the four of them rush through the portal and close it, before it completely explodes, leaving nothing left.

The two shoot through the portal and it closes behind them. They would be back in the throne room, a bunch of guards walking around the palace before one spots them and shouts, "HEY!"

He walks over and Goku waves his hands. "It's alright! Sorry! Lord Arhenahin's orders!"

The guard stops and sighs. "Oh, it's you, Goku. Why is the floor destroyed, and who is this fellow?"

"I'll take care of it," Materia says, as he waves his hand and the floor is repaired. "I request an audience with Lord Arhenahin."

"That won't be possible," the guard says. "He has given strict orders not to be disturbed. You will have to come back another time."

"Goku," Materia says, and Goku nods, taking the quarter-sized Verum Hakai orb out of his pocket and tossing it to Materia. He catches it and it grows to full size, sending electricity across the room. "Take me to him."

The guard stumbles back, shocked. "The legends... It cannot be..." He looks around, seeing that nobody else is there. "Okay, look, I'll open a portal, but you have to promise not to tell him that I did it."

"It's a deal," Materia agrees. The guard raises his hand and a portal forms, sending wind across the throne room. "Make it quick, please. Remember our deal!"

The four of them go through the portal and see utter chaos in Piccolo's dimension. Energy from the orb Arhenahin had would be going up into the sky, causing the entire dimension to flash.

Arhenahin, Caelicola, and Piccolo would be doing their best to suppress the energy, but it would clearly be too much for them to handle. Materia walks forward and sighs. "I was afraid something like this would happen. If this isn't stopped soon, it will break out of the dimension and destroy the entire Metempiric Space."

"So, what do we do?" Vegeta asks. Materia zooms forward and places a hand on the orb, yelling. Arhenahin and Caelicola notice him, and they would be completely shocked. A massive pillar of light slams down on Materia and electricity rips apart the dimension.

The orb of Void Essence calms down and is contained once more. Materia exhales and turns toward Arhenahin and Caelicola. "Good thing I arrived, old friends. It's been a very long time."

Arhenahin walks over to him and hugs him, and Materia gladly accepts it, trying to contain his emotions. "I never thought I'd see you again, Materia! How did you get back?"

"It was thanks to the help of Goku, Vegeta, and Gohan," Materia replies. "Plus, we have two very important things to show you."

He raises his orb of Void Essence, which is bigger than Arhenahin's orb. "This should help the cause."

Caelicola walks over and takes it, observing it in his hands. "It's definitely genuine... Thank you, Materia."

"That's not the only thing," Materia replies. He holds up the Verum Hakai orb and everyone, even Arhenahin, backs away from it.

"Materia, how did you get that?" Caelicola asks him. "Did you always have that?"

Materia chuckles and sets it down. "You two forgot that I am the one that created Verum Hakai in the first place... Why haven't you taught it to the three behind me?"

"It's a very dangerous, destructive force," Arhenahin explains. "If knowledge of it were to spread across the Metempiric Space, many corrupt gods could rise up and initiate war with that kind of power."

"Are you telling me you do not trust them, even after they helped defeat Akuma?" Materia replies. "If they could utilize that on top of the Void Essence, God Essence, and Celestial Essence, they would be unstoppable."

"He does have a point, Arhenahin," Caelicola adds. "It would help against the final battle with Mother. We have to try."

Materia's face darkens. "There's something else we have to do that I know you will not want. We must... unseal Akuma."

"Why would we do that?" Arhenahin asks him. "You weren't there to see it, but Akuma destroyed the Metempiric Space. If it weren't for Goku's Void powers, we wouldn't be here today."

"I'm aware," Materia replies. "However, he possesses one of the most valuable orbs in the Void: The God Essence Orb."

Arhenahin takes a long pause, before responding. "But didn't I create him? How can this be?"

"You didn't create him," Materia explains, "you summoned him. Mother created him long before you were born, and she sent his soul to sabotage you since you were too powerful."

Piccolo would have been listening to all of this during his meditation. He gets up and walks over. "We have no choice. The God Essence orb possesses great power. Should somebody get their hands on it, they would be able to do anything they desire. It won't be long before your mother finds out about Akuma's sealing and take the orb."

"Plus, we have three powerful gods," Gohan adds. "We unseal him, take the orb, and re-seal him. He's extremely powerful, though. We have to be careful."

"Alright, let's go," Vegeta says. "Kakarot, you're going to have to be the one to unseal him."

The two leave the dimension and go to the edges of the Metempiric Space. Goku places his hand on the Void Essence and closes his eyes. He grunts as the power begins to regulate through him. "I... I can't hold it!"

Arhenahin, Caelicola, and Materia place a hand on Goku's back to help him regulate it. Goku inhales and exhales slowly, as he begins to concentrate and find the exact location Akuma is at.

After a minute, his eyes open. "Found him. I'm going to need you to keep regulating my energy." He raises his two hands, as he tears the layer of Void apart that he used to seal Akuma.

From it, submerges a cube with a trillion seals on it. Sitting there would be Akuma, meditating, and fully healed. As soon as he is lifted out of the cube, he slowly opens his eyes, then looks at them for a moment.

Then, his eyes shoot open and a giant shock wave causes the cube to crack. An orange and pink aura flares up around him, as he begins to break the cube open. "THERE YOU ARE! You have some nerve to UNSEAL ME!"

Goku gets into a stance and enters his evolved Omni Evolution form. Arhenahin notices it, his eyes widening. "How did he obtain God Essence...?"

Akuma stops and smiles sadistically. "So, you got a little stronger, brat! I will not forgive you for making a fool out of me!" The cube bursts open and part of the Metempiric Space explodes.

To Be Continued in Chapter Ten

Akuma is back, more powerful than ever! Will they be able to successfully claim the God Essence Orb, or will the unsealing be their biggest mistake yet? Find out next time!

~ Scruffy