"Are you out of your mind?"

Zamasu had an incredulous look on his face as he stared in disbelief at his partner. They were standing on the balcony of their chalet, apparently in the middle of a conversation that was quickly growing heated.

Black didn't look at him. He simply stared out over the landscape before him, his hands resting on the railing. He wasn't smiling. "I don't believe I am. I've merely had some time to reflect on things, and I've had a change in perspective. Perhaps it would do you well to do the same."

"And turn my back on the plan? Our plan? I think not!" Zamasu huffed, shaking his head. "I can't believe what I'm hearing. You wish to cease our efforts to destroy these mortals simply because you've had some time to yourself? I think that saiyan body of yours is starting to get to your head! You're speaking nonsense!"

Black closed his eyes and exhaled through his nose. "Does it not bother you how aggressively these mortals fight against our cause? How the fellow gods we've slain in the name of justice all seemed to share the same sentiment in opposition to our ideals?"

Zamasu scoffed. "Of course it does. It's very bothersome that all of those fools fail to see the nobility of our cause and wish to oppose us. Are you saying you don't feel the same?"

"I'm saying that perhaps they have a reason to oppose us." Black opened his eyes and finally made eye contact with his twin. "What if they were correct? What if we are the ones with the clouded mindset?"

The kai sputtered. "You—I cannot believe you! You think our quest for justice across the cosmos is for naught? How could you possibly be so senseless all of a sudden? That body really has taken its vile toll on your mind!"

Black clenched his fists, looking away again. Zamasu continued, narrowing his eyes and taking on a more stern tone. "You come to me from the past, having slain your mentor in the name of justice, telling me that you have a plan to rid the world of its impurities. I follow you, thinking that I finally have the means of carrying out my desires to create the perfect utopia with a companion that truly understands my plight, and then all of a sudden, you turn to tell me that you think the mortals are right, and that you want to give up our holy crusade?" He could have snarled. "How utterly cowardly of you."

Black glared at him, then. " How dare you . It is not cowardly to admit your mistakes and want to right yourself from a path of misguidance."

"Misguidance? You think our ideals are misguided? How ironic!" Zamasu turned up his nose. "All this time, I thought we were in agreement that it was everyone else who was misguided and us who would be the shining light of truth in the face of ignorance. How foolish of me to assume such a thing. I suppose I am alone in this understanding after all."

The saiyan-bodied god stood straight, fully facing his counterpart. "Zamasu, use your brain! If what we are doing is correct, then why does every force in the cosmos say otherwise? Why is there so much resistance? Why do the mortals risk their very lives to uphold their views against us?"

"Because they are fools who have taken the gift of intelligence that we gods have given them and used it for evil!" Zamasu spat. "They're all too ignorant to see the ridiculous futility of their ways. That is why we must end their senseless existence and purify the world! Have you already forgotten this?"

Black frowned. "Gowasu tried to tell us that it was not our place to bestow such judgement upon mortals. Our job as a kai is to watch over them and nurture them so that they may hopefully one day end their cycle of ignorance that we've tried so desperately to end ourselves before it was time. We are not Gods of Destruction. We've forgotten our place."

Zamasu was growing progressively more upset as he listened. "Our place is above the mortals as gods to be revered and praised for our beauty!"

"Perhaps there is more to being a god than praise and reverence."

The kai was taken aback by this notion, straightening. He stood there with a look of utter disbelief for a few moments, the tension between them thick enough to cut with a blade. Neither of them spoke for a time.

Then, Zamasu narrowed his eyes and lowered his head a bit. His voice was cold, and his words were like venom dripping from his lips. "... Fine. If you wish to turn your back on our plan, to turn your back on justice itself...to turn your back on me, then so be it. You're no better than the foul mortals that plague the world with their very existence. I had feared I would have to carry out this deed alone from the start, and I suppose that time has finally come." He extended an arm out to his side, a purple energy sword forming from his hand. A look of pure hatred rested on his face. "The Zero Mortal Plan will commence, and it will purge all mortals, including you."

Black did not enjoy the fact that it had come to this. He had hoped it wouldn't and that they could fix their wrongdoings together—it would have been easier that way. Hell, he had actually planned to simply leave his counterpart to carry out the plan in this future without him and return to his own timeline to at least fix things there, but he supposed he'd get to do neither of those things, now.

He released his own energy sword, standing strong in the face of an adversary he'd never hoped to face. "So be it."