"Why?"
Vegeta asked this question within his mind, silently watching Bulma as she grinned back at him while she enjoyed the meteor shower that he had purposefully put up in the night sky for her. It was a way of making up to her after making her worried about him and filling her huge, beautiful, baby blue eyes with tears he couldn't even understand the meaning behind at all. Those tears made him feel uncomfortable for some reason, and he knew that he didn't like seeing them. He preferred those cerulean eyes of hers spark with blazing blue fire whenever he poked her ire, lit up with joy as her face brightened with her dazzling smile, and stare at him warmly as she looked at him in a certain way that made him feel he could reach out to her whenever he needed her.
"Damn it! Why? Why is it that whenever I think of that infernal Earth woman, I couldn't stop thinking about her? Her face, her smile, the way she looks at me. It's making me feel confused and uncomfortable inside. I don't understand these feelings… And I hate it."
But why is it that it's making him feel glad too? Seeing her smile like that, making her happy like this, it's satisfying to him. It made him feel glad and relieved. These are emotions a God of Destruction like himself wasn't allowed to have. And yet, here he was, feeling the heart he never thought would beat again in this manner, pounding inside his chest because of these confusing and unwanted feelings, making him feel warm and more alive.
As a small smile seemed to appear on his lips, it quickly faded into a sudden grimace as he flinched in pain. Along that satisfying feeling he had just now, came the blood-curdling cries of his people's suffering into the deep recesses of his mind. He fought to stop himself from reacting to such mental attack and with pure willpower alone, forced himself to push away all those feelings back and ignore the haunting howls until it completely faded out.
Then it was replaced by Bulma's thoughts as he automatically heard and saw what was going on in her mind.
"I wish that Earth would be spared from certain destruction. I wish for the God of Destruction, Vegeta Yonsei, to find a reason to show this world his mercy. I also wish that he may one day understand what I'm trying to tell him all this time."
Vegeta scoffed at Bulma's wish, seeing himself in her ridiculous imagination telling her that he will spare the Earth and humanity from destruction because he enjoyed his time being there, that he finds humanity useful, that he was delighted for being with her, thanking her for letting him see things that he never considered before, as if those would suddenly make him change his mind about her initial wish. He did expect her to wish for something like this, but... Of course, after hearing and seeing her thoughts, he knew that he will never allow that ridiculous fantasy of hers to become a reality.
"I won't allow it," Vegeta told her with a wicked smile.
Bulma opened her eyes and glared at him, "I am not talking to you," she told him.
"Then who exactly were you talking to? I was the reason for those shooting stars," he told her, still with his evil smirk.
"The deity who could help change our fate," she responded, her tone was confident.
Vegeta blinked back at her in confusion, his smile fading away. He began to suspect who she must be talking about. However, since he knew that Bulma had no idea that Yonshir was a multiverse deity who can control reality, he concluded that she wasn't talking to the goddess directly. Though he knows exactly who would hear that wish Bulma made just now. And if Yonshir makes a move about it, he knows that it will become troublesome for him to deal with.
The meteor shower ended with a last falling star fading into the starry night sky.
"Tch! You are such an annoying pest," Vegeta cursed through his gritted teeth.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Bulma asked, looking at him weirdly.
He just stared at her with his dark eyes. In his mind, he felt dubious about something. When he began to think about how there were things that happened recently that seemed to challenge his resolve, from the point where he met Bulma, with whom he was able to relate with and chose to decide the fate of this world for him, to Yonshir's sudden appearance in his Universe, her warnings about his 'greatest test yet', his and Granolah's similarities, to his unexpected landing to the remains of his home planet... Something was going on, a chain of events leading to something, as if reality was playing mind games with him, testing his resolution and his firm adherence to his duties as a God of Destruction. When he thought that he was the powerful master of this Universe for being its feared destroyer deity, how he holds the fate of everything that exists here, manipulating it according to what he desires, it seems that there's something more powerful behind these coincidences.
Their surroundings abruptly changed as he teleported them both back to their combined home. Bulma looked around for a while, confused, before she returned her eyes on him. The way he looked at her was unnerving.
"Is something wrong, Vegeta?" she asked him with concern.
He raised a hand to stop her from getting closer to him when she attempted to. His eyes were cold and dark, any trace of his earlier warmth and fascination for her were gone. Without answering her question, he put his index and middle fingers over the center of his forehead and disappeared to thin air, focusing his senses to the only deity he suspected was behind all of these occurrences.
Chapter 27: A Confused God of Destruction
Vegeta found the goddess sitting down in front of a small, round tea table made of stainless steel and painted with shiny black color in the middle of a large and abundant garden full of the most beautiful, colorful and blooming flowers and plants across the multiverse. This place was the reality-warping goddess' dwelling, a closed space only deities and whoever they may wish could enter.
The Yongchun Hwayeon or the 'Garden of Everlasting Spring'. The name itself meant that the flowers in this place will bloom forever, and shall never wither.
One wouldn't think that the petite girl sitting in front of the tea table surrounded by immortal blossoms, with her soft brown hair styled in a bob cut, adored by a flashy, yellow headband, and wearing a pink hoodie was Yonshir, the multiverse-level goddess who could warp reality, or change the fate of each and every being that exists, one of the most dangerous deities in the multiverse. Despite her cute, child-like appearance, she was feared for her mischievous way of playing around with anyone's destiny. She could make things happen by changing the reality of any Universe, be it something that would lead to its recreation or destruction. Her powers over time and space allowed her to create alternate realities, parallel worlds, and even manipulate the fate of the Universe and anything within it.
"You've come," she muttered when she sensed Vegeta's presence approaching her from behind, without bothering to look back at him. It was as if she was expecting him to visit her. "I knew you would come over. Sit down here and join me," she invited with a warm tone and an innocent-looking smile, but Vegeta knew better than to trust that look.
Normally, in Vegeta's presence, those flowers and plants surrounding them would automatically wither and die. However, since this is a closed space created by a multiverse-level goddess, her stronger powers over this place protected her creations from being affected by his divine destructive powers. And that didn't sit well with Vegeta. He frowned, giving her his piercing and fearsome glare which would have made mortals from his Universe quiver with fear, stepping closer to her until he was right in front of her.
"Woah, those are nice clothes, Vegeta-chan," Yonshir commented, eyeing the dark blue trench coat he was wearing, not intimidated by the obviously dangerous mood the God of Destruction was in.
"Is this the greatest test that you warned me about?" Vegeta growled at her.
Yonshir raised her brown eyes to stare up at him with puzzlement, "What?"
"Don't play dumb with me, Yonshir! Playing your ridiculous childish games by manipulating the reality of my universe? Who do you think you are?!" he roared.
Yonshir, who looked younger than Vegeta, but was actually millions of years older than him, gave him a warning gaze, "Watch your words, Vegeta-chan. I did not do such a thing. I only came in here to observe. You were the one playing these games on your own. Why are you blaming me for your incompetence?"
Vegeta's scowl deepened. He wasn't blaming her, he was sure that she was playing at him with that annoying ability of hers.
"You heard her wish, didn't you?" he asked her.
Yonshir nodded her head, "You mean Bulma Briefs' wish? Yeah, I did. So? What about it?"
"Are you going to do her wish?"
"Why? Are you threatened? Do you realize how much your foolishness could cost you now?"
Vegeta's eyes narrowed and he fumed, his scowl deepened even more. His rage seething inside of him, but he did his best to control it.
Yonshir continued, completely unbothered by Vegeta's boiling anger, "You were the one who chose to spare her because you wanted to play around with her on your silly little game. And now when you think you're losing, you will suspect me of manipulating your fate? After all these years, your mortal weakness and emotions still fail you, Vegeta-chan."
"I have no such thing," he denied with a venomous sneer.
"Yes, you have!" Yonshir pressed. "You only tell yourself that because you refuse to accept your reality. You're the one making a fool out of yourself by trying to believe your own delusions. You refuse to recognize your faults, your weaknesses, and if you continue this, it could bring you your downfall. We tried to warn you, but you didn't listen to any of our advice because you're too proud to accept them."
Vegeta snarled back at her, like a bloodthirsty beast restraining itself from attacking his prey.
"If it bothers you so much, then why don't you just do your duties as the God of Destruction properly and destroy her and this world if you think that by doing that, it would make you feel better?" Yonshir suggested.
Vegeta's eyes and jaw twitched this time.
"..."
"You can do it, right?" she challenged him, before she openly pointed out, "Or are you having doubts? Are you feeling bad for her? Are you afraid of regretting your decisions because somehow, you are beginning to like her? You are starting to feel something for her, and you know it."
As she said those words, Vegeta's scowl deepened more, and his hands balled into shaking fists on his sides. His anger slowly and surely was boiling over now. He was on the brink of losing control over it.
"Doubts, you say? Why should I feel bad for her? She means nothing to me! She is nothing but just another insignificant mortal being whose existence I could easily eliminate from this rotten world, just as everyone else!" Vegeta shouted at her, his tone filled with his hatred and his denial.
"Those feelings you are surely developing for her will eventually grow if you don't stop this. You have to destroy her now before she becomes a greater nuisance to you. I understand that you were once a mortal who used to feel those emotions, and that you still long for them from time to time. But you have to keep in mind that you aren't a mortal anymore. You are now the God of Destruction who only exists to kill and destroy. Nothing else."
That did it. Vegeta's anger exploded at those words.
"I have accepted this fate you deities cursed upon me!" he bellowed back at her, angrily slamming his hands on the tea table, which quickly deformed with a loud but quick screech at the impact. His lips pulled back from his clenched teeth, his fangs bared, while his eyes were dilated due to his fury. "I made that choice, forcing myself to throw away my pride, my honor, and my mortality in exchange for my existence, this power, and position! How dare you make fun of me by mocking the choices I made?! Don't you dare tell me what to do! I don't fucking care who you are, whether you're a deity or whatever you think you are, if you dare to interfere by manipulating the reality of my Universe or my fate again, I swear I'll make you regret coming in here and messing with me!"
Yonshir just stared back at him with a look of shock. She can't believe that someone, especially a deity whose power and position was lower than hers, would dare threaten her.
"Are you done with your bratty tantrums, Vegeta-chan? Did you just come all the way here just to suspect me and threaten me after the warnings I gave you? Here I was hoping that you'll join me at this tea party. How sad. You should know your place, Vegeta-chan. Just because we multiverse-level deities adored and favored you so much doesn't mean you can go acting all arrogant around us with your childish threats. You're still a young child to us. Remember that I can make you lose everything you have if I wanted to, even that power and position you were so immensely proud of," she warned him.
"I am the master of my own fate. Only I decide what I would and would not do, and I decide that I would destroy Bulma Briefs and the Earth when I want to. Don't get in the way with my plans, Yonshir. I'm serious," he warned back.
With that, he turned around and left the stunned goddess alone, wondering what the hell his problem was.
Vegeta was stomping on the sidewalk, feeling utterly pissed off about his encounter with Yonshir and his confusing thoughts about Bulma just now.
"Just what the fuck was Yonshir talking about?! Why would I care for that stupid annoying human woman?! She is nothing but a mere insignificant mortal, just like everyone else! Just who does she think she is to play with my fate?!"
As he passed by swiftly like some angel of death, light bulbs within street posts flickered, then sparked with electricity before exploding like fireworks. Cracks began to appear on the shaking ground where he walked. Water pumps flew in all directions as the water within them burst out. The sky darkened with swirling thunderclouds, giving off fearsome lightning. Trees and plants quickly withered, and the humans he would meet on his way suddenly found themselves growing weak, fainting on the ground as their cores of existence pulsed in reaction to his divine and destructive presence.
"Hmph! Look at these stupid humans, they're all so pathetic! I could kill them, destroy them completely without even doing anything!" he thought to himself, gazing down at the fallen humans before him. "Yet, why does that specific human girl, as insignificant and useless as the others, make me feel this... this... whatever this is, over and over again?!"
He suddenly halted on his footsteps. His slanted, mean-looking, midnight-black eyes growing fiercer as his thick, arching eyebrows furrowed more, a deep scowl across his face as he listened intently on a surprising amount of prayers being sent to him. They were filled mostly by rage, anger, desperation, but a single one, a desperate one, asking him why such misery happened to him. All these prayers targeted a single, but mysterious person and they all had the same intriguing wish.
Forgetting about his anger over his personal matters to do his duty as the God of Destruction, Vegeta leapt towards the sky and gracefully landed at the top of the Tongari Tower, the highest point in West City, to hear all those prayers. It seemed that the humans who sent them were all fascinated towards a man called Anaheim Brosiz, their frustrations were due to what happened to Anaheim just now. That one desperate prayer questioning him as a deity responsible for mortals' miseries, came from Anaheim himself.
"Whis, report," he suddenly said.
Whis appeared out of thin air, floating in the air next to him. "As you wish, milord," he said. The guide angel tapped the air with the end of his long scepter, then a flash of green light burst from the crystal on the top of the angel's wand. The light showed a hologram of what happened to Anaheim Brosiz, a very popular and handsome actor, famously known for playing the role of Kirin in the late-night television drama series Vegeta watched with Bulma the other night. Vegeta did recognize him because of that.
"Oh, I've seen him before," Vegeta uttered, tilting his head curiously.
"Really?" Whis asked, turning to his master.
"Yeah, he is the main character in that made-up thing Bulma made me watch with her the other night. She was infatuated with that guy on TV. I don't really understand why though."
Vegeta crossed his arms over his chiseled chest as he watched intently at what his guide angel's staff was showing him.
"Oh my goodness!" Whis gasped as they watched the actor, who had just come out of his house, get cornered by a man wearing a black face mask and a black cap. The mysterious man had abruptly splashed the actor's handsome face with acid, who began screaming in agony and flinching in pain as he stumbled backwards. The suspect quickly ran off, laughing like a madman.
"A lot of prayers were sent only with a single purpose in their mind. For me to bestow divine punishment and destroy that bastard who did that to him," Vegeta said.
"The target is Rezeph Sinclair, also a popular actor whose fame and popularity dropped enormously the moment his on-screen partner, Cayena Hale, got paired up with the new actor, Anaheim Brosiz. Rezeph-san was known for being obsessed and possessive with Cayena-san, and was used to them being on-screen partners with all of their works, aside from Cayena-san's current drama show where she was partnered with Anaheim-san. Her chemistry with Anaheim-san on screen was praised greatly by the audience and their fans, so it was greatly favored over Cayena-san's partnership with Rezeph-san, thus causing Rezeph-san to quickly lose his popularity among the netizens. It seems that this case is both of obsession and jealousy, milord," Whis explained.
"It's similar to what Moai did to Atla then, but worse," Vegeta commented. He turned to Whis and asked. "Why are there many humans sending me prayers with a single purpose then? It's not like they should be affected that much by what happened to Anaheim."
"That's what idolatry could do to mortals," Whis replied.
"Idolatry? Humans, they're fooling themselves to this absurdity," he sneered in disgust, shaking his head. "Anaheim wasn't any different from them, yet they regarded that man as if he was above them. He had no significant power, strength, nor what it takes to become a great man at all."
"Good looks and his talents in acting may be attributed to his popularity among his fans so he had such influence over them."
"His talent in acting doesn't impress me since we both know that whatever he does is just made-up. If good looks is the reason, then it is time for his impending doom after what that bastard did to him. No wonder why his prayers sounded desperate, though I don't sense any intent of destruction from him as compared to his worshippers. He was simply questioning me why this happened to him."
"Anaheim-san was said to be a very kind man, that's why he easily caught the hearts of his fans. I think that's why Bulma-san likes him too."
Vegeta's jaw twitched at that. A tinge of jealousy constricted within his chest but he couldn't recognize the feeling at all. All he knew was the fact that it made him feel a little upset at that. He looked away, clearing his throat, pushing away the voices that threatened his sanity.
"Yeah, I saw that. But even the kindest mortal could have the darkest desires when pushed to their limit. It only proved just how fragile their minds and hearts truly are. But then, this humans' obsession with their idols, while I am disgusted by such vulgar acts, I think it's something I could use to finally get what I want."
"Ho... Don't tell me that you have a plan?" Whis asked.
Vegeta's expression was stone-cold and hard as he ordered his guide angel, "Let's go and meet our next client, Whis. But before that... Change my clothes back to my Hakaishin garments first. I don't like these stupid Earth clothes that infernal woman made me wore the entire day."
Whis giggled. Those clothes certainly looked good on Vegeta just as Bulma said this morning, but the angel understood that it's not his type of fashion style for it could constrict his movements, the quality of the fabric may not be as great as what Vegeta was used to, and he may certainly feel uncomfortable on it given how low his views were about humans and the Earth. To be honest, Vegeta could easily pass up as a human with those Earth clothes on, if not for his flame-shaped hair and dark brown, monkey-like tail.
Vegeta turned to scowl at Whis, giving him a narrowed gaze and fuming indignantly upon hearing what his guide angel thought about him wearing these darn human clothes. Clearing his throat and without saying anything about Vegeta's terrible mood, Whis delightedly pointed his angelic staff towards him and his clothes magically changed back to his usual God of Destruction outfit. Looking down at himself, Vegeta seemed to check himself if any Earthling thing was left on him, and once he was sure there was none, he gave Whis a snort of approval.
"Hmph! Now this is better," Vegeta told his angel with a satisfied smirk, forgetting and ignoring Whis' earlier thoughts about him 'being like a human'. He turned his back on his guide angel and said, "Alright, let's go, Whis!" before he jumped off the tower and landed hard on his two feet on the streets below. The moment his feet touched the concrete road, which cracked under his brown boots, all humans nearby felt their cores of existence jolt due to the presence of the God of Destruction before them, and then they all fainted on the road just like what happened to other humans he passed by earlier. Several vehicles screeched loudly and crashed on one another. Whis gracefully descended behind him, feet drifting off the ground.
Seeing what happened to the unconscious human bodies on the streets and the road accidents around them which caused more humans dead, the guide angel turned his concerned gazed to Vegeta, muttering to himself, "Oh my... I think you should control yourself more, Vegeta-sama."
Vegeta silently snorted back and began to saunter towards where his client was waiting. Whis stared at his back, wondering what his problem was this time. Shaking his head, the angel followed his cranky little master, who could very well be considered a dangerous, walking landmine of death and destruction.
The pair continued treading until they reached the Sun Wukong Hospital. There was a commotion there, a group of news reporters, cameramen, and some paparazzis trying to get some scoop of an actor who was sent to the emergency room a few moments earlier. Ignoring those sniveling fools, Vegeta entered the hospital with Whis following him closely. It seemed that nobody even noticed them pass by as the humans' attention was pulled to their equipment completely malfunctioning, wondering what the hell just happened.
Even inside the hospital, doctors and nurses found their medical machines malfunctioning as well, causing several patients in the Intensive Care Units and those with severe cases in the Emergency Room to quickly succumb to cardiac arrest. The hospital's medical team scampered here and there to provide care and try to revive them as much as possible. But since they were graced by the seemingly invisible presence of an upset deity responsible for death and destruction, who was effortlessly reaping souls and sending them to the afterlife as quick as a cool breeze, their efforts were utterly useless.
Vegeta entered the emergency room, and turned his attention to a specific part where a group of doctors and nurses tended to a screaming patient surrounded by green, sterile curtains. He unceremoniously sauntered to that specific place, ignoring those around him who were looking at his direction with odd expressions. He reached out for the curtains and harshly pulled it to the side.
The lights went off, and everyone, aside from him, Whis, and the patient on the bed, disappeared. Just as how he did to Himawari Maeda's room before he destroyed her, he effortlessly broke through the reality of this space and brought the patient with him into a closed space, a dark, empty void only lit by occasional purple lightning.
The patient's eyes widened in shock and fear at the unexpected arrival of this strange man, causing him to gasp and be quiet due to his terror. He didn't know who these guys were, but upon feeling a strange pulsing sensation within the center of his chest, he already knew that these men weren't human at all. He could feel a cold, terrifying aura from the man with jet black flame-shaped hair and mean-looking, intimidating raven-colored eyes. Was he the personification of death itself?
"Who… Who are you? What are you?" he asked breathlessly. Did he just die?
Vegeta answered the patient's silent question with a wicked smirk that brought more chills to the patient's spine, "I am the God of Destruction, the deity responsible for death and devastation, Vegeta Yonsei. I heard your prayer and here I appear before you to offer you a contract that would allow me to destroy Rezeph Sinclair for you, Anaheim Brosiz."
Anaheim stared at him in terror.
"Rezeph? So he really was the one who did this to me?" Anaheim gasped in disbelief.
"That's right, just as you suspected," Vegeta replied coldly.
"And you said that you are the God of Destruction? You are real?"
"I wouldn't be here if I'm not."
Anaheim heard about the urban legend from his friend, Yami, who was greatly fascinated by it. Because Yami was crazy about these occult things, he believed that the God of Destruction existed even though his numerous attempts of summoning him all failed. Anaheim tried to convince his friend that the God of Destruction doesn't exist but he was beyond his obsession to deny that. Yami said that one day, he would successfully summon the God of Destruction. Anaheim simply didn't mind him.
"But I… I didn't do the ritual," Anaheim told Vegeta. "Why did you appear before me if I didn't summon you at all?"
"I know that. But many others did summon me for your sake. Your fans, as you may call them."
"My fans summoned you? Was it because of what happened to me just now?" Anaheim felt his heart break when he learned who summoned this god before him. He can't believe it.
"Yeah, due to their common interest, I decided to come to you to let you know that I would only hear your decision. I could give Rezeph Sinclair the divine punishment of destruction and make him pay for what he did to you, however, there is a condition which you must agree with me before I proceed."
"Condition?"
"When you agree to make a contract with me, I shall bestow my divine punishment to Rezeph Sinclair. In this process, he would cease to exist in this world. That means he will disappear forever, body and soul. He will never pass over, be sent to the afterlife, or will be given the chance to go to heaven, hell, or even be revived or be reincarnated. He will also be forgotten by mortals as if he had never existed in this world.
"Before creation, comes destruction. This is how the balance of this universe works. But if one's existence is destroyed when it's not yet its due time because of a request made to the God of Destruction, this creates a discrepancy in that balance. In order to keep the normality, the cause must suffer the same fate as the other. It basically means that I will destroy the souls of my summoners just as I did to the one they wished for me to destroy. Since you didn't summon me, and yet I am offering you to decide your perpetrator's fate, I would instead take the souls of all the people who summoned me for your sake. A fine sacrifice for a guaranteed vengeance, I should say."
"Are you telling me to sacrifice my fans so you could punish Rezeph?!" Anaheim gasped at him.
"They were willing to do it for your sake in the first place. Why else do you think they summoned me to avenge you? Now you hold their fate by your decision."
Anaheim was shocked by what this ruthless god was offering him. He stared at Vegeta as if he just grew a second head.
Anaheim shook his head in his denial, "No! I can't… I can't do that, Hakaishin-sama. What you are asking me is impossible for me to do. I'm sorry, but I really can't."
Vegeta stared at him for a moment. He doesn't understand how Anaheim could care so much for the people he didn't even know personally. Whis did mention to him that Anaheim was kind-hearted by nature, a reason why he was adored by so many of his fans. If he sacrificed the fate of his worshippers, it meant that he was betraying their faith in him. He began to wonder how long that kind-heartedness would last though.
"Hmm… Perhaps, this would make you think over your decision," Vegeta told him.
Anaheim gasped loudly as he threw his head back the moment Vegeta bombarded his mind with images of his upcoming future. He saw in them what happened to his once gorgeous looks, a deformed face of something inhuman. Anaheim screamed in terror. He saw the fall of his career, how he would eventually lose everything in his life. How nobody would ever want to associate themselves with him, disgusted by his appearance. He got bullied, discriminated against, hated, and most of all, pitied by others. His fans who once adored him didn't care about him anymore.
"Why do you care so much about them when you don't even know them personally? They will eventually lose their interest in you, and will forget about you after what happened here," the cruel deity told him.
Anaheim was in tears, whimpering over what the God of Destruction showed him. Yet, despite what happened to him and the visions of impending fall of his acting career, he couldn't find himself making the contract that Vegeta offered him.
Anaheim was in too much shock, and so Vegeta decided to give him the chance to think it over.
"I guess that's too much of a shock for you. Fine, I'll give you the time to think over your decision. Once you have decided, just focus on your desire to destroy Rezeph Sinclair and call me by my name. I will wait for your call, Anaheim."
The God of Destruction disappeared after that, and a terrified Anaheim found himself back in the emergency room where he was being treated earlier.
When Vegeta returned to his castle, he ordered Whis to get him something to eat. While his guide angel was away, he turned towards where he could sense Bulma was peacefully sleeping. Still furious about his confrontation with the Goddess of Reality, he walked up to Bulma's bedroom with a destructive intent to do what he was challenged to do by the goddess.
For a moment, he stood by the door, just quietly staring at the sleeping woman on the futon laid on the floor of her small apartment. He considered walking up to her and destroying her right there with his divine destructive power, memories of Yonshir's words repeated in his mind.
However, the thought of Bulma's destruction brought a flinching pain in his heart. It made him hesitate, asking himself what that pain was because it wasn't like anything he felt even when he was a mortal. He couldn't find himself to destroy her this way.
It was probably the same hesitation Anaheim showed him earlier. The foolish human bear emotions for his fans he couldn't sacrifice them for what he desires. Why does he care for people who shouldn't matter to him?
Feeling ashamed and upset about this, he turned around and warped himself towards his own bedroom on the other side of the castle, and walked into the balcony. He silently observed the black skies as it got illuminated by occasional lightning flashes. Deep in his mind, he was thinking about the questions he had been asking himself earlier while he watched Bulma enjoying the meteor shower he did just for her, Yonshir's words to him at her garden, and why he was hesitating to destroy Bulma.
The last time he was here, he wondered if it was already time for him to destroy Bulma's existence along with everything on Planet Earth. It was because he found her tempting words, odd actions, and bewitching attempts of captivating him with her Earthly offerings in her hopes of changing his mind about bestowing destruction upon her and her world, were becoming a bother to him and his proper duties as a God of Destruction. While he willingly allowed her to offer him these things, he thought he was adamant with his decision that he would still destroy her and the Earth no matter what.
However, he was completely wrong.
The more he got closer to Bulma Briefs, he realized that his firm resolve to his adherence to his duties as a God of Destruction, was slowly crumbling. His supposedly dead, cold, and ruthless heart filled with nothing but the pure hatred and rage he felt all throughout his mortal life and cursed immortal existence was beginning to be filled by other emotions he was forbidden to feel.
Emotions he even had no idea about.
Feelings he cannot even understand.
Now, the same question lingered in his mind at the moment as he stared at the skies. Was it finally time for him to destroy Bulma Briefs and the Planet Earth?
But why was he hesitating? He was a God of Destruction who never hesitated to destroy anything that got in his way. Why was he hesitating now?
The door to his room opened and closed gently as his guide angel, Whis, entered the God of Destruction's bedroom, informing him that the food he requested had been prepared in the dinner room. Whis' presence in the room distracted him from his thoughts.
Finding Vegeta staring silently at the stars and not responding to him like he expected him to do, and considering his behavior earlier, his attendant sensed something was going on with him.
"Are you alright, Vegeta-sama?" Whis asked him in concern.
It took about five seconds before the God of Destruction responded with a lukewarm tone, "Yeah."
Whis approached him gracefully, looking like he was gently drifting through the shiny, black marbled floor.
"I know that look, milord. What is the matter?" Whis asked again.
Vegeta, who was leaning forward against the gray, marbled balustrade railings of the balcony, let out a sigh, drooping down until his chin was resting over his forearms. He truly cannot hide anything from his guide angel. After silently debating over whether to open up to Whis or not, he finally replied, "I was just thinking about something, that's all."
"And what is it about?"
Vegeta lowered his eyes in shame, before flinching when he felt the voices come to haunt him once more. Whis noticed this reaction.
"So you're hearing them again, huh?" Whis commented.
Vegeta answered with a grunt, his expression hard as he summoned his willpower to push away the echoes of torture.
Whis let out a sigh, "It's been 1239 years since you last heard them. You've trained your mind and your heart to become strong enough to push away those voices and ignore the pain, accepting what you have become in order to be the strongest among all, giving in to your duties as a God of Destruction. With me by your side, you surrendered everything, knowing that you only exist now to kill and destroy, nothing more. What caused you to let go after so many years?"
"I don't know," Vegeta responded. He was silent for several moments, inwardly debating whether to open up his real problem with his guide angel. When he realized that he won't get any answers to the questions he kept on asking himself, he decided that maybe it would be better to talk about it with Whis. Perhaps Whis has the answers he was seeking.
"I had a good time with Bulma earlier," he began.
"Oh, well isn't that a good thing?" Whis asked with a soft smile. "If you had a good time with Bulma-san, then why are you being in such a bad mood?"
Vegeta shrugged his shoulders, before continuing, "Even though I was being mean towards her the entire day, I did a lot of things for her which I never thought I would ever do. When she offered me her way of communication, I almost accepted it. When I sensed Jeizun Shibata's presence, I pushed her away to prevent her from being harmed. When she shed tears for me and was worried about me getting stabbed, I felt these weird feelings, it's like a mixture of pain, anger, and a desire to make it stop. So to make it up for what happened, I showed her a meteor shower. And when she smiled at me, I felt another strange string of emotions. I don't know what these feelings were or what they even mean. It was all too complicated and confusing for me," he admitted with a sullen tone.
The Guide Angel listened as the God of Destruction continued, "Even before I met Bulma, I was having visions about her. Her fate seems to be connected with mine for some reason. At first, I thought it probably was what Beerus had said to me before about the bond. That's why I chose to spare her because I was curious about what those visions meant. But when Bulma made a wish to change our fate, I began to be suspicious. I felt like something, or someone was manipulating our fate, our reality. It was as if it was challenging me and testing my resolve and my adherence to my position and my duties as the God of Destruction of the Seventh Universe. Then I suddenly remembered what Yonshir told me, that I would soon face the 'greatest test I would ever have'. That's why I went to Yonshir's place to confront her about it, to make her stop this stupid game, and threaten her. I was so blinded by my anger that I blamed her for everything that's happening right now."
Whis reacted with a look that disapproved of Vegeta's reckless behavior towards the Multiverse-level goddess, but he didn't say a word to allow his master to continue.
"But then, after I confronted her, I began to ask myself, 'Was it truly my own foolishness that led to this?' I am the God of Destruction of this Universe. I exist only to kill and destroy. Nothing more. You were right all along, Whis. I wouldn't be distracted from my duties if I don't associate myself with these lowly mortals. It's going to be a pain in the ass to worry about such useless things. I really shouldn't have allowed myself to be this close to her."
Just as Whis had suspected, Vegeta was indeed beginning to like being with Bulma. Although the gentle-faced angel never thought that the proud Vegeta would openly admit his feelings to him this way even if he doesn't understand them at all. The God of Destruction never felt anything like this before, this sort of attraction, fascination, and being protective towards another being, that's why he didn't have any idea what these feelings meant to him. Of course, because he was aware that as the God of Destruction of this Universe, he wasn't allowed to have these feelings, that's why he was lost, confused, and he refused to recognize and accept them. This refusal led to him having doubts about himself, hesitant to do his duties, and it's making him upset with those around him, but more of himself because he never expected that he would have to deal with these emotions in the first place.
It was only natural for someone as prideful as Vegeta to deny anything that would probably become his weakness. After all, he was the proud Prince of the Saiyan Warrior race as a mortal, and he was currently the most fearsome God of Destruction of this Universe. He was always meant to become the strongest among all and was above everyone else. It's not because of these forbidden emotions that he would fall. He would not allow it, he was too proud of his strength and power for that kind of weakness, which is why he was lost in his heart and his mind, not knowing what to do.
"Hmm… That is true," Whis agreed. "But let me ask you, what do you think is Bulma-san to you? What does she mean to you?"
The question hit Vegeta like a bullet. He began to ask the same question to himself. It took a few moments as he looked for the right answer to the question. If he was being honest, he really didn't know. He doesn't have a name for that.
But he knew exactly what he must answer, as the God of Destruction of the Seventh Universe.
"She's nothing but a distraction. Her purpose was to decide the fate of this world for me," Vegeta answered coldly.
"But why aren't you destroying her, yet?" Whis asked again.
"Because she was being useful to me. Also, her fate was bound to mine for some reason."
"And what do you think is that reason?"
"I don't know, but I hate it. I totally hate it," Vegeta sneered bitterly.
"I see. But then, I think that whatever it is, it's not necessarily a bad thing, Vegeta-sama," Whis told him.
Vegeta gasped in surprise, he never expected for Whis to say that. His reaction was totally different from what he had expected from an angel whose job was to supervise him in his duties as a God of Destruction. To be honest, he was expecting Whis to have a similar reaction to Yonshir's about how unnecessary this display of emotion was to him for he is a destroyer deity. Vegeta rose from his earlier sullen position to face his guide angel just like a child listening to his mother's advice, "What do you mean, Whis?" he asked curiously.
"Because it's how Beerus found you. Although yours was a bit more complicated than his," Whis replied. "Do you remember how Beerus chose you to decide the fate of your people through you and how you agreed to the contract believing that through your existence, the Saiyan race and their pride will continue to live on? That was how you saved the legacy of your people from the former God of Destruction.
"Bulma-san invited you to live with her in order to teach you about the usefulness of humanity in her hopes of saving her world from you. She was trying to make you understand mortals, and in order to do so, she was trying to make you a human. In order to understand someone, you have to put yourself in their shoes first. Empathy is an emotion that allows us to be aware of the perspective of others aside from what is ours. After what you just said, I see now why you had allowed Bulma-san and the Earth to have a chance. There is something that you would like to learn about from them and you think that Bulma-san and the Earth could help you get the answers you seek. But then, the more you try to rationalize, it only makes you even more confused because what you discover is against your personal views, and it's causing you to be this upset with yourself. Yes, it's just as I warned you before, 'curiosity killed the cat', indeed. Your curiosity about the meaning behind some of your client's decisions is what brought you here. I won't blame you for it though, it was me who suggested you the idea when you destroyed Planet Arlia. You were only just trying to comprehend what I meant that day, and I believe that learning new things about other mortals isn't really a bad thing for you. I mean, I also did make some new acquaintances with the humans from the sushi restaurant where Bulma-san worked due to me being there constantly. It helped me empathize and learn more about humans and the Earth. If you do that, I believe that it would indeed change the way you think about them and would help you decide on your divine judgment.
"However, for you to be overwhelmingly affected by it is another matter. The problem is that your pride blinds you to the things which you should have understood already. You refuse to accept and realize the true meaning of the things you were seeking. I advise that you open up your mind by setting your pride aside a little, and then maybe you'll understand."
Vegeta stared at Whis for a moment, before asking a question that would assure him that he wasn't doing anything wrong with his curiosity about the meaning behind his unwanted and unnecessary bond with Bulma once more, "You don't necessarily think that this is wrong, Whis?"
"There's nothing wrong with trying to learn more about things that you don't understand, Vegeta-sama, but allowing these things to distract you from your original goal is a different matter. If it is distracting you from your proper duties as a God of Destruction, then I think it is necessary for you to eliminate them. Otherwise, you should not let it affect you that much, but learn and accept only what you must."
Vegeta nodded in understanding, "I understand. Thank you, Whis."
"Know that there are other ways to eliminate distractions aside from destroying them with your power. You don't necessarily need to destroy them, you could just ignore or forget them, you just have to set your mind to it and decide firmly, without hesitation or regrets."
"Yeah."
Vegeta returned to Bulma's room again. When he quietly entered, he found Bulma still asleep on her futon. His neutral expression as he stared at her peaceful form changed as he glared back at her with a murderous look, slowly and silently approaching her like how a predator does to its prey, then once he was close to her futon, he slowly squatted next to her and watched at her sleep just as how he did yesternight. She was dreaming about him once more, this time he saw himself in her perspective while she watched him with as many emotions as she showed him. Happy, angry, worried, sad, and above all, fascination. He felt how much she liked being with him, how much she wanted to love him, to understand him, to reach out to him, and to change him.
He tilted his head as he muttered, "What a shame, I was already starting to like you, but this is your fault. I really hate the fact that you can look into me like that when nobody ever did," he gazed down at her sleeping face, seeing himself in her dreams. "I wanted to destroy you and your stupid mudball of a planet here and now, but... There were a lot of things that I still find you useful for. The milktea you bought, the food you fed me, the things we did these past week, I kind of like it. I cannot punish you with the divine punishment of destruction when you could offer such things to me."
He raised an index finger to gently touch her face, tracing the curves of her fair, white skin. When he touched her, he felt her core of existence pulse as a reaction to his divine and destructive presence.
"How fragile you are. I could easily crush you like a pathetic little insect. Yet, for some reason, I cannot do that. No, not now. I guess you're one lucky mortal to win my favor, that's why I keep on showing you my mercy despite how much your existence annoys me. Perhaps, it was because I find you similar to me, just as how I find Granolah similar to me too. Or maybe because I was also curious to see about what your bond with me could mean to me, just like what Whis told me just now.
"Mortals form bonds with another being, enough for them to think of destruction when that bond is severed or threatened. Whis said that mortals could even wish for the world to be destroyed just for the sake of those bonds. I was once a mortal, yet I don't understand any of their reasons. If you truly wish to love me, will you throw away everything and wish to destroy for my sake? Or perhaps, you were trying to make me do that instead? Do you want me to throw away everything that I am for your sake and save your world from me?"
What does the bond mean enough for mortals to do this? Was it really not necessarily a bad thing for a God of Destruction like himself to learn about just like Whis told him? Or does it really distract him from his proper duties just as Yonshir had said?
Vegeta Yonsei, the God of Destruction of the Seventh Universe, had never been this confused before.
When Bulma let out a groan, a sign of her waking up, Vegeta immediately panicked inwardly and was about to scamper away from her, but she was fast to grab his left wrist to keep him from leaving. How she did that so quickly surprised him. How could he allow her to catch him off guard like that?
"You're back," he heard her tell him with a groggy voice.
Vegeta turned his head to her, glaring back at her sweet, little smile disgustedly before he rudely pulled his wrist off her grasp, "Why are you smiling? Did you see me in your stupid dream again?" he demanded, crossing his arms over his chest with a scowl.
Bulma chuckled, then pulled herself up so she was sitting on her futon. "Why? Are you curious? You said that you could read my thoughts. You must have seen what I dreamt about you. But if you still want to listen, then come over here and I'll tell you," she tapped on the side of the futon next to her.
Vegeta let out an angry grunt as he rolled his eyes, and sat down next to her. His intimidating glare at her darkened as he told her coldly, "This is what I hate. I should be telling you to shut up or I will destroy you, yet I thought about sitting down next to you to listen to your useless blather. I absolutely hated that thought."
Bulma smirked, a victorious look, "You endured for 1500 years, yet you managed to let go for a second. Does that mean I win this time?"
"That's right. This change means a lot to me, and I will make you pay dearly for it," Vegeta spat back bitterly. "You were the one who chose to be on the side of a God of Destruction. If anything happens to you or this world, then it's only your fault for being an idiot."
"If anything happens to me. I'm sure that you will protect me," she said.
That took the God of Destruction aback, "What?!"
"You said that you needed me to decide the fate of this world, that I shouldn't be afraid of dying because you are here by my side. That means that you will protect me because I am a weak mortal. You protected me from Yamcha, or even from Jeizun Shibata, that's why you ordered me to get that milk tea."
"No, I couldn't care less if you get stabbed to death and lose all your blood in front of me!" Vegeta quickly denied.
"No, you protected me twice already," Bulma pressed. "You asked me if I trust you. I do, that's why I let you carry me in your arms, and fly me into that place, without any worry that you will let me fall and die. I know that you will protect me. Plus, you comforted me when I cried. You showed me a beautiful meteor shower too."
"Don't get the wrong idea, woman! I didn't do it for you! I just demonstrated to you my powers, how I could send asteroids and meteors to this planet once I decide to destroy it. It wasn't meant to make you feel good or anything. So you better shut that stupid mouth of yours before I-"
Vegeta's words were cut off when Bulma suddenly pulled his face towards her so she could give him a quick kiss on the cheek.
She pulled back and giggled at that funny look he had on his face. He was so shocked. "I never thought that there was a deity as tsundere as you are, Vegeta."
"Wha-what?!" he stuttered back, his face entirely red.
Bulma laughed at that funny look he wore, lying back on her futon. "Get in here and sleep next to me."
"I won't sleep next to you ever again!" he shouted, huffing in the air and childishly crossing his arms over his chest.
"Why? Are you really that disgusted about my snoring or my movements? I'll try to behave this time, I promise."
"No, I will not sleep while you are asleep. It's the perfect time for me to attack and destroy you!"
"You won't do that."
Vegeta tilted his chin up, looking down at her with a challenging smirk, "And what makes you think that I won't? Hm?"
"You're not a coward. You will not dare to attack a weak and defenseless pretty lady like me. If you are going to destroy me, then you will have to do it when I am well-aware of it. Unless, of course, you cared enough for me that you didn't want me to feel any fear or pain that you may inflict on me when you destroy me," then Bulma gave him a wink.
Vegeta's eye twitched in annoyance at her words, then he forced himself to give her a menacing smile, a sadistic and cruel glint in his dark eyes, "Alright then. I'll take note of that. I will make sure that you will experience the most terrifying and most painful destruction that's even worse than hell itself. I'll make you writhe in extreme agony and make you scream the way you never did before."
Bulma laughed, "I don't know why but you made me feel goosebumps all over when you said that. Not that I'm afraid though."
Vegeta was taken aback as if in surprise by the thoughts he was hearing from her, his eyes wide and cheeks flustered, "Y-You! What the hell are you thinking now, woman?!" finding Bulma snaking her way towards him. He automatically inched away from her. The way she looked at him flirtatiously like that made him extremely uncomfortable. His intention was to scare her wits, but his threats somehow made her like this as if he was trying to seduce her instead.
"Hmmm... I don't know. But you look rather hot whenever you try to be scary. You won't scare me enough though. I already know how to win against you," Bulma told him.
Then she wrapped her arms around his neck as if to prevent him from escaping anymore, her face an inch closer to his. He watched as she seductively pouted her plump lips, her eyes staring at him with tempting delight. He could feel his heart beat again, an invisible force seemed to persuade him to pull her closer to him and press his lips hard against hers at that moment. It was then he was reminded of Yonshir's words from earlier.
"Those feelings you are surely developing for her will eventually grow if you don't stop this. You have to destroy her now before she becomes a greater nuisance to you."
It made him snap at Bulma, harshly pushing her away from him as if she disgusted him.
"Enough of this, you vulgar woman! Get off me!" he snarled at her. "Don't you ever dare touch me again like you tried to do. Seducing me like this won't do you or this world any good."
"Really? And here I thought you said that you don't feel mortal emotions? Why are you getting so worked up about it? We already kissed each other, you even said that we're bound together by fate and that these things don't matter to you. Why do you keep on getting angry about it for some reason? Ah! Could it be?! Are you..? Perhaps, are you starting to like me too?"
"Wha-what?!" Vegeta gave her a look of repulse.
"You protected me, and you even tried to make it up with me after making me cry by showing me the meteor shower... I'm really starting to think that you like me deep down and you know it."
He gazed down at her, silently wondering the meaning behind her words. While he did recognize that he was beginning to like spending time with her, taking her offerings, and wanting to see her everyday, he still doesn't understand what it means to him and why he always bothered himself about her.
Vegeta gritted his teeth in irritation, "Tch! I am only biding my time here, waiting for the perfect moment and reason to destroy you and this planet. Showing you mercy doesn't mean anything between us at all! You were the one who wanted to love me, and I told you I cannot give it back to you because in the end, I would still destroy you no matter what. I'm just making the most out of my time exploring what your pathetic world could offer me, it doesn't matter what it is or if it would satisfy me. Your mere existence is already enough reason for me to destroy you and this world," he sneered as he rose and began to walk out of her room without bothering to give her another glance.
Bulma giggled, "Aw come on, Vegeta! Lighten up! I was just kidding! Why are you always so serious and angry all the time?"
"Leave me alone! I don't even know why I bother listening to this absurdity of yours! Get back to sleep!" he told her before he slammed the door behind him.
Bulma frowned back at the door. She really couldn't understand that man's moodswings despite her trying so hard to do so. His rude and stubborn attitude was getting on her nerves.
Even so, she was confident now that Vegeta was indeed beginning to like her. That sort of reaction was so common from men who couldn't understand, deny, or refuse to acknowledge their true feelings at all.
She laid back to her bed, hugging one of her pillows and smiled at herself, giggling at the thought of Vegeta being flustered and in denial about his true feelings. "He's so cute. Should have gotten a camera installed somewhere to get a picture of that look," she thought. He was indeed a tsundere, and she knew she was right about him.
"Darn that infernal Earth woman! She's driving me nuts! Why does she have to be so vulgar!"
Vegeta growled to himself as soon as he shut the door to his room. He stomped towards his closet, throwing the clothes he was wearing on the floor to change to a pair of pajamas. All the while, his thoughts angrily fixated on Bulma.
"What am I even doing in there? Watching her sleep? What kind of fool did I allow myself to become?! Damn it! Whis said that this shouldn't be a bad idea, yet Yonshir warned me that if I allowed this any further, this would cause me more problems. Darn it, I was never this confused before. This is annoying me!"
Once he was done changing, he went straight to bed. With a sigh, he laid down over his king-sized bed in a supine position, looking up at the canopy above him with an angry glare.
"Hmph! Maybe I should start destroying the Earth… for real this time!"
He stared hard at the canopy now, his eyes narrowing into angry slits.
"No, I really shouldn't think about it. Cursed these voices! I have to get these out of my head. Clear my mind. Forget my feelings... Forget everything that happened between us... Forget everything that transpired in here...
"I want to sleep for now… Prepare myself to unleash my divine judgment to this world... And when I awake, I shall destroy the Earth just as I wanted it to be…"
Vegeta's eyes closed as he drifted off to sleep, his dreams filled with the haunting images of the destruction of this rotten world, it made a satisfied smile stretch across his lips.
"Soon..."
The ringtone of a phone call resounded through the walls of the house. A young man in his mid 20s was awakened by the sound and he fumbled over his bedside table to grab his phone and answer the unexpected call.
"Hello?" the man responded with a groggy voice.
"Yami-kun, could you come over at Sun Wukong hospital, please?" the timid voice of his best friend, Anaheim Brosiz, said on the other line.
The man called Yami shot up on his bed, turning his head on the bedside table to see that it was way past five in the morning.
"Anny? What happened? Why are you in the hospital?" he asked.
Anaheim sniffed on the other line.
"I'll tell you once you're here. I'm in the emergency room. I'm scared and I really need your help, please."
"Alright. I'll be right there. Hold on."
Yami jumped off the bed, quickly changed his clothes and ran off to his parking lot to drive his air car and rush to the side of his best friend.