A few moments before Vegeta asked Yonshir to restore the original Seventh Universe where he served as a God of Destruction…
Hikari Ishida was watching some videos of her time with Yami Shimono in the living room of her home. It was almost three in the morning and her mother was already asleep in her room. It has already been two weeks since the fire in the Dark Destroyers' concert and Hikari, despite her being able to fix her relationship with Miho and Chitose, rehabilitating, and recovering from what happened, she was still grieving about her boyfriend's brutal death. She couldn't help but feel like she should have died from that fire, and surviving it thanks to Miho only brought fear and guilt within her. She knew she should have died in Yami's place, but for some reason, she was saved. Was there another, much more important mission for her to do?
On the screen, a video of Yami talking about how he and Hikari will destroy this rotten world and will recreate a world, the perfect Utopia, that's devoid of impurities and filth, was playing. Hikari sniffed as tears fell upon her crestfallen eyes. She asked herself if it was wrong to believe such a thing. Was there really no Utopia? What was wrong with believing that such a world could possibly exist? If they truly managed to summon the God of Destruction and that he was really behind the fire like what people say, why did he have to kill his worshippers?
Hikari noticed something when she stared at the television screen. The video abruptly paused without her doing so. The picture on the screen showed Yami staring back at her eerily. Hikari blinked her eyes in confusion.
"What? Yami-sama?"
The speakers screeched as Yami's deformed, demonic-sounding voice seemed to resonate through it, creepily calling out for her name with a stuttering, static sound. Yami's arms on the screen moved, showing that he was holding onto something. It looked like a black ball the size of that was used in basketball or volleyball. He hurled the thing out of the television screen, and the ball rolled towards Hikari's feet.
Hikari screeched in fright and automatically inched away from the thing. When she looked down, she screamed out of her fright when she found it to be a skull, more specifically her own skull but she has no way of knowing that, of course. He heard Yami's demonic voice say through the speakers, "Muerte," and the gruesome thing and those words made her scream.
Flashes of images suddenly filled Hikari's mind. Several balls of bluish white flames, a full moon night, an island, a boat, a painting of the dragon king, a seashore, a path made of bamboo lining up in the sand, several people chanting, and a familiar-looking shadow of a man with flaming hair. Then there was blood everywhere, and then a bloody baby. The child looked very beautiful, with skin as luminous as moonlight and black hair as dark as night. However, there was something terrifying about those blood-colored irises of his.
Hikari's brown eyes flew open as she let out a loud gasp.
She was lying on her bed, covered with sweat and breathless. She blinked her eyes, trying to understand what just happened. When she realized that it was just another nightmare, she relaxed and got up, heading straight to the kitchen. She wondered why she felt so famished and tired, and deduced that it was probably because she hadn't slept well due to that stupid nightmare. She opened the refrigerator and decided to cook fried chicken for breakfast.
While taking her morning meal, Hikari abruptly felt nauseous and she made a quick sprint to the toilet where she threw up what she was just eating. It was there she realized that her period was late. She counted and recounted the days of her menstrual cycle and she kept on coming up with questions. That can't be… But everything she was feeling until now were all signs and symptoms of pregnancy.
"Ow!" she gasped when she felt something moved inside of her belly, her hands coming up to her lower abdomen. What? What is this?
Ba-bump!
Her mind suddenly got ominous visions once again. The same pictures in her dreams. This time she heard a creepy voice say "Magus… Magus Island… Come…" in her mind.
She quickly grabbed her phone to call her best friend, Miho Lim. "Miho-chan, please come with me."
Chapter 40: To the Mysterious Island
Vegeta returned to the Seventh Universe, carrying an unconscious Bulma in his huge, muscular, and furry arms, coming out of the elevator on the Yonsei Hotel's thirteenth floor. Whis was standing there with a pleased smile, greeting him, "Welcome back, Vegeta-sama," before blinking his eyes as he found his lord's new form. "Oh, look at that. What a cool-looking form and awesome destructive power."
Vegeta turned his pinkish-red eyes to his guide angel to acknowledge his presence and nodded. He walked towards his presidential suite, telekinetically opening the door and entering it, transporting him back to his room within the castle of the God of Destruction's home planet. He carefully lay Bulma on his bed before he straightened his back, staring down at her.
"What happened to you, milord? How and when did you get so much power?" Whis asked, a bit of awe in his tone.
"Bulma and I got transported into two fake Seventh Universes by the higher gods to give us some sort of test," Vegeta told Whis. "This Universe was destroyed the very moment I disappeared and was replaced by a fake one where Bulma didn't exist. She was transported into another world where I don't exist, thus, making everything too perfect for her. I destroyed both Universes, absorbing its essence into myself, and went to the multiversal heavenly realm to tell Yonshir to return the Seventh Universe back to its normal state."
"You destroyed two entire Universes just because you wish to be with Bulma-san?" Whis gasped. "Woah, I guess that being in a world without her awakened something within you and that's how you got that form of yours."
"I was bent on destroying everything, Whis, especially after realizing that I lost Bulma when she chose to live in that world she was trapped in. They wanted me to feel guilty about what I did to her life and let her go on my own so she could live the normal life she was meant to have," Vegeta said. "I gave in to what they wanted, but then, I came to realize that would mean I have submitted to them willingly and lost the fight. I cannot have that. So I decided to let them know how much they have incurred my wrath, allowing my rage to reign over my rational mind, ran wild as an Oozaru, and show them the monster they feared so much. They have taken away the only thing that holds me back from destroying everything, and when she was gone, I snapped. But at the moment Bulma changed her mind and decided to come back to me, I stopped my rampage and regained my control. I decided to destroy both fake Universes and return everything back to normal. I absorbed the Essence of Existence of the fake Universes and unleashed it in a Gamma Burst Explosion. That's how I got this power."
Vegeta walked up into a full-length body mirror, gazing at the reflection of himself in his new form. He was right about it being a combination of his Ultra Ego form and the Oozaru form, making this one different from the rest of his transformations. This form appeared to be a half-human, half-monkey beast form, and he realized why Whis said it looked cool on him. He looked like an alpha, ready to take back his throne as the King of the Beasts. His wild-looking, flaming-style hair which extended to his back and shoulders reminded him of a lion's mane. His cold, menacing, and piercing eyes were a glowing pair of reddish-pink orbs. The outlines around his eyes looked thicker and darker. Observing his bulky muscles and his feral appearance, perceiving the primal power flowing through his veins which he was trying his best to contain, and hearing the primordial monkey mind singing to him songs of blood and chaos, making him want to just let go of himself, lose his control, and destroy everything, he knew that this form, without proper training to tame such savage beastly power, could be dangerous for those around him.
As if to prove his thoughts right about his immense destructive power, the mirror started to crack before it completely shattered to pieces.
Vegeta smirked in satisfaction at the sight of that, his body truly was a vessel of pure destruction, no wonder why the gods were so afraid of him earlier.
"This form and its amazing power should be enough to make the entire multiverse tremble before me!" he declared. "And it was more than enough to make even the entire heavenly realm fear my wrath. I think they got the message to never rile me up again."
He raised his hand, the one holding into the golden, square-shaped limiter earring Daishinkan recreated for him. He clipped the thing back on his left ear and his Primal Self-Indulgence form slowly reverted back to his normal, base form. He pondered about how it was a good thing that his God of Destruction attire had the divine properties to adjust accordingly to his body size, else he could have been naked this entire time after his Oozaru transformation.
"But we have a matter to be concerned about, Whis," Vegeta said, finally turning to his guide angel. "Remember that rift in Time-Space we sensed two weeks ago? And that island that was supposedly non-existent appearing out of nowhere?"
"Uh-huh," Whis nodded.
"Something on that island was calling out to me," the God of Destruction was saying. "I don't know what that is, but I don't like it."
"Something is calling out to you?" Whis blinked, a puzzled expression upon his gentle face.
"When I was summoned by Freya, I went to investigate a little. I heard this strange voice calling out to me coming from one of the mountains beyond the villages. I ignored it, thinking that it was only my imagination. Still, I feel like that time rift and that island are somehow connected to one another, along with what Yonshir saw happening just now. Hikari Ishida, the crossfire victim who was supposed to be sacrificed to me by Yami Shimono during that cult's summoning concert, carried in her a bastard who they say would become a great threat to the multiverse and my greatest enemy. They say it was according to the prophecy they kept on believing about."
"So you already know about that?"
"Daishinkan told me about it. Anyways, he gave me the command to destroy both Hikari Ishida and that bastard in her womb. I refused to do so without seeing it in my own eyes. For me, right now, the target is nothing but a weak, insignificant human fetus being nourished by its mother in her womb. I wouldn't want to destroy such a harmless thing. If it is indeed true that it would one day become powerful enough to be a threat to the multiverse, then I would want to see it in its full potential. Only then will I decide to do my duty as the God of Destruction and destroy it according to my judgment."
Whis remembered that Vegeta did say this to Yonshir after the battle with King Mu, and he understood that Vegeta held his principles as a warrior at that decision. He truly is determined to be different from the rest of the Gods of Destruction, because while the others would surely do as they are commanded by the Grand Priest immediately, Vegeta decided to ignore the said order and embraced his own belief as a proud Saiyan Warrior, that he will only fight an opponent if it was only at its full strength. While Whis was glad about that, he still wondered if Vegeta made the right decision or not.
"We will go to Magus Island to observe and investigate this matter. If I was right about this, I'm sure that we will meet Hikari Ishida there," Vegeta said. "But for now… I need to find some bait for the fish."
A sinister smile crept up across his lips as a wicked plan formed in his mind.
"Huh? Was I dreaming all this time?" Bulma wondered as she slowly regained her consciousness back. Feelings of her happiness and the memories of that short-lived moment she spent on that world with her loved ones lingered before the painful reality kicked in. Despite how much she wanted to stay in that place, she chose what she knew was the right thing to do. Yes, she made a firm decision to go back to her real world and face the truth.
And to be with him.
All this time since her parents' death in the Pepper Village Massacre, she struggled to get her normal life back. After three years of rough life challenges, she realized that there had been people who showed up and called on her to support her during those difficult times of her life. Gyumao, Chichi, Krilin… even Yamcha. Despite all of the miseries she suffered, in time, she managed to get back on her feet because of them.
Especially him.
Since he showed up to her that night she accidentally summoned him, she felt like he was her greatest blessing from the heavens. She didn't know why misery and blessings have the same face to her. And yet, she couldn't distinguish any difference between the two. Everytime she was with him, she couldn't help but think that the one who was supposed to bring her destruction was her personal savior. He was always there to save and protect her from anything that would bring her harm and she could always count on him whenever she was in great trouble. His presence, contrary to popular belief, would always be her safest and happiest place. Through him, she was sure that she would never lose him the same way she lost her family. That's why she chose him.
Vegeta…
Bulma popped her eyes open with a gasp, finding herself lying on a bed. The first thing she saw was Vegeta's cold, dark eyes staring down at her. She asked herself where she was as her eyes darted around her in every direction, confused.
She rose from the bed, jolting up and looking around her surroundings, trying to make sense of where she was, before her eyes fell back to him. He was still staring at her with a face devoid of emotion, he's probably trying to suppress whatever he was trying to feel. She couldn't tell if he was angry or if he was worried at all.
"Vegeta..?" she asked breathlessly.
Vegeta was about to open his mouth when she suddenly pinched at both of his cheeks, causing him to groan more in annoyance rather than pain.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" he shouted, pushing her hands away from him before he made an angry pout as he massaged his cheeks with his palms.
Bulma grinned at him a smile of relief, her blue eyes bursting into tears, "You're real. You're really my Vegeta!" she cried, pulling him closer to her, wrapping her arms around his neck and embracing him into a tight hug, which surprised him and caused his face to turn entirely red.
"I knew you would come and save me!" she continued to whine. Vegeta quickly pulled away from her, pushing her off him again and grabbing her shoulders. He gazed at her eyes with a stern glare.
"You fool! Are you crazy?! Damn it, I thought I was going to lose you back there!" he growled at her.
"I know… I thought so, too," she agreed. She looked at him and asked, "Are you angry?"
"No."
"If you knew what was happening, then why didn't you come sooner? Why were you waiting for me to decide?"
"I thought I told you, I cannot interfere with your decision. That world was created by your own subconscious wish in exchange for the most important thing in your life."
"Then you should have interfered! What kind of God of Destruction are you?! Were you planning to let me be in that fake world forever?!" she shouted at him.
"Weren't you the one who wished for that world in exchange for my existence in the first place?! If anyone should be angry between the two of us, it should be me!"
"So you are angry after all! And you are blaming me for what happened too!"
"I'm not!"
"Yes, you are!"
Vegeta grunted in annoyance as he rolled his eyes, thinking about how he, the God of Destruction of this Universe, can't even win an argument against such an obdurate human woman, before he turned his eyes away, scowling deeply before he finally relented.
"Fine. Yes, I am angry," he growled. "Angry enough for me to destroy two Universes just to get you back in here!"
"Are you angry with me because I subconsciously threw you away in that world?"
"... Ugh…"
Vegeta was silent for a few seconds before he gave her an angry grunt as he scowled deeper.
"Vegeta… I– I didn't know what happened," she defended. "It felt like it was a dream, as if I was in a trance for a while. I didn't know what I did. I didn't mean to–"
"–I'm not angry with you. I'm angry about something else," he corrected with an annoyed seethe.
Bulma blinked in puzzlement, "Huh?"
"It's all my fault," he admitted, lowering his eyes. "Everything you suffered during the past three years was all my doing. It was me who granted Saike Regin's wish so he could kill your family. You lost everything you once had because I allowed him to do that. Your misery came one after another the moment I chose you to decide the fate of this world for me. You became miserable because I came into your life."
"I already know that. You have told me a lot of times. Why do you remind me again?" she asked him.
"..."
"Tell me what you're thinking right now, Vegeta."
The God of Destruction hesitated at first, his expression softened up a bit. He looked up into the ceiling of the room and exhaled.
"I was thinking about what it would be like for you if I didn't come into your life," Vegeta admitted. "I wondered about the same thing between me and Beerus for a long time. Being associated with a God of Destruction drastically changed our fates. I thought that if Beerus didn't appear on my home planet, perhaps I would have become a king and ruled the most powerful warrior race in the Universe. If you haven't met me, you could have become the President of the Capsule Corporation. Would we be happier if we hadn't met by any chance?"
Bulma's jaw dropped when she realized what he meant by that. Could be..?
"Are you seriously blaming yourself for what happened to me?" she asked.
He didn't respond, he just lowered his head and turned away from her in shame. Bulma let out a sad sigh.
"Hey, do you remember what you told me when I refused to agree to your contract?" she asked him.
He didn't respond, so to help him remember, she recalled his words in her mind as if to let him hear her thoughts.
"Before creation, comes destruction. I am one of those two deities that keep the balance of this Universe. If not for me doing my job of destruction, there wouldn't be any creation, birth, rebirth, light, summer, spring, and better things mortals like yourselves gain in exchange for what was taken from you."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Don't you get it? Every time a mortal gains something for himself, he has lost something else beforehand. Reality is cruel to everyone, but at the end of the day, every suffering is a blessing in disguise. We deities listen to mortals' prayers and we get to decide which blessings you mortals would gain depending on how much you've lost. That is how we show our mercy. That's an example of how we work to keep the balance of this Universe."
"Everything that happens in this Universe is because of you and your power," Bulma told him. "Without you, there won't be any creation, recreation, birth, and rebirth. Yes, you are indeed destruction itself. You bring death, misery, devastation, sufferings and punishment to all creation, but you also enable birth, life, mercy, salvation, comfort, and even second chances. This is the reason why I am not blaming you because I know that everything happens for a reason.
"You were right about how I went through a lot these past three years. And I admit that sometimes, I wish I could just go back to the way things were before the Pepper Village Massacre happened. But then, because of you, I came to realize that there are a lot of people who suffer their own fair share of miseries as well. I don't know how or if they were suffering more than me or not, but I know there are people who had it worse than I am. Thinking about that made me feel a little more grateful for what I have right now and I begin to appreciate my life even more. What mattered to me now is the fact that I have you here with me, Vegeta. I may have lost a lot, but it was all for the purpose of me meeting you. It's not your fault, so stop blaming yourself for what happened, okay?"
With that, he finally looked back at her and smiled. He sat down next to her and grabbed her hand, intertwining his fingers around hers. "You never cease to amaze me, you know that?" he told her.
Bulma grinned back at him a sweet smile, "Of course, and I will continue to amaze you even more," she winked back at him, pointing a finger up and waved it in front of his face. "You should tell them that, too."
"Who?"
"To that deity girl who did this to us. Yonshir, was it? Or maybe I should tell that straight to her face the next time she decides to appear before me. I should also punch her in the face!"
Vegeta snorted before he laughed, "Pffft... Hahahaha! You know, I always thought you're crazy because you said you never feared me. And now, you want to punch a multiverse-level space-time and reality-warping goddess in the face? You're quite fearless, Bulma."
"I wish! You should know that when you told me that I'm all on my own in that fake world, I was terrified," she admitted with a pout.
"I was terrified too," Vegeta also admitted. "I thought I was going to lose you there. But you remembered me, and after that, despite being presented with a perfect world, you still chose me. How did you do it?"
Bulma appeared thoughtful for a moment, "Hmm… I don't know. I just got this sudden feeling that I was forgetting something important. When I got that phone call, I already knew it was you, but I can't seem to remember you well. Then, for some reason, when I looked at the full moon, I suddenly heard your voice. I thought that it must be the bond you're talking about because I recalled you said you heard me when Mago tried to kill me back then."
"How did you get in there anyways?" he asked her.
Bulma leaned back on the sofa, thinking, "I remember that Vanilla lied to me. It was already too late when I came to realize that she was playing the elevator game before I got transported into that fake world."
"So are you telling me that she tricked you so she could play the Elevator Game with you?"
"Yes, she was acting a bit odd when I thought she only wanted me to escort her back to her room to get her phone charger. Then she started pressing random buttons until she revealed to me that she was indeed playing the Elevator Game. Then something entered the elevator on the fifth floor and after that, we blasted upwards to the tenth floor. Once we reached the tenth floor, the elevator door opened. When Vanilla and I hesitated to come out, that sinister thing spoke to us. It asked us where we were going. After that, the scary creature dragged Vanilla out of the elevator, while something–or someone else pulled me away from that monster. The next thing I know I was in that fake world, not remembering anything about what happened at all."
Vegeta frowned as his eyes narrowed. Someone saved Bulma from the evil clutches of that Elevator demon? Did Yonshir do that? Or was that Khalua?
Bulma gasped and then she turned to him, pleading, "Vanilla! You have to find Vanilla and save her too!"
"I don't want to," he huffed, turning away from her.
"What? Why?"
"I am a destroyer deity, not a savior," he said. "Plus, it's because of her that I almost lost you again. I will let her suffer the consequences of her own doing."
"But Vanilla is going to die," Bulma pleaded.
Vegeta snorted, "Hmph! I couldn't care less about what happens to insignificant mortals who do stupid things. I am the God of Destruction, my judgment to Vanilla Regin is absolute and her punishment has been settled."
"But…"
Bulma's expression turned melancholic. She began to wonder what happened to Vanilla. Where did that monster drag her? Was she even alive?
He turned to her, asking, "Why do you still want to save her after what she has done? If you didn't realize what happened to you, I would have lost you there! She almost had me destroy everything! If anyone should stop existing in my Universe, it should be her!"
Bulma understood Vegeta's reasoning for not wanting to save Vanilla. But then, recalling what happened to Vanilla as she got pulled out of the elevator by that sinister being gave her an uneasy feeling in her chest, making her feel worried and guilty.
"I don't know," Bulma answered Vegeta's question solemnly. "But when I saw Vanilla being dragged out of the elevator by that terrifying monster to whatever dimension it was, I felt… bad. She was completely terrified, like she wanted someone to help her. I feel guilty for not being able to do something to save her."
"Guilt?" Vegeta uttered. "Why are you feeling guilty about something that is not your fault?"
Bulma turned to him, frowning, "Speak for yourself! Weren't you feeling guilty about something that was not your fault earlier too?" she grumbled.
"I said I was angry. Not guilty. That's different," Vegeta retorted with a growl.
Bulma rolled her eyes off him, "Whatever, Vegeta. But I don't think Vanilla expected that the Urban Legend about the Elevator Game was real. If she tried to do that sort of thing, perhaps it was because she wanted to see her father again. I know that, because that was how I got into that fake world. I was asked by someone about who I longed for the most."
"Really?" he said with a disparaging tone as he let out a malevolent smirk. "If that's how it was, then there's no doubt about it. Vanilla Regin is most likely burning in hell right now, and alive for that matter."
"What?!" Bulma gasped.
"Have you forgotten? I sent her father to that place after our contract expired. I showed you exactly how I did that when I threw Jeizun Shibata's Core of Existence into that place," Vegeta reminded her.
Bulma had a flashback of that night when Vegeta gave her a glimpse of what real hell was like when he threw a mortal soul into that terrifying place. Her face paled in her fright, as she imagined what Vanilla must be going through right now.
Bulma grabbed his arm and gave him a pleading look, "Vegeta, please. You have to drag her back in here. Save her for me, please."
"Ugh! I told you, woman, no!" the God of Destruction denied.
Bulma pouted back at him, "You said you didn't want to save her because you almost lost me and in consequence, you tried to destroy everything, including the fake and the real Seventh Universe. Well, I am here now, I'm with you, and I'm perfectly fine. You don't have to punish her because of that anymore. Plus, I'm not angry at her, so please, show her a bit of your mercy, okay?"
"I told you I am an evil, ruthless god. I don't show mercy to insignificant mortals."
Bulma frowned, turning away from him with an angry huff. Vegeta turned to her, wondering why she was angry. He grunted as he rolled his eyes, "Darn female species… Such an enigma…" he thought tiredly.
"Fine," he drawled, finally relenting to her plea. "I will take her back from Jigoku, and then I will give her another form of punishment for what she tried doing to you."
Hearing that, Bulma turned to look at him with a pleased smile, "Deal, so long as you wouldn't be too harsh on her punishment, okay?"
"Tch! I wouldn't be so sure about that since I have a ruthless reputation to maintain," he scoffed. He called out to Whis and told him, "Whis, let's go to Jigoku, now."
Vanilla Regin was burning everywhere. She could feel every single part of her blazed in eternal fire and it felt so excruciating. Her cries of torture were drowned by the continuous screams of agony coming from the numberless damned souls around her. It was endless.
She didn't even know how and when she died, or was she dragged into this place alive? She remembered she was in the elevator with Bulma when a demonic entity asked her where she was going. When she answered that she wanted to see her father, she was instantly lugged towards this place.
She found her father there, indeed. And just like everybody else in this hell, he was also suffering and was scorching on fire. She tried calling out to him many times, but it seemed like Saike couldn't even hear her. She even tried reaching out to him with her arms but he was unreachable too. The demons surrounding them prevented them from reaching out from one another, sadistically mocking them about their foolishness and their sins.
Something burst open above them, causing Vanilla to look up. There appeared to be a black hole, two beings looking down at them all descended from there and levitated mid-air. Vanilla saw that the demons torturing them had halted their cruel work as they all looked up to those two newcomers floating above them.
"What the hell are you doing here again, Vegeta Yonsei?!" a roaring voice resounded.
Vegeta Yonsei? That was a name she was familiar with. Vanilla looked up, none of those people looked like the Vegeta Yonsei she knew.
"I am here to retrieve a mortal who one of your demons dragged in here despite still being alive," the short guy with the black, spiky, flame-shaped hair and a receding hairline and a huge widow's peak, coldly responded.
"You know very well that she brought this upon herself on her own," the other voice said. "These foolish mortals like to play games, not caring about the consequences of such. She wished to be with her father, we fulfilled that wish for her. This is what she wanted. She brought this upon herself. Not to mention, how she tried to curse that woman of yours."
"Yeah, I know."
"Then why are you here to take her back?!"
"I thought I already told you, she is still alive."
"So? We've taken foolish mortals alive after they played our games so many times before and you never cared to interfere with what we do to them. What made this mortal an exception then?"
"You will return the mortal to me, unless you want me to destroy you right here and now," Vegeta threatened.
"Cocky as always," the King of Jigoku spat. "Just because you are the God of Destruction doesn't mean we should abide by your every demand!"
"You will abide my every command, Rushiferu, unless you want me to remind you of your place. Don't forget that you are below me, demon, and I can destroy you whenever I wish to," Vegeta responded imperiously. Vanilla shuddered as she thought that he was more intimidating that way.
"Whis," Vegeta called the effeminate being floating next to him. "Get Vanilla out of here. I will personally take care of Rushiferu. Go, now!" he commanded before disappearing from where he was.
Then Vanilla saw how the fire surrounding her got blown away when Whis seemingly appeared before her from thin air. He tapped a long staff he was grasping into the ground, then everything that surrounded her disappeared. The last thing she saw was the unforgettable image of her screaming father as he continuously burned in hellfire.
"Damn you, Vegeta Yonsei!" cursed Rushiferu. "How dare you do this, you little brat!"
The God of Destruction chuckled, "Worry not about her, Rushiferu. I will personally deal with her punishment," Vegeta assured the King of Jigoku. "My apologies for the trouble, but you should know better than making your move when I'm close by. I hope that this will never happen again."
"Tch… You cheeky little brat!" Rushiferu sneered. "Fine, you win. I will let that one off this one time. But… don't think that this is over, Vegeta. Her soul will be mine to take when she dies."
"Yeah, that is if her experience here won't change her attitude," Vegeta agreed. "By the way, I have something to ask you about. Lately, there have been five human souls that's been missing for the past three days. Did you or any of your demons have anything to do with this?"
"No, Why are you asking me that?" Rushiferu said.
"Just checking," the God of Destruction replied.
"Whis!" Vegeta summoned his guide angel, who appeared out of thin air next to him.
"Yes, Vegeta-sama? I already brought Vanilla-san back to the hotel," Whis told him.
Vegeta turned to look at him, "Let's go to the Kaioushin realm. I have something to inquire Shin about."
At the realm of the Supreme Kai, a small, obscure planet was located just above and outside the mortal realm, across the home planet of the God of Destruction, and above the four planets of the Guardians of the four galaxies, the Kais. It was the sacred world of the God of Creation, where the Kaioushin watches over the mortals. Only deities of the same or higher rank or their direct subordinates were allowed to set foot on this world.
It was the exact opposite of the God of Destruction's homeworld. This place was eternally graced by the light of creation, the lavender-colored sky was clear and beautiful, and had several moons displayed on its horizon. The planet was filled with rocky and grassy areas filled with ravishing trees and plants blooming with colorful flowers. There were also plenty of calm rivers and streams inhabited by all kinds of water creatures.
Shin was silently gazing up into the skies, observing the Universe. Two weeks ago, he sensed an odd anomaly appear in the Seventh Universe. King Kai, the guardian deity of the Northern Galaxy, reported that there was a rift in Time and Space that has appeared on Earth. Knowing that Vegeta was there, they expected that the God of Destruction must be doing something about it.
But he wasn't doing anything. Shin wondered if Vegeta was biding his time yet again before he decides to make his move. And then, out of nowhere, something abruptly happened to the Universe. It was only for a brief moment in time, but it felt like everything got destroyed at that short moment. But even before Shin could realize it, everything was back to normal.
It was an odd mystery, indeed.
Then, during that very short moment, another strange phenomena occurred. Something happened to Vegeta, and whatever happened to him caused an alarming effect in the flow of this Universe, which Shin knew would bring them in a dire situation.
It reminded the creation deity of the foreboding prophecy predicting the day of the apocalypse for the multiverse, which would no doubt lead to the Second Great Heavenly War amongst the gods. It is said that when the Destined Strong One reaches his full potential, a great evil seed will be reborn.
Shin sensed Vegeta's power exploded out of nowhere and he was terrified by the sheer amount of destructive power his destroyer counterpart now possessed. There's no doubt that Vegeta has already surpassed the Universe-level of power, and is now multiverse-level at his best. He was truly amazing and it would seem that Shin had his faith on him; he was the most powerful among the Universe-level deities after all.
Still, he can't help but feel worried for some reason. And his anxiety only grew when he felt Vegeta's energy coming in his direction even before his surroundings could perceive the upcoming presence of the God of Destruction.
A few seconds passed and the purple skies began to darken, and the plants, trees, and grass began to wither before his eyes, as if in distress. The warm wind began to blow cold around him too, and lightning struck the ground everywhere as the Planet of Creation seem to prepare itself to welcome the terrifying presence of the almighty God of Destruction the closer Vegeta approached the world of creation.
A white streak of light plummeted into the ground and when it dimmed, Whis appeared before Shin. Vegeta stood behind his guide angel before walking beside Whis.
Shin's jaw dropped, before he shakily fell down to his knees and bowed before him, "What brings you in here, Vegeta-sama?" he asked humbly, but he couldn't easily mask the slight trembling of his voice due to his fear of such power.
Kibito, Shin's attendant, arrived and also knelt before the God of Destruction.
"I came here to inquire you about something since you have been watching over the mortal world," Vegeta told them imperiously.
Shin raised his head and asked once more, "Does it have to do with that rift in space-time that appeared on Earth?"
"Yeah, have you seen how it happened and who was behind it?"
"My apologies, milord, but aside from the fact that I sensed it appearing on Earth while you were there, I wasn't able to see who did it. The mystical island, which was supposedly just a myth of the Earthlings, also surfaced around that time. I believe that the island itself and whatever creatures it holds are something beyond my comprehension."
"So that means that island wasn't from the Seventh Universe?"
"I believe that whatever caused it to appear out of nowhere is beyond the understandings of a Universe-level deity. It must be done by someone who has power beyond that, a power to shift reality itself."
"Yonshir or Khalua couldn't be behind this, could they? What do you think, Whis?" Vegeta inquired his guide angel.
"Hmm... I believe that whoever did this has a power to create, recreate, and destroy anything he wants, or someone who is also capable of manipulating time and space as well. Perhaps, a deity with boundless ability. It cannot be King Zen nor King Mu either as they don't interfere with the small matters of the mortal world," Whis responded.
"I suggest that you ask Lady Chronoa and the Time Patrol over at Conton City, milord. Perhaps, one of their Time Scrolls was able to record anything," Shin implied.
"Time Patrol…" Vegeta scowled. "Ah yes, I forgot that that bastard owed me something."
"Haha, that was pretty harsh for you to call your other self, Vegeta-sama," Shin gave off a small laugh.
"Hmph! He did bother me one time just because he wanted me to save Bulma that time. Now that I think about it, I guess I know the reason why," Vegeta said, recalling that time he spared Bulma from being crushed by an incoming truck back when she was chasing her ex-boyfriend on the road. "I guess it is time for me to make him pay for that," he continued, walking behind Whis. "Thank you, Shin. I hope you keep on the watch while I'm not around. Report to me anything you find that's worthy of my attention, got that?"
"Yes, Vegeta-sama. Thank you for the visit," Shin bowed once more.
"Take me to Conton City, Whis," he ordered.
With that, the pair blasted off into the skies.
The Conton City was originally known as the Toki-toki city, the base for operations for the guardians of Space and Time, the Time Patrol, and their commander, the Supreme Kai of Time named Chronoa, who was tasked with watching the flow of time within the Seventh Universe. The Time Patrol are a group of warriors who protect time and space from being interfered with, and they were made up by different warriors from across different times.
In this world exists two other Vegetas, both from different dimensions than the one who has become the God of Destruction. The one who was tasked to be a Time Patroller, addressed as Xeno Vegeta, was on duty to watch the time scrolls over at a place called the Time Nest. The other Vegeta, a mortal Saiyan Prince who was summoned there to be of Xeno Vegeta's assistance during missions, was somewhere within the City, training some new members of the Time Patrol Group.
While Xeno Vegeta was busy looking after the time scrolls, he abruptly yelped in shock when he turned around and saw Hakaishin Vegeta and his attendant standing near him.
"What's my God of Destruction self doing here?! You know very well that you must never interfere with the space-time continuum!" Xeno Vegeta told him breathlessly.
"Hey, I'm not like any of those low-level counterparts you've encountered in your patrolling, so you better treat me differently if you don't want me to destroy you," God of Destruction Vegeta sneered.
"You can't destroy me. I am you. Who the hell do you think you're threatening here?"
"Don't try me, Vegeta," the Hakaishin growled. "You wouldn't know since you can't still sense god ki. I can always take you by surprise and destroy you while you're busy."
The Time Patrol Vegeta rolled his eyes. He was well-aware how this version of him could become cocky and reckless at most times, reminding him of his past self, but this was something he didn't expect.
"Whatever, Vegeta. Now, what do you want from me and you came all the way here?" Xeno Vegeta asked. Hakaishin Vegeta rolled his eyes back, the only people he could allow to speak to him with such a blatant and disrespectful tone was himself.
"A mysterious rift in space-time appeared in my Universe. I want you to look into it for me," he ordered.
"Alright, when did it appear?"
"Just over two weeks ago."
"Fine, follow me."
Xeno Vegeta walked into a room with tall shelves filled with an almost infinite number of scrolls. He levitated off the floor to search through them while Hakaishin Vegeta waited.
"Hey, why do you look so glum?" he suddenly asked a few moments later, noticing something odd with the expression of his counterpart.
The God of Destruction looked up into his parallel world counterpart and said, "You mentioned that you had a wife and children when you were still a mortal. Tell me, is your wife an Earthling named Bulma?"
"That's already classified information, even for a God of Destruction like yourself," Time Patroller Vegeta replied. "But even if it wasn't, I wouldn't want to talk about it," he grumbled bitterly.
"I see…" the God of Destruction muttered. There must be a good reason why he didn't wish to speak about this family. Was it about something tragic?
"But if you wish to know, maybe you could ask the other us. I think he's busy training some newbies in the Conton City Park. Should I call for him?"
"No," Hakaishin Vegeta told him. He didn't want to deal with a counterpart who came from an almost similar world to his. Among all his counterparts, it was that version of himself that he was particularly not comfortable with. He didn't know why, whether it was perhaps due to his insecurities or jealousy of that Vegeta, who he thought was living the life he was always meant to have if only he didn't make that foolish wish and the cursed contract with Beerus.
"Suit yourself, then. Although I believe that your divine presence would have already caught their attention. He also possessed the powers of a god like you do after all."
"I knew it!" a cheerful voice boomed in at the door which instantly annoyed both the God of Destruction and the Time Patroller. It was immediately followed by an angry hiss coming from a voice similar to that of Vegeta.
"Are you crazy, Kakarot?! You're not serious about challenging him into a fight!"
Xeno Vegeta rolled his eyes, "See? I told you. And that idiot Kakarot came with him too. Thanks a lot for ruining my peace here," he angrily grumbled.
Hakaishin Vegeta immediately tensed at that presence. He turned his head to find a mortal counterpart of himself arguing with another Saiyan whom he was calling as Kakarot. He never knew anything about this other Saiyan because in his Universe, Kakarot was still a baby and in a nursing pod when Planet Vegeta got exploded by Freeza and he was included among those who have perished.
Kakarot approached him as if they were close friends, completely in awe of his divine presence.
"Woah, Vegeta! It really is you! Hahaha! I never thought that you would go so far as to wear Beerus-sama's clothes and become a God of Destruction! Hey, I heard from the other Vegetas that you're stronger than Beerus-sama! Could you please spar with me just for a bit–?"
"I told you to stop that, idiot!" shouted the mortal version of Vegeta, as he smacked Kakarot behind the head. He wore a white armor branded with some CC logo, which the God of Destruction recognized as the company logo of Capsule Corporation, over a blue long-sleeved jumpsuit with white gloves and white boots.
Kakarot quickly cringed away from Hakaishin Vegeta as the mortal Vegeta (addressed as CC Vegeta) repeatedly bowed down in apology to his destroyer deity counterpart.
"My apologies about him, milord. I mean, he just couldn't help himself challenging every strong person he could find–"
Kakarot pouted as he turned his head towards CC Vegeta, "What's that for, Vegeta? Don't tell me you don't want to see just how powerful you will become if you ever become a God of Destruction?"
"I don't need to see nor do I want to know just how powerful he is! Plus, I'm not interested in becoming a God of Destruction at all!"
Hakaishin Vegeta watched as the two Saiyans argued right in front of him. He was reminded of how he acted in front of Beerus with how CC Vegeta was behaving around him.
"If you want to clobber them both in the head, I won't stop you," Xeno Vegeta told him. "Just do it outside the Time Nest. I don't want to hear the end of it from Chronoa. Plus, I can't concentrate because of that darn Kakarot's annoying presence. I will let you know if I find something unusual."
"Hmph! Fine! You, follow me," Hakaishin Vegeta ordered.
Kakarot grinned happily and excitedly, "Woah! Thanks a lot, Vegeta–!"
"–Not you, him," Hakaishin Vegeta pointed at his CC counterpart, coldly glaring at him.
"Eh? Hey, that's not fair!" Kakarot complained, pouting like a kid.
Kakarot suddenly froze when he felt something in his chest pulse. It felt like he was going to have a sudden heart attack, reminding him greatly of the time he had a heart virus attack during his battle with one of the Androids. He flinched as he quickly grabbed into his chest. CC Vegeta held into him, asking him, "What? Oi, Kakarot! What the hell is happening to you?!"
Kakarot raised his squinting eyes as he stared up into the God of Destruction's icy gaze as his irises flashed an eerie reddish pink glow. CC Vegeta's jaw dropped in awe and horror, asking himself why he suddenly felt fearful of this other self of his. Basing on the terrifying aura he could feel exuding from his counterpart, he concluded that this version was more terrifying than Beerus.
"I'm not interested in someone as weak as you are, Saiyan," Hakaishin Vegeta said, his tone cold and ominous while his face held darkness in it. It sent a chill across the three Saiyans surrounding him, even though the two of them were him from another dimension. "I could easily tell that you are still not near surpassing Beerus in your world. If that was the case, I have no time to waste with you. I couldn't care less if you simply wanted to test your strength against me or if you want to compare me to these two counterparts of mine. I could destroy you all with just a mere thought if I wanted to."
CC Vegeta thought that it seems in every universe, Kakarot's mere existence was a great annoyance to him, no matter which version he was.
"Please don't mind him, milord. Let's just… Let's just go," CC Vegeta pleaded, dropping Kakarot on the floor and approaching his God of Destruction counterpart cautiously.
When Hakaishin Vegeta turned away with a snort, Kakarot instantly felt better.
"What power!" Kakarot gasped.
CC Vegeta sneered back at him. "You are such an idiot! That is a God of Destruction you're trying to challenge! Even if it was another me, he is different from me! You're really out of your mind!" he scolded.
"Are you coming with me or not?" The God of Destruction Vegeta growled.
"Ye-yes, milord!" CC Vegeta squeaked, running to chase after the counterpart he realized could be the most powerful among them all.
Xeno Vegeta rolled his eyes at the scene that just unfolded in front of him and turned away from the pouting CC Kakarot who was complaining about Hakaishin Vegeta's cold treatment towards him, holding a scroll he was actually hiding all this time from the sights of the God of Destruction.
"I told them that this wouldn't go unnoticed. Our senses of discernment are far too sharp not to notice such an obvious irregularity, he should have know that in the first place," he thought.
He recalled the conversation he had with Chronoa and a mysterious person earlier. For some reason, that guy desperately demanded Chronoa that he be allowed to travel in time to change everything. Time travel was a great taboo amongst the gods, aside from the guardians of space and time themselves, of course. But even amongst the Time Patrol, it was not allowed for them to travel back in time and change history as it is.
When the mysterious person explained what happened, Chronoa had no other choice but to make an exception and give a special permit to him once again as she saw this as an emergency. Chronoa sent Xeno Vegeta to patrol the specific time plane first for her, this was how he owed Hakaishin Vegeta that one favor because he couldn't bear the knowledge of Bulma dying right in front of him as she did in his world. He knew that the God of Destruction probably had no idea why he asked him that one favor at the time.
When Xeno Vegeta returned to Conton City, Chronoa told him that what happened here, under any circumstances, should be treated as a classified information, meaning no matter what happens, the Time Patroller shouldn't speak a word about it at all.
"Come in, Chronoa," Xeno Vegeta called the Supreme Kai of Time through a special device that looked like a toy watch. When she answered his call, he explained to her that the God of Destruction appeared before him. Chronoa told him that she will take care of this matter.
CC Vegeta followed his destroyer deity counterpart as they strolled around Conton City. When Hakaishin Vegeta found a shop selling boxed lunches and saw that they were selling Maguro Nigiri, he quickly bought everything the shop owner could give with his black card. Soon, they found a bench nearby to sit and he happily gorged down his favorite food. His earlier cold and intimidating demeanor gone.
"I guess Bulma was right when she said that I easily change moods whenever I start eating…" CC Vegeta thought as he watched his other self happily eat next to him. Still though, he knew that there was something wrong with this guy. Why else would he drag him out all the way here just to eat sushi?
"So what is it? Spit it out, I don't have much time to spend dating with you," CC Vegeta demanded.
"You met Bulma Briefs in your world, right?" Hakaishin Vegeta asked.
"Yeah, she is my wife," CC Vegeta said.
"Your wife?!"
"Yeah, what? Surprised much?"
"Don't tell me that even the other us-?"
"Yes. I heard she died in his timeline, that's why he became a time patroller so he could find who did that to her. There's no wonder why he looked more serious than I ever was. I mean, if that happened to me, I would do anything, sacrifice everything, break any rule, trespass space and time, and even break reality itself just to avenge my Bulma. And I will not let anyone stop me from doing so, not even you."
CC Vegeta was blurting out a bit quite carelessly until he found that his counterpart had stopped eating and was simply staring at him, stunned.
"Why did you ask? Did you finally meet her in your world? I mean, considering how you know her name already only means you already did. I bet she annoyed the hell out of you, huh?"
"Yeah, she did," Hakaishin Vegeta admitted.
"Even so, she was a very likable woman. Nobody ever treated me the way she did. Honestly, I didn't even know why I got attracted to her in the first place. Perhaps it was a Saiyan thing. Her feistiness would always make my Saiyan blood boil and I love that about her."
"Did you ever have any second thoughts or hesitations when you took her up as your wife?"
"Hmmm…" CC Vegeta muttered to himself. "Well, at first, I did try to deny my feelings for her. I was a jerk back then, and I almost even got her and our son killed. But when my son got killed before my eyes, emotions suddenly gushed up on me that I didn't even know what it was in the first place. It turned out I cared about him, and eventually his mother too, after all. I woke up one day, realizing that I had formed a family of my own and loved them. I thought that it really wasn't so bad, but it felt so wrong in many ways. I was the Saiyan Prince, I was supposed to be a cold, ruthless warrior feared across the Universe. I was meant to rule the Universe and here I was, I have become something I totally resented. A husband. A father. Living on a peaceful backwater planet with a family of my own. I thought they made me weak, so I tried to push them away as much as I could. My pride was more important than anything to me. Later, I realized that I couldn't run away from it anymore. The Earthlings and their puny planet have rubbed off on me so much I couldn't turn my back on them any longer. When I lost them, that's when I realized it was wrong for me to simply throw them away. I was just glad that we had Dragon Balls and it helped me correct the mistakes I made. I accepted everything and focused my pride on something more important."
"And that is?"
"My loved ones. What else?" CC Vegeta said. "After that, I think I began to have a more satisfying life. I can now freely express myself in ways that the old me couldn't have done. As you can see, I'm more easy going compared to you or that other us inside the Time Nest. It's because I learned to simply accept myself, let go of the things that shackled me from the truth, change myself for the better, and grow as a person."
"I see."
"Oi, what's the matter?"
"Huh?"
"Don't you space out on me."
"Do I?"
"Yeah," CC Vegeta nodded. "So, why did you ask about Bulma?"
The God of Destruction looked away, mumbling, "Nothing. I just thought I'm glad I made the right decision."
"Huh?"
"At first, I thought I would forever envy you."
CC Vegeta scoffed. "What would make you so envious of me? You got what you wanted. You have everything you wanted. Eternal life, immortality, unlimited power, and ruling the Universe. Plus, if you said that you already met Bulma, then you can take her up as your wife too and create a family with her just like we did. I don't see any problem with–"
"You don't understand, do you?! Not everything is free in this world! Everything you gained in your life has a price to be paid later on!" Hakaishin Vegeta suddenly snapped at him.
"Yeah, but you are the God of Destruction, you don't need to worry about karma coming after you. You are above any laws of this Universe because you make those laws," CC Vegeta told him.
"Just because I am a God of Destruction doesn't automatically make me the most powerful deity in the omniverse! There are beings far more powerful than you could imagine. Reality warpers, those who can bend space and time, or those who can change everything you ever know with just a single thought."
"And you are afraid of them?"
"Of course not!" the God of Destruction snorted. "Not after I managed to achieve a new evolution of power."
"Then you have nothing to be envious about me. If anything, I believe you're the one living a life the old me would dream of. My past self would definitely want to be you," CC Vegeta chuckled. "But I'm not into that anymore. I've liked the peaceful life the Earth offered me, and the love my wife and children gave me. That doesn't mean I've grown weak and soft though. I still seek for the greatest strength but my reasons for it have changed now that I have something to protect. You should realize that by now. We are Saiyan Warriors, strength and fighting are what we always craved for, but it's not bad to find enjoyment in other things too. I've learned and grew a lot because of those things and found a new and better purpose in life. You should be able to do the same. Don't be afraid of changing yourself. You'll never know what possibilities it may offer you in the future."
"Yeah, you're right," Hakaishin Vegeta agreed with a nod and a smile. "Thank you, Vegeta."
CC Vegeta huffed back at him, "Hmph! So I guess I got the answer correct!" then he winked back and pointed a finger at him. Hakaishin Vegeta blinked at him, reminded of Bulma's earlier pose back in the hotel. It made him smile even more. So Bulma had influenced his other self that much, huh? And he was openly happy and peaceful about it. He began to wonder if he could have that kind of happiness and peace too.
"Oh my, what is the great and almighty Hakaishin-sama doing here?"
A cheerful female voice interrupted them from their talk. Both Vegetas turned to see a petite female with curvy pinkish-red hair and light purple-pink skin wearing an outfit similar to Shin's. She was grinning from ear to ear as she approached them.
"Chronoa," Hakaishin Vegeta acknowledged the presence of the Supreme Kai of Time, the keeper of the balance of Space and Time of the Seventh Universe who works under Yonshir's supervision. His demeanor returned into that strong and despotic one that's expected from a God of Destruction facing his subordinates.
"Vegeta-sama, I received a report that you came all the way here. Do you need anything?" Chronoa asked him politely.
"I ordered the Time Patrol to look into the cause of that rift in Space-Time which appeared in my timeline over two weeks ago."
"Yes, milord. I was already looking into it as well. It seems that a mysterious being from another timeline traveled into your timeline which caused the space-time rift you are talking about," she reported. "But for some reason, I couldn't find any data about this, no matter how much I looked into it."
"Someone time-traveled into my timeline from another timeline? Who could have done something so forbidden?!"
"My apologies, we don't know, Vegeta-sama. As I've said, the time scrolls didn't record any data about it. It must be done by someone extremely powerful because whoever is behind this, he was able to conceal his identity this much."
"Tch! You're giving me a rather difficult task because of your uselessness, Chronoa," Hakaishin Vegeta growled. The Supreme Kai of Time simply grinned sheepishly. "Whatever, if you get any information about this, make sure you tell me about it next time. Be thankful to your lucky stars that I'm in a good mood today because the Maguro Nigiri being sold here tastes well, else I would have to destroy you all for your inefficiency."
"If you don't mind me asking, what are you planning to do about it?" asked Chronoa.
"I will investigate whatever caused this myself. I have a feeling that this is something that would cause a great imbalance in my Universe and I will have to fix it before it could cause me more trouble than the one I will be facing soon."
"We're sorry for the trouble, Vegeta-sama," Chronoa apologized.
"Whatever," he groaned lazily as he rose from his seat next to his CC counterpart. "Whis, let's go back home."
With that, the god and angel pair left Conton City.
"I'm surprised he believed that," Chronoa sighed. She turned to CC Vegeta and thanked him, "Thank you for your help, Vegeta-san. You were right to give him all that Maguro Nigiri."
CC Vegeta smirked, "Do you honestly think he actually believed that?"
"Why? He didn't?"
"You were being too obvious back there. He could tell that you're lying to him. Even the time patrol tried to warn you about this. Our senses of discernment is unparalleled. Plus, of all things, we hated being lied to."
"If he knows the truth, then why did he leave without getting angry?"
"It's because he knows himself more than anyone. He trusts me and the time patrol who busied himself pretending to be looking for the time scrolls."
"Huh?"
"He must have sensed that there's a good reason why his counterparts were being tight-lipped about it," CC Vegeta explained. "It won't stop him from knowing the truth though. It would only be a matter of time before he manages to meet that guy. I trust that he will explain the matter himself so don't worry about it. He will understand."
"You can tell that Lady Chronoa is hiding something from you, didn't you?" Whis asked.
"Yeah, she must have her reasons, especially when even my two counterparts go along with her lies," Vegeta said. "I do not trust Chronoa, but I do trust my other selves. I do not lie unless I find it truly necessary to do so in order to keep my comrades safe. Still, even if it meant trouble, I will have to find out who's behind all this. And I will do so without the help of the Time Patrol.
"For now, I will be training in the Sacred Space of Spirit and Time. I will have to learn to properly control and manage the powers of my new form. Whis, find the Larumes Chahbi for me."
"Larumes Chahbi? The Shinpogu known as the Key of Divine Protection and Accessibility?"
"Yeah."
"I understand, milord."
The following morning, Bulma woke up to the ringing of her smartphone. It was Vegeta calling her at seven in the morning.
"Hello?" Bulma answered the call with a still groggy voice.
"Get up, Bulma, and prepare yourself. It's almost time for us to go."
"Hm? Huh? Where are you?" Bulma asked, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand and yawning.
"I just finished some work and did some training. I'll come and get you, prepare yourself."
"Okay. See you."
"Yeah."
They both hung up after that. Bulma got up from her bed and took a shower and changed her clothes.
Meanwhile, Vegeta finished his training in the Sacred Space of Spirit and Time, and told Whis to give him some Earthling clothes to wear before he returned to the mortal realm, coming out of the elevator to the thirteenth floor. He picked Bulma up in his room, gave her an embrace as she wrapped her arms around his thick neck, greeted him a good morning and pecked a kiss on his cheek. His face instantly reddened when she said, "Those Earth clothes look good on you, dear."
Indeed, Vegeta was wearing a dark blue parka jacket over several layers of a black turtleneck sweater, a green hoodie, an orange v-neck sweater, and a black woolen cardigan sweater. He also donned a black fleece winter pants and a pair of brown snow boots. It was getting colder at this time of the year now since it's almost winter time.
He snorted back at her, letting out his beautiful smirk which made Bulma's heart flutter, "Of course, that's because I am royalty and a divine being."
Bulma chuckled. His overconfidence in himself truly is astounding. "I know, you always say that."
"I have something to give you," Vegeta said, fumbling over his pockets.
Bulma blinked back at him, expectant. "What is it?" she asked.
He pulled out something from the pocket of his parka jacket. A faceted, pear-shaped, dark amethyst stone surrounded by two crossing rings of gold across it and fastened with a golden chain. It was a beautiful necklace.
"Wow!" Bulma marveled breathlessly, reaching out to the pendant. The stone reminded her of the color of Vegeta's aura whenever he unleashes his destructive power. "Is this really for me? It's so beautiful."
"This isn't any ordinary jewelry. This is one of the Shinpogu, the Larumes Chahbi."
"Shinpogu?"
"Yeah, Shinpogu are divine treasure items created by the higher gods which allow its holder to use its power so long as the said item is in their hands," Vegeta explained.
He pointed at the golden earring attached on his left ear.
"This earring is also a Shinpogu, the Dia Limigilo, which allows me to suppress 90% of my God of Destruction powers and also helps me control the remaining 10% and the dangerous effects of the Secret of Self-Indulgence technique."
Then he gently put on the necklace around Bulma's neck.
"This one would give you special access to the realm of the gods. It's basically like a special card pass granted by a god to a human like yourself. An example of its use to you is that it would allow you to freely move across all kinds of closed spaces."
As if to prove his words Vegeta instantly created a closed space around them. Bulma gasped as everything instantly darkened around her. Vegeta unexpectedly fired a small ki blast towards her, causing Bulma to shriek and instantaneously shield herself from the deadly blast. It didn't affect her though, as the power of her necklace created a barrier around her body which absorbed the force of the blast, protecting her.
"It will also serve as a protection to you against supernatural energies," he said.
"Even so, don't startle me like that! You may not kill me with that blast but you will kill me with a heart attack!" Bulma yelled at him.
Vegeta chuckled, "Oh, you won't die so long as you're by my side. I am the God of Destruction, the one responsible for death and devastation, remember?"
Bulma raised her chin in the air and huffed haughtily back at him, giving him a sideway glare.
"So, aside from your power limiter and this necklace, are there other Shinpogus?" she asked.
"Yeah, there are different Shinpogus across the multiverse. I used to be the holder of one of the most powerful Shinpogus known to the gods, the Rapier of Divine Punishment, Judici Divi Rahpye. It was given to me by the King of All as a reward after I won the exhibition match the Gods of Destruction did 900 years ago. I remember he told me that it would be useful to me in the future, which I highly doubted."
"Used? You mean you don't hold it anymore?"
His eyes suddenly grew cold as anger seeped through his dark obsidian irises, "Yeah, it was stolen from me during one of my deepest sleeps," he growled dangerously. "I have never forgiven that bastard, whoever he is. I curse him to the deepest depths of hell! I want to rip him to pieces! Who in their right mind would try to steal something from me? Me! I am the God of Destruction of this entire Universe! I am the most powerful being around! I never understood how that bastard managed to steal that stupid rapier from me. I can't believe that just happened!"
"And you never found it again?"
"Never again! Whis and I searched throughout the Seventh Universe but I never found it. I honestly thought that once King Zen found out what happened to it, he would turn to King Mu and obliterate me. But they never knew or perhaps never cared. Even Whis was never that worried. So after that, I stopped caring about the Judici Divi Rahpye. I have no need for such a puny weapon after all. A Saiyan warrior such as myself never depended on using such things in battle. However, I still cannot forgive myself for being so carelessly oblivious that day. I had a dream of fighting a stronger version of myself and I took it as a sign to break my own limits and grow stronger than what I was so that incident won't ever happen again. That's why I trained so hard after that day in order to become much stronger than before. Strength is what matters most to me after all."
After that, they came down to the dining area of the Yonsei Hotel to meet up with Rocky and the others.
Vegeta found Vanilla trudging her way to the dine-in area for her breakfast. Vanilla gasped and was taken aback by his presence due to fear, freezing her in place as the God of Destruction approached her.
"I see you're limping. That's quite a small price to pay after you cursed someone just to have your revenge," Vegeta smirked, but his tone of voice was cold.
Vanilla asked, "How did you know?"
"I am the God of Destruction, of course I would know about such dark desires in a mortal's heart," Vegeta reminded her. "I actually hate human trash like you. I wouldn't have to save you from your foolishness if not for Bulma pleading with me for your life. You should be thankful that the God of Destruction is in quite a good mood to listen to a mortal's plea to show you mercy. If you ever curse anyone again, I will make sure that your next karma will be even more devastating than just a sprained ankle."
Vanilla turned to face Bulma, then she lowered her eyes in shame and told her in a low voice, "I won't ask you to forgive me for what I did. I really shouldn't face you like this and say that I'm sorry–"
Bulma approached Vanilla, her face looked intimidating as she did. Then she slapped Vanilla across the face, "Don't think that because I asked Vegeta to save you from hellfire that I have already forgiven you for almost killing me. You even planned to wish for him to destroy me out of my existence. So don't count on it anytime."
With that, they proceeded to the table where Rocky and the others were waiting for them.
Braun was looking for his phone when he suddenly remembered what happened last night when Vegeta crushed his phone, "Ah! I forgot! Yonsei-san just–" Braun gasped.
Vegeta threw a white box in Braun's direction, which Braun was barely able to catch due to his surprise. When he looked at it, his eyes widened, "Woah! Is this the latest Y-Phone 18 Pro Max with 4TB of storage?!" he gasped.
"I had Whis transfer all of your files from your old one in there too, so I hope that it's enough compensation for breaking the old one."
"Why? What happened?" Bulma asked.
"He was looking for you and Vanilla yesterday but since we didn't know where you two went, he borrowed my phone and literally crushed it as if it was play dough. It was amazing I didn't even have the time to react," Braun said, trying to demonstrate how Vegeta crushed his phone.
"You're quite strong, Yonsei-san, you can do pretty much anything, can you?" Mint praised.
Vegeta simply rolled his eyes at her.
"Yeah, when he did that. I thought it was so cool!" Leiri agreed with an excited squeal.
"Vanilla told us that you are not human. Is that true?" Rocky asked.
"You don't really have to keep it a secret now. Not after what we've seen you do," Braun said.
"What do you think about that, Vegeta?" Bulma asked him.
"Nothing. I don't care," he responded coldly. Before he leaned on her ear and hissed, "I need to go. I have to discuss something with Whis real quick."
Bulma knew that he was just trying to excuse himself out of the conversation.
"It's fine. Talk to normal people, too." Bulma whispered in his ear. Vegeta grunted as he conceded, sitting back down next to her and grumbling incoherent alien words.
For some reason, Vegeta demeanor suddenly changed and it made the humans intimidated by him, so they immediately quieted and stopped pestering him with questions.
They started eating their breakfast in silence.
A few moments later, Rocky was scrolling through his smartphone when he saw the news about the mysterious disappearance of the Princess of the Pearl passenger cruise ship three weeks ago.
"So I guess they still haven't found that missing passenger cruise ship, huh?" he muttered.
"Yeah, it's been three weeks since it disappeared out of thin air," Mocha was saying. "I read that it vanished right where Magus Island showed up."
Vegeta watched Rocky intensely as the human saw interest in this phenomena. This got his attention as he knew that the missing cruise ship was the one that he materialized out of thin air in the Sanju River the time he was about to take Granolah's soul to Jigoku. Still, the appearance of that eerie island and that time rift couldn't possibly be coincidental as it appeared in the same place where he seized that cruise ship from the mortal realm. There's something strange about this.
Vegeta leaned back to the backrest of his seat, crossing his arms over his chest and said, "You seem intrigued by this mysterious phenomena, huh?"
"Yes, if only there was a way for us to reach Magus Island or know anything about that ship's disappearance, we could have it covered in one of our vlogs," Rocky admitted.
Vegeta nodded in agreement. "Then why don't we go in there?" he offered.
They turned their heads in his direction in surprise.
"Hey, isn't that dangerous?" Bulma asked.
"Don't worry, I will be with you. Plus, I needed to investigate that place as well," he told her.
"I will contact someone to take us there in my private cruise ship. We will be staying there for three days. Bulma and I will see you at the port in an hour," Vegeta told everyone.
"Oh yes!" Rocky, Braun, and Leiri suddenly yelped in excitement, completely unaware of the dangers Vegeta was planning to do on that island.
"I can't believe this! He truly is on a different level," Mint gasped in complete astonishment along with her friends as they all watched from afar the approaching massive luxurious cruise ship which Vegeta claimed to be his personal way of sea travel. They were all waiting by the private port owned by the Yonsei Group at the outskirts of the West City.
"Yes, I'm jealous, Bulma-san," Mocha told Bulma.
Bulma just grinned back at her sheepishly. Her cheeks flushed. She turned her eyes to look at Vegeta, who was staring right ahead of him with a deep serious look. She wondered what he was thinking. Why was this 'mystical island adventure' so sudden?
"Hey, Vanilla! I think you should just stay here. I don't think you can join us with that sprained ankle of yours," Rocky told his girlfriend.
"Yeah, are you even sure you can make it?" Mint asked her friend anxiously.
"Of course I can! It's just a sprained ankle! Plus, you guys are coming, I should come with you, too," Vanilla insisted with a smile. Then she shifted her dubious gaze towards Vegeta's direction. The God of Destruction's icy stare focused on her. She frowned, suspecting that he was planning something quite sinister for some reason but she couldn't point what it was.
Bulma and Vanilla looked at each other. It seemed that the both of them knew that Vegeta was up to something.
Once the ship had docked on the Yonsei Group's private port, Vegeta led the group with Bulma close by his side as he held her hand, followed by Whis. Rocky, Braun, and Leiri carrying their vlogging equipment with them.
Vanilla hesitated to step into the ship, causing Mint and Mocha, who were assisting her with walking, to look at her.
"What's the matter, Vanilla?" asked Mocha.
Vanilla stared up on the ship, looking at Vegeta who was waiting for them with the others. She doesn't understand why she was feeling like something bad was going to happen to them if they follow Vegeta on that island.
"If you're not feeling up to it, then don't come with us," Vegeta told her. "You will only get in our way. Plus, we have no need for someone who couldn't walk properly."
Vanilla frowned at that, "What are you planning? Really?"
"A vacation. An investigation. I am just as curious about Magus Island as you and your friends are."
"You're not planning to destroy us all in there, do you?" Vanilla whispered.
Mocha and Mint turned to Vanilla, "Huh? What are you talking about, Vanilla? Why would Yonsei-san do that?"
Vegeta chuckled darkly as he let out a wicked smirk, "Why? Are you afraid that I would do that?" he asked mockingly. "If you are afraid, then stay here."
"No, I won't. I will come with you," Vanilla insisted.
"Then what the hell are you waiting for?! Make up your damn mind, woman! I couldnt care less whether you come with us or not! Just stop wasting my time!"
Mint and Mocha shrieked at his imperious tone of voice and quickly apologized for making him wait due to Vanilla's indecision. Vegeta sure was terrifying when he's angry. His furious yell made them scamper quickly into the ship. Soon, they were sailing across the sea towards Magus Island.
A few minutes later…
Vegeta was standing on the deck just right in front of the cruise ship's bow, overlooking the waves of the clear, blue sea.
Not far away, he could see the mystical Magus Island appearing in the horizon. The sight of the uncanny isle made the God of Destruction's eyes darken and narrow in suspicion. At that moment, everyone suddenly turned to him as if they felt something oddly intimidating happened to him. It was as if they were able to sense the chilling and terrifying waves of invisible but formidable aura he was purposely letting out at that moment.
Noticing his scary demeanor, Bulma walked towards him, touched his arm, and asked in concern in her hopes of calming him down, "You okay?"
"Yeah," he responded coldly, his hard gaze staring straight at that small island.
Bulma turned to stare at what he was also looking at.
"That place looks and feels creepier than what I expected it to be," she commented, shuddering and rubbing her arms with her hands, feeling a chill run down her spine.
Vegeta turned to her and asked, "Are you afraid?"
"No," she answered. "You are with us, what else could happen?"
He snorted. Has this woman completely forgotten that he is the God of Destruction, the most dangerous being in the entire Universe? Of course, anything bad could happen in his presence alone.
"Vanilla was smart enough to know the dangers of coming in here. The others are already aware that I am not just an ordinary human, it seems that after the Truth or Dare game, they already suspect what I truly am but they weren't so sure about it. You know what I am capable of. While I do think that all of you are fools, I do commend you for your guts to come with me in here."
"I guess it's true what they say. You can't keep an adventurous spirit from exploring even the most dangerous place known to man," Bulma chuckled.
Vegeta simply snorted back at her.
They observed the island zooming into their view as the ship approached it.
"So this is the place that shouldn't exist, huh? The one you're talking about, which is why you needed to conceal your identity to become Yokori Ayanami Yonsei-san," Bulma said.
"Yeah."
"You said that you came here to investigate. What are you looking for? Is it a human being?" she asked.
"I don't know. Maybe..." Vegeta replied with uncertainty. "But I'm sure it would be a lot of things."
Vegeta's eyes darkened even more as he gazed at the sight of the Magus Island with such intensity. He could sense something that's eerily familiar in this place. The voice calling out to him was still there. He can't exactly recognize what it was, but he could feel that whatever it was, it was making him feel uneasy in his heart for some reason.
"I heard that voice before but I never noticed this feeling the first time I came here after Freya's summoning. What's with this darn island? Why do I feel like I've been here a very long time ago? Impossible! If such a place existed before, I should be able to recognize this place. But no, I've never seen or known this place before. Is this some sort of deja vu? Whatever it is, I don't like it," he thought.
He balled his hands into tight fists on his sides. The invincible aura surrounding him intensified. His black irises lightened up and blazed with its destructive glow.