Chapter 6
He watched as the Saiyan annihilated race after race. He was getting faster. In his dream, he could plainly see Goku releasing millions of souls onto one planet after another before they eradicated said world’s population. After letting the deceased beings kill them, he’d fly to another planet to personally wipe out all life on it.
His body became bathed in the blood of entire races' remains before none were left. He noticed with great trepidation how swiftly Goku was growing accustomed to his new powers. Within less than half an hour’s time, he had killed more than a hundred planets’ population. And he was still getting faster. He tossed and turned in his sleep as he watched.
He is cutting off my source of energy! He yelled. I’m growing weaker with each planet’s population he wipes out!
Everything was going according to the Super Saiyan’s plan. In the thousand years he had been the lord of the Soul Room, he’d never held such pleasure. He watched as it unfolded before him.
The Soul Room allowed him to see anything in the universe occurring in the past or present. And right now, there was nothing the original Super Saiyan wanted to see more than just desserts. Watching Goku obliterate planet after planet was more than glorious, it was cathartic. It was relieving on a level no mortal could ever experience.
This universe has gone without punishment for far too long. He thought. I delivered the grandest justice ever seen when I transformed…and to think Goku’s will be even greater.
He then turned his attention to all the souls that composed him, the portion of the Trampled Innocence that the original Super Saiyan avenged. While the original did avenge each person that had created his transformation, they still flowed through him. Even while they were still alive or at least not in the afterlife, their essence still existed in the Soul Room. Just as all life did, dead or alive. And even if Goku was releasing the souls killed by Freeza and other tyrants, the first Super Saiyan was still intertwined with them.
I am glad you know you’ve been avenged. He said to those empowering Goku. With all my sincerest beliefs, you deserve to know what true justice is like.
He then concentrated on one soul out of the trillions in the universe.
I will see you soon. He said.
“So that is your true intention after all?” a familiar voice said. “To be reunited with your better half?”
The first Super Saiyan winced at the sound of the voice. He curled his hands into fists, anger erupting from his heart. He could feel even the other souls composing him grow angry at his tone.
“What do you want?” the original Super Saiyan asked.
“I merely came to witness the person corrupting my star pupil,” the Kai of the North said. “I wished to understand your reasoning for tainting the heart of a pure man but also why you wished to destroy so much sentient life.”
“You know why,” the first Super Saiyan said, his anger boiling over. “It is because cowards like you refuse to help the ordinary man. Mortals, like us, are at the mercy of evil men and must carve out an existence under their reign. And when we strike back at our oppressors…”
He transferred his anger and images of innocents being slaughtered to King Kai.
“You tell us to call off our plea for justice,” the original Super Saiyan said. “Because you do not want to be called biased.”
“I thought I told you before, Yamoshi,” King Kai said. “In the past, us Kais had a great role in dealing with mortal affairs. We observed and gave our judgment of matters between mortals often, our courts filled with-”
“Do not call me by that name!” the original Super Saiyan shouted at him. “You know not to call me by that name! I am no longer that person! I am composed of the various souls you failed to protect! I am more of a guardian of the universe than you, so do not address me by my mortal name!”
“But that was your name,” King Kai answered. “Long ago, before you became this wretched monster of hatred and despair you were once the kind and gentle Yamoshi…”
The original Super Saiyan was straining at this point, trying at every opportunity not to think about his time as a mortal. He hated it. He hated thinking about it worse than any other atrocity. No matter how many children were slaughtered, women captured and violated, cities toppled or forests and gardens burned to the ground…it wasn’t enough for the Saiyans bloodlust.
He hated the very name he once went by, despising that existence so much. Just saying his old name, his Saiyan name, was enough to bring up horrible, horrible, images. The constant lust for battle his people had, where they would invade other Saiyan villages for no reason. No want for food, for water, for slaves, just the desire to kill and test their power.
They did it to other planets too. When the Saiyans had no one that could compete with their strength in their home world, they would arrive at others. In their search for strong fighters, they utterly devastated many worlds so that hardly anyone remained alive. Considering how strong Saiyans were in those days, there was no one that could stand up to them. As ferocious as more modern Saiyans were, those from a thousand years ago were about ten times as strong as the more modern ones born on Planet Vegeta.
If word got out that a Saiyan fleet was invading your home planet, almost no one fought. They merely fled with all their valuables as fast as possible. And the original Super Saiyan saw it all. And worse yet, they wanted him to join them.
“My own race…” the first Super Saiyan said. “Amongst the worst of the worst…the most evil and powerful people this universe has seen…”
A deep sorrow filled him as he thought of that moniker, as he remembered the lost soul who called him that most sweetly.
“I hated my existence on our home planet of Salada,” he said. “And my only regret…”
His anger flared, causing his body to turn bright red.
“IS THAT I NEVER WAS ABLE TO KILL ALL THE SAIYANS MYSELF!” the first said. “THEIR DESTRUCTION WAS MY JOY! THEIR TEARS OF DESPAIR AND PAIN MUSIC TO MY EARS! THE CRUNCH OF THEIR BONES AND THE SIGHT OF THEIR BLOOD POOLING AROUND ME THE GREATEST OF ECSTASIES!”
His wrath only grew as he thought of the last moments he saw the lost soul he loved die before his eyes. She called his name, his Saiyan name, out to him just before her life fled this mortal realm. The emptiness that remained from her leaving could still be felt.
As his anger grew, the Soul Room itself turned bright red. Blood colored energy washed over the formerly light blue world he’d inhabited for one thousand years. It became a beacon of crimson, surrounding him in bright light.
“I DESPISE MY SAIYAN NAME!” he shouted. “I DESPISE IT AND DESPISE THE PUTRID RATS WHO GAVE IT TO ME!”
He bent over in anger, yelling with all the force he could.
“THEY LACKED ALL SENSE OF LOVE!” the original Super Saiyan shouted. “THEY GAVE NO AFFECTION TO THEIR OWN CHILDREN! DEVOID OF COMPASSION AND EMPATHY THEY DESTROYED EVERYTHING PURE AND GOOD, UNTIL THERE WAS NOTHING LEFT!”
He then directed his shouting up at King Kai.
“AND WHEN I REFUSED TO HELP THEM PILLAGE AND BURN, THEY KILLED MY GREATEST TREASURE!” the original Super Saiyan said. “THE THING I ADORED AND PROTECTED ABOVE ALL ELSE! FOR NO OTHER REASON THAN MY PURITY OF HEART! AND ONLY THEN DID I WIPE ALMOST THEIR ENTIRETY FROM EXISTENCE!”
He could sense King Kai’s quivering upon hearing this, his soul shaking at his words. As strong a soul as the North Kai was, the might with which the original yelled was overwhelming. His voice could have killed anyone else less strong.
“AND YOU DARE CALL ME A MONSTER FOR SUCH THINGS?!” the original Super Saiyan said. “YOU DARE CALL ME WARPED BY EVIL?! TELL ME…WHERE WERE YOU WHEN MY PEOPLE, THE SAIYANS, MOUNTED BODY UPON BODY OF THE SLAIN?! WHERE WERE YOU WHEN THEY KILLED BILLIONS FOR SPORT?! WHERE WERE YOU WHEN MY TREASURED LOVER DIED AT THE HANDS OF THE WICKED?! WHERE WERE YOU, YOU HYPOCRITICAL COWARDS?!”
King Kai did not respond at first, clearly waiting for the original Super Saiyan to calm down. It was only after the red light that filled the Soul Room faded that he spoke again. When the realm between the living and the dead was no longer cast in the color of blood, he replied. However, his anger was still palpable.
“Are you finished with your tirade?” King Kai asked. “Your childish rants do not ward me off.”
“And now you dare tell me to cut off the souls feeding Goku’s transformation?” the original Super Saiyan asked. “You make me sick.”
“You act as though I am responsible for what happened to your lover and those killed by the Saiyans,” the Kai of the North said. “When in reality I was not involved in the least.”
Agitation rose up within the first Super Saiyan, wondering if he should cut the connection between them in that instant.
“And that is precisely why I blame you,” the first Super Saiyan said. “For all the titles you Kais and Supreme Kais and whatever, you never act when evil is afoot. And because you do not intervene when oppression is about to be brought forth, those with power and morals must interact. And you are angered by my concern for the justice of the Trampled Innocence.”
“You call this justice?” King Kai asked. “Goku had finished killing the entirety of the Hera clan before I called you.”
“So?” the original Super Saiyan asked.
“SO?!” the King of the North shouted. “SO?! The Hera were nothing like the frost demons or Saiyans! They were a good people that lived in peace and haven't made war with anyone in two-hundred years! You constantly cry about the slaughtering of innocent people yet you cheer and champion the deaths of an entire race that did no wrong?!”
“You cannot tell me there was no evil among them,” the first said. “They were not as good as the Nameks or Monim.”
“So because they were not good in comparison it is okay to kill them all?!” King Kai shouted. “Goku destroyed an entire people because of what their ancestors had done?! It was their ancestors who paid for the planet after Freeza’s men wiped it out! The Hera had no part in killing them!”
“They took the spoils of innocents and you defend them?!” the first Super Saiyan cried. “The Hera lived on Agarian soil for hundreds of years while they lingered in the afterlife. It is not fair for the Hera to have dominion over Agar when it was originally their’s.”
“To think you called me a hypocrite,” King Kia said. “You scream and whine about justice but kill an entire planet because of something their ancestors did more than eight hundred years ago. Do you even have the slightest idea how demented you are?”
“If you’re trying to guilt me into agreeing with you,” the first said. “And stopping Goku’s rampage, I’d advise you to stop wasting your breath and leave. I have no intention of feeling sorry for any victims of the Trampled Innocence. Sinners must pay for their sins.”
“And what was the sin of the Hera killed by Goku?” King Kai asked. “To be related to those who, hundreds of years ago, bid on a planet that no one lived on when their home was gone?”
“The anger of the Agarians still remains,” the first Super Saiyan said. “Whether the Hera are sorry for what happened or contributed to it, the Agarians’ anger is still within them. It has been building for more than eight hundred years and Goku finally released it. Blood must be paid for with blood, even if the payment is not made by the original instigator of blood.”
“Your logic is so crazy and nonsensical!” King Kai said. “You’re willing to let millions die just to let some petty grudge from the distant past be brought forth?!”
“So genocide is a petty grudge?” the first asked. “You Kais. So self-righteous yet so blind to-”
“You truly are no longer Yamoshi!” King Kai shouted. “And your lover from that thousand years ago would say the same!”
This made the first Super Saiyan stop running his mouth, unable to speak. A mix of anger, sorrow and shock filled him. He almost thought the Soul Room would overflow with his anger again, the jolt to his heart from the North Kai’s words gave him such an impact.
“The Trampled Innocence…” King Kai said. “It has so merged with your being you cannot see past the anger of the souls that compose your heart and mind. I understand the fury these victims give you…truly I do. But, whether they are righteous or not…”
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
A somber silence followed.
“You have no more individuality,” the Kia of the North said. “These different individuals, stretching across untold thousands of years of history within the galaxy…they now are attached to you in such a way you cannot separate yourself from them. You have no more remained Yamoshi than a drop of water has remained itself in an ocean.”
The original Super Saiyan could feel King Kai exert his pressure onto him, their dueling desires clashing.
“So mixed in your soul is with these others,” the Kai explained. “All begging for destruction of those who did them wrong, you have lost your own, individual, reason for living. Existence to you is nothing more than palpable hatred and murderous intention. It is not your hatred that has consumed you…merely the hatred of others that drives you.”
Anger rose up in the first’s heart.
“The Trampled Innocence…” King Kai said. “So devious they not only entice you to madness with their own anger but fan the flames of your greatest loss. I think there is no greater suffering than when a good man turns evil, whether it be from greed, loss or apathy. And you…you have turned the purest man I even met into that. You turned Goku into a genocider.”
“You have done that yourself,” the original Super Saiyan said. “The souls that compose me are angry no one came to their defense. If the Kais that rule us do nothing to stop tyrants, what are they good for?”
“Because we have tried that and it failed,” North Kai said. “As I tried telling you, us rulers of the universe deliberately intervened in every skirmish within our boundaries. Any time a planet was attacked we would do our best to stop it either through our direct power or sending a mortal emissary. However, when we did, this only weakened the attackers since we wiped out their military. Their race, then devoid of capable fighters, would be prey for another hostile group.”
“I don’t see the reason a group of invaders shouldn’t be punished for their crimes,” the first Super Saiyan said.
“But it wouldn’t just be the invaders punished,” King Kai answered. “Civilians are not the same as the governments that can control them. Once us Kais killed the soldiers of each planet’s fighting force, the civilians of those defeated armies’ planets would have no protection. Thus, we would then need to come up with a new strategy to protect the new, helpless victims with no way to defend themselves.”
“Freeza was not like that,” the original Super Saiyan replied. “Neither were the Saiyans. Not only were the civilians of each race evil, they still had a mighty army to defend them from invaders even without their strongest warriors. Your attempt to put off responsibility for the tragedies occurring in your sphere of influence-”
“Let me finish,” King Kai said. “You childish mortal.”
The original Super Saiyan sent a rush of anger at the Kai of the North through their telepathic connection.
“I am no longer mortal,” he replied. “I have reached beyond that level of existence.”
“You certainly act as simple minded as a mortal,” the North Kai said. “Anyway, us Kais could not stop taking sides. Permanent sides. Each of us felt obliged to keep aiding the races that had been victimized, even after their enemies had been defeated. It resulted in different Kais arguing against one another, trying to proclaim victimhood over other races. This resulted in war between East Kai and West Kai as the races they chose to represent were in enmity with one another. After that, the rulers of Otherworld couldn’t take it and us Kais were no longer allowed to aid so directly in mortals’ lives.”
“And this is relevant because…?” the original Super Saiyan asked.
“You are making the same mistake,” King Kai answered. “This constant intervening between races caused many problems. The mortals we attempted to protect kept accusing us of taking sides and being biased to certain races rather than others, which was true…to some extent. Order and war are natural parts of life for mortals. To intervene and stop that is to stop the flow of the universe’s order. You must accept the brutalities of life or you yourself will be given to the worst of brutalities.”
“You act as though trying to defend the innocent is taking sides,” the Super Saiyan said. “Is it taking sides when a man attempts to stop a murder from taking place? That is your level of apathy.”
“I was anything but apathetic in those days,” King Kai said. “And it is taking sides. We attempted to only take the weakest and most helpless side. But with enough support through whatever means we provided, those weak and helpless races became powerful…powerful enough to become a problem.”
“I still don’t see what this has to do with Freeza or the Saiyans,” the original Super Saiyan said. “You are not changing my mind. I will not call off Goku.”
“But don’t you see?!” King Kai cried. “We were enmeshed in the same problem Goku finds himself in! Determining who is oppressed and who is not was more complicated than just the outward appearance of military feebleness! In some cases, the tyrants that invaded and took the attacked planets by force founded better governments than the original inhabitants! And at other times, the invading forces came from a planet that suffered ecological disaster! They had no choice but to leave for a new world to survive.”
“The Namekians suffered a great drought and their race still carried on without resorting to violence,” the original Super Saiyan replied.
“Barely,” King Kai answered. “The Namekians could have flourished had they invaded another planet to take it by force when Namek was under crisis! Most races would have taken another planet by force if their own home world was made uninhabitable! And oftentimes…the original inhabitants were not peaceful themselves. Most civilizations have had wars amongst their own races, killing large portions of their brethren to cement their own empire. In that way, is it right to call an invading army that tries to build its empire on a different world evil when that world has experienced that same thing before.”
The original Super Saiyan’s anger rose again, disgusted by the North Kai’s words.
“So you are apologizing for war criminals,” the original said. “Your words only make me hate you more with each passing minute.”
“And you ask us Kais to constantly intervene in such complicated affairs,” King Kai said. “By intervening and being forced to choose one race over another we soon became entangled with a mess of complications. When we intervened or sent emissaries in our place to do so, it often backfired. The invading forces would appear before our courts with a grievance.”
“So then help them,” the original Super Saiyan answered. “Help them find a new planet or restore their own. I’m sure a Kai could find a solution that does not require violence.”
“But the sheer number of appearances in our courts became a problem,” King Kai said. “Since we did everything in our power to ward off invasion after invasion, it only became customary for us to invite smaller matters into our courts. And they exhausted us. Absolutely exhausted us. Not only would we have to cover each one with a fine toothed comb, but since they were millions upon millions we had to observe, there was literally no end.”
“I fail to pity one whose duty it is to protect the galaxy,” the original Super Saiyan said. “When they so adamantly choose to be apathetic.”
“You don’t understand,” King Kai said. “When we heard the cases in courts, it often forced us to choose one side over the other. We would have to mediate and judge one planet’s people over another in disputes. No matter what decision we made, someone was angry.”
“Evil should be made to feel angry,” the first Super Saiyan replied. “If they do not feel fearful or unsatisfied of committing atrocities then-”
“Not every side could be so neatly packaged into good or evil,” King Kai said. “Oppressor or non-oppressor. The cases ranged from how close a fleet of ships could get near a planet, if a colony of refugees could arrive on a densely habited planet, stopping pollution from filling a planet at the cost of the people not technologically advancing…some of it even covered how much money was offered in reparations to another race from a race that wronged them in the past.”
“And because it was too hard for you,” the first asked. “You just gave up listening to the denizens of the galaxy altogether? You washed your hands of them and allowed the hordes of vile Saiyans and tyrants like Freeza’s lineage to wipe out millions? Because that seems like a copout to me.”
“The Kais became hated in our time of direct intervention,” King Kai said. “Reviled.”
“I don’t see what that has to do with-” the original Super Saiyan attempted to say.
“We were despised for the same reason the Super Saiyan was feared across the galaxy,” King Kai cut him off. “No matter what we did, we displeased people. Our large, expansive bureaucracy meant to reduce harm only caused others to be disadvantaged. Each decision we made was at the expense of others. We were not seen as caretakers of the galaxy…merely bloated government heads that stuck its head in affairs not our own.”
“I am not the same,” the original Super Saiyan answered.
“You are,” King Kai answered. “Us Kais were not fit for the job for the same reason you Super Saiyans aren’t. Us Kais are not the same as mortals and, thus, we do not have an understanding of what it is like to live as one. Our lack of experience struggling, suffering, and loving made us devoid of making the best decisions for them. So we Kais decided to abandon the practice.”
The first could feel somber regret emanate from King Kai.
“Blinded by your rage and hate,” North Kai said. “You have done the same. You do not understand the history or conflicts of the people you claim to seek justice for beyond their angered bias. The Super Saiyan was the universe’s biggest threat because the lens through which they viewed conflict was too simple. Call off Goku…and we can save this universe another immense tragedy.”
The original laughed at the Kai’s request.
“Hmm,” he answered. “You think too highly of yourself to believe I’d acquiesce to such a request. Your recount of history has fallen on deaf ears.”
“Fine,” King Kai said. “But do you feel bad at those you sent to hell? Even the unjust ones?”
“Not in the least bit,” the original Super Saiyan answered. “For I feel no pity for those in hell.”
“I cannot believe your vindictiveness,” King Kai said. “Do you know where everyone killed by the Trampled Innocence even goes?!”
“Hell,” the original Super Saiyan replied. “Without exception. Why remind me?”
“And that is precisely the hypocrisy I am trying to show you!” King Kai yelled at him. “The Hera…a mostly peaceful people that were gaining a reputation for being better than warlike ancestors…the Trampled Innocence killed them all, without exception! If they had been wiped out by anyone else they would have joined the Trampled Innocence but…but because the Trampled Innocence sends to hell every victim…whether good or bad…”
As the original Super Saiyan could feel King Kai’s frustration grow, he took pleasure in it. It served him right for not doing more to stop Freeza. Or doing more to stop the Saiyans from killing his lover.
“And they are trapped in hell,” he said.
“True,” he answered. “I treasure their screams of torture.”
“Well I hope you are glad that you ruined the system that the Kais had established with those that died,” King Kai replied.
“Of course,” the first answered. “How could I forget your insistence on not punishing the wicked?”
“It was to be a rehabilitation and reformation system,” King Kai said. “By sending the evil doers to the lower portion of Otherworld, they would face sentencing and chastisement from below until we were sure they had turned over a new leaf. It’s a slow process but it has produced literally billions of reformed villains over the past thousands of years.”
“So if Goku did not kill Freeza and his vile race,” the original Super Saiyan asked. “Freeza would be pampered and cushioned until he becomes a nice guy?!”
“Everyone deserves a chance to start over,” King Kai said. “And we give that in death.”
“And while the wicked are given a second chance,” the original Super Saiyan said. “Those who were good in the mortal realm have to spend decades if not hundreds of years climbing to heaven above Otherworld. How is that fair?”
“You complain about fairness when everyone who is a part of the Trampled Innocence is allowed to go to heaven, if they wish?” King Kai asked. “Normally, those responsible for killing millions would not make it into the heaven above Otherworld but due to your position as ruler of the Soul Room, you make that happen. So tell me, how do you justify the entirety of the Hera suffering in Hell for eternity while every Agarian that killed them either facing no consequences as they gained their home world back or going to Heaven?”
“I justify it by the wickedness of Freeza’s armies that you failed to stop,” the original Super Saiyan answered. “I don’t care what your rationality for not intervening was. I took a stand against evil when you were too afraid to. The afterlife is only a reflection of the justice for individuals based on their actions in life.”
“You keep warping the afterlife in an unhealthy way,” King Kai responded. “You have blurred the boundaries between death and life in a way that is too chaotic. Ghost planets, the places in the universe where the souls of the dead roam free, is what you have left in your wake. Ghost planets have violated the strict boundary-”
“Between death and life,” the original Super Saiyan said. “Do you think I truly care? Do you think any of this will change my mind? I was born to barbarians who treated all weaker life as an opportunity to flex their killing instinct. My lover and I have parted ways for a thousand years due to my own brethren. I’ve watched as tyrants like Freeza rise with no one to stop them. And now Goku is here to change all that. Why should I care about your weak pleas?”
“I beg of you,” King Kai said. “Yamoshi…call off Goku. Stop this carnage…and maybe we can restore order to the universe in some other way.”
The original Super Saiyan laughed at him.
“Pleas from a coward,” he said. “That’s all I hear. I hope you enjoy the fireworks on display. Because Goku will champion the innocent who have been buried underfoot by evil for too long.”
He sensed intense anger from King Kai, the displeasure giving the original Super Saiyan a sense of joy. He felt triumph that the North Kai felt powerless. And then he said something rather shocking.
“I see I was right to try and stop your plans to create a new Super Saiyan,” King Kai said. “Once I caught onto your schemes, I only wish I had acted quicker. My only regret was Freeza not finishing the job.”
The original Super Saiyan’s sense of triumph and accomplishment became muddled.
“What?” the Super Saiyan asked. “Do…Do you mean-?”
And then it dawned on him.
“You knew of my plan?!” the original Super Saiyan asked. “But…but I–how?! I kept it well hidden!”
“You think I didn’t take special care to watch your actions?” King Kai asked. “While being subtle enough not to show my hand?”
“YOU-” the original Super Saiyan cried. “YOU TRIED TO-”
He felt bitterness well up inside him.
“YOU TRIED TO STOP THIS?!” the original shouted. “YOU TRIED TO STOP JUSTICE FROM BEING DISHED OUT?!”
North Kai went silent, afraid of saying anything further.
“I knew I should have observed you closer!” the original Super Saiyan cried. “I KNEW YOU DESPISED ME! To think…my plan could have been foiled by me not keeping tabs on you.”
He shook his head.
“You really are a snake in the grass,” the original Super Saiyan shouted. “Aren’t you?”
But King Kai had withdrawn his presence from the Soul Room before the original even finished speaking, with one final word.
“You took my greatest pupil away from the path of the protector,” North Kai said. “And for that, I will never forgive you.”