The aftermath of the battle was still fresh in the air, the stench of burnt metal and charred flesh thick in the atmosphere. The team had fought hard, struggling against wave after wave of brutal cyborgs. But after an exhausting and bloody confrontation, they had emerged victorious.

  Gogeta stood, panting heavily, his chest heaving as his fists clenched at his sides. He could feel his body sore from the battle, but there was something else—something stirring inside him. He had never fought like this before. It was his first real battle, and although it had cost them, he could feel his power surging. He had been pushed to his limits and beyond.

  Ryo clapped a hand on his shoulder, breaking him from his thoughts. "You did good, kid. You’ve got a real future in this. No one could’ve handled these cyborgs like that."

  Gogeta's eyes flicked toward Ryo, his expression unreadable. He was still absorbing the experience, trying to grasp the weight of what had just happened. The cyborgs had been relentless, but they weren’t the real threat. No, the true danger loomed ahead, even if none of them could feel it yet.

  Vale was quiet, standing off to the side, her arms crossed. Her eyes flicked between Gogeta and the fallen enemies, her expression inscrutable. She felt a gnawing frustration in the pit of her stomach, but she wasn’t about to show it. She had always prided herself on being better, stronger. But watching Gogeta handle himself with such raw power stirred something inside her—something she wasn’t ready to admit.

  "Impressive," Vale muttered under her breath, though it wasn’t clear whether it was meant for Gogeta or herself. Her fingers twitched as she resisted the urge to comment further.

  The team slowly began to gather around, taking stock of their surroundings and catching their breath. Derrick sat against a nearby rock, wiping the sweat from his brow. "That was a fight. Not bad for a bunch of rookies, huh?"

  “Yeah,” Ryo chimed in, “but it’s not over. There’s always a bigger fish.”

  With the adrenaline of battle beginning to fade, the group set up camp. They made a fire, shared some food, and took a moment to relax. The night stretched on, peaceful and oddly serene compared to the chaos they’d just survived.

  Gogeta sat slightly apart from the others, lost in thought. He had barely said a word since the battle ended, still processing everything that had happened. His mind replayed every moment—the close calls, the mistakes, the brief moments when his instincts had kicked in.

  Ryo, ever the approachable mentor, settled next to him. "Hey, don’t let it get to you. You’re improving faster than I ever thought. You’ve got potential."

  Vale, sitting a few feet away, caught the exchange. Her eyes narrowed, though she quickly masked the emotion that bubbled up inside her. Is he really improving that fast? she thought. She couldn’t deny it. Gogeta’s progression was undeniable.

  There was a lingering tension between them, something unspoken but heavy in the air. Vale quickly pushed the thought aside, unwilling to let her emotions interfere.

  "So," Derrick broke the silence, "who’s got stories of epic battles? You know, the stuff we’ve all heard about but never lived through?"

  "Epic battles, huh?" Ryo smirked, clearly enjoying the mood shift. "I’ve been in my fair share. But nothing compares to what’s coming next."

  Vale raised an eyebrow. "Next? You’re not planning something crazy, are you?"

  Ryo laughed, but there was an edge to it. "The next mission is gonna be even tougher than this. The Academy didn’t send us here just for a warm-up. Trust me."

  The team laughed and joked, the tension from earlier fading away. They ate, they joked, and for a brief moment, everything seemed normal again. There was an undeniable camaraderie that had formed between them in the heat of battle.

  But that peace wouldn’t last long.

  The next morning, the air was still. The horizon shimmered with the light of a new day, and the team packed up their camp, ready to head out. But as they prepared to leave, a strange sensation filled the air—a deep, humming vibration that seemed to make the ground tremble.

  Without warning, the sky above them tore open like fabric. A ship—no, a cosmic entity—plummeted toward the ground at an impossible speed, streaking across the sky in a brilliant blur of colors. The ship was unlike anything they had ever seen, its surface like the cosmos itself, pulsing with a dark energy that made the air crackle.

  “Get back!” Ryo barked, his voice strained with urgency. “It’s not what we think.”

  Before anyone could react, the ship landed with a force that rattled the earth beneath them. Its hull shimmered like the night sky, and the air around it rippled.

  The hatch opened slowly, and from within, two beings stepped out.

  They were humanoid in shape but unlike anything the team had seen. Their bodies glowed with an eerie, otherworldly light, their chests pulsating with the deep, steady beat of stars within. They were Celestials—beings of unimaginable power, with the ability to manipulate stars themselves. Their eyes glowed with the coldness of deep space, scanning the team, assessing them with an intensity that sent chills through everyone’s spine.

  Ryo’s face turned pale. "No... no, no, no. This can’t be happening."

  Vale’s heart pounded in her chest. These beings weren’t just another threat—they were beyond anything they had faced.

  The Celestials stood tall, their presence commanding the very air. Their voices echoed through the valley like a thousand whispers.

  "Scanning... Power levels... Weak."

  One of the Celestials glanced toward the other, and a sharp, metallic laugh filled the air. “They don’t even deserve to be called warriors.”

  Gogeta’s stomach churned, his instincts screaming that this wasn’t just a fight—it was a death sentence.

  Ryo stepped forward, his voice steady despite the fear in his eyes. "Don’t do anything stupid. These beings are... Celestials. They are beyond us. We need to run."

  But before Ryo could finish, Derrick, always eager for a fight, broke rank. "What are we waiting for? Let’s do this!"

  Gogeta's eyes widened as Derrick charged toward the Celestials without hesitation. His power surged forward, but the Celestial simply turned its head, its eyes glowing brighter.

  “No...” Ryo shouted in horror.

  In the blink of an eye, the Celestial reached Derrick, grabbing him with a speed that no one could react to. Derrick’s face twisted with confusion as the Celestial effortlessly chopped off his head, his body crumpling lifeless to the ground.

  The others stood frozen in disbelief, the scene unfolding before them like a nightmare.

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  “Derrick... NO!” Vale screamed, her voice filled with anguish.

  The Celestial turned its gaze toward Ryo, an eerie silence falling over the group. Ryo raised his hands, trying to shield himself, but the Celestial didn’t hesitate. It moved in an instant, and Ryo’s body was crushed under a brutal, merciless onslaught.

  Ryo's screams echoed as the Celestial pummeled him relentlessly. His arm was twisted at an unnatural angle, and with a swift motion, the Celestial ripped it off. His eye was stabbed, and the force of the attack left him writhing in pain.

  Vale, paralyzed with fear, couldn’t even move as the other Celestial stepped toward her. Without warning, it stomped on her chest, sending shockwaves of pain through her body. She gasped for air, but every breath was a struggle.

  The team was falling apart, one by one.

  The hacker kid, panicked, whispered to Gogeta, his voice barely a breath. “Do something! You have to stop them!”

  But Gogeta wasn’t listening. His body trembled with fury, his mind racing. Derrick... Ryo... Why didn’t I move sooner? Why didn’t I charge? His eyes were wild with grief and anger, the weight of his failure crushing him.

  The healer girl, wide-eyed and trembling, backed away in fear, muttering to herself. "I don’t want to die... I don’t want to die..."

  And then it happened. Gogeta snapped.

  A primal roar ripped from his throat. "RAAAAGH!" His aura flared to life, burning with a raw, untamed power. His hair flared golden, his energy crackling in the air as if it could tear the world apart. His eyes burned with the memory of Derrick’s lifeless body, of Ryo’s screams.

  He was no longer the same.

  In a blink, he was gone.

  He appeared before the Celestial tormenting Vale, his fist slamming into its chest with a force that sent shockwaves through the air. The Celestial staggered back, its form flickering, momentarily stunned by the sheer power Gogeta unleashed.

  He wasn’t thinking anymore—he wasn’t holding back. Every punch was filled with rage, with grief, with every emotion he had bottled up. The Celestial fought back, but Gogeta matched its every move, his energy surging like a storm.

  Vale, struggling to breathe, couldn’t tear her eyes away. The rage in Gogeta’s eyes was something she had never seen before. His power was terrifying. And for the first time, she realized something—she couldn’t stand a chance if she joined this fight.

  Gogeta was no longer just a kid with potential. He had transformed.

  And the Celestials... they were about to learn what it meant to face a Saiyan pushed to his absolute limit.

  Chapter Title: Shattered Hope

  ---

  False Dawn

  The battlefield crackled with an unsettling calm, only interrupted by the sharp hum of energy in the air. Gogeta stood at the center, his golden aura blazing like the sun itself. His heart pounded, each beat a desperate reminder of the weight on his shoulders—the lives of his fallen teammates.

  His fists flew with precision, a blur of motion as he clashed against the first Celestial. His blows were fast, measured, but each hit felt hollow. No matter how hard he fought, the creature wouldn’t fall. The Celestial’s star-forged mace swung with brutal force, but Gogeta dodged, retaliating with ki-charged elbows and devastating kicks. The first Celestial staggered, its armor fracturing under the relentless assault.

  Ryo’s voice cut through the air, strained but determined. “Keep going, Gogeta! Don’t let up!”

  Blood dripped from a gash in Ryo’s lip as he grappled with the second Celestial. His movements were a frantic dance of survival, each dodge a narrow escape from the Celestial’s massive knives. He lunged, his sword-style strikes glinting, but the creature barely flinched.

  Vale, ever the acrobat, darted in with a spinning kick to the first Celestial’s temple. "They’re slowing down! We can do this!" Her voice was filled with rare optimism, but the hacker kid, trembling behind a shattered boulder, couldn’t hide the panic in his eyes.

  “Their cores… aim for the glowing spots! That’s their weakness!”

  Gogeta’s eyes locked on the glowing weakness at the Celestial’s chest. Without hesitation, he unleashed a barrage of ki blasts, the energy spiraling into the Celestial’s chest. The creature howled, its star-core flickering with instability as cracks spread across its body. The Celestial seemed to crumple, its massive form sagging under the barrage.

  The Illusion Cracks

  For a brief moment, victory seemed within reach. Ryo grinned, wiping blood from his chin. "We’ve got this! Just—"

  Before he could finish, a wet crunch reverberated through the air.

  The second Celestial’s mace crushed through Ryo’s guard, the force pulverizing his ribs. Ryo gasped, eyes wide in shock, as the creature yanked him toward it. “Pathetic,” it sneered, its voice like the grinding of collapsing stars. With one vicious twist, the Celestial tore Ryo’s arm clean off, then drove its knife into his eye socket. The world seemed to slow, but there was no time to react. Ryo’s body fell to the ground, lifeless.

  "NO!" Vale screamed, her heart shattering. Her voice was a piercing cry of grief and rage. She barely had time to react before the first Celestial, having recovered swiftly, backhanded her into the cliffside. The sound of bones breaking was sickening, and Vale crumpled to the ground, blood spilling from her lips.

  The healer girl, trembling and wide-eyed, scrambled backward, hands glowing with panicked healing energy. “I-I don’t want to die!” she whimpered.

  The second Celestial flicked its wrist. A beam of condensed starlight shot through her chest, vaporizing her instantly. She didn’t even have a chance to scream.

  The hacker kid stood frozen in shock, tears streaming down his face. “Gogeta… please…”

  Gogeta’s breath hitched, his heart clenched with unbearable grief. Ryo… gone. Vale… lost. His golden aura flickered, then exploded, scalding the air around him. A primal rage surged through his body, the loss of his friends igniting a fury that surged uncontrollably within him.

  Vergil’s Shadow

  The first Celestial lunged, mace raised high. Gogeta’s golden aura flared violently as he caught the massive weapon mid-swing, twisting it like a twig. With a savage roar, he drove his fist through the creature’s chest, shattering its star-core into a million pieces. Star-like shards scattered through the air as the Celestial’s body slumped to the ground, lifeless.

  This is it, Gogeta thought. Victory.

  But the second Celestial wasn’t finished. It floated upward, the blood of Ryo still dripping from its knife. It looked at Gogeta with disdain. “Fool,” it mocked, its voice echoing with cosmic authority. “We are eternal.”

  The first Celestial’s shattered body began to reassemble, starlight knitting its wounds together. Within moments, it was whole again, ready for battle.

  Together, the two Celestials raised their hands. The sky darkened, swirling as a black hole formed above, pulling the very earth into its gravity.

  The Fall

  Vale staggered to her feet, blood drenching her clothes, her energy flickering. "Gogeta…" she rasped, her voice filled with pain. “Run…”

  With her final breath, she launched a desperate, blinding Taiyoken, a flash of light that temporarily blinded the Celestials. It bought her mere seconds, but it was enough. She lunged forward, energy flaring as she aimed for the first Celestial with one final, powerful strike.

  Her legs were crushed instantly by the Celestial’s mace. She gasped for breath as the knife plunged through her chest. "I… fought for you…" she whispered, her final words a broken promise.

  The Celestial’s energy surged, disintegrating Vale’s body where she lay. Gogeta’s roar split the sky. His aura flared, hotter than ever. He was no longer just a warrior—he was a force of nature, one with the fury of a dying star.

  He charged, a hurricane of ki and fury, his speed a blur. But as he neared, the Celestials moved as one. A powerful black-hole gravity pinned him, forcing him to his knees. Their knives cut into him, deep and merciless, his blood spraying in golden arcs.

  The first Celestial laughed. “Your power… amusing,” it mocked. “But you are insect.”

  The second Celestial sneered. “You will perish like all who challenge us.”

  Cliffhanger: The Abyss

  Gogeta’s vision blurred as his aura guttered. His energy was all but depleted, and his body was broken. But somewhere deep within, something stirred—a darker power, coiled and hungry, refusing to let him die here.

  No, he thought, his mind seething with a primal rage. I can’t… let them win. The grief, the pain, the fury—it all merged into a singular, explosive force. His golden aura flickered again, violently surging, as lightning crackled around him.

  A sudden roar, primal and desperate, erupted from Gogeta’s mouth. His body was surrounded by crackling blue and white energy, and his hair shifted—longer, more jagged—into the unmistakable form of Super Saiyan 2.

  The Celestials, for the first time, faltered.

  Gogeta’s fists clenched, lightning sparking from his fingertips. His power surged beyond the limits he had known, every muscle screaming with new strength. His aura pulsed like a violent storm.

  “You took everything from me,” Gogeta spat, his voice a twisted, rage-fueled growl. “Now it’s your turn to die.”

  The Celestials braced themselves, sensing the danger of the new power surging through Gogeta. But they had made a mistake—they had underestimated the raw fury of a Saiyan who had lost everything.

  The battle was far from over

  Chapter: "Unforgivable"

  Gogeta stood there, trembling. His body was a furnace of raw, violent energy, golden lightning exploding off him in wild, uncontrollable bursts. His breath came in ragged, animalistic growls, his chest rising and falling like he could barely contain the storm inside him.

  Vale was dead.

  Dead.

  Ryo was dead.

  Dead.

  Because of THEM.

  His fingers curled into shaking fists, his knuckles white from the pressure. His mind screamed, his vision blurred—all he could see was blood, all he could hear was Vale’s last breath, Ryo’s final cry.

  "HOW DARE YOU!!!" Gogeta’s roar shook the very planet, his voice ripping through the sky like a god’s fury. His aura exploded outward, burning so intensely that the very air ignited around him, turning the ground beneath his feet into molten rock. The Celestials, once towering figures of divine power, now flinched—their bodies involuntarily shaking in the presence of something far beyond them.

  Gogeta’s eyes locked onto them, burning with something far worse than anger—pure, unchecked hatred.

  "You took them from me…" His voice trembled, his body barely able to contain the firestorm of emotion ripping through him. "I’LL TEAR YOU APART!!!"

  He moved.

  No—he disappeared.

  Before the first Celestial could even process what was happening, Gogeta was already there. His fist collided with its skull, caving it in instantly. The Celestial's eyes bulged, blood spraying from its mouth as it was launched backwards with such force that its entire body cracked apart mid-air. But Gogeta wasn’t finished—not even close.

  Before the shattered pieces could hit the ground, Gogeta teleported again, snatching the broken corpse by the throat mid-air.

  "I’M NOT DONE WITH YOU!" he bellowed, before slamming the Celestial’s body straight into the ground with a force that caused an earthquake.

  The planet cracked open beneath the impact, lava spewing from the ground as the very core of the world split.

  The second Celestial, horrified, tried to run.

  Gogeta saw.

  And he lost it.

  "YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST LEAVE?!" His aura flared so violently that the very sky turned black, the heavens themselves unable to withstand his wrath. He hurled a blast of energy so dense, so concentrated, that it warped the space around it.

  The blast struck the Celestial mid-flight.

  It screamed.

  Not just in pain—in terror.

  The energy didn’t just burn—it devoured. Gogeta’s attack ate through the Celestial’s body, layer by layer, melting its skin, muscle, bone, and even its very soul.

  It tried to regenerate—but it couldn’t.

  Gogeta wasn’t allowing it.

  The Celestial’s last moments were spent clawing at the air, gurgling as its throat dissolved, before it ceased to exist entirely.

  And yet…

  Gogeta still wasn’t satisfied.

  His hands shook violently, his entire body still burning, his golden aura raging like an unchained beast. His breath was ragged, his mind still screaming.

  Vale was still gone.

  Ryo was still gone.

  And these monsters… they died too quickly.

  It wasn’t enough.

  "I should have made them suffer more," Gogeta growled, his voice shaking, barely human anymore. His fists clenched so tightly that his own blood dripped from his palms, nails digging into his skin. His golden aura crackled violently, still growing, still expanding.

  And for a moment…

  It looked like he might just destroy the entire planet..