In Dragon Ball: A brutal beating of Frieza at the start

Page 72

Lin Ye landed on the ground and saw that Tokyo Bay had been transformed into a giant ecological garden, with the roots of the World Tree forming glowing coral reefs on the seabed. Further away, Vegeta was surrounded by a group of children, impatiently teaching them how to plant trees using ki blasts.

It seems peace has truly arrived. Goku patted Lin Ye on the shoulder, grinning and revealing his tiger teeth. If Lord Beerus knew that Omega had been taken down by Android 18, he would definitely complain that there was no good show to watch.

Lin Ye didn't speak, only gazing at the sky. Suddenly, the fragments of the rhombus-shaped crystal reassembled in mid-air, transforming into a miniature spacetime portal. Alice's consciousness floated out from it; her data body still bore the marks of battle, yet she smiled brightly: "Surprised? I borrowed some Omega wreckage as a server."

How did you do that? Lin Ye stared in astonishment at the tail of the data stream behind her. Didn't the higher-dimensional civilization say...?

They say a consciousness cannot exist in the real world for more than three minutes. Alice winked playfully, a string of code popping out of her fingertip, but no one said the rules couldn't be rewritten with the enemy's energy—look, this is the dimensional jump protocol I dug out of the Omega Core.

Bulma suddenly pointed at the star map and screamed: Wait! An unknown spatial rift has appeared at the edge of the solar system, and the energy signature... is the same as the World Tree of a higher-dimensional civilization!

Everyone looked up and saw, in the distant Kuiper Belt, a comet suddenly explode, revealing a giant, metallic eye. Alice's digital body tensed instantly, her pupils frantically displaying warning codes: Oh no! That's... Omega's home planet!

Lin Ye clenched his fist, staring at the familiar patterns appearing on the surface of the giant eye—exactly the same as the sealing runes on the rhombus crystal. It seemed the promise from the higher-dimensional civilization was just the beginning; the real challenge had only just begun to unfold from the depths of the universe.

Chapter 195: Stardust Returns

The alarm lights on the starship's control panel had barely dimmed when Bulma dragged Alice by the hair into the maintenance bay. "How did you manage to fix your consciousness in reality?" Bulma demanded, pointing a wrench at the flashing interface on Alice's data body. "Tell me! Did you steal the energy stabilizer I made for Vegeta?"

Ouch! Alice's data stream almost fell apart. I used the Omega remnant as a quantum anchor. Look—she flicked a purplish-black crystal from her fingertip, with silver code wrapped around it. This thing resonated with the rhomboid crystal, and now I can stay in the material world for a whole day!

Vegeta suddenly kicked open the door, his battle suit splattered with green slime: "Hey! The atmosphere of that planet ahead eats metal, adjust your course now!" Before he could finish speaking, he saw the crystal in Alice's hand, and his pupils contracted sharply. This is... a fragment of the Omega Core? Are you out of your mind?

"Don't worry, Your Highness," Alice winked playfully, shoving the crystal into the control panel. "I've added three layers of firewalls. But you, when you were fighting that space slug earlier, did you secretly use teleportation again?"

Lin Ye leaned against the doorframe and chuckled, the rhombus-shaped crystal on his chest suddenly heating up. He looked down and saw star patterns appearing on the crystal's surface, resonating with Alice's data body. This feeling was familiar—just like the resonance between the Heart of God and the Imaginary Core when he received the Star God's inheritance in the Garden of Laws.

The star map has been updated. Wukong suddenly pointed to the main screen and exclaimed, "Look! The boundary line marked by the higher-dimensional civilization has expanded outwards again!"

Everyone crowded around. The once circular edge of the cosmic map now had several irregular bumps, like clay being kneaded by an invisible hand. Alice swiped her finger across the screen, bringing up a series of red warnings: This is a spacetime distortion zone; each bump is devouring the surrounding galaxies... just like what Omega does.

So the boundary isn't expanding, it's being eroded? Number 18's voice came through the communicator. She was checking the engines on the bridge. "I've detected unusual gravitational waves here, very similar to the energy of the Omega home planet."

Lin Ye's heart sank. He recalled the electronic horn before Omega disappeared, and the ancient voice in the Stardust Nebula—could Omega's home planet be the real threat?

Seven hours after the starship entered the Stardust Nebula, Vegeta suddenly pressed Goku against the observation window. "Look! Those purple dots are forming a pattern!"

Wukong pressed his face against the glass, his nose turning bright red from the cold: "It looks...like the scales of a dragon! Alice, scan quickly!"

"Scan my ass!" Alice screamed from the console; all the systems were crashing... This isn't Nebula, it's alive!

Just as Lin Ye was about to rush forward, he felt the metal floor beneath his feet soften. He looked down and saw his combat boots sinking into the floor, the metal writhing like liquid, bubbling with purple light. Everyone, leave the bridge! This is—

Before he could finish speaking, the entire starship was suddenly gripped by an immense force. Lin Ye slammed against the wall and saw the purple lights outside the porthole converge into a giant eye, its pupils flashing with star map runes. Then, all the lights went out, leaving only the rhombus-shaped crystal and Alice's data body glowing.

Welcome to the Stardust Core. An ancient voice echoed in everyone's mind: "I have waited a hundred thousand years, and finally, the one with the key has arrived."

Lin Ye struggled to his feet and found himself standing on a plain made of stardust. In the distance, Alice's data stream was locked in combat with a purple dot of light, while Vegeta was throwing a punch at the air: Who's there? Show yourself if you dare!

"The key?" Lin Ye held up the rhombus-shaped crystal. "You mean this?"

Stardust suddenly coalesced into a giant, its body composed of billions of stars, each shimmering in its pupils. No, it's the scar on your chest. The giant's hand pointed to Lin Ye's heart, the mark left by Omega, the key to unlocking the door.

Wukong suddenly pointed to the giant's shoulder: Look! That's where Omega injured him, right? There's a patch of stardust that's particularly sparse, like a bitten apple.

Ten thousand years ago, Omega was a tool for purifying the universe. The giant's voice grew hoarse, until it devoured the first Star God and learned greed... Now, its homeworld is awakening beyond its boundaries.

Lin Ye suddenly recalled the last image left behind by the higher-dimensional civilization—countless giant metallic eyes opening in the darkness. The home planet? Wasn't Omega a single entity?

It is a projection of the mother planet's consciousness. The giant's body begins to disintegrate, and stardust falls into Lin Ye's palm. The real Omega is the cluster of black holes outside the boundary... and you must find the other side of the door before it fully awakens.

When Lin Ye awoke, he found himself lying in the starship's medical bay. Alice was inserting a data cable into his neck, and Bulma was pacing back and forth with a scanner. His cells were rebuilding! Bulma's voice trembled, as if she had been reshaped by Stardust!

Don't make a fuss. Vegeta leaned against the doorway, twirling a purple stardust in his hand. That pile of sand from earlier said they were going to give him a gift; this is probably it.

Lin Ye sat up, feeling stars pulsating within his body. He opened his palm, and stardust automatically crystallized, revealing a map of the universe's boundary. Omega's home planet was a cluster of black holes, devouring the boundary. He pressed the crystal onto the control panel, and the star map immediately updated. The boundary mentioned by the higher-dimensional civilization was actually a cage sealing the home planet.

So we have to find the key on the other side before the cage breaks? Goku, munching on a Senzu Bean, stared wide-eyed. What's on the other side?

Alice suddenly displayed a string of gibberish: "I found this in the stardust crystal...it looks like some kind of coordinate." She zoomed in on the gibberish, and Lin Ye saw familiar symbols hidden within—exactly the same as the runes left behind by Kafka when she became the Guardian of the Laws.

These are the words of the Star God. Lin Ye's heart raced; it meant... the Creator's trial lay behind the door.

The instant they passed through the light wall, Vegeta shoved Goku's head into the chair. "Idiot! You need to protect your vitals at a time like this!" But his own hands were trembling—silver code flowed across the surface of the light wall, identical to Omega's energy.

Don't be nervous. Lin Ye's rhomboid crystal is emitting a strong light, and the stardust crystal is resonating, which means it's safe.

The moment the starship passed through the wall of light, everyone held their breath. But the expected battle did not occur; they only saw a pure white space with points of light dancing like fireflies in the distance.

Welcome home. A gentle voice echoed from all directions; I had been waiting for a long time.

Lin Ye clenched his fist, watching the points of light coalesce into a figure. It was a humanoid form without features, its body composed of light and shadow, changing the surrounding spatial structure with every breath. Are you... the creator of the universe?

That's one way to put it. The figure stretched out a hand, and Lin Ye's rhombus-shaped crystal flew over automatically. Omega is a cleansing program I created to eliminate unhealthy cosmic branches. But it went out of control, just like cancer cells in your bodies.

Wukong suddenly interjected: "Then why don't you take care of it yourself? Why make us work ourselves to death?"

Because true cleansing requires the consent of those being cleansed. The figure smiled, light and shadow forming a smiling pattern on its face. Omega didn't understand this, so it failed. And you... replaced destruction with protection.

Lin Ye recalled the energy shield of Number 18, and the gift of Stardust's consciousness. So you tested us to confirm that the universe is worth preserving?

That's right. The figure returned the rhombus-shaped crystal to Lin Ye, a golden pattern now appearing on its surface. "You have passed the test. As a reward, I grant you the ability to travel through the universe—"

Before he could finish speaking, Vegeta suddenly pointed to the darkness in the distance: Wait! What's that?

Everyone turned around and saw countless giant metallic eyes opening at the edge of the pure white space. These eyes, covered in Omega code, were slowly penetrating the wall of light.

It seems Omega's homeworld can't wait any longer. The voice remained gentle, yet carried a hint of urgency: Go forth, and use the protection you've learned to face the true challenge.

Lin Ye looked at the rhombus-shaped crystal in his hand; the new patterns were glowing, resonating even more strongly with Alice's data body. He knew that the creator's reward was not the end, but a new beginning—beyond those giant metal eyes lay a vaster universe and even more dangerous enemies.

"Prepare for jump." Lin Ye's voice rang out in the starship. Next stop, Omega homeworld.

Vegeta suddenly grinned, his golden hair standing on end: "This is finally getting interesting." Goku, meanwhile, distributed Senzu Beans to everyone, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

The moment the starship started, Lin Ye looked back at the pure white space. The creator's figure had vanished, only specks of light still danced, as if telling the secrets of the universe. And ahead of the starship, countless giant metallic eyes flashed red in the darkness, as if awaiting their arrival.

Chapter 196: Seed of the End

The starship's warp drive suddenly burst into blue sparks, and Vegeta kicked the side of the control panel: Hey! Bulma! Doesn't this crappy ship need another major overhaul?

"It's so noisy!" Bulma continued soldering without looking up. She had just come from the Mirror Galaxy, and the engine cooling system hadn't even recovered yet—look at the screen!

On the main screen, the Stardust Crystal's warning light was flashing red. Alice's fingers flew across the keyboard, bringing up an energy graph that rippled like a lake after a pebble was thrown in: the abnormal fluctuations originated from the core of the universe, and the energy intensity... was equivalent to a thousand Omegas exploding simultaneously.

Lin Ye pressed his hand against the diamond-shaped crystal on his chest, where a sharp, stabbing pain emanated. He recalled what Stardust's consciousness had said: when the crystal becomes hot, the Seed of the End awakens.

Ten minutes into the journey, nearing the core of the universe, Wukong suddenly pressed himself against the observation window: "Hey! Look at that!"

Everyone held their breath. A black sphere, millions of kilometers in diameter, floated in the void, its surface covered with writhing purplish-black veins, each vein emitting a star-like glow. Even more terrifying, countless fragments of galaxies, like gnawed apple cores, surrounded the sphere.

"This thing...is eating stars?" Number 18's voice trembled; her energy detectors were overloaded.

It is the Seed of the End. Alice's data stream became disordered, mentioned in the last archives of the higher-dimensional civilization... This is the true form of Omega after absorbing enough energy.

Vegeta suddenly transforms into Super Saiyan Blue, his golden aura causing the starship to shake violently: Whatever its species, I'll smash it with one punch!

"Don't be impulsive!" Lin Ye tried to stop him, but it was too late. The instant Vegeta's energy wave struck the Seed of the End, his purplish-black blood vessels suddenly swelled, breaking the energy wave into countless data streams that recoiled back. The starship's shield instantly dropped to 37%, and the alarm blared shrilly.

See? Alice pulls up the damage report. Its surface is covered with a law reversal layer, where all attacks are converted into growth energy.

Wukong scratched his head: What should we do then? We can't just watch it devour the universe, can we?

Lin Ye stared at the patterns on the surface of the Seed of the End. The patterns were exactly the same as the sealing runes on the rhombus crystal, only they were all reversed. Alice, adjust the scanning frequency of the stardust crystal to the opposite band to that of the Seed of the End.

When the Stardust Consciousness emerged, the entire metal structure of the starship resonated. It was no longer a blurry giant, but rather coalesced into the form of a young girl composed of stardust, her hair shimmering with a galaxy-like light. The Seed of the End was a reflection of the Stardust Seed. Her fingertips touched the observation window, leaving a trail of glowing footprints, like light and shadow.

So its weakness is the power of stardust? Lin Ye raised the crystal, and the figure of the stardust consciousness gradually merged into the crystal, turning the originally transparent crystal into a deep purple.

But that alone is not enough. The voice of Stardust Consciousness echoed within the crystal; the Seed of the End had already absorbed three black holes, and its roots were penetrating the foundation of the universe's laws.

Just then, the Seed of the End suddenly cracked open, and countless purplish-black roots shot out, precisely piercing the nearby quasar. Lin Ye watched helplessly as that celestial body, whose brightness was comparable to a trillion stars, was sucked into a cloud of dark matter within ten seconds.

Someone has to get into the core. Lin Ye's voice was calm, but his fists were clenched so tightly they turned white. The growth logic of the Seed of the End is the same as that of a plant; the core is its root tip.

"What the hell!" Goku immediately stepped forward, only to be grabbed and held down by Vegeta. "Idiot! You'll just become fertilizer if you go in!" Vegeta's golden hair moved without wind; this kind of thing that requires brains... cough cough, let Lin Ye do it.

The entrance to the passage was like flowing asphalt. When Lin Ye turned around, he saw Alice's data body flashing violently—she was using all her computing power to open the passage, blue data flowing from the corner of her mouth. Hurry! The passage can only last 17 seconds!

The moment Lin Ye rushed into the passage, he felt like he'd been shoved into a washing machine. He was surrounded by streams of purplish-black energy, each one cutting into his cells. He gritted his teeth and activated the rhomboid crystal; the golden light shield barely blocked the erosion, but he saw his combat boots turning black.

This is... the assimilative energy of Omega!

The core area was even more bizarre than imagined. A gigantic black heart floated in the center, its surface covered with pulsating blood vessels, each contraction spewing out streams of data. Lin Ye recognized them as fragments of Omega's consciousness, which enveloped the heart like parasites.

Finally... the key. A mixed electronic tone emanated from the heart, countless data streams forming the face of Omega. "Hand over the stardust crystal, and I'll let you die a quick death."

Lin Ye didn't speak, but instead forcefully inserted the crystal into the crack in his heart. The power of Stardust's consciousness erupted instantly, and his purplish-black blood vessels contracted wildly like leeches encountering salt water. But his heart grinned maliciously, beginning to absorb the crystal's energy: Too late! I've already connected to the primordial energy of the universe—

When the explosion occurred, the starship's protective shield was reduced to only 5%. Bulma screamed and covered her head, Goku shielded himself from the shrapnel with his body, and Vegeta stared intently at the entrance to the passage. When Lin Ye's body was propelled by the shockwave, his battle suit had turned pure black, and the diamond-shaped crystal on his chest shattered in two.

Lin Ye!

Alice was the first to rush forward, her data-driven fingers pressed against Lin Ye's chest, only to be repelled by a surge of black energy. Were his cells... reversing their growth?

Alarms blared from the medical bay. Lin Ye's vital signs fluctuated wildly, and purplish-black veins were faintly visible pulsating beneath his skin. Vegeta suddenly grabbed Alice's shoulder: "Hey! Remove those black veins from his chest!"

No! For the first time, Alice's data stream showed fear. This was the residual energy of the Seed of the End. Forcibly stripping it away would turn him into Omega's puppet!

When Lin Ye woke up, the first person he saw was Android 18. She was enveloping his arm in an energy shield, the purplish-black veins retracting upon contact with it. "You've been asleep for three days," Android 18 whispered, nearly causing Vegeta to dismantle the medical pod.

How is the Seed of the End? Lin Ye tried to sit up, but the pain in his chest pushed him back onto the bed.

"You destroyed it." Bulma pushed the instrument in, its lenses filled with data, but its energy spread throughout the universe, and now every galaxy is producing miniature end seeds.

Alice suddenly pulls up a star chart, which is filled with red dots: worse, these dots are connecting to form a network... just like Omega's neural network.

Lin Ye looked out the window; a distant star was turning purplish-black. He knew the real war had only just begun. The roots of the Seed of Doom had already penetrated every corner of the universe, and the black veins on his chest were the best proof of that.

It seems...we'll have to fight again. Lin Ye forced a smile, but it aggravated his wounds.

Vegeta suddenly kicked open the door, carrying two cans of Senzu Beans: "Enough talk, get your strength back." He tossed the Senzu Beans to Lin Ye, but as he turned away, he muttered, "Next time you rush in alone, I'll beat you to a pulp."

Lin Ye watched Vegeta's retreating figure, then looked at his friends who had gathered around him, and suddenly felt the pain in his chest lessen. He knew that as long as they were together, even if the universe ended, they could fight again.

The starship's engines roared to life again; this time, their target was the red dots scattered throughout the universe. Meanwhile, on Lin Ye's chest, fragments of the rhomboid crystal were reforming, a barely perceptible purplish-black light emanating from their gaps.

Chapter 197: Whispers of Entropy

Although the energy of the Seed of the End has been dispelled, its impact on the universe is slowly beginning to emerge. Lin Ye and the others observed that more and more galaxies were starting to act strangely, star lifespans were rapidly shortening, planetary ecosystems were collapsing at any moment, and it felt as if the entire universe was desperately trying to sink into entropy stagnation.

Bulma stared at the red area on the star map, her face tense: "This is an entropy increase rate that's skyrocketing! The energy of the Seed of the End is accelerating the process of heat death in the universe."