Hathaway turned at the voice and was slightly startled. It turned out that while she was unaware, two people had somehow appeared behind her—Jarvis hadn't even given any warning, which was unusual.
The one who spoke seemed to be the one among the two who resembled a purple, upright-eared rabbit.
"Huh? A strange aura, Earth woman... Who are you?" The God of Destruction Beerus yawned, his dark yellow eyes fixed thoughtfully on Hathaway, then asked the tall, white-haired man beside him, "Whis, who is she?"
Whis glanced at the crystal atop his staff and cleared his throat. "Lord Beerus, she is Taro's wife. She once made a wish through the Dragon Balls, linking her life with Taro's... That's why her aura feels strange."
"I see, because of the power of the Dragon Balls, her aura is entangled with Taro's demigod aura..." Beerus nodded with an expression of understanding.
After they finished speaking, Hathaway calmly asked, "Do you two know my husband? And what exactly does 'Dragon Balls cannot be brought into parallel space-time' mean?"
The Phoenix crouched beside Hathaway's feet, seemingly a bit intimidated by Beerus and Whis.
"You expect me to answer just because you asked..." Beerus scratched his ear.
"This is Taro's wife, standing before you now, the honorable God of Destruction Lord Beerus!" Whis reminded with a smile. Just then, Beerus looked up toward the sky, and Whis followed suit. "Ah, he's back."
Hathaway was first surprised by Beerus's title, then looked up to the sky as well. Taro's figure had reappeared there, holding the empty box where the Dragon Balls had just been stored.
Taro furrowed his brow midair, glanced at the ground, but showed no surprise, then flew down.
"The God of Destruction said 'Dragon Balls cannot be brought into parallel space-time,'" Hathaway said as Taro landed.
Taro looked toward Beerus and Whis.
Beerus's naturally cold eyes carried a sharp aura even in calmness. He sized Taro up, seemingly observing his energy, then said calmly, "Only a little over ten years have passed, and you've come this far..."
"Slow talent, just struggling to move forward," Taro replied.
"Haha... Slow talent? Throughout history, who would dare say they have slow talent if they progressed this far in spiritual divinity?" Beerus smiled. "Once you comprehend divinity, you can be called a 'demigod,' but even among demigods, there's a vast gap... Just like you today and you on the Saiyan planet over ten years ago, incomparable."
Taro nodded. "Indeed... But to drop the 'half' is as hard as climbing to heaven."
Beerus squinted. "That final step isn't easy to cross... Don't be careless. Even if you're a demigod with various divine powers, you can still be taken down by an 'aspiring god.'"
"Aspiring god?" Taro asked.
"The limit of mortal power," Beerus said casually. "Before true gods, they vanish with a snap. But demigods haven't fully shed mortal shackles, so one careless move and they can be done for!"
Taro fell silent, then his eyes flashed. "God of Destruction, are you referring to... 'that person' who observed me in that timeline? Is he an aspiring god?"
"Hehe... That I do not know!" Beerus grinned mischievously.
"Hehehe..." Whis covered his mouth, laughing. "In fact, Mr. Taro just needs to continue cultivating his natural spiritual divinity. Once he becomes a true god, all difficulties and problems will fade away and become insignificant."
Hathaway watched quietly beside them.
After a moment of silence, Taro suddenly asked, "What exactly are the Dragon Balls? Why can't they be brought into parallel space-time?"
"The Dragon Balls..." Beerus's gaze deepened. He folded his arms and looked up at the sky, his eyes piercing through something. Calmly, he said, "The law of causality has shattered... Kavishir bet everything on Universe Seven..."
"What?"
"Nothing. What the Dragon Balls are now isn't something you should interfere with." Beerus withdrew his gaze and looked at Taro. "Become a god soon. If you don't, none of this will concern you."
"I understand."
Taro's expression was calm, but from the few words Beerus deliberately revealed, he had already inferred much—such as what the Grand Kai had said about the ancient Great Universe breaking into the twelve universes of today... The shattered causality and the fracturing of the Great Universe must be connected.
Betting everything on the Seventh Universe...
Does that mean that only in the countless parallel timelines within the Seventh Universe do things like the Dragon Balls exist? Countless parallel timelines... Dragon Balls can't be brought into parallel timelines... The causality law is broken... Could it be that the Dragon Balls exist precisely because of this "broken causality law"? That each fragment of causality corresponds to a parallel timeline, making mutual interference impossible?
It seemed that Beerus and the others were here just to drop a hint to Taro. After some casual chat, they were about to leave.
"Um, although I don't quite understand your identities or origins... since you're here, why not have something to eat together?" Hathaway smiled. She could sense that this so-called God of Destruction Beerus knew a lot of information her husband didn't but wanted to know, so she hoped to keep them around a little longer.
"Oh? Food?" Beerus actually showed some interest. "What kind of delicacies do you have on Earth?"
"There are plenty... Jarvis!" Hathaway called out. Then a light screen popped up from her wristwatch, forming a holographic display of sliding pictures of various foods in front of Beerus, each looking mouth-wateringly delicious and irresistible.
Beerus involuntarily swallowed.
Even Whis behind him had his eyes sparkling.
Taro was a bit speechless, but Hathaway winked at him and smiled quietly.
---
Half an hour later, a ten-meter-long table was piled high with all kinds of delicacies. Beerus was eating with great delight. Even Whis was elegantly nibbling at some creamy ice cream, eyes half-closed in pleasure, chuckling, "Oh ho ho, Earth's cuisine is really quite something~"
"Thank you for the compliment," Hathaway said gracefully, holding a glass of red drink.
At that moment, the sky suddenly darkened. Crack! A golden lightning bolt shot up not far away, forming a green divine dragon.
"Hah, still not giving up, huh..." Beerus glanced at it but paid no further attention, focusing on eating and drinking.
Whis picked a piece of creamy ice cream with satisfaction, his eyes curved like crescent moons. "Oh ho ho..."
Soon, the sky brightened again.
Taro returned, seven white stones floating beside him. His expression was calm, not particularly disappointed—just having tried to make a wish here to see if he could restore that parallel timeline's Earth and Namek... As expected, the Shenron said, "I cannot comprehend this wish."
I'll remember this. Once I succeed, I'll find another way...
Taro looked up at the sky, his gaze deep, as if piercing through time and space to meet the eyes of that suspicious "Aspiring-God" figure lurking somewhere behind the scenes.