Darkness. Boundless, infinite darkness.
Deprived of his senses, Lothar's consciousness was swallowed by a void of utter silence.
He had no way of knowing what was happening outside. No way of understanding. No way of escaping the shackles binding him. His strength was insufficient to shake the oppressive prison of darkness that confined him.
All he could do was sit alone in the narrow space, drowning in solitude.
"Huh? What's that?"
After what felt like an eternity, Lothar saw it—a light.
Not far from his prison of darkness, a dazzling radiance appeared, and with it, Astra's voice rang in his ears.
"Oi, Lothar! That power he has—that's what I was talking about! The Power of the Grand Cosmos!"
Astra?
The Power of the Grand Cosmos?
Lothar narrowed his eyes, listening intently to the echoes of Astra's voice above him. Then, without hesitation, he reached out, grasping at the light that drew closer and closer.
The moment his fingers brushed against it, a sensation of weightlessness overtook him. The chains that had bound him shattered, and in an instant, both he and his prison of darkness vanished, engulfed by the searing brilliance.
"So this… is the power my father sought?"
Now free from his shackles, Lothar stared at the glowing sphere in his palm, lost in thought.
He had never understood why his adoptive father, Thanos, had waged war across galaxies for Astra. But now, perhaps, he was beginning to grasp it.
He could feel it—an overwhelming, terrifying energy contained within this small sphere of light. And yet, according to Astra, this was only a fraction of the true power.
If even this mere fragment was so formidable… what would the complete form be like?
"Wake up, already!"
Astra's furious roar echoed once more. As if responding to an unseen command, the glowing sphere in Lothar's hand suddenly surged forward, embedding itself in his chest!
A flood of memories replayed in Lothar's mind—flashes of the past, one after another, until everything settled on a single moment: a young Lothar, standing before Thanos, his face unwavering with determination.
I will become the strongest warrior in the universe!
His childhood vow—spoken with unshakable resolve—resonated over and over in his heart.
And the sphere of light, sensing the truth buried deep within him, forcefully awakened a dormant power that had long lain in slumber.
The Real World.
Lothar's body slowly began to rise.
A golden radiance enveloped him, reminiscent of that fateful day at the Black Quadrant's training grounds—the day when even Ebony Maw had been shaken.
At first, the so-called Hundredfold Energy Amplification had been nothing more than Astra's repeated lie.
A lie spoken enough times that Astra himself had come to believe it. He had even crafted a weapon that supposedly granted such amplification, convincing both himself and others of its truth.
A perfect example of "If you believe in something hard enough, reality bends to match it."
If Shafrin had refined his own psychic abilities into illusions and mind control, then Astra had forged his power into something else entirely—the amplification of imagined strength.
Somehow, through his near-obsessive conviction, Astra's connection to the Mind Stone had deviated from its original nature, giving birth to a new power—one that even Shafrin's own abilities did not possess.
"What… have you done?"
Shafrin, never imagining his foolish younger brother could turn the tide against him, stared upward at the rising figure. Beneath the black-and-white striped mask, his expression darkened.
For the first time, he felt it—pressure.
Overwhelming, suffocating pressure.
Lothar had never made him feel like this before.
RUMBLE!!
The sky darkened with crackling thunder, casting a brilliant blue light over Lothar's levitating form.
"Fwoosh…"
A sudden gust swept across the battlefield, kicking up a storm of dust that stung Astra's eyes.
A force—immense beyond comprehension—pressed down upon every soul present.
Terror. Dread.
Astra's heart pounded, his thoughts spiraling out of control. The shockwave of energy alone was enough to shatter the mental illusions that had enshrouded The Other.
"Is that… Prince Lothar?!"
The Other, his vision restored, followed the direction of the oppressive energy. Through the flashing lightning, Lothar's figure stood unmistakable.
But this time… he was different.
A golden aura crackled around his body.
His jet-black hair stood on end, lifted by the swirling energy. And from the roots, a transformation began—his strands shifting, gradually turning a luminous gold.
Then, as the last trace of black faded from his hair, Lothar's eyes snapped open.
BOOM!!
As if heralding his awakening, the skies erupted with thunder.
A storm of wind and lightning swept across Planet U40.
The earth trembled. The sky roared in agony.
The energy surging from Lothar's body was so immense that it reshaped the planet's very terrain.
"This is impossible!!!"
Shafrin was in disbelief.
Never—never had he heard of the Mind Stone transferring its power like this!
And even if such a transfer were possible…
This level of power was beyond imagination.
What kind of joke was this?
A force so overwhelming it could shake an entire planet—this was far beyond what the Mind Stone should be capable of!
Lothar looked down, his gaze sweeping over the battlefield before settling on his own hands.
"…This power…"
Golden energy surged around his body.
With his mind now fully merged with his body, he felt it—this vast, inexhaustible strength.
No chains. No limits.
The sudden hundredfold increase in power left him in a daze, feeling almost dreamlike.
He knew… he could destroy this planet with a single hand.
And—he was fairly certain this wasn't just an illusion.
Lifting a single finger, Lothar pointed toward the sky.
In an instant, a surge of energy tore apart the skies—lightning crackling, the very land crumbling beneath its force.
In the blink of an eye, U40's capital city was reduced to ruins.
And with it, the corpses of those slain under Shafrin's control were buried beneath the rubble.
"This… is the power of a Saiyan."
"Rejoice! A new warrior is born!"
The Other, his eyes wild with devotion, rushed beneath Lothar's floating form.
Kneeling on one knee, he lifted his staff high into the raging storm.
Gale-force winds howled around him.
Azure lightning cracked behind him.
"Behold—the mighty son of Titan, Prince Lothar! This moment, this awakening, has shattered his past self. From now on, only an unstoppable future lies ahead!"
"No enemy shall stand against him. No force shall resist him."
"All shall kneel before the might of his High Highness, Prince Lothar!"
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