After arriving at the God of Destruction Realm, Raditz had re-entered the Trial of Divinity to measure his progress—and had begun what could only be described as systematic torture masquerading as training.
Under Whis's merciless tutelage, Raditz endured daily sessions that left his body battered beyond recognition and his spirit ground down to its foundations. Every muscle fiber screamed in protest. Every nerve ending burned with overload. His bones accumulated stress fractures that had to heal overnight, only to be broken again the next day.
Yet paradoxically, this crucible of agony was forging him into something greater.
Each time he collapsed from exhaustion, each time Whis's staff sent him flying across the realm, each time he thought he couldn't possibly continue—his body would recover stronger than before. The Saiyan biology that had always served him well was being pushed to its absolute limits and responding with adaptive evolution. Every morning, Raditz would wake feeling power coursing through his veins like liquid lightning, energy so abundant it demanded release in the form of triumphant roars that echoed across the peaceful realm.
The cycle repeated endlessly: destruction, recovery, transcendence. Break down, rebuild, surpass.
And now, after months of this grueling regimen, Raditz stood once more before the entrance to the Trial of Divinity, ready to test exactly how close he'd come to reaching true godhood.
The entrance yawned before him like the mouth of eternity itself—a shimmering portal that seemed to exist partially outside normal spacetime. The solemn atmosphere pressed against him with almost physical weight. Despite having entered this place before, despite understanding its nature intellectually, Raditz still found himself taking a deep breath, his heart beating slightly faster with nervous anticipation.
This is it. The moment of truth.
"You should be able to reach the end quite easily this time," Whis observed from beside him, his tone carrying quiet approval. "However..." He trailed off with a mysterious smile, leaving the thought unfinished.
Raditz understood what remained unsaid. Reaching the end and crossing the threshold are two very different things. I might see the finish line clearly—but that doesn't mean I can actually cross it. That final step represented the gap between the greatest of mortals and the least of gods. A chasm that had swallowed countless ambitious souls throughout cosmic history.
But he had to try. He had to see for himself exactly where he stood.
Raditz stepped through the portal.
The familiar sensations crashed over him immediately—a hurricane of force that would have torn a normal being apart at the molecular level. Light streamed past in impossible colors, each ray carrying pressure that could crush mountains. Mental interference bombarded his consciousness from every angle, illusions spawning and dying in microseconds, each one designed to exploit psychological weaknesses and shatter concentration.
His footsteps faltered for just a moment under the initial assault. His vision filled with chaotic energy patterns—swirling vortexes that seemed to lead nowhere and everywhere simultaneously, reality itself becoming unstable and fluid.
The terrifying energy turbulence felt like walking through a cosmic storm where every drop of rain was compressed starlight. One wrong step, one moment of lost focus, and the forces here would obliterate him completely.
But then his Ultra Instinct activated.
The silver aura flickered into existence around him, and suddenly the chaos became... manageable. His body moved through the bombardment with fluid grace, avoiding the most dangerous currents of power without conscious thought. What would have been a desperate struggle for survival transformed into something almost elegant—a dance through destruction.
From his vantage point outside the trial space, Whis nodded with satisfaction. "Excellent. Your mastery has improved dramatically."
Wrapped in that thin layer of divine light, Raditz moved forward with increasing confidence and speed. The Trial of Divinity had been designed specifically to test whether a being possessed the fundamental qualities necessary for godhood—and to provide tempering for those who fell short. The closer one's nature aligned with divine essence, the easier the passage became. Distance traveled within the trial directly correlated to readiness for ascension.
Time lost meaning in this space. Seconds might have been hours; hours might have been seconds. But subjectively, it felt as though only a brief period had passed before Raditz found himself approaching the end.
The energy bombardment fell away behind him like discarded clothing. The crushing pressure that had threatened to grind him into dust now pressed against him with no more force than a strong wind. He'd endured everything the trial could throw at him—and emerged intact.
Before him, the boundary line materialized.
It appeared simultaneously as nothing and everything—invisible yet undeniable, intangible yet absolute. A demarcation between what he was and what he might become. The line pulsed with significance that transcended mere physics, representing the fundamental threshold between mortal limitation and divine potential.
The last time he'd reached this point, the boundary had been an impenetrable wall. He'd thrown himself against it and been rejected, found wanting by whatever cosmic forces judged such things.
What about now? Have I changed enough?
"Try it," Whis's voice echoed through the space, reverberating not just in Raditz's ears but somehow directly in his mind.
Raditz took a breath—then stepped forward.
CRACK.
The sound of his bones adjusting to new pressures rang through the space like breaking crystal. His entire body trembled violently, as though he'd been plunged into glacial waters. Every nerve fired at once, sending contradictory signals cascading through his system. For a brief, terrifying moment, Raditz felt himself fragmenting—consciousness scattering across multiple points of existence simultaneously.
Then the sensation stabilized. His body adjusted. He took a second step.
This time, his foot actually touched the boundary line.
The moment of contact triggered a profound transformation. Humming vibrations reverberated through the entire space, growing in intensity until they seemed to shake the foundations of reality itself. Sacred light blazed forth with increasing brilliance, washing over Raditz's form until he appeared more spirit than flesh—a silhouette of luminescence against the cosmic backdrop.
Time and space lost all meaning. The concept of "measurement" became absurd, irrelevant. Energy signatures that he'd relied upon his entire life to navigate combat suddenly... ceased. Not disappeared, but became unreadable, as though he'd transcended the frequency they operated on.
Raditz existed in a state of pure potential—simultaneously everything and nothing, present and absent, mortal and divine.
He felt called. Something beyond comprehension was reaching out, guiding him toward transformation. His very essence was being elevated, drawn upward along metaphysical pathways he'd never known existed.
Almost without conscious volition, Raditz raised his hand. His fingers extended slowly, dreamlike, reaching toward the boundary that had once been absolute. His fingertips made contact with the invisible line...
And pushed through.
I'm... crossing it?
Even Whis's eyes widened fractionally—the first time Raditz had ever seen genuine surprise cross the angel's features.
Raditz's heart hammered in his chest with unprecedented intensity, each beat feeling like it might burst from his ribcage. His throat worked, trying to form words that his vocal cords couldn't produce. His vision expanded impossibly, as though he could suddenly perceive the entire universe laid out before him like a vast tapestry—every star, every planet, every living being connected by invisible threads of causality and fate.
His soul reached a crescendo of existence, touching something infinite.
The realm of mortality and the realm of divinity were converging within him. His physical form was adapting, changing, preparing to take that final step across the threshold. Power beyond anything he'd ever imagined flooded through his being, rewriting him at the most fundamental level.
I'm going to make it. I'm actually going to—
Everything stopped.
The sensation cut off as abruptly as a severed rope. When Raditz took what should have been his triumphant step forward, the space simply... reset. The convergence of realms withdrew. The infinite power receded like a tide pulling back from shore. Reality reasserted itself with disappointing solidity.
Raditz stood frozen, staring at his outstretched hand—the hand that had just been reaching through the boundary into divinity itself. The surge of transcendent energy that had filled him moments ago had vanished without a trace, leaving only memory. "What... what just happened?" His voice came out hoarse, uncertain. "I could touch it! I was right there!" He clenched his fist repeatedly, searching desperately for even a remnant of that divine sensation. "Did it work? Am I...?"
Whis materialized beside him, having crossed the river of light in a single effortless motion. His expression carried gentle sympathy mixed with impressed satisfaction. "I'm sorry, Raditz. You came incredibly close—closer than almost anyone I've ever witnessed—but you haven't quite reached the divine realm yet."
Raditz's fist remained clenched, fingers digging into his palm hard enough to draw blood. But no matter how tightly he squeezed, he couldn't recapture that feeling of touching infinity. With a heavy sigh, he finally released his grip. "I suppose I knew, deep down. It felt too much like a dream at the end there. I'm further along than last time, but..." He couldn't quite keep the frustration from his voice. "Still not enough."
Seeing Raditz's deflated expression, Whis couldn't help but chuckle warmly. "My dear boy, you're being far too hard on yourself! You may not realize this, but the progress you've made is genuinely extraordinary. Most beings attempting to reach the divine realm spend centuries trying to advance even a single step. You've gone from being nowhere close to touching the actual boundary in just a few years of dedicated training!" His smile widened with genuine admiration. "That's remarkable by any standard."
Whis spoke with complete sincerity. The journey to godhood typically consumed lifetimes—plural. Even the most talented individuals required decades at minimum to make meaningful progress. Yet here was Raditz, a Saiyan who'd been a mid-level warrior just years ago, now standing at the very threshold of divinity.
The Saiyan race's inherent advantages played a role, certainly—their capacity for rapid growth under pressure, their bodies' adaptive evolution, their natural affinity for combat and ki manipulation. But Raditz's personal dedication and creative approach to training had proven equally crucial. Talent without effort meant nothing, just as effort without talent had limits. The combination of both, however...
That created miracles.
"The realm of gods is within your reach now, Raditz," Whis said with quiet certainty. "Perhaps not today, perhaps not tomorrow—but soon. Very soon."
The two departed the Trial of Divinity, emerging back into the vibrant landscape of the God of Destruction Realm. Raditz let out a long, slow breath, feeling some of his tension dissipate. The lush greenery spread out in all directions, impossibly perfect in its beauty. The sky stretched overhead in shades of blue that Earth could never quite match. Everything here radiated a serenity that soothed frayed nerves and calmed turbulent thoughts.
Well, almost everything.
Near the crystalline lake that dominated the central region, the sounds of fierce combat disturbed the otherwise peaceful atmosphere. Energy blasts lit up the shoreline. Shockwaves rippled across the water's surface in concentric circles.
Beerus was fighting Goku and Vegeta.
"Ah," Raditz said, a slight smile tugging at his lips. "They finally convinced Lord Beerus to train them directly."
Several weeks earlier, Goku and Vegeta had grown restless with their Earth training. Unable to push each other to new heights and desperate for stronger opposition, they'd contacted Whis and essentially begged to return to the God of Destruction Realm. Upon arriving and discovering that Raditz had beaten them there, both Saiyans had experienced the same competitive panic—we're falling behind!
Since Whis was primarily focused on training Raditz toward divine ascension, Goku and Vegeta had needed to find an alternative instructor. They'd resorted to the time-tested strategy of bribing Beerus with increasingly elaborate promises of delicious food from across the universe. The God of Destruction, never one to pass up culinary delights, had grudgingly agreed to "provide some pointers."
In practice, Beerus was an absolutely terrible teacher in the traditional sense. He gave cryptic advice, lost interest quickly, and would often wander off mid-lesson to take naps. His preferred method of instruction seemed to consist entirely of beating his students senseless and expecting them to learn through pain and humiliation.
Surprisingly, for warriors like Goku and Vegeta, this approach actually worked quite well.
"Lord Beerus appears to be enjoying himself," Raditz observed as they watched the God of Destruction casually deflect both Saiyans' attacks with one hand while eating a snack with the other.
"Indeed," Whis agreed with an amused chuckle. "Though he constantly complains about the noise and disruption, Lord Beerus genuinely appreciates having you all here. He does love excitement and company—especially when that company can provide him with entertainment." The angel's expression softened with fondness. "He'd never admit it openly, but having strong warriors to interact with makes him quite happy."
They stood in comfortable silence for a moment, watching as Vegeta and Goku attempted a coordinated assault that Beerus countered by literally yawning at them. The resulting energy blast from his mouth sent both Saiyans flying.
Then Raditz's expression grew more serious. "Whis... may I ask you about something?"
"Of course. What's on your mind?"
"It's about Mirto."
The moment the name left Raditz's lips, Whis's entire demeanor shifted. The perpetual smile didn't fade, but something changed in his eyes—a flicker of something ancient and concerned passing through those usually carefree features.
"Mirto..." Whis repeated softly, as though tasting the name and finding it bitter. "That situation dates back quite some time. I'm aware that you entered those ruins with the other Supreme Kais and learned... things. Things that perhaps you weren't meant to learn."
Raditz tensed slightly but said nothing, letting Whis continue.
"There are certain matters that exist beyond the reach of even Supreme Kais and Gods of Destruction," Whis said carefully, his tone taking on an unusual weight. "Mirto's situation falls into that category. It operates on a level that transcends your current understanding of cosmic hierarchy. The less you involve yourself with such things, the better."
"I understand that," Raditz said slowly. "But I need to know—can Lord Zeno resolve the situation? Does he have the power to deal with whatever Mirto has become?"
"Lord Zeno is omnipotent," Whis replied immediately, his smile returning with seemingly genuine reassurance. "There is nothing in all creation that falls outside His Majesty's ability to handle. You needn't worry yourself over such matters."
But something in the way Whis spoke—too quickly, too firmly—made Raditz uncertain whether he was hearing the complete truth. The higher echelons of the divine hierarchy had undoubtedly taken notice of Mirto's corruption and transformation. Perhaps the Grand Priest himself was already taking action, working to contain or eliminate the threat.
Yet the entire universe remained calm. No alarms had been raised. No warnings issued to the various divine authorities. The final outcome of whatever conflict was occurring in the shadows had been kept completely secret from even the Gods of Destruction.
Which suggested that Mirto's power had grown to truly terrifying levels. Perhaps strong enough to resist even Zeno's erasure ability—a thought that should have been impossible. Perhaps the Grand Priest and his angels were engaged in some kind of cosmic tug-of-war, struggling to contain something that had grown beyond their initial predictions.
Whis's resolute attitude—his firm insistence that this was beyond even a God of Destruction's pay grade—only reinforced Raditz's concerns. If Beerus wasn't considered qualified to even know about the situation in detail, that implied the threat was catastrophic in scope.
The more Whis tried to reassure him, the more uneasy Raditz became.
It was like standing in the calm before a hurricane, knowing that somewhere beyond the horizon, something terrible was gathering strength. The peaceful realm around him suddenly felt fragile—a bubble of tranquility that could burst at any moment, revealing the chaos lurking just out of sight.
Unknown horrors, Raditz thought, suppressing a shiver. Threats that even the gods fear to name. And somewhere out there in the void, they're waiting...
The sound of Beerus's laughter carried across the lake as he sent both Goku and Vegeta splashing into the water simultaneously. The God of Destruction clearly found their determined struggles amusing.
Raditz watched them for a moment, then looked up at the perfect blue sky—and wondered what darkness might be gathering beyond it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Writing takes time, coffee, and a lot of love.If you'd like to support my work, join me at [email protected]/GoldenGaruda
You'll get early access to over 50 chapters, selection on new series, and the satisfaction of knowing your support directly fuels more stories.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~