The atmosphere screamed.
High above the ruined landscape, Yamoshi and the monstrosity clashed, sending ripples of terrified air spreading layer by layer across the sky. An oppressive, crushing coercion descended from the heavens, heavy enough to buckle the earth below.
The two combatants were locked in a tangled dance of death, their movements inextricably linked. While Yamoshi had indeed surpassed his limits, wielding power comparable to the beast, he was fighting a losing battle against attrition. The creature possessed a regeneration ability that bordered on infinite; no matter how much damage the Super Saiyan inflicted, the monster simply reformed.
Worse still, Yamoshi's physical stamina was plummeting. The power of the Super Saiyan—born from the combined righteousness of his comrades—came with a cruel time limit. Once that energy was exhausted, he would revert to his base form, defenseless.
From his vantage point, Raditz could see the writing on the wall. Yamoshi could not win this battle through conventional means. However, Raditz also knew that the flow of history was no longer in his hands. He was merely a witness to an ancient tragedy.
In the sky, two figures—one radiating a golden aura, the other a shadowy colossus—flickered in and out of existence. Cold light flashed with every collision. Yamoshi dodged a swipe from the demon's claws, seizing the micro-second opening to launch a devastating counterattack. His fists and ki blasts struck in a rhythmic, thunderous cadence.
Boom!
The demon's torso was pierced, blasted, and smashed into oblivion. Large chunks of its body were completely vaporized. Yet, before the smoke could clear, the vile flesh began to reassemble, stitching itself back together with sickening speed.
On the ground, the surviving primitive Saiyans couldn't track the high-speed movements. They could only feel the shockwaves. Some cheered, sensing Yamoshi's ferocity, while others stood dumbfounded, paralyzed by the scale of the destruction.
Hidden amongst the jagged ruins, the wizard Bibidi watched the sky with trembling eyes.
He was the most shocked of all. It was inconceivable that his creation—the Demon, an entity he believed to be invincible—was being pushed to such lengths by a mere Saiyan.
Is it going to fail?
Cold sweat slicked Bibidi's forehead as he imagined his fate should the Demon fall. If that golden warrior won, there would be nowhere in the universe for Bibidi to hide.
"No... I cannot let the Saiyans succeed!" Bibidi gritted his sharp teeth, a vicious snort escaping his throat. "If I cannot control it, then I will sacrifice the tool to ensure your extinction!"
He reached into his robes and withdrew a jagged, pulsating crystal. This was the core catalyst used during the Demon's creation. After eons of precipitation, only this small fragment of the original material remained. However, through the dark magisters' study of ancient lore, Bibidi had unlocked a final, desperate command.
He could detonate the Majin.
By using the raw material to trigger a resonance with the creature, connected by a binding spell, he could cause a collision of magical elements. The resulting annihilation of mass would release a cataclysmic amount of energy—enough to vaporize Yamoshi, the planet, and perhaps even the surrounding star system.
Bibidi didn't care about the collateral damage. His only goal was the total erasure of Yamoshi and the Saiyans. And that interloper, Raditz.
Clenching the crystal in one hand and making a fist with the other, Bibidi's face twisted into a mask of gloom and killing intent.
"Protective Shield!"
He cast a high-level barrier around himself, hunkering down into the debris, and began to chant the chaotic syllables of the detonation spell.
Up in the atmosphere, Raditz's expression shifted. He sensed the disturbance immediately.
The Demon suddenly ceased its violent assault. The irrational, bloodthirsty madness in its eyes dimmed, replaced by the glazed look of a puppet being pulled by invisible strings. It stopped moving and began to howl—a sound like tens of thousands of beasts roaring in unison, whipping the wind into a frenzy of sand and static.
"Is it transforming again?" Yamoshi hovered in the air, his chest heaving. He didn't know what the creature was doing, but his instincts screamed danger. He watched vigilantly, ki flaring around him.
Three seconds later, the Demon's body began to swell.
It expanded rapidly, ballooning from a giant into a titan that blotted out the sun. It grew until it seemed ready to envelop the entire planet in its grotesque mass.
"What are you doing?!" Yamoshi shouted, startled by the sudden accumulation of energy.
The primitive Demon had no capacity for speech or reason. It was merely a vessel of destruction, now enslaved by Bibidi's spell. Yet, the restlessness and bloodlust within its cells had not vanished; its roar was thick with the promise of death.
"He intends to destroy this space sector," Raditz said, his voice cutting through the noise, cold and detached.
"What?" Yamoshi's eyes widened in horror. "No... everyone down there will die!"
Yamoshi understood the depth of the monster's power better than anyone. If that swelling energy were released without containment, the result would be singular and absolute: the annihilation of everything he loved.
A terrifying chill rushed through Yamoshi's body. He didn't hesitate.
With a roar that shook the heavens, Yamoshi shot up into the sky like a bolt of crimson lightning, charging straight into the expanding heart of the beast.
Down in the ruins, Bibidi saw the moment was ripe. He crushed the crystal.
"Die!"
The sensational energy of the crystal echoed within the Demon. The spell took hold.
FLASH.
The explosion didn't begin with sound; it began with blinding white light. Terrifying energy erupted from the Demon's core, enveloping Yamoshi instantly and expanding outward to consume the planet and the galaxy beyond.
Raditz watched the shockwave expand. Damn it. Do I step in?
He hesitated. He was an observer, a man out of time. Rashly interfering could shatter the timeline irrevocably. But looking at Yamoshi, who was already at the limit of his Super Saiyan form, Raditz knew that taking this hit meant certain death for the ancient hero.
To hell with it! Raditz gritted his teeth, raising his hand. I can't just watch him die!
Raditz mobilized his god-tier ki, preparing to restrain the spread of the explosion. But suddenly, he froze.
He realized someone else had already made the choice.
Inside the blinding inferno, Yamoshi was doing the impossible. To stop the Demon, Yamoshi was transmuting his very life force—his vitality, his blood, his soul—into raw power to maintain the Super Saiyan state. He was using every ounce of his existence to neutralize the explosion from the inside out.
Even Raditz, a warrior who had seen the ends of the universe, was amazed. He knew how to fight, but he didn't know if he possessed the resolve to burn his own life away for a transformation.
Yamoshi's body shriveled rapidly, his youth draining away in seconds, but the golden light of the Super Saiyan only grew brighter, overwhelming the chaotic purple energy of the Demon.
He roared, a sound of pure defiance. Within the crimson aura of the God ritual, a distinct golden brilliance flared—the light of life, the light of Saiyan pride!
The Saiyans were a race born to create miracles. For them, nothing was impossible.
"Demon! Destroy me if you can, but you will not take my home!"
"ROAR!" The Demon erupted one final time, screaming as its structure failed.
The beast detonated continuously, its body annihilated piece by piece, layer by layer. The resulting shockwaves rocked the fabric of space, intense enough to wipe out galaxies, yet Yamoshi held the line. He became a singularity of will, his body almost melting into the void as he forced the energy to collapse upon itself.
Raditz still acted, though silently. He exerted his power not to save Yamoshi, but to reinforce the boundaries of the universe, ensuring the sheer magnitude of the clash didn't tear reality apart. He couldn't save the man who had already chosen to burn.
Bang!
With a final, dull thud that resonated in the souls of all living things, Bibidi's crystal shattered into dust. The destruction of the Demon came to an abrupt end. The terrifying explosion, robbed of its momentum by Yamoshi's sacrifice, merely shattered the tectonic plates of the planet and pulled them in different directions, rather than vaporizing the world.
And Yamoshi...
Yamoshi turned into dust within the vacuum of space, having burned the very last drop of his blood.
"It... it's over?" Bibidi, terrified by the outcome, hurriedly caught the tailwind of the majestic explosion. He encased himself in magic and fled into the deepest, darkest reaches of the universe, eager to put lightyears between himself and the Saiyans.
The remnants of the Demon—lifeless gray matter—drifted harmlessly into the cold void.
On the shattered surface of the planet, the Saiyans who had survived the catastrophe stared blankly at the sky. They looked at the stars, now visible through the cleared atmosphere, and wept for the savior who would never return.
Yamoshi had left a fire for the Saiyans—a legend of the Super Saiyan—but he himself had disappeared forever.
Or so it seemed.
Far away, on Planet Namek, the Great Eldersat in deep meditation. His heavy eyes opened slightly as his soul suddenly encountered another passing spirit. For a brief moment, two great consciousnesses collided, sparks flying in the spiritual realm. The Namekians were a magical race, and the Great Elder possessed profound psychic abilities.
He read the passing soul's memory. He felt the sorrow, the bravery, and the golden light. Slowly, the Great Elder closed his eyes again, recording the event into the Book of Legends.
In the Realm of the Destroyers, Beerus was sleeping soundly deep within his palace.
Suddenly, the God of Destruction twitched. A shock ran through his divine mind, as if he had encountered a potent soul in the depths of his dream. The dreams of Gods are not like those of mortals; they perceive the magical, the prophetic, and the profound.
Beerus had never felt such a strong sensation before. After a long silence, he grumbled in his sleep, his subconscious latching onto an exciting, golden presence. Though it was only a brief encounter in the dreamscape, the image of the Super Saiyan was deeply branded into Beerus's mind. A prophecy began to take root.
Finally, Yamoshi's soul, wandering the currents of the universe before moving on to the Other World, drifted toward the one being who had witnessed it all.
It came to Raditz.
It is rare for a soul to retain such clarity after death, but Yamoshi was no ordinary mortal. Raditz stood suspended in space and saw Yamoshi's spirit manifest before him. The ancient Saiyan looked whole again, his face wearing a peaceful, weary smile.
Raditz heard the voice clearly in his mind, echoing like a distant bell.
"I understand. Thank you for watching over us."
Raditz blinked, and when he looked again, Yamoshi's soul had vanished. The particles of light that had once been the first Super Saiyan diffused into the cosmos, becoming one with the stars, leaving Raditz alone in the silent, empty dark.