A wry smile touched Kratos's face. His defensive psyker abilities were utterly useless against Axis's iron fists.
The force shield he had just conjured with his psychic power was shattered by a single punch from his old father. The next thing he knew, a fist wreathed in a golden aura slammed into his cheek.
"You must train harder, Kratos," Axis said, crossing his arms, "I will oversee your training personally."
"Father, your immense strength comes from the power of Ki," Kratos said as he sat up, looking at Axis. "But that power is unique to you. Aside from those special Saibamen, no one else in this universe possesses it. Though I inherited your bloodline, all I have is the Golden Transformation, or as you call it, Super Saiyan. My power has already reached its peak, and the chance for future growth is minuscule."
"I will find a solution for the Ki problem," Axis snorted, "But your power is far from stagnant. First, the fruit from the Tree of Might can still increase your strength. Second, you have only developed the most basic stage of your Super Saiyan transformation. Did you really think this was all it was capable of?"
The Super Saiyan transformation could be developed much further. Even without the support of Ki, the enhancement to the physical body was substantial. Combined with the aid of the fruit from the Tree of Might, Kratos's potential for growth was still very high. Besides, Axis could use his own Ki to fortify his son's body. Kratos had only mastered the first stage; it was foolish to think he had reached the form's zenith. As for the issue of Ki, Axis decided he would devise a plan after he had grasped the power of a god.
"Father, are you saying the Golden Transformation has higher forms?" Kratos asked.
"That's right! The Super Saiyan transformation is not as simple as you think," Axis explained, "You were only able to transform because of the gift I gave you: an abundance of S-Cells in your body. Furthermore, thanks to your mother, you possess a tranquil heart, which allowed you to transform with ease. You were likely able to do it by the time you were five or six, were you not?"
"Yes, Father," Kratos replied, "I could perform this transformation at the age of four. Afterwards, my power would increase fifty-fold. I only gradually gained mastery over this power after reaching adulthood."
He recalled that his first transformation had caused a great disturbance, injuring the handmaidens assigned to care for him.
He had blamed himself for a long time, even becoming hesitant to use his gleaming golden form. It was only after seeing his father's sons and with the encouragement of Brother Khârn that he gradually mastered the Golden Transformation and learned to wield it proficiently.
"So you've possessed this transformation for over ninety years," Axis said with a frown, "In all that time, did you never once think of developing it further? Did you never think of becoming stronger?"
This was the one downside to a half-Human, half-Saiyan hybrid. Their personalities were nothing like a Saiyan's. Unless a crisis was at hand, they had no proactive desire to grow stronger.
In terms of talent for combat and training, they far surpassed their forebears, but in terms of diligent, arduous practice, they fell far behind. Among the Saiyan-Human hybrids, only the future Trunks and Gohan had trained with any real dedication.
Goten and the younger Trunks were complete slackers by comparison. Even so, Gohan's true dream had always been to become a scholar.
"Uh, my apologies, Father," Kratos said, "Many of the opponents I encountered during the Great Crusade were so weak I did not even need the Golden Transformation to defeat them. To this day, I have never faced an enemy that I could not defeat with it."
During the Great Crusade, the foes he had faced were complete nobodies. He hardly needed to use his Golden Transformation. Most of the time, he did not even have to take to the field himself; the warriors of his Golden Legion would simply sweep the enemy aside.
Moreover, his Golden Transformation gave him a fifty-fold increase in combat power, making him vastly superior to his legionary brothers.
"Then allow me to teach you the true depths of a Super Saiyan," Axis declared, "First, by channeling energy into your muscles, you can augment them. This state is the second grade of Super Saiyan." As he spoke, Axis demonstrated the muscle-enhancing state he had not used in a long time.
Kratos nodded, observing his father's transformation with rapt attention. He had not known his father was capable of such a technique.
"The third grade involves a further increase in muscle mass. However, this transformation decreases speed and cannot be sustained for long. I generally do not recommend it," Axis said, briefly shifting into the third form of Super Saiyan.
His height remained the same, but his muscles swelled to a size comparable to a Legendary Super Saiyan.
"Father! This transformation must also require Ki to sustain it," Kratos noted, "I'm afraid I won't be able to use it."
"Fool!" Axis retorted. "Ki is also life energy. To simply increase your muscle mass, you can use your psychic power to stimulate the life energy within your body and make them expand."
Having been a Super Saiyan for many years, Axis's understanding of the transformation was profound.
The method of using Ki to enlarge one's muscles could easily be replicated with life energy.
"I see, Father. I understand," Kratos said, "In that case, could I try infusing my psychic power into this transformation?"
If the stimulation of life energy could augment his muscles and create an enhanced transformation, what would happen if he added psychic power into the mix?
"That is a good idea. I cannot develop it myself because my Ki and psychic energy are incompatible," Axis mused for a moment before nodding with great seriousness, "But you are different. You don't have Ki. You might be able to use your psychic power in concert with the Super Saiyan transformation."
Axis had considered such a transformation before, but the inherent resistance and repulsion between his Ki and the energies of the Warp made it impossible.
Besides, he had little need for it. His son, however, was a different case. Lacking Ki, perhaps Warp energy could be a viable alternative. Although the energies of the Immaterium were not to be trusted, his son's psychic power was inherited from the Emperor and manifested as a golden light, just like his own.
"You can experiment with this transformation on your own time after we've completed your training tasks," Axis instructed, "We will be departing for Holy Terra soon, and a war of unprecedented ferocity will undoubtedly erupt there. I do not want anything to happen to you in that conflict, so your strength must be increased."
"I understand, Father," Kratos replied. "I will work hard. You will not have to lift a finger. I will be the one to strike down Horus."
"Do not concern yourself with Horus," Axis said, "Next, I will teach you of the Super Saiyan 2 transformation. It is a form even more powerful than Super Saiyan, capable of increasing your strength by a hundred-fold or more."
"A hundred times!" Kratos gasped in awe. "Father, that is a truly terrifying."
His father's Super Saiyan transformation, of which his Golden Transformation was a weakened version, was already immense. He began to wonder what its ultimate limits truly were.
"To achieve this transformation, you must first master Super Saiyan to its absolute peak," Axis explained, "The first step is to maintain the Super Saiyan state at all times."
"Father, Grandfather told me about this," Kratos said, "He saw how you used to train and had me do the same. My longest record was maintaining the Super Saiyan state for more than three consecutive months. I even used my psychic powers to control it, keeping the transformation active while I slept."
The Emperor had also witnessed his son's transformations and had developed his own set of training methods based on them.
"If that's the case, then your current transformation is effectively Super Saiyan Full Power," Axis realized, "This will make training for Super Saiyan 2 much easier. First, you must amplify your rage to its absolute peak, but you must maintain your sanity within that fury."
Kratos just stared at Axis blankly.
"Ultimate rage? Father, how do I do that, exactly?"
"Use your mind to hypnotize yourself," Axis instructed, "Imagine that Horus killed your mother and me. Imagine that he killed the Emperor. You must avenge us. Now, get angry."
"..."
Anger, after all, was one of the primary fuel sources for a Super Saiyan. If this did not work, he wondered if he might need to ask Khorne for help, since rage was his divine domain.
"Alright," Kratos nodded. He followed his father's guidance, using his psychic power to weave vivid illusions in his mind: his father, his mother, and his grandfather, the Emperor, his brother all cut down by Horus.
The psychic images were devastatingly realistic. Watching them over and over again, Kratos felt a nameless fire of rage ignite in his heart.
"HRAAAAAAAH!" With a ferocious roar, a terrifying golden aura erupted from Kratos's body.
He snapped his eyes open, and his pupils, which were once like molten gold, constricted sharply, becoming as piercing as newly drawn blades.
The golden aura around him was no longer a steady flame; it underwent an instantaneous, qualitative change.
A colossal pillar of golden light, unlike anything seen before, shot into the heavens. A violent shockwave of energy expanded outwards from him in a concussive blast.
Within the column of light, Kratos's figure was enveloped in the blinding golden radiance.
His once-smooth golden hair stood on end, each strand becoming sharper and more rigid. Arcs of deep blue lightning crackled and flashed violently around his body, releasing sharp, explosive sounds.
Kratos's Super Saiyan 2 transformation was complete.
..
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ps?