"I'm fine, I'm fine," Gowasu chuckled awkwardly. "Please don't mind that."
"Probably just a sudden shock," Merus said with a faint smile, peering back into the crystal sphere.
Inside the sphere, the club-wielding "human" dropped his victim to the ground—then refused to stop. He raised the stake again and smashed it down.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
…
The skull became pulp—gruesome to behold. The attacker, blood-drunk, only grew wilder and pounded the body into a mangled heap.
On this world, the so-called humans looked like avians that had evolved toward humanoid form: beaked snouts jutting forward, sharp fangs, feral by nature.
"Savages," Zamasu muttered, face tightening.
"This species only recently emerged… they are excessively brutal," Gowasu nodded, equally heavy-hearted.
A beat of silence.
"Lord Merus, Lord Ken, Zamasu—how should we handle this?" Gowasu asked.
Before Merus or Ken could speak, Zamasu cut in: "We should wipe them out as soon as possible."
Merus blinked and shot Zamasu a puzzled look.
Ken wasn't surprised; he'd expected that answer.
"'Wipe them out'? What do you mean?" Gowasu pressed.
"Like a God of Destruction," Zamasu said, matter-of-fact. "Erase them—and their planet."
"What are you saying?" Gowasu's brows knotted; his voice rose. "Zamasu, that is the work of a God of Destruction!"
"Then what should we do, Supreme Kai?" Zamasu countered. "You think such brutes will turn into saints because we lecture them?"
Gowasu fell silent, glanced at Ken and Merus, and gave a rueful smile. "Forgive the display…"
"It's alright," Merus replied politely.
"What do you two think?" Gowasu asked them.
"I haven't handled a case like this, so I'll refrain for now," Merus said, shaking his head. Years in the Galactic Patrol hadn't prepared him to "arrest" a newborn species in another universe. These weren't "criminals" so much as fledglings.
"Quietly guard them," Ken said.
Gowasu blinked, surprised, turning to Ken.
"If ten years aren't enough, watch for a hundred. If a hundred aren't enough, watch for a thousand," Ken added.
Gowasu's eyes lit up with delight.
A human on the angel's path—with a guardian's heart. Even a trainee angel like Merus hadn't voiced it so cleanly. Gowasu looked at Ken with warmth.
"Hmph. Guard them? Laughable. I see no future in which they develop any sense of order," Zamasu sneered.
Ken ignored him.
"I've seen countless worlds like this," Zamasu went on. "Such humans don't deserve to exist."
"You're wrong," Ken replied without ire. "Remember—you're a Supreme Kai, not a God of Destruction. You lost the selection—so step out of that shadow and do the work that actually has a future."
He rose lightly and patted Zamasu on the shoulder.
Zamasu felt a stab to the heart. It sounded like counsel, but it stung.
"I don't need your guidance!" he growled, glaring. A human lecturing him?
Ken's hand tightened.
Thunk.
Zamasu's knee buckled; he dropped to one knee.
Ken drifted to stand before him. "No need for formalities," he smiled. "Admitting you're wrong is enough. 'Gold lies beneath a man's knees'—under a Supreme Kai's knees, it must be worth even more, no?"
Zamasu: "…"
It wasn't that I wanted to kneel! You forced me!
Humans—despicable as ever!
"Zamasu, that's the right attitude," Gowasu said kindly—missing what had actually happened.
Merus stayed quiet off to the side, mulling. Guard them. Why hadn't he said it first? Another small loss to Ken.
"Very well—exceptionally, let's go take a look," Gowasu decided. "We'll see whether Lord Ken's 'guarding' holds water."
"Take a look?" Zamasu blinked.
Merus also looked over, curious.
Pop.
A delicate box appeared in Gowasu's hand.
"Please, Lord Merus, Lord Ken—have a look," he said, opening it.
"This is…" Merus arched a brow. "A Time Ring?"
"Correct." Gowasu nodded.
Ken glanced at the box: a single silver-white ring. Only one—meaning no parallel timelines had yet budded off this Dragon Ball world. Reasonable enough: no Trunks yet, no body-swap Zamasu.
"Time travel?" Zamasu stood and stepped closer.
"Yes. We'll use it to see the Barbarians' future," Gowasu said. "We'll judge with our own eyes whether they're truly not worth guarding. First, we go to the present Planet Barbari."
He offered his hand for a Kai-Kai.
Ken, Merus, and Zamasu each took hold.
"Kai-Kai."
Soft blue light washed over them—
Whoosh.
—and in a blink they hovered high above Planet Barbari, looking down.
On a cliff path below, a brawny "human" hauled a giant fish along a narrow ledge. Two others with stakes stepped out to block him, eyes fixed on the catch.
"Ke-ke-ke!"
"Gu-gu-gu!"
They chattered oddly—then all three exploded into a brawl to the death over a fish.
"What a savage species," Zamasu said, disgusted.
"They may be thus now. A thousand years hence? Not necessarily," Gowasu murmured.
Ken and Merus held their tongues. They were here to learn; watch first, speak when it mattered.
"I'll put on the Time Ring and take us forward," Gowasu offered, then eyed Merus and Ken. "Angels can also traverse time, yes?"
"We can, but we don't do so lightly," Merus said. "And I'm still a trainee—is… tricky."
"No rush. You'll be an excellent angel someday," Gowasu chuckled, adding to Ken, "And I believe Lord Ken will become a true angel sooner than that."
"Supreme Kai… this ring alone lets you traverse time? Can you go to any past or future?" Zamasu asked, staring at it.
"Only forward—to a future point—and then back to our present," Gowasu explained.
"Not into the past?" Zamasu frowned.
"That's forbidden," Merus said. "Changing history brings complex consequences. The divine realm strictly bans going back."
"Understood," Zamasu said—polite, at least to Merus.
"Also: when time is altered, a new Time Ring appears—each corresponding to a parallel timeline," Gowasu added, pointing to the empty grooves in the box's tray.
"Parallel timelines?" Zamasu echoed.
"No need to spell it all out," Ken sighed softly. "If someone with… intent heard this, they might do something excessive."
"Haha, it's just the three of us," Gowasu waved it off.
Ken: "…"
He let it drop. He'd been clear enough.
"In Universe 12, highly advanced humans once built a time machine to go back. That device altered history. Later, most of those offshoot timelines were erased…" Gowasu said. "Hence time manipulation was strictly banned. That's why there's only one ring."
"Erased? By whom?" Zamasu asked, startled.
"By a Time-Space God of Destruction, supposedly," Gowasu said.
"A Time-Space God of Destruction?" Zamasu froze.
"I've heard of them too," Merus nodded. "Said to specialize in cleaning up corrupted timelines."
Ken tilted his head. "Merus, have you ever met one?"
"No," Merus shook his head.
"What about a Time-Space Supreme Kai or a Time-Space Angel?" Ken asked.
"They should exist," Merus said. "I'm not well-versed in "time" matters. If you really want details, try asking Vados—she may know more."
"Alright—enough theory. Let's jump a thousand years ahead on Barbari," Gowasu said, slipping on the ring.
They clasped hands once more.
Gowasu intoned, "A thousand years!"
Space around them twisted; time churned. Ken felt as if he'd entered a rushing temporal current—like Doraemon's time tunnel, points of light streaking past.
It lasted only a few seconds.
Pop.
They were above Planet Barbari again—one millennium later.
At that exact moment in Universe 9, Broly tried to ping Ken. But Ken, now displaced a thousand years forward, couldn't receive across time. His comm couldn't yet span timelines—and he had no idea Broly needed him.
Below, cliff faces now sported odd stone structures. Vegetation was lusher across the world.
"So this is Barbari after a millennium?" Zamasu looked around, curious despite himself.
"Lord Merus, Lord Ken—look. They've formed something like culture," Gowasu said, excited, pointing at the strange houses.
"Yes," Merus smiled and nodded.
"Let's go down," Gowasu said, descending.
Ken and Merus followed. Zamasu landed, scowling, and scanned the area.
A strange sound caught his ear; he veered off toward it.
Gowasu stepped forward and picked up a peculiar object. "What is this?"
"Feels like a musical instrument," Ken said.
"Yes—an instrument! Remarkable—they've developed music in just a thousand years," Gowasu said, delighted. "Where there is music, civilization deepens."
"Supreme Kai, over here!" Zamasu called.
Gowasu walked to him; Ken and Merus came along.
They peered over the lip of a shallow basin. On a rock platform below, a massive melee raged—blood slicked the ground; the air reeked of iron.
"What happened?" Gowasu's face paled.
Ken's stayed neutral; he'd seen worse. Merus, too, remained calm—angels had witnessed plenty.
"This is reality. So much for 'guarding,'" Zamasu sneered. "Their nature hasn't changed—only worsened. Ugly creatures. The universe has no need of humans."
Merus glanced at him, puzzled at the extremism. No humans—only gods and animals? No wonder the Grand Priest had said Zamasu wasn't suited for the role. Ken had read him right—another point to Ken.
"Look there," Ken said, pointing.
A figure in a black cloak stood at another vantage—likely an elder. The fighters, seeing the cloaked one, dropped to their knees and bowed.
Gowasu's eyes narrowed, relief glinting. There—the seed of order.
"Zamasu—watch closely," Gowasu said, gesturing toward what Ken had indicated.
Just then, behind them, a towering Barbarian crept up, hefted a thick stake, and swung down—aiming for Merus.
Merus: "…"
Why me? Do I look that easy to hit?
He was about to sidestep when Zamasu lashed out first.
With a flick of his hand, divine force slammed into the Barbarian.
Thud!
The brute flew back and smashed against a boulder.
"Zamasu! What are you doing? Do not attack," Gowasu snapped, brows knotted.
Merus glanced at Zamasu but held his tongue.
Groaning, the Barbarian staggered up, rolled his neck, and glared at Zamasu with murderous eyes—then spat out a string of insults.
Ken understood the gist well enough: the guy was cursing him out.
Zamasu's face went red with fury. A human dared insult him!
(End of chapter)
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