The ceremonial hall buzzed with confusion and awe, dignitaries and courtiers still reeling from the display they had witnessed.
Just minutes had passed since Lord Toji had launched himself skyward, crashing through the massive skylight to confront the Terror World that had threatened their very existence.
In the center of the chaos stood Freeza, the Empress of the Universe, holding her infant son in her arms.
Her violet eyes were fixed on Megumi's face with an expression few had ever seen on the tyrant's features - soft, conflicted, almost tender.
The child gurgled happily, tiny fingers reaching up to touch his mother's chest.
"Hey Freez- I mean, Your Highness, may I ask a question?"
Freeza's moment of thinking of motherhood was shattered by the cheerful voice of Goku, who approached with his characteristic lack of formality. She didn't bother looking up from Megumi.
"You just did, you monkey," she replied irritably.
Goku rubbed the back of his head, his Saiyan armor gleaming under the crystalline lights. "Oh! Heh, I guess I did. Can I ask another one then?"
"You just did again," Freeza snapped, finally turning her glare toward him. "What do you want?"
Something in Goku's expression shifted. The carefree smile faded, replaced by an unusually serious look that caught Freeza off guard- since from what she's observed the monkey has always been cheerful since the moment he's arrived here.
Even his posture straightened as he met her gaze directly.
"Why did you kill all the Saiyans?"
The question hung in the air like a physical thing. Nearby conversations faltered as Bulma, Nappa, and Vegeta all turned sharply toward them.
Even King Cold, who had been conversing with Grand Marshal Talon, paused mid-sentence, his attention drawn to the exchange.
Freeza's tail twitched once - a subtle tell of her surprise at the directness of the question. After a long moment, she replied with practiced disdain: "Because I can't stand you monkeys. Your smell alone is enough reason."
Nappa's face contorted with rage, his massive frame trembling as he took a step forward. "You genocidal bi-"
Before he could finish, a shimmering purple barrier sprang into existence around their small group. King Cold stepped forward, his casual gesture having created a sound-blocking field that isolated their conversation from the curious ears of the court.
"She acted on orders," Cold stated matter-of-factly, interrupting the bald ape, before he completed his insult, to which Cold would need to kill him, and he didn't really wish to have to explain to his son-in-law why he killed his monkey pet.
The revelation landed like a blow. Vegeta's eyes widened in shock, while Nappa froze mid-step.
Throughout the hall, court members deliberately looked away from the purple barrier, suddenly finding great interest in their drinks or conversations.
None wanted to be caught witnessing what was clearly private imperial business. Such curiosity could be fatal.
If the King possibly thought they read their lips and caught what they shouldn't, the night won't end without them leaving this mortal coil.
"Orders?" Vegeta demanded, his voice rough with disbelief.
Cold swirled the wine in his crystal glass, studying its deep red color with apparent fascination. "Indeed. And before you ask, no, they weren't mine."
"What?" Nappa found his voice at last. "Who could possibly command the Cold family? You're the strongest beings in the universe!"
Cold's gaze shifted to Vegeta, after a moment of silence where their gazes locked, he spoke. "Tell, me, Prince Vegeta, do you recall the being who once visited your father's court? The one who made King Vegeta prostrate himself before him?"
For a long moment, Vegeta didn't. The memory had been blocked for him- he himself unconsciously having done that out of pure unadulterated fear.
The blood drained from Vegeta's face as finally understanding dawned. His knees nearly buckled, and he had to steady himself against a nearby column. "Lord Beerus..." he whispered, the name itself seeming to cause him physical pain.
"Beerus? Who's Beerus?" Goku asked, looking between them with open curiosity.
Vegeta frantically clapped a hand over Goku's mouth, his eyes wild with panic. "Fool! Don't say that name so casually! He might hear you!"
"Hear him?" Bulma questioned, watching Vegeta with growing concern. She had never seen the proud Saiyan prince display such naked fear. "Who is this person?"
Cold's massive hand suddenly clenched, shattering the wine glass he held. The crimson liquid dripped between his fingers like blood as his expression tightened momentarily. Even the Emperor seemed uncomfortable with the topic.
"Not a person," Cold corrected, his voice carefully controlled. "A god. The God of Destruction, to be precise."
"God of Destruction?" Goku repeated, his eyes widening with excitement rather than fear. "Wow! He must be really strong!"
"Strong doesn't begin to describe it," Cold replied. "Lord Beerus exists on a plane so far beyond even my power that comparison becomes meaningless. He destroys planets, solar systems, entire galaxies with less effort than you might use to swat an insect."
"But why?" Nappa asked, his earlier rage replaced by confusion. "Why would this... god... order Planet Vegeta's destruction?"
Freeza made a dismissive sound. "It hardly matters. I don't regret carrying out the order. One less foul-smelling species in the universe."
Cold shot his daughter a reproving look. "Had it not been Lord Beerus's command, I would not have permitted the destruction of such a useful warrior race, regardless of your personal distaste."
"You keep mentioning smell," Bulma interjected, her scientific curiosity piqued. "What exactly do you mean? Do Saiyans have some kind of odor problem?"
Goku immediately sniffed at his armpit, his face scrunched in confusion. "I don't smell anything weird. Do I stink?"
"All Saiyans stink," Freeza declared flatly, shifting Megumi to her other arm. "It's a revolting scent that permeates everything they touch."
"That's not entirely accurate," Cold corrected. "Frost Demons possess sensory capabilities beyond most species. We can detect what others cannot."
"So it's just that you can smell something others can't?" Bulma asked.
"In essence, yes," Cold replied. "Though in this specific case, it's more complex. What my daughter and my late son perceived as a 'smell' is actually an evolutionary trait - our species naturally detects our ancient enemies."
"Ancient enemies?" Vegeta repeated, his earlier fear giving way to curiosity.
Cold's expression became contemplative as he gazed up through the shattered skylight to the stars beyond. "When the universe was young, before the Cold Dynasty, before the Planet Trade Organization, there were two dominant forces in existence: the Frost Demons and the Saiyans. Natural rivals, each pushing the other to greater heights."
"We were enemies?" Goku asked, his childlike curiosity breaking through his earlier formality.
"More than enemies," Cold continued. "Existential threats to one another. The universe was large enough for only one apex species, or so both sides believed. The conflict shaped both our races in fundamental ways."
"But the Saiyans lost," Nappa said bitterly after hearing what the King said.
Cold's lips curved in a subtle smile. "No, warrior. The Saiyans ruined themselves."
The silence that followed was heavy with questions. Cold seemed to be contemplating something, his gaze distant as if looking through time itself.
"Kakarot," he finally said, addressing Goku directly. "Show me this transformation of yours. This 'Super Saiyan' state."
Goku looked surprised, confused, but eventually nodded. "Sure! Stand back a bit."
The Saiyan warrior planted his feet and concentrated, his expression becoming serious. With a primal shout, golden light erupted around him.
His black hair shifted to brilliant golden light, standing upright as if defying gravity itself. His eyes changed from onyx to teal, and his muscles expanded slightly as the golden aura pulsed around him.
Cold studied the transformation with intense interest, circling Goku slowly. "Fascinating," he murmured, reaching out as if to touch the golden aura before thinking better of it. "But this is not the Legendary Super Saiyan."
"What?" Vegeta stepped forward, indignant. "Of course it is! Kakarot has achieved the transformation spoken of in our legends for a thousand years!"
Cold turned to Vegeta, amusement dancing in his eyes. "And you believe this transformation makes him unrivaled in strength? The strongest warrior in existence?"
"Yes!" Vegeta insisted, though his voice carried a hint of uncertainty.
Without warning or dramatic display, Cold's power level suddenly skyrocketed. There was no shouting, no light show, just an overwhelming pressure that filled the barrier.
Goku's eyes widened as he sensed the Emperor's strength (a fraction of it really )- a staggering 5 billion, dwarfing his own Super Saiyan power of 2.5 billion.
"Do you still believe your friend is unrivaled?" Cold asked softly.
Vegeta's mouth opened and closed, no words emerging.
After a moment, King Cold sighed. "You are all under a fundemental misunderstanding." he stated as he then raised three fingers. "There are three."
"Three what?" Bulma asked, curious.
"Three separate legends. Three that have become confused and intertwined over the millennia:
The Legend of the Super Saiyan
The Legend of the Legendary Super Saiyan
The Legend of the Saiyan God"
"A god of monkeys?" Freeza interjected with disdain. "Preposterous."
"Your prejudice blinds you, daughter," Cold chided gently. "Just as your brother's did. You should look past it. I may dislike the Saiyans myself to an extent, but you must never let such feelings stand before you and the truth. For truth is stronger than all. It always prevails, whether one likes it or not."
Freeza's eyes narrowed, but she remained silent, unconsciously pulling Megumi closer to her chest.
"These three legends," Cold continued, "are actually one story that became fragmented over time, distorted and separated as the Saiyan civilization fell into barbarism and lost its history."
"What do you mean?" Bulma asked, fascinated despite the tension.
"In every species, across every planet, throughout all of time," Cold explained, "there occasionally emerges a being of immense, inexplicable power. Born with strength that defies convention. Talent that makes mockery of training. Potential that knows no ceiling."
His gaze shifted meaningfully to Freeza, then toward the skylight where Toji had disappeared.
"We call these beings anomalies," Cold continued. "In legends and other texts some calls them, 'Rule Breakers' or 'The Flaws of the World' and many, many other titles. What I personally prefer to call them is this: The Mistakes of the Gods."
Freeza's arms tightened protectively around Megumi, a gesture that did not go unnoticed by her father.
"My daughter is one such anomaly," Cold stated. "The Flaw of the Frost, we, the ones born before the stars fully formed when Creation was still too cold. Born from the void of space. She was born with a power level of 120 million, when most of our kind begin at a mere fraction of that."
"Toji Fushiguro is another - the Flaw of Duskborn, the humans who were created at the later ends of Creation by the gods. Appearing after 'Dusk' when the Stars have long formed. He was born with power equal to my daughter's."
Goku's golden aura flickered as he took in the info. "So you're saying there are just some people born super strong? Like, naturally?"
"Precisely," Cold nodded. "And long ago, the Saiyans had their own anomaly - the Legendary Super Saiyan."
Vegeta's breath caught. "The true Legendary Super Saiyan..."
"A being of such immense power that even other Saiyans feared him," Cold confirmed. "His birth power transcended loathe I admit it most likely even my daughter's, and his potential knew no limits. His hair glowed not gold, but emerald green, his power increasing with every moment of battle until it threatened to tear his body- and his own world apart."
"But the legends say he was a savior," Nappa protested. "The greatest warrior of our people!"
"And a terror," Cold added. "Both savior and destroyer. The peoples called him the Saiyans' Dark Messiah."
The group listened, transfixed, as Cold painted a picture of ancient history.
"The Saiyans were divided then - the larger faction were conquerors, much like they remained until their end. But there was another faction, smaller but still significant, who wished to channel their warrior nature in ways that did not bring ruin to others."
"Peaceful Saiyans?" Nappa scoffed. "That's hard to believe."
"Not peaceful," Cold corrected. "But selective in their battles, fighting for causes beyond mere conquest."
"When their anomaly emerged, despite how he brought them to heights they could never reach without him, protection from the other races that without him present would've worked together to end them, both factions united against him, for his power and bloodlust threatened all."
"They fought against their own strongest warrior?" Goku asked, puzzled.
"Yes... I will recite to you the Legend in its completion, so listen carefully. I dislike repeating myself." Cold stated, his eyes sweeping over all of them.
As they all looked focused, Cold began:
In time before time, when stars were still young, When galaxies formed and cosmic dust hung, A child was born to the warrior race, With emerald power none could face.
The Mistake of Creation, the Flaw in All
His cries shattered mountains, his laughter broke moons, His power grew faster than thousand-year blooms. The Saiyans rejoiced at this strength in their midst, A weapon, a champion, a clenched cosmic fist.
Behold the green fire that burned in his eyes, As planets fell silent beneath crimson skies. The Saiyans were brutal, but he stood apart, With savagery etched in the depths of his heart.
The Emerald Destroyer, the God of War
His tail like a whip, his rage never sated, The universe trembled, all beings he hated. The Frost Demons faltered before his might, As stars were extinguished like candles at night.
The Saiyans ascended through bloodshed and pain, As worlds upon worlds fell under their reign. Their Dark Messiah led conquest and slaughter, Turning skies to ash and oceans to water.
The Savior of Saiyans, the End of All Mortal
Without his protection, the races would gather, To end Saiyan terror, their bloodlines to shatter. Yet even his people grew fearful and wary, Of powers so boundless, so wild and unwary.
The Saiyans divided on paths they should take, Some thirsting for blood, some fearing their fate. The Conquerors followed their emerald lord, While others sought peace from the edge of his sword.
The Path of Conquest, the Path of the Pure
The peaceful ones whispered of balance and right, While conquerors reveled in bloodshed and might. Yet both came together in desperate hour, United in fear of their messiah's power.
They gathered in shadow, with hearts full of dread, To plot the downfall of the one they had bred. The mightiest warriors, the wisest of minds, Sought ways to destroy what they could not confine.
The Betrayal of Blood, the Turn of the Clan
But strength against strength would surely fail, Against one whose power made galaxies quail. In ancient texts hidden from emerald sight, They found secret words from before the first light.
Saiyans of virtue, with hearts burning bright, Stood hand in hand in the void of the night. A ritual performed as the old scrolls expressed.
The Circle of Power, the God-Making Rite
Their bodies ignited with crimson flame pure, As power ancestral found vessel secure. The universe trembled as balance was sought, A new god created from sacrifice wrought.
The Emerald Destroyer met Crimson God's gaze, As cosmos around them began to ablaze. Two forces primordial in terrible clash, Worlds turned to cinders, reduced down to ash.
The Battle Eternal, the Clash of the Stars
The Crimson God fought with righteous intent, While Emerald Destroyer's rage never relent. The Saiyans united behind their new god, Against the dark messiah, against impossible odds.
The battle raged on through eons it seemed, Till Crimson God faltered, his power near drained. The Emerald Destroyer approached for death blow, As hope for the Saiyans sank terribly low.
The Moment of Ending, the Change from Within
But from crimson embers, a new light was born, A golden radiance bright as the morn. The Saiyan God's form had transformed in the fight, To warrior of legend, of hope burning bright.
With hair spun from sunlight and strength newly found, The Golden Warrior made heavens resound. His power not boundless but perfectly pure, Against the dark anomaly, righteous and sure.
The Golden Defender, the End of the Flaw
The Emerald Destroyer's might finally matched, By golden perfection from crimson light hatched. In final confrontation that shattered the stars, The anomaly fell, leaving luminous scars.
Thus fell the dark messiah of Saiyan-kind, His emerald terror now left far behind. The golden transformation, a gift to their race, A path to redemption, to power with grace.
The Flaw is Defeated, the Legend Begins
Remember this tale from before time was known, Of gods and destroyers and seeds that were sown. The golden-haired warrior who stands here today, Carries echoes of legends from far, far away.
But mark well the warning that history provides: When gods make mistakes, the universe divides. For anomalies rise in each race, in each time, Their power unbound by reason or rhyme.
The Cycle Continues, Again and Again
As the King finished, all of them were left speechless.
For a long moment none of them spoke, taking it all in.
Suddenly, a tremendous crash interrupted their thoughts as the floor of the ceremonial hall cracked open.
From the newly formed crater emerged Lord Toji, his Vader suit immaculate despite the destruction he'd just caused. In one hand, he dragged an unconscious green-skinned woman by her hair.
Cold lowered the barrier as Toji approached, the mechanical breathing from his helmet filling the silence.
"It is done," Toji announced, as he threw the woman at the King's feet.
As if on cue, a rumble like distant thunder shook the palace. Through the shattered skylight, the morning sky revealed a new celestial body - the Terror World, now in orbit around the throne world.
King Cold was pleased, as a geniune smile spread across his face and he placed his massive hand on Toji's shoulder.
"Well done, my son."
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(Author note: Hello everyone! I hope you all liked the chapter!
I hope you all liked the chapter.
Do tell me how you found the legend, took me quite a bit to think about it, and how I wanted to write it.
Well, I hope to see you all later,
Bye!)