William raised his hand, causing the bronze energy construct of Vegeta to gradually dissipate. Before the Saiyan Prince vanished entirely, he shot Goku a knowing smirk and a final act of defiance, flipping him off in mockery.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA..." Vegeta's sinister laughter echoed as his form dissolved, leaving Goku with a deep scowl of frustration carved into his features.
As Vegeta's form disintegrated into radiant motes of bronze light, the barrier encasing Goku began to unravel as well. It dissolved into a dazzling spiral of bronze luminescence, resembling a planet surrounded by luminous, thick rings to those observing from afar.
Goku's eyes gleamed with curiosity as he instinctively sought to understand the intricacies of this energy. Yet, when his ki senses reached out to the bronze motes, all he could perceive was a pure, untainted essence of resolve.
"What is this energy? It makes me feel so..." His train of thought was abruptly interrupted as he noticed William rising from his chair and approaching him with a goblet filled with vibrant green liquid.
The gleaming bronze goblet, brimming with the alluring green wine swirling inside, immediately made Goku's mouth water as he vividly remembered the extraordinary flavor from his first sip. Without realizing it, he reached out for the goblet, only for William to withdraw it with a subtle, disapproving frown.
"Not yet, Goku, first I want you to show me your absolute full strength!"
With his frown morphing into a teasing smirk, William reformed the barrier, although this time with himself inside directly, as thick hexagonal plates of translucent and shimmering bronze light began to wrap around the two in a rather large area of coverage like an egg shell.
"Whoa..."
SNAP!
Goku's wandering thoughts snapped into focus as the sharp clap of William's fingers echoed through the air. A powerful surge of green ki erupted, weaving through the gaps in the bronze plates and sealing them seamlessly, leaving no way out unless William decided otherwise.
"Y... You sure? I've gotten pretty strong, ya know! Hehe!" Goku said with a playful grin, the kind that, in his own world, would surely spark fresh irritation on Vegeta's face.
William remained silent, offering only a nod as he stretched his arms wide, leaving himself completely open to attack.
Goku focused intently, his senses scanning for any trace of external ki fluctuations, but he found none. Just as he was about to voice his confusion, William's expression darkened.
"Are you coming or not?"
The words were less a question and more an order at this point. Goku nodded in response and began channeling his now significantly deeper reserves of ki.
WHOOSH!
A white aura of ki burst forth from Goku's skin, displacing the dust beneath his feet as he clenched his fists tightly and let out a thunderous roar.
"HAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Goku's ki aura flared wildly, expanding rapidly until it filled a third of the barrier's space, and he hadn't even transformed yet.
A smile spread across William's face as he extended his hand to connect with the ki, marveling at how much deeper and more potent it had become since he began training Goku. A wave of satisfaction coursed through him.
"This will suffice, but... it can always be better!" His thoughts were interrupted as a glimmer of Super Saiyan gold began weaving into the white storm of Goku's aura. His hair started to rise, taking on the unmistakable form of a Super Saiyan.
WHOOOSH!
The golden brilliance of a Super Saiyan transformation exploded within the barrier, radiating like a miniature golden star.
As the intense light faded, Goku stood there, having achieved the most iconic of Super Saiyan transformations. Yet, he was far from finished.
"HAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"
His roar grew louder, his voice resonating with ki as the barrier quivered for the first time, a testament to the overwhelming power surging within him.
CRACKLE!
Brilliant arcs of ki lightning began to leap through his aura, and suddenly there was an upsurge in both its size and intensity.
WHOOOOSH!!
The barrier's bronze plates resonated with a low, deep vibration, reacting to the immense weight of Super Saiyan 2's presence. It wasn't the chaotic roar of raw ki, but the sharp, controlled pressure of a form mastered through precision. The air crackled with energy, charged, metallic, and sharp in the lungs, like inhaling the core of a thunderstorm.
Goku's golden hair flared, each spike edged with faint static that danced along its tips. His aura was no longer an unruly blaze but a refined corona, brilliant, calculated, with every arc of electricity snapping with deadly intent. Blue-white bolts crackled outward, striking the inner surface of the barrier like heat-stressed glass, only for the bronze to absorb the impact without wavering.
William's eyes traced over him, not as an adversary, but as a craftsman appraising a blade honed to perfection. Goku's form radiated pure speed, William could sense the subtle shifts of weight from heel to toe, even though he hadn't moved an inch. Every slight adjustment in muscle tension was tuned for explosive action.
Yet, beneath the glow and power, William discerned something more.
It was buried deep within the flow of Goku's ki, like an undertow beneath calm seas. A surge of heat that didn't belong to the steady brilliance of Super Saiyan 2, wilder, heavier, untamed. Dormant for now, but faintly pressing against its confines.
A faint smirk played on William's lips. He doesn't even realize it's there.
Goku rolled his shoulders, sparks dancing in miniature storms across his skin. His grin spoke of readiness, but William's gaze stayed locked on that hidden ember. Its potential wasn't merely for greater power, it was the promise of a transformation that could tear through this chamber like a star breaking free of its shell.
The thought lingered as William settled into his stance, the bronze light around him solidifying like tempered steel. "Show me if you can reach it," he murmured, his voice low, aware that Goku had yet to grasp what lay within.
Goku adjusted his stance, boots grinding against the fractured floor as tendrils of lightning crackled through the golden glow of his aura. His hair stood on end, charged with static, each strand glinting under the intense radiance of Super Saiyan 2. He exhaled slowly, the air escaping his lungs in visible puffs within the electrified atmosphere.
William remained motionless. His arms hung at his sides, his shoulders relaxed, while the bronze glow around him pulsed faintly, steady and rhythmic like the breath of an ancient machine. The unshaken calmness only deepened Goku's grin.
Alright, Goku thought, distributing his weight evenly between his legs. Let's see how you handle this.
He extended his hands forward, not cupping them as he would for a Kamehameha, but spreading them apart at chest level. His palms angled inward, leaving just enough space to cradle a growing sphere of ki. His fingers curled slightly, quivering with anticipation as he began to draw his energy inward.
The effect was immediate. His roaring aura started to collapse, converging toward the gap between his hands like water swirling into a vortex. Golden streams of light folded inward, spiraling into tight coils of white-blue energy. The ground beneath him trembled violently, cracking into jagged fissures that released faint motes of ki into the air.
"HHHAAAAAHHH!"
The shout erupted from his chest, each syllable pouring more of his Super Saiyan 2 energy into the forming core. Blinding arcs of lightning leapt from his body, striking the bronze barrier in sharp bursts. Each impact was met with a resonant hum as the hexagonal plates absorbed the brunt of the energy with unwavering precision.
The ki sphere began to morph, its smooth and contained appearance giving way to violent turbulence. Its surface churned with swirling streams of blue-white energy streaked with golden fire, resembling a fragment of a dying star torn free and held captive in his hands.
"More," he commanded himself, his jaw tightening with determination. His arms trembled under the strain as he poured everything he had into it, speed, strength, raw willpower. The golden flames of his aura dimmed almost to extinction as he funneled every ounce of his energy inward.
The roar of the energy had grown deafening, more than sound, it was vibration, shaking the air, the ground, and even the marrow of his bones. The bronze plates of the barrier quaked, their seams glowing brighter as though the structure itself braced against the inevitable.
William's gaze followed every shift of the expanding sphere. He remained silent, but Goku noticed the subtle narrowing of his eyes and the slight tilt of his head, small signs that, at last, he was paying attention.
Goku widened his stance further, anchoring himself against the immense force radiating from the attack. Blue lightning arced not only between his body and the barrier but also across the ki sphere itself, forming jagged crowns of light. The golden undertones within the core flared brighter, pulsing in sync with his heartbeat.
The weight was staggering. Each second of holding it felt like balancing a mountain on the tips of his fingers. His arms burned, his muscles screamed for relief, but the fire in his chest, the unrelenting drive to challenge William, burned hotter still.
He gritted his teeth, forcing even more power into the sphere. It swelled larger, its glow sharpening until the edges distorted the surrounding air. The pressure within the barrier became suffocating; each breath felt labored, as if the very oxygen had been consumed by the overwhelming attack.
Sparks burst from his skin in a cascade of miniature explosions, biting into his forearms as he wrestled to contain the volatile energy.
"HHHHAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!"
His roar had devolved into something primal, driven solely by the raw instinct to destroy. His hair lashed wildly around his face, charged arcs of light crackling between the strands. The sphere in his grip throbbed, its fractured shell exposing a searing, molten core that churned with instability and ravenous intensity.
A low, resonant whump began to reverberate from the attack, the sound of immense power compressed to its breaking point. Each pulse tested his grip, threatening to rip the energy free, but he held firm, leaning into the chaotic maelstrom.
Across from him, William shifted at last, his boot sliding back just enough to sink slightly into the ground. It was no retreat—it was the stance of a man preparing to clash with an unstoppable force.
The dome blazed with the light of the impending attack, bleaching the bronze walls in a dazzling flood of radiance. Shadows ceased to exist, replaced by streaks of blazing white and gold that flickered and leapt across every surface.
Almost there… just a little more…
What remained of his aura surged violently in one final burst. The core of the sphere shrieked in response, a thin ribbon of raw energy snapping outward and gouging a deep trench into the fractured stone floor. The barrier plates groaned under the strain, their green seals flickering erratically.
Goku's vision began to blur at the edges. The immense strain was pushing even his Super Saiyan 2 body to its limit. Every fiber of muscle in his arms screamed for relief, his heartbeat pounding in his ears, perfectly synchronized with the pulsating light of the sphere.
It was ready.
Goku leaned forward, his legs coiled tightly, and thrust his arms out, palms flat, fingers splayed, hurling the gathered storm toward William with every ounce of strength he could muster.
The release was cataclysmic. The sphere detonated into a beam so immense it consumed the space between them in an instant, its core a blinding column of white-blue fire wrapped in spiraling threads of golden lightning. The sound was not a roar but a relentless explosion, an unending detonation tearing through the dome.
The recoil struck Goku like a physical blow, forcing his heels deeper into the ground as the beam poured forth. The bronze barrier plates blazed in the attack's light, their seams flaring to near-white as they absorbed the relentless impact.
The air transformed into a rushing void, every particle swept away by the torrent. Goku's vision was consumed by light, his world reduced to the sheer sensation of power leaving his body in a single, unstoppable stream.
And through it all, even as the attack thundered forward, a part of him remained watchful, waiting for the moment William would finally be forced to act, to move.
As the immense beam, a force undeniably capable of delivering a catastrophic planetary-level attack, surged toward William, its blinding radiance masked a small yet profound detail, a clear and unwavering smile that had appeared on his face, unshaken by the colossal peril approaching him.
[Sorry for the late uploads!]