"Super Saiyan God?"
Lothar snapped his head up, his eyes locking onto the diminutive elder before him. The words that left the old man's mouth were like thunderclaps in his mind, undeniably, he had just pointed the way forward.
Becoming a Super Saiyan God… It would mean rewriting the very foundational rules of this universe, finally freeing the Saiyan race from its systemic rejection by the universe. With that transformation, they could at last unleash their true power, unshackled and without compromise.
"You've gotta be kidding me. Him? A Super Saiyan God?"
"More like a Super Saiyan Embarrassment."
Ego scoffed, tearing down the grand illusion Gubo had painted with a single dismissive remark.
Based on the true depth of Lothar's latent energy, if he had really gone all out, he could've shattered Ego 's star-core like breaking glass. And yet, here he was, beaten down, crushed beneath the very power he should've dominated.
To Ego , this wasn't just a failure. It was disgrace. If this wasn't a cosmic-level humiliation for Lothar's kind, what else could it be?
Don't talk to him about differences in universal laws. Don't feed him excuses about rejection versus resonance. All Ego saw was a so-called Super Saiyan being ground into the dirt under his boot.
He could practically envision it: if anyone from Lothar's home universe could see his pathetic display right now, they'd brand him the shame of all Saiyans.
Some fans, those drawn in by the legend of Saiyan battle power, might even be so disillusioned they'd curse not only Lothar, but the very cosmic laws that birthed him.
But with two universes apart, what could Lothar do? There was no way he could hear them, let alone cross over and punch someone in the face. And the universal laws of creation sure wouldn't bend just because someone insulted them.
"The divergence between universes isn't something one man can flatten," Ego mocked. "Rewrite cosmic law by becoming a Super Saiyan God? Sure. Why not go back to the Centauri Galaxy and dream about it instead?"
With that, Ego turned on his heel, prepared to walk away.
"Hey, Gubo… this Ego guy… is he really a god?"
"Or more importantly, can gods who've existed since the dawn of the universe… actually die?"
Lothar's voice, frail but fierce, froze Ego in his tracks.
He turned back. What met his gaze were Lothar's eyes, ablaze with unyielding battle spirit.
"When a person is killed, they die," Ego said coldly. "Gods are no exception."
"Death is one of the bedrock laws that hold this universe together. No one escapes it."
Gubo's gaze shifted to Hela, still imprisoned in Ego 's grasp.
The Princess of Asgard, the one whose very nature was death incarnate.
"Divinity is not gifted, it is forged. From nothing, through struggle. I look forward to the day you become one with this universe on behalf of your race."
With those parting words, Gubo slammed his staff into the ground, and the Power Stone shimmered in the sky like a blazing star!
Arcane sigils flowed across his body like living ink, and beneath their radiant light, his wrinkled skin smoothed, his posture straightened. The once diminutive elder grew, inch by inch, until his height rivaled even Lothar's!
"What the—?!"
"That's impossible!"
"Master?!"
Gasps erupted all around as Gubo returned to his prime, a young, striking man once more, his face touched with nostalgic longing.
"It's been a long time… since I've used this power."
"This is a gift from Death itself."
Long ago, in the twilight reaches of Gafa, Gubo had encountered an ancient goddess.
A child once traumatized by war, he had vowed to defend love and peace throughout the cosmos. Yet that goddess, amused or angered by his naive idealism, cursed him, stripping his youth in an instant. For millions of years, he'd clung to life on Gafa, enduring as a withered relic, all for the chance to train a worthy successor to carry on his vision.
He'd first chosen Rodus. For a time, Rodus showed great promise. But in the end, his ambition surfaced, he sought to oppress the Tuskari people, and betrayed Gubo's teachings.
Heartbroken, Gubo turned to Jennifer, a kind soul who dreamed of toppling Gafa's tyranny and building a world of true equality.
He was more cautious this time, but perhaps too much so. Jennifer lacked the strength to rival Rodus.
Now, Gubo's gaze had shifted to Lothar.
A man rejected by the very universe he lived in.
Gubo knew his time was nearly up. There was no luxury to carefully nurture Lothar as he had Jennifer. All he could do was point him toward the final goal, and pray the message landed.
After all, Lothar was a man with arrogance etched into his very bones.
"Lothar, listen closely. I'll only say this once."
With a flick of his wrist, the flying staff morphed into a golden scale that hovered before him.
"The crystallization of divinity is a monumental task. One that cannot be completed swiftly by someone the universe itself rejects."
"I'm sending you to a place… uniquely situated within this cosmos."
"It's more or less the universe's garbage dump."
"There, you'll find not only the corpses of gods from the previous cosmic cycle, but also divine remnants from this era."
"I hope… you find the insight you seek."
"I don't know if choosing you is a mistake. So Jennifer, you're going too. Remember what I taught you. Forge your divinity. And above all…"
"Don't forget why you started."
He didn't know if this gamble would pay off. But maybe Jennifer could influence Lothar. Or maybe Lothar, seeing her knowledge of godhood, would protect her… even if only as a strategic asset.
"No, Master!"
"Don't—!"
Gubo crushed the celestial scale into a sphere, slotted the Power Stone into its core, and hurled it into the ground. It tore through the crust, streaking toward the planetary star-core like a comet.
"I'm sorry, Jennifer… I can't be there to guide you anymore."
His turtle shell armor fragmented into twin rods, as immense power gathered around his body like a rising storm.
"To all beings on Gafa... hear me!"
The energy barriers dropped. Gubo's booming voice thundered across the skies.
"The Tuskari have been given an evacuation route. Preparations are in place for the Gafa-born as well."
"It's a shame. Even at the end, I couldn't resolve the blood feud between your two peoples."
"Jennifer, the future is yours."
"Your final trial… is complete."
He had passed on his ideals to a disciple. That was enough. Now, he could embrace the end.
Behind him, a sprawling star map unfolded like wings of light, dazzling and vast. It wrapped around Rodus, his once-prized student, while Gubo himself, staff in hand, swept toward the grim-faced Ego .
In that instant, Lothar collapsed. Hela vanished from Ego's grasp. Jennifer, reaching out in desperation, disappeared alongside them.
Elsewhere, far away in an empty rebel outpost, The Other sat slumped, still waiting for a transmission that never came.
"Wait for the signal, wait for the signal… What the hell is the signal—"
A sudden surge of energy smashed into the base, engulfing him in blinding radiance.
"I swea—WHAT THE F—"
Before the curse could leave his lips, he was gone.
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Author's Notes:
Stop talking about "nerfing" already.
I've already explained again across these three chapters why Lothar's performance in the Marvel Universe looks the way it does. So can we please stop with the whole "he's weaker than Dragon Ball characters blah blah blah"? I'm seriously getting fed up with it. How many truly overpowered Saiyans are there in Dragon Ball anyway?
Lothar is a pure-blooded Saiyan, not a hybrid like Gohan, and definitely not part of that generation like Vegeta or Kakarot, whose power was augmented through ki training. I've hammered this point home since the very start of the story. (Take notes, underline it, memorize it!!)
He's a native-born Saiyan operating under cosmic rejection and suppression. He lost to Ego, one of the top-tier heavyweights in the cinematic universe, and that's what triggered his journey to become a Super Saiyan God. What's wrong with this evolution path?
Lothar isn't in the Dragon Ball Universe. No one here is going to lay out a neat little roadmap to Super Saiyan, Super Saiyan 2, Super Saiyan 3, Super Saiyan 4, or even God. He's groping in the dark. Did Kakarot have any idea what "Super Saiyan" even meant before the Namek saga?
Hell no. He only knew two things, eat and train.
Ego was just a narrative device to point Lothar toward godhood. Why Ego? Because Thanos is now his adoptive father, Odin is slated to become his future father-in-law, and the Ancient One hasn't even been born yet. Ego is literally the only named, top-tier boss in the movie universe available to serve that purpose.
As for Dormammu and his crew, I haven't decided how to handle them yet, so I'm not dragging them into this mess for now.
So seriously, stop accusing me of "deliberately nerfing" Super Saiyan power or sabotaging anything. I've been extremely careful in maintaining balance across every transformation and power-up phase.
The Super Saiyan 1 Trial Mode gifted by the Mind Stone obliterated Planet U40. If not for Odin's intervention, the fully awakened permanent Super Saiyan form would've straight-up nuked Svartalfheim. Tell me, is that really what you'd call weak?
Now let's talk about Ego. Yeah, his true form is a planet, but the guy's had eons to evolve, build power, and absorb the life force of his own son. Are you telling me that's nothing?
Most planets just sit there accumulating dead mass. Ego was sentient from birth, and post-consciousness evolution made him a master of energy manipulation. Add to that the Marvel Universe's systemic rejection of Saiyan ki, and you seriously think it's hard to believe Lothar lost this round?
Even in real life, organisms adapt, grow stronger or weaker, based on their environment. Now scale that logic up to a cosmic ecosystem, and maybe it'll finally make sense.
T/N: This whole "universe rejection" thing feels a bit too much like a xianxia trope to me. That concept does apply to Infinity Stones in the comics, but there are also plenty of characters in Marvel Comics who travel between universes without suffering any kind of suppression. Is it because Dragon Ball and Marvel aren't exactly "parallel" to each other, or is it simply a quirk of having a Chinese author? lol.
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