"Almost three ars in this timeline already…"
Ever since the Old Kai unlocked his potential and explained just how terrifying that enemy truly was, Levos had finally understood why this world was on the brink of being erased.
"Devouring planets, devouring the strong… even hunting gods on purpose. Just what is that thing?"
An unknown enemy was the greatest variable of all. If Levos ever faced it in the future, he couldn't afford to be blind. So he decided to use this opportunity to dig out the truth and prepare for whatever crisis might come.
For the past two and a half ars, Levos had roamed through the vacuum of space, crossing universe after universe, searching for traces of that monster.
But he found nothing.
Worse, some universes' Sacred Worlds of the Kais and Destror planets were either shattered beyond recognition… or simply gone.
This timeline really was doomed.
After making a full circuit of the twelve universes, Levos's storage space held only one Destror planet and three Sacred Worlds of the Kais. He still hadn't decided what to do with them, but one thing was certain: he wasn't leaving them behind to become fuel for the enemy.
The crisis of Cell Max's self-destruction had basically been resolved.
After his potential was unleashed, and after the brutal training that followed, Levos had forged multiple new transformations. His strength was no longer comparable to what it once was.
Once he returned to the outside world and fused with Cell Max again, he could push Cell Max smoothly into an ultimate form.
And then, before long, he would completely absorb the divine power of the nine Gods of Destruction, leaving them a lesson they'd never forget.
Levos drifted once again through the ruins of what used to be Earth in this timeline.
The planet had been completely destrod. Even the large fragments were gone.
Only scattered debris remained, floating like cold ashes in the void.
Levos had searched here many times before, gambling on a miracle, hoping he might find the Dragon Balls.
"The Namekian Dragon Balls were devoured along with the planet. Even the Super Dragon Balls met the same fate. As for a place like Planet Cereal, of course it didn't survive either. In truth, every living planet has been swallowed by that thing…"
That was what the Old Kai had told him.
The catastrophe had begun on the eve of the Cell Games.
Then Cell was devoured by that mysterious existence, followed by every Earth fighter.
Even Majin Buu's egg hadn't escaped.
After that, starting from Earth as the origin point, countless clones spread into the depths of space and devoured anything that could be devoured.
New Namek. Galactic Patrol Headquarters. The Galactic Prison. Planet Cereal…
"Who is it? Don't tell me Moro and Merus were devoured too?!" Back then, Levos had found it impossible to believe.
That question had left the Old Kai silent for a long time.
Only after a heavy pause did he answer, "That thing is likely a Majin. A demon from the Demon Realm… something even more horrifying than Majin Buu."
"And s. I can tell you for sure, Moro the planet-eater was devoured."
"As for that Merus you mentioned, I don't know him. But the Galactic Patrol was wiped out. No one survived."
"A Majin…?" Levos's expression had shifted again and again.
A Majin of unknown identity.
Creating countless clones to devour the cosmos.
Its ability and growth were even more terrifying than Cell Max.
"After it devoured the entire Universe 7, it finally drew Lord Beerus's attention. Lord Beerus destrod that thing, along with its old hideout on Earth."
"But later it was proven that what Lord Beerus destrod was only a clone. The real one had already infiltrated other universes and was devouring them freely…"
"By the time it returned to Universe 7 again, it already possessed power far beyond Lord Beerus."
Far beyond Beerus?!
Just hearing that made Levos's scalp go numb.
In the end, even Beerus couldn't escape being devoured.
Against an enemy like that, Levos suspected that even if he fused with Cell Max, he still wouldn't be a match.
And the worst part was, even dealing with the clones alone was already a nightmare.
According to the Old Kai, those clones weren't weaker offshoots. Their strength matched the main body, and they could even transform into the appearance of the people they devoured—using their unique abilities with terrifying skill.
A foe like that had almost no weakness.
It was monstrous in every way.
In short, this was a catastrophe that swept across all twelve universes.
The only sliver of hope lay in Earth's Dragon Balls.
Levos searched carefully through the fragments of Earth for several days.
On that day, his gaze suddenly sharpened.
In the deep darkness, a faint orange glimmer—an ember of hope—flickered softly.
On a slab of Earth's debris, among a pile of broken rock, something round seemed to be wedged in place.
Levos's heart leapt.
"So I really found one. Even if it's just the first, it's a start."
But when he pried that orange glint out from between the stones…
His heart turned to ash.
In his palm was not a complete Dragon Ball.
It was a cracked shard.
It was over.
This timeline really was finished.
Levos finally stopped struggling.
He wasn't a savior—at least, not someone capable of saving a world like this.
"...Sigh."
A long breath left his lips as he slowly flew away from Earth's remains.
"It's time to contact Chronoa and get out of here."
By his reckoning, Goku and the others should have returned to Earth in his own timeline by now.
It was time to leave.
Not finding the mysterious enemy was a regret, but Levos's mind was fixed on Earth's safety.
"With Big One and Big Two guarding the place, nothing major should happen… right?"
But thinking of that little Cell creature's mischievous nature—and its lack of real combat experience—Levos couldn't fully relax.
"If it dares to mess up, I'll have Frieza teach it a hard lesson."
Levos had zero experience raising kids.
And the Son family's "live-in nanny" was definitely not strict enough.
So that left only one hope: Uncle Frieza.
Even if Frieza wasn't great at teaching… didn't he at least have the reputation of "strongest sparring partner"?
"The only problem is… what if Frieza stops going to Earth altogether? I need some excuse to keep him tied down…"
Levos sighed. One man, that many kids—his life was suffering.
Through Cell Max's point of view, Levos saw Chronoa still asleep after nearly three full days and nights.
He went quiet.
"As the Supreme Kai of Time, how are you this lazy? How can you sleep in a place like this?"
Watching Chronoa snore like she was in her own bed, Levos couldn't help complaining in his mind.
Still, he had to wake her.
He nudged her with his toe.
No response.
He shook her shoulder.
She rolled over and kept sleeping—snoring even louder.
Fine.
Then he'd have to use the "spray" method.
He used Cell Max's tail to draw up a tube of water from the fountain.
But right then—
In the timeline where Levos's main body was located, he suddenly sensed a streak of light approaching through the universe!
"What… is that?"
Only a few seconds had passed outside, t Levos couldn't even catch where it had come from.
He flashed forward, intercepting the incoming streak.
Only then did he see it clearly.
It was a spaceship, flying straight toward Earth at top speed.
Levos's curiosity sparked.
He used Instant Transmission and slipped into the ship.
The vessel was old and battered, like it had lived through too many ars.
"Who are you? Why are you here?!" a young man barked coldly the moment Levos opened a hatch.
"I'm Levos. I was surprised to find anyone still alive in this universe, so I came to take a look." Levos studied him in return. "And you?"
The face was oddly familiar, t Levos couldn't be certain.
Besides, if the Old Kai was right—after being devoured, that Demon Realm creature could reshape itself into anyone it had swallowed.
Whether this was friend or enemy… couldn't be decided by appearances alone.
"Levos? Are you here to devour me?" the young man asked, bristling with suspicion.
Levos didn't answer. His es had locked onto an old, faded photo taped near the console.
It was a group photo of Earth's friends.
Everyone was smiling—Goku, Chi-Chi, young Gohan, Piccolo, Bulma, and more.
But the young man clearly wasn't any of them.
Levos frowned slightly.
"This photo… he doesn't seem related to anyone in it."
The young man's voice turned even colder.
"My family is on that photo."
Levos paused.
"What is Goku to you?"
The young man looked surprised that Levos had struck the core so quickly.
"I'm his child."
Goku's child?
So he really was a Son.
If it wasn't Gohan, then there was only one left.
Levos immediately understood who he was.
And honestly, it wasn't Levos's fault he hesitated—he didn't have much of an impression of an older Goten.
As a kid, Goten looked exactly like Goku—adorable.
But once he grew up, his hairstyle drifted toward that "Yamcha vibe."
Even his personality tilted in the same direction—his brain full of romance and dating.
He gradually became a side character.
Yamcha, stop. Don't corrupt the Son family!
Still, Levos understood too: childhood shapes people. Different lives made different souls.
For example, the Gohan in Levos's timeline would never be linked with the word "cowardly."
Trunks was steady and mature, never reckless.
So the Goten before him probably wasn't the same as the one he remembered either.
"My name is Son Goten." The young man pressed, "You… know my father?"
"s." Levos nodded. "But I didn't meet him in this timeline."
Son Goten fell silent for a moment.
"Like Future Trunks… you came from another timeline?"
"Exactly."
"Then…" Son Goten's voice sank. "In your world… did you defeat the enemy that destrod ours?"
Levos shook his head.
"That enemy never appeared in our world. I'm curious too. I've been searching for it."
"You can beat it?" Son Goten's es lit up.
"I can't," Levos said calmly.
In truth, even if Cell Max fully absorbed the divine power of the nine Gods of Destruction, Levos still couldn't say he had absolute confidence.
That enemy had devoured the twelve Gods of Destruction, including the strongest, Beerus. It had even likely devoured Merus, a trainee angel.
That wasn't a joke.
Levos had dared to chase its traces only because he could leave this timeline at any moment through Chronoa.
And because this timeline was destined to be erased anyway, he hadn't allowed panic to consume him.
All he could do was gather intelligence, and prepare mentally—so that if such an enemy ever truly appeared in his world, he wouldn't face it empty-handed.
"But Earth should've turned into ruins ars ago." Levos frowned. "You survived. Why are you back here?"
By now, most of Son Goten's wariness had faded.
He invited Levos to sit, then began to explain everything.
"Back then, Aunt Bulma built this ship and took everyone to seek help from the Namekians…"
Not long after the defenders of Earth were devoured, Bulma urgently gathered the remaining survivors and fled the planet on a spaceship.
At the time, the enemy was busy building its "mansion," and wasn't interested in ordinary lifeforms. That was why they managed to escape.
Later, when they reached New Namek, they were horrified to find the entire planet already infested and consumed by the enemy's clones. Almost all the companions died on the very day they landed.
Only Bulma—who had lost her child—and Chi-Chi, who was pregnant with Goten, escaped.
From then on, they drifted through space.
Goten didn't even know which sector of the universe he'd been born in.
As time passed, living planets became fewer and fewer. Bulma and Chi-Chi fell deeper into despair.
But in this timeline, the Supreme Kai and the God of Destruction hadn't stood by.
Beerus once saved them during a crisis, and even brought them to the Sacred World of the Kais for a period of time.
When Goten was young and training, he even received personal guidance from Beerus.
Before he was even twenty, he had already mastered Super Saiyan 3.
This Son Goten—whose strength far surpassed his father's—was even acknowledged by Supreme Kai Shin.
Shin firmly believed Goten possessed power that could match the enemy.
But when Goten returned to Earth full of confidence…
He discovered his strength was nothing in front of that monster.
If Beerus hadn't intervened again, Goten would've been devoured too.
That time, Beerus finally fought the enemy directly—destroying it, along with Earth itself.
That day, Supreme Kai Shin finally relaxed, even confidently claiming the universe was safe and that no one could defeat Beerus.
"Who would've thought…" Son Goten's expression darkened. "What Beerus-sama destrod… was only a clone."
Tragically, it took Beerus a long time to realize that.
But by then, it was too late. The enemy's growth was terrifying.
Only a few ars later, when it sought out the Destror's planet on its own…
Its strength had already surpassed Beerus by far.
"Where was Whis?" Levos couldn't help it. His mouth twitched.
Your cat was getting beaten to death and the angel didn't stop it?
"How could that make sense?"
"Whis-sama chased the enemy's true body across the universes," Son Goten said heavily. "He killed countless clones… but he still couldn't reach the real one."
Levos sucked in a breath.
So even an angel couldn't settle it?
This was beyond hell difficulty.
And what happened next… was exactly what Levos had expected.
Whis got "backdoored."
The cat died.
Then Whis vanished.
Son Goten never saw him again.
Whether Whis went into slumber or was erased… no one knew.
Hope was gone.
Bulma and Chi-Chi eventually reached the end of their lives, too.
But Bulma believed with all her heart that if Goku could be revived, he would save this world.
And from that day onward, Goten began his journey—searching for the Dragon Balls…
"Another timeline drowning in hopelessness," Levos murmured.
He silently took out the shard of the Dragon Ball.
The instant Son Goten saw it, he hurriedly pulled out his Dragon Radar.
No matter how he adjusted it, the only signal source was right in front of him.
There were no others.
Son Goten's es dimmed completely.
There was an even crueler truth Levos didn't say out loud.
Those killed by Demon Realm beings… their souls dispersed. True resurrection didn't exist.
Son Goten might be the last living person in this entire timeline.
Levos asked softly, "From here on… what do you plan to do?"
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