GT Timeline - Dragon God Realm
Son Gohan's expression kept shifting, now solemn, now stunned.
So this bizarre timeline was actually a miniature universe that Dragon God Salama had created by imitating the main universe with his own power.
Put simply, if you think of the full universe as a towering tree, then all the parallel timelines born from various factors are the branches of that tree.
And this "mini-universe" was like a seed that fell from the great tree, took root beside it, and grew into a smaller tree of its own.
The so-called negative energy was, in a sense, that small tree secretly siphoning nutrients from the big one.
After all, in the main universe, there was no such thing as Shadow Dragons.
In the ancient main universe, the operational laws were perfect, and on top of that, Zeno still sat in judgment.
All the negative energy produced by wishes was diverted by Dragon God Salama into this miniature universe instead.
"Something doesn't add up. The Shadow Dragons born from negative energy… aren't they destroying this universe?" Gohan asked, frowning.
"Yes and no," Salama replied. "The Shadow Dragons do trigger great calamities, that much is true. But the outbreak of disaster is also a key engine for growth. When the disaster ends and the negative energy disperses, or the Shadow Dragons are defeated, that process in turn generates powerful energy to nourish this universe. That is why you sensed the universe constantly expanding."
"So my arrival… was also part of your arrangement?" Gohan asked, curious.
"That," Salama said, "has to do with what Lord King of Time entrusted to me. To explain it, I need to start from my own birth."
"Figures. Another super long backstory." Gohan rubbed his temples. Long, drawn-out stories were exactly the kind he hated.
But he did not have the luxury of skipping this one.
Dragon God Salama was a being whose innate talent in the main universe was no weaker than that of the King of Time.
Even before Zeno came into existence, Dragon God Salama already walked the ancient cosmos.
Relying on his freakish comprehension, he had managed to grasp the Law of Causality a law on the same level as the Law of Time and Space.
Even the King of Time could not ignore that.
As the supreme deity of the main universe, the King of Time could see at a glance that Salama had the potential to catch up to him.
So he secretly gave Salama many advantages, allowing him to grow at astonishing speed.
Salama did not disappoint. Using the Law of Causality, he created the Super Dragon Balls and the Super Shenron an almighty wish-granting system.
The wish was the cause; its realization was the effect.
Those who gathered the Dragon Balls could be good or evil. When someone made a wish from goodwill, Shenron would receive that person's positive energy. When someone made a wish from malice, Shenron would receive their negative energy.
In truth, "positive" and "negative" energy were simply the desires and convictions lurking in the hearts of living beings.
That kind of energy could not be touched or measured, but the Law of Causality that Salama wielded allowed him to absorb it.
By taking in those energies, Salama could rapidly grow stronger.
However, the Super Dragon Balls were enormous, and they even required the language of the gods to make a wish. After thinking it over, Salama used his own genes to create the Namekian race.
To prevent the Namekians from growing too dominant, he did not give them powerful battle potential.
The Namekians of the main universe did not disappoint him. They created Porunga, the Earth's Shenron, Cyril's Toronbo, and the Dragon of Universe 6's Namek.
Just as the King of Time was about to depart from the main universe, Dragon God Salama successfully broke through to the peak of the Angel-equivalent realm.
The King of Time then gave him two choices.
First choice: the King of Time would personally erase Zeno's existence and hand full control of the main universe over to Dragon God Salama.
Second choice: using the main universe as a foundation, Salama could create a universe of his own. By strengthening that personal universe, he would in turn strengthen himself, break free from the shackles of the main universe, and step into the realm of the One True Existence, transcending all worlds.
As expected, Salama chose the second path.
The King of Time was very pleased with that answer and personally helped him, using the Law of Causality as a base to forge this miniature universe.
From that point on, Dragon God Salama remained within his own exclusive cosmos, constantly absorbing the energy of wishes the faith, desires, and cravings of all beings to strengthen himself.
"Okay, but none of that… has anything to do with me, does it?" Gohan muttered.
"You impatient brat, stop rushing me," the Dragon God said, shooting him a mildly reproachful look.
"Just before Lord King of Time left, he met you. He then gave you the Eerie Qi that he had originally intended to grant me."
"You even know that?" Gohan's eyes widened.
"Of course. If I hadn't refused to absorb the Eerie Qi back then, you never would have had the chance," Salama said, somewhat irritably.
"Hehe… Why did you refuse it? That is the primordial energy from the birth of the universe, right? A catalyst for breaking into the One True Existence." Gohan scratched his cheek, embarrassed.
"That's exactly why it is terrifying," Salama replied. "You outsiders are unbelievably bold. That Eerie Qi gives off a bone-deep chill. It is too frightening. Even I fear it. My original plan was that if I really could not break through to the One True Existence, I would use it as a last resort. But who would have thought that Lord King of Time would turn around and hand it to you instead?"
His gaze toward Gohan was frankly strange.
He himself had seen the Eerie Qi back then and still had not dared to absorb it even when he already stood at the peak of the Angel-equivalent realm.
"Just lucky, that's all. But honestly, after going through that kind of agony… I am not sure I would dare do it again if given another chance." Gohan could not help shuddering as he recalled the experience of taking in the Eerie Qi.
"Even though I lost that opportunity, I have found another path to breakthrough. It may not be long before I too surpass my current level and follow in Lord King of Time's footsteps," Dragon God Salama said with a sigh.
"You mean… you are already about to break into the One True Existence?" Gohan's pupils shrank.
"That is right. Perhaps even Lord King of Time does not realize just how endless desire truly is. Good intentions, evil intentions, all of it can serve as nourishment for me, to be absorbed and transformed into my own power. My Law of Causality is nearing completion. When it becomes complete, that will be the moment I transcend and become the One True Existence. Maybe tomorrow, maybe ten thousand years from now but time, for me, stopped mattering a long ago."
As he spoke, a mass of energy wrapped in mysterious sigils floated above Salama's palm.
Gohan sensed it carefully. It was indeed the power of a law. Yet in front of this law, his Destruction and Death laws felt like infants.
They were of the same "tier," but one had fully reached adulthood while the other had just been born.
"You still have not actually gotten to the main point," Gohan said helplessly.
"Ahem. When you get old, you tend to ramble," Salama said, a little embarrassed. "Alright, to the point, then. Lord King of Time must have seen this future, which is why he told me to lend a hand to you at this point in time."
"Lend me a hand?" Gohan echoed, curious.
"That is right. When you absorbed the Eerie Qi, you evolved a Law of Destruction to rival Time and Causality. But the Death law derived from the Primordial Qi is still a half-finished product. I am going to help you complete that half-finished law, so it can branch out into the power of Life, and ultimately become the Law of Creation."
"Destruction and Creation," he continued. "In truth, it is Lord King of Time's Law of Time-Space that is the strongest. Even my Causality is half a step weaker."
"I get it," Gohan said. "Time-Space is a supreme law born from the fusion of the Laws of Time and Space. I think I understand Lord King of Time's idea now. He wants me to master both Destruction and Creation, then fuse them into a new law."
"Exactly. Destruction and Creation are fundamentally opposed. According to Lord King of Time's calculations, if they can be merged, it will trigger a qualitative transformation," Dragon God Salama said, unable to hide the excitement in his voice.
"But how are you going to help me derive the power of Life?" Gohan still did not quite see the method.
"First, transform into that form of yours where the Law of Death wraps around your body," Salama instructed.
"Alright."
A wave of aura billowed out deathly stillness, despair, the suffocating urge to give up on life itself.
"This is a mass of Time power," Salama said. "With the aid of my Causality, I can use it to create a domain of reincarnation for you. You will be drawn inside, experience countless cycles of life and death, and rapidly comprehend the Law of Life."
A cluster of seven-colored energy formed in Dragon God Salama's hand, and he slowly infused it with his Law of Causality.
That Time power was a gift the King of Time had left behind.
Gohan stared at the energy sphere without blinking. Once the Causality was fully woven in, the sphere's rainbow hues flickered, bright and dim in turn.
Whoosh.
His body turned into a streak of light and was swallowed whole by the sphere.
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