(Meanwhile)
Up in Otherworld, the entire community currently living on Grand Kai's planet had stopped everything they were doing to watch the catastrophic events that were taking place down in the universe below. Across the sweeping magnificence of the planet where the greatest warriors in history came to train and study under the overseers of creation, every single fighter present could be seen standing in the open fields with their eyes shut as their teachers, the four Kais, hooked them up to the fight that was quickly capturing the attention of the entire universe.
Normally a battle down in the land of the living wouldn't have garnered so much interest. However, after it was discovered by the ever watchful North Kai himself that the God of Storms Set had been awakened from her tomb, he quickly relayed the events of the catastrophe to his fellow Kais, who then proceeded to inform their students of the chaos that was taking place. From the way they could see the events were progressing, it was an absolute possibility that if they weren't sitting in a completely different dimension, every single one of them would be able to feel the tremors of the battle raging on between the two titans.
Hell they didn't even need to be there to cringe at every single blow that landed. When all of it eventually boiled down to a quadrant-wide tug-of-war match, everyone across the netherworlds held their breaths and waited to see who would emerge victorious.
For the four Kais standing in the same patch of field as their disciples with their fists and teeth clenched, they were hoping that it would be the son of their resident Saiyan.
"Holy free holies, are you watching this?" the blonde East Kai with the wide-rimmed hat spoke up, her voice stammering nervously.
"My glasses haven't fogged up yet so… yeah… I still am," the tall, pink-skinned South Kai also spoke up, sweat breaking out over his face as all of his students behind him murmured anxiously, the battle escalating at an alarming rate.
If they watched closely they could see entire worlds breaking apart as the cyclone of two opposing energies grew even larger.
West Kai swallowed nervously as he looked over in North Kai's direction to see his colleague standing there with his number one student's hand pressed into his back. "Hey… d-do you think that Gohan boy has a chance against her? I mean, between him and the dog woman, I don't really think-"
"Of course he has a chance!" Goku shouted as sweat poured down his face. Fists clenching tightly as he watched the beam struggle intensify, the man lowered his head and spoke up once again, his voice laced with seriousness and determination, "He's my son! There's no way Gohan will lose to her!"
The fury and confidence in the man's words had the short, purple guardian take a step back and murmur uneasily, "A-Alright. If you say so." He quickly turned back to the battle and shut his eyes. "I mean… this is Set we're talking about… the goddess of darkness and storms, and the most powerful force in the universe. Forgive me if I'm sounding a bit dicky about the whole thing."
Glasses flashing thoughtfully, the nervous Kai of the North turned to glance up at his spiky haired apprentice, "He's got a point you know, Goku. The person your son is fighting is one of the most powerful deities in existence. There are very few beings in the cosmos that can compete with the likes of her and even us Kais couldn't hope of stopping such a force on our own. The best we can do is pray and hope your son comes out of this in one piece…"
Breathing in deeply, the full-blooded Saiyan smirked, "If there's anyone out there who can beat this 'most powerful force in the universe', it's him." And despite what anyone else thought, the man meant it. "He's my son… and I know he will win. You can count on it."
Though Goku had every bit of confidence and belief in his child's strength, the Kais still had their doubts, with all of them quickly returning to watch the universal clash inch closer to its climax…
For all they knew, this was the battle that would go down in history as the one that decided the fate of their reality.
XXX
(Back in the Universe)
By this point in time the planet Gohan had been standing on was long gone, having been disintegrated in the wake of the energy struggle. With sweat and blood pouring down his body, the teen felt the top of his gi shred to pieces as the gale from their colliding attacks ravaged them from head to toe. Set too was pushed back under the typhoon, her fur being ruffled by the heat at the center of their clash rushing past her.
They couldn't give up. Not yet. One slipup would lead to the other's fall, but what a glorious fall it would be. The heavens themselves were trembling under their efforts.
Energy clashing and tearing at the walls of the universe, Gohan and Set continued pouring everything they had into their attacks and sending it at their opponents. With the force of their duel pushing them back through the vacuum little by little; it was only a matter of time before one of them broke.
Sensing that time was fast approaching, the demi-Saiyan decided to make his stand. "How does it feel, Set?!" the teen shouted above the raging inferno of their tug of war, watching from his side as the goddess struggled to hold her ground… or whatever it was she was now floating on. "How does it feel to be oppressed?! To be broken down?! To be the victim?! To watch your dreams crumble and die right in front of you?! DOES IT HURT?!"
Hearing him loud and clear over the howl of their attacks, Set snarled loudly as blue fire exploded from her shoulders and a black smoke began to waft off of her body. With her increase in power, the woman drew her hands back a bit before, with her eyes flaring red, unleashing all of her pent aggression in one mighty blast.
"LET ME SHOW YOU, YOU SELF-RIGHTEOUS HYPOCRITE!" Her output increased several times, a massive shockwave ringing out while her energy gushed out of her hands like water behind an exploding dam. The surge of energy rushed down the beam and struck the head of the attack, where it began forcing the opposing blast back towards its user.
Gohan, feeling the strain of Set's efforts pushing him through the vacuum, gritted his teeth and, snarling loudly, he let loose even more energy from his body. The blue inferno leaving his hands grew in size, burrowing into his opponent's own attack and causing it to split and break. Instead of being swallowed up by the significantly larger blast, the smaller one of the Saiyan's proceeded to push forward.
It was a result that had Set recoil in disbelief. "Impossible!" the God of Storms gawked while her body shook painfully, "Where are you drawing all of this power from?!"
Gohan frowned as he felt the vixen's attack push back with just as much force as before. "You don't get it, do you? Your dream to conquer the universe, to tear it down and recreate it, it's all just a big fantasy! A delusion!" The teen roared as more ki left his body and fed into the stream of blue fire, "Deciding the fate of every single being in this reality is not your decision to make! It's nobody's decision to make! Everyone is free to make their own choices and to live their lives how they want to, without the need for anyone to tell them what to do! Mark my words Set… this battle will decide the future of this world! It will mark a path for everyone behind us; the dreams of those who have gone and the hopes of those who will follow! Tomorrow will bring about the birth of a new universe… a universe where all dreams are realized!" Taking a deep breath, Gohan then bellowed out across the stars, "AND NO ONE WILL NEED TO BE SACRIFICED TO MAKE THAT WORLD A REALITY!"
Shaking her head at the teen's speech, the goddess held her space firmly and brought up whatever energy she had left in reserve to the frontlines. "Strong words! But let's see how well they hold up with no skin on your bones!" With one final roar, she unleashed another burst of energy, her attack surging forward with even greater force.
Lurching back under the increased pressure, Gohan clenched his teeth before, with a cry of agony, blue energy exploded from every pore on his body and rushed into his attack, the power of which multiplied several times over. Like a roaring tsunami, his attack drilled into Set's blast, overwhelming it, and went charging towards her at an unbelievable speed.
The vixen's eyes widened in alarm when her attack's momentum creased and the Super Saiyan's beam barreled in her direction. Not willing to take a blast that powerful head on, the fox deity disengaged from the tug-of-war match and leapt out of the way, watching the missile that was the Son's signature move rocket past her.
Not wanting to be the medium that would lead to potential disaster, Gohan swiftly cut off the flow from his attack and thrust his hands forward. With a shout of effort, he willingly forced the attack to redirect to an empty part of space, where it shot off into the distance and vanished in a flicker of light. It avoided hitting any galaxies along the way and, if his calculations were correct, it would fly off and dissipate on its own.
Once the vacuum cleared, both Set and Gohan floated in the middle of empty space, glaring across at one another. Still shrouded in their respective auras, the former blue and the latter red, the pair took a moment to catch their breaths before deciding that they'd had enough of the silence.
Exhaling, Set frowned, "You're a real piece of work." Taking note of her foe's exposed chest and torso, which had been unveiled when his gi top had been disintegrated in the beam struggle, the deity licked her lips and grinned. "Oh yeah… a real piece of work."
Gohan grunted, "A lot of the guys I've fought over the years might agree with you."
Tail waving behind her, the deity smirked in his direction, "That reminds me. I never actually got your name."
Narrowing his eyes at the goddess, the young warrior considered her words for several seconds before figuring he could perform this one little courtesy. Though it was partly out of some semblance of respect for his opponent, there was another part of him that couldn't deny the request no matter how much of a grudge he held. In spite of having the greatest rage of any of the Z-fighters, the teen was admittedly terrible at having prolonged resentment towards other people. "It's Gohan."
"Gohan, hm?" the vixen exclaimed, the name rolling off of her tongue like an elixir as she shared with him a pleasant smile. "I like that name. I'll be sure to remember it." Rolling her head on her shoulders, she then threw him a challenging look. "Alright then, stud. Let's see what other tricks you have up your sleeve." Streams of electricity running up and down her body, Set then leaned forward and rocketed towards her enemy at a blazing speed.
The demi-Saiyan reciprocated her actions, charging forward with his red aura burning like NOS.
From a distance it looked as though the feuding duo were ready for another head-to-head confrontation. But just as they were closing in on one another, the two super powered combatants suddenly vanished into thin air. While Set disappeared in a puff of black smoke, Gohan's form turned completely gold and disappeared in a flash of light, signaling that both of them had used their respective Instantaneous Movement techniques. As a result, almost every single being across the universe, both in the living and Otherworld, completely lost sight of the warriors.
The pair had taken their fight to another dimension.
Their teleportation sent the fighters into the pocket dimension that allowed them to travel across the cosmos wherever they wished. This particular area took the form of a brightly lit, white void surrounded by countless portals and doorways leading down swirling tunnels to other parts of the dimension. As soon as their forms leapt out of their respective entry points, the pair wasted no time in charging at each other and locking horns in the center.
A loud thunderclap rang out when Gohan threw a counter cross over Set's shoulder and slammed it into her face. After which the demi-Saiyan elbowed her in the head, knocked her leg out and kneed her in the back. He then cupped his hands overhead and slammed a hammer blow down on top of her, sending the woman spinning into a portal below. When he cocked a hand back and prepared a blast to fire after her, the goddess suddenly leapt out of a portal to his right and smashed him across the face with her fist.
The teen returned fire with a swift kick to her side, only for the vixen to check it and punch him in the face. She then kicked him across the cheek and sent him spinning away, but Gohan managed to stop and charge back at her, throwing a hook that she blocked and countered with a powerful roundhouse. When the Saiyan parried it, he instantly slipped to avoid the spinning back-kick that followed and chucked a kick of his own, landing it against her cranium. When Set spun around and thrust her palm into his face, she fired a blast at him, only for the hybrid to dodge it and tackle her in the stomach, sending the pair plummeting down another portal.
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