With the Vesperian Compact sworn and the colony's future secured, Astra's focus returned to its core: the relentless pursuit of power. The memory of Frieza's casual genocide and the chilling presence of the unseen watcher were constant, gnawing reminders. His current strength, while immense by the standards of his past life, was a pebble against the mountain of threats in the cosmos.
He retreated to The Cradle. The 1:100 time dilation was his greatest weapon. While a single month passed on Vesper, he had over eight years of subjective time to push his limits.
The Gravity Forge within the Ouroboros was now his constant companion. He no longer used it in sessions; he lived within its embrace, the crushing pressure a second skin. He started at 150x gravity, a force that would have vaporized his former self. His [Dense-Body Constitution] groaned but held, his cells compressing further, becoming miniature stars of potential energy.
His training was no longer just about physical power. He integrated everything.
· Void Fist became a dance of cosmic principles. Under 200x gravity, his movements were slower than a tectonic shift, but each micro-addition was a lesson in absolute efficiency. He practiced against energy constructs he created—simulations of Frieza's soldiers, of the unknown chitinous entity, of the watcher itself. He didn't just learn to defeat them; he learned to dismantle them with minimal effort.
· Cosmic Energy Manipulation evolved. He learned to draw power not just from the environment, but from the gravitational pressure itself, turning the Forge's oppressive field into a battery. He created complex, self-sustaining energy matrices that could hold form for years, weaving shields and constructs of such complexity they resembled solid matter.
· Stellar Forge proficiency deepened. He began experimenting with the awakened Arcosian Bio-Steel. He learned to "commune" with the living metal, not forcing it to his will, but convincing it to align with his intent. He created a gauntlet—a single, seamless piece that covered his right hand and forearm. It was not a weapon, but a focus, an amplifier that could channel his Cosmic Energy with perfect fidelity.
The years blurred into a cycle of agonizing strain and breathtaking breakthroughs.
· Cradle Year 15: Power Level breaks 100,000. He masters gravity at 250x. The Bio-Steel gauntlet is completed, its surface now etched with faint, glowing runes that pulse with his heartbeat.
· Cradle Year 30: Power Level reaches 250,000. He can manipulate local spacetime within the Gravity Forge's field, creating pockets of intensified or nullified gravity. His [Stellar Forge] achieves the ability to synthesize simple materials from pure energy.
· Cradle Year 50: Power Level stabilizes at 480,000. He endures 300x gravity as his new baseline. The [Circlet of the Architect] reveals deeper layers of The Cradle's systems to him; he can now slightly adjust the local time dilation, creating a "time bubble" around himself where he can achieve a 1:500 ratio for short periods.
He was approaching a threshold. The power of Frieza's first form was within sight. But he knew that was just the beginning. Frieza had transformations. The watcher was an unknown.
At the end of the eighth Vesperian month—nearly 67 years in The Cradle—Astra emerged. He stood on the deck of the Ouroboros, the Gravity Forge dormant behind him. His form was the same, but the energy he radiated was orders of magnitude greater. He felt like a contained supernova.
He looked at his status, a testament to a lifetime of solitary dedication.
[User: Astra - The Architect of Vesper]
[Race: Named Saiyan (Otherworlder)]
[Power Level: 485,000]
[Unique Skills: Limit-Breaker, Stellar Forge (Master)]
[Extra Skills: Void Fist (Grandmaster), Cosmic Energy Manipulation (Expert), Geomanctic Engineering (Adept)]
He was no longer just a survivor, or a strategist, or a leader. He was a force of nature in the making. The Architect had spent decades in his forge, and he had hammered himself into a weapon capable of defending his dream. The peace of Vesper was a beautiful illusion, a bubble he had blown. And he had just spent a subjective lifetime tempering himself into the needle that would pop any threat that came too close.
The galaxy thought the Saiyans were extinct. Let them. In the silence of a hidden dimension, their last son had become something they could never have imagined. The forge-fire had cooled for now, but the weapon it had created was sharp, patient, and utterly lethal.