Gently lowering Iaiashin to rest against the wall, Merun sat cross-legged on the cold Kinzoku Steel floor and stared down at his hands.
He'd achieved it.
He was a Super Saiyan.
His fists slowly clenched as his body trembled with emotion.
Merun had been waiting for this moment ever since he learned he was a Saiyan. The transformation had always required reaching an emotional breaking point.
That...
and S-Cells.
S-Cells were microscopic cells unique to a Saiyan's body, their number varying depending on the individual's nature.
There were two known ways to increase them. The first was through battle—raising one's battle power through relentless training and combat. The second was simply being born with a gentle disposition. Saiyans of peaceful temperament naturally possessed far more S-Cells than their violent counterparts.
The greater the number of S-Cells, the easier it became to transform into a Super Saiyan. A Saiyan blessed with an abundance of them required little emotional stress, if any at all.
It explained why Goten and Trunks had awakened the form so effortlessly, having been born during an era of peace, while Vegeta had struggled for years before finally achieving it.
Merun himself had been born in another world—one far more peaceful than Planet Vegeta. He had grown up with loving parents, ordinary morals, and a strong sense of fairness. Even after arriving in Gaia, he had been embraced by another loving family.
It was entirely possible his S-Cells had already been unusually high.
Perhaps the harsh, martial environment of Gaia had simply slowed their growth.
Combined with the battle power he had accumulated through years of training...
He'd finally reached the threshold.
Closing his eyes, Merun focused his ki toward a single point beneath the base of his neck.
Immediately, a sharp, icy chill rippled from the back of his skull down his spine. Every muscle in his body tensed to its limit. Veins bulged across his neck and arms as his frame strained to contain the surging power roaring through him.
Then—
Golden flames erupted around his body.
His long, black hair flashed brilliant gold as the blazing aura burst free, no longer willing to remain imprisoned inside his body.
His eyes opened.
The world appeared sharper than before, every detail unnaturally vivid beneath his teal-green gaze.
A grin spread across his face.
"Fuck yeah."
...
Looking back, he'd always feared something unimaginably terrible would have to happen before he could transform.
And...
it had.
The memory alone filled him with dread.
He remembered the exact instant he snapped.
The shattered sky.
The enemy of all life.
The nightmare at the end of the universe.
...And somehow, in his broken mind, Master Iaiashin was that monster.
No, the monster was a faceless blur, which turned out to be her.
The memory surfaced again, making his breath hitch.
"Why the fuck did that happen?" Merun muttered, a cold sweat forming across his forehead.
Was that nightmare truly just a dream?
A premonition?
A vision?
Or had some dormant psychic attack buried itself inside his subconscious long ago, only to awaken the moment Master Iaiashin spoke those words?
Could a Martial Transcendent have done something like that?
He remembered reading that those monsters could bend reality itself.
He simply didn't know.
That uncertainty frightened him more than the transformation ever could.
...If that madness had consumed him while he was with his family.
If he had went on a rampage without someone like Master Iaiashin there to stop him...
Would he have slaughtered them all?
The thought sent a chill through his entire body.
Fortunately, the crisis was all in his mind.
He looked toward the sleeping matriarch and quietly exhaled.
She had saved him.
She had been the only person in the entire clan capable of enduring his rampage long enough to bring him back.
And in doing so, she had once again exposed the greatest, glaring flaw of his Overwhelming Suppression.
His body was nearly invincible but his mind wasn't.
Merun silently made himself a promise.
Once this was over, mental defense would become his highest priority. Whether through Martial Arts, hypnosis resistance, parasites, esoteric materials, or meditation, he would strengthen his mind until nothing could ever seize control of it again.
"Overwhelming Suppression..." he murmured.
"...needs an unbreakable mind."
Seeking to calm the lingering turbulence in his heart, Merun slowly rose to his feet.
He extended his right hand, straightening his fingers until they resembled the sharp edge of a katana.
Taking a slow breath, he stepped forward.
WOOSH.
A clean downward cut.
Then another.
A thrust.
A horizontal sweep.
A diagonal slash.
His movements flowed naturally, his boots tapping softly against the steel floor as the sequence gradually evolved into a silent martial dance.
Every transition felt effortless.
Every movement felt right.
Yet...
something was missing.
Merun stopped, staring thoughtfully at his hand.
The technique was there.
But it lacked something fundamental.
"...Ah."
His eyes widened.
Closing them once more, he reached inward.
He gathered his ki from his core, guiding it through his shoulder, down his arm, and into his fingertips before compressing it into an impossibly dense stream.
BZZZT!
A crimson flash illuminated the dark arena.
Sparks of red ki ignited along the length of his hand, extending outward into a humming blade of condensed energy.
An Energy Blade.
A grin immediately spread across his face.
"...Fucking sick."
"A proper blade... It's like a lightsaber."
Re-establishing his stance, Merun resumed the dance.
This time, black petals bloomed behind every swing.
His strikes accelerated.
The humming blade carved effortlessly through the subterranean air, each motion smoother than the last as he lost himself within the rhythm.
Mesmerized, he allowed his instincts to guide him deeper into the form.
One final step.
A sweeping circular cut.
SWOOSH—
Pitch-black roses blossomed around him.
They drifted silently through the air before dissolving into glittering motes of light.
"...Blossoming Blade: Garden."
Merun lowered his arm.
The crimson blade vanished.
He stared at the fading petals in complete disbelief.
"I'm such a fucking genius."
He could use Master Iaiashin's techniques.
He had truly understood her martial path.
Only now did he fully grasp what the Super Saiyan transformation had actually given him.
It wasn't merely overwhelming physical strength.
It was overwhelming cognition.
His thoughts, perception, pattern recognition, and battle analysis had all reached an entirely different realm. Combined with his innate Saiyan battle instincts, that heightened awareness had allowed him to dissect Master Iaiashin's swordsmanship in real time—not merely copying the techniques, but understanding the person behind them.
Merun turned toward the sleeping woman.
Her Martial Embodiment—that colossal steel tree blooming with blood-red cherry blossoms had meaning.
It had been her soul.
Her beliefs.
Her identity.
The sturdy trunk represented the unwavering pillar supporting the Kinzoku Clan through every storm. The blossoms embodied the endless cycle of life—flowers blooming, spreading, protecting, fading, and willingly making way for new growth.
Every single petal carried decades of disciplined swordsmanship.
Every branch spoke of sacrifice.
Every blossom carried love.
In this world, a martial path wasn't merely how one fought.
It was who they truly were.
Having walked through her techniques and experienced the memories hidden inside them, Merun felt closer to Master Iaiashin than ever before.
Satisfied, he allowed the transformation to fade.
The golden flames disappeared.
His hair returned to black.
Sitting comfortably once more, Merun entered his Mind Palace and spent the next several hours sorting, organizing, and consolidating the immense amount of martial knowledge he had absorbed during their battle.
When he finally opened his eyes...
Master Iaiashin was already awake.
A huge smile covered her face.
Throwing away every shred of the elegance expected of the clan's matriarch, she practically rushed over before vigorously ruffling his thick black hair.
"You're extraordinary! A true genius!" she exclaimed, her voice trembling with pure delight. "In such a short time, you've already stepped into the realm of the Martial Master!"
She barely gave him time to respond.
"I saw it! I watched you slowly comprehend my Blossoming Blade! I had already read in your file that you possessed monstrous learning ability, but this... this far exceeds anything I imagined!"
"Hahahaha! I cannot believe how fortunate I am! It truly feels as though fate wanted us to meet! There is hope for the Sage Realm after all!"
She laughed brightly, patting him on the back with enough enthusiasm to make her decades of dignity completely disappear.
Merun, however, couldn't bring himself to smile.
"...Master."
"I've been lying to you."
"Nonsense. One cannot lie to a Martial Master—"
She stopped.
Her brows slowly furrowed.
"...Why can I sense your emotions again?"
"What happened to your mind?"
Merun looked away, scratching the back of his head.
For the first time since meeting her...
he looked genuinely nervous.
"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Master..."
"But if I don't tell you..."
"...I think it'd be a grave sin."
He took a slow breath.
Then finally met her eyes.
"I'm not human."
.
.
.
.
.
A/N:
Sorry about the hiatus, focused on work, gym and life.
Thanks for reading!