The Blue World?

Whoosh—

Chaya and the Giant Ape stared at each other from a distance. A light breeze blew, kicking up sand and dust, while withered branches and fallen leaves danced in the wind. The gentle breeze suddenly escalated into a raging gale; the silent battlefield felt like the end of the world, shrouded in a bone-chilling terror.

Chaya focused his gaze, a cold, daunting chill flickering in his bright eyes. His brain raced, searching for any opportunity to close the distance to the Giant Ape. He secretly channeled the energy within his body, ready to launch a fierce counterattack the moment he found an opening.

Zzzzt, zzzzt, zzzzt. Turbulent air currents surged like a crashing tide, whipping the black hair on his forehead.

Snap. Leaves were shredded to pieces by the air currents, the faint sound carrying through the air.

Chaya suddenly moved.

His movements were as swift as a gale. In an instant, he launched a violent assault on the Giant Ape. Illusory afterimages filled the air, and for a time, the sound of fists and feet striking flesh was incessant. A blurred figure danced continuously, attacking with the force of a sweeping storm.

ROAR—

The Giant Ape let out a howl of pain, though it was fueled even more by rage. A wave of indiscriminate energy began to spread outward once again.

Faced with the Giant Ape's near-maniacal attack, Chaya's expression shifted. He braced himself, a rapidly spinning gust of wind rising from beneath his feet. It lifted his small frame, propelling him suddenly into the clouds as the wind whistled in his ears.

"Hah!"

Chaya hovered in mid-air, his fingers spread into claws, and slowly held them before his chest. A second later, a brilliant, dazzling blue light ignited between his hands. It grew brighter and brighter, like a beacon in the darkness, brimming with vitality and life.

The air pressure between his palms continued to rise, the scorching energy being compressed again and again. The blue light shifted, turning a stark, brilliant white.

The bright white light grew larger and more intense, gathering high heat like a newborn sun.

"Ki Blast!"

With a low shout, Chaya thrust his palms forward. The brilliant white energy sphere shot out like an arrow, the friction against the air creating a sharp, piercing boom.

"AAHH!!" Seemingly sensing the approaching danger, the Giant Ape let out a shrill, desperate roar, spewing a massive wave of blood-red energy from its throat.

BOOM!!

The two energy forces met in mid-air and collided, followed by a heaven-shaking explosion. Chaya's Ki Blast had condensed nearly all the energy in his body, but the energy wave spewed by the Giant Ape was equally terrifying. The horrific scene created by their collision was as violent and vast as the creation of the world.

The sky was torn into shreds, forming pockets of vacuum like a shattered mirror.

Good chance! Taking advantage of the chaos caused by the massive explosion, Chaya seized the moment and lunged toward the Giant Ape's tail.

He condensed a thin blade in his hand, seeing that he could cut the Giant Ape's tail off in one stroke.

But just then—

A black shadow appeared in Chaya's line of sight, sending a chill straight to his skull. It was the Giant Ape's palm.

"Damn it!" Seeing the situation turn dire, Chaya immediately tried to break free.

However, the Giant Ape's combat power was far, far higher than Chaya's, and its speed was even greater. Before Chaya could even change direction, the brown, giant claw clamped down on him like a pair of massive iron tongs.

"Hmm?"

The Giant Ape held Chaya up before its eyes, grinning. A bloodthirsty madness flickered in its crimson pupils before it gripped him tightly and slammed him into the ground with all its might.

CRASH!!

The earth split open. Chaya was buried deep into the rock layer beneath the surface. A mouthful of blood sprayed from his lips, and a heart-wrenching pain surged through his brain, nearly causing him to black out.

That hit must have broken at least a few bones! He grimaced, crawling out from the rocks, his face twisted in agony.

Nine hundred combat power against nine thousand—the ten-fold gap was like a chasm stretching between them. This was no longer something that could be bridged by willpower alone. Even though the Giant Ape that Selyne had turned into was just a monster that had lost its reason and knew only destruction, a ten-fold gap was not something Chaya could handle.

Not to mention, Chaya was already severely injured!

As if it weren't bad enough, the Giant Ape's next attack followed immediately. It raised its massive foot high, preparing to stomp down with full force. If he were hit, he would surely die.

But Chaya had no time to dodge.

The thick, massive foot drew closer and closer. It looked as if Chaya was about to meet his end.

At this critical juncture, a strange thing happened. A blue luster rose within Chaya's black pupils, and a faint glow covered his body. Everything that entered his vision turned into a blue landscape.

Strangely, everything around him seemed to have frozen, not moving an inch.

The falling leaves, the sand, and even the Giant Ape were suspended in this blue world.

What is happening?

Chaya had no time to think. The meager energy remaining in his body began to drain rapidly, and as it neared exhaustion, countless thoughts flashed through his mind. He knew he couldn't delay any longer. He had a feeling that when his energy was completely spent, this blue world would collapse.

Swish, swish, swish. Chaya seized the time to act, ignoring the pain throughout his body as he flashed toward the Giant Ape's tail at lightning speed.

At that moment, the blue world finally lost its support and shattered. Everything returned to the way it was, but Chaya's opportunity had arrived.

"Selyne, once you wake up, I am definitely going to teach you a lesson!"

A thin Ki Blade condensed with Chaya's final ounce of strength. The blade, thin as a cicada's wing, traced a graceful arc through the air. With a thud, a massive tail hit the ground, kicking up a thick layer of dust.

"Wooo!!" The Giant Ape let out a miserable cry, its body beginning to shrink slowly. Before long, it returned to Selyne's form, the little one lying on the ground, snoring away.

"Whew, it's finally over!" Chaya collapsed onto the ground, exhausted, gasping for air.

He felt as though he had suffered a completely unprovoked disaster today. How could such a thing happen on a perfectly normal night? The three-hour night on Planet Selma had actually featured a full moon, and the once-a-year event just happened to be witnessed by him and Selyne.

"Seriously, this is terrible. There's no healing pod here; I won't be able to recover from these injuries for months."

Chaya grinned with a bitter smile, waves of pain radiating from his body. He knew he had broken at least six or seven bones. Being grabbed by Selyne and slammed into the ground had caused internal injuries; even the slightest movement tugged at wounds all over his body.

If he hadn't possessed such a robust physique, anyone else would likely have already departed for the underworld by now.

Recalling the perilous scene from moments ago, Chaya's nerves tightened, and only then did he notice his back was soaked with sweat.

"But what exactly was that blue world? At that moment, it felt as if everything had come to a standstill. Could it be something related to time?"

With the crisis passed, Chaya was finally able to carefully contemplate the strange occurrence. It felt as if time itself had been frozen; if not for the momentary pause caused by the sudden appearance of that blue world at the critical juncture, he likely wouldn't be alive to stand here now.

"When that blue world appeared, the energy within my body began to drain rapidly, lasting for less than two seconds until I exited that state."

This was a superpower related to time, Chaya was certain, much like Guldo of the Ginyu Force, who could manipulate time through his own power.

But why did he possess such an ability?

If there was one difference between him and other Saiyans, it was that he had transmigrated, and before that, he had spent a long time in a dark, hazy, and eerie space.

"Could it be because of that dark space?" Chaya whispered to himself. To this day, he still hadn't figured out what that mysterious space actually was, or how he had ended up there.

"Forget it, why worry so much about it? Having this time ability adds another trump card to my arsenal. But since I have time-related powers, could there be other abilities I haven't discovered yet? I should try to test that when I have the time."

Chaya's mood suddenly lightened, like a person on the verge of suffocation who had suddenly breathed in fresh air.

Just then, not far away, Selyne, who had been dozing off, was startled awake by a chill and rubbed her eyes as she climbed to her feet. Suddenly, she was stunned by the scene around her, which looked as if it had just endured a battle, with the ground scarred and ruins scattered everywhere.