Fate

Time passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, eight years had gone by.

Over those eight years, many major events had taken place on Planet Vegeta after Kast's mysterious disappearance.

The first was Frieza's revival. Yes, Frieza hadn't died in his battle with Kast, though his appearance had changed greatly. In that fight, Kast had only lost an arm and broken a few bones, but Frieza's injuries had been far more severe. Not only had he lost an arm, he'd also lost a leg, and part of his head was missing.

Even with such horrific injuries, Frieza had survived through sheer tenacity. His father, King Cold, had found him aboard a spaceship and used advanced technology to replace his missing parts, bringing him back to life.

The second event was that Bardock and the other Saiyans found King Vegeta's corpse aboard Frieza's spaceship.

Yes, King Vegeta hadn't mysteriously vanished during the previous battle. Frieza had killed him long before that, along with several Elite Warriors.

As for how this had happened, King Vegeta must have sensed that something was wrong and led his subordinates to confront Frieza, only to be wiped out.

The third event was the destruction of Planet Vegeta. Yes, Planet Vegeta hadn't escaped its fate after all.

However, Planet Vegeta wasn't destroyed until four years after Kast's battle with Frieza. The day it happened also happened to be the day Bardock's second son, Kakarot, was born.

But after what had happened last time, Bardock had remained on guard. Before Frieza could attack, he launched Kakarot toward a distant, remote planet: Earth.

Bardock also vanished during his subsequent battle with Frieza.

Yes, he vanished. He hadn't died. Although Bardock's combat power had grown immensely after years of training, he still couldn't match Frieza unless he transformed into a Super Saiyan.

Then, during their battle, he vanished in a strange burst of energy as their attacks collided.

After learning of his father King Vegeta's death, Vegeta showed no sign of grief. He returned to Planet Vegeta with Raditz and the others, intending to inherit the throne.

But after the previous war and Bardock's outstanding performance, no one supported Vegeta's succession. What's more, Vegeta's combat power was still lower than Bardock's had been at the time.

For all these reasons, the Saiyans on Planet Vegeta planned to recommend Bardock as their king.

Bardock had no desire to take the throne, but the situation left him little choice. He had no choice but to say he would abdicate once Vegeta reached a suitable age.

To the proud Vegeta, this was nothing short of an insult. Enraged, he left Planet Vegeta with his former subordinates and went to another planet.

Raditz, however, was left behind by Vegeta.

But Raditz didn't want to stay on Planet Vegeta. Bardock was only king temporarily and planned to step down in a few years, once Vegeta was old enough.

That meant Raditz still couldn't become a prince. He was better off finding Vegeta again; then he could become one of Vegeta's most trusted men.

Bardock understood exactly what his son was thinking. He even tacitly approved of Raditz's departure. Partly, he wanted to help Raditz achieve his goal; partly, he wanted Raditz to keep in touch with Vegeta and tell him to return and take the throne once he was old enough.

But plans never kept up with change. Frieza hadn't died, and four years later, he returned to Planet Vegeta and destroyed it.

With Kast gone, even Bardock, who had trained for years, couldn't stand against Frieza after his revival and increase in power.

In the end, Planet Vegeta was destroyed.

As for why Frieza had taken so long to return to Planet Vegeta and begin his revenge, it was because the previous battle had left him shaken. After his revival, he made thorough preparations before coming back.

Frieza had already been missing for some time when he was found. He also needed time to adjust after being revived, and he had to investigate Kast. All these factors meant it took him four years to return to Planet Vegeta and exact his revenge.

"Fate is cruel."

That was what Kast thought. After learning what had happened on Planet Vegeta, he couldn't help but wonder whether this world was ruled by fate—an unchangeable fate. No matter how many things he changed, the outcome remained the same. Only the details shifted slightly; the major events never changed at all.

But now that it had happened, Kast had no way to change it.

Since Frieza was still alive, and Kakarot—who would one day be Son Goku—had been born and made it to Earth, Kast would leave it to the future Son Goku to deal with Frieza.

And so, another four years passed. That brought them to the present.