The Dragon God Zalama

Popo turned and walked toward the interior of the Lookout. Son Gohan and Trunks followed immediately.

As they passed Dende, Son Gohan couldn't help but pause for a moment.

Dende remained standing quietly at the edge of the Lookout, his gaze fixed on the sea of clouds below. From the moment they appeared out of thin air, to their conversation with Popo, and now as they walked past him, the current Guardian of Earth didn't show the slightest reaction.

It was as if he couldn't see them at all.

It wasn't just that he couldn't see them; Son Gohan keenly sensed that the three of them existed in another dimension. No matter how hard he tried to release his energy, he couldn't penetrate that barrier to reach Dende.

Was this Popo's doing?

Son Gohan suppressed the doubt in his heart and hurried to catch up with Popo.

The three of them passed through a dim corridor. Even though they were inside the Lookout, the surrounding light grew increasingly faint.

As they walked, the surrounding walls, the floor, and even the pillars of the Lookout abruptly vanished.

In their place was a vast, white void.

There were no boundaries and no directions. The sensation here was similar to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, but the air lacked that suffocating, harsh environment; instead, it exuded a strange sense of calm.

"Lord Popo," Trunks finally couldn't hold back, his tone urgent. "You said earlier that you knew a way to restore our timeline. What exactly is it?"

Son Gohan didn't speak, but his muscles were subconsciously tensed.

He hoped he hadn't chosen the wrong path. Now that he was close to him, he felt that this guy in front of them was far more difficult to deal with than an Angel or a God of Destruction.

He had always harbored great wariness and curiosity toward Popo. When he watched the Dragon Ball World in his past life, netizens never stopped speculating about this black, round figure. Some said he was the previous Grand Priest, others that he was the Dragon God Zalama, and some even joked that he was the father of Zeno.

As it turned out, this guy was truly extraordinary. Whether it was the trick he just used to shield them from Dende, this void space that appeared out of nowhere, or how he seemed to evaporate into thin air during the battle with Cell, everything was frantically confirming his unusual nature.

Popo stopped walking. He didn't answer Trunks's question directly, but instead spoke slowly in that ethereal voice.

"Before answering that question, you need to understand the true structure of this universe."

Trunks was stunned.

"The universe you know is only one of twelve universal worlds, and the world composed of these twelve universes contains countless, infinite parallel timelines." Popo's eyes, devoid of any ripples, looked into the void. "In every universe, there exists a supreme deity who maintains balance. The Supreme Kai who creates life, and... the God of Destruction who destroys everything."

"God of Destruction?" Trunks's eyes widened.

"Yes. A God of Destruction possesses the terrifying power to easily erase a galaxy, or even half a universe. And to supervise and teach the God of Destruction how to correctly guide the development of all things, a higher-dimensional existence known as an 'Angel' is assigned to their side."

Popo's voice had no fluctuations, yet it struck Trunks's nerves like a heavy hammer.

Trunks's worldview was violently shaken. He had always thought that a monster like Cell was the ultimate disaster for the universe, but now, a God of Destruction who could easily erase a universe had suddenly appeared, along with an even stronger, higher-dimensional Angel.

Son Gohan opened his mouth at the right moment, feigning an expression of extreme shock.

But inside, a storm was raging.

Popo really did know about the Gods of Destruction and Angels. This was definitely not the amount of information a mere servant of an Earth deity should have. Could those outrageous speculations from his past life be true? Was Popo really one of the Angel race?

"Lord Popo..." Trunks swallowed hard, his voice trembling. "Are... are you one of those beings known as Angels?"

Popo looked at Trunks quietly.

"You can understand it that way." Popo did not deny it.

Trunks took half a step back, while Son Gohan's gaze sharpened.

Popo continued, "At the beginning of the world's creation, there existed a supreme deity who possessed power that transcended all rules—the Dragon God, Zalama."

Son Gohan's eyelid twitched. The Dragon God Zalama! The ultimate existence who created the entire Dragon Ball World!

"My relationship with the Dragon God Zalama was like that of an Angel to a God of Destruction." A trace of extremely subtle fluctuation finally appeared in Popo's voice, as if he were lost in some distant memory. "Lord Zalama mastered Miracle Power. It is an absolute power that can ignore causality and twist reality."

"But Miracle Power has two sides."

Popo turned to look at Son Gohan.

"Appropriate miracles can guide the world toward correct prosperity. But excessive use, forcing a change to the established laws of the universe, will invite an irreversible backlash, ultimately leading to the collapse and destruction of the entire world."

"To correct too many erroneous developments, Lord Zalama overextended his Miracle Power. Before he fell to the backlash, he divided all his remaining power into seven parts, turning them into seven Dragon Balls, scattered in the depths of time and space."

A trace of loneliness flashed in Popo's round eyes.

"The death of Lord Zalama left the Dragon Ball World without any power of correction. And as his guide, to avoid my own existence excessively interfering with the world's development, I could only choose to exile myself, living in this inconspicuous corner of Earth, hiding away as an ordinary servant."

Son Gohan finally understood.

Popo's identity was the personal Angel of the Dragon God Zalama. Because Zalama fell due to the backlash, and he was afraid of disrupting the world's original operational patterns, he simply hid on Earth to retire and play dead. This was why the successive Guardians of Earth were all Namekians with Dragon Clan blood who could create Dragon Balls; it was because Popo was here. Although he did nothing, he was subtly influencing the development of Earth.

"But..." Trunks interrupted Popo's narrative urgently. "Lord Popo, what does all this have to do with restoring our future timeline?"

He didn't care about any God of Destruction or any Dragon God; he only wanted to save his mother and that devastated world.

"Of course it has to do with it." Popo looked at Trunks. "The Earth's Dragon Balls, as well as the Super Dragon Balls of the sixth and seventh universes, are only tiny projections of Lord Zalama's power. Therefore, they are limited by the creator's ability and cannot interfere with the time rules of parallel worlds; they can only take effect in their original world."

Son Gohan was surprised to hear this, as the original story never mentioned that the Super Dragon Balls couldn't change time.

"But the seven planets that Lord Zalama's body transformed into are called the Original Dragon Balls." Popo's tone was firm. "They contain the most primitive and vast Miracle Power. As long as you gather them, you can grant any wish in the true sense. Not to mention restoring a destroyed timeline, even restarting all worlds would be as easy as a snap of the fingers."

After hearing this, Trunks's breathing became heavy.

Any wish! Restoring the timeline!

"Please tell us where the Original Dragon Balls are!" Trunks bowed deeply.

Son Gohan did not react, keeping his gaze fixed on Popo.

There was no such thing as a free lunch. Popo had lived in seclusion for so many years and had never intervened even when Earth was destroyed countless times; it was impossible that he had suddenly jumped out to point them in the right direction simply out of the kindness of his heart.

"I can provide you with the method and assistance to find the Original Dragon Balls," Popo said calmly, "but in exchange, you must agree to one condition."

"What condition?" Son Gohan asked.

"Go and correct the space-times altered by the Original Dragon Balls, and take them away." Popo's tone carried an air of refusal that brooked no argument. "Because of the existence of the Original Dragon Balls, the Miracle Power in those space-times has flooded severely, leaving the timelines and laws of causality riddled with holes. If left to develop, those space-times will eventually spread like cancer cells to every other space-time, until the entire world collapses completely."

Popo stepped forward, closing in on the two of them.

"I want you to take the Original Dragon Balls, cut off the source of miracles in those space-times, and let them return to their normal developmental trajectories. As a condition of the exchange, I will allow you to use the Original Dragon Balls once to restore your own space-time."

Popo's deep eyes swept back and forth between Son Gohan and Trunks.

"Are you willing to become 'Gods of Spacetime Destruction' and help me reshape the order of space-time?"