Shadow Dragons Born

Everyone was stunned.

The awe-inspiring holiness of the Shenron's descent was gone; instead, the air felt thick with a heavy shadow, making it hard to breathe.

It was as if a giant, invisible hand was firmly gripping the entire space.

The analysis table emitted a series of cracking sounds as cracks spread from the point where the Dragon Balls was, expanding like a spider web.

Breathing became increasingly difficult; each inhale felt like swallowing a piece of lead.

From the depths of the dark golden light, something even more ancient and dark than Shenron slowly opened its eyes.

The oppressive feeling in the sky became even more pronounced.

The dark clouds piled up layer upon layer, so thick they seemed to shatter the ground.

Even the wind had stopped; the world was eerily quiet.

Suddenly, a strange black lightning bolt ripped through the sky.

There was no blinding light; instead, it resembled an unfathomable crack, filled with a low humming sound, directly above the seven Dragon Balls suspended in the ground.

"Sizzle--!"

Countless fine black cracks instantly appeared on the surface of the Dragon Balls, causing it to tremble violently as if it had come to life.

Immediately afterwards, a thick plume of black smoke, as dark as ink, billowed out from the crack.

This smoke wasn't ordinary smoke; it had a nauseatingly sticky feel, swirling, coiling, and expanding, swallowing up all the light.

The sky suddenly darkened, as if night had fallen prematurely.

The black smoke grew thicker and thicker, and from the center came a chilling sound—bones dislocating, scales rubbing together—the outline of a colossal creature frantically coalescing within the smoke.

Finally, the black smoke suddenly contracted inward and became solid.

The dragon suspended in the air was no longer the sacred Shenron people were familiar with, but a huge evil dragon covered in dark scales.

The scales were cast like solidified shadows, their edges gleaming with a cold metallic sheen.

His body was as thick as a mountain range, his muscles bulging, exuding a power to destroy everything.

Its head resembled both a dragon and a demon.

Bone spurs protruded from his forehead and jaw, and his gaping maw revealed interlocking fangs, with wisps of black smoke carrying a pungent sulfur smell escaping from between his teeth.

The most terrifying thing was those eyes—like two pools of boiling blood, burning with pure malice and cruelty.

The air itself is distorted by its heat whenever it sweeps across.

An aura mixed with blood, decay, and endless hatred crashed down like a massive wave.

The pebbles on the ground trembled, and the vegetation visibly withered and turned black.

"What... what is this?!"

Pan was so frightened that she backed away repeatedly, her voice so shrill it almost cracked, and her hand instinctively gripped Gohan's sleeve, her fingertips as cold as ice.

The evil dragon slowly lowered its head, the scales on its neck rubbing together with a loud "crackling" sound.

Those blood-red eyes swept over every human on the ground like searchlights, their gaze filled with undisguised scrutiny and... mockery.

Anyone who was looked at by it felt a chill run straight to the top of their head.

"Humans..."

It opened its mouth.

The voice was low and hoarse, like a rusty gear struggling to turn, or the murmur of countless wronged souls, each word striking the heart. "You have finally... summoned me."

At the end of his words, there was a chilling sense of satisfaction.

"Who are you?!"

Son Goku rushed forward, leaning forward into a fighting stance, his brows furrowed tightly, his gaze fixed sharply on the monster in the air.

"Where's Shenron? What did you do to Shenron?!"

"Shenron? Ha... Hahahaha!"

The Shadow Dragons let out a series of ear-piercing laughs, which shook the distant mountains so much that rocks tumbled down.

"That naive and weak creature bound by rules? It no longer exists! We— the Shadow Dragons —are the truest form revealed after the Dragon Balls have been abused countless times by you!"

Its voice suddenly rose, filled with resentment and pleasure.

His gaze shifted to the seven dull, cracked Dragon Balls, his eyes filled with greed and longing.

"You insignificant creatures, time and again you abuse the power of the Dragon Balls, making selfish, greedy, and short-sighted wishes. With each wish granted, you erode the balance of the world, injecting your desires, regrets, violence, and despair—these Negative Energy —into the core of the Dragon Balls like venom."

Its voice echoed in everyone's ears like a spell, "Year after year, day after day, these toxins accumulated and swelled until they could no longer be contained... Finally, they exceeded that fragile limit. And so, we, bearing all your malice, were born from this most sacred wishing tool!"

Before the words were even finished, the Shadow Dragons suddenly opened its enormous maw, capable of swallowing the heavens and the earth, and a violent suction force was generated out of nowhere.

The sand and stones on the ground swirled and flew, and the seven Dragon Balls were powerless to resist. They turned into seven streams of light and were swallowed whole!

"No! Dragon Balls!"

Bulma turned pale and reached out to grab something, but couldn't grasp anything. She began to tremble with shock and anger.

That was the culmination of her father's life's work, the crystallization of countless memories and hopes!

After swallowing the Dragon Balls, the Shadow Dragons's body swelled and churned like boiling asphalt, and a dark light burst forth from its center, making it too dangerous to look directly at.

Immediately afterwards, a piercing shriek tore through eardrums, and its body suddenly exploded—one became two, two became four, four became seven!

Seven more solid and ferocious black smoke columns shot into the sky from the shattered body, like seven evil spirits breaking free of their shackles. They circled in the air, emitting a piercing whistle, and then sped off in seven directions around the world, disappearing into the horizon in an instant, leaving only a long-lasting echo of malice.

"Human beings,"

Seven overlapping yet unified voices roared through the sky, seemingly coming from all directions, or as if drilling directly into everyone's minds. "Want to retrieve your Dragon Balls? Then come find us, challenge us, and defeat us!"

The voice paused, then erupted into an even more arrogant and ruthless declaration:

"But remember this—we, these seven calamities that have befallen the world, are the fruits of your own sins, nurtured and created by your own hands!"

The lingering sound rolled in the dark clouds, finally fading into silence, leaving only a mess and a profound stillness.

Everyone stood still, as if all their strength had been drained.

Krillin's mouth gaped open, sweat beading on his forehead; Piccolo clenched his fists, his face turning a grim green; Vegeta gritted his teeth, his eyes burning with resentful rage.

Trunks and Goten stood back to back, their faces filled with the kind of panic that only teenagers have when they first face the destruction of the world.

Shock, anger, confusion, helplessness, and a heavy, almost suffocating sense of self-blame weighed on everyone's hearts.

In the darkest corner of the courtyard, where light and shadow intertwined, Qi Heng stood quietly.

The strong wind tousled his hair, but he barely moved the hem of his clothes.

With his hands in his pockets and his head slightly tilted back, his eyes, glowing a pale gold in the dim light, calmly followed the trajectory of the vanishing Shadow Dragons, as profound as if they could encompass the dramatic changes of the entire sky.

"Really..."

He spoke softly, a voice only he could hear, yet it pierced the wind.

"What was bound to happen has finally happened."

The corners of his mouth curled up slightly, almost imperceptibly, yet meaningfully.

It wasn't fear, nor excitement; it was more like the interest and anticipation of a calm observer finally waiting for the plot to unfold.

"Things are finally starting to get interesting."

Beneath the dome of the Capsule Corporation's underground laboratory, the air seemed to have been sucked out, with only the sounds of instruments running and heartbeats echoing in the space.

A stark white holographic light shone down from above, illuminating the faces of everyone sitting around the huge alloy round table in sharp detail, as if the shadows were about to swallow them whole.