Embers and Glimmers

His back was straight, but his shoulders sagged slightly, as though he had just set something down—or taken on a new burden.

Vados stood beside him, her expression as calm as ever, unreadable as a deep pool.

She gently raised her staff and tapped the void, the motion as elegant as if she were touching the surface of water.

A faint rainbow glow flowed from the tip of the staff, soft as gauze, enveloping Champa completely.

Runes flowed silently within the light, so quietly that there was almost no sound at all.

"Champa." Beerus suddenly spoke.

His voice was not loud, yet it stopped Champa just as he was about to take a step.

Champa did not turn around. He merely paused sideways within the light, like a frozen statue.

"That Saiyan..." Beerus's deep voice echoed through the ruins, the final syllable drawn out as if he were carefully considering his words.

After a while, he added two more words. "...is strong."

Champa fell silent.

Only the faint hiss of residual energy remained in the void, along with the delicate clinking of distant stellar fragments colliding.

The corner of Champa's mouth twitched slightly, the curve carrying a complicated expression—bitterness spread across his lips like ink, yet a nearly proud glimmer lit up in his eyes.

He gave a short, soft laugh, yet it landed heavily in the silence.

"Of course," he said hoarsely, his tone carrying an unquestionable weight. "I trained him."

The moment the words fell, the light surrounding him suddenly flared before contracting again.

Champa and Vados vanished from the void as though erased by light, leaving behind only a few wisps of glowing threads that gradually drifted away.

Quitela still stood on the other side. Staring at the place where Champa had disappeared, he slowly shook his head.

A complex expression appeared on his face, which usually wore nothing but mockery and arrogance—shock still lingered in his widened eyes, jealousy coiled around his brow like poisonous vines, and beyond that, a deeper, indescribable emotion flashed through his gaze.

He said nothing. With only a cold snort, he turned and stepped into a dark green vortex, vanishing in an instant.

At last, only Beerus and Whis remained in the void.

The aftershocks of battle were still slowly subsiding.

The silver-white and purple currents of energy that had once raged wildly had now dwindled into dim motes of light, flickering in the darkness like fireflies.

The cracks torn through space were slowly healing at a visible rate, like wounds growing new flesh.

Farther away, an entire starfield had been utterly shattered. The remains of planets floated silently, like the bones of colossal beasts, wordlessly telling of the battle that had just surpassed all bounds.

As for Qi Heng, he had already vanished without a trace.

Where he had disappeared, only the unsettled folds of space-time remained, rippling faintly like circles on water and leading into unknown depths.

Beerus stared in that direction for a long time, shattered starlight reflected in his crimson eyes.

He suddenly spoke, his voice so soft it was nearly swallowed by the void. "Whis."

"Yes, Lord Beerus."

"What do you think..." Beerus paused, as though he needed to gather his courage before continuing. "Is he really still alive?"

Whis did not answer at once.

Holding his staff, his expression gave nothing away. Only his perpetually narrowed eyes opened slightly as he looked toward that emptiness.

Time seemed to stretch, and silence spread outward.

In the distance, a larger fragment of a star slowly rotated, its surface reflecting a cold light.

"Perhaps," Whis finally said. His voice was as gentle as ever, but it carried a little more distance than usual, as though it had come from the depths of time.

"The Saiyan race... has always dealt in 'impossibilities' and 'miracles.'"

He raised his head slightly, his gaze seeming to pierce through layer after layer of space-time.

"If, amid countless intersecting torrents of space-time, someone truly could break free of his shackles and find his way home..."

He paused before softly speaking the final words. "Then it would surely be him."

Beerus said nothing more.

After one final look at that empty void, he turned without warning. His dark purple figure cut through the silence as he flew toward the God of Destruction Realm.

"Let's go, Whis."

Whis smiled faintly and followed at an unhurried pace.

Yet the familiar curve of his lips now seemed deeply meaningful.

"Lord Beerus," he asked warmly, a hint of teasing hidden in his tone, "are you worried about that Saiyan?"

Without even turning his head, Beerus coldly threw back two words. "Shut up."

"Hehe..." Whis's soft laughter drifted away on the wind.

They gradually moved farther away, their figures becoming two black dots before finally blending into the endless starry sky.

In the void, the last faint glimmer of energy went out as well, and complete silence and darkness engulfed everything.

The shattered starfield was like an enormous, silent tombstone.

And Qi Heng had already fallen into the depths of an endless space-time rift.

Where he had gone was unknown.

Whether he lived or died was also unknown.