Awakening: Super Saiyan 4
He hung there in mid-air, like a still statue, but the expression on his face was so complex that it was impossible to guess what he was looking for.
Beneath his tightly furrowed brows, his eyes were filled with disgust, scrutiny, and a stirring he himself was unwilling to admit—something irrational, something buried deep within his bones.
He stared intently at the colossal beast below, wreaking havoc—the most primal symbol of the Saiyan.
His voice was deep, almost carried away by the wind. "This is the nature etched in our blood... savage, out of control, a power utterly dominated by bestiality."
"I don't think so."
A voice, so calm it was unsettling, suddenly rang out from very close behind him.
Vegeta whirled around, his pupils instantly contracting.
Qi Heng had appeared beside him at some point, standing casually with his hands in his pockets as usual, as if the apocalyptic scene before him was nothing more than a boring movie.
Just as Vegeta turned around, the Great Ape below swung its fist, almost smashing the mountain to pieces.
The force of the punch whistled past Qi Heng's head, making his black hair fly wildly, but it didn't even touch a single hair.
"What did you just say?" Vegeta's tone was full of suspicion and wariness.
Qi Heng kept staring at the Great Ape, his gaze seemingly trying to pierce through its exterior and see deeper into its depths.
"If he can hold onto that last shred of reason before he completely succumbs," Qi Heng's voice was steady and clear, "Then this primitive form will not be the end, but a bridge to a completely new realm..."
As if to prove that the disaster was not over, the Great Ape's attacks became even more frenzied.
Its enormous arm swept across, and the Supreme Kai's Lookout was instantly smashed like building blocks; stone pillars broke, and the ancient patterns on the walls turned to dust.
Immediately afterwards, it raised its giant foot and stomped down hard, creating a bottomless crater in the ground. The impact even caused waves to rise in the distant land.
Old Kai was terrified, cowering behind a glowing boulder, clutching his head, trembling and praying.
The young Supreme Kai was pale and covered in sweat as he desperately erected a massive purple barrier to try and stop the destruction.
However, the barrier flickered under the Great Ape's heavy blows and looked like it was about to collapse.
Pan clutched the clothes of Android 18 tightly, her eyes filled with tears, her voice trembling violently. "Grandpa... he'll be alright, won't he?"
No one could answer her immediately.
The air was thick with tension; everyone held their breath, staring at the ruins.
When the atmosphere becomes extremely tense--
The Great Ape suddenly stopped moving, without warning, as if it were fixed in mid-air by some invisible chains.
The fist, which was raised high and ready to strike, froze halfway down.
In the depths of its eyes, which were now only filled with madness and bloodlust, an unusual fluctuation suddenly flashed—not destruction, nor a bloodthirsty desire, but rather like a painful struggle and resistance.
It seemed as if two consciousnesses were locked in a fierce battle within its body.
"He's resisting." Qi Heng's eyes finally flickered with a hint of emotion, a sharp glint flashing across them.
"He's fighting to the death against that out-of-control beast."
As if in response to his words, a burst of light suddenly erupted from the Great Ape's body.
At first, there were only specks of golden light, shimmering in the darkness.
But soon, the light spread like wildfire.
A dazzling gold burst forth from the depths of its body, piercing directly through its brown fur, as if the entire Great Ape had been set ablaze.
The light grew brighter and more intense, soon illuminating the entire dimly lit Supreme Kai Realm, even overshadowing the distant stars.
In this golden ocean, the Great Ape's body began to change.
The colossal ten-meter-tall creature contracted as if deflated in the blink of an eye, its bones emitting a dense "crackling" sound, and its muscle lines flowing and reshaping in the light and shadow.
Nine meters, eight meters, five meters... its size rapidly decreased, soon shrinking to just over two meters, and it continued to shrink.
The ferocious outline of the Great Ape gradually faded, and a more human-like figure emerged in the light.
The golden light reached its peak, so bright that people couldn't help but cover their eyes with their hands; even Vegeta turned his face away.
Then, the golden light receded and vanished as quickly as the tide, as if it had never existed.
The dust has settled.
A figure stood straight in the middle of the cracked grass.
He stood there, like a sturdy pine tree.
Her long black hair cascaded down her shoulders, the ends still shimmering with golden light, like the last rays of sunlight.
The long brown hair on his body had disappeared, replaced by bright red body hair that clung to his skin, clearly outlining his powerful muscle lines.
His face had a resolute profile, with high brow bones, and his eyes were already open—eyes that burned with golden flames, calm yet capable of devouring everything.
Behind it, a powerful tail swayed slowly, its tip gently hooked upwards.
Although his size had returned to normal, a more refined and profound sense of oppression than in his Great Ape form silently spread from him, enveloping the entire space and making people afraid to breathe.
Super Saiyan 4.
Son Goku.
The air seemed to freeze.
Pan instinctively covered her mouth, her eyes wide open, unable to utter a word.
She looked at that familiar yet unfamiliar figure, her fingers still trembling slightly.
Gohan completely, his jaw almost dropping to the ground.
He witnessed his father's transformation firsthand: the burning red body hair, the golden aura surrounding his entire body, and those overwhelming golden vertical pupils—
"This... this is Dad?" His voice was hoarse and trembling, as if confirming a ridiculous dream.
Vegeta's arms, which had been crossed over his chest, now unconsciously drooped down.
Every muscle in his face was taut, and his usually arrogant lips were slightly parted.
Shock crashed into his brain like a tsunami, and deeper still, there was an unacknowledged jealousy and—an instinctive awe in the face of absolute power.
His fists were clenched so tightly that his nails almost dug into his palms.
In the center of the arena, Son Goku —at this moment, the title "Kid Goku" no longer seemed appropriate—slowly lowered his head, looking at his outstretched hands.
He slowly tightened his fingers, his knuckles making a cracking sound, then slowly opened them again.
Beneath every inch of skin, a torrent of intense heat surges.
This is not an ordinary qi enhancement, but a complete transformation, the awakening of the deepest, wild and vast power in the Saiyan bloodline.
He could even "hear" the blood roaring in his veins and "see" the flow of energy in the air.
The whole world was clearer to him than ever before, and... it was filled with a sense of fragility that seemed ready to crumble at any moment.