Dragon Ball: Ascension

"Anyway, I survived, and I am the victor," Karnel muttered, shaking his head to dispel the lingering memories of Cooler's desperate final gambit.

As he prepared to use instant transmission to continue his journey, Karnel's expression suddenly changed. He couldn't sense any familiar energy signatures, everything around him felt completely alien and strange.

"What happened while I was unconscious? Why can't I detect even a single familiar Ki signature?" Karnel wondered aloud, confusion evident in his voice. "Where exactly am I?"

"I need to find a populated planet and get some answers," he decided, beginning his teleportation journey through the void.

After investigating more than a dozen primitive worlds and questioning their inhabitants, Karnel finally gathered some useful information.

This was the West Galaxy, currently under the dominion of a race called the Kaimo, who possessed terrifying combat power and ruled from their homeworld of Kaimo Star.

Although the entire West Galaxy existed under Kaimo rule, there had been no rebellions or resistance movements. On the surface, this appeared to be a remarkably harmonious region of space. Very strange, Karnel thought. Are all these intelligent species truly content under Kaimo dominion? Or have the Kaimo provided some benefit that ensures compliance?

Several questions nagged at his mind as he processed this information.

"These primitive worlds probably don't know much about the bigger picture. I need to find a planet with higher-level life forms to learn more."

After considerable searching, Karnel located a world teeming with more advanced life. The planet contained hundreds of beings emanating combat power ranging from 10,000 to over one million.

This discovery startled him considerably. After taking time to process what he was sensing, Karnel reached a troubling conclusion: he might no longer be in his original galaxy.

After all, in his home galaxy, he had never encountered a single race with so many high-level fighters. Even beings with 100,000 combat power had been exceptionally rare.

Desperate to understand his situation, Karnel decided to capture the strongest native he could detect and teleported directly to their location.

Ceror, the most powerful warrior on Bargon and leader of the tens of thousands of Bargonese people inhabiting the planet, was currently in the city's main square, guiding young clan members through combat training exercises.

Only one city existed on Bargon, and all of Ceror's people lived within its protective walls.

The mountains, forests, and plains beyond the city teemed with powerful beasts possessing formidable combat abilities. Therefore, Bargonese were forbidden to venture outside unless they possessed sufficient strength to defend themselves.

The Bargonese race revered physical power above all else, a cultural trait born from the constant threat of the dangerous creatures that surrounded their city. Thousands of years ago, the Bargonese had lived in scattered caves, constantly under attack from various beast packs, losing hundreds of lives with each assault.

Finally, a leader named Bargon had refused to accept his people living at the mercy of these creatures. He led over 200,000 fighters in a massive campaign against the beasts that terrorized them for food and territory. After tremendous sacrifice, nearly 180,000 lives lost, they managed to claim enough land from the creatures to build a city capable of housing 100,000 people.

To honor their great leader's sacrifice, the descendants named both their city and themselves after him: Bargon City, inhabited by the Bargonese people.

Ceror watched the young warriors training with a mixture of pride and hidden sorrow. Behind his mature features lurked an untold story that clearly weighed heavily on his heart.

Suddenly, Ceror sensed an unfamiliar presence behind him. Before he could turn around, a voice spoke.

"You're the strongest person on this planet? I'm Karnel, a Saiyan warrior. I need to ask you some questions."

Karnel appeared directly behind the burly native whose combat power registered around one million.

Ceror frowned and regarded the young man called Karnel with obvious displeasure. "I don't care who you are, leave Planet Bargon immediately. Otherwise..."

Being underestimated, are we? Karnel thought with mild amusement. Without hesitation, he released a portion of his tremendous power, the overwhelming pressure forcing Ceror to step backward involuntarily.

"Can we have a civilized conversation now?"

"Your name is Karnel... you are indeed far stronger than me," Ceror acknowledged, his tone becoming respectful. "Come with me."

Those possessing great strength commanded respect regardless of location. Ceror led Karnel away from the city, firing several energy blasts to eliminate a pack of fierce beasts that had caught their scent and were approaching from below.

In an open area at the edge of a small desert, Ceror stopped and turned to face his visitor. "I'm the current leader of Planet Bargon. Speak freely, Karnel, what do you want to know? I'll answer what I can, but then you should leave Bargon quickly."

"Which galaxy are we in? What year is it? And tell me about the Kaimo," Karnel asked, leaning against a massive boulder.

Ceror looked genuinely confused by the first question. "Multiple galaxies? I've never heard of such a thing. As for time, our records show the Bargonese have inhabited this planet for nearly 8,000 years."

When it came to the final question, Ceror's expression became conflicted and pained.

He doesn't know anything useful about my situation, Karnel realized with frustration. Maybe the Kaimo have answers, since they rule this entire galaxy.

After a long internal struggle, Ceror finally spoke about the galactic rulers. "The Kaimo are the overlords of this entire galaxy. They're incredibly powerful, each Kaimo warrior possesses terrifying combat ability. They've ruled the galaxy for countless centuries, and all inhabited worlds fall under their influence, including Bargon."

"Before coming here, I visited over a dozen populated worlds," Karnel noted. "Each planet seemed remarkably peaceful, nothing like what you'd expect under tyrannical rule. Are the Kaimo actually benevolent rulers?"

Ceror's expression became a complex mixture of emotions, conflict, resignation, pain, and guilt all warring across his features, with hatred flickering briefly in his eyes. He gave a bitter, self-deprecating laugh.

"Peaceful, yes... that's certainly one way to describe the comfort of the grave."