"What did you do with the Rock of Eternity?!" Shazam growled while lightning blitzed across the form, his power barely contained by his control.
"I didn't do anything besides other than what you had witnessed as well and why do you blame me? Shouldn't you think it had something to do with Trigon?" I calmly answered as I saw that the boy was agitated about something, though I was tempted to just shut him up and question him about any unusual sightings he might have witnessed, but then he might not be as cooperative. Also, anything wrong with the Rock of Eternity might have something to do with an invading force, so the topics might not be unrelated. "What happened anyway?"
"This- The Rock of Eternity is not connected like it's supposed to be!" He informed us, probably guessing I was truthful when I said I hadn't done anything.
"And what was it supposed to be connected with?" I asked, not really knowing what he wanted from me. It sounded to me that Trigon messed with the Rock of Eternity or something.
"It's supposed to be the focal point of all magic on earth. It should also be close to Earth in a nearby dimension, but now we are who knows where?! Without its connection to Earth's magic, I won't be able to channel the power of Shazam." Shazam was clearly freaking the fuck out and probably for good reason as what he said seemed to be pretty serious... for him.
Even though he was blessed by all kinds of gods, he was still a kid and if he lost his powers, he wouldn't be able to do much in the future. Any villain wandering in would be able to just off him and take the place over. Truthfully, I didn't want to concern myself with his minor problem when my girlfriends were kidnapped. We could just reconnect it at a future moment, he seemed to be running on some fuel, so he might be able to hold on for a bit longer.
"Weren't there more of you? Did no one of you notice the change?" I asked since I remembered that more of his family had arrived when Raven and I left.
"I had sent them back and sealed the power in my body to try and hold it for as long as I can, but I won't be able to do this for long... Can you help me?" He asked and I looked at him for a moment as I considered whether I should just ignore his plead, but I needed the information, so I didn't answer his question.
"Perhaps it has something to do with the crack in Chronoa's barrier? Maybe it cut off the connection to your earth because of whatever reason." I guessed as there was nothing, I would know that could have influenced Shazam's magic.
"Chronoa's barrier?" Shazam asked with a frown, though it seemed like he had some inkling of what the goddess of time had done. I nodded my head to his mumbling before starting to explain what he might already know.
"Yes, she had put up a barrier to accelerate a large part of the multiverse, so we could prepare for our enemies." Shazam's eyes widened slightly, probably thinking about the sheer scale of power needed to do something like this. Even at my level of strength, it was almost impossible to put a barrier of that size up and have it firm enough to keep their enemies out for the few seconds that would translate into a year inside the barrier.
"I- didn't know that she had done it on purpose. I thought they had encountered trouble causing her powers to grow uncontrolled... why you are here, though?" He asked.
"Raven, Kara, and Felica were kidnapped from our universe. Kara and Felicia seemed to have been taken away by a mother box and Raven just vanished from existence. Since I couldn't sense them anywhere inside, I figured that they had exited Chronoa's barrier. Did you notice someone passing by recently?" Shazam was obviously flabbergasted at the new information. He had witnessed Raven's powers and knew she would beat him easily, so thinking that someone made her vanish probably caused his brain to freeze. He gathered himself fairly quickly as he thought about it.
"No, I didn't notice anyone, but I can't deny that someone might have come by without my knowledge as I was distracted… So, that crack is it close to the Rock of Eternity?" He asked and I mentally shook my head. If he didn't even notice that I wasn't surprised that he wouldn't pick up on anyone sneaking past his headquarters. He wouldn't have relevant information, but perhaps the Rock of Eternity might give me a clue.
"It's right above it. Does the Rock have a detection method for the magic it connects to? And how and when did you know what was wrong with it? We might check on anything else that might have happened." I asked as it might give me some other clues. Truthfully, I was grasping for any scraps of data I could get my hands on before exiting the barrier. Although I just wanted to rush out, I knew I had some time I could spend before doing so. Taking a few days would be acceptable to spend and most likely beneficial preparations.
However, since I didn't know how much time would actually pass if it dragged on for several months inside, I wasn't going to risk anything more than a few days and actually preferred to go in the next few hours.
"The Rock of Eternity is part of me, and I can sense certain things through it. Also, any anomalies are glaringly obvious, so I wouldn't miss them." He answered confidently, but it didn't reassure me. I could see that his mind was working at maximum speed, though and he looked like he was going to do his best. "I might be able to figure out more if I project some of my energy outward, though I would lose some of my powers if I did it for too long…" Given that he was running on borrowed time, he couldn't really give it away for nothing. Still, he should know what he could gain from this.
The possibility of re-establishing a connection would be more viable if he knew in which direction and why he was losing his connection to Earth's magic, to begin with. "Let's do it, come inside." He brought us inside his headquarters and went to his throne before closing his eyes. I could sense the change in the air and a light rumbling noise sounded out as if the entire construct was moving.
Lighting spewed out of his closed eyes and out of his body before infusing into the throne he was sitting on. The throne lit up and seemed to transfer the energy. I just waited as I surveyed the surroundings, though I kept my transformation strong, fearing a surprise attack. The Primal Saiyan transformation was exceedingly stable, and I could go all out for several hours or even longer if I wanted to.
Unexpectedly, there were no surprises. After the light from the throne quieted down again, Shazam just opened his eyes. "It seems like Chronoa had actually attached her barrier to the Rock of Eternity and used it to keep it grounded and was damaged when Trigon had messed with it to send Raven inside, causing the barrier to crack. However, that wasn't the reason for the change and lack of magical connections." It didn't answer anything I wanted to know, I dejectedly noted.
He seemed to have guessed what I was thinking and continued. "There were slight fluctuations of something sinister passing through this dimension. Just it passing through had messed with the flow of magic. If that had been all, it would have been not difficult for the Rock of Eternity to re-establish the connection, but this evil made a point by completely shattering the connections before leaving. The only thing I can say is that the sinister thing has already returned." My mind raced through several possibilities.
I was guessing that it might want to lure us out of the barrier, though since it could enter, why wouldn't it stay here and kill us all… Or was it just investigating and now wanted to inform its boss since it knew it wouldn't be able to win against me? Perhaps the others were a chance encounter and just captured them on a whim? Though from the description it didn't sound like someone that relied on a mother box...
"What about a new god? Did Darkseid or his daughter pass through?" I asked as those were my closest guesses. I had pissed them off by killing Darkseid a couple of times, after ll. Regrettably, he shook his head.
"After destroying the connections, the Rock of Eternity was severely limited in sensing anything, though I wouldn't be able to exclude it. That thing that had passed through was rather brazen and didn't care about being detected." His last sentence confused me as it would mean it wouldn't be too cautious or had a high level of confidence in its abilities and if that was the case it wouldn't have just left this quickly. Perhaps they did not know I had grown this strong already and it left with its tail between its legs?
Thinking about it, it would make sense. I was already close to Kakarot and Vegeta, so their enemies would be wary of me as well. Just as I wanted to say something, the ground shook and the walls seemed to be on the verge of collapsing.
"What's going on?" Maxima shouted while Shazam looked panicky.
"Are we under attack?" I growled while Shazam nodded. My aura flared up and jumped through space to exit the Rock of Eternity, leaving Maxima and Shayera behind in the lair.
"Interesting, construct. I wonder what this is for." A low voice rumbled, attracting my attention. As my eyes landed on his figure among the group of 5, he noticed me as well. His eyes shot up, "Giblet?" The realization hit Cooler like a lightning bolt. His eyes narrowed with a mixture of surprise and determination, and in an instant, his entire form was enveloped by a blinding golden aura. His transformation was swift, his power surging to new heights as the aura flared around him, making the very air tremble. However, he was not fast enough to block my punch. I had already closed the distance.
The force of my punch was like a meteor, hurtling towards him with unrelenting force and his attempt to raise his guard was too slow. My knuckles slammed into his face mask. The impact was like an explosion, cracking a spiderweb across the mask before it shattered into countless pieces.
Blood spewed out of his mouth as the force of my blow sent him hurtling backward. The sheer power of the punch was enough to create a shockwave that ravaged the surrounding landscape, scattered clouds, and pushed the others away. The Rock of Eternity even glowed protectively as the shockwave reached it.
Cooler's body crashed into the earth with a bone-shattering thud, carving a colossal crater into the ground. Dust and debris erupted into the air, obscuring the aftermath of our clash. Without a moment's pause, my energy surged as I started to throw ki blasts at the crater.
Emerging from the smoky haze, Cooler struggled to rise, his eyes filled with defiance and hatred despite the blood that dripped from his battered form. His aura flared anew as he mustered his strength, and a snarl twisted his features. But before he could launch a counterattack, the barrage of ki blasts arrived, streaking through the air and crashing into the ground like deadly comets.
Cooler's eyes widened as he crossed his forearms in a desperate attempt to shield himself. The explosive impact of the ki blasts sent shockwaves rippling through the battlefield, shrouding Cooler's form in a maelstrom of smoke and fire. This time I didn't care to look whether I had finished him with that and just glanced at Zamasu who had been flying not far away.
The fused Zamasu's eyes widened before hatred graced his visage as he stared at my afterimage. Fortunately for him, he didn't let himself be fooled this easily. After I reappeared, he was already in a defensive stance. His entire body was pushed back as he blocked my kick with both of his forearms.
With one hand wave, I sent dozens of ki blasts after him, forcing him to remain in a defensive position. He dodged a couple of them, but once one hit him, he slowed down a tick, allowing the others to find their mark. Smoke gathered as the ki blast blew up on his body. He jumped out of the smoke, arriving and landing near Cooler's position. They looked at each other in surprise before glancing upward at me.
With a fierce grin, I channeled energy into my palm, forming an orb of crackling power that gleamed with malevolent intensity. Their eyes met mine, widening in realization as they saw the impending disaster hurtling toward them. "Noooo, you filthy mort-" "Nooo, Giblet!" Their voices rose in a defiant shout, only to be drowned out by the earth-shattering explosion that followed. They weren't out just yet, but my sights turned to the others that were quickly flying away.
They were the ones that Giblet had fought against, so I just pursued them. They hurriedly fled to the crack in the barrier in a hurry, clearly not planning on confronting me. It might have been the wisest choice as they weren't even able to contend with Giblet. I had already surpassed his strength, making them light work.
Before I could reach them, something in the crack changed. My eyes widened as I was forced to bring my arms up protectively. A barrier formed in front of me and I was still pushed back by the sudden force appearing out of the crack. The change manifested quickly in the form of a dangerous and deadly storm.
It felt like the end of the world arrived. The sounds of clashing made me squint at the crack where five figures were fighting fiercely. Two against three and from the looks of it the two had the upper hand. I couldn't help but smirk as the two Baby-copycats and the crystal lady that had fled toward the crack were now dragged into the fight.
They quickly joined Nekron, Mobius, and Darkseid to push back against Kakarot and Vegeta, though it didn't seem like were able to make a difference in the fight as the two Saiyans continued to push the group back. It was quite astonishing to see how strong Nekron, Mobius, and Darkseid felt. It was clear that they had arrived in their true forms.
Every move they made was devastating. Their attacks created storms of lethal energy that ripped apart anything that stood in their way. Everything except for the two Saiyans. Their foreheads bore a purple-blue symbol of two arrowheads pointing downward. It was quite ominous and one could feel the power radiating from it.
It reminded me of the fight Maxima and Shayera had just now against Darkseid when he suddenly got a boost. Now though, the power of his seemed to have boosted several folds, letting them go toe-to-toe against the two Saiyans.
Even though Vegeta and Kakarot were fighting as Primal Saiyans, they weren't truly pushing their limits, otherwise, they might have already ended it. I could feel it, the difference between them and my form. We were comparable in strength, but theirs had a certain depth and firmness to it.
My mind raised as I gleaned something from it. Their transformation was almost the same as mine, but they didn't use their divine ki. I knew I would probably lose my mind if I didn't use my god ki to calm my mind and that was the difference between them and me. They could enter Primal Saiyan without restrictions, disregarding the primal rage and destructiveness that came with it.
I feel like I would be able to grow significantly more powerful if I did the same. Currently, I was only using the conflicting energy of Oozaru and god ki to temper my body and urge more of my godly heritage out, but I had hardly unearthed 1 percent of it. Now another path opened in my eyes.
My mind churned with ideas, but I was soon dragged back to reality. The two clearly looked cautious of something. I looked down and saw Cooler push himself out of the rubble, battered and bruised, while Zamasu heaved heavily from having half of his body blown up. Given he was immortal, he would be fine soon though.
The moment I knew who was involved and saw that no new enemy seemed to arrive from beyond the barrier, I decided to interfere. The two time patrollers had everything under control against the five, so I turned my sights back to Cooler and Zamasu. Cooler took a step back in indignation and stared at me fearfully.
I could end him with one punch after all. It would be strange if he wasn't afraid in the slightest. Zamasu on the other hand was just staring at me hatefully. He didn't have much to worry about with his immortality.
If Raven was here, she could have absorbed him, but now I wasn't sure how to end him. The only thing I could do was incapacitate him, though I hadn't the same issue with Cooler and one gone would be easing the battle going forward. As soon as my gaze landed on him, he raised his hands as if he was admitting defeat.
My body trembled as I pushed my ki to the limits. The perfect mixture of ki started to boil again as it squeezed the last bit of strength it could muster at the moment and fueled my muscles. I appeared instantly in front of Cooler. He crossed his arms but my fist was already burying itself in his stomach with a twist.
"Guahpf-" Cooler spat out blood as his body shot away. Without worrying about him, I appeared behind Zamasu.
"You will pay-" He uttered before the edge of my hand sliced over his neck, decapitating him without being able to resist.
"Shazam," I called out, knowing that the boy was watching and analyzing the situation. "Lock him up, he is immortal, so you won't be able to kill him this easily." Shazam nodded solemnly as he touched Zamasu's corpse before disappearing again.
After seeing him bring away Zamasu I held up my hand and let my energy rush into my palm. I had to stabilize my stance slightly when the energy shot forth. A blinding beam of destruction tore through the landscape. "Noooo!!" Cooler screamed but my energy just completely covered his body.
There was feedback when my beam crashed into his body, but it easily pushed him back. For a moment, the resistance he offered suddenly increased several fold and a small shimmer of a different red energy could be seen in the blinding beam I fired. Without hesitation, I pushed my limits and increased my output to match and surpass his.
I held it for a moment until I felt the resistance give in and then directed it upward. The beam collided with the tip of a mountain in this dimension. I stopped the attack and it faded out, revealing only a path of destruction carving through forests, rivers, and mountains.
I sighed as a wave of exhaustion washed over me before I was refueled with the endless source of strength that was my Oozaru and Super Saiyan power. I turned my sights upward as their epic battle unfolded. I smiled slightly as I gathered energy inside my hand.
I didn't know why they were playing around with them, but I guessed it was to lure some other enemy out or they were just exhausted. However, their reasoning could wait as I had some questions for one of their opponents. Anyone else, though?
"Create some distance." I telepathically reached out to Vegeta and Kakarot and they instantly moved, deciding to trust my warning. Without much interference, I threw the attack out. A little light appeared in the midst of the enemy group.
[Collapsing Star]
The attack instantly influenced everything in the vicinity as it activated. The environment's color was drained by the attack as everything gathered and converged toward the light. Nothing seemed to be able to resist its pull as even the multiverse beyond the barrier was drawn toward the light.
The light of the attack had a gravity of its own and the ones closest were able to feel it the strongest. Like a black hole, it tried to pull them in. They resisted as best as they could, trying to fly away, but the pull was too strong and their escape was reduced to a minimum. The two that looked like Baby's clones were dragged into the techniques, while the glass lady could barely remain stationary.
The aura around them was sucked into the light, seemingly agitating it before the true might was shown by the attack. The light exploded like a supermassive supernova at the end of its life. A blinding light that seemed to burn away the darkness forever enveloped Nekron, Mobius, Darkseid, and the other three.
The heat it emitted a second after all the stored energy was released burned the very air we breathed. "What the hell?" Shayera asked flabbergasted, having just exited the Rock of Eternity before resisting the harsh condition with her nth mace. Maxima was behind her, being shielded by the Thanagarian as best as the woman could.
I didn't entertain them and just sensed the life forces. Kakarot and Vegeta were the first ones that came out of the light I had created in this dimension. They floated backward, eyeing the technique with some wariness. Darkseid was the third I felt exit away and toward the crack in the barrier, followed by Nekron and Mobious.
The other three, baby-like twins and the glass lady had tanked the worst of it and dropped to the ground as smoking bodies. The attack wasn't as concentrated enough to pulverize them though it was enough to take them out, especially those that were the closest to the detonation. They could only blame themselves for being too weak to resist the pull.
The two twins' lower bodies were completely blown off, while the glass lady looked heavily injured, though I couldn't care too much about these three who were clearly unable to continue the fight. I burst forward past these scrubs and headed for the three that were still in good condition to be a threat. Their energy level had dropped and the menacing aura around them had lessened significantly.
Mobius was the closest and directly punched out. I tilted my head, dodging his attack with ease before I retaliated. My arm surged forward, the movement so fluid it seemed as if time itself bowed to my will. My hand plunged through Mobius' abdomen, an explosion of blood bursting forth from the gaping wound on his back.
He screamed in agony as he spit out blood. My power coursed through my arm, encapsulating it in a humming layer of ki energy. A single motion, a wave of my arm, and Mobius, the Anti-Monitor, was severed in two, a gruesome testament to the raw might of my strike. His shattered form plummeted to the earth, thudding as two halves settled in grotesque sight.
My gaze shifted, locking onto Nekron. His hollow eye sockets seemed to widen in macabre shock as he bore witness to Mobius' fate. My body pivoted my attention solely on the next target. With a deliberate raise of my hand, I focused my energy, molding it into two potent ki blasts.
The projectiles streaked forth, the very air crackling with their power. They found their mark, striking the dismembered remains of Mobius, who was still breathing if barely. A maelstrom of energy erupted, reducing the once formidable godlike being to ashes. My eyes remained fixed on Nekron as his attention shifted from the dissipating remnants of Mobius to the impending threat.
The wannabe lord of death turned and fled, his speed bolstered by some unknown force as he followed Darkseid toward the crack. But I was no stranger to speed, and my ki surged, enveloping my form in an aura of unparalleled potency.
With every fiber of my being enhanced to its limits, I weighed the choice between Instantaneous Transmission and a direct pursuit. The latter won out, my instincts telling me that the sheer velocity I was capable of would prove faster over such a short span. So, I just moved.
A streak of light and power, I surged forward, closing the gap at an inconceivable pace. Nekron's form seemed almost frozen in comparison, his flight was futile against my unrelenting pursuit. He even failed to notice as my knuckles made contact with the back of his skull.
The bone yielded with a sickening crack under the force, and my momentum carried through it. Bone met bone once more and his body's momentum caused it to cleanly rip his head off that was now impaled onto my forearm. The tendons of his almost exclusively skeleton frame snapped as the bone shattered, the sounds of his death among the grand explosions and crackling energy were eerie and stomach-turning.
Energy roared to life, my ki responding to the primal surge of power within me. The lifeless skull, a grotesque ornament, was reduced to rubble as my energy pulsed through it before it shot at the headless body. On impact, the power exploded and instantly engulfed the body. One could see his body and the dark energy scatter into their atoms as the explosion ripped through them.
The energy that Nekron used made me pause for a moment, bringing me to the edge of a realization before I shook it off and turned toward Darkseid who was just a few meters away from the crack. If someone knew what happened to Kara and Felicia then it got to be Darkseid. Once I was done with him, he would beg for the quick death I had given Mobius and Nekron.
Once again I moved far beyond the speed of light, chasing after the new god, "Wait, don't go out there!" I heard someone shout but I disregarded them, my body had already crossed the distance and entered the crack in the barrier.