I never thought I'd die so young.
It was supposed to be a normal day—wake up, get dressed, head to work, and maybe catch up on some Dragon Ball Super during lunch. I was just like any other fan, obsessed with the Dragon Ball universe, rewatching fights, imagining what it would be like to live in a world where power could break the limits of imagination. But life doesn't care about your dreams or your plans. It can take everything away in the blink of an eye.
That's what happened to me.
One moment, I was crossing the street, earbuds in, listening to the Dragon Ball Z soundtrack and thinking about how Goku would handle a tough day at work. The next moment, I heard the screech of tires—a sound that pierced through the music. My heart stopped as I turned my head just in time to see the blinding headlights of a speeding truck. It was too fast. There was no time to react. No time to move. No time to even feel fear.
Just impact. And then, nothing.
No pain. No sound. No light. No sensation at all.
When I opened my eyes again—if I was even opening them—I wasn't on the cold pavement, and I wasn't in the hospital. In fact, I wasn't anywhere I recognized. I was in... nothing. Endless, boundless nothing. It was as if I was floating in a void, weightless, my body gone. Or perhaps I didn't even have a body anymore. Just consciousness, hanging in the abyss like a cloud drifting in the wind.
It was terrifying at first, the idea that I could be dead, that this was the end. No afterlife. No heaven, no hell. Just... this.
But then, as the minutes—hours?—ticked by, my fear was replaced by something else. A strange sense of calm. I wasn't in pain. I wasn't scared anymore. I simply was. It was almost peaceful. But that peace was broken by something I didn't expect.
A voice—soft, yet commanding—echoed through the void, reverberating in my mind like a distant bell.
"Do you desire to live again?"
I didn't know how to respond at first, but somehow, I felt the question was directed at me. My thoughts raced. Was this some kind of hallucination? A dream? Or was I really dead, and this was... something else?
"I... I want to live," I thought, unsure if the voice could hear me—or if I was even speaking aloud. I had no body, no mouth to form words. But somehow, the thought seemed enough.
"Very well," the voice responded almost immediately, as if it had been expecting my answer all along. "But know this: life is not given freely. You will be reborn, but not in the world you knew. You will walk a new path, in a new existence."
Reborn? The words echoed in my mind, and for a moment, I was stunned. Reborn? Like reincarnation? Was this some kind of isekai scenario? I'd seen anime about this kind of thing—ordinary people dying and waking up in a completely different world. But this... this was real. Or at least, it felt real.
"What... what do you mean?" I asked—or thought—still struggling to comprehend what was happening.
"You will be given another chance at life," the voice said, calm and unwavering. "But you will not return to the world you came from. You will begin anew in a different existence. A place where your actions will shape your destiny."
A different existence? My mind raced with possibilities. Could it be true? Could I really choose another world to live in? Was this some kind of cosmic second chance?
As I floated in the void, a million thoughts flooded my mind. If I could choose where to be reborn, where would I go? I could end up anywhere—in a fantasy world, a world of adventure and magic, or maybe even...
It hit me like a ton of bricks—Dragon Ball. Of course. If I could be reborn anywhere, why not the world I had spent my entire life obsessed with? A world where strength, power, and will could break the very fabric of reality. A world where Goku, Vegeta, and the other Z Fighters fought for the fate of entire universes. I could live in that world.
"I want to go to the Dragon Ball world," I thought, my heart pounding as I made my choice. "Make me a Saiyan."
The void around me trembled slightly, as if the very fabric of reality was shifting. The voice was silent for a moment, as if considering my request.
"As you wish," it finally said. "But be warned: the path you choose is one of great peril. The Saiyan blood you seek comes with both strength and burden. You will face challenges beyond what you know, and the fate of your new world will rest upon your shoulders."
My heart raced. A mix of excitement and fear swirled inside me. I knew the dangers of the Dragon Ball universe. I knew the enemies that would come—Frieza, Cell, Majin Buu, and worse. But I also knew the potential. The power. The possibilities. And this time, I wouldn't be an ordinary human. I would be a Saiyan.
"I understand," I thought, my resolve hardening. "I'm ready."
The voice seemed to hum in approval, and then, without warning, the void around me collapsed. I felt myself being pulled, faster than light, through an endless tunnel of stars and galaxies. My consciousness twisted and spun, my very essence being reshaped. I felt... smaller. Lighter. My thoughts became hazy, and just as I tried to hold on to my sense of self, everything went dark again.
When I opened my eyes—or at least, when I became aware of my surroundings—I wasn't in the void anymore. I wasn't in my old world anymore.
I was in a pod. A small, cramped space, with blinking lights and a transparent dome above me. I blinked, trying to adjust to the dim light, and then I saw it—the stars. They were everywhere, twinkling in the vast expanse of space. I could feel the gentle hum of the pod's engines as it shot through the cosmos.
It didn't take long for me to realize what was happening. This was no ordinary pod. I was in a Saiyan pod. The realization hit me like a freight train.
I was Goku.
Or rather, I had been reborn as Goku—a newborn Saiyan, just like in the original story. I looked down at my tiny, chubby hands, and a strange mix of emotions surged through me. I was a baby again, but I wasn't just a baby. My mind was still intact. I still had my memories, my knowledge of the Dragon Ball universe. And I knew exactly where I was headed.
Earth.
The pod shook slightly as it entered Earth's atmosphere, flames licking the outside of the glass as gravity pulled me towards the surface. I wasn't scared, though. I knew this moment. I had seen it a hundred times in the anime. This was the beginning of everything. The start of Goku's journey. My journey.
As the pod crash-landed in the forest, the jolt knocked me around, but I was unharmed. Saiyan biology was tough, even in infancy. I could hear the faint sounds of birds scattering into the sky and the crackle of trees as they splintered from the impact. Everything was so familiar, yet so surreal. I knew what was coming next.
Footsteps. Slow, cautious footsteps approaching the smoking crater where my pod had landed.
I knew who it was before I even saw him.
Grandpa Gohan.
Sure enough, as the smoke cleared and the dust settled, a figure appeared at the edge of the crater. An old man, with kind eyes and a gentle smile. His clothes were simple, his posture slightly hunched, but there was a warmth in his expression that instantly put me at ease.
He stared at the pod with wide eyes, clearly shocked at what he was seeing. I couldn't blame him—an alien spacecraft landing in the middle of the forest was hardly an everyday occurrence. But as he approached, his gaze softened, and I knew this moment. This was the moment Gohan found Goku—the moment that would set everything in motion.
Except this time, things were different.
This time, Goku wasn't just a child with no memories of his origins. This time, I was here. I had all my memories, all my knowledge of the future. And I knew exactly what was going to happen.
Gohan peered into the pod, his eyes widening as he saw me—a tiny baby with wild, spiky hair and a tail curled around my waist. He smiled, his expression full of warmth and wonder.
"Well, what do we have here?" he murmured softly, reaching into the pod to lift me out. His hands were gentle as he cradled me in his arms. "You're a special little one, aren't you?"
I looked up at him, unable to speak, but my mind was racing. This man—this kind, gentle old man—would be my first real connection in this new world. He would raise me, love me, and shape me into the person I was meant to become. And even though I knew what was coming, I couldn't help but feel a deep sense of gratitude towards him.
"I think I'll call you... Goku," Gohan said with a fond smile, giving me the name that would define my new life.
I wanted to laugh at the irony. He had no idea who I really was. But as Gohan carried me back to his small mountain home, my mind was already racing with possibilities. I was Goku now. I had been given a second chance. A chance to change things. A chance to make this world better.
This wasn't just Goku's journey anymore.
This was my second chance.