Jamall had always found himself drawn to things that others passed by. Where his classmates would drift into casual conversations about sports or new video games, Jamall lived for theories and alternate takes on his favorite stories, especially Dragon Ball. In his mind, there was no character more fascinating than Cell. A villain obsessed with achieving perfection, who took pride in every step of his evolution—Cell was both horrifying and compelling. Jamall's friends thought it was a strange fixation, but for him, Cell was an intellectual puzzle.
Today had been like any other. Jamall had finished up classes and was back in his apartment, where every shelf and available wall space was filled with Dragon Ball collectibles, figurines, and manga editions. It was here, surrounded by his obsession, that he often escaped reality, losing himself in endless online debates, rewatching his favorite arcs, and exploring countless fanfics that reimagined Cell's path to perfection.
Even now, as he held the latest volume of Dragon Ball Super, he couldn't shake a persistent thought that had been bothering him since childhood. What if Cell had achieved his final form sooner? He'd argued with fans about it for years. They would counter with reasons why it couldn't have worked, why the story was perfect as it was, but he was never convinced. Jamall believed that if Cell had perfected himself earlier, he could have faced stronger opponents and become more than just a villain defeated by Gohan.
He took a seat, dropping his bag and sliding his new manga into the collection with careful precision. Sighing, he set up his favorite Cell arc episode to watch while he got ready to relax. But the exhaustion from the day settled in fast, and as the familiar scenes unfolded on screen, he drifted off, lost in a daydream of becoming something greater.