ng a hand through his hair. "Not exactly you now. But... a reflection of what you can be. A fragment of what already exists inside you."
Ikaris felt a shiver run down his spine. "So... is that a memory?"
"No."
"An illusion?"
"Not exactly."
"Then what the hell are you?"
The other Ikaris smiled again. "I am... a path. One that you can choose to walk, or not."
Ikaris remained silent, his fists clenching slightly.
"If you're me, then tell me... What the hell is happening to me?"
The other Ikaris watched him for a moment before speaking.
"You're waking up."
Ikaris snorted. "That word again. Everyone seems to want me to awaken something, but no one tells me what it is!"
The other smiled. "Because that answer can only come from you."
Ikaris frowned, riddles and more riddles, he hated it.
"Do you want to know why you saw that vision? Why did you feel that presence? Why is your body absorbing this World Energy?"
Ikaris nodded.
The other took a step forward, coming face to face with him.
"Because you're not just a Saiyan. You were never just that."
Ikaris' heart raced. "What do you mean?"
The other reached out and pointed at his chest.
"You feel it, don't you? Something inside you... something beyond your Ki. Something you can't control."
Ikaris opened his mouth to reply, but stopped himself.
He could feel it.
From the moment he returned from that strange place, there had been a different energy inside him. Something that wasn't just Ki. Something that wasn't just his Saiyan lineage, at first he thought it was the world energy... but after the system absorbed it, he realized that it wasn't.
It was something... deeper.
"If you want to understand what it really is..." The other Ikaris stepped back, his golden tail flickering slightly. "... then you need to learn to feel beyond what you already know."
The space around them began to distort, and the other Ikaris began to disappear like dust in the wind.
"Wait!" Ikaris stepped forward. "What does that mean?! How do I do that?!"
The other just smiled.
"Keep training. Keep searching. The answer will appear when you're ready."
And then he disappeared.
The white space began to shatter around him.
way from the truth any longer.
If that other him was right... then Ikaris wasn't just a Saiyan.
He was something more.
And he had to find out what.
...
Now they were back in that wasteland, it was still night.
There was no point in just training Laila, he needed to train himself.
Your body... the fastest way to get stronger is with Zenkai.
However, that's not possible now, if only Kael were around, but I couldn't sense him, he wasn't in town, let alone in the surrounding area.
My parents had apparently traveled too, and taken Breno with them... at least that's what I hope, if those damn Echoes took them somewhere or did something to them, I'll be pissed.
I'll try to call them later, but for now, it's time to train!
This time my goal is to increase my Ki control as much as possible... I'm going to set myself a target, 50%!
Given the difficulty I've been having with this, I think this is going to be an almost impossible task in one day, but I'm going to try!
I watched Laila carefully, she was practicing her flying skills, it's a good start...
.....
Time passed, the sun had already risen, and the silence of the wasteland was broken only by the sound of the wind cutting through the surrounding buildings.
Laila was floating a few meters off the ground, her Ki wrapped around her body unsteadily, but it was already much more solid than before. She gritted her teeth, maintaining her concentration as she adjusted her energy to stabilize her flight.
Ikaris, on the other hand, remained sitting cross-legged in the center of the ground, eyes closed, his breathing controlled and deep.
That presence inside him, that energy that wasn't Ki or World Energy, still pulsed unsteadily inside his body, it was his goal.
"If you want to understand what you really are... you need to learn to feel beyond what you already know."
These words echoed in his mind.
He had always considered himself an instinctive warrior, someone who improved with combat, who learned as he fought, but this time he felt that wouldn't be enough.
This time, he needed to go further.
He expanded his energy out of his body, feeling the pressure around him, trying to control it on a microscopic level. The flow of energy vibrated, flowed through his muscles and spread through the air like invisible waves.
He started with the basics, controlling his breathing and trying to feel every inch of his own Ki.
But it wasn't long before he noticed a problem.
Something was wrong.
His Ki wasn't flowing in the same way as before.
He could feel it moving, but at times, it seemed to... slip, as if there was something interfering with his control.
He opened his eyes quickly, frowning.
"That's not right..."
Laila landed beside him, noticing his confused expression.
"What?"
Ikaris sighed, looking down at his hands.
"My Ki... It's strange. It's like there's something mixed up in it, something I can't control properly."
Laila frowned. "Do you think it has something to do with that energy you mentioned?"
He nodded.
"Probably."
He closed his eyes again, trying to expand his perception. He forced his energy to stabilize, focusing on the goal he had set.
50% control!
If he achieved that, he could better understand what was going on inside him.
Ikaris stood up, his hands glowing with a faint golden hue as his Ki accumulated in them.
"I'm going to try a different method."
Laila watched as he began to create small spheres of Ki on the tip of each finger. He sighed deeply before starting to bring them around him.
"If I can't sense this strange power directly, then I need to take my Ki control to the extreme. I'm going to do it the hard way."
The training he decided to do was something brutal: control multiple spheres of Ki at the same time, without letting them collide with each other or dissipate.
If any of them became unstable or collided with each other... the result would not be pleasant.
He expanded his perception to keep each sphere in the air, manipulating their trajectories and speeds individually.
Laila watched carefully, surprised by the complexity of the exercise.
"That sounds... complicated."
He smiled. "It is, and that's why it will work."
At first, he managed to keep the spheres moving smoothly, circling around him in an orderly pattern.
But as he picked up speed, his energy began to fluctuate.
He felt a small breakthrough, but it wasn't enough.
"Not yet..."
He intensified his control, forcing his Ki to keep the spheres moving. The air around him began to vibrate, his aura flickered, and then...
BOOM!
The spheres exploded and he was thrown backwards by the shockwave.
Laila flew back a few meters with the impact, but luckily she was somewhat distant, so she quickly stabilized.
"Ikaris!" She flew to his side as he stood up, dusting off his clothes.
He spat out a little blood, but smiled. "Hehe... I don't think I'm ready for that yet."
Laila crossed her arms. "Or maybe you're pushing it too hard."
He nodded.
"No. I need to do this. I have to increase my control, or I won't understand this energy."
Laila sighed, but realized it would be no use trying to convince him otherwise, so she used her secret card.
"Meow, meow, meow" She started to make cat meows, and began to fiddle with Ikaris' hair and cheeks, tickling him.
"Hey hey, stop it hahaha, what are you doing?!" Ikaris couldn't hold in his laughter as Laila kept tickling him while meowing.
After a while, Ikaris was on the floor, breathing heavily with Laila smiling teasingly beside him.
"Come on, let me help you" Laila held up her hand to help Ikaris up.
Ikaris was a little afraid at first, but accepted the help and let out a sigh of relief that Laila had stopped it.
"Help how?"
She raised her fists, a faint bluish aura rising around her.
"You said you need control, right? So how about doing it during a fight?"
He winked. "You want to fight me now?"
She smiled. "You always get better in the middle of battle. So, if your problem is control, I'll push you until you get it."
Ikaris was silent for a moment, then smiled back.
"Fine. But don't complain if I end up going all out on you."
She crossed her arms. "I'm counting on it."
Ikaris felt a little warm in the chest, but he wouldn't go all out on his girlfriend without first making sure of something...
"Check"
[Ding]
[Laila Fonseca]
Fighting power: 172
Ikaris was a little surprised by this, it's only been a day... and she's already so powerful? Pure humans really are broken.
But that only added to his excitement!
The wind cut between the two as they got into position.
Laila took the initiative, advancing with surprising speed.
Ikaris dodged the first punch with ease, but realized that her blow had more weight than before.
She was learning fast.
He smiled. "Not bad."
Laila spun in the air and launched a kick straight at his face. Ikaris blocked with his forearm, but felt the vibration of the impact run through his body.
She really is getting strong fast...
He decided to test his own evolution.
He began to fight only with dodges and defenses, forcing himself to keep his energy under control. Each time he dodged a blow, he adjusted his aura, controlling every tiny fluctuation in his Ki.
Laila attacked non-stop, forcing him to react at every moment.
Then something began to happen.
His body began to get used to the energy oscillation.
He realized that, instead of trying to control his energy as if it were something rigid, he needed to treat it like a river, flowing naturally.
Instead of forcing it... I need to adapt.
Time slowed down in his mind, and he felt his perception expand even more.
Laila's next blow came like a blur, but this time he didn't just dodge it.
He flowed through the movement, as if his body already knew where to go before he even needed to think.
Laila noticed the change.
"Hey... what was that?!"
Ikaris smiled.
"I don't know... But I think I'm beginning to understand."
He closed his eyes for a moment, feeling his energy stabilize in a different way.
Then a notification popped up.
[Ding!]
[Ki control: 39% → 42%]
He opened his eyes, his smile widening.
"Almost there..."
Laila smiled too. "Then let's keep going!"
The two returned to combat, their energies colliding in the middle of the night.
But this time, Ikaris wasn't just fighting to get stronger.
He was struggling to understand what that was.
And he was getting closer and closer to the answer.
...
Evening soon approached.
Today was Sunday, Laila was due home today, so she said goodbye to me before taking off in the flying cloud.
I asked her why she didn't just fly on her own, she said that the cloud was much faster, and cozier.
Well, I won't deny it, I tested the cloud for a few moments, and my God, it felt like I was in the clouds... well, I was
My Ki control advanced to 44%, a long way from my goal of 50%, but hey, that's a big win!
That wasn't the only thing that advanced, thanks to my ever-increasing control, one of my skills leveled up too...
[Self-Control - lvl26 -> lvl31]
Allows the host to remain calm and think rationally in times of stress
Decreases the chance of entering a berserker state by 31%
Looking at this ability reminded me of my Oozaru state, which was still out of control... I should try to control it while I'm not yet strong enough to simply destroy the planet by entering berserker state.
With my fighting power now at 233, turning into Oozaru would bring it to 2,330, a pretty big amount, but not enough to cause a global cataclysm.
Although I felt like I was forgetting something, I knew I couldn't waste any time, the moon was already appearing in the sky, so I flew off... to where? To the same place where I had transformed for the first time.
Honestly, leveling up the flying skill to maximum was perfect, I was about 3x faster, and my Ki consumption seemed to be practically zero, if I could quantify it, I'd have a reserve of 1 million, and I lose about 0.1 per second.
....
I soon arrived in that same field I was in weeks ago, comparing the me of now with the me of before, it really is a whole world of difference, I clenched my fists and then sat down in a position to meditate.
"System, start Oozaru's transformation"
[Ding]
[Initiating the transformation...]
Suddenly an extreme pain began to course through my body as I felt it expand, I couldn't remember ever feeling so much pain... perhaps I had lost control before I could feel it...
I gritted my teeth and held on...
[Attention, the host is about to lose control]
[Self-Control lvl31 - successfully activated]
[Attention, the host is about to lose control]
[Auto-Control lvl31 - successfully activated]
[Auto-Control lvl31 -> lvl32]
[Attention, the host is about to lose control]
[Auto-Control lvl32 - successfully activated]
[Attention, the host is about to lose control...]