Chapter 33: Beyond the Atom
Bonus chapter
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The Ginyu Force returned to Frieza's flagship after their successful mission on Planet Rakor. Captain Ginyu and his team, eager to report their victory, were met not by Frieza, but by General Zokar, one of Frieza's highest-ranking officers. General Zokar stood tall and imposing, his black armor gleaming under the dim light of the docking bay. His piercing eyes swept over the Ginyu Force, silently gauging their readiness.
"You will not be meeting Lord Frieza," Zokar said without preamble, his voice cold and authoritative. "He is deep in meditation and has no time for interruptions. Follow me."
The Ginyu Force exchanged glances, slightly disappointed, but obediently followed the general through the corridors of the ship. Captain Ginyu clenched his fists, eager to prove his worth once more to Frieza, but he knew better than to question orders.
The team walked in silence as Zokar led them to a training facility, deep within the heart of the ship. The room was vast, equipped with gravity chambers, ki suppression fields, and battle simulators, all designed to push Frieza's soldiers to their absolute limits.
"Your mission was simple, but do not think you are at your best," Zokar continued as the doors to the training facility slid open. "The soldiers of Frieza's empire have grown stronger than you can imagine. You, the once-elite Ginyu Force, are now far behind the standards we expect from top warriors. You need to improve. And quickly."
Jeice's usual cocky smirk faltered for a moment, but Recoome let out a hearty laugh. "Stronger than us? Please! We'll show them why we're the best in the galaxy!"
Zokar narrowed his eyes at Recoome. "You will soon find out. Prepare yourselves for a new level of training. You will not leave this chamber until I say you are ready."
Without waiting for their responses, Zokar activated the gravity field, instantly raising the chamber's gravity to 200 times that of Earth. The Ginyu Force staggered for a brief moment before steadying themselves, their muscles straining under the sudden pressure.
Captain Ginyu gritted his teeth and barked orders to his team, "You heard the general. This is nothing we can't handle. We need to train harder than ever. Lord Frieza expects nothing less than perfection."
As the Ginyu Force began their grueling training, General Zokar observed in silence, his critical gaze never wavering. He knew that despite their bravado, they had a long way to go before they could stand among Frieza's best.
….
Meanwhile, in the depths of the ship, Frieza was in his private meditation chamber. The room was silent, save for the soft hum of the ship's systems. Frieza's eyes were closed, his body perfectly still, but within his mind, a storm of energy swirled.
Through his mastery of Spirit Control, Frieza had created several ki clones of himself, each one focusing on a different aspect of his training. These clones, identical in every way, floated around him, their energy controlled with such precision that no trace of power leaked into the surrounding atmosphere. To an outside observer, it would seem as though nothing was happening, but Frieza's focus was absolute.
His primary clone was deep in experimentation, attempting to compress his ki to a level beyond the atomic. He visualized his ki as a vast ocean, and his task was to condense it into something smaller than a single drop, denser than the core of a collapsing star, and purer than the clearest crystal. He could feel the energy resisting, the natural flow of ki pushing back against such intense compression.
Frieza clenched his fists, forcing his will upon the energy. The ki trembled under the pressure, condensing into a minuscule point. It was smaller than anything he had ever achieved, but it was still not enough. The density had to increase. It had to become something beyond mortal comprehension.
Suddenly, the compressed ki destabilized. A ripple of energy surged out, causing Frieza's clone to flicker and disperse. Frieza's eyes opened, frustration flashing briefly in his crimson gaze. He had failed again. The ki had been compressed to a near-perfect state, but it lacked the stability required for true godhood.
"Patience," Frieza reminded himself, his voice a calm whisper in the quiet room. He closed his eyes once more, reforming the clone and starting the process again.
Another clone was working on manifesting Frieza's spirit. This task was even more delicate. Spirit energy was intangible, more ethereal than ki, and far more difficult to control. Frieza envisioned his spirit as an extension of his consciousness, a pure essence that could be shaped and honed like any physical form. But merging it with his ki was a challenge he had yet to overcome.
As the clone attempted to compress his spirit in the same way he had done with his ki, Frieza felt the energy slip through his mental grasp. His spirit resisted compression, its nature too fluid to be contained in such a way. The moment it was forced into a denser state, it dissipated like mist, leaving Frieza with nothing to show for his efforts.
His frustration grew, but he kept it tightly controlled. This was a setback, nothing more. He had learned much from his training on Yardrat, and he knew that the path to God Ki was not a simple one. But Frieza was nothing if not determined. He would not be defeated by something as trivial as an obstacle in his training.
Time passed in silence as Frieza continued to experiment, his clones working tirelessly to find the perfect balance between ki and spirit. Each failure taught him something new, and though the progress was slow, it was steady.
Frieza's mind wandered briefly to the Ginyu Force. They were loyal and competent, but they were weak compared to his current standards. He knew they would need to train extensively if they were to remain useful to him. Frieza had no tolerance for weakness, not anymore.
His focus returned to his training. He could feel his ki and spirit slowly beginning to align, but the fusion of the two was still beyond his reach. The energies were too different, too volatile when compressed together. Frieza needed a way to stabilize them, to bring them into perfect harmony without losing control.
He allowed himself a rare moment of self-reflection. His base form was now powerful enough to rival the gods, but even that was not enough. He needed something more, something that would place him above all others in the universe.
Frieza's tail twitched in the silence as he pushed his ki to the absolute limit, compressing it once more. This time, it shrank to a size smaller than he had ever achieved before, a point of light so dense that it seemed to bend reality around it. For a moment, Frieza thought he had succeeded.
But then, just as before, the energy destabilized, and the clone vanished in a burst of light.
Frieza opened his eyes, his expression unreadable. He had come closer than ever, but it still wasn't enough. He would continue his experiments, continue his training, and one day, he would master the fusion of ki and spirit. God Ki would be his, and when that day came...
With renewed determination, Frieza closed his eyes again and resumed his meditation. The galaxy would continue to fall under his rule, and soon, he would ascend to a level of power that no one could oppose.
But for now, he would wait. He would train. And when the time was right, he would unleash his true potential upon the universe.
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