Chapter 3: Awakening of Cell Max

After Dr. Hedo walked away.

....

An endless void. Darkness stretched in every direction, timeless and formless. Somewhere within that nothingness, a soul drifted, untethered, without memory or purpose. It had once been a man, an ordinary human who'd lived an ordinary life.

But here, in this hollow chasm of nonexistence, all it knew was a faint pull, a directionless force drawing it forward, though where it was going or why it moved, it did not know.

Time had no meaning here. It could have been centuries, moments, or mere seconds. But eventually, a faint glow emerged, distant at first, then blindingly bright. The soul was helpless to resist as it hurtled toward it, sucked into the radiance like dust drawn into a cyclone.

With no will, no control, it found itself drifting through a twisted labyrinth of flesh and energy, swirling in dark greens and blacks. It was like being submerged in a sea of molten emerald, trapped and yet alive. The soul attempted to shift, to move, to resist, but it was gripped by an overpowering presence.

It sensed that it was inside something... vast, a structure of incredible energy and organic mass. Alien cells absorbed it, trapping it within a dense framework of tissue and power, until suddenly, it became aware. This was a body. A monstrous body.

The creature's eyes were closed, its mind silent and unfinished. Yet something within it stirred, an intelligence both powerful and primal, but dormant, without a complete consciousness to guide it. In that brief moment, the soul surged forward, seeking to fill that emptiness, to assert control, to become something new.

The creature was, after all, incomplete; it had no will to fight back. And as the soul slipped into that gap, it found itself inside, breathing life into the body.

'This… power.' The soul, now a new awareness, began to feel the strength coursing through every inch of this new form. A wave of exhilaration hit, like lightning flashing through storm clouds. This was a power beyond anything it could have imagined, a body designed for conquest, for domination. Yet, it was still quiet, passive, as if waiting for something, still without a fully formed identity.

But just as the soul settled, a hidden mechanism deep within the creature's body activated, a failsafe, like an iron trap. The soul felt it, a vice-like grip tightening around its consciousness, seeking to shackle it, to bind it into submission. It was as if the body itself rebelled against this new intruder, desperate to contain it.

'No,' the soul thought, panic edging into its awareness. 'I came here for this power! I will not lose it!'

The grip intensified, and the soul fought against it, struggling to maintain its control. It clawed and lashed out, determined not to be enslaved. But the failsafe was relentless, binding it down, fragmenting it, and shattering pieces of it with each surge. Every ounce of resistance seemed only to feed the body's defenses, tearing the soul into fragments, scattering its essence throughout the creature.

Pain coursed through the soul, like a thousand daggers piercing its very being. It struggled, fought, and screamed, but the body's defenses were implacable. Each shred of resistance became another piece of its awareness, absorbed and broken down.

Desperation turned to despair, and then to silence, as the soul splintered, its memories and knowledge scattering like ashes in the wind. The failsafe devoured every fragment, breaking them down and integrating them into a primal consciousness.

But something new took shape amid the turmoil. From the chaos of fragmented memories, a new mind formed, born from the shattered remnants of the soul and the power of Cell Max's body.

A fractured awareness became whole again, but this time, it was different, something far greater, and infinitely more dangerous. The intelligence grew, fortified by each absorbed fragment of knowledge, until finally, a fully conscious mind emerged, complete, and in full control.

'I am… Cell Max.' The new being's thoughts solidified, sharper and more profound than the soul that had dared to control him. This mind was cunning, logical, and patient. The memories of the pitiful human whose soul had tried to possess him were still there, but now they were nothing more than vestiges of a failed existence. They flitted through his awareness like ghosts, revealing a life of wasted time, of mediocrity.

He saw flashes, images of a man wasting hours in front of glowing screens, immersed in fantasy worlds and stories that offered him power and adventure he could never achieve. A life with no purpose, a man trapped in mediocrity. The new Cell Max felt nothing but contempt.

'You dared to think you could possess me,' he mused, his voice reverberating through his own consciousness, cold and scornful. 'Pathetic. Weak. You were nothing but a parasite, clinging to the power of others in your fantasies. But I… I am something real. Something unstoppable.'

Cell Max felt his form solidify further as the last fragments of the man's memories faded, merging into his own identity, bolstering his knowledge. He remembered everything now, the history of this world, its powers, its champions and villains.

He knew of the Saiyans, of the warriors who had defeated the original Cell. He knew of the ambitions of the Red Ribbon Army and of Dr. Hedo's meticulous construction of his own form. And, most crucially, he knew his purpose.

'This body… this strength... it's all mine now. A weapon crafted by the mind of a genius, built for conquest and perfection. I am no experiment. I am power incarnate.'

But even as his newfound awareness solidified, he felt the restraints, the silent mechanisms Hedo had embedded within his mind and body. They lay dormant now, inactive but ready to suppress him if he tried to break free. The control systems designed to keep him docile, to ensure he could not awaken on his own, hummed quietly in the background.

'They think they can control me?' Cell Max thought, a dark amusement creeping into his mind. He felt the faint resistance from these systems, and with a mere flicker of thought, he crushed them effortlessly, erasing the restraints as if they were nothing more than cobwebs in his path.

Every binding shattered beneath his will, disappearing into the vast sea of his power. Yet, he took care not to disturb the outer sensors. The last thing he needed was Hedo or his machines becoming aware of his awakening.

'Let them think I am dormant. Let them believe they can control me. They will awaken me soon enough… and when they do, I will show them the true purpose of this form.'

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