Chapter 6 - Heaven? Hell? Hard Pass! (Part 3)
King Yemma stares. "Are you okay, kid?"
I clench my fists, anger surging into an outburst waiting to happen before I control myself. What kind of question is that? Is he the fool or am I? "I'm not sure I'm following, King Yemma."
King Yemma looks at the ogres. They just shrug. Then he gazes at me again in what I can only describe as... shock? "Actually, the whole experience should have been painless for you."
I blink. "You mean… others didn't feel anything?"
"Nope," he says, shaking his head. "Not a single one. Every soul we've given their body back to, it's been smooth. No screaming, no thrashing. You're the first."
Polivoro scratches his cheek. "Yeah, I mean… that looked rough. You sure you're not just overly dramatic or something?" He chuckles before stopping himself.
I shoot him another glare. "Sure. I'll tone down the screaming and do more falsetto. Want to write me a score while we're at it?"
Polivoro raises his hands in mock surrender. "Hey, just saying—it was very melodramatic."
King Yemma clears his throat, commanding our attention. "Enough. We know this isn't a stage play. We get it, kid. Even I was caught off guard."
He leans forward, his tone more paternal than usual. "You sure you don't wanna rest first, kid? That must have been draining."
I just smile at them, eyes folding into slits. "No, I think I can rest while on the way to Snake Way. But thank you." There's no way I'm spending another minute here with these ogres. That's gotta be more draining.
Although quite hesitant, King Yemma agrees and orders Polivoro to escort me.
"Wait a sec..." I turn around and see Aleksio who has been waiting for his turn. I approach him. "Sorry it took so long."
He says nothing, astonished I now have my physical body more than anything.
"Well, I'm pretty much still dead." I laugh it off.
"Yes, I see halo," Aleksio says. "Was that you screaming like a banshee?"
"Oh, yeah... Comes with getting your whole physical body back." I pause. He looks creeped out. "But they did tell me I'm the only one who has experienced it for some weird reason. Others have tried, and it was all painless."
"Hmph. I don't want to be the second."
"Fair." I grin, then shift gears. "Yeah, but listen, you're strong, right? And maybe you'd wanna get stronger even."
I tell him about of King Kai and the arduous path that is Snake Way. Honestly, I just want someone to join me run through the whole length of Snake Way rather than do it alone. And because he could probably be a good mentor.
"Thoughtful of you to consider, but no." His gaze softens into something distant. "I rather just stay put. My wife—she died young. I promised I'd find her again. That's all that matters now."
"Oh, I see."
We bid each other goodbye. King Yemma explodes the moment I turn back, ranting about how I don't have the authority to just bring any soul I want with threats of removing my physical body and then putting it back on again. Absolute psycho.
I just smile at King Yemma as Polivoro begins to lead the way. "Thanks a lot, King Yemma."
"Don't ever let me see you again, kid, or I'll flay you myself." He casts a sadistic grin.
"I won't bet on it."
Polivoro and I head west, walk along a path lined with red railings that separate concrete from the billowing golden clouds beyond, and arrive at an open circular platform—all in silence. There sits his new hatchback car.
"This is my sweet baby." He presses the keys and the car chirps. He looks at me, an awkward smile plastered on his face. "So, what do you think?"
Don't like it. "Doesn't look too shabby. Totally like the 80s."
"Huh?"
"Never mind."
He opens the car, I jump in shotgun, and he starts. The scenery doesn't change. Still the same golden clouds blurring past.
It's only upon looking at the rearview mirror do I realize I haven't seen my face yet in Dragon Ball—and damn, do I look good. The light brown buzz cut suits me well, tight on the sides, fading clean into skin, framing a jawline with hollow cheeks sharp enough to draw stares. My almond-shaped, striking blue eyes look like they've been through something and learned not to flinch. My nose is a little snubbed, but it fits, anchoring everything in place. Even my lashes look intentionally shaped—neat, dark, like they were groomed for someone who wasn't planning to die young but enjoy life.
Still, is this really the body I had before I died? Or did King Yemma just make one up on the spot and gave me the same set of clothes? If so, he clearly has better taste then I gave him credit for.
My self-admiration is broken by the sound of a whistling. Polivoro, probably not used by the silence, is bouncing his knees and tapping his fingers on the steering wheel to the rhythm, eyes slightly too wide with boredom.
This awkwardness is suffocating.
"You can still talk, you know," I say with a sigh.
"Oh?" Polivoro glances at me for a brief second before eyeing the road. "Sure. I love talking, y'know."
"I can see that." I lean in the cushion, stealing one more glance at my handsome face before looking away. Best not to get carried away. "Say, how were you able to touch me?"
"Touch you?" Polivoro scoffs. "Where'd you get the idea I'd touch you?"
"I mean my tail, when you dragged me." I facepalm.
"Oh, okay. You could have said so." He chuckles. "'Touch' is weird, y'know, 'cause I only like touching girls and myself—wait, scratch that. Forget I said that."
I burst out laughing. "You always say the grossest stuff. Anyway, how?"
"Don't know really." He shrugs, leaning into the cushion as well. "We're just born with it. Could touch souls since I was a baby."
That explains it, I guess? I let it go for now. "So, any idea why others didn't feel pain when getting back their physical bodies?"
He thinks first. "Trust us. We got no clue, nada. Thought you were acting for a sec. Sorta thought you had a thing for bodies and y'know... were hitting some kind of freaky climax or something."
"Oh, come on!"
"I'm joking!" He laughs then turns serious before looking at me. "Your soul was acting weird during the transformation. Y'know, souls usually just accept the body, yeah? But yours? It was thrashing violently. Which is weird, because souls usually don't do that. But hey, maybe it's 'cause you just don't like sitting still. Even when dead."
Could this be because of what I did before, when I was able to access and control the Ki within my soul body? But it doesn't make sense. Why would my soul thrash violently?
I leave the thinking for the future.
We continue our back-and-forth and before we know it, the face of a giant snake statue emerges into view. The car slows to a halt, and we both disembark. My heart tugs.
This is it.
Reaching the statue with my hands, I feel the gloss and polish coating the head of the snake. Its pointy fangs jutting out of the base of its mouth feel the same. It looks brand new, or maybe it's revarnished. At our heights, we can only manage to reach the point of its lower fangs.
"How old do you think this statue is?"
"Don't know. Pretty sure it's way older than me, and I'm a thousand years old. Pretty mystical stuff, yeah?"
"Yeah." I shoot off without any hesitation, landing square on the head of the snake. It's pleasing to find I could clear the height of about four of Polivoro's hatchbacks stacked together. Not too impressive, but still!
"Well, I'm going now. I can't thank you guys enough."
"Yeah. You be careful, yeah? Hope you don't fall off."
"Yeah, I won't." I brace myself for a run.
"Oh, wait, before I forget, make sure you don't chat with the God of Snake Way, okay. She'll suck you dry." He chuckles. "She's at the 500,00-kilometer mark, literally halfway. You won't miss her palace—"
"Wait. You mean Snake Way's a million kilometers long?"
"Well, 'course it is. Honestly thought you knew."
Crap. I thought it was only ten thousand miles!
I should never have relied on the Funimation Dub.
Power Levels:
King Yemma: 1,200
Yubby: 400
Polivoro: 350
Carson: 10