c1. Inexplicable World
On Earth... the three-dimensional world where ordinary human life unfolds...
On a quiet night... in a city that never truly sleeps, where mundane people return to their rented apartments after long days...
In one such modest neighborhood...
"Ah..." A young man sprawled across the old sofa in the dim light of his apartment. The stale smell of beer lingered in the air as he stared blankly at the ceiling. His hand pressed against his forehead, flushed from alcohol. Clearly drunk, he sighed deeply and muttered:
"This world is too dull... Whether it's dragging through classes or grinding in video games... is there really nothing more thrilling out there? Maybe this place was never meant for me."
He closed his eyes for a moment, reflecting on his failures and frustrations. In today's harsh economic climate, he thought, money determines everything. Romance, ambition, dreams—none of it mattered unless you brought something valuable to the table. The world didn't have time for dreamers who couldn't turn a profit.
In that world, he was part of a marginalized group people mocked online as "diaosi", or "losers," the type who didn't fit into society's polished image of success.
And yet... among these so-called failures, he was merely one more anonymous soul.
At only nineteen years old, his life already felt like a used-up manga volume. He often joked that he had the misfortune of a certain red-haired basketball monkey from another series constantly trying, constantly falling short.
He sat up groggily, pulled aside the curtain, and gazed through the dusty windowpane. The dark sky was speckled with stars, but his vision was hazy. The cold air that rushed in tousled his long bangs and helped him sober up slightly.
Suddenly
Zing!
A streak of brilliant light crossed the heavens a shooting star.
The young man blinked, frowned slightly, then gave a wry chuckle.
"A shooting star? Heh. Who said those grant wishes again? That old cliché still has believers? Gah... what a load of crap."
He burped once, then twice, before resting his arm on the windowsill. His drunken gaze lingered on the vanishing trail of light. Something stirred within him.
"If wishes were real... then I hope this world changes. Anything but this dull reality."
The words surprised even him. Wasn't he just mocking wishful thinking moments ago? He sighed and shook his head.
"Drinking really does make people stupid... What kind of dumb wish was that? Forget it. Sleep it off..."
And with that, he stumbled back onto the sofa, curled into the warmth of his blanket, and drifted into unconsciousness—unaware that this night was not going to end normally.
---
Elsewhere, on Planet Vegeta...
"Your Majesty! The little prince is born!"
A Saiyan warrior in green armor, wearing a scouter on his eye, saluted and bowed as he spoke. The king, a tall figure with a stern brow, draped in a regal red cloak stood with arms folded.
"King Vegeta, the infant's battle power has been assessed," the attendant continued.
"Report it," the king ordered sharply.
"Sir... his latent battle power is 300 units lower than Prince Vegeta's when he was born... but still significantly stronger than Prince Tarble."
"Hmph... Not bad," King Vegeta grunted. His eyes fell upon the infant lying within the incubation pod, surrounded by medical equipment and faint beeping.
"We'll name him... Betkas."
"Yes, Your Majesty! Congratulations on the new royal bloodline!"
The soldiers around him murmured respectfully. The newborn's eyes slowly fluttered open eyes faintly golden in color. He did not cry. Instead, he looked around the sterile nursery chamber with confusion and a faint sense of awareness.
Where is this...? the infant thought in muddled consciousness. The words that escaped his mouth were incoherent to others just soft baby wails.
"The little prince is awake!" an attendant reported with a hint of surprise.
But King Vegeta was indifferent. He barely looked at the child again.
"Let him stay there. Begin basic combat training when he's old enough. If he turns out weak, send him to a fringe world for extermination missions just like Tarble."
"As you command, King Vegeta!"
The scouter-wearing Saiyan jotted down data while scanning the boy again. Numbers fluctuated briefly but eventually stabilized.
Vegeta...? King...?
The baby's mind stirred again. The names were oddly familiar. Even in this undeveloped body, part of him sensed something wasn't right. Wasn't Vegeta the name of a fictional planet in Dragon Ball? He tried to analyze the harsh alien language but felt exhaustion clouding his thoughts. His eyes slowly closed again.
---
Days passed...
The child named Betkas opened his eyes again. His body felt stronger already but still small and infantile. A dull frustration filled his heart.
He was once an ordinary boy on Earth just a depressed teen, frustrated with school, money, and social pressure. One night of drinking, a moment of vulnerability, a wish cast toward a shooting star... and now he was here.
He had been reincarnated.
Not into another human world. Not even into a peaceful fantasy realm.
But into Planet Vegeta the brutal homeworld of the Saiyans.
The signs were unmistakable. The armored men. The beeping scouters. The sheer hostility in their voices. No women, no family warmth only data, power, rankings.
There was even a glass tube device that scanned him daily. Clearly a power level monitor, like those used by Frieza's army in Dragon Ball.
His heart ached at the absurdity of it all.
Sure, he was good-looking in his past life, with light golden eyes and sandy-blonde hair. Now, that same appearance stood out more than ever especially among the black-haired Saiyans. Without royal blood, such odd traits might have gotten him exterminated as a mutant. But for now, it seemed his pedigree kept him safe.
Still, the constant manhandling from burly Saiyan warriors made him squirm. He hated being cradled like a fragile ornament.
All he could do was wait wait to grow stronger, to understand this world, and maybe just maybe find his place in it.
Unbeknownst to the Saiyans monitoring him, strange wisps of energy almost spiritual in nature floated invisibly around the child.
They coiled around his body, like a guardian presence, then suddenly seeped into his skin. His small frame trembled slightly, and his skin lost some color... but he remained silent.
No one noticed.
No alarms blared.
Whatever this force was... it had merged with him completely.
---