The battlefield was still, though the air carried a tension sharper than blades. Everyone's eyes remained fixed on Rudra. The questions Piccolo raised in the previous moments still lingered like echoes. Every warrior here wanted answers.
Rudra sat quietly at first, feigning an expression of discomfort. His brows furrowed, his lips pressed together as if the weight of their suspicions truly troubled him. But inside, he was perfectly calm. He had known this moment would arrive sooner or later.
He finally stood, brushing dust from his arms. His gaze swept across Goku, Piccolo, Krillin, Vegeta, Nappa, and the others. Then he let out a long sigh.
"So… you all want answers?" Rudra's voice was steady, carrying both resignation and challenge. "Huh! Alright."
Every pair of eyes locked onto him. The Z Fighters. Vegeta and Nappa. Even Kami, who was silently watching from his Lookout, his mind linked telepathically to theirs.
Their eyes were hungry—hungry for truth.
Rudra's expression shifted into a calm smile. "But before I answer your questions… let me ask you something first. Have any of you ever heard of reincarnation?"
The group exchanged glances. Krillin blinked. Goku scratched his head in confusion. Piccolo narrowed his eyes, suspicious of where this was going.
And then, Kami's voice cut into their minds, speaking directly, his tone solemn.
"Yes. I know of it. When a living being dies, its soul is taken to the Otherworld. Depending on its deeds, it is either rewarded or punished. Once its sentence is served, the soul's memory is erased, and it is sent back into the cycle of life and death—the mortal realm. That is the natural order."
Rudra's smile widened. He nodded approvingly. "Correct! That is reincarnation as you understand it. But what I'm speaking of is different… far beyond this universe, beyond this reality itself.
I speak of souls that are born again into an entirely different existence—another reality—while still carrying their past life's knowledge and memories. Such souls are rare. Such souls are… special.
And I am one of them."
The ground seemed to shake with the weight of his words.
Kami's telepathic voice wavered in disbelief. "What? What do you mean by that?"
Rudra's eyes sharpened. "It means I carry the memories and powers of my previous world. When I was reborn here on Earth, I also inherited… gifts. Special abilities unique to me, just like Tien was born with his third eye."
Piccolo stepped forward, anger in his voice. "That still doesn't answer my questions."
Rudra raised a hand calmly. "Patience. Let me explain further."
His voice dropped lower, heavier, as if unveiling a secret long concealed.
"The world I came from was different. There were twenty-four realms of existence there. Every soul had to ascend through them, step by step, to reach freedom. If a soul failed, it would fall into the Lower Realms, trapped for eternity.
I was one of those who fell. I came from a Lower Realm. And somehow… through forces I still don't fully understand… I was thrust into this reality."
Goku blinked, scratching his head. "Uhh… I didn't get a word of that."
Vegeta smirked cruelly. "Hmph. Lies. All of it. Stop weaving tales and speak plainly."
Rudra's expression hardened. "When I was born into this universe, I retained every memory of my previous world. Along with those memories, I also held onto the powers I once possessed. Unlike you, I do not need Ki to use them. My power is tied to shadows."
He lifted his hand, and for a moment, a ripple of darkness flickered in the air like liquid shadow.
"With this power, I can bind an opponent… and even drain their Ki to make it my own."
Nappa's eyes went wide. "What?! You mean—"
Vegeta's smirk widened into a laugh. "Hah! Then that's how you defeated Dodoria, isn't it? You stole his Ki."
Rudra's eyes glowed faintly. "Yes."
Piccolo stepped closer, his voice harsh. "If you had that kind of ability, why didn't you use it against Vegeta when we needed you most?"
Rudra's tone remained calm, though his words cut sharp. "Because this ability has requirements. The first is that I must drain my own stamina to near exhaustion before I can drain another's. Only when I'm broken can I take another's power.
The second—" he raised two fingers, "—is that I can only use it once per month. And even then, it lasts for only five minutes."
The group froze.
Krillin's voice cracked with emotion. "But… what about Yamcha? Tien? Chiaotzu? Their lives—were your limitations more important than them?"
Rudra's expression grew colder. His eyes no longer wavered.
"I am not a kind-hearted person. Every night, I dream of the worst possible future. I see deaths. Destruction. Events that have not yet happened.
The worst future I saw… was Dodoria slaughtering all of you. That was the threat I prepared for. That is why I saved my ability for him, even if others had to die. Because if Dodoria had lived, far more lives would have been lost."
Piccolo's fists clenched. "And Vegeta? How did you know about him beforehand?"
Rudra turned to him, his gaze unwavering. "Because I saw him too—in my dreams of the worst future. That is how I knew."
The silence was heavy.
Vegeta chuckled bitterly. "So what you're saying is… our chances of winning against you were zero from the very beginning."
Rudra's eyes didn't flinch. "Yes. That is why I made a deal with you, Vegeta. I saw that you would not be a future threat. That is why I spared you."
Krillin shouted, his voice cracking. "But why keep all this from us?! Why lie?!"
Rudra's answer was sharp. "Because if I told you everything from the start, you would lose your resolve to fight. You would become dependent on me, and the will to stand on your own would vanish. That would have been a greater tragedy than death itself."
For a long moment, no one spoke. The only sound was the wind whistling over the ruined battlefield.
And then, Goku stepped forward. His voice was quiet, but filled with conviction.
"Rudra's right."
Everyone turned toward him.
Goku clenched his fists. "If Rudra can see the worst future, then he's already helping us just by being here. And if he has powers beyond this universe, then all the more reason we need him. I don't care what secrets he's hiding—what matters is that he fought with us. And as long as he's here, I trust him."
The words hung heavy in the air. Slowly, Gohan looked at his father, then at Rudra. Even Chi-Chi, still clutching her son, seemed uncertain but didn't speak.
Piccolo's glare remained, though his breathing slowed. Vegeta folded his arms, unimpressed but silent.
The storm of suspicion had not vanished. But for now, Rudra had bought himself a fragile trust.
A trust built on shadows and half-truths.
And as the night loomed, Rudra already knew—his next dream would soon come. A new worst future was waiting.