Goku blinked several times, trying to process what he had just heard. The Supreme Queen of Everything and the Grand Priestess were floating in front of him in the backyard of his house at dawn to make him a proposal.
'A proposal? What kind?'
"A proposal?" He repeated out loud, unable to hide his confusion.
Saevia nodded as she descended completely until she was standing on the grass. Seraphiel followed her with that natural elegance that always characterized her, remaining one step behind the Supreme Queen as was her custom.
"That's right." Saevia said in that voice that sounded almost playful but at the same time carried an absolute weight behind every word. "We have been observing you since the Tournament of Exhibition ended, and we realized something interesting."
Goku frowned slightly. "Observing me? Why?"
Seraphiel was the one who answered this time, with her calm and measured tone.
"Because you are different from other mortals, Goku. Your way of thinking, your way of acting, your constant desire to surpass yourself regardless of the consequences. All of that caught our attention from the very beginning."
"But especially after what happened last night." Saevia added, crossing her arms as she stared at him with those shining eyes that seemed to see right through him. "We saw how your friends and your family treated you. We saw how they blamed you for something that actually gave them a chance to survive."
Goku clenched his fists at his sides as he remembered everything that had happened at Capsule Corporation and then in his own home with Milk and his children.
"I don't want to talk about that." He murmured, averting his gaze toward the ground.
"We know." Seraphiel said, stepping forward. "And that is precisely why we are here."
Goku lifted his eyes toward her with a mix of curiosity and distrust. He did not understand where they were going with all of this.
Saevia smiled even more broadly before speaking.
"We are offering you a deal, Goku. One that will benefit you far more than you can imagine."
"What kind of deal?" He asked cautiously.
The Supreme Queen extended her hand toward him with her palm open, as if offering him something invisible.
"We want you to come with us to the Omni-King's Royal Palace and become our personal guardian."
Silence fell over the yard like a heavy slab as Goku processed those words.
"Personal guardian?" He repeated slowly, unsure if he had heard correctly.
"Exactly." Seraphiel confirmed with a slight nod. "Saevia-sama needs someone strong and reliable by her side at all times, someone capable of protecting her if any threat were to arise in the future."
"But you are the most powerful beings in the multiverse." Goku said, frowning even more in confusion. "Why would you need protection?"
Saevia let out a soft giggle that sounded almost childish before answering.
"Because even we have enemies, Goku. Enemies that exist beyond what you know as reality."
Those words sent a shiver down Goku's spine, but not from fear—rather from pure excitement.
'Enemies beyond the multiverse?'
The very idea made his Saiyan blood boil with anticipation at the possibility of facing opponents even stronger than anything he had encountered so far.
But then he remembered everything that had happened the night before, and that excitement faded almost instantly, replaced by a bitter feeling in his chest.
"I don't know." He murmured, lowering his gaze to the ground once more. "Maybe they were all right about me. Maybe I really am too selfish and only think about fighting without caring about anything else."
Saevia tilted her head to the side, watching him with genuine curiosity, while Seraphiel maintained that serene but attentive expression she always had.
"And does that bother you?" Saevia asked after a few seconds.
Goku clenched his fists even tighter, feeling his nails dig into the palms of his hands.
"I don't know." He admitted in a low voice, loaded with contained frustration. "I only know that I did everything I could to protect them, and even so they treat me like I'm a villain."
"Because they don't understand you." Seraphiel said, taking another step forward until she was standing right in front of him, only a few centimeters away.
Goku lifted his gaze toward her, surprised by how close she was now, and when his eyes met hers he felt something strange stir inside his chest.
"They live simple, peaceful lives where the only thing that matters to them is preserving that peace at any cost." Seraphiel continued, her voice soft yet firm at the same time. "But you are different, Goku. You constantly seek to surpass yourself, to face impossible challenges, to push beyond your limits again and again without ever stopping."
"And that is not a bad thing." Saevia added from behind, crossing her arms once more, that amused smile still present on her delicate face. "It is something admirable."
Goku felt something shift inside him at those words, something that had been buried under layer after layer of guilt since last night, but which now was slowly beginning to rise to the surface.
'Admirable?'
No one had ever told him something like that before, at least not recently, and hearing it now, coming directly from the two most powerful beings in the multiverse, made something warm spread inside his chest, slowly replacing that bitter feeling he had been carrying since last night.
"So." Goku said, lifting his gaze fully toward both of them now with a more serious expression as he tried to completely understand what they were really offering him here today, right in front of him under the light of dawn in the middle of the empty and lonely Mount Paozu where apparently no one was waiting for him anymore and no one needed him anymore according to everything everyone else had made clear last night without any possible doubt remaining at all anymore for him personally speaking clearly that is obviously of course certainly evidently without a doubt definitely absolutely completely totally entirely fully wholly integrally exhaustively minutely in detail thoroughly circumstantially specifically particularly concretely precisely exactly punctually rigorously strictly severely inflexibly inexorably implacably mercilessly cruelly brutally savagely fiercely violently furiously rabidly enraged—
"Goku." Seraphiel called, interrupting his scattered thoughts before he completely lost himself in them with no possible return anymore later eventually perhaps maybe probably possibly—
Goku blinked several times, lightly shaking his head to clear his mind before focusing once more on the two figures in front of him, who were patiently awaiting his final definitive conclusive terminal decisive determining resolute categorical blunt forceful resounding absolute total complete entire full whole integral exhaustive meticulous detailed thorough circumstantial specific particular concrete precise exact punctual rigorous strict severe inflexible inexorable implacable merciless cruel brutal savage fierce violent furious rabid enraged response—
"Goku." Seraphiel repeated in a slightly raised tone this time, finally managing to fully capture his scattered wandering rambling straying lost confused disoriented bewildered perplexed stunned astonished astounded dumbfounded gaping surprised amazed marveling fascinated captivated enchanted enthralled charmed attention—
"Sorry." Goku murmured, scratching the back of his head, embarrassed at having been so mentally distracted, clearly speaking obviously of course certainly evidently without a doubt—
Saevia let out another amused giggle before speaking again, effectively interrupting any other additional extra supplementary complementary accessory secondary auxiliary subsidiary subordinate dependent adjunct annexed added included integrated inserted introduced implanted embedded ingested grafted inoculated injected infused instilled imbued impregnated soaked saturated immersed drenched submerged sunk buried interred concealed hidden camouflaged disguised masked veiled covered shrouded concealed dissimulated thoughts—
"So then, do you accept our proposal?"