Chapter 6: The Weight of Gold
The Transcendental Rift was no longer a place of screaming energy. After a decade of subjective time, the air had settled into a heavy, metallic stillness. The "Golden Squad" stood in a circle, their faces weathered not by age—since Saiyans thrive in their prime—but by the sheer mental tax of holding back a sun.
"The problem with Super Saiyan 3 isn't the power," I stated, pacing around them. My footsteps didn't even crack the floor anymore; I had learned to suppress my own surging Soulbound strength to a pinpoint. "The problem is that you're all acting like you're holding a live grenade. You're tense. You're leaking. And every drop of ki you lose is a drop I don't get to keep."
The Normalization Protocol
Cala was in her SSJ3 state, the long, jagged hair brushing the small of her back. Her pupils were fixed on me, vibrating with the effort of existing.
"Vados," I signaled.
"With pleasure, My Lord." Vados tapped her staff.
The gravity didn't increase. Instead, a series of delicate, glass-like spheres began to float around each warrior.
"These are Spirit-Glass Chronometers," Vados explained. "They react to the slightest tremor of wasted ki. If your aura flares more than a millimeter from your skin, they shatter. If they shatter, we reset the ten-year clock."
Living in the Storm
The goal was simple but grueling: Normalization. I forced them to eat, sleep, and spar in their transformed states. At first, it was a disaster. Kohl accidentally vaporized his protein shake just by gripping the cup. Mira and Jiko couldn't even stand near each other without their combined resonance shattering every sphere in the room.
"Think of it like breathing," I told Cala, who was trying to meditate while her golden lightning threatened to melt the floor. "You don't think about your lungs. You don't think about your heart beating. If being a Super Saiyan is an 'event,' you've already lost. It has to be your baseline."
The God's Tax
As they began to master the "Quiet Gold" state, the benefits to me were astronomical. In the beginning, their raw, jagged power was like eating unrefined ore—it gave me strength, but it was uncomfortable.
Now, as they smoothed out their energy, my own power became terrifyingly efficient