Chapter 247: God and Mortal (Part 2) 

"Oh? Very well." Taro nodded, neither submissive nor arrogant. "I imagine... it won't take too long." 

Beerus studied him in silence before suddenly clapping his hands and laughing. "Hah! Amusing! Truly amusing! It's been ages since I've met a mortal as interesting as you!" He leaped down from his throne, floating over to Taro's side and circling the white jade chair with keen interest. 

Even with Beerus now standing mere inches behind him, Taro's perception of the god remained as elusive as before—still that same hazy, mist-like presence, as though the deity might vanish if he blinked too hard. Had Taro not been deeply immersed in the path of natural energy, he doubted he'd even sense Beerus at all. 

"Still… if you truly wish to ascend to godhood, brat… you'll need to choose wisely among those three divine traits." 

Hearing this, Taro chuckled from his seat, not turning around. "Lord Beerus, didn't you say such topics were reserved for after my ascension? Why the sudden advice?" 

"Brat… do you believe I won't obliterate you right now?" Beerus glowered, left brow furrowed and right brow arched in irritation. 

Taro relented, his tone turning solemn. "The path of spirit, the path of ki control, and the path of natural energy… I've long since made my choice." 

"Which?" 

"The last." 

"Oh?" Beerus floated slowly behind him, golden eyes gleaming. "Think carefully. Have you truly considered the difficulty of this path? Divine traits are countless, yet they are not equal. Those reliant on the self—on mortal will—are the easiest to master. Take, for example…" 

He snorted. "Take the ancestors of these hairy monkeys on this planet. That even more insufferable red-furred brute ascended through the most pathetic of traits—'Wrath'. As the name suggests, that fool relied on sheer rage, a purely subjective force, to fuel his power." 

Taro listened quietly as Beerus' voice echoed through the cavern like divine revelation. 

The God of Destruction's eyes glowed with ominous light as he continued. "Your paths of spirit and ki control are rooted in mortal will. But the natural energy you've chosen? It is a divine trait centered on the cosmos itself. Don't mistake my words for discouragement, brat… but in all the eons before the Great Cosmic Cataclysm, those who ascended through this path could be counted on one hand!" 

Counted on one hand. 

The words reverberated through the cavern like a tolling bell, shaking the very soul. 

Taro exhaled softly, steadying his resolve before speaking with unshakable certainty. "If they can be counted on one hand… then I will become the next finger." 

Silence. 

When Taro turned, Beerus was already gone. He rose, and the jade chair dissolved back into natural energy. Above, a new hole in the cavern ceiling let in a pale beam of moonlight—night had fallen unnoticed. 

Standing alone in the cavern, Taro gazed at the moonlit spot on the floor, resembling a full moon projected onto stone. A faint smile touched his lips. 

"I wonder… will you achieve godhood first, or will your master?" 

The thought amused him. After all, what was life without a challenge? 

With that, he vanished beside the shaft of light. 

---

"Lord Beerus, where have you wandered off to now?" 

Elsewhere in the cosmos, Whis glided along a rainbow path, his voice a gentle chide. "You've only just awoken from your slumber, and I've barely returned the Staff of Destruction to you. Could you not resist sneaking off for a snack?" 

Beerus, lounging on Whis' back, stared out at the starry expanse. "I happened to stumble upon descendants of that red-fured monkey and couldn't resist tormenting them a little. Pathetic, really. Petra went so far as to dilute his divine trait into their bloodline, yet now his heirs are enslaved by the Frost Demons… I wonder if he'd resurrect just out of sheer fury if he knew?" 

"Lord Beerus," Whis replied in his perpetually calm tone, "as you once taught me… true gods do not return from death." 

"Ah, right, right... Still, I can't shake the feeling that Kavishir... will return somehow." Beerus murmured, closing his eyes before suddenly grinning. "Oh, and while I was eating earlier, I met an interesting mortal..." 

"One with the potential to ascend to godhood, I presume?" Whis guessed immediately—after all, what other kind of mortal could pique Beerus' interest? 

"Heh, yes... aiming to become a god through natural energy. Haven't seen that in ages..." Beerus chuckled low before whining like a petulant child, "I wish I could just sleep until he ascends already! Then I could have a proper fight with him!" 

As he spoke, he lazily flicked a streak of Destruction energy, reducing countless planets along their path to cosmic dust. The rainbow road they traveled shimmered past the explosions, turning the obliterated worlds into fleeting fireworks. 

"Lord Beerus, out of the 134 planets you just destroyed, 62 of them housed living civilizations..." Whis gently reminded him. 

"No need to fuss over such things. Mortals are like stars—the universe never runs short of them." Beerus waved a dismissive hand. "Speaking of wiping out civilizations, Whis, do you know the name of that Frost Demon currently lording over the Saiyans—oh, that's what the red-fured monkey's descendants call themselves now?" 

"Let me see..." Whis couldn't immediately recall such trivial beings. He tapped his staff, peered into its crystal, then cleared his throat. "Ah, yes. It's Freeza, Lord Beerus." 

"Freeza? What an awful name. Those icy pests never have decent ones!" Beerus' eyes flickered open and shut. "Bah, never mind him. Right now, all I want is a good nap..." 

"You've already slept quite enough, Lord Beerus." 

"What's another few decades or centuries? It's not like there are many old faces left in this universe anyway." 

"Perhaps beyond the Seventh Universe? I've heard other universes—" 

"Kavishir vanished in the Seventh Universe last. Whatever he did to disappear... if he ever returns, it'll be here. I'm certain of it." 

"You often speak of this Supreme Kai Kavishir, Lord Beerus. What kind of being was he?" 

"Hah! Him? A lunatic who fell in love with his own sword..." 

The rainbow path stretched deeper into the cosmos, vanishing into the endless dark—toward destinations unknown.