Crimson Pressure

The gravity chamber hummed with tension, wrapped in a low mechanical growl that vibrated through the floor. Kai stood in the center, shirt clinging to him from earlier rounds, steam rising faintly off his skin in the heavy heat. The machine's pressure gauge blinked: 50x gravity. His body had already adapted months ago to 20x, and the weighted gear — 50 tons on each limb — barely registered anymore. It wasn't enough. Not for what was coming.

He took a breath and steadied his stance. "Alright. Let's try this again." The word slipped from his lips like a challenge. "Kaioken."

The moment the technique activated, a red aura exploded around him, lashing out like flames. His muscles seized up, his heart spiked, and his lungs caught fire. His legs nearly buckled under the strain. But just as quickly, the familiar ping sounded in his mind.

[Adaptation Triggered: Kaioken x1 strain detected. Muscular and circulatory systems adjusting.]

Within seconds, the fire dulled to a heat. His legs steadied. The pain faded. It was like the technique never hurt him to begin with.

He stood there in the stillness, staring at his glowing hands. "Okay," he muttered, flexing his fingers. "That's wild."

He didn't stop. "Kaioken x2." The pressure doubled. His blood roared like thunder in his ears.

[Adapting to Kaioken x2: Cardiovascular load restructured. Cellular fatigue reduced.]

By x3, he dropped to one knee. Sweat rolled off his forehead like rain. His heart thumped so loudly it drowned out the chamber's groan. "Come on," he growled. The system responded a second later.

[Kaioken x3 adaptation in progress. Neural pathways stabilizing. Feedback stress reduced.]

He forced himself to his feet again.

"Four."

It hit like a truck, every joint screaming in protest. For a terrifying moment, he thought this might be it — that he'd finally pushed too far. But just as the strain peaked, another ping rang out.

[Kaioken x4 adaptation: Internal organs reinforced. Metabolic rate balanced.]

Kai breathed out a laugh. A slow, tired, relieved laugh.

"This is insane," he said aloud to himself, sitting down and letting the aura flicker out. "My body adapts to anything. Pain, power strain, even techniques like this."

He stared at his hands again. There was awe in his voice, but something else too — something hesitant.

"I bet I could hit Kaioken x10… x1000… a million if I paced it out." He paused. His voice dipped into something quieter. "But not infinite. That's… something else."

He leaned back on his hands, eyes on the ceiling.

"Power without limit? That's not just dangerous — it's apocalyptic. You can't adapt to that. Not before it burns you out. Not unless you die and come back stronger. And I'm not Doomsday."

He closed his eyes for a second, then sighed.

"My ability's crazy, but it has rules. I have to survive to evolve. And I don't know if I can adapt fast enough to something that could kill me before the system even has time to register it."

The chamber dimmed around him. Silence settled.

Eventually, he stood up, rubbed a towel over his face, and stepped out into the hallway. The building was quiet. Night had taken hold, the kind that made Capsule Corp feel more like a museum than a laboratory. But one light still glowed ahead — a soft flickering from Bulma's lab.

He peeked through the half-open door and sighed. She was hunched over a console, goggles pushed up into her messy hair, bags under her eyes deep enough to hold water. Screens glowed in soft green and blue, code scrolling like a language only she understood.

He stepped inside without knocking. "You're still at it?"

She didn't look up. "Don't you have a gravity room to abuse?"

"I finished. Mostly."

"Go back, then. Slam your head against a wall until you evolve a thicker skull."

Kai crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe. "Y'know, you're a total hypocrite."

Bulma finally looked up, one brow raised. "Excuse me?"

"You yell at me for pushing myself too hard, but you're over here doing the same thing. You've got more caffeine in your veins than blood."

"This is different."

He walked in and leaned over her shoulder. "Not really. You're still a person who's about to fall asleep on a keyboard. I'll get blamed if you short-circuit the space pod by drooling on the motherboard."

Bulma groaned and rubbed her temples. "Kai, go away."

"Nope."

"I'm trying to work."

"And I'm trying to keep you alive past thirty."

She scowled, clearly two seconds from throwing a wrench at him. But he didn't let up.

"Relax. It's not like the planet's going to explode if you take a break."

Her voice was sharp. "A homicidal alien just left Earth in a space pod after watching his buddy get obliterated, and you think relaxing is the move?"

He was quiet for a moment, then stepped closer, hand gently resting on her shoulder. His tone softened. "I promise… he won't get what he's looking for. Whatever it is. But we'll stop him."

Her body didn't relax, but her expression cracked just slightly.

"You say that like you know for sure."

"I do."

She studied him.

Then, of course, he picked her up.

"HEY—! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

"Saving you from a desk-induced coma."

"You can't just pick people up! You're not a romantic manga protagonist!"

"Don't flatter yourself," he said. "You're the one who looks like the sleep-deprived love interest."

She pounded a fist into his chest — not hard. More like protest on principle. "Put me down, Kai."

"Nope."

Eventually, she stopped struggling. He carried her down the hall, nudging her bedroom door open with his foot.

"…This is ridiculous," she muttered, letting her head rest against his shoulder.

"I told you," he said, lowering her gently onto the bed. "You need sleep. You're human. Not a machine."

She pulled the covers over herself and mumbled, "Then you need to stop training until 3 a.m. every night."

"I'm trying to beat the statistical odds of planet-wide annihilation."

"You're addicted."

"Only if you agree to build me a second gravity chamber in the spaceship."

Her voice was muffled by the blanket. "Already did, idiot."

He smiled, sitting on the edge of the bed. "Knew I liked you."

"You don't know anything," she said with a yawn.

They sat in silence for a while, the kind that felt warm instead of awkward. The tension in the lab was gone. All that remained was the soft hum of air conditioning and Bulma's breathing as she slowly drifted off.

Eventually, Kai stood and slipped quietly from the room, the door clicking shut behind him. He padded down the hallway, reached his own room, and flopped back onto the mattress with a tired breath.

[Minor muscle fatigue detected. Auto-stabilizing. Recovery mode engaged.]

He smirked faintly and pulled the blanket over his chest.

Only eight months ago, he couldn't even fly. Now… he was ready for a planet.

But even still, he whispered to himself as he closed his eyes:

"No more pushing past Kaioken five. Not yet."

And with that, he let sleep take him.