Chapter 24 - Spirit And Time

The vastness of the room of spirit and time was overwhelming, it was just miles upon miles of absolute nothingness. At the moment all that could be spotted was never-ending whiteness. It was an intimidating sight to behold, as the surroundings were enough to send even the hardest man insane.

The only sign of scenery of any sort was in the bulk of the room, directly on the center of the massive sphere, if indeed there was such a spot. It consisted of a living quarters of sort, with accommodation for two, as well as a fridge with seemingly inexhaustible supplies of food. On both sides of the building were hourglasses with the grains of sand slowly dropping down to the bottom, adding to the cluster that has already been collected. A year in this place would undoubtedly be the hardest thing that anyone would have to face.

Korosu strolled in confidently, a determined look on his completely focused face. After his first few steps his fell to the ground, panting heavily and straining to stay on all fours. Beads of sweat rapidly pour down his face as he grits his teeth and puts all the energy he has into standing up. Korosu helplessly gazes around trying to stop his legs from shaking so dramatically to little success. This would be extremely tough on him, and the strange atmosphere that seemingly increases his weight would add to the complications of training.

Vegeta however, seemed to be adapting fairly well, taking step after step forward, each one just as heavy as his last. It looks as though there were a bunch of little children holding onto him and weighing him down, forcing him to put extra effort into moving. He managed to increase the speed of his clumsy walk, before managing to get into an odd looking jog with an incredibly uneven stride. It was amazing that anyone could manage to get used to the intense conditions so rapidly.

“The gravity…” Korosu stammered. “It’s…it’s…” his voice was cut off by the arrogant sound of Vegeta’s as he finishes the sentence for his training partner.

“It’s 10 times what it is outside. This’ll help us both train, now shut up unless you want me to kill you before you get the chance to test out the power you could gain in here. Don’t disturb me when I’m practicing, otherwise you’ll end up hurting badly.”

All Korosu could do was stare at Vegeta, his eyes full of a mixture of hatred and respect for this cocky, arrogant prince. ‘If he can do it…so can I!’ Korosu thought to himself before putting all of his effort into breaking into a fast walk, circling the solitary building, gaining speed constantly. It was a mere matter of minutes before he had forced himself to jog around, mentally putting everything he had into it in a test of his sheer determination. The pain was frustratingly agonizing as his legs ached and throbbed, and his muscles bulged, feeling as though they would explode. He could definitely feel his muscles being ripped to shreds, but refused to give up as he continued his walk, eventually bursting into a run, outpacing even Vegeta. He managed to maintain this speed for a short amount of time before falling to his knees in morale killing anguish.

The weeks went by inside the room, and Korosu and Vegeta were able to slowly begin to get used to the gravity, learning to move freely for limited periods of time only, but constantly aware of the power they were gaining. Both warriors used their partner as a rival and a motivation to work harder and become even more powerful, surpassing anything that would be considered possible by mere average men.

The conditions were frequently changing inside the overwhelming room, with it ranging from blazingly hot to chillingly cold, changing within a matter of seconds. Currently it was blisteringly hot with the heat far too intense for a normal man, or even someone used to temperatures at such levels, but neither Korosu nor Vegeta were phased by it. They continued to train hard, working their bodies past any thinkable limits. Vegeta would sleep for only a few hours before training once more and pushing as hard as he possibly could, nearing death every day, defying total loss of consciousness every time. Korosu however took a completely different approach, deciding to relax the muscles, and to sleep well so his energy would be fully revived for the next day. Whilst he didn’t actually get as much training from the days, it was far more beneficial. If only Vegeta would have realizes this then his strength would have hugely risen.

Korosu had been training in the same tedious way for months now, using his same old tested regime to improve his power. He would warm up with press ups, squats, and sit ups, then go on to more intensive exercises such as practicing firing his KI into the distance, and moving as fast as he humanly could to test out his moves. By the time he’d finished each day, his efficiency would have massively rose, allowing him to move speedily without losing much energy. The final thing Korosu would train at was his sword attacks, swiping, lunging, and stabbing. It was boring, but incredibly effective.

Korosu and Vegeta really didn’t have much to do with each other in the time spent together, but merely checked each others power levels constantly, comparing it with their own. They had both figured out how to hide and sense KI near the start of the training after Korosu managed to gain Vegeta’s attention long enough to explain the technique to him. The Saiyan was thanked with a punch to the gut, with Vegeta walking off, mumbling annoyance at being disturbed. Training had been hard, but it would keep on becoming more of a struggle as it got harder everyday.

9 months had passed now, and Korosu was beginning to realize the secrets to training, as he utilized it to the full extent, working as hard as he possibly could, pushing far beyond his maximum and sending himself into a world of pain. Not even Vegeta was putting as much energy into it as his rival, which was unusual, perhaps he was just burning out completely now. The Saiyan had put a lot of effort into training, and it’s not surprising that he was now completely worn out. His strength seemed to have reached a plateau though, as he perfected his techniques, but was unable to significantly boost his power. Korosu however was exactly the opposite, with each day bring a new challenge, and a new level of power.

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The imminent arrival of Frieza’s ship was clearly going to happen soon, as a huge power radiated itself from the edges of the solar system. Unfortunately the people of Earth were unable to sense to such an extent, although they could feel the evil presence rapidly nearing them. They had half a day at the most before the evil tyrant found them, then the real fight would begin.

“We’ll be ready for you Frieza” Goku stated, seemingly taking the words out of everyone’s mouths. They all temporarily stopped their training and looked at the sturdy Saiyan, before following his gaze into the sky. “Prepare to meet your demise”.