Chapter 25 Dragon Universe

The room that the two divine beings currently resided in was about the size of a small bedroom, though the cold interior design and the general flat and dull feeling the room emitted reminded Whis to that of a hospital dorm, or an interrogation chamber. A thought that Whis found both fitting and humorous. He finally laid the swordsman, still encased in his signature green energy bubble, down onto the floor. Whis then shifted his attention away from the swordsman to glance at Beerus, waiting for an order, or his approval. The Destroyer god said nothing, and made no obvious gestures, but his narrow, golden eyes gave Whis everything he needed to know, as he then pointed his staff at the green bubble. The bubble at first seemed to flicker away from existence, like a dying light bulb, before vanishing completely, leaving the swordsman exposed to the cold air of the vessel. Whis then knelt down, aiming his staff towards the unconscious man again, as the bulb emitted a pulsing flash of light.

"Anything unusual, Whis?" Beerus then asked. Whis then stood back up, as his staff went silent.

"No sign of mystical activity present, my Lord." Whis answered.

"Good, now let's wake him up." Beerus then ordered. Whis then taps the bottom tip of his staff on the floor twice, making a reverberated knocking sound as thin rings of light pulsed around the angel almost as if they were ripples in water. The light ripples travelled along the floor, growing in size, before reaching the swordsman. The light ripples then jolt, violently shifting their course to head towards the swordsman, as if they were desperately trying to latch on to him. The ripples are then absorbed into the swordsman's body, and the instant that happened, the swordsman shot back up, breathing heavily after being woken from his rather long state of inactiveness.

"Hello there, good sir." Whis greeted, forming a smile on his lips, not noticing, or perhaps ignoring the swordsman frantically surveying his surroundings, with his extremely jumbled mind trying to piece together where he was.

"Wait, where am I!?" The swordsman yelled. Clear hints of fear and confusion could be heard from his voice. The swordsman then finally notices both Beerus and Whis, to which he then jumps back, surprised by both the form of the two beings, and their seemingly sudden appearance. His face immediately loses its befuddled expression, replaced with a subtle scowl.

"Who are you?" The swordsman firmly demanded. The tone of his question didn't sit well with the Destroyer God, but the angel was unfazed, keeping his demeanor simple and unintimidating.

"Please forgive the abrupt awakening. I am the life-form known as Whis." Whis then greeted. "And right behind me is Lord Beerus, God of Destruction. We are both residents of the Seventh Universe and we have some questions we're trying to answer. We're hoping that you can help point us in the right direction." The swordsman's posture loosened a bit, his face losing the scowl. Instead, replacing it with a face of bewilderment. He then immediately notices that his weapon was no longer with him, before frantically searching the room for it. Whis then raises his hand, before summoning a green, ovoid bubble with the katana and saya contained inside.

"There's no need to panic, your weapon is right here." Whis then said, grabbing the swordsman's attention. Whis could clearly see the relief the swordsman was feeling at the moment. "Apologizes for confiscating it, we had no idea if you were friendly or not." Whis then noticed that the swordsman wasn't strictly looking at him. He was actually staring at the levitating orb, with his wide eyes staring blankly, and his mouth slightly open. It was then that Whis remembered that he was about to converse with someone from another world entirely, which was always bound to cause some baffled looks. Beerus noticed the expression as well, letting out a not-so-subtle groan while trying to form a more comfortable sitting position.

"Sir?" Whis then asked, the swordsman quickly shifted his gaze away towards the angel. "I am very much aware you are unfamiliar with many things around here. But we'll have to skip some of the basics." Whis then floats the katana down; removing the ovoid bubble as he gently places the weapon besides him. "But I don't want to just call you the 'Swordsman' the whole time. So what do you call yourself?" Whis then asked. The swordsman hesitated for a moment, as if he was contemplating keeping his name a secret. But this thought process must have been quick as a swift answer left the swordsman's lips.

"Kenshin. Himura Kenshin."

"Well then, Kenshin, may I ask you some questions?" Whis then asked. His voice was calm and inviting, but he knew that he would have to be careful with his words, or else he would have to knock Kenshin unconscious again. And then he will be back at square one. Kenshin stared back at the angel, still not fully comfortable with the strange, pale being, but his gut told him not to do anything rash or extreme. Not to mention, this Whis character, while a bit forward if not pushy, was being polite, which made Kenshin feel less like a prisoner and more like a doctor's patient.

"Of course," Kenshin responded, "I'll try to answer to the best of my ability."

"Thank you, Kenshin." Whis then said, "Oh, and don't feel down if you can't give an answer." Whis then cleared his throat, as he prepared the questions in his mind. "Kenshin, do you recall what happened to you before you were rendered unconscious?" Whis asked. Kenshin kept quiet for a moment, rummaging through his memories.

"I'm afraid my memories are not as clear as I would like," Kenshin then stated, "But I do recall that there were two strange men who attacked first."

"Two assailants?" Whis repeated. He then turned to face Beerus, who expression had now dropped the impatient grimace in favor of a look of curiosity.

"Could be the people that attacked Goku and Vegeta." Beerus then stated.

"Could be? I'd say most likely." Whis responded. The two then returned their attention back at the swordsman. "Is there anything else you'd like to add?" Whis then asked.

"At first the two men were the only attackers, their hands could release dark fire that destroyed all that touched it." Kenshin then paused for a moment, taking in a deep breath. "I'm sorry; it's still rather difficult to believe that these past events happened."

"Its fine, Kenshin. What you and your world experienced is far from normal, even by our standards. The fact that you're actually managing pretty well tells me a lot about your inner strength, Mr. Kenshin." Whis said. "Are you ready to continue?" Kenshin took another deep breath.

"Yes." Kenshin then replied. "While these men destroyed the town, I tried to defend my friends, but the two men were not the only one's attacking, as another had suddenly appeared in front of me. And before I could do anything, I felt my chest being punctured by this pale man's fingers, from which, I felt something terrible flow into my body."

"A pale man?" Beerus then asked. Kenshin simply nodded his head, clutching his chest tightly. Beerus then shifted his attention to his attendant, who had a grave look on his face. "Whis, you think it might be Demigra?"

"A pale man with mysterious, mystical abilities and malicious intent? Unless we're dealing with a third party, it can only be Demigra." Whis responded. Beerus then leaned his back on the wall again. His breathing was noticeably louder than before.

"That must be how our swordsman went crazy." Beerus said, letting out a small, frustrated hiss. "Dimensional distortions and dark enhancements. Demigra, you're becoming a hard bastard to figure out."

"Hold on, my Lord. I have one more question for Kenshin." Whis then stated. He then eyed the swordsman one last time. "Kenshin, did you hear anything about the pale man's plans or ambitions?" Kenshin only shook his head.

"None of the attackers mentioned any grand scheme." Kenshin stated. Beerus and Whis had nothing else to add, besides a disappointed scowl.

"However," Kenshin then started. "I do remember one thing."

"You do?" Beerus asked, trying very hard not to set his expectations too high. "Then tell us what it is!"

"Before I engaged the attackers, the two of them held a massive group of survivors captive. I tried to draw the attackers' attention so the prisoners could escape. But I don't think I was much help." Kenshin said. "The attackers easily pushed me back with nothing a wave of their hand. That was just before the pale man attacked me." Beerus then leaned forward, with a curious look plastered on his face.

"So Demigra's capturing prisoners and taking them somewhere." Beerus said. "Sounds like he's herding them like cattle."

"That is a possible theory, but that still leaves us with the question of why." Whis then stated.

"I know, but it's definitely a start to tracking this guy down." Beerus replied, as he jumped to his feet. "Whis, set a course for another world. Whether it be in another universe or in this universe doesn't matter," Beerus ordered. "And while you're at it, please be sure to send Kenshin to his quarters."

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