Darkness.
The first thing Toji became aware of was the crimson sky above him, a familiar sight from his previous journey through Hell.
The second thing was pain - not the acute agony of his final moments among the living, but a dull, persistent ache that permeated every fiber of his being.
He tried to move, only to hear the distinctive clinking of metal. Looking down, he found his arms, legs, and neck wrapped in glowing golden chains that seemed to emit their own light - a stark contrast to the blood-red landscape around him.
His Vader suit was still on his body, though cracked and bloodied in places. The helmet was missing, leaving his scarred face exposed to Hell's sulfurous atmosphere. His prosthetic arm remained attached.
With a grunt of effort, Toji attempted to stand, the chains clinking ominously as he moved. The weight was immense, far beyond what mere metal should possess.
The golden links seemed to pulse with energy that felt disturbingly familiar - almost like the divine ki he had briefly felt the pressure of from the Fruit of the Tree of Might when he used it to save Megumi.
"What the hell...?" he muttered, his natural voice sounding strange to his own ears after weeks of speaking through the helmet's vocoder.
He pulled against the chains with all his might, muscles straining, veins bulging in his forehead.
Despite his immense physical power - a strength that had torn through reality itself - the chains didn't budge.
Not even a single link stretched under the pressure.
Toji took a deep breath and focused, attempting to channel his ki to shatter the bonds.
Nothing happened.
The familiar pathways through which his energy normally flowed outside his body felt blocked, as if sealed by some higher power. Only the faintest trickle of his vast reserves he could push out.
'So no Ki blasts... Great.'
"Interesting," he said to himself, examining the chains more carefully. "Divine energy, if I had to guess. Not something with my physical strength I could break."
Despite his predicament, Toji felt an odd sense of peace. Megumi was alive. His son was safe.
The mission he had torn through Hell and Heaven to accomplish had succeeded, even if the cost had been his own life.
"Worth it," he murmured, the memory of Megumi's eyes opening - bright and clear, free of the destruction energy that had been consuming him - flashing through his mind.
He scanned his surroundings, taking in the twisted landscape of Hell's outer regions.
The terrain was different from what he remembered - more barren, with jagged rock formations that resembled massive skeletal remains jutting from the crimson soil.
No souls wandered here; this appeared to be an empty, desolate region.
"Whis," Toji called out, remembering the last being he'd seen before darkness claimed him. "Where are you?"
Only silence answered him.
With considerable effort, Toji managed to stand upright, the chains dragging behind him as he began to walk.
His right leg still caused him pain - apparently, death hadn't cured his ailments. He used telekinesis to assist his movement, though even this power felt diminished, trickling through mental pathways that had once been torrents.
"So I'm in Hell, chained, with limited external power," Toji summarized to himself as he trudged across the barren landscape. Then he shrugged. "Could be worse. Could be stuck in some cosmic waiting room with terrible magazines."
'Always look at the bright side of things, as they say, right?'
As he walked, he considered his situation logically. The chains were clearly designed to suppress his power - though they did fail quite a bit, since his physical strength was not diminished at all. Still, someone or some people had anticipated his potential return and prepared accordingly.
He had guesses, but with no surety guesses were useless.
And so the question remained: who is it that did this to him?
----------------------------
Hours passed as Toji traversed the hellish terrain, the chains growing neither lighter nor heavier with time.
The landscape gradually shifted from barren plains to a region of twisted, bone-like structures that formed unnatural arches and tunnels.
He was navigating through one such tunnel when reality seemed to shift around him. The bone-like structures blurred, colors bleeding into one another like wet paint.
When his vision cleared, Toji found himself standing in what appeared to be a mockery of a royal court.
Blood-red tapestries hung from walls that hadn't existed moments before. A throne made of what looked disturbingly like compressed, writhing souls dominated the far end of the chamber.
The floor beneath his feet had transformed from barren rock to polished obsidian that reflected his chained form like a dark mirror.
"What fresh hell is this?" Toji muttered, tensing for whatever might come next.
He didn't have to wait long.
The air above the soul-throne shimmered, and a tall, statuesque figure materialized in a swirl of crimson energy.
She descended gracefully onto the seat, her alabaster skin seeming to glow from within. Her hair - a living cascade of blood-red - moved of its own accord, flowing upward against gravity.
Blue eyes fixed on Toji with an intensity that would have made lesser beings crumble.
(Picture here and in the comments)
"BEHOLD!" the figure announced, her voice simultaneously melodious and grating. "We welcome thee to Our divine presence, you magnificent fucking specimen! The Amaranth, Supreme Kai of Beauty and Life - or at least, I fucking was before those self-righteous cosmic CUNTS cast me down!"
Toji blinked, momentarily thrown by the jarring shift from formal, royal speech to extreme profanity.
The woman - Lady Amaranth, apparently - continued her monologue without pause, rising from her throne to circle Toji like a predator.
"Gaze upon Our glory, destroyer! Before time itself crawled from the cosmic womb, The Amaranth's hands shaped galaxies from void-stuff! Stars ignited at Our fucking command! Planets formed from Our divine breath! Whole species worshipped at Our feet until they became ungrateful little SHITS who dared to forget their creator!"
She moved with unnatural grace, her flowing garments of shadow and blood constantly shifting around her perfect form. A crown of twisted, thorned metal rested upon her head, each thorn containing what appeared to be a tiny, screaming face.
"The Amaranth has watched thee, Toji Fushiguro," she continued, her voice dropping to a seductive purr. "Watched thy glorious rampage through Our domain. Watched as thou tore reality asunder with power that makes Our divine loins quiver with desire!"
She stepped closer, close enough that Toji could see the subtle shift in her eye color from blue to gold.
"We sense thy delicious power, even bound by Heaven's chains. Such magnificent destruction energy! Such divine potential! The Amaranth proposes an alliance - nay, a fucking MARRIAGE - between creation and destruction! Together, we shall rule this pitiful afterlife, remaking it in Our image!"
She extended a flawless hand toward him, her expression one of absolute certainty.
"The Amaranth shall break thy chains, restore thy full fucking glory, and make thee Our eternal consort! What say you, destroyer? Will you accept thy destined place at Our side?"
Toji stared at her outstretched hand for a long moment, his expression unreadable. Then, with the casual indifference of someone declining a mediocre appetizer, he shrugged.
"I'm married. Well, not officially, but close enough. So no thanks" Toji replied as he waved his hand dismissively.
Lady Amaranth's hand froze in mid-air, her expression cycling rapidly through confusion, disbelief, and outrage.
"WHAT?" she shrieked, her formal demeanor cracking. "The Amaranth offers you divinity, offers you Our sacred fucking body who none has touched and a throne, and you... you DECLINE?"
Toji scratched the back of his head awkwardly with his chained hand. "Look, I appreciate the offer, but I've already got a woman. And honestly..." he glanced around at the theatrical display, "...this whole setup seems a bit much. No offense."
"A BIT MUCH?" Lady Amaranth's hair began to writhe like angry serpents, her eyes flashing from gold to blood-red. "The Amaranth crafted this entire pocket dimension as a gift for your arrival! We prepared a fucking THRONE for you!"
"Yeah, and it's made of souls," Toji pointed out. "That's... Well, it could be worse, but not really my taste. Also, the whole referring to yourself in third person thing? Not a fan."
Lady Amaranth's perfect face contorted with rage. "WHO IS SHE? What fucking mortal woman has claimed what rightfully belongs to The Amaranth?"
"Her name's Freeza," Toji replied calmly. "Empress of the Universe. About yay high," he indicated with his hand. "White hair, purple eyes, can transform into different forms, has a tail. Bit of a temper."
"That lizard empress with daddy issues that, that stupid purple speaks of fondly sometimes when he visits?" Lady Amaranth spat. "She's a cosmic INFANT compared to me! I was creating galaxies when her ancestors were still evolving from primordial fucking SLIME!"
"Maybe," Toji conceded with another shrug. "But I like her honesty. She doesn't pretend to be anything other than what she is. Plus, she's the mother of my kid, so there's that."
Lady Amaranth's rage seemed to pause momentarily. "A child? Thou hast spawned with the Frost Demon?"
"His name's Megumi," Toji said, a hint of pride entering his voice. "Good kid. Strong. Got his mother's eyes."
"The Amaranth could give you a THOUSAND children!" she declared, sweeping her arms wide. "Offspring with divine power beyond comprehension! Not some half-breed abomination!"
Toji's expression hardened, the temperature around him dropping noticeably. "Don't talk about my son like that."
Lady Amaranth paused, sensing the dangerous shift in his demeanor despite his chains. After a moment, she composed herself, her beauty reforming like a mask sliding back into place.
"The Amaranth apologizes for Our... enthusiasm," she said, her voice returning to its seductive purr.
"We merely wish to show the depth of Our divine fucking desire for thee. Surely thou canst see the benefits of Our proposed union? Power beyond mortal comprehension. Freedom from Heaven's chains. Knowledge of divine ki that could make thee truly godlike."
"Look," Toji said with the patience of someone explaining something simple to a child, "I'm flattered, really. But I'm not interested in becoming anyone's 'consort' or whatever. I've got my own goals, and they involve getting back to my son and..." he hesitated briefly, "...Freeza."
"Thou LOVES that cold-blooded lizard?" Lady Amaranth asked incredulously.
"Yeah," Toji admitted simply. "I do."
"But she's a fucking MONSTER!" Lady Amaranth protested. "She's destroyed worlds! Committed genocide! Ruled through fear and cruelty!"
"And what exactly were you planning to do with Hell if I joined you?" Toji countered. "Host tea parties?"
Lady Amaranth opened her mouth, then closed it again, momentarily stymied by his logic.
"Besides," Toji continued, "I'm not exactly a saint myself. We've all got our flaws. Freeza's working on hers. Slowly. Very slowly. But she's trying."
"The Amaranth is PERFECTION!" she screeched, her composure crumbling again. "We have no fucking flaws!"
"You literally just went from formal 'divine presence' to cursing like a sailor in the same sentence," Toji pointed out. "That seems like a pretty big flaw to me. Mood swings, maybe? Anger issues? Multiple personalities?"
Lady Amaranth's beauty began to crack - literally. Fissures appeared across her perfect skin, revealing glimpses of something monstrous beneath the surface.
'This is kind of fun. Been a while since I could crack jokes like this- man being stress free is awesome! No ruling a fifth of the universe right now, my kid is fine, it's great. Death is quite the nice vacation honestly.' Toji thought to himself.
"No one rejects The Amaranth!" she hissed, her voice distorting into multiple overlapping tones. "NO ONE! I will tear your fucking soul into pieces so small they will leak through the fabric of reality!"
"And there it is," Toji sighed, taking a casual fighting stance despite his chains. "The crazy goddess routine. Let me guess - now you're going to try to 'break me' and take me by force, right?"
"If The Amaranth cannot have thee willingly," she snarled, creation energy manifesting as crimson blades around her, "then We shall break thy will until nothing remains but obedience!"
Toji rolled his eyes. "Let's get this over with. I've got places to be."
Lady Amaranth struck first, sending a barrage of crimson energy blades flying toward him. Toji attempted to dodge, but the chains limited his movement.
Instead, he reached for his lightsaber, only to find it wouldn't activate. The connection between his Ki and the weapon seemed blocked, its like how the pipe through which he could pour Ki outside his body, has changed from the size of a canon into that of a straw.
Forced to improvise, Toji dropped into a defensive stance. As the blades approached, he raised his arms, crossing them before his face and torso. He knocked the energy blades aside, his hands moving in quick, tight motions.
The chains rattled with each deflection, restricting his reach but not his speed. Several blades sliced his armor, leaving scorched gashes, but none found flesh.
"The chains of Heaven bind thy power," Lady Amaranth taunted, circling him with predatory grace. "Thy destruction energy is sealed, thy connection to the mortal realm severed. What hope hast thou against a goddess, even a fallen one?"
Toji attempted to fire a ki blast, only to find those pathways almost completely sealed. However, his telekinesis still functioned, albeit at greatly reduced strength. He used this to pull a section of the bone-like structure from the wall, wielding it as a makeshift staff.
"I've still got my hands," Toji replied, twirling the improvised weapon. "And that's all I need."
He launched forward, the staff becoming a blur as he struck in rapid succession. Each blow came from a different angle – overhead, side, upward thrust – creating an unpredictable pattern that forced Lady Amaranth to constantly adjust her defense.
Though the chains limited his movement, his physical strength remained undiminished – and at 10x his original power level before Hell (150 trillion power level) each blow carried devestating force.
Lady Amaranth countered with immense agility, her body bending and twisting in ways that were normally unnatural. She flipped backward, somersaulting through the air as crimson energy trailed from her fingertips, creating spiraling patterns that both defended and attacked.
"The Amaranth is impressed by thy physical prowess," she called, landing gracefully. "But brute strength alone cannot defeat divine technique!"
She rushed forward, her hands moving in a blur as she targeted vulnerable points – throat, eyes, joints.
Toji dropped his staff and caught her wrist mid-strike, using her own momentum to send her flying. Her body arced through the air before crashing directly into her soul-throne.
The throne shattered on impact, releasing wailing spirits that quickly dissipated into the air. Lady Amaranth rose from the debris, her perfect appearance now marred by cracks that revealed glimpses of her true form beneath – something ancient and monstrous.
"You fight well for one so chained," she acknowledged, spitting out a mouthful of golden ichor. "The Amaranth finds thy resistance... arousing."
Toji sighed. 'Great, another masochist. Like Freeza wasn't enough already- well, at least Freeza recently likes me being gentle with her.'
"And I find your commentary disturbing," Toji countered, maintaining his fighting stance. "Are we done yet? Or do you need more convincing that this isn't going to work?"
Lady Amaranth's eyes narrowed as she reassessed her opponent. Despite his chains, despite his sealed power, he was systematically dismantling her defenses through sheer physical prowess and combat experience.
At 110 trillion power level, she has no chance in a head to head fight, despite Toji being more limited than she is.
"Perhaps a different approach," she murmured. With a gesture, the air between them shimmered.
Two figures materialized – Freeza, holding baby Megumi. Both looked exactly as Toji had last seen them, down to the smallest detail.
"Dada!" the illusory Megumi called, reaching toward him.
Toji didn't even blink. "Nice try. But I know what my son feels like. That's just empty air with a pretty coating."
With a casual sweep of his arm, he sent a telekinetic wave through the illusions, dispersing them like smoke.
Lady Amaranth's expression darkened further. She created distance between them with a backward leap, landing atop a newly formed pillar of twisted bone.
"This is merely our first dance, destroyer," she declared, her formal speech pattern returning. "The Amaranth does not admit defeat - We merely postpone Our fucking victory!"
"Sure," Toji replied dryly. "Whatever helps you sleep at night. Or do fallen ones even need sleep?"
"Eternity stretches before us," Lady Amaranth continued, ignoring his quip. "Eventually, thy resolve will break. The chains of Heaven will wear down thy spirit. Thy memories of the lizard empress will fade. And when they do..."
She began to dissolve into a shower of blood-red petals, her voice echoing as her form dispersed:
"The Amaranth does not lose, she merely postpones her fucking victory!"
"She really likes the word fucking... Quite pent up isn't she." Toji muttered to himself.
The final petal vanished with a flash of crimson light, leaving Toji standing alone in the chamber.
Almost immediately, the illusory court began to fade, melting back into Hell's natural landscape of twisted bone structures.
"Dramatic woman, always a pain." Toji muttered, examining his chains once more. He tested their limits methodically, applying pressure to different links, searching for weaknesses.
Despite his efforts, the golden bindings remained intact, the divine energy within them pulsing steadily.
"She's quite a handful, isn't she?"
The familiar voice came from behind him. Toji turned to find Whis standing casually a few feet away, staff in hand, his expression as pleasantly neutral as ever.
"Whis," Toji said, relief evident in his voice. "Where have you been? Last thing I remember, you caught me as I was dying."
The angel bowed slightly. "My apologies for the delay. I needed to navigate certain... bureaucratic channels before I could visit. The afterlife has rather strict protocols regarding the recently deceased, particularly those who broke into Hell and forced their way into Heaven."
Toji gestured to his chains. "I'm guessing these are related to that? And why am I in Hell despite our arrangement?"
"Indeed," Whis confirmed, tapping his staff lightly on the ground. "These are the Chains of Heaven, placed on you by the Supreme Kai himself."
"The Supreme Kai?" Toji repeated, surprised. "I thought King Kai was on my side."
"He was - is," Whis corrected. "Both King Kai and surpisingly the Elder Kai protested this punishment quite vehemently. The Supreme Kai, however, was... insistent. He believes you threatened the entirety of Creation with your actions."
Toji crossed his arms, the chains clinking with the movement. "What about our deal? I thought I was supposed to become a God of Destruction candidate."
Whis's expression became almost sad. "As Lord Beerus's attendant, I operate under certain rules. Limited ones. If Lord Beerus were here and gave explicit or implicit permission, I could help you more directly. But as it stands..."
He trailed off, gesturing to the chains with his staff.
"Since you haven't officially become a God of Destruction candidate, I cannot show you special treatment. It would violate the neutrality expected of angels."
Toji absorbed this information silently, his expression thoughtful. "So I'm stuck here?"
"Not necessarily," Whis replied. "I can still heal your physical injuries - that falls within our deal."
Before Toji could respond, Whis touched him lightly with the tip of his staff. A warm, tingling sensation spread throughout Toji's body as his injuries healed.
His prostetic arm burst away and his missing left arm regenerated in a flash of light, the destruction energy scars faded away ( now only the lip scar and previous battle scars remained), and the damage to his internal organs repaired itself.
"That should be better," Whis said cheerfully. "Though I'm afraid I cannot remove the chains. That would require higher authority that I can not exercise without Lord Beerus's desire."
Toji flexed his newly restored left arm, marveling at the sensation. "Thank you. But I'm still confused - you're extraordinarily powerful. Why can't you just break these chains and take me back to the living world?" he asked.
Though of course, Toji knew about the rules of noninterference and the angels dying if they break it, but he had to act ignorant, and he can't blindly believe his previous life knowledge, better gain confirmation.
Whis's expression became uncharacteristically serious. "Even if I could bypass the rules - which I cannot - I'm uncertain how much help I could provide in your specific case."
"What do you mean?"
Now this geniunely confused Toji. Whis was the strongest being in the universe- how could he possibly not be able to help?
"Your soul is... unique, Toji Fushiguro. The most unique I've encountered in all my existence. The connection between your soul and the living world has been severely... damaged, and healing it isn't something I'm confident in doing precisely because of how unfamiliar your soul's structure is."
Toji frowned. "I don't understand."
"If I had to describe it," Whis explained, "it's as though your soul wasn't fashioned from pieces of your parents' souls - Kaori Fushiguro and Takehiko Zenin. It's almost as if your soul was born from the universe itself, having no real parent besides the universe."
"Like you're... How should I describe it. Hmm..." Whis put his finger on his chin for a moment, "The son of the world," he finally stated.
"The... son of the world?" Toji murmured in surprise, though the phrase resonated strangely within him.
'Could this be because of me being a transmigrator?' Toji thought to himself.
"Yes," Whis nodded. "Which makes conventional soul healing techniques unpredictable in your case. Since I honestly don't understand how your soul works. It is quite the mutation."
"The best path forward is for you to generate divine ki naturally. That energy would strengthen your soul's natural healing ability, restoring the damaged link to the living world."
"And once that's healed and I'm officially a God of Destruction candidate..."
"Then I could revive you, since you'd be within my jurisdiction as your teacher," Whis confirmed. "But not before."
Toji processed this information silently. After a moment, he nodded. "I understand."
Whis smiled, pleased by his acceptance. With a gesture of his staff, Toji's Vader suit was restored to pristine condition, though without the control panel that had previously regulated his breathing and heartbeat.
"This is the final assistance I can provide for now," Whis said.
Toji glanced down at himself, still feeling the warm sulferous air on his face- noticing the missing helmet. "Any chance you could restore the helmet too?"
Whis raised an eyebrow, surprised. "Your lungs and heart are fully healed now. I assumed you'd prefer to be free of it."
Toji shook his head. "The breathing will serve as a constant reminder against arrogance." After a pause, he added with a small smile, "Besides, my brat likes the sound. It brings him comfort."
Whis chuckled, materializing the Vader helmet with a tap of his staff. "A father's love is a powerful thing, even in Hell."
Toji took the helmet and placed it on his head, the familiar mechanical breathing resuming as the mask sealed. The sound echoed across the crimson landscape, somehow right despite everything that had changed.
"I'll see you again when you've generated divine ki," Whis promised, beginning to glow with rainbow light. "Good luck, Lord Duskborn."
With that, the angel disappeared in a column of multicolored energy, leaving Toji alone once more.
The chains clinked as Toji adjusted his stance, orienting himself toward what felt like the heart of Hell.
If divine ki was what he needed, then divine ki was what he would find - no matter what stood in his way.
The mechanical breathing of his restored helmet echoed across the crimson landscape as he walked, the golden chains glowing against his dark armor.
Hell had no idea what was coming.
------------------------
(Author note: Hello everyone! I hope you all liked the chapter!
Before anything- No, Amaranth won't end up with Toji, though she is quite relevant.
Finally, we get to know a bit more of what Toji's uniqueness is in the eyes of higher status beings.
Well, I hope to see you all later,
Bye!)