Black holes aren't rare in the universe. They're invisible snares, marked in red on every space‑faring race's star charts.
After receiving the Time Metal, Lynx's next stop was Planet Vegeta. He lingered only long enough to confirm the nearest black hole's coordinates, then used Instant Transmission to the surrounding star‑field.
Even as a Super Saiyan, Lynx could never withstand a black hole's pull, so he materialised a safe distance away. The instant he emerged he flared into Super Saiyan form, surrounding himself in a golden energy barrier.
"The black hole… is that way."
It was the one direction where he felt nothing at all—energy, light, even space itself was being devoured.
After flying an hour, the gravitational drag became dangerous. Lynx stopped; any closer would be reckless. According to Zuno's instructions, he took out the Time Metal.
"Throw it in and a space‑time gate opens. My system will lock onto the timeline I want… right?"
With a mutter and a moment's hesitation, he hurled the silver lump toward the abyss.
"Zuno, if you tricked me I'll make you pay."
Floating toward the event horizon, the metal suddenly shone with crystalline light. It twisted, warping into impossible angles—then, as if torn apart by an unseen force, it shattered and vanished.
…Was that priceless metal—obtained at the cost of three wishes—just gone? Lynx was about to curse Zuno to the heavens when blood‑red fractures tore open in the void where the metal had disappeared, widening into a jagged maw just large enough for him to pass through.
A gate?
Before he could move, a tone chimed in his mind:
Ding! Space‑Time Gate detected. System Temporal‑Traversal Function unlocked. Please expend Chrono Points to select your destination timeline.
It was exactly as Zuno had said—his system had awakened a new feature the moment the gate appeared. It even offered to let him choose the world.
But…
"System, what are 'Chrono Points'?"
Ding! When the host travels to a parallel timeline, it produces temporal interference. Chrono Points are a special energy the system consumes to offset that interference.
Chrono Points are earned by correcting divergences in the timeline the host currently inhabits.
Lynx frowned.
"Correcting history? Meaning?"
The system gave no further answer—instead a red timer appeared:
Ding! The gate is unstable. Please spend Chrono Points to confirm a destination within one hour, or the gate will collapse.
"Seriously?!"
Lynx scratched his head. The system loved springing traps. Why not tell him sooner? Now he had one hour—where was he supposed to find Chrono Points?
Then an idea flashed. He warped straight to Kami's Lookout on Earth.
Kami, watching the world below, sensed Lynx behind him.
"Mr. Lynx? You're back already?"
"No time. Kami—where are the Dragon Balls I left you?"
Kami began to lecture about how he'd sealed them away for mankind's sake, but Lynx cut him off. With Kami flustered, Mr. Popo fetched the stones—still lifeless, inert.
"Tell me which one is which."
Kami pointed them out—One‑Star, Two‑Star, and so on. Lynx memorised the order, stuffed them into system space, and vanished.
"Mr. Popo… what is he—?"
"He said he's returning the balls to the lower world," Popo answered.
Lynx re‑hid the Four‑Star ball beneath Goku's bed at Mount Paozu, placed the Three‑Star at Kame House, and deposited each of the others—Ox‑King's castle, desert ruins, and so on—exactly where destiny intended.
When the seventh Dragon Ball rolled into place, the system chimed:
Ding! Divergence corrected. Chrono Points +1.
So that was the trick: restore events toward the original Dragon Ball storyline. By removing the balls earlier, he had derailed history; returning them set it back on course.
One point down, but he would need more…
(To be continued.)