The boy awoke to a world of soft light and gentle sounds. The air was sweet, filled with the scent of alien blossoms and the quiet hum of life. There was no roar of engines, no scent of ozone or blood. For the first time in his life, there was silence. A deep, profound peace that seeped into his bones.
He remembered nothing. His name was a ghost on the wind, his past a locked door. The last thing he recalled was a jolt, a scream of metal, and then... this.
He was found not by warriors, but by a Vesperian botanist—a gentle, reptilian woman named Kaela—who was tending the glowing mosses of the area. She didn't flinch at his Saiyan features or his latent power. She simply offered him a piece of succulent, purple fruit and a soft, clicking greeting.
The boy, whom Kaela started calling Rohan—a Vesperian word for "new dawn"—was initially wary. His instincts screamed at him to fight, to dominate, to assess the threat. But there was no threat. The singing trees held no malice. The gentle streams offered no challenge. The other beings he encountered on Sanctuary—Vesperians coming for quiet contemplation—smiled and moved on, their auras calm and open.
Slowly, day by day, the hard shell of his Saiyan conditioning began to crack.
Astra observed from a distance, his [Appraisal] and [Circlet of the Architect] monitoring every fluctuation in Rohan's Ki, every shift in his psyche. He saw the confusion, the frustration, and then, the gradual, dawning wonder.
He watched as Rohan, instead of trying to punch the crystalline trees, sat and listened to their song.
He watched as the boy,instead of hunting the glowing fish in the silver sea, followed them in fascination.
He watched as Rohan began to help Kaela with her work,his innate Saiyan strength making him a surprisingly deft gardener, moving heavy stones to create new planting beds without being asked.
The environment of Sanctuary was a relentless, gentle therapy. It offered no resistance, only acceptance. It was reprogramming him at a fundamental level.
After a month, Astra decided it was time for the next phase. He had Borg's son, a boy named Kaelar who was a few years older than Rohan, visit Sanctuary. Kaelar had been born on Vesper. He knew the Compact. He was strong, but his strength was tempered by community, by his friendships with human and reptilian children.
The two boys circled each other warily at first. Then, they began to spar. It was not the brutal, no-holds-barred combat of Planet Vegeta. It was a contest of skill, of control. Kaelar would stop his blows an inch from Rohan's face. Rohan, after a moment of shocked hesitation, began to do the same. They laughed when they tumbled into the soft grass. They were not enemies; they were playmates testing their limits.
Astra saw the moment the change solidified. Rohan, having bested Kaelar in a test of strength, didn't gloat or try to assert dominance. He offered a hand to help the other boy up. It was a simple, unconscious gesture, but it was one that would have been beaten out of him on Planet Vegeta.
The Last Scion was dead. In his place was Rohan, a Vesperian child.
[Analysis: Subject "Rohan."]
[Psychological Profile: Stabilized. Aggression levels have dropped 92%. Social integration: Successful.]
[Power Level: 3,100. Growth is steady and controlled, no longer driven solely by combat stress.]
[Conclusion: The "Sanctuary Protocol" is a success. Saiyan essential nature can be redirected through environmental and social engineering.]
Astra summoned Rohan to the Nexus dais on Vesper. The boy stood before him, no longer confused, but with a calm, curious light in his eyes.
"Do you know who I am?" Astra asked.
"You are the Architect," Rohan said, his voice clear. "You built this place. You saved me."
"I did. And I erased your past. Do you wish to know what it was?"
Rohan was silent for a long moment, looking out at the thriving city of First Stone, at the people—Saiyan and colonist alike—living and working together. He looked towards the portal to Sanctuary.
"No," he said finally. "The past is a ghost. This..." he gestured to the world around him, "...this is real. This is my home."
Astra gave a slow, approving nod. The forging was complete. He had taken the most volatile element of the old Saiyan empire—the royal bloodline—and had reforged it into a cornerstone of the new. Rohan would not be a prince of conquest. He would be a guardian of peace, a symbol of what the Saiyan race could become.
The heart of the new empire was no longer just a document or a leader. It was now beating in the chest of a child who had been saved from the fire and taught to tend a garden instead. The Architect had not just built a society; he was now building its soul, one redeemed heart at a time.