It was a day like any other for Raphael. He came home from his shift at his student job, then went to the gym, and finally headed back to his apartment. Just another ordinary day.
'Working at a bowling alley is such an easy job.' he thought as he walked in. He dropped onto his couch and started scrolling through his phone.
'I knew it, it's really Xenoverse 3. We've been waiting for this one for so long… finally.' he thought when he saw the news pop up, even though it wasn't officially confirmed yet.
"It's been a while since I played Xenoverse, actually." he muttered to himself then walked over to his computer, turned it on, and launched the game.
'Damn, I forgot. I only kept my female Majin and deleted my other characters. Oh well, whatever. Didn't I have some mods installed?' he thought as he checked the character roster available to him.
"Okay, okay… I really forgot about this. Let's try it out." He started playing Xicor, then Meruem, then Boros.
"One last one for the road. Hybrid form Kaido, let's go." He played one final short session.
'Alright, that's enough for today. That was pretty fun, I should boot it up more often…
Is it just me, or is it really hot in here?' he thought, leaning toward his computer tower, where the heat seemed to be coming from.
"Shit, there's a prob-"
BOOM!
The tower exploded right in his face.
Raphael was dead.
For a brief moment.
Before his eyes opened again.
Below him stood aliens. Aliens he recognized immediately.
'Namekians? What the hell is going on? Am I hallucinating?'
"We have created you, Eternal Dragon. You have the power to grant two wishes to those who summon you." one of the Namekians said.
Raphael began to take in his surroundings. His body. Beneath him were Dragon Balls.
'Don't tell me I've been reincarnated as a set of Dragon Balls.'
"What is your name, Eternal Dragon?" another Namekian asked, trying to pull him from his thoughts.
'Fuck… did I really die? I look like Kaido in his dragon form… Did I replace Shenron? Maybe I'm a new set? Am I in the future? Or the past?' Questions flooded Raphael's mind.
"Eternal Dragon, what is your name?" the Namekian repeated.
"Do not rush him, young one. He has just been born, after all." said an older Namekian.
This time, Raphael paid attention to what was being said below him.
'A dragon named Raphael? I'm not sure about that…' he thought before finally answering. "I am Kaido."
'Saying it is kind of cringe.'
At once, the Dragon Balls scattered, and he began to fade away, forced into sleep.
Much later.
He was summoned again. The Namekians gathered below him were no longer the same as the first time. The Dragon Balls were assembled beneath him once more.
"Eternal Dragon, can you unlock my potential?" the Namekian asked.
Instinctively, Kaido's eyes glowed, and the wish was granted.
"It is done."
"Thank you, great Kaido." the Namekian replied.
"Your second wish?" he asked.
"I wish for the plants of our beautiful Namek to become more nutritious."
"It is done."
'Don't tell me this is my life now, sleeping and granting wishes!?' Kaido couldn't help but think, realizing he was forced to fulfill whatever was asked of him. Then the Dragon Balls scattered once again.
And just as he imagined, for a long, long time, that was all his life consisted of. For thousands of years on Namek, watching generations pass. Granting wishes. Falling asleep.
Until one day, something changed.
He was summoned again, but this time it felt different.
'This isn't Namek. I'm on another planet.' he sensed immediately. Beneath him stood a human.
"Where am I?" Kaido asked.
"So the legend of the Dragon Balls was true. Kaido, right? We are on Earth." the human replied.
'Finally, a change of scenery, damn it.' Kaido thought, pleased, before regaining his composure. "Before you tell me your first wish, could you make the second one for me?"
It was a request he had started making while on Namek. So far, no one had agreed. And just like the others, this human had no intention of doing so either.
"No, sorry. I'll use both my wishes. I wish to be 10 centimeters taller."
"It is done." The human immediately grew taller.
"Perfect! It really works! My second wish is to increase the size of my penis by 10 centimeters."
"It is done." Kaido replied again, this time in an irritated tone before disappearing and falling asleep once more.
On Earth, he was summoned far more often than on Namek. Hundreds of years passed like this, making poor human rich, short human tall, weak human strong, ugly men handsome and women beautiful, brings the dead back to life. And sometimes granting far more atrocious wishes. The human mind could be disturbingly dark.
Centuries later.
He was summoned once more.
'At this point, I'd rather sleep forever. Shenron, I understand why you were irritated.' he thought.
As usual, the sky darkened upon his arrival.
He was still on Earth, he could feel it, but the planet had changed. It was nothing but sand. Below him stood an old man accompanied by two other beings. Humanoid, but not human. An elderly one watching him closely, and a young one with his back turned.
"This Dragon Ball legend was false. We should look for another way to find water. Set course for the legendary source." said the young one without turning around.
"Cough! Cough! Prince, open your eyes and turn around, the dragon is right behind you." said the old, pointy-eared man.
The prince turned and jumped in surprise at Kaido's presence, then quickly regained his composure.
"Lord Kaido! My name is Beelzebub, Prince of the Demons." the small pink demon said.
"What is your wish?" Kaido asked.
"I wish for water to return to Sand Land."
"It is done."
Rain began pouring down immediately.
"Incredible." the three of them exclaimed.
"Your second wish, kid." Kaido said, prompting him.
"A second…? I thought there was only one… Let me think… Something against the human royal army, maybe? Hmm…" Beelzebub scratched his head.
That reignited a spark in Kaido's heart, something he hadn't felt in ages. An opportunity.
"Prince of the Demons, will you grant my wish?" Kaido asked. "Will you wish for me to be freed from my chains? To sever my bond with the Dragon Balls?"
"Oh? Uh…" Beelzebub hesitated.
"Prince, are you sure that's a good idea?" the old demon asked. Kaido shot him a dark glare. "Oh, well, it's your choice, Prince… ah, haha…"
"Kid, help me, and I will help you in return." Kaido insisted, unwilling to let this long-awaited chance slip away.
"Very well. I wish for Kaido, the dragon of the seven Dragon Balls, to be freed from them."
"Orororororo! Your wish is granted!" Kaido roared with excitement, unable to contain his joy.
The seven Dragon Balls turned to stone and shattered. Lightning struck around them.
"I am finally free! Orororororo!"
'Finally… after all this time… I could almost cry. Hm… though I've lost my connection to wish-granting… but who cares? I'm free!' "I'm free!"
"Are you really sure that was a good idea, Prince?" the old demon whispered while watching Kaido fly around wildly.
After testing his serpentine dragon body, Kaido fired a blast at a distant hill, destroying it.
'What power…' he thought.
"Thief, don't worry." Beelzebub whispered to the old demon, who was clearly not reassured.
"He must have been exploited for ages. I get it." said the human named Shiva.
Later, once Kaido had calmed down.
"Yes, we are on Earth. But because of endless wars, lack of resources, and expanding deserts, it became Sand Land. Though now, thanks to the return of water, things may change." Shiva explained.
"I see. And why are demons on Earth?" Kaido asked, turning toward Beelzebub and Thief.
"I don't know the full story, but the Demon Realm was destroyed. Lord Lucifer, my father, told me we had to come here. If you want to know more about this world, you should speak to him." Beelzebub replied.
'What kind of Earth is this? I'm in Dragon Ball, but nothing adds up. From what I understand, I'm probably in the future… but I'm not sure.' Kaido thought.
"Where is your father, Beelzebub?"
"In a village that way." he said, pointing ahead.
"Let's go. Climb onto my back." Kaido said, not wanting to waste time.
"Now? Oh. Alright. We needed to ditch the tank anyway." Beelzebub replied as he climbed on. Shiva and Thief followed.
The dragon took off.
"Incredible, there's water everywhere!" Beelzebub exclaimed from the sky.
"It's beautiful." Shiva commented, while Thief stared in awe.
"That's the village, Kaido, up ahead." Beelzebub pointed.
As they approached, they saw demons celebrating.
The villagers stopped dancing when they noticed Kaido flying toward them.
"Go fetch Lord Lucifer!" one villager shouted in panic.
Kaido landed, and the others dismounted.
"Calm down! He's with us!" the prince shouted.
"Oh, it's Prince Beelzebub!"
"He's already back?"
"Could he be the one who brought back the water?"
The villagers murmured.
"Everyone, calm yourselves."
A more imposing demon stepped forward.
"King Lucifer."
The crowd parted to let him pass.
"Son, explain yourself." Lucifer demanded.
'He looks a lot like Dabura.' Kaido thought while observing him.
"The legend of the seven crystal balls of the Namekians you told me about was real. We gathered them, and the dragon granted our wish, that's why water is abundant again."
"I see. But why is he still here? After a wish is granted, the dragon is supposed to disappear." Lucifer asked.
"I asked to be freed from my condition." Kaido answered instead. "I have questions for you."
"If I can answer them, I will… Hm. I didn't know Eternal Dragons could have desires, such as wanting to end their role." Lucifer remarked thoughtfully.
Later.
They were in front of Lucifer's palace.
"Could you reduce your size somehow?" Lucifer asked.
'That should be possible.' Kaido thought.
As if second nature, he shifted into a humanoid form, still imposing, but smaller than his dragon form. He stood at 7 meters tall (23'4), with blue scales, horns, and a tail.
"That's more comfortable." Kaido commented, looking at his arms.
"Wow!" Beelzebub exclaimed in response to this transformation.
They moved to a hall to speak properly.
"Bring food for our guest." Lucifer ordered the servants.
"What questions do you have for me?" Lucifer asked directly.
'If he's the Demon King, he should know this.'
"Who is the God of Destruction?"
"The God of Destruction is Lord Champa." Lucifer replied.
'Everything's clearer now. It's much simpler than I thought. I'm in Universe 6. I'm just this universe's version of Shenron.' Kaido realized.
"I see."
"Is that all you wanted to know?" Lucifer asked.
'Honestly, that one question answered most of what I needed to know.' Kaido thought.
The food arrived.
"I was starting to get hungry." Beelzebub said as he began eating.
"Do you know of a way to travel to another universe?" Kaido asked, helping himself to the dishes.
'I don't have anything against Universe 6, but I don't know it nearly as well as 7.' he thought, swallowing whatever he could get his hands on.
"I do know of one way." Lucifer replied. "The Supreme Kai, Fuwa, possesses something that allows inter-universal travel. Lord Champa has one as well."
'The demons are pretty chill… just like in Daima.' Kaido observed internally.
"This fish is so good. I've never tasted anything like it before." Beelzebub commented.
"The cooks caught it today after the waters rose." a servant explained.
'I think... this Earth was supposed to be destroyed by wars at some point. I'm not sure about the exact timing… but either way, this water is going to change things.' Kaido reflected.
"I have no further questions."
-----------
[ In the Human Kingdom ]
"What the hell is this mess!? Someone explain to me where all this water is coming from!?"
"Commander Zeu, it just started raining heavily out of nowhere."
"Ah… ah, so it just rained? That rain is going to ruin our monopoly." the cyborg commander said in frustration. "I'll be back. Inform me if anything happens."
"Yes, Commander!" the soldiers replied in unison.
He was already making his way toward the laboratory.
"What brings you here, Mr. Zeu?" a scientist asked.
"Doctor Pose, prepare the Insect Soldiers." the commander ordered.
"Prepare them? For what?"
"To deploy them to the front immediately against those demons who are regaining strength thanks to that cursed rain." Zeu snapped.
"That's reckless. We can't control them. Once they're done with the demons, we'll become their next target." Doctor Pose argued.
"Idiot! Install remote-controlled bombs on them!" Zeu shouted.
"Understood!" the doctor replied, unable to reason with the commander.
"Shiva… you and those demons are finally going to breathe your last."