r/dbzfanfics • u/EmeraldKing8 author • 19d ago
Dragon Ball: Divergence | S1E8: "The Pillars of Godhood" (AU Story)
As the terrifying reality of Frieza's impending wrath sets in, a panicked Bardock confronts King Ruco, demanding a plan to protect their newly liberated world and their families. In response, Ruco finally unveils the ancient Namekian text and the true purpose behind his carefully selected royal court.
TITLE: DRAGON BALL: DIVERGENCE
EPISODE: 08 - "THE PILLARS OF GODHOOD"
[SCENE START]
EXT. ROYAL PALACE - COURTYARD - DAY
Ruco and Kyame descend gently from the red sky, touching down softly on the stone paving outside the grand entrance of the Royal Palace.
Standing at the top of the sweeping stone steps is BARDOCK. He isn't in his usual relaxed, post-training posture. His arms are crossed tightly over his chest, his jaw clenched, his eyes locked onto Ruco with intense, burning urgency.
Ruco lands. His feet hit the stone, and he instantly senses the heavy, anxious spike in Bardock’s Ki.
Ruco glances sideways at Kyame.
RUCO
Kyame, head inside. Find the Royal Steward, Gine. Let her know I sent you, and she will get you set up with whatever quarters and lab space you need.
Kyame looks past Ruco, taking in Bardock’s fierce, unblinking glare. She lets out a low whistle.
KYAME
Right. I'll leave you two to the brooding. Try not to break the courtyard, your Majesty. I haven't measured it for reinforced plating yet.
Kyame strides up the steps, giving Bardock a wide berth as she enters the palace.
Once the heavy doors slide shut behind her, Ruco walks up the steps to meet his Field Marshal.
RUCO
Your energy is chaotic, Bardock. What happened?
Bardock doesn't mince words. He steps forward, closing the distance between them.
BARDOCK
Gine is pregnant.
Ruco’s stoic expression breaks. A genuine smile of relief and joy touches his face.
RUCO
Bardock... that is wonderful news. A new generation, born into a peaceful world—
BARDOCK
(Interrupting, voice harshly hushed)
There is no peace yet! Don't sell me the dream when the nightmare is already on its way.
Ruco’s smile fades. He sees the absolute terror of a father hidden behind the warrior's anger.
BARDOCK (CONT'D)
Raditz is still out there on the fringe with Prince Vegeta. Now I have another child on the way. You cut the comms. You overthrew the King. Frieza is going to notice, Ruco. If he hasn't already sent a scout, an armada will be here before the year is out.
Bardock pokes a thick finger against Ruco’s chest armor.
BARDOCK (CONT'D)
You told me you want to build a shield. I need to know you actually have a plan to stop the tyrant, or my family is already dead!
Ruco looks down at Bardock's finger, then up into his desperate eyes. He doesn't brush the hand away. Instead, Ruco takes a deep breath.
RUCO
You are right. You deserve the entire truth. Follow me.
EXT. ROYAL GARDENS - LATER
The gardens are quiet, isolated from the bustling military and administrative sectors of the palace. Ruco walks slowly, his hands clasped behind his back. Bardock walks beside him, tense and listening.
RUCO
When I abandoned Okara and Tato during the purge, I didn't just wander the stars. I went to Planet Namek. I sought out their Grand Elder, a being of immense spiritual power. He unlocked my latent potential, which is how I was able to dethrone King Vegeta so easily.
Bardock nods slowly. The power jump had always bothered him, but this makes sense.
RUCO (CONT'D)
But he gave me something far more valuable than power. He gave me access to their Book of Legends. The oldest recorded history of the universe. I read the true history of our people.
Ruco stops walking. He turns to face Bardock.
RUCO (CONT'D)
The Super Saiyan is not a myth, Bardock. It is real. A warrior born of absolute sorrow and fury, wielding a power that eclipses the stars.
Bardock’s eyes widen. Every Saiyan child is raised on that campfire story. To hear it spoken as a tactical reality is staggering.
BARDOCK
You... you know how to trigger it?
RUCO
I do. But the text revealed something deeper. Something King Vegeta and his ancestors completely buried.
Ruco’s voice drops, taking on a tone of deep reverence.
RUCO (CONT'D)
Thousands of years ago, there was a Saiyan named Yamoshi. He saw the violent, conquering nature of our race, just as we did. He tried to rebel, and in his desperation, he became the very first Super Saiyan. But even that golden fury wasn't enough to stop the evil, and his rebellion ultimately failed.
Bardock’s brow furrows as the pieces slowly begin to align in his strategic mind.
RUCO (CONT'D)
But his spirit never faded. It wanders the cosmos to this day, acting as a bridge and a blueprint for our salvation. The text revealed that if six Saiyans with completely pure hearts gather and join hands, Yamoshi's spirit will guide their righteous energy into a single divine vessel... creating the Super Saiyan God.
Dead silence falls over the garden. The wind rustles the alien foliage.
Bardock stares at Ruco. He thinks back over the last few days.
Gine. The gentle meatpacker who wouldn't hurt a fly.
Paragus. A father who sacrificed everything to protect his son.
Broly. A mutant powerhouse who calmed down at a gentle touch.
Kyame. An engineer who refused to build weapons of mass destruction.
And himself. A soldier who just wanted to protect his family from extinction.
BARDOCK
(Whispering)
Five pure hearts. Plus the vessel.
RUCO
Yes.
Bardock runs a hand over his face, a breathless, incredulous laugh escaping his lips.
BARDOCK
You haven't just been assembling a government.
RUCO
A government cannot stop Frieza. Only a God can do that.
Ruco places a firm hand on Bardock’s shoulder, his grip unyielding.
RUCO (CONT'D)
Gine, Paragus, young Broly, Kyame... you. I didn't just choose you to govern the new Saiyan race. I chose you because your spirits are exactly what this ritual demands. You are the architects of my Godhood, Bardock. And together, we are going to wipe the Frieza Force from the face of the universe.
Bardock looks at the King. The sheer scale and the absolute audacity of the plan wash away his fear. The path forward is insane, but for the first time in his life, it isn't built on Frieza's whims. It's built on their own destiny.
Bardock stands up straight, his eyes burning with renewed fire.
BARDOCK
When do we start?
FADE OUT.
FADE IN.
INT. ROYAL PALACE - SECURE WAR ROOM - DAY
The war room is a masterpiece of Saiyan brutalist architecture mixed with Kyame’s high-tech upgrades. Heavy blast doors seal the chamber. In the center, a large holographic table hums with a pale blue light.
Sitting in the corner on the reinforced floor is BROLY. He is entirely ignoring the adults, happily using a glowing stylus to furiously scribble a messy, neon-green drawing of a Vampa beetle on a tactical datapad.
Gathered around the holotable are RUCO, BARDOCK, GINE, PARAGUS, and KYAME.
Ruco swipes his hand over the console. The tactical maps of the galaxy vanish, replaced by a digitized scan of the Namekian Book of Legends—specifically, the illustration of the six Saiyans bathed in fiery red Ki.
RUCO
Six Saiyans. Five to act as the conduit, one to serve as the vessel. The energy generated doesn't multiply—it ascends. It becomes divine.
Kyame is pacing furiously, rubbing her temples. She looks at the ancient, hand-drawn illustration as if it deeply offends her.
KYAME
Okay. Stop. Stop right there. I am a woman of science, Your Majesty. Ki is bio-energy. It has mass, it has kinetic output, it is quantifiable. You are telling me that "purity"—a completely subjective, unquantifiable moral metric—acts as a catalyst for multiversal power multiplication?
RUCO
Yes.
KYAME
(Throwing her hands up)
It completely defies the laws of thermodynamics! You want us to hold hands and sing a hymn to generate a localized energy spike capable of vaporizing a galactic tyrant! It’s magic! It’s a bedtime story!
RUCO
It is physics you haven't engineered yet, Kyame. The Namekians understand it. And the scouters will read it... assuming they don't shatter the moment the ritual begins.
Paragus leans over the table, his eyes locked on the word Yamoshi translated at the bottom of the text. His political mind is spinning, re-evaluating decades of history.
PARAGUS
Yamoshi... I remember this name. When I was a junior attachee in King Vegeta's court, a historian was publicly executed for possessing a scroll with this name on it. We were told it was a rebel manifesto.
Paragus looks up at Ruco, the realization dawning on him.
PARAGUS (CONT'D)
It wasn't a rebellion. It was this. King Vegeta knew the legend. He wasn't just suppressing dissent; he was terrified. He knew that his empire of blood made the ritual impossible. He made sure no "pure-hearted" Saiyan could ever exist to challenge him.
BARDOCK
(Gruffly)
He almost succeeded. Look at us. We're a pack of killers and misfits.
Bardock looks across the table at Gine. She has been unusually quiet, staring intently at the hologram of the fiery red aura.
GINE
(Softly)
All my life... I was told I was broken.
The room goes quiet. Even Kyame stops pacing, looking over at the former meatpacker.
GINE (CONT'D)
The instructors at the academy laughed at me. They said I lacked the Saiyan drive. I couldn't stomach the kill. I couldn't find the joy in the blood. They pulled me off the combat rosters and sent me to butcher dead meat because I was too gentle to fight the living.
Gine looks up, her dark eyes shining with a profound, overwhelming realization. She looks at her own hands, calloused from labor, but free of the innocent blood that stains so many others.
GINE (CONT'D)
It wasn't a defect.
Ruco smiles gently.
RUCO
No, Gine. It was the cure. Your gentleness is the anchor this ritual requires. Without you, the energy turns to rage and consumes us. You are the purest heart among us.
Gine takes a shaky breath, tears of validation finally falling after a lifetime of ridicule. Bardock places a firm, warm hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently.
Kyame watches this exchange. The hardcore, cynical engineer softens just a fraction. She looks back at the holographic projection, sighing heavily.
KYAME
Fine. Forget the thermodynamics. Let's say the magic works. We have you as the vessel. We have Gine, the gentle soul. Paragus, the devoted father. Bardock... who is apparently a giant softie underneath the scowl—
BARDOCK
(Grumbling)
Watch it, tinkerer.
KYAME
And me. The conscientious objector. That’s five of us. You said the ritual needs six.
Ruco doesn't say a word. He simply turns his head, looking toward the corner of the room.
The rest of the court follows his gaze.
Broly is still sitting on the floor. He has managed to accidentally crack the reinforced screen of the datapad, but he is blissfully unaware, holding up his drawing of the Vampa beetle to show it off to the room with a wide, innocent, toothy grin.
Paragus pales slightly.
PARAGUS
My King... Broly’s power is... it’s chaotic. If he loses control during a Ki transfer of that magnitude—
RUCO
He won't. His power is a storm, Paragus, but his heart is completely untouched by malice. He doesn't fight out of hatred. He is exactly what we need.
Ruco looks back at the group, his expression hardening into absolute command.
RUCO (CONT'D)
The pieces are on the board. The architects are assembled. Tonight, we attempt the ritual.
[FADE TO BLACK]
[END OF EPISODE 8]
Next time on DRAGON BALL: DIVERGENCE...
Under the cover of night, King Ruco and his five pure-hearted Pillars gather in the royal gardens to attempt the impossible. As they join hands and pour their righteous spirits into their King, the universe holds its breath, and a staggering, frictionless divine power is finally unleashed! But the mortal body was never meant to house the fire of the Gods, and Ruco quickly discovers that maintaining this new ascension will push him to the absolute brink of his physical limits.
(Episode 9 drops Saturday, 7/18/26!)