The Erased Chronicles

The Devil's Initiative

"No, it isn't a trick, every bit of it is real," Gohan assured, stressing the point because he knew this was going to become very frustrating, very fast. Though, he had to assume all humans were different; Erasa had simply gone with the flow. Videl was very stubborn and unlikely to take a viewpoint from another person without the evidence being clearly on display.

"I don't believe anything is genuine without some kind of proof," Videl snapped, becoming frustrated at only receiving words from Gohan. "Show me this ki if you want me to believe it's anything more than a parlor trick!"

With an exasperated sigh, Gohan raised a hand towards one of the boulder's that littered the area. He couldn't understand why she needed proof; she'd seen everything that the 'Golden Fighter' was capable of, but if she pressed the matter, he would at least deliver. Focusing his ki, a soft glow enveloped his palm, forming a sphere of white energy with a vibrant yellow outline. With a flash, he released this discharge of energy from his person; the superheated plasma made contact with the rock, destroying it utterly.

"..." Videl was stunned speechless; her eyes wider than saucers as small fragments of rock flew in their direction from the resulting explosion.

"Ki is like that," Gohan explained, happy to have finally provided Videl with 'proof' solid enough to render her silent, if only for a moment. "Every living being has it, and for those who can harness it, we can use it to perform feats beyond normal humans. My ability to fly, among several other abilities, all come from my ki."

"So I need this...ki...nonsense to fly?" Videl leaned in, her sharp stare piercing.

"It's not nonsense, and yes, you do need it," Gohan replied, scratching his head in frustration, "I can show you, but it won't be easy. Learning how to use your own ki is easier when you start as a child; but since you've been doing martial arts all your life, you may find this easier than most."

"Stop beating around the bush already, and show me," Videl pressed the matter by quite literally pressing her finger into Gohan's muscled chest, glaring at him as if she wanted to give new meaning to the phrase 'if looks could kill'.

"I'm getting to it," Gohan replied, sitting down on the grass cross-legged, and indicating Videl do the same. As Goten tried to capture a butterfly in the background with a net he'd procured from somewhere, Gohan cupped his hands in front of Videl, deciding to use the same method he'd used with Erasa to introduce the aspect of drawing out one's ki.

"Watch me," Gohan insisted, and Videl heeded him, keeping sapphire orbs locked on Gohan with genuine curiosity.

"When manifesting your ki, you have to empty your thoughts and meditate on what's within. If you sense that heat build up at the core of your being, focus on it! Drag it all out with your will and then concentrate on that furnace of warmth within. When you start pulling it out, do so delicately, and draw it up as best as you can," A dim, blue light began to shimmer between the space of Gohan's open palms. It coalesced as it gained mass, shape, and rotation, as if forming a structure akin to a miniature star using Will alone, "when you do that, you form the energy that's called, ki."

"This is ki..." Videl murmured, utterly entranced by the floating sphere she saw before her. Unlike the energy blast Gohan had released less than a minute ago, the sphere he held now was fine-tuned and controlled; beautiful, even. He was holding a form of power in his hand and it resembled a kind of beauty she wasn't familiar with.

"The same reaction as Erasa," Gohan noted. Wondering if all humans reacted this way to ki, he wished his own first experience with the energy had been as whimsical; aside from his usage of it when Piccolo left him alone in the wilderness for several months, the first time he remembered seeing ki from an observer's perspective was when Piccolo trained him. Unlike Erasa and Videl's experiences, it was not beautiful.