Chaos' Heir

Chapter 1190 Married

A quiet understanding descended among that silence. Liiza's fake smile wasn't there anymore, and the same went for Khan's emotionless expression. Their faces could tell entire stories of their own, which belonged to many years ago.

Still, as much as Khan was aware of his feelings and that Liiza shared them, her dress highlighted the reality of the situation. She was due for an arranged marriage that would benefit her species as a whole, and Khan couldn't destroy that for his own selfishness.

Previously, Liiza had run away to preserve herself, so it was Khan's turn now. He drew his phone, unlocking the ship and opening its side doors remotely before stepping forward. However, Liiza also moved, standing up and glancing at the vehicle's hull.

"It's just like Snow," Liiza muttered, her words echoing in the silence of the hangar.

Khan couldn't help but halt his steps and follow Liiza's gaze. He had picked up the habit of painting his ships white, the same color his Aduns had been, and Liiza didn't miss that.

Nevertheless, Khan pushed whatever feeling that tried to assault him aside. He had to leave and had enough self-control to do so now. His mere presence could ruin Liiza's work and life, and he couldn't allow himself to do that.

Yet, Liiza slowly turned, her glowing gaze lowered. She gradually lifted her eyes, looking at Khan again and showing a face that was a mixture of pain, longing, helplessness, and desperation before uttering a word that turned his world upside-down.

"[Khan]," Liiza called in the Niqols' language, her voice on the verge of breaking.

Khan froze once again, his eyes wide. He and Liiza had always used the Niqols' language for special occasions, and that call was exactly what he had done in the past. It served the same purpose, and Khan refused to think anymore.

There were countless problems. Lives would be ruined, and entire species would be affected. Nothing was clear, and everything would be put at risk, but Khan couldn't even consider all that. For once, he decided to be selfish.

Liiza suddenly lost track of Khan. He unleashed his top speed, slamming onto her to drag her inside the ship. For all intents and purposes, the impact should have crushed or badly injured her, but she only felt kindness and care, the same care she felt when a lightning bolt killed Zama and made her fall into a gorge.

Khan dropped Liiza on a chair in front of the ship's doors before sealing that entrance and heading toward the bridge. Liiza snapped out of her daze at that point, standing up and staring at that closed passage, and a question inevitably escaped her mouth.

"What are you doing?!" Liiza shouted, but Khan didn't reply. He reached the bridge and sat behind the control desk, activating the ship and setting off. Luckily, the whole place was automated, so Khan only needed a random excuse to leave early.

"Khan!" Liiza shouted again from the cargo area, panic appearing on her face as the many screens lit up and showed her what was happening outside. "What are you doing?"

"I'm kidnapping you," Khan casually said. The two were in different rooms, but Liiza heard him clearly.

"Have you gone crazy?" Liiza gasped. "I have to get married. I need to leave now."

Khan didn't stop piloting the ship, but something in Liiza's words irked him to no end. He had already decided to be selfish, so his reaction conveyed his true feelings in all their intensity.

"Then leave!" Khan shouted, looking back at the cargo area to glare at the figure standing by its entrance.

The shout wasn't simple. Nothing about Khan was. His loud voice made every surface inside the ship tremble, and some of its lights broke directly. As chaos-resistant as his vehicle was, it could survive Khan only if he allowed it to.

It was Liiza's time to freeze now. The blinking illumination tried to hinder her vision, but she only needed to follow the light from Khan's eyes to find him.

Moreover, that unrestrained display of wild power shocked Liiza. She had become strong and had always known that Khan would, too. Yet, that might was simply incredible, magnetic, and familiar.

Also, power alone wouldn't have been able to shock Liiza. Her reaction mainly came from something else. That was the first time Khan had truly yelled at her, and she couldn't help but consider how desperate he must have been to reach that point.

"Freeze this ship!" Khan continued, his voice adding more fuel to the earthquake that afflicted the vehicle's insides. "Split it in half. Punch your way out of it. I don't care anymore! I made my decision this time!"

The power of Khan's voice remained astonishing, but Liiza only focused on its contents. She recalled how she had begged Khan not to ask her anything back then. Liiza remembered how Khan had always put her first, so seeing him do something for himself was a miracle in and of itself.

"But if you are going to leave," Khan added, calming down and giving the ship some breathing room, "Don't give me anything. Don't give me hope, promises, or ancient alien wisdom. Leave my life forever!"

Khan turned, refocusing on steering the ship before muttering one last line. "Because I can't keep living with your shadow over my heart."

Liiza was on the verge of breaking down. Khan's last words hit her deeply, urging her to do something, anything about them. She wanted to go to him, hold him, and fix him somehow, but the corner of her glowing eyes caught a scene that snapped her out of that state.

The screens had reactivated after Khan's outburst ended, showing how the ship had left the hangar and was heading for the spherical surface. An opening directly in front of it had already turned liquid, too, allowing it to cross it whenever it wanted.

Time was running short, so Liiza turned toward the sealed doors, lifting her arm to point her right hand at them. Khan's ship was good, but she was a fifth-level warrior with powers that defied that realm. Liiza wouldn't even need a second to carve a hole through that surface.

Nevertheless, disbelief suddenly filled Liiza's face. No matter how much she tried, her mana wouldn't come out, seemingly opposing that action. Her real feelings became her enemy, preventing her from using her strength.

Liiza didn't give up. She had spent ten years mastering, honing, and developing techniques. She had been a prime test subject for the new old ways and had even improved upon them. Liiza always had the talent of a genius, but all her efforts were for naught in that situation.

Techniques that had long become as natural as breathing refused to come out. Spells that Liiza could cast without thinking didn't appear even after she put her entire mind into them. Her heart had made a decision, and nothing could go against it. After all, she was a true Niqols.

"[Please]," Liiza begged herself, her body, and her mind, speaking in her native language, her arm still stretched toward the door.

Khan shook when he heard that pleading voice. His mind raged against him, ordering him to leave the pilot's seat and run toward Liiza to help her, but his will was stronger that day. He kept steering the ship forward, ignoring that heartbreaking request.

Meanwhile, cold tears started to appear in Liiza's eyes. Even her language didn't work. The situation had turned her into a powerless, ordinary woman, and her legs gave in when she saw the ship cross the spherical barrier on the screens.

Liiza fell to her knees, a couple of tears falling from her glowing eyes while she stared at the screen above her. Even if she escaped now, it was too late. The ship was already in space, putting more and more distance from the Kros' structure.

A profound realization fell on Liiza's mind, bringing inconceivable sadness. She had done it again. She had abandoned another marriage arranged by her species. She had betrayed the Niqols for the second time, which was bound to be the last.

Liiza couldn't help but glare at the door to her right, looking at the figure hidden behind the pilot's seat. A trace of anger flashed inside her, but a desperate longing for the warmth that the place radiated suppressed it. Liiza wanted to go there, diving deeper into what she had experienced on the balcony.

As tragic as the situation was, Liiza wasn't a simple girl anymore. She had spent years leading her tribe, maturing through politics and training. She quickly regained control of herself, digging her hand into her bridal dress to retrieve a cube featuring bright blue symbols.

Liiza could contact the Niqols through that communicator, but didn't. Instead, ice started to spread over the device's smooth surfaces, completely freezing it. Her mana mocked her by working perfectly now, and she forcefully sealed her grasp, shattering the cube with her bare hand.

Liiza glanced at the frozen shards on the ship's floor before standing up and tidying her dress. She wore her aloof expression from the past, feigning some slight anger while slowly stepping toward the bridge. Khan didn't turn even after she reached the seat next to his, but her following words triggered a strange reaction inside him.

"Just so you know," Liiza announced, sitting on the empty chair and gazing at the universe past the canopy. "I'll consider myself a married woman from now on."