Chaos' Heir

Chapter 1370: Assault

The profound perspectives the white-azure strands of energy brought didn’t only involve broad ideas and mindsets appropriate for greater beings. Actually, they did, but a few of those had to do with Khan’s awareness and his connection to the mana as a whole.

Khan had already learned to dominate and twist other people’s mana on his own. His domineering will, coupled with his rightful claim over that universal legacy, granted him a level of control over that energy that other beings couldn’t share or acquire.

It was like an inborn, inherited skill Khan had mastered while seeking to surpass the mana before reaching the azure planet. Even if that energy belonged to someone else, he could exert some influence over it, affecting its functioning.

Of course, that skill worked best on weaker beings. Still, absorbing the white-azure energy and the knowledge it carried expanded Khan’s understanding of that ability, even uncovering traits he wasn’t previously aware of.

The ability to control implied a vague connection. The mana’s plan had even wanted Khan to become someone who could taint and control others, just like the True Chaos had done with its Scarlet Eyes.

Khan’s refusal had tempered down that ability’s potential, but didn’t eliminate it. He couldn’t quite sense through others, but the planet’s unpolluted mana was an exception. It rightfully belonged to Khan, so it could act as an extension of his perception.

Due to that connection, Khan began to sense how the quadrants and landscapes moved to get closer to him, helping with his training. Also, as his knowledge deepened, his perception expanded, eventually enveloping the entire shrinking planet and going even further than that.

Khan’s perception stretched as far as the arrangement of asteroids and the storm ricocheting inside, only to discover that it was under attack. Something vast, powerful, and dark had landed on the other side of that defensive mechanism’s edge, assaulting it in an attempt to barge through it.

Moreover, Khan knew that the attempt would succeed. It wouldn’t be long before that darker-than-black enemy pierced through the defensive mechanism and devoured the barren, almost completely dead landscape it protected.

That threat and the instinctive, foreign emotions it caused inside Khan’s brain allowed him to snap out of the continuous shifts in perspective, giving him enough control over himself to warn his wife.

The mana had played a part there, too, wanting to protect and warn its heir, restoring his agency to devise countermeasures against that sudden attack.

Liiza widened her eyes, her expression growing cold as she instantly understood what Khan meant. She didn’t know the details, but the seriousness seeping through the mental connection told her that there wasn’t enough time for pointless questions.

After warning Liiza, Khan turned, lifting his eyes to gaze at something far past the shrinking planet’s orbit and the partial void around it. He couldn’t actually see the threat, but he felt it, and new realizations reached his brain during that proxy inspection.

Khan had grown more selfish, but his selflessness didn’t disappear. If possible, he would deal with the threat by himself, without involving the universe and putting its forces at risk.

Moreover, Khan had already proven himself superior to the two alien scouts on the unnamed planet, and he had grown vastly stronger since then. He was still improving at that very moment, too.

The enemy assaulting the arrangement of asteroids promised to be far more numerous and powerful. It was a proper army, which Khan guessed featured the infamous warriors, and maybe even the Kings. He believed he could be their match, but the newly acquired knowledge also made him aware of something else.

That awareness came in the shape of a hunch rather than an actual certainty. It was also quite annoying for Khan to consider and accept, but the theory was solid. It even made sense when he reviewed it without the broader perspective the white-azure energy brought.

Khan could probably defeat the True Chaos’ Kings but knew without a shadow of a doubt that he would lose against its God. Absorbing the entire azure planet and the spinning sphere wouldn’t solve that, either.

Khan might be able to fulfill his attunement like that, but that still wouldn’t be enough.

"[Do we have to run]?" Liiza wondered, reading into the emotions that seeped through the mental connection.

Khan didn’t answer, but more unwillingness seeped through the mental connection as he kept staring at the sky. He truly wanted to charge forward and inflict as much damage as possible on that enemy, hopefully sparing the regulated universe from bloody battles, but the plan was unfeasible.

The issue was with the True Chaos’ God itself. Even the mana didn’t know and couldn’t predict the full extent of that being’s power and capabilities. The army outside the asteroid didn’t have that mysterious leader, but Khan wasn’t sure if it could just teleport there once he appeared.

If that happened, the universe would probably be doomed. Khan would die, removing his allies’ best chance of defeating that enemy, which he couldn’t afford.

"[I don’t think running is enough]," Khan admitted. Sadly, the knowledge obtained from the mana was quite clear about that.

Khan’s past hunch had been correct. The alien scouts had appeared before Khan’s ship because the mana had misled them.

Yet, the Scarlet Eyes shared some of Khan’s traits, too. He had been able to sense the Nak’s home world after finding it, and the same went for those black aliens. Except Khan had now seized the mana, becoming a bright beacon they could follow.

Even if Khan interrupted his training, the Scarlet Eyes would chase after him, sensing where he was. He was confident in his speed, but running simply wouldn’t do, especially since the only escape route was in Coravis’ direction.

"[Liiza]," Khan called without diverting his eyes from the sky. "[Wake up that Nak. I need to talk with it]."

"[It is awake]," Liiza snorted, not hiding her annoyance but still complying.

The white, ethereal shape of the alien glowed, seemingly bringing new life into it. The Nak still couldn’t move, but some of its influence spread in its surroundings, vouching for its ability to speak again.

"[You down there]," Khan called, his gaze still fixed on a place only he could sense. "[If you blow up this place and teleport us away, I’ll let you die right now]."