Chaos' Heir

Chapter 1374: Silent

Khan hadn’t really been in contact with the Thilku Empire during his search for the Nak. Still, his status didn’t require updates from his side. When the Emperor had called his mission classified, he meant that.

Moreover, the Thilku Empire had kept track of Khan, and he had been far from silent in the past years. The amount of information released about the Nak, his nightmares, and the Scarlet Eyes had been numerous, and the video about the battle against the two alien scouts took the crown there.

Therefore, the Thilku Empire didn’t doubt Khan’s actions. It never came close to that, and Lord Envoy now had the confirmation the Emperor had been waiting for. Lord Blue Shaman and Lord Special Emissary had returned victorious from the mission.

"[Good job, Lord Blue Shaman]," Lord Envoy stated, traces of curiosity toward Khan still shining in his eyes. "[I’ll brief the Emperor]."

Lord Envoy disappeared as quickly as he had appeared, vanishing from his position in the air, teleporting away to report to the only figure in the Empire who had a greater status.

Khan checked the sky a bit longer, confirming that the evolved Thilku was gone, before stopping struggling to remain awake. His mind didn’t have any energy left anyway, so he collapsed on the spot, threatening to tilt to his right and fall to the ground.

Of course, Liiza caught Khan and disregarded her naked status to lay him down, placing his head on her lap so that he could have a good rest. The entire universe now knew how much he deserved it, and Liiza wouldn’t let anything get in his way.

The main hurdle before Khan’s long-earned rest was the very political array. After all, the Scarlet Eyes had sent more than scouts now. Their army was coming, so the regulated universe had to coordinate and prepare for the imminent war.

That meant that Khan would be summoned soon and be chained down by countless political meetings, discussions, and actual battles. The evolved Thilku that had appeared earlier could return at any moment, too, basically ensuring the arrival of a packed schedule.

It was an unavoidable problem that had no solution, but Liiza found one anyway. Khan couldn’t avoid joining the political discussions, but she could give him the time he needed and deserved.

Liiza took a deep breath before closing her eyes. She had already stepped into that domain before her official evolution, acquiring a few valuable abilities, but her existence had leaned deeper into those fields now.

Evolved warriors usually needed years or longer to get used to their new state, and Liiza was no exception, but her advantages weren’t negligible.

For once, Liiza completely understood herself and the new direction her existence had taken. She also knew her mana deeply and was an exceptional Shaman. She would have to explore her new power, too, but wasn’t powerless to help her husband now.

The temperature in the area dropped, but not by too much. Liiza was capable of far more, but her existence ignored those superficial details, focusing on more profound features of the world.

The symphony around Khan and Liiza slowed down without affecting them, creating an invisible but undeniable separation between their immediate surroundings and the world outside that strange space.

A half-spherical area with Khan and Liiza at its center gained a new set of universal rules, as if becoming a separate dimension. Time flowed slowly inside it, but not for the couple. They experienced the very opposite effects.

Liiza reopened her eyes, only for some tiredness to afflict her expression. She hadn’t rested since her evolution, either, and that ability didn’t exactly align with her inclinations. Slowing down time or even stopping it would have been easier, but she needed to accelerate it now.

At least, Liiza needed to accelerate Khan’s time, which demanded stealing a lot of it from her surroundings.

The world seemed to have crawled to a halt from inside that ethereal half-sphere, but that was a mere optical illusion. Liiza and Khan were simply accelerated, living at a different pace.

Of course, those incredible effects didn’t apply to the couple’s bodies. Liiza could affect herself to a certain extent, but Khan was a different, powerful being, and their connection couldn’t compensate for that immense gap.

Liiza would probably dry herself just by attempting to accelerate Khan as a whole, but his mind was a different thing. His physical recovery was outside her reach for now, but his mental one wasn’t.

Khan could experience additional seconds and minutes of mental recovery in the span of mere moments. His mind was strained to no end, probably needing entire days to recover, but his eyes opened far earlier than that.

The event didn’t mark Khan’s recovery. His unfocused, confused gaze vouched for that. Yet, his eyes also hid some puzzlement that almost made Liiza shed happy tears.

Still, Liiza didn’t cry, limiting herself to watching her husband fall asleep again. That second nap was shorter than the first since Khan’s eyes snapped open again, wary and confused, his brain failing to understand what was happening.

Even if it put more strain on the technique, Liiza reached for Khan’s hair, caressing it to reassure him. He was fine. He was finally fine. Khan only had to realize that what he was experiencing for the first time in decades was the norm.

Khan ended up falling asleep again, only to instantly reawaken. Still, the snapping wasn’t limited to his eyes now. He straightened his torso, sitting up, forcing Liiza to break her technique.

Time resumed flowing normally. The separate dimension and the outside world fused, becoming one once again. Yet, despite Khan sensing that process and knowing where it came from, he couldn’t help but remain focused on what he had experienced during his sleep.

Only the cold hands that reached for Khan’s face managed to distract him from his perplexed state. He turned toward Liiza, his expression a mixture of disbelief and skepticism, which she knew she would have to work to make him accept.

"[How was it]?" Liiza asked, unable to stop the bright smile broadening on her face.

Khan seemed to understand something now. He diverted his gaze, his eyes darting left and right as a storm of thoughts ran through his still-sore mind. It was basically a new experience for him, so he almost couldn’t believe the description he was about to give.

"[It was]," Khan whispered, looking at Liiza again, "[Silent]."