Chaos' Heir

Chapter 1380: Honor

Of course, Liiza didn’t only have to rely on Khan’s tone to translate that alien language.

Mentioning the True Chaos’ God caused a specific reaction in Khan’s mind, which the mental connection shared. Liiza had also heard Khan’s statement to the Nak back on the azure planet, which featured the same foreign feelings, allowing her to connect the dots.

Khan didn’t want to face the True Chaos’ God solely out of virtue of the Nak’s mission. Defeating that universal threat was indeed his task and responsibility, especially after refusing the mana’s legacy, but his request had more to it.

The True Chaos was a child of the mana. It was an unwanted and problematic evolution that energy had given birth to in its attempt to reach a superior realm.

That made the True Chaos superior to its progenitor and its natural enemy. Khan didn’t know whether to consider it a being higher than the mana, but it was clear which one was stronger.

Even if Khan completed his attunement by absorbing the whole azure planet, he wouldn’t have had any certainty of defeating the True Chaos. That didn’t happen, so his situation was theoretically far worse than he had initially planned.

It seemed Khan had bet on himself, only to lower his odds before the war even started.

However, that was partially by design. Khan had improvised when the cloud of Scarlet Eyes had broken through the Nak’s defenses, but his decision had been providential.

The foreign knowledge that had fused with Khan’s brain had given him an idea of how to improve his odds. That plan promised to be quite sound. Implementing it was the only problem.

Khan didn’t need any random energy to complete his attunement. Anything would do, but that would defeat the purpose of his training.

Just like the white-azure spinning sphere had shared crumbles of its knowledge, so could the True Chaos. Those entities were similar anyway, meaning that Khan could treat the Scarlet Eyes like he had treated the Nak’s legacy.

Khan could get the missing piece that the mana had failed to control and absorb it into his being, theoretically reaching greater heights than the True Chaos’ God. Fulfilling his attunement with that was bound to boost him to a superior realm. Getting it was the issue.

Of course, the Thilku Emperor didn’t need to know Khan’s intentions, but Liiza did. Khan was quite desperate to discuss that topic with her, especially due to the potential problems it harbored.

The True Chaos wasn’t benign. It wasn’t even impersonal like the mana. That black smoke actively devoured the mana, wielding desire and the will to dominate.

Khan might set out to absorb that fearsome energy, only to be devoured himself. He had been tainted twice already, too, and there was no certainty his body could survive a third.

That was why Khan wanted to discuss the plan with Liiza. Acquired knowledge or not, she knew more about those fields and understood beings and the mana in general better than Khan ever would.

Still, the sudden teleport had deprived Khan and Liiza of any chance to be alone and catch up. Even the short break had mostly been about Khan’s lack of nightmares, so that conversation had yet to happen.

On top of that, Khan had to deal with the Thilku Emperor first, which wasn’t exactly something that could be done quickly or easily.

"[Request denied]," The Emperor exclaimed, the excitement in his aura turning into pure intensity, applying more pressure on the married couple. "[I have been outside the battlefield for too long. I have craved for a worthy enemy from before you were born, Lord Blue Shaman. This war is mine to see to its conclusion]."

The immediate refusal didn’t come as a surprise. Khan would have done the same if he were in the Emperor’s shoes. He didn’t really blame him. Actually, Khan found that answer quite heartwarming.

Despite the Emperor’s cursed situation, he didn’t consider fighting Khan even once. A worthy opponent had finally appeared after so long and was now standing before him, but the fearsome Thilku didn’t even try to mention the topic.

That was a perfect and probably the greatest instance of the Thilku’s pride. Khan was part of the Empire, so the Emperor considered him one of their own, refusing to turn on him to get some long-desired excitement out of his life.

Khan was quite the political monster when it came to alien species. He had a talent countless Ambassadors envied. If Khan truly wanted to, he could twist the situation to his benefit, obtaining what he needed without risking giving up anything.

However, Khan couldn’t even begin to think about swindling the Thilku, especially before that friendly treatment. So, he let go of Liiza’s hand, stretching his right arm to offer it to the Emperor.

"[The first to reach the True Chaos’ God gets to fight it]," Khan suggested. "[Let our performance in the war decide who gets that final battle, and potentially avenge the other in case of defeat]."

Due to fate’s twisted sense of humor, Khan was now the one offering his hand to the Emperor, and the latter didn’t miss that curious detail.

"[Ah]!" The Emperor cried, blowing away all the frail debris that was still miraculously in his surroundings. Still, his shout didn’t end there.

"[Ah]!" The Emperor repeated, throwing his head back. "[Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah]!"

The Royal Guards had long since approached that meeting area but had stopped at some distance from it, respecting Khan and the Emperor’s need for some personal space.

However, except for Lord Enforcer, those evolved Thilku couldn’t help but feel shocked in the middle of the storm that the Emperor generated with his cries.

The shock didn’t come from the Emperor’s catastrophic might. That feeling was about the Emperor’s reaction. It didn’t sound like it, but the Emperor was laughing.

That rhythmical, split laugh was the final blow for the already destroyed quadrant, but no one in the area moved from their position. All the destruction in the world couldn’t faze Khan, and something else followed.

The Emperor suddenly interrupted his strange laugh to look at Khan again. His excitement had returned, being stronger than ever, as well as his broad grin. The gesture generated more storms, but both men ignored them since the Emperor reached for Khan’s stretched arm.

"[Good, Lord Blue Shaman]," The Emperor declared, performing a traditional Thilku handshake. "[You are exactly the warrior I trusted you to be. We shall let the battlefield decide who’s worthy of the honor of taking down a God]."