Chaos' Heir

Chapter 1516: Promise

Talent was an excuse, or rather, it was only part of the equation. Khan’s incredible skills with aliens mainly came from the sheer absence of biases and pristine curiosity.

It was one of the reasons why Khan had started his political career as a scout. It was how he had learned so many alien arts in no time, even achieving statuses that had never come within the reach of ordinary Ambassadors.

A peaceful life didn’t suit Khan. He wanted adventures. He craved experiences that challenged him and broadened his perspective. That had been a consistent theme throughout his journey. His curse had simply soured it with dark feelings, trying to hide that instinctive nature from himself.

However, those dark feelings were no more. Liiza had taken them away, making Khan discover and realize his true interests. His bad habits had remained, but they were just that, and time was bound to correct them.

Besides, there was another issue connected to Khan’s desire.

"[Also, let’s be honest]," Khan exclaimed, spreading his arms while summoning his casual tone. "[My daughter’s best friends will be a Nele, two humans, two Niqols, and whatever creature comes out of those two impossible, horny beasts]."

Thinking about Ilman and Jenna’s child tried to send a shiver down Khan’s spine, but his point remained true.

"[She is also half-Niqols, half-human, and half whatever else I passed down to her]," Khan continued. "[As her father, the least I can do is create a world where she can feel accepted and be happy]."

"[Will you take the universe just to reshape it to suit your daughter]?" The Emperor asked, finally interrupting his silence.

"[Ah]!" Khan cried like a proper Thilku. "[I’d do far more than that, but I can see it being a good starting point]."

Winning the war against the Scarlet Eyes was indeed about saving the universe, but Khan also needed that so that his daughter could have a place where to grow happy. If he had to conquer the universe to achieve that, he would do that without hesitation.

"[The masses follow the strong]," The Emperor declared. "[Your force will continue to attract more troops until someone sees it as a threat]."

"[I know it won’t be the Empire]," Khan pointed out. "[As for the others ...]."

Khan had a reply ready, but the layer of clouds responded before he could. A lightning bolt finally escaped their crackling fabric. Except, it burst from its upper part, flashing next to Khan and the Emperor as it dived past the planet’s atmosphere.

The lightning bolt roared, only for the darkness of space to turn its violent cry into pure silence. Yet, the attack didn’t stop there and continued to rise, thickening as its main body released more sparks.

The Emperor looked at the clouds before lifting his gaze at the rising lightning bolt. The latter quickly lost its previous shape, transforming into something he had just seen, even gaining a triangular head and a pair of sharp, gigantic fangs.

Somehow, the layer of clouds had given birth to a giant, purple-red, crackling snake that kept growing into space before turning its head down, spreading its mouth while hovering back to its source.

The layer of clouds had created a bright surface for Khan and the Emperor, and the snake now illuminated the world above them, encapsulating them in a purple-red world.

The snake’s head was bigger than a city block, but the Emperor felt no fear seeing it approach him. Its bright, destructive crackling also didn’t worry him, but there was a limit to how much disrespect he could accept before enforcing punishments.

"[Wait, Emperor]," Khan said before the Emperor could do anything irreparable, jumping toward the incoming reptilian head, patting it to make it stop right above the Thilku leader.

The snake made of pure, destructive chaos surprisingly accepted Khan’s head pats, even releasing a thundering, but slightly calmer hiss. It was as if Khan had tamed that creature, or at least appeased it.

"[I’m not really a reasonable man]," Khan announced, looking down at the Emperor while pointing at the creature at his side, "[But my mana is more unreasonable than I am. Let’s avoid pushing it]."

The Emperor had already guessed that, but Khan just gave him confirmation. It seemed that the snake was what Khan had meant by "alive", and the Emperor knew it wasn’t limited to that.

The Emperor couldn’t help but look down again. The clouds were still raging with violent power, keeping track of him, watching his every breath. He now had two wild creatures waiting for him to make a wrong move, and something told him that merely was a basic showcase.

"[Is this your power]?" The Emperor asked.

"[This is my promise]," Khan declared. "[Our promise]."

The snake hissed again, only to dive back into the layer of clouds, disappearing inside its violent fabric without merging with it.

The Emperor still sensed that creature slithering inside that crackling sea in the sky, but something else claimed his attention. Khan had landed in front of him, and he deserved his gaze.

"[I know this path will lead to more wars]," Khan announced. "[The more people share my wish, the more enemies I’ll gain]."

It was unavoidable. That had been another constant in Khan’s life. The higher he climbed, the more jealousy and envy bloomed around him.

The war kept things tidy and peaceful now, but that wouldn’t always be the case. If victory truly arrived, everyone would look up to Khan to search for a continuation of their alliance.

That wasn’t a power that those unhappy with Khan could accept. Many would try to sow disagreement to destabilize his force and create conflicts, hoping to exploit weaknesses to avoid leaving such a fearsome organization in the universe.

And that only applied to what Khan knew. The universe was truly vast. Other horrors like the Great Old One could still be around, and their species might look hungrily at Khan’s force.

Yet, Khan had a simple answer for all that.

"[But so, what]?" Khan wondered. "[I’ll welcome anyone, and, if someone opposes me, they’ll lose their place in my universe]."