Chaos' Heir

Chapter 1562: Adversity

Unlike the previous dimensional gates, the pitch-black ellipse on the immense mountain didn’t feel like a teleport. Its darkness wasn’t even thick, barely lasting a fraction of a second before something else replaced it.

Khan felt as if he had crossed nothing more than an ordinary door, but a completely different and strange environment unfolded in his vision.

The conflictingly cozy but discomforting sensation of being in open space assaulted Khan as his perception expanded, instantly covering the relatively small area he had just entered.

The environment was spherical and almost entirely empty. It had no walls, lands, structures, or landmarks. Even the elliptical gate was nowhere to be seen, making it no different from ordinary space.

Yet, Khan couldn’t spot distant stars anywhere. The spherical shape he had sensed didn’t even have visible limits, either. They existed but were more of a sensation, as if something even emptier than space stood outside that boundary.

Curiosity about the environment past that invisible edge tried to rise in Khan’s brain, only to find no room at all. Something else had claimed his full attention, preventing him from thinking about anything else.

The Emperor shared Khan’s focus. He wasn’t as good as him with open space, but the single blemish in that otherwise entirely empty environment forced him to disregard everything else.

Khan and the Emperor weren’t alone in that emptiness. A third humanoid figure sat cross-legged at the exact center of the spherical environment, hovering in perfect stillness while showing his back to the newcomers.

The sitting figure radiated no aura. He actually didn’t exude anything at all, which would make Khan dismiss him as non-existent if he couldn’t literally see him.

Still, as Khan rethought his mindset and relied on the crumbs of knowledge inherited from the white-azure sphere, he uncovered the truth. He didn’t actually sense anything, but a solid hunch spread inside him.

It wasn’t that Khan couldn’t sense anything. It was that all there was to perceive was part of that sitting figure. That separate dimension inside a separate dimension was him. Actually, that whole different universe probably fell in the same category.

Of course, Khan couldn’t know for sure. Many details also escaped his sheer ability to make conjectures, but it was clear that his initial guess needed a revision.

It wasn’t that the allied front was playing right into the True Chaos’ hand. Khan and his army were probably literally inside the God.

Obviously, it was too late to worry about that. Knowing with absolute certainty about that detail beforehand probably wouldn’t have changed the allied front’s plans, either. That was the regulated universe’s best shot at survival, and Khan and the Emperor had the opportunity to make it count now.

Khan and the Emperor’s arrival couldn’t possibly go unnoticed, especially since their heavy and glowing gazes pointed straight at that sitting figure.

Yet, a wave of tension that both warriors did their best to hide instinctively appeared when the sitting figure began to move, straightening himself, his very long black hair flowing alongside his cape as he turned.

"[You defeated my sons]," A deep, almost ancient, and impossibly wise voice resounded in Khan’s mind, his brain instinctively translating it into words he could understand.

The figure turned completely at that point, showing his features. He didn’t look that different from the other Scarlet Eyes. He had the same pointy ears, red irises, and black robe, but a single, central, bigger horn grew from his relatively young face.

What both Khan and the Emperor suspected to be the so-called God looked like nothing more than a young alien man. However, neither of them let that appearance deceive them.

Those scarlet eyes almost shone with an intrinsic wisdom that was impossible to describe, telling the two warriors that they stood before true greatness.

"[They were imperfect]," The figure continued. "[I must improve their design]."

Hearing the black figure speak so coldly about opponents Khan and the Emperor had risked their lives to defeat left a bad taste in their mouths. Sure, the perfect sons had been enemies, but they had also been warriors worthy of respect.

"[But]," The figure added, diverting his wise, bottomless gaze, "[The mana’s new iterations are also promising. I have been waiting for my progenitor’s counterattack]."

Khan almost frowned, spotting something odd in that statement, before noticing an even stranger detail.

According to what Khan had learned, the True Chaos had been the one chasing after the mana. Instead, the God had made it sound like he had wanted something from that original energy.

However, sounding was the keyword there. The place had no air whatsoever. It was entirely empty, so it didn’t make any sense for the God to release sounds.

Still, the God’s following words cleared that strangeness. "[Although I find it disappointing that you refused to ascend to my state]."

Khan made a point to understand how exactly he was hearing things in the middle of space, and the answer became clear after that apparent jab at him.

The God wasn’t speaking in the strict sense. His mouth didn’t even move. Instead, meanings traveled directly through space, echoing ethereal sounds Khan and the Emperor could capture.

It was as if the God could speak through his mind, using channels that Khan couldn’t even begin to sense. He could only perceive that action when it had already landed on his skull.

Khan opened his mouth, only to remember that he was in space again. Still, the God noticed that detail despite looking elsewhere and casually waved his hand.

Something suddenly shifted. The previously empty space gained a breathable atmosphere, instantly appearing out of nowhere to cover that spherical area.

The discomfort from being in open space disappeared, and Khan instinctively took a deep breath, finding nothing odd with that air.

"[I forget how beings like you still rely on atmospheres to converse]," The God said through the same mental messages as before, seemingly apologizing.

The new ability to speak didn’t lead to rash responses. Khan had wanted to say something earlier, but cooler heads prevailed now, making him opt for a far sharper question.

"Why did you lead us here?" Khan asked, relying on the Nak’s way of speaking despite having the faint hunch that he didn’t need to.

The possibility of that whole invasion being a test had steadily grown in likelihood, seemingly becoming a confirmed truth after the God’s statement. So, Khan didn’t question whether he was right. He wanted to know the reason behind it.

"[Because you defeated one of my sons]," The God responded, looking at Khan again. "[Power must be tested with adversity, and your new iterations of the mana could provide that]."