Chaos' Heir

Chapter 1568: Next step

Khan watched powerlessly as the black flames expanded over and inside the Emperor’s body. The process wasn’t fast, but it wasn’t slow, either. At that pace, he would be overtaken in a matter of minutes.

Meanwhile, Khan was still relatively intact. Ten needles still kept him pinned to the sky, but no obscuring fire had spread on him. That energy was still busy melting his existence.

As for the God, he kept looking down at Khan, traces of his previous message still conveying some genuine disappointment. Yet, he eventually cut that inspection short.

Despite the divine True Chaos having entered Khan and the Emperor, the area remained dark, as if forever tainted by the appearance of that obscuring energy.

However, something else appeared in that profound blackness. When the God turned his face, various ellipses opened in front of him, being big enough for Khan to look at.

People Khan knew far too well appeared inside the ellipses, which seemingly acted as screens into the different areas of the intricate path the elite team had to cross to reach that secluded spherical space.

Khan saw Lord Enforcer, Major General Arngan, Lord Mighty, Ilman, Mazatl, Dean Ulluw, Perac, Lord Envoy, Lord Blind Sword, Kodwa, Airrak, and Liiza, each fighting different opponents on different battlefields. His companions looked fine. Actually, they appeared victorious.

Needless to say, Khan focused on the ellipse showing his pregnant wife. It hadn’t looked like it, but Liiza had never been far away from his thoughts, and seeing her unharmed removed worries that had never stopped screaming in the back of his mind.

Yet, Liiza’s battlefield was the most inconspicuous of them all. Her ellipse actually was the only one that showed no opponent, but the vast chunks of pure-white ice in various corners of the scene told Khan that she had seized the upper hand.

Of course, despite not having access to a direct mental connection, the God had to know how those battles were going. After all, that was his world, his universe. He couldn’t possibly be unaware of its workings.

But no traces of anger or disappointment appeared on the God’s face at those scenes. It was unclear whether he could muster those expressions at all, but something told Khan that there was more to that being’s detached, bottomless wisdom.

That whole invasion was a test in the end. At least, the separate universe’s arrangements were. In Aynor, Khan had proved that the mana’s new iterations could defeat the True Chaos, so the God wanted to see how far that potential stretched.

“[Proper individuality was my progenitor’s greatest flaw],” The God announced, his lips still sealed. “[It had desires for higher states of existence but lacked the structure to channel and express them].”

Khan knew the God was talking to him. The God’s mental messages conveyed that intention, but the area also had no one else who could hear him. The Emperor was too aflame to be part of any conversation.

“[I was my progenitor first and greatest success],” The God explained, “[A superior being, wielding a proper will that could fuel the ambition my progenitor sought].”

Even with the mental messages’ conveyed meanings, it was unclear why the God was dwelling in those explanations. The best Khan could come up with was that the God didn’t want to miss that chance to converse with someone groomed to be his equal.

“[Our clash was avoidable],” The God revealed. “[The parts of my progenitor that hadn’t yet converted into me opposed the assimilation because conflict is the natural response to two beings’ shared desire].”

Khan had heard the mana’s perspective and was now receiving the True Chaos’. Truth be told, he understood both. He simply wished they hadn’t involved a whole universe in their fight.

“[As the answer to my progenitor’s ambition],” The God continued, “[I defeated it and ascended further. While my progenitor weakened, I strengthened myself, preparing for the next step].”

The God’s mental words grew lower in Khan’s mind, as if the topic resonated with some deeper part of that superior being’s existence.

“[While I continued to see even higher states of being],” The God stated, “[My progenitor created your individual iterations, built upon my blueprint, but inevitably lacking].”

The God’s perspective was strange to consider, if not straight-up sad. He was the child the mana needed, but not the one it wanted.

And, in response to that, the mana created different iterations of itself by expanding everywhere, creating weaker and containable individual iterations.

In a way, that was precisely what the mana had done with the True Chaos, but following the opposite path. Instead of directly creating a superior version, the mana focused on weaker iterations so that it could suppress the destructive ambition any of the suitable ones might present.

That obviously didn’t work well since Khan was there while the original mana was gone. Yet, the God probably saw him no differently than his progenitor, just in a different shape.

“[But just like my progenitor did with me],” The God announced, “[I will build on my progenitor’s creations. You will elevate the True Chaos’ ranks, aiding the approach to the next step].”

“What is this next step?” Khan asked, pushing the internal pain aside, unable to contain himself at the second mention of that topic. “What comes after the God?”

“[The universe],” The God responded, his detached, fixed gaze still on the elliptical screens. “[As my ascension progresses, my being expands, and I will continue to do so until all is me].”

The meanings carried by that mental message rang clearly in Khan’s mind, but he struggled to believe them. He knew what the God’s plan was, but his limited brain couldn’t even conceive the idea of thinking about it.

“Do you want to become the universe?” Khan gasped.

“[I will assimilate it and become all there is],” The God responded. “[Facing your complete fusion would have provided a direct benefit, but the most your iterations have to offer is an improvement to my sons].”

The God straightened his arm at that point, surprisingly performing a gesture Khan could follow.

“[I’ll build my new perfect sons from your foundations],” The God explained. “[The others of you who can claim victory will become my new Kings and warriors].”

The elliptical screens expanded, seemingly unable to remain in the previous smaller shapes when something grander appeared in the scenes they recorded. Fuming canvas appeared in the various battlefields, accompanied by a pair of huge scarlet eyes and words Khan had already heard.

“[Ascend, my sons],” The God ordered, and the scenes inside the ellipses lit up with dim, pitch-black light.