Chaos' Heir

Chapter 1607: Predator

The sky seemed to have broken, or rather, someone seemed to have dug a hole into its fabric, creating a channel that led somewhere too distant to sense.

The fabric of space immediately got to work to fix the damage, but fingers ending in black, sharp fingernails grabbed the hole’s jagged edges, interrupting its shrinking.

Long black hair peeked out of the hole, followed by the rather ordinary shape of a muscular human man. Except for the blue tattoos on his right arm and shoulder, there didn’t seem to be anything exceptional about him, but no one on the scene even dared to harbor such misconceptions.

Heightened perceptions were relatively useless on the newcomer. He wielded no aura that experts could sense, no widespread or powerful existence. Still, his sole presence brought a sharp change to the atmosphere, making it heavy and oppressive.

The lack of aura didn’t imply darkness. The experts on the scene could sense the newcomer but saw him as something too dense and blinding to conceive, as if his figure contained too much energy for their brains to process.

Yet, the truly shocking aspect lay in the instinctive reactions the newcomer’s arrival caused. The God could trigger a sense of inferiority inside evolved warriors or beings in a lower state of existence. Still, that black-haired man’s presence dealt with something more primitive and basic.

Humans, Thilku, Ef’i, Kros, Scalqa, Fuveall, Orlats, Niqols, and even members of the Scarlet Eyes’ army suddenly became aware of something their advanced civilizations had long since overcome, but that their genes didn’t forget.

Food chains were natural rules that every living being was aware of since birth. That knowledge was outdated and atavistic, but not forgotten, and it showed its existence and relevance in the presence of that newcomer.

At once, everyone knew that they were prey, while the newcomer was a predator, someone whose very biology rightfully put him at the apex of every food chain.

And the God experienced those instinctive reactions, too, obviously in far tamer fashion, but he felt no surprise. He knew who, or what, had stepped into that separate dimension. After all, he had faced and defeated similar bloodlines before and deemed them inferior.

The hole in the sky quickly closed while the man turned toward the messy scene on the ground. His long hair tried to get in the way, but nothing could stop the dark light his eyes radiated.

Everything on the ground suddenly darkened, as if a cloud had appeared in the sky, shielding the surface from a star’s sunlight.

Color tried to disappear from the battlefield under that obscuring gaze while the oppressive atmosphere intensified, deepening the soldiers’ instinctive fear.

Luckily, the event was short-lived. Red light flashed over the battlefield, only for the newcomer to have disappeared when the world retrieved its natural illumination.

Of course, no one had such misconceptions. The oppressive atmosphere was still there, as well as the sense of being nothing more than cattle, meaning that the black-haired man hadn’t left.

Yet, the newcomer had definitely moved too fast for anyone to follow, with only two exceptions to the trend. The God obviously could track him, and Liiza had never needed to do anything of the sort since she knew where he would have gone.

Nevertheless, the ability to track didn’t imply a capability to react. The God saw everything but remained a step behind. He could close that gap, but he understood the newcomer’s intentions, so he played along.

As for everyone else on the scene, everything unfolded so quickly that it might have very well been instantaneous. Actually, even the world failed to keep up with the event, only catching up in the next second to show its consequences.

A thunderous noise exploded, deafening everyone, shaking even the sturdiest perceptions. Gales blew at the same time, so violently that even some evolved warriors felt forced to crouch down and cover their faces.

And, throughout that catastrophic event, only one person remained straight and fearless.

Liiza ignored those wild consequences, her perception somehow immune to the thunderous noise. The gales tried to close her eyes, but they remained open, shining on the man now standing in front of her, replacing the God.

The man had changed during that short separation, but Liiza only felt a sense of familiarity that awakened old memories. She knew that black hair. She had actually fallen in love with that man when his hair was still black.

The God had disappeared, being nowhere to be seen. The space above the newcomer was distorted, almost ready to crack, seemingly hinting at where that superior existence had flown off to, but Liiza didn’t bother to inspect those details.

Instead, Liiza kept her gaze straight, and a dark glow eventually matched it. A hand also rose toward her cheek, and she lay on it, instantly feeling warm but also experiencing the cold she transmitted into that palm.

"[Did I make you worry]?" The man asked, wiping the cold, wet trails on Liiza’s face. "[I must be a terrible husband]."

The situation hardly had room for jokes, but Liiza giggled anyway, rubbing her head on that warm palm while reaching for the man’s chest. Her fingers scratched the spot where his blue scar used to be before she planted her hand on his sternum.

The powerful heartbeat that resounded through Liiza’s palm filled her with strength, as well as reassurance. That was the very man she had married, her one and only love. Khan might have changed for everyone else, but not for her.

Still, Liiza didn’t reply. There was no time for that. She shook her head, leaving a kiss on Khan’s warm palm before straightening herself, finishing wiping off the tears that had stopped flowing down her face.

Khan lingered for an additional second in the inspection of his wife before diverting his darkening gaze. He couldn’t even fathom how far his perception stretched now, but his senses failed to spot two of his companions anyway.

Lord Blind Sword and Lord Mighty were missing, which could only mean one thing. Despite Khan doing his best to hurry after the God, someone had still paid the ultimate price, deepening his already immense debt.

It was thanks to the Emperor that Khan was where he was now. Lord Blind Sword and Lord Mighty had also probably bought enough time for him to arrive before the God did anything to his wife, and things didn’t end there.

Khan owed so much to the Thilku Empire that he struggled to think where he would be without its support. That species had been the real game-changer in his political career, becoming far more than a mere ally.

The Thilku were irreplaceable friends, so Khan would shoulder their weight for the rest of his life. Khan would do so even if he had to lead them. Still, precisely due to that affection and debt, he decided to show respect first.

Khan’s obscuring gaze moved again, stopping at the two Royal Guards. Lord Enforcer and Lord Envoy showed a proud, firm stance, sharing their dead companions’ resolve, and their spines didn’t waver even as Khan stepped toward them.

However, when Khan stopped, his tattooed hand moved, rising to reveal the oversized, golden ring. The two Thilku wanted to show no fear and keep matching that gaze, but spotting the item almost broke their stances. After all, they recognized it and knew what it meant.

Seeing the golden crown basically confirmed that the Emperor was dead, but Khan spoke in a perfect Thilku accent before the two Royal Guards could delve into reckless reactions. "[I wish to have the honor of wearing this during the next battle]."