Chaos Heir

Chapter 1361: Punishment

Anyone would have found it hard to take Khan seriously. Despite the solemn, even fateful situation, his tone remained casual, seemingly ready to crack idiotic jokes.

It was as if Khan didn’t realize how serious and significant his intentions and possible consequences were, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Removing the Nak and that version of the mana would stop its expansion, or at least slow it down until the regulated universe found other ways to taint other beings.

Moreover, dispatching of the Nak would make Khan the regulated universe’s last hope of defeating the Scarlet Eyes. There wouldn’t be any following attempts anymore, no alternative paths. Everything would be in his hands, and his failure would mean everyone’s defeat.

Keeping options and alternatives open would be the wise move. Khan didn’t know how much energy the Nak had left, but they could probably run away again, resuming the forceful expansion of the mana for a while in the hope of creating a new, more accommodating heir.

However, Khan needed to complete his attunement, and the necessary energy for that process seemed to be right before him. Part of him also felt entitled to that mana after bearing its curse for so long, and that was without mentioning the ancient horrors’ birthright.

Moreover, the idea of letting the Nak run amok didn’t exactly sit well with Khan. The mana had made mortals able to accomplish miracles, but Khan had also seen what it had left behind.

The blue planet with the twisted vegetation was probably only one of the countless instances of that terrible drawback. Far more were likely scattered throughout the universe, and Khan didn’t want to add a single one to that already unfathomable number.

The Nak remained silent under Khan’s attentive gaze. Despite his tone, he was completely serious about taking the spinning sphere and the planet for himself, even going as far as fighting for it if necessary.

The Nak’s hesitation in giving an answer gave birth to an electric tension. Liiza grew colder by the second, ready for battle, while Khan could blow up the whole place with but a thought. They wouldn’t accept a refusal, even if it came from the mana itself.

Yet, the refusal never came. It turned out the Nak had never once considered that option.

"If that’s what the heir created by the manufactured evolution wants," The Nak said, "The mana won’t oppose it. Khan Sodsi completed the implanted path, so his will is the Nak’s will."

"Good!" Khan exclaimed, turning toward the spinning sphere. "I guess I can get this thing started then."

That agreement should have dispersed the tension, but Khan’s aura grew denser, intensifying it. The whole valley started trembling, and pieces of its azure edges even blew up, turning into dust and energy that floated toward the sky as if they were gravity-defying bleeding wounds.

"But let me be clear," Khan added, continuing his inspection of the spinning sphere. "If I find out my nightmares haven’t gone away, I’ll come back here and wipe out every trace of the mana."

The earthquake kept raging for a few seconds before everything calmed down. Khan only wanted his threat to go through. He preferred not to destroy anything since he planned to turn everything into nourishment for his attunement.

"Khan Sodsi completed the implanted path," The Nak repeated. "This celestial body and the structure protecting it will also disappear once the heir removes the mana’s heart."

"Ah! I’ll believe it when I see it," Khan stated. "Well, I’d better start."

"The mana’s heir made his decision," The Nak exclaimed. "The Nak’s purpose is complete. We wish Khan Sodsi good luck in the battles to come."

The Nak probably didn’t believe in luck, but that was how Khan’s brain translated the alien’s strange way of speaking. Still, he hardly cared about that. Khan was so over the matter that he didn’t even turn to inspect the following development.

The Nak in the valley disappeared in the same way they had materialized. Their kneeling figures evaporated, their bodies turning into gaseous mana that rejoined the planet’s atmosphere.

The alien next to Khan was more solid than its companions, but its body also started to evaporate, albeit slowly. Trails of energy escaped the Nak’s figure, diminishing the mana inside its body, making it ready to disappear.

Still, while Khan had already stopped caring about the Nak, Liiza hadn’t. A raging tide of chilling killing intent seeped through the mental connection as she stepped forward, swiftly reaching the last evaporating alien to place a hand on its broad torso.

"[Did you believe you could die so easily after cursing my husband]?" Liiza asked, her words conveying her emotions, employing the Nak’s tongue.

Unlike almost everyone in the universe, Liiza knew what Khan saw every time he slept. Many now knew about his nightmares, but she had actually seen them in Zalpa’s cave. She was aware of what the Nak had put Khan through and for how long, making simple death unsuitable as a punishment.

"[Your mana will disperse because my husband needs it]," Liiza explained, her hand turning white, ice replacing her fingers as they seeped into the Nak’s body without opening any wounds. "[But you are an individual existence. That can’t die yet]."

A cold sensation spread through the Nak’s figure while its body continued to evaporate. Soon, the alien lost any trace of its azure color, marking the lack of mana inside it, but a white, ethereal shape had replaced it, leaving it frozen but technically alive.

"[You’ll remain in this state]," Liiza declared, withdrawing her hand while it regained its natural shades. "[Even once this place and everything around it disappear, you’ll remain here, alone, in the emptiness of space, unable to move. Unable to die]."

Liiza took a step back, proudly staring up at the white, ethereal face, meeting the gaze of the three frozen eyes pointed at her.

"[You cursed my husband for twenty-three years]," Liiza said. "[After two centuries and three decades have passed, I’ll allow you to die]."