Chaos Heir

Chapter 1598: Genius

The line wasn’t an actual object. It wasn’t even a line. Its true nature quickly became clear, revealing itself as a seemingly endless, extremely narrow, diagonal cavity.

The world had split without being cut. Two different time flows had taken control of it, making its affected parts move in opposite directions, creating that separation.

Strangely enough, nothing broke. The solid world didn’t register that eerie effect, which also started receding, converging toward the King. Soon, the frozen cavern stopped moving, finding stability in its new, odd shape, only for the alien to continue splitting.

The ground had tilted, or rather, one side had slid down, while the other had risen, creating quite the uneven foothold for the King. Yet, he didn’t feel any discomfort since his figure had followed the same trend, his right side standing on the higher edge, while his left side was on the lower.

The gap was barely a few centimeters tall, but it inflicted gruesome consequences on the King. His physical symmetry was completely off, with half his head peeking over the other half, revealing its gory, fuming insides.

The same went for the alien’s waist and chin. Their left sides were below their counterparts, exposing their innards, which were still trapped in that opposite momentum.

Still, since the world had stopped moving, the King’s halves didn’t go up or down, but their fabric kept striving for that trend, until everything came crashing down on him.

The splitting momentum suddenly waned. The red symbols on the ice vanished, too, restoring the cavern’s natural whiteness. However, the King failed to focus on anything beyond his physical form.

The True Chaos immediately fixed the King, placing his split halves back into their correct position, but the injury didn’t close. Glowing smoke kept blowing from where he had been separated, failing to make him whole for good.

And the King couldn’t force himself to heal. He found himself unable to straighten his thoughts and control his energy to fix his split body. His two halves were still absorbing the shocking event, failing to attune back to the same time flow, and the same went for his existence.

The attack hadn’t only affected the King’s body. If anything, that had been a mere consequence of its successful blow on its actual target. Liiza had never aimed at the world but at the layer of time where it existed.

So, the King felt mentally split, too, half of his mind going downward, while the other one rising. It was as if he had become two different entities that couldn’t find common ground, creating pure distortion.

One half of the King gave an order, only to find out that the other half had already given it, creating destructive confusion in his energy flow. The opposite happened, too, where one side believed that the function had begun, only to see it unfold several seconds later, failing to match its timing.

That profound miscommunication caused more damage than good. Odd pieces of flesh grew alongside the fuming injury, while chunks of skin disappeared on the other side of the wound.

Blood vessels and even partial organs took form and melted into smoke, unable to understand where they were supposed to be, go, or if they even had to exist in the first place.

It was pure, chaotic confusion that afflicted the King’s very ability to exist, but that waned, too. Evolved warriors were profoundly firm existences in the end, especially those fueled by a superior energy like the True Chaos.

After what seemed like an eternity, the King finally managed to close the long wound and reattach his body, reclaiming complete stability over his existence.

However, the alien felt no satisfaction or reassurance. He would be drenched in cold sweat if his body could react in that way. He might have fixed himself, but the experience had scarred his very soul.

And that scar materialized in the shape of profound terror toward the white-eyed, dark-blue figure in the cavern. Liiza hadn’t moved during that distorting destruction, but her still, emotionless figure had never been more chilling.

"[What are you]?" The King couldn’t help but ask, his strange whisper uncharacteristically loud, conveying his panic. "[You can manipulate the True Chaos and split time! I refuse to believe the mana hasn’t chosen you]!"

"[My husband is the only one in the universe that deserves to be chosen]," Liiza declared. "[He earned that right through pain and blood]."

Everything about the King shook when red shades returned to the environment. More scarlet symbols rose through the ice, adding their ominous light to the white radiance.

"[I’m not sure I can convey what this means]," Liiza continued, "[Not that your kind deserves explanations. I’m merely what’s called a genius]."

The King never wanted to experience the previous attack again, so he disregarded any self-preservation or innate defense, unfolding his fuming wings as much as possible while summoning all the True Chaos at his disposal.

Four, uneven clumps of True Chaos quickly gathered over the fuming wings, starting to twist the surrounding space. Still, to the King’s terror, a familiar pressure fell upon him and slowed down his technique.

"[Though I have to admit]," Liiza added. "[I might be the greatest talent my species has produced in centuries]."

White light started to invade the clumps of True Chaos, freezing them completely before moving onto the King’s wings. Part of his energy stopped responding to him, delaying his efforts long enough to trap him in the enemy’s technique.

"[Of course, it wasn’t just due to my species]," Liiza explained. "[I’d be a block of ice if it were up to the Niqols, but I was saved]."

Something in the inescapable pressure grew deadlier. Even Liiza’s white light gained piercing features, seemingly on the verge of learning to kill with her mere gaze.

"[The mana is gone now, but you are still around]," Liiza said, lifting her tattooed arm, showing the pale-red, bleeding mark on her palm. "[I’m glad I can still make someone pay for what my family has endured]."