Chaos Heir

Chapter 1599: Anxiety

Torturous, melting pain had never stopped afflicting Khan’s very existence, gradually shrinking it, tearing it apart piece by piece to prepare to reforge it.

Yet, Khan’s cells kept opposing the process, delaying it and creating enough breathing room for him to focus on the elliptical screens, allowing him to inspect his companions’ victories.

The event was obviously reassuring. Khan hated nothing more than to send people to their deaths, so witnessing the widespread success of the elite team gave birth to some genuine but naive happiness.

Still, the ellipses disappeared after each victory, with Liiza’s being the last, restoring that spherical separate dimension to its empty blackness, reminding Khan of his terrible predicament.

No fiery smoke had started to burn Khan’s skin yet, but he could sense that his existence was about to give in to that invading force. Moreover, he was still pinned to the sky by the ten needle-like slabs that had pierced his joints, and the break was over now.

"[A perfect defeat]," The God announced through his comprehensive mental messages once the last ellipse was gone.

The outcome didn’t sadden the God at all. His message carried no trace of that feeling. It was a cold, calculated conclusion that didn’t affect him in the slightest.

"[My progenitor’s creations will provide the new foundation for my sons]," The God added, declaring. "[The True Chaos’ ranks will be born anew, elevating themselves to a state more suitable to aid my ascension to the next step]."

Khan’s glowing eyes widened in pure terror. He would have known what came next even without the God’s mental messages’ comprehensive meanings, and that awareness hurt more than his torturous transformation.

"Wait!" Khan cried. "Don’t even think-"

Sadly, the event Khan was anxious about unfolded before he could finish his panicked plea. The God stepped forward without listening to, addressing, or even glancing at Khan again, an elliptical gate opening and closing during his gesture.

Just like that, the God had disappeared. He had left the spherical separate dimension, going to the last place Khan ever wanted him to be. The God had moved his attention to the rest of the elite team now, and Khan could easily imagine how tragic that clash would be.

And Khan had seen his fair share of tragedies. In a way, his whole life had been nothing but a desperate struggle. Yet, he had finally found some peace. He had experienced happiness he had never thought would come to him, and the God was about to tear it apart.

The sole thought of what could happen to Liiza made Khan disregard any notion of self-preservation or reason. He didn’t even think at all. He simply knew that he had to go after the God, no matter how pointless that was.

Khan tried to release his mana, only to fail spectacularly. He hadn’t forgotten about the no-mana rule the God seemed to have imposed on that separate dimension. His mind simply had no room for those thoughts anymore.

Moreover, Khan didn’t actually have mana to use. His cells and energy were full at work to delay the melting transformation applied to existence. The process would resume going at full speed if he removed any of those hindrances, but death stopped being part of his thoughts, too.

Self-preservation instincts that stemmed from Khan’s very being stepped aside, overpowered by his bottomless anxiety. He didn’t care what happened to him as long as he could chase after the God right away. He had no plan at all, but his body began to move upward, ready to rip off his pinned-down limbs.

Meanwhile, Khan felt as if his being had suddenly shrunk. His existence began to dwindle at a far higher speed now that his strength was elsewhere, and fiery, darker-than-black smoke even appeared on his right foot, marking the advancing transformation.

Of course, the transformation reaching the new stage brought another wave of pain incomparable to the previous one. Khan’s very soul was burning, spreading a kind of debilitating suffering that tried to shut down his every function.

However, Khan’s brain was beyond registering any pain. He was hardly lucid at all. Nothing else could exist in his mind until something approached him, forcing him to restore an ounce of awareness.

Khan’s glowing gaze focused before that foreign mass of flickering smoke. He lifted it, too, following that fiery True Chaos, eventually finding a fuming, unclear head peeking down at him.

At that point, Khan recalled that he hadn’t come to the separate dimension alone. Someone else had joined that fight, only for him to not exist anymore. Whatever his companion had once been, he looked too far gone now.

Without ancient horror’s genes and superior mana to delay the transformation, the Emperor had turned into a humanoid mass of smoke, the entirety of his body and existence replaced by that fiery True Chaos.

The process was still ongoing, or at least it looked like it was. After all, both the God’s Kings and perfect sons had more solid shapes.

Sure, that could be the new iteration of the Scarlet Eyes’ ranks the God had talked about, but Khan’s hunches said otherwise. If anything, the Emperor’s current state looked like a foundation ready to be molded and reforged into a new, improved shape.

As for who could accomplish such a final touch, that role obviously fell on the God.

Nevertheless, Khan didn’t linger in his hunches or subconscious realizations at all. He didn’t waste a single second dwelling in despair or sadness. His bottomless anxiety led to anger since he knew the fuming Emperor was checking up on him, doing the God’s bidding.

"[Is this what the leader of the greatest species ended up as]?!" Khan shouted, his mouth mustering a perfect Thilku accent. "[Did you accept subservience so easily]?!"

The humanoid mass of fiery True Chaos didn’t reply but moved his huge right hand on Khan’s head, pressing on it to oppose the upward momentum generated by his cells.

Needless to say, that only fueled Khan’s anger.

"[So much for your pride]!" Khan cried, uncaring of the fiery True Chaos spreading over his other foot. "[So much for defying death! You bring shame to the Thilku Empire]!"

Once again, the fuming Emperor didn’t reply. He didn’t move again, either. Forcing Khan to undergo the transformation was the God’s wish, and he would see it fulfilled.

"[The Thilku deserve a better leader]!" Khan roared. "[I won’t stand for them to be insulted like that! I’ll kill you and take over]-."

Khan couldn’t finish his line since something filled his vision, darkening it completely. The fuming Emperor’s other hand had descended toward his face, delivering a punch that the entire separate dimension felt.