Chaos Heir

Chapter 1608: Blessing

Khan wasn’t requesting anything official or permanent, not yet anyway. That wasn’t the time for politics. Those talks could wait until the universal war was over.

Truth be told, Khan could have avoided mentioning the issue at all. He couldn’t exactly wear the golden crown on his head. It simply didn’t fit. Yet, no one could stop him if he decided to carry it with him in battle.

The gesture could also sound superfluous. After all, a crown didn’t have any real use in battle. Khan could easily do without it. However, it wouldn’t feel right due to how much the Thilku Empire had invested and sacrificed in that war.

Khan wanted that symbol of Thilku’s leadership to be present during what was supposed to be the final clash in that universal war. It deserved to join it as much as he did.

Lord Envoy and Lord Enforcer obviously hesitated. Things were far different from their perspectives. Khan seemed to have just confirmed the Emperor’s death, but looked ready to replace him before the two Royal Guards could even process the news.

Moreover, the golden crown carried deep meaning to the Royal Guards and the Empire as a whole. It wasn’t a mere item that could be traded off or handed out to random warriors. That was the symbol of the Thilku’s leadership, which Lord Envoy and Lord Enforcer were ready to die to protect.

However, Khan wasn’t a nobody. Sure, he belonged to a different species, but those details had no real meaning among the Thilku. He had become a rightful member of the Empire the second he had been crowned Lord.

Also, Khan was someone who had received the Emperor’s acknowledgment. The latter had given no official announcement about that, but the Royal Guards knew about his higher standing. They even shared that sentiment on a personal level.

Now, Khan had even changed. Whatever had happened to him during the short separation, the two Royal Guards understood that his power level had increased drastically.

Nevertheless, despite wielding power that the Empire was compelled to respect, Khan had still asked for permission. He had become a being that could directly take anything in the world, but he had still sought the Royal Guards’ blessing.

The gesture showed understanding and profound respect for the Thilku’s ways, forcing the two Royal Guards to dismiss any reservations the request might have raised. At once, they knew Khan was doing that for the Empire, harboring no secret agendas.

Khan wanted to represent the whole Thilku Empire in the next battle, and the Royal Guards could only experience the pride of having such a loyal, resolute companion.

Without needing words, Lord Envoy glanced at Lord Enforcer, and the latter stepped forward, his primitive fear seemingly waning as he stretched his six-fingered hand toward Khan, hovering it over the golden crown.

The Thilku didn’t know why, but Khan’s presence reassured him. He felt he could use his mana now, and energy did leak from his huge palm, enveloping the golden crown to alter its rules.

The crown shrank seamlessly, neither breaking nor bending. It didn’t even lose any mass. Lord Enforcer’s rules simply condensed it into a more suitable size for Khan’s head before retracting his hand.

There could be far more to it. The moment only needed a single detail to become a revolutionary, official event. It would be enough for either of the Royal Guards to put that crown on Khan’s head to change his status permanently, but nothing of the sort happened.

Both Khan and the Royal Guards seemed to have a silent understanding about the matter, so he brought the crown to his head on his own, placing it over his long black hair, finally keeping it still.

Afterwards, Khan vanished, too fast for anyone to notice or follow his departure. Even Liiza couldn’t keep up with him, but the protective vibe that echoed through the mental connection made her predict what was about to unfold.

Khan left, but the atmosphere remained oppressive, trembling to voice a deep, firm, almost ancient statement that transcended any language barrier. "You move, your world dies."

The voice expanded everywhere, spreading on a level even those without hearing organs could listen to, but still causing physical consequences that revealed its true target.

The no-mana zone the God had enforced had left the regulated universe’s soldiers and the Leviathan-class ship defenseless against the True Chaos’ influence, powerless to do anything against the surrounding, pitch-black clouds.

However, the voice carried a precise weight that split the clouds apart, crushing their structural integrity by mere virtue of the domineering will it carried.

In a way, those few words resembled an attack of some sort, even a spell. Yet, no mana had spread in the area. What Khan had released had been nothing more than a sound, but its effects were catastrophic.

The clouds of True Chaos dispersed, exposing the bloated-backed monsters and warriors within them. Moreover, that energy’s annihilating properties disappeared, giving the regulated universe’s troops a chance to retreat, recover, and consolidate into a better defensive position.

As for how a mere voice had been able to affect an energy’s very properties, no one truly knew. Even the experts among the elite group were at a loss for ideas in those matters. They could only accept that they had witnessed a realm far above theirs.

Meanwhile, Khan rushed through that separated universe, his figure accelerating through space, gaining more speed as he grew accustomed to his new state.

Sadly, that trip barely lasted a few seconds. Somehow, Khan had become too fast for his own mind to conceive. The experience felt both natural and incomprehensible, but the situation didn’t give him time to dwell on those thoughts.

That was because Khan had reached his destination. Far away from the single celestial body, in the depths of space, the one-horned God had been waiting for him, and he was now facing him.

"[You fused your paths]," The God conveyed through his mental messages. "[You even built upon my True Chaos, but it’s disappointing to see that you have rejected godhood]."

Khan didn’t reply. His dark eyes remained fixed on that one-horned figure, finally seeing its true colors and nature for the first time. That physical shape was indeed something the God had built to make things easier for Khan and the Emperor, but his actual existence extended far farther.

Actually, there was no place where the God’s existence didn’t extend. After all, he had said it himself. The next step in his evolutionary path was the universe itself, and he had already made progress in that field.

Because that simple, one-horned body wasn’t the God. The God was the very separate universe Khan and his companions had invaded. That was the extent of existence, and what Khan had to kill for good.