Chaos' Heir

The mana and the manufactured robotic voice didn't show it, but that was the Kros' first truly human reaction, and Khan even recognized it.

The machines, technological inclination, and seemingly emotionless stance had tried to make those aliens pass as a highly rational species. That was probably still true, too, but Khan saw irrational, firm, and undeniable pride now.

That was quite common. Most species took pride in themselves, only differing in the intensity of that feeling. The Kros were also a special case since Khan had ruined their first attempt at expanding beyond their planet.

That species had every right to feel like someone had hurt their pride, but Khan believed there was more to the matter. Despite the presence of a being that the Kros couldn't hope to fight or comprehend, they uttered unwavering declarations.

Well, the Kros had made their metal chairs do that for them, but Khan read between the lines since he could see what the aliens' mana tried to convey.

Surprisingly, the event partially appeased Khan's anger. The effect wasn't evident since that was akin to trying to influence a massive waterfall with a small pebble, but Khan still acknowledged that tiny change.

Truth be told, Khan did more than acknowledge it. After all, he was Lord Blue Shaman and Lord Special Emissary of the Empire. Khan wasn't wearing the Thilku's capes or crowns now but remained a Lord of their species.

"Ah!" Khan instinctively cried, a half-smirk forming on his face. "Your pride is praiseworthy."

Khan experienced the strange urge to pat the third-level warrior's small shoulder but refrained from indulging in it. The Kros would probably misunderstand him, and crossing the second mana barrier to reach that alien might pulverize the ship.

The Kros were indeed confused. That species wasn't clueless about the universe, but those three aliens couldn't possibly know about the Thilku's customs. The trio didn't even understand whether Khan had praised them, but his mind had already moved to the next topic.

"Reaching Coravis is my current priority," Khan announced, turning completely toward the bright liquid passage. "I'll receive the Kros there."

"The Kros are the insulted party," The third-level warrior spoke again through the metal chair. "The Kros demand immediate negotiations."

Khan had just started calming down, but those words tried to rekindle his anger, adding more fuel to it. Rationally, he understood why the Kros had spoken like that. However, a third-level warrior was in no position to demand anything from him.

Luckily, the alien third-level warrior wasn't as clueless as Khan had feared. The Kros had understood his position and Khan's stance, so he added an explanation to his demand.

"All Kros' machines are networked to central mainframes," The manufactured robotic voice said. "The negotiations can start immediately."

The revelation opened a world of possibilities. Communicating in space wasn't hard, especially inside the regulated areas of the universe, but that still required additional actions.

Instead, the third-level warrior had hinted at the fact that the fleet was constantly updating those mainframes. Chances were the Kros as a whole had learned about Khan's presence even before he left his ship to deal with those spherical vehicles.

Khan didn't fear reinforcements. He actually wanted to establish proper relationships with the Kros. Still, they weren't the only ones looking for him, and he didn't know whether their other allies had access to those mainframes and the information they contained.

Humankind wasn't necessarily a problem, either. The Global Army knew better than to attack Khan directly. At most, they would use that information as proof of his misdeeds, destroying the cover of plausible deniability he had created.

The event might also have heavy political repercussions, especially since the other noble families couldn't turn a blind eye to it. Still, Khan couldn't help but view those as secondary problems that his Uncle could handle later.

Meanwhile, the third party in that alliance was an actual problem and Khan's main concern, other than the most insulted of them all. Khan was supposed to be the Niqols' friend and Liiza their sacrificial pawn, but they had both defected to run away together.

Doku was leading the search for Khan, and he wasn't ready to face that old friend, especially in those unfavorable conditions. Currently, Khan had no stable foothold and had the Nele to take care of. He was at a complete disadvantage, and that might force his hand, which he wanted to avoid against the Niqols.

Also, there was another massive problem that the fleet of spherical ships couldn't possibly solve. A different Ambassador might have been able to ignore it for the greater good, but Khan simply couldn't. After all, he wasn't a mere warrior anymore. He hadn't been since Zu-Gru had offered his life to protect him.

"No," Khan refused. "The negotiations will happen in Coravis."

"Prince Khan of the Nognes family," The third-level warrior called. "We assure you that our technology can withstand the ordeal."

"Technology isn't my concern," Khane explained. "You are."

Khan didn't look at the Kros. There was no point. He also couldn't find better words to explain the problem, so he said what he had in mind.

"You are mortals," Khan exclaimed. "If you want to negotiate with me, you bring me a King."

The Kros didn't get the chance to reply since Khan finally stepped forward, crossing the bright liquid metal before disappearing from the few functioning scanners, leaving the Kros' fleet behind.

It was unclear whether the Kros would respect Khan's wishes, but he had already done everything in his power to de-escalate a situation he would have been happy to turn into complete mayhem. Everything else would be up to that species.

As for Khan, he crossed large stretches of space in no time, using his mana as a foothold to unleash his real speed. His figure was less than a blur that no scanner could hope to capture, but the empty darkness remained boundless.

An ordinary person would be nothing short of stranded in Khan's situation. After all, his ship and the Nele's vehicles had kept flying forward while he dealt with the Kros.

That piece of space also didn't have many humanly recognizable landmarks. A scanner with access to star maps and more could have pinpointed Khan's exact position, but he only had his senses to go off and follow now.

However, Khan recalled the path his ship had taken. He had set that course in the end. Also, Khan couldn't lose his sense of direction since the array of asteroids that hid the Nak's home world was an immovable and eternal landmark in his senses.

Of course, the mental connection also played a part.

Khan had a North Star he couldn't avoid feeling, so his uninterrupted, hurried flight eventually brought a change of scenery. A series of smaller ships surrounding a bigger vessel had stopped in the middle of space, eagerly awaiting his return.

The ships' arrangement had changed since Khan had left. The cumbersome vessel's doors were open, and one of the Nele's vehicles hovered before that entrance.

That smaller ship was the sturdiest vessel among the Nele's. It wasn't anything special, but it remained better than the others, especially the cumbersome vehicle. Its location told Khan much, and approaching its open doors confirmed his hunch.

Khan crossed the mana barrier to enter the small ship's simple cargo area. The various metal surfaces screamed and bent at his arrival, and the artificial illumination ceased functioning altogether. Sizzling noises even resounded from behind the walls and ceiling, hinting that something had broken forever.

Nevertheless, darkness never arrived. Khan's glowing eyes shone on the cargo area, and another pair of white lights illuminated him, fusing with his radiance to create a familiar halo.

Liiza was sitting behind a bubbling bucket. Her torn dark hoodie tried to hide its spots, but Khan couldn't possibly miss the smell of his wife's blood. She had probably gotten to work as soon as he left, completing the preparations for his return.

"It's ready," Liiza announced. "Come. Lie down."

Khan was no stranger to that procedure at that point, so he removed the few torn clothes that had remained on him and lay next to Liiza. She immersed two fingers into the bucket to briefly stir its red liquid before bringing them to Khan's body.

"How did it go?" Liiza asked, and Khan couldn't immediately answer since she leaned down to kiss him. Still, that gesture was only meant to welcome him back, so she kept it short.

"I managed not to kill anyone," Khan revealed, sighing. "Even if I wanted to."

"The Kros haven't done anything wrong," Liiza commented, starting to draw the red marks. "We had our reasons, but they don't change their innocence."

"They attacked the ship containing my wife," Khan scoffed. "I'm being merciful by calling us even."

"Oh my," Liiza joked. "My husband is ready to kill to protect his wife."

"It's not just us anymore," Khan added, sliding a hand toward Liiza's waist. Nothing significant had happened there yet, but Khan could feel the difference.

Liiza stopped tracing the marks, and her eyes shone on her blushing cheeks when she looked at the warm hand on her waist. She had to close them to summon a modicum of self-control, but that was hard to come by when Khan mentioned their child.

"[Don't distract me]," Liiza scolded, instinctively switching to her native language. "[The sooner I finish, the sooner you can return between my legs]."

Khan smirked but didn't reply. He caressed Liiza's waist again before retrieving his hand, allowing her to focus on the task.

"[What happened besides you not killing anyone]?" Liiza asked, changing the topic while resuming drawing.

"[I told them we could negotiate in Coravis]," Khan explained, "[Once we return and settle]."

"[Did they agree]?" Liiza questioned.

Khan glanced to his left, illuminating his wife's beautiful, focused, and engrossed face. It wasn't strange for Liiza to ask for details, but Khan knew there was more to it now.

Liiza didn't regret anything about her decision, but she didn't hate the Kros, either. Actually, she felt responsible for their current circumstances. After all, Liiza had been the one to find that species and plan the arranged marriage.

In Liiza's view, she not only betrayed her species but also destroyed her life's work, bringing the Kros down with her. Khan was far more important in her heart and mind, but she would like to fix the problem she had caused if the opportunity presented itself.

"[I'm sure I'll find something worth their time]," Khan reassured. "[If the Kros switch sides, taking care of humankind shouldn't be a problem. Your species is the only variable]."

"[We are strict toward ourselves when it comes to our species]," Liiza muttered. "[I'll probably be cast out completely now]."

"[Liiza]," Khan called, but Liiza promptly shook her head, showing a slightly sad but fulfilled smile while continuing to focus on drawing the red marks.

"[I've already been an outcast once]," Liiza said, "[And a certain stupid human saved me. I failed to serve the Niqols again, but my loyalty is with my family now]."

The word "family" still felt strange to hear for Khan, and Liiza's serious but loving tone deepened those effects. He had yet to acknowledge and realize that he would become a father, but his hand reacted without needing his input, going back to Liiza's waist.

"[It's your fault this time]," Khan declared, "[So my hand stays there]."

Liiza chuckled, reaching for Khan's fingers with her free hand to hold them over her waist. Khan would eventually have to turn to let Liiza draw on his back, but the two didn't mind using that opportunity for some innocent and pure intimacy.

"[The Kros wanted to negotiate right away]," Khan revealed, going back to the main topic to help distract Liiza from the intimate moment. "[They said something about all their technology being connected to mainframes]."

"[It's similar to what we had on Nitis with our cubes]," Liiza nodded. "[They just apply it to everything, apparently]."

"[Well, I refused them]," Khan concluded.

"[Why]?" Liiza genuinely asked. In theory, solving those kinds of problems immediately was usually better, but Liiza's political experience was limited, so she wanted to hear and learn Khan's reasons.

"[Politics have their rules]," Khan explained. "[Everything about the situation was wrong]."

"[Remember where you are]," Liiza scolded. She didn't even need to ask since the mental connection had made her feel what Khan had felt. However, removing those bad habits had been part of her package ever since she was just his secret girlfriend.

"[The Kros I talked to was a third-level warrior]," Khan sighed. "[I could kill him just by thinking about that. What kind of negotiations can I even have with someone like that as a middleman]?"

Liiza didn't need to delve deeper into that subject. She shared Khan's troublesomely powerful status and was literally drawing marks to contain his presence. They weren't beings with whom ordinary people could converse, let alone establish deals.

"[And I am a Thilku Lord]," Khan continued. "[I'm my family's leader, too, and there's an army chanting my name in Baoway. Only a King can suffice as a negotiator]."

"[The masses follow power]," Liiza announced, "[And your curse forced you to exploit that]."

Liiza then stopped drawing the marks, letting go of Khan's hand to reach for his face and tilt it toward her. Her white eyes shone on him, showing a smile that seemed to belong to an innocent, cheerful girl rather than a mature, pregnant, married woman.

"[But Khan]," Liiza called, "[Remember that I only need you. I don't care for statuses, crowns, and wealth. I chose the playful boy from ten years ago as my husband, and that's all I ever wanted. It's all I'll ever want]."