Chaos' Heir
chapter-863

Khan told his story in the best order he could find. He started with the nightmares and slowly revealed the clues and answers he had picked up throughout his travels, ending with the

visions from the dark-green substance.

Lieutenant Dyester and Abraham kept their mouths shut throughout the tale, connecting mental dots and reevaluating their knowledge over multiple fields. Abraham could apply the story to his scientific experience, while Lieutenant Dyester reviewed many certainties he thought he knew about Khan.

The men's silence continued even after the story was over. That whole ordeal was too heavy to absorb in a few seconds, and Khan merely drank from his bottle and stared at the opposite rocky wall in the meantime.

Abraham and Lieutenant Dyester occasionally glanced at Khan, but their eyes always returned to the ground. The tale was unbelievable, but Khan was no liar. Also, his revelations explained part of his behavior and some scientific rumors, adding validity to the story.

Abraham's specializations didn't cover those fields, but his mind still explored the topic, making full use of his expertise. His loyalty to Bret, Elizabeth, and Khan made him emotionally engrossed, but Lieutenant Dyester beat him to it.

Lieutenant Dyester had known Khan since his first days in Ylaco's training camp. He had also kept track of his adventures, ultimately reuniting with him and joining his inner circle.

That long friendship featured many inexplicable details, which Lieutenant Dyester justified with talent and a superior mindset developed in the Slums. However, Khan's story provided answers that cleared some gaps and added better explanations for his overall behavior and life decisions.

How could a sixteen-year-old boy endure such tough sparring sessions? Why did Khan always work so hard? Why did he hate sleeping? Why did he never take breaks? Everything made sense after the story. Every question received an answer, often in the form of Khan's original

curse.

"Since when?" Lieutenant Dyester asked. He could guess the answer from the story but wanted Khan to say it.

"Since I got this," Khan said, casually lifting his bone armor to show the blue scar.

Calculations happened in Lieutenant Dyester's mind. Khan had already lived with his curse for eleven years before joining the Global Army, and he did that while being no more than a child. The pain from their sparring sessions was probably nothing compared to what he experienced every night.

"Is the mana anomaly still ongoing?" Abraham questioned.

Khan lifted his free hand, straightening his forefinger and releasing a strand of his mana. The energy's purple-red glow temporarily fought against the blue light before dispersing into the cave's air.

"Who else knows about this?" Lieutenant Dyester wondered.

"Monica knows everything," Khan revealed, taking a long sip from his bottle. "My father knew, too. The few others only know about the nightmares."

The concern for Khan slowly waned, replaced by a greater issue. As much as Abraham and Lieutenant Dyester wanted to inquire more about Khan's mental state, the scarlet eyes' universal threat was a bigger topic.

"Did you try to warn anyone?" Abraham asked. "The Global Army, the Empire, or-."

"Who's going to believe me?" Khan interrupted, finally moving his eyes away from the rocky wall to look at Abraham. "Every proof is in my head, genes, or inside some rotten Nak corpse."

"But looking for the Nak might-" Abraham tried to continue.

"I found some Nak remains," Khan interrupted again. "Rebecca had some and let me experiment on them. Apparently, my element is the key to evolving past mana and defeating this enemy."

The two men could only stare in silence as Khan resumed looking at the empty wall. His life went beyond what the network depicted. Until now, he had fought a secret battle, finding answers to questions only he knew about.

That almost sounded impossible. Khan's fame had made his life public, including his many struggles. Realistically, the hurdles he had faced shouldn't have left him with any free time. Yet, Khan had somehow still pursued his secret goals, successfully achieving most of what he wanted.

In short, Khan was even more impressive than what the public thought. Moreover, he was also working on preparing the world for the scarlet eyes' arrival. There seemed to be no end to the pressure on his shoulders, but it took his father's death to show some of it.

"Is that why you have pursued alien methods?" Abraham asked.

"No," Khan explained. "That came earlier, and my first spell was an accident. I wasn't sure I'd survive it."

"Why did you cast it if it were so risky?" Lieutenant Dyester wondered.

"I was dead anyway," Khan said, shrugging his shoulders. "Might as well try." Lieutenant Dyester had to suppress the urge to slap Khan's head, which wasn't hard. He didn't like how Khan treated himself but hated himself more for missing that whole deeper story. Even worse, Lieutenant Dyester felt angry about understanding Khan's mindset.

"These scarlet eyes," Abraham mentioned, "Do you know what weapons they use?"

"No idea," Khan replied. "I only know the Nak feared them enough to launch genocide attacks on multiple species."

"They might have had other reasons," Abraham commented. "Fear is a strong motivator, but-."

"Oh, no," Khan interrupted, looking at the scientist and pointing at his head. "I know because I feel the same fear. The mutations have implanted foreign emotions into my brain." Lieutenant Dyester could only drink. Each revelation added a new layer of sadness to Khan's life. It was a miracle he could still live a relatively normal life after enduring the curse for so

long.

"But you said this enemy can hurt mana itself," Abraham reminded Khan. "How can

something hurt mana?"

"The anti-mana project came close to it," Khan stated.

"The anti-what?" Lieutenant Dyester questioned.

"Right, that was classified," Khan realized. "It was something they were building on Ecoruta, some energy that could counter or nullify mana. The project was killed."

"Wait a moment!" Abraham exclaimed. "My Prince, such a substance could change society and humankind as we know it! Its effects might spread to other species, too!" "That's what the big dogs said," Khan revealed. "That's why we killed the project. Well, I didn't stay there until the end, but I trust the man who handled it."

Lieutenant Dyester and Abraham felt they were going crazy. They had been alive for a long time and had plenty of experience, but each of Khan's revelations seemed able to revolutionize their idea of the universe.

"What-" Abraham said, clearing his throat. "What about the evolving-past-mana part? Is something you can do through your alien methods?"

"I taught you those," Khan pointed out. "Can you use them to evolve mana itself?"

"I-," Abraham muttered, pondering the issue. "I wouldn't know where to begin." "Neither do I," Khan sighed, focusing on his bottle. "The dead Nak said that claiming their inheritance would do it, but I'd rather handle the matter myself before finding them."

The conversation had desensitized Lieutenant Dyester and Abraham so much that they didn't even react to the talking-dead-Nak part. Their knowledge of the universe was clearly flawed, so everything could be on the table now.

"Can't you already surpass your element?" Lieutenant Dyester questioned.

"Surpassing it is a stretch," Khan commented, lifting his free hand to draw bright lines mid- air. A rune soon took form, and red flames engulfed it when Khan punched it. "This is a trick," Khan explained, letting the flames fall on his palm and closing his hand

before they could burn his skin. "I just draw the meaning for fire, and the mana does

everything else."

"The meaning for fire?" Abraham asked.

"Yes," Khan confirmed, focusing on his friends. "You see flames and copy their meaning. It's

simple, really."

The two men were completely lost. Their mouths would hang open if they had any less composure. Khan was speaking their language, but his words made no sense.

"Right, I forgot," Khan realized. "You can't see the mana."

"See the mana?" Lieutenant Dyester repeated.

"I can see it with my bare eyes," Khan explained, waving his hand between the two men to

imitate waves. "You know it's everywhere, right? Well, I can see it."

"With no techniques?" Abraham questioned.

"It must be something about my eyes," Khan guessed. "Bret thought my alien methods and mutations joined forces to develop my body in that direction."

"Always?" Lieutenant Dyester asked. "Do you always see the mana?"

"I can't really stop it," Khan admitted. "I can darken my eyes, but they'd still see the mana."

"Even now?" Abraham wondered, inspecting his surroundings. "Around us?" "Even inside you," Khan revealed. "Do you want to know what color yours is?"

Abraham and Lieutenant Dyester instinctively looked at their chest before lifting their eyes

again. Khan had a way of making the people he inspected naked, but the truth went beyond that. No one could actually hide themselves from his eyes.

"It's not a big deal," Khan scoffed. "I've been like this for years. It sometimes gets too bright, but I can't really complain. It actually helps with politics, so there's that."