Chaos Heir

'Chaos is life and death,' Khan thought. 'Chaos is fire and water.'

Khan lowered his eyes to the huge fallen tree before scratching his head. He drew a line in the air but quickly waved his hand to disperse it. He repeated the process several times, occasionally adding more marks until a simple rune took form.

The rune activated, and the mana running inside its lines converged at its center, condensing and giving birth to a bright spherical liquid. Gravity affected it, turning it into a drop about to fall to the ground. Yet, Khan caught it with two stretched fingers, and his bright eyes soon moved to the broken trunk.

Khan waved his hand, and the drop drew a watery arc in the air that flew at the split trunk. The attack hit the wood, piercing it as if it were butter. The mana quickly dispersed, but its violent effects continued to rage, opening a series of cracks that further damaged the broken tree.

'Still shallow,' Khan evaluated in his mind. The conclusion had nothing to do with the attack's power. His focus was on the mana he had summoned and the comparisons witnessed during his fight with Bruno.

The Nak's corpse had told Khan to evolve past mana, but he still couldn't figure out its actual meaning. He didn't even want to rely on the Nak themselves to complete that step, but all he had to work with were his experience and knowledge.

Luckily, Bruno and the other evolved warriors had filled one of the gaps in Khan's knowledge. Some of his conclusions came from hypotheses and hunches, but his understanding of the superior level had increased nonetheless. Khan now had a clearer picture and knew where he would put himself.

'The Niqols study the mana before starting their training,' Khan recalled, checking his sides before noticing he didn't bring any booze.

'Instead,' Khan brainstorming continued as his eyes fell on the large hole created by the caved-in training hall. 'Humans start training as soon as their bodies are mature enough and can get their hands on a mana core.'

Khan scanned the hole before a mana wave shot through it. The temporary stability achieved by the terrain crumbled, and each big chunk of soil turned into sand that fell on the debris below.

'The Niqols would already know what their unique element is and what it demands by the time they reach the fifth level,' Khan pondered, jumping into the hole and inspecting his surroundings. His eyes lit up when they fell on a still intact wall, and his figure immediately teleported before it.

'Instead,' Khan continued, pressing his hand on the wall to shatter that metal surface. 'Humans rely on technology to evolve and start understanding their element's true nature only after surpassing the fifth level.'

Metal shards rained around Khan's stretched arm, revealing a hidden space. Multiple bottles stood in that reinforced storage area, and Khan casually seized one before flying back to the surface.

'The human approach is quicker and simpler,' Khan thought, leaning on a nearby tree and opening the bottle. 'Yet, the problems start at the evolution. Also, succeeding doesn't necessarily mean they can wield that power properly,'

Khan had seen an evolved Niqols when his senses had yet to reach a decent level, so he couldn't be sure. However, his reasoning felt sound enough to place that species at the opposite end of the spectrum. It was very likely the Niqols had an easier time evolving and wielding that new power.

'My approach is sort of hybrid,' Khan realized. 'I started as a human, then studied the Niqols theories, advanced through those theories, and then hybrid. I guess the toxic pool counts as human, while this is alien.'

Khan drank, enjoying Baoway's cozy night and lingering on those thoughts. He had merely taken a peek into the superior level but felt like an entire world had opened before him.

'Evolved soldiers are one with their mana,' Khan pondered. 'They are more than blood and bone. They are a different type of existence. As strange as it sounds, they are their aura.'

That train of thought sounded closer to philosophy than reality, but Khan couldn't find a better way to describe evolved soldiers. Moreover, he had seen them with his very eyes, so he couldn't deny those conclusions.

'It's a battle of auras,' Khan continued. 'Techniques and spells can alter the balance, but everything starts with the element's intensity.'

Many would limit that reasoning to spells, but Khan had already applied his element to his martial arts. Admittedly, he had stopped exploring that path for various reasons, but abandoning it didn't sound wise now. ŕåΝꝊʙĚş

'Though,' Khan thought, reviewing his previous application, 'It has to be more than merely sending mana forward with each kick. That would only be using the chaos as energy.'

Other questions popped into Khan's mind. He wasn't sure whether evolved soldiers even relied on martial arts anymore. After all, those superior, almost ethereal existences seemed to conflict with mere punches and kicks. However, Khan had sometimes seen his Transcendent Step working, leaving him dubious.

There was a limit to how much philosophy Khan's brain could handle, and he eventually reached it. He cursed in his mind, trying to clear it of all that metaphysical thinking. He wanted results, so his simulations moved to something more tangible.

'What do I need to do to beat Miss Christen?' Khan wondered. Miss Christen was the weakest evolved warrior he knew, making her his first reasonable target.

'She went through the aided metamorphosis,' Khan considered. 'Theoretically, she shouldn't know how to express her element properly. So, according to my reasoning, her attacks should be far weaker than Bruno's.'

Khan had the vague hunch that he could brute-force his way through Miss Christen's aura. After all, his body had already partially evolved, and his mana had always been more intense than his fellow warriors. Still, that strategy would only work against soldiers at her level and wouldn't ensure victory.

'I can't control how quickly my body evolves,' Khan thought, 'But I can learn to channel my element's true nature and share it with my attacks. Yet, training dummies are useless. Only an evolved soldier can show whether my training is working.'

Khan couldn't help but smirk at the idea of fighting Bruno again. Paranoia aside, he deeply enjoyed unleashing his full power against someone who could handle it. He also wanted to win, but a proper challenge was enough for now.

'As for the stuff about evolving past mana,' Khan pondered, recalling the interaction with Roger's strange element, 'I guess I'll know once I know.'

Khan's unreasonable mental state helped him avoid lingering on problems he couldn't solve. Still, thinking about Roger reminded him about Senerth. The meeting with the Excellencies was the last requirement for the mission, meaning he could set off to conquer the planet.

Khan searched his pelts, finding his phone inside his underwear. He could take his time, but the battlefield was calling him. He wanted to set off as soon as possible, and nothing could start without his explicit order and necessary preparation.

"My Prince," Prince Thomas' voice soon came from the phone on Khan's ear.

"Send word to Lord Exr and Mister Cirvags," Khan ordered. "Everything is ready. We can move to the next phase of the mission."

As much as the Empire respected Khan's authority, he still had to share his plan's specifics. Hililles and Vuter would go to the nine noble families and his allied descendants, so the Empire had to clear their passage and approve Khan's disclosure of classified information.

"I finished preparing our resources for the meeting with the Excellencies," Prince Thomas revealed. "They are ready to be shipped at your command."

"Ship them," Khan confirmed. "Also, tell Mister Bruno he is coming with me on Senerth. I bet he planned to anyway, but it's better to clarify it."

"It will be done, My Prince," Prince Thomas stated. "Should I also alert Mister Parket and

Mister Foxnor?"

"Yes," Khan said. "Send messages to their families, too. Also, make preparations for eventual

losses."

The mission on Senerth would be dangerous. Khan was confident, but war was tricky. Much could happen, especially to two second-level warriors with little experience with the battlefield. Of course, Khan would do anything in his power to keep the two young soldiers safe, but preparing for the worst was customary.

"Of course, My Prince," Prince Thomas exclaimed. He had already planned on doing that, but the issue didn't only apply to Roger and Moses, leading to a silent moment. Khan knew what his Uncle was thinking about and didn't hesitate to address the matter.

"We'll sit down and devise a strategy in the eventuality of my disappearance. It was long

overdue anyway."

"That's perfect, My Prince," Prince Thomas responded, internally nodding at Khan's political

maturity. "Tonight?"

"No, tonight I want to be with Monica," Khan explained. "As for tomorrow, tell Master Carl to rally the Scalqa. It's time to tell them the good news."

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