Chaos Heir

Chapter 1543: Bloodline

The Emperor had adopted his methodical, almost rhythmic, pace to contain his impossibly vast aura, applying that habit to his gestures and very voice.

Meanwhile, Khan had stopped being a permanent, walking calamity after uncovering the true nature of his element. Nothing blew up anymore unless he wanted to, almost making him appear weaker than he actually was.

The trip inside the relatively brittle ship and among weaker companions had also applied limits on what the Emperor and Khan could unleash, but that wasn’t the case anymore.

The two three-horned aliens weren’t only opponents that neither Khan nor the Emperor could underestimate. The surrounding world was also expendable.

There was nothing Khan and the Emperor had to be worried about destroying, removing any possible limitation from their existences in a way that neither the regulated nor the pocket universe had ever experienced.

Everything shook as the Emperor let his energy and drives flow freely through his body and aura. The sole bulging of his muscles unleashed earthquakes and shockwaves that made the very concept of matter resonate with his suffocating excitement.

Meanwhile, Khan let his violent side go wild. The destructive aspects of his element invaded his surroundings, infecting them with a purple-red halo that generated thundering sparks.

The result of those removed limiters was pure chaos. The black surface shattered everywhere, and its debris crumbled even further, turning into rising trails of energy that resembled open wounds.

The destruction was so widespread that Khan, the Emperor, and the two aliens lost their footholds, leaving the four hovering above broken debris and raw energy. Nothing in their immediate surroundings could exist, except for a single, gigantic structure.

Everything around the mountain was falling apart, except for the mountain itself. Its fabric looked immune to the Emperor’s suffocating existence and Khan’s destructive will, even keeping its elliptical portal perfectly stable.

It reached the point where the ground under the mountain shattered, only for the latter to remain in its place, hovering like a permanent landmark in that crumbling environment.

Whatever was keeping the mountain stable was stronger than the Emperor and Khan’s passive existences, but they didn’t focus on it yet. Their opponents’ states prevented any distraction.

Just like the now-floating mountain, the two three-horned evolved warriors showed no surprise or meaningful reaction to the impact with those oppressive auras.

Khan and the Emperor shot forward at the same time, crossing themselves to reach their respective opponents, causing violent impacts that vastly surpassed what their auras had unleashed.

Khan had unleashed his real speed, but the long-haired alien had reacted to it, crossing his arms to block his instantaneous kick.

Nevertheless, while the alien’s arms endured the blow, his figure didn’t. The evolved warrior shot backward, flung away by a force his flying technique couldn’t hope to oppose, ending up far behind the floating mountain.

Meanwhile, something similar unfolded between the Emperor and the short-haired alien. The former charged forward, amassing even more momentum than what he had unleashed when destroying the celestial body, only to see his opponent remaining in one piece.

That was a revolutionary experience for the Emperor, like finding a toy he could actually play with. The short-haired alien even pushed it one step forward, raising his arms to block the charge.

The Emperor’s huge shoulder slammed into the alien’s far tinier hands, pushing both away, making them cross disappear somewhere far behind the floating mountain.

Khan watched the exchange unfold while appearing before his opponent, keeping his gaze on the distancing Emperor and short-haired alien until they got too far away to inspect with his bare eyes.

Even Khan would have problems enduring the Emperor’s shoulder charge, but his opponent’s arms didn’t shatter or anything, allowing that prolonged push to happen.

The same went for the long-haired alien. Khan hadn’t held back anything with his kick, but his opponent’s arms were fine, albeit still crossed.

"[We learned about your physical capabilities]," The long-haired alien announced, lowering his arms, not surprised that Khan was in front of him. "[You wield a power that is neither mana nor True Chaos but is resistant to both]."

That information network didn’t surprise Khan. Humankind could achieve something similar without being born from the same energy, and the True Chaos had already somewhat acknowledged him.

"Are you about to tell me that the True Chaos developed something similar?" Khan wondered. "The mana did that, too, but it was quite disappointing."

Khan’s surroundings changed color during that short exchange. His existence automatically tainted the world around him, creating an expanding purple-red halo.

"[No]," The long-haired alien stated. "[The True Chaos met and defeated creatures of similar prowess and deemed them inferior]."

"Then, my bloodline is an exception," Khan argued, "Seeing how its influence can make the mana resist the True Chaos."

"[As interesting as that would be]," The long-haired alien said, "[You are mistaken. That path is a dead end. It can create monstrous bloodlines but can’t evolve into godhood]."

"The universe is boundless," Khan responded. "Countless paths can be true and correct at the same time."

"[You are wrong again]," The long-haired alien rejected. "[Gods are superior but specific beings. Their powers extend past the individual without forsaking it]."

There was a deep, wise lesson to be learned there, but Khan’s curiosity never had a chance to win. The situation was too severe and time-sensitive for those sides to appear.

"Look, I’m not that smart," Khan admitted, scratching his head, "But I know that if I kill you and your Father, you are wrong."

"[Did you forget what my twin said, Khan, son of Bret]?" The long-haired alien asked. "[Our dear Father shared part of his divinity with us, first and most perfect sons]."

"Yes, the whole shard of magnificence thing," Khan recalled, waving his hand dismissively while sparks gathered behind him. "It wasn’t that magnificent."

"[Our little brothers can only imitate divinity]," The long-haired alien explained as chunks of the shattering soil stabilized, creating tiny rivers of debris that converged into his palm.

The process wasn’t anything special. That world was made of True Chaos, so controlling it to condense into a single point wasn’t exactly impressive. Khan could do the same with anything his energy tainted.

Nevertheless, those rivers of debris never stopped condensing, eventually escaping what Khan could sense. All the converging True Chaos disappeared inside a dot too small to see, before something akin to an explosion of scorching energy flashed outward.