Chaos Heir

Chapter 1547: Shame

On the other side of the battlefield, far on the left of the no-longer-flying mountain, the Emperor was in a far dimmer environment.

The chaotic land the Source had created by unleashing a torrent of True Chaos did shine with dark light, but its glow was incomparable to what was happening on the right side of the battlefield. Khan was facing actual stars, and their radiance ended up claiming the Emperor’s gaze.

Still, strangely enough, that distant light remained limited to its side of the battlefield, as if unable to invade the other perfect son’s domain. The Emperor could only watch it from afar, as if gazing at a star from inside the safety of a planet’s orbit.

The scene was truly magnificent, but the Emperor focused on features that had little to do with that spectacle of blinding lights. He sensed the incredible power on display and experienced bottomless gratitude, as well as profound shame.

The gratitude was toward that unlikely companion the Emperor had found outside his Empire. The crowned Lord Blue Shaman had given him the greatest gift an existence at his level could ever desire.

Khan had given the Emperor a suitable battlefield where he could finally fight again and show the full extent of his power. He had rekindled the flame of excitement in the Emperor’s life, granting him the chance of expressing what he had always had to restrain.

Because, truth be told, the Emperor lived a sad existence. The very power that had put him at the peak of the regulated universe had become a curse, turning into shackles that chained him down to a dull, confined life.

The Emperor couldn’t disown his power because it would be an insult to his efforts and achievements. Still, he couldn’t even unleash it onto unworthy foes since it would only bring him shame, leaving him quite stuck, forced to rely on his Empire to spread his will.

Nevertheless, that was a compromise, a boring solution to a problem with no remedy. The world simply lacked worthy opponents who could force the Emperor to act personally, but that wasn’t the case anymore, and he owed that to Khan.

The Emperor could now fight and express himself without using his Empire as a proxy. In a way, Khan had freed him, and he wanted to pay him back, only for that desire to give birth to profound shame.

Years and decades of inactivity couldn’t just vanish overnight. Habits developed and solidified throughout enforced, methodical stillness wouldn’t just fade as if they had never existed because the situation demanded it.

The Emperor found himself in that precise predicament. He had all the power and excitement in the world, but his body couldn’t keep up.

Actually, there was nothing wrong with the Emperor’s body. He was in his peak physical shape, but everything still felt sluggish.

No matter what the Emperor did, the rhythmical pace he had developed to restrain his immense existence got in the way, preventing him from unleashing the full extent of his power.

Hence, the Emperor felt utterly ashamed. Despite receiving the best gift he could have asked for, his performance was unbecoming, stopping him from enjoying that present while also failing to meet his benefactor’s expectations.

The comparison with the other side of the battlefield worsened that feeling. Khan and his opponent were going all-out, unleashing everything they were capable of.

However, there the Emperor was, failing to do the same, finding the predicament unforgivable.

Of course, the Emperor was being hard on himself. He had merely lost one exchange, which wasn’t much of a defeat in the first place. Being pushed away wasn’t a big deal.

Still, the Thilku Empire didn’t work like that, and the Emperor embodied its traits to their utmost extreme. His pride couldn’t allow weakness for even a fraction of a second.

But the problem remained and wasn’t something that pride or shame could solve. The Emperor didn’t have the time to get rid of those terrible habits he had developed. Yet, there was another option.

The sudden arrival of a black figure interrupted the Emperor’s privacy. The Source jumped over the land of his own creation, crossing incredible distances in a single leap, only to land on the slope in front of the Emperor.

"[Did you realize the gap in our abilities]?" The short-haired alien asked, showing his intact palms. "[As my counterpart, you share many of my qualities, but you are a child of an outclassed energy]."

The Source wouldn’t normally waste time in pointless talks, but he believed the Emperor’s lack of immediate counterattacks came from an acknowledgment of his inferiority.

Yet, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

The Emperor didn’t bother responding. There was no point anyway. Instead, the newly formed ground under his feet exploded due to the sudden leap he performed.

Of course, that simple leap transformed into a groundbreaking event due to the Emperor’s immense existence. The initial explosion was only the first of the debris that blew outward due to the violent earthquakes his action caused.

The newly formed land started to crumble already, unable to withstand the tremors that ran through its fabric. Yet, both warriors disregarded their surroundings, focusing on the exchange and its unbelievable conclusion.

The Emperor’s figure embodied the same violence unleashed onto the land, reaching unfathomable speed in no time while shooting at the Source.

The impact was equally groundbreaking. The slopes and land behind the Source exploded as soon as the Emperor slammed his shoulder on his raised palms, generating storms of debris that continued to crumble.

However, the Source didn’t budge. The short-haired alien remained in the air despite the incredible force that had landed on his hands, completely stopping the Emperor’s charge.

There obviously was more to the alien’s feat than sheer physical strength. His palms had released a torrent of True Chaos, which the Emperor had tried to push back, only to leave it condensed between his shoulder and his opponent’s hands.

That gave the illusion of complete stillness, but the truth was different. The Emperor was still advancing, crossing one millimeter at a time, pushing back the energy the Source was releasing.

Still, the pressure on the Emperor grew stronger with each passing second since the Source was continuing to release energy, ultimately overwhelming him.

The Emperor depleted his momentum, falling prey to the never-ending torrent of energy, which finally blew out of the Source’s palms to crash over the still-trembling lands.

Another world-sized tsunami of True Chaos covered the area, lifting it and forming chaotic mountain chains that quickly solidified. Multiple quadrants had appeared out of nowhere in mere seconds, burying the Emperor under them.

Yet, the Emperor wasn’t someone who could be buried so easily. The new lands stabilized the area, but short tremors soon spread again, until a geyser of debris rose in the distance, featuring the Emperor inside.

The Emperor climbed his way out of the rising debris, quickly landing on solid land while stretching his shoulder. He wasn’t hurt, but he wasn’t unaffected, either.

"[Warrior of the True Chaos]!" The Emperor called, shouting in his native language. "[Keep doing that. My battle instincts will need more than this to reawaken]."