Chapter 1275: Story

Prince Thomas, Princess Rebecca, and Alexander were political monsters. Some were better than others, but all three had received the best education humankind had to offer and had fought in that field for decades.

Moreover, the trio wasn’t clueless. Khan hadn’t shared everything with his relatives, and they knew better than to ask. However, they had done their separate research, especially Princess Rebecca. They were aware that the Nak and Khan harbored a secret, which he seemed ready to share now.

Therefore, despite some surprise and curiosity, Prince Thomas, Princess Rebecca, and Alexander’s façades didn’t waver. The trio retained utmost seriousness, pretending to have always been aware of the matter to create a united front against the Kros.

Meanwhile, the Kros were utterly lost. The unreadable writings inside the enneagram scrolled faster than ever, probably processing any information that could shed light on that mysterious request, but their records had nothing conclusive.

“What are these Scarlet Eyes?” The sphere eventually asked, exposing its ignorance over the topic.

Khan studied the enneagram for a few seconds before lowering his gaze. He had made his decision but didn’t plan on how to approach it. The fate of the regulated universe was probably at stake there, too, so Khan didn’t want to sound like a complete lunatic, either.

Prince Thomas, Princess Rebecca, and Alexander partially broke their façade to inspect Khan. Their gesture didn’t reveal anything specific, but their mana exposed their interest.

The same went for the Kros. They were a curious species, so uncovering something that nothing in their databases could explain stirred their interest.

Instead, Liiza didn’t move at all nor change her firm stance. Whatever happened, she had to show utmost support since Khan was her husband and his words didn’t carry an ounce of lie.

“The Nak’s wanton attacks aimed at spreading the mana as far as possible to create what can be translated as a host or heir,” Khan revealed, his scarred, tattooed hand rising toward his chest to claw itself to the blue scar.

“They wanted to create someone who could surpass their species,” Khan continued, slowly lifting his glowing gaze to the enneagram. “They needed to because the mana has an enemy they can’t defeat.”

Khan realized his mistake as soon as he finished speaking that line, but there was no way around it. The idea that mana had a consciousness or a will could be revolutionary or even sound mental to a technologically inclined species, but it remained the truth.

“The Nak hid this knowledge in their genes,” Khan added, trying to make his explanation more scientific. “The genes I carry. The genes every Tainted creature carries. Most go insane before obtaining it, but I didn’t.”

Inhuman strength started to flow through Khan’s fingers. His fingernails applied more pressure on his skin and were almost about to pierce it, but a cold hand closed itself around them, lowering them and making them relax.

“I spent twenty-two years exploring this knowledge,” Khan revealed. “Enduring it. Fighting it. Chasing all kinds of clues and exploring alternative arts that could help me make some sense of it.”

Khan lowered his glowing gaze again. His mind didn’t waver, but recollecting his many experiences and endeavors left him speechless. He almost couldn’t believe how much he had done and for how long, and mere words couldn’t describe it.

The Second Impact, the countless cursed, sweaty nights, the revelations on Nitis, the mana anomaly, the transformation on Milia 222, the conversations with the Nak’s remains, and the answers obtained through Baoway’s toxic substance were only key events inside a sea of endless research, introspections, and mental simulations.

Those key events didn’t even account for the absorption of the Great Old One’s memories, the trip to the Nak’s home world, and the long journey spent gathering the faintest, ancient clues about that destination and species.

Khan couldn’t even fathom how many conversations he had engaged in to uncover more information and secrets. His current status could make the world forget his starting point, but he didn’t.

Khan recalled the struggles, dangerous missions, and efforts focused on increasing his status so that he could approach loftier parties and obtain better answers.

Khan also remembered the many compromises and what they had forced him to sacrifice whenever he was delusional enough to believe he could retain a modicum of happiness. He recalled all the people he had hurt or left behind because of that mission and what it had forced him to become.

That journey truly sounded unbelievable. A mere kid from the Slums had been forced to piece together an immense, mysterious puzzle, but the answer was finally in his hands. Actually, that wasn’t all they held, either.

Khan’s lowered gaze briefly focused on the dark, tattooed hand holding his own. Despite all his suffering, Liiza was by his side, carrying his child, and his forces had finished paving the path toward the Nak’s home world. Khan had won at everything. He only had to prepare the universe for what was about to come now.

“I eventually did make sense of it,” Khan announced, lifting his gaze again. “An enemy that opposes the very mana and life as we know it is coming, and I plan to fight it. I will protect my family, my force, and everyone else. I swore it by my Father’s coffin.”

Khan’s relatives had to divert their gazes at that point. Their façades still didn’t break, but their auras had grown pensive. Their eyes remained firm, but they tried to lose themselves in the many memories that gained new meaning due to that revelation.

“I call this enemy Scarlet Eyes,” Khan declared. “I don’t know what it looks like, where it comes from, what powers it wields, when it will arrive, or why the mana fears it. I only know it will come.”

Truth be told, Khan had made plenty of hypotheses about the Scalet Eyes’ nature, but they were all vague and inconclusive. Besides, that wasn’t the place to create battle strategies, not yet, at least.

“The Thilku Empire and the Emperor are already aware of this threat,” Khan concluded. “But I’ll expand my offer to every force or species in the universe. I’ll grant you access to anything that’s in my power to share. Just fight at my side when the time comes.”