After years of struggle and sacrifice, the miraculous power that could and had already accomplished wonders had become nothing more than another curse for Khan, a weapon he needed to complete his mission.
That sounded contradictory, but Khan couldnât deny it. His understanding of the mana was leagues beyond others, but even his broad mind couldnât escape that pitfall.
Khanâs understanding went even further than that. The symphony reflected in his glowing eyes wasnât mere energy. It had a will and a purpose, but that was the world, and he was different.
Despite being the heir to the Nakâs mission, Khan was Khan. His mana was his own and didnât necessarily abide by the tragedies that originated from the Second Impact. Doing that had given him power, but his life featured much more. He was much more, especially now.
âI did resent you,â Khan thought, seemingly talking to his own mana as he lowered his eyes to the figure in his arms. âYou caused me so much pain, but I wouldnât have met her without you.â
Khan heaved a helpless sigh, refraining from cursing himself again. Liizaâs now-frozen figure didnât hint at anything good, but he could at least move her without worrying about hurting the baby now.
The shorter alien had respected his companionâs silent warning, but watching Khan lift Liiza changed his mind. He freed himself from the taller alienâs grasp, glowing smoke coming out of his fingers as he slashed his hand downward.
Five fuming slashes flew at Khan and Liiza, but he didnât even look at them. They were short-lived anyway. Their structure became unstable after crossing a few meters, abruptly losing their momentum as they released the energy they contained, creating a dark cloud.
The shorter alien couldnât even begin to understand what had happened. Theoretically, nothing in Khanâs power could have made his spell disperse, but that conclusion was undeniable.
Meanwhile, the taller alien added that strange event to the collection of his vague hunches. The situation seemed to have been reversed. He and his companion had once been the ones in possession of an energy Khan couldnât understand or counter, but he was wielding something similar now.
Those hunches and the general surprise intensified when Khan peeked behind his shoulder. His simple gesture generated a gentle gale that blew the black cloud away, exposing his glowing gaze on the two aliens.
The taller alienâs face grew sterner, while his companionâs grin closed, giving him an unusual serious expression. Khan quickly turned to leave, and the two enemies let him, probably out of respect or something else.
Khan didnât unleash his full speed but still crossed a long distance in no time, hopping through the sky to exit the white landmass and reach the fried ship on the grey sand. Zalpa was hiding behind its hull, inspecting the battlefield from that safe position, so she noticed his arrival.
"[Zaza]," Khan called, gently landing before Zalpa, who quickly straightened her stance. She looked too stunned to complain at how Khan had addressed her, and the figure in his arms took priority anyway.
"[That girl actually did it]," Zalpa cursed, leveling the sand with her foot, silently telling Khan to place Liiza down. "[She said she would resort to this if complications arrived, but to actually see it]."
Khan gently placed Liiza down and caressed her hair while Zalpa started to check her. Liiza had partially frozen herself in a curled-up position, but that didnât hinder Zalpaâs inspection.
"[Lii is fine but wonât be for long]," Zalpa announced once her hands landed on Liizaâs belly. "[The baby is still draining her of nutrients, and waking her up will take more of those]."
"[I trust you]," Khan exclaimed, standing up, seemingly ready to leave. "[Iâll leave her in your care for a bit]."
"[Khan]!" Zalpa called, half-shouting out of fear that Khan could disappear on her. "[I-. Lii will need you. She canât do this on her own]."
"[Donât worry]," Khan reassured, mustering a faint smile. "[Iâll come back soon enough. I canât see myself losing anymore]."
Zalpa didnât specifically say it, but her words had involved Khanâs well-being. She was basically telling him to survive the battle and come back.
"[Also]," Khan continued, his gaze lingering on the curled, frozen, beautiful figure on the ground. "[I canât really leave Liiza on her own after she continues saving me]."
Khan was about to leave when Zalpa said one of the most surprising statements he had ever heard from her. "[Khan, you saved her, too. You must realize this]."
Khanâs eyebrows arched in surprise, but Zalpaâs serious face and the situation prevented him from cracking jokes. He diverted his gaze, nodding to himself, accepting a truth he had always tried to dodge out of guilt and bad habits.
"[Yes, I guess itâs time I realized that]," Khan sighed. "[Iâm sorry for being so slow, Zaza, and thank you for all of this]."
"[Keep your gratitude to yourself]," Zalpa snorted. "[Just, make sure to come back]."
Khan threw a smile at the old Niqols before disappearing, shooting back toward the landmass and his two opponents. His feet soon returned to the smooth, white ground when he was still at some distance from them, and his pace slowed down as his mind dealt with something mandatory before the battle could restart.
Thundering sparks and gales of purple-red energy flowed out of Khanâs figure as he strolled toward his opponents. A trail of blinding and crackling mana rose into the sky, condensing and following his advance.
âNot enough,â Khan thought, closing his eyes without interrupting his stroll. âCome out, all of you.â
More and more energy and sparks escaped Khanâs figure, filling the sky with a massive, bright cloud that continued to expand, seemingly ready to fill the entire quadrant. The grey color disappeared, and even the while landmass grew purple-red due to the widespread illumination Khanâs mana radiated.
The cloud became gargantuan, making the aliens wary about its size and accumulated power when Khan stopped under them. Still, when his eyes opened, he ignored those opponents, directly lifting his gaze at the mass of energy above him.
"Donât be shy now," Khan teased, and the gargantuan mass of energy shrank. A clicking, thundering cry even spread through the sky as a gigantic version of the Cloud Spell took shape, crackling like crazy while hovering above Khan.