Theoretically, the giant needles were floating, lacking any real foundation or balance. However, they didnât move at all in front of Khanâs instinctive spasms, telling him exactly how firm they were.
It was as if the needles had nailed Khan to the purple-red sky, preventing him from moving, turning his every attempt to escape into a torturous experience.
And things were even worse than they looked.
The needles had pierced Khanâs joints, immobilizing him both virtually and structurally. The wounds were also big enough to remove any sensation from his hands and feet, and his arms and legs seemed ready to follow.
Attempting to move would worsen those injuries, but remaining still was already doing that. Beams, sparks, and more were continuing to crash in the surroundings, only for the needles to endure them easily.
The situation was so desperate that Khan instinctively considered ripping off his limbs, hoping he had enough nutrients to regrow them. Yet, he didnât do anything since his brain was still busy processing the worst aspect of the whole matter.
The injuries and predicament were indeed terrible. Watching the full extent of the chaos elementâs unrestrained violence having no effect on the God was also quite disheartening.
Still, Khanâs brain had stopped far earlier than that because he knew a terrible truth. If it werenât for the pain he felt, he wouldnât have noticed the needles so soon.
It sounded impossible, but the reality was undeniable. Somehow, the God had basically defeated Khan without him even realizing it.
Khan could have accepted if the God had relied on some sort of superior cloaking technique to hide his attack, but nothing similar had unfolded. The needles had simply been too fast for Khanâs survival instincts to react to them.
That also meant that the God could have killed Khan on the spot, giving him no chance to react or even notice his own death. His grand, legendary life would have ended just like that, without even the opportunity of feeling regret.
Khan had always known that the True Chaosâ God was stronger than him, but that gap surpassed his worst predictions. The difference was so vast that Khan couldnât even begin to calculate how much he needed to improve to hope to match that superior being.
Despite the grand speeches and miraculous alliance of an entire universe, hopes had never been high. However, Khan saw an insurmountable wall before him now.
Luckily, Khan hadnât come alone. The Emperor saw everything and went through the same thoughts. He also experienced similar traces of despair, but he had never been the type to waste time in pointless thoughts.
The God looked unbeatable, but that couldnât stop the Emperor from charging forward. Since no plan or solution seemed to exist, he would give his all and continue to attack, fighting to his last breath instead of falling prey to despair.
The Emperorâs charge displaced massive amounts of air but also involved something else. He had understood Khanâs plan and even agreed with him, so his attack took that into consideration.
The Emperorâs vast existence spread to reach the spherical areaâs very edge before advancing with him, seemingly acting as an ethereal wall that pushed the purple-red light pollution with it.
The masses of mana, still busy releasing lightning bolts, flames, and more, exploded at the wallâs passage, unleashing all their violent energy on the spot, creating expanding storms.
Then, the Emperor reached the God and thrust his punch forward, his gesture almost turning his aura visible. The purple-red air twisted, seemingly giving a physical form to his existence, which exploded outward.
The single punch turned into a hundred, and then hundreds more. The Emperor might have clashed with the God, but his aura launched attacks everywhere, mimicking his gesture to assault the whole spherical dimension.
The detonation of Khanâs mana and those partially visible punches finally caused a reaction in the area. Its previously invisible and almost unnoticeable boundary dimmed, gaining a somewhat visible black color.
Nothing broke, but a deafening, deep groan invaded the separate dimension, as if the densest metal in the world was bending. The sound was so loud that Khan felt the urge to cover his ears, only for the needles to prevent that instinctive reaction.
Still, there was something else that interrupted Khanâs instinctive urge.
The Emperor had clashed directly with the God, but not in the way he had expected. Without the Emperor noticing it, the God had half turned, stretching his right arm to meet the incoming fist.
And the outcome of that clash was the same as everything else that had landed on the God. His smaller palm didnât budge at all. Instead, the Emperor was forced to endure the blowback of his massive attack.
Of course, the Emperor had focused on attacking. He had expected to hit a wall, but not to have to deal with the full power of his attack. Besides, his arm was already damaged, so it just exploded.
Blood spurted out as cracking noises resounded in the area. The Emperorâs arm bent sideways before breaking and bursting open. His forearm detached itself from the rest of his body, floating upward to fill his view.
Time seemed to freeze, but not for the God. As soon as Khan and the Emperorâs brain updated them, that superior existence had already moved again, this time to address the still purple-red sky.
The God merely waved his hand, and any trace of Khanâs mana disappeared, including the consequences it had caused. Everything Khanâs element had created and unleashed vanished as if it had never existed in the first place, restoring the separate dimension to its natural darkness.
Khan opened his mouth, sparks gathering in his throat, but even they promptly disappeared without the God needing to do anything else. Khan tried to spit a beam again, only to find himself unable to summon his mana.
To be precise, Khan could still circulate his energy inside his body. He simply couldnât release it. It seemed the separate dimension had a no-mana rule now, which nothing in his power looked able to defy.