Chaos' Heir

Only a few received the update about Khan's departure. He informed his inner circle before secretly hopping on a concealed ship that brought him off the planet.

Khan didn't know the crew, but Rebecca had handpicked it, vouching for it. The group was small, with only a pilot, a technician, and two soldiers with specific roles, and Khan's senses cleared them as soon as he laid his eyes on them.

The destination was classified and known only to the pilot. Still, Khan learned that information and more once he questioned him. A quick review of the intended route enabled him to fly the ship, but he let the crew handle it.

The atmosphere inside the ship was highly respectful. Even without saying anything, the crew knew Khan was in charge. The two soldiers were also ready to attend to his every request, but he barely spoke. Khan didn't even drink or eat. He could only think about the Nak, and his mindset added pressure to the symphony.

The crew was well-trained, so Khan's pressure didn't affect their work. He kept himself busy, using the sole living quarters to clean himself from head to toe. The crown, war paint, and pelts had become his standard appearance, but he wanted to avoid potential contaminations when dealing with the Nak. The lab would scan him, but it didn't hurt to take additional precautions.

The ship had sets of simple tracksuits, so Khan donned clean clothes and spent the rest of the trip on the main deck. The new attire didn't diminish his authority or pressure, but the pilot had enough experience to ignore his presence and focus on the controls.

Baoway existed between the vast domains, but Khan didn't need to fly all the way back to the Harbor or similar locations to avoid potential repercussions with the Empire. The borders were quite clear, and Rebecca wielded enough power to make things as comfortable as possible for Khan.

Reaching areas officially owned by the Global Army would take entire days, but Rebecca's special privileges cleared a far closer location. She even flew the lab there, adding structures Khan had requested during previous meetings.

By the end of the first day of travel, a few structures appeared on the ship's scanners. Three rectangular buildings hovered in the middle of space, connected only by metal bridges. Engines popped out from their bottom and top but released no energy. A mana barrier soon became visible, and the vehicle flew toward it.

Of course, the ship performed all sorts of security protocols before crossing the barrier and entering the small hangar. The area was clear, and the secret codes exchanged between the vehicle and buildings confirmed their authenticity. Everything was going according to plan.

A small group of soldiers welcomed Khan's arrival. The crew left the ship with him, but no pointless pleasantries flew after the first round of salutes. The troops directly escorted Khan outside the hangar while handing him a device carrying relevant information. He quickly learned about the structures' layout, but the screen didn't stop at that.

After the hangar, a reinforced hall unfolded. The many protective layers made the place's surfaces impenetrable even to Khan's senses. He was sure synthetic mana flowed under the metal around him but couldn't feel it.

That was a state-of-the-art training hall, something even the Harbor didn't have. Khan could also guess that part of the machinery involved was classified and monopolized by the loftiest parties in the Global Army. However, that priceless wonder of technology was nothing more than disposable junk for Rebecca.

The sight left Khan impressed but not surprised. The training hall was part of his requests, and inspecting it reassured him. That place could probably survive a new Milia 222, which Khan half-hoped to trigger.

The inspection didn't slow down the march. The soldiers stopped before the hall's exit, letting Khan advance alone. The door opened into a cylindrical metal bridge, which Khan crossed to reach the next building.

Once the new door opened, a different scene unfolded in Khan's eyes. The central, smaller building was the trip's core target, and its environment confirmed this. A series of white medical coats filled his vision, but he looked past them, focusing on the interactive tables and transparent containers.

Khan's nape released a strange sensation. Something on the other side of the door was calling him, but the feeling was faint. It was clearer than what he had experienced on Milia 222 and Cegnore but lacked intensity.

Questions invaded Khan. The new clarity probably resulted from the training with the blue plants, but its implications were annoying. Khan had accepted them but couldn't control how he felt. Maybe he was closer to a real Nak now.

The urge to barge inside the lab tried to take over Khan, but he suppressed it, crossing the door only when the scientists gave the okay. The area after the entrance featured a small glass room that handled the decontamination process, and Khan waited inside it until the machine cleared him.

"Prince Khan," One of the scientists called as soon as Khan exited the glass room. "According to Princess Rebecca's orders, all of this is yours. The same applies to us. Don't refrain from questioning us."

Khan didn't even nod. His eyes scanned the room, and the new perspective allowed him to see every showcased item. His urges roared whenever he spotted the familiar azure color, but something bigger eventually prompted his legs to move.

The scientists moved aside as Khan advanced toward a relatively hidden corner of the lab. A tall transparent container stood there, almost connecting the floor to the ceiling. Still, Khan only had eyes for the motionless figure inside it. He nearly couldn't believe he was seeing it outside his nightmares.

Long, thick arms, six-fingered hands, huge legs, three eyes, and azure skin filled Khan's vision. He also noticed the absence of hair or neck. Everything was the spitting image of his nightmare, but he was finally seeing it for real now. Only a thin layer of glass separated Khan from a proper Nak.

Khan seemed to fall into a trance. His eyes remained still while absorbing every detail the dead Nak carried. Its torso had three large holes, with one at the center of its chest. Burn marks covered those cavities' edges, hinting at the cause of death, but everything else was intact.

Nevertheless, Khan's mind quickly reached a conclusion. That corpse was nothing like the alien in his nightmares. That blue flesh had lost too much mana. Even without most of the body, the hand battled on Milia 222 had been closer to a real Nak.

'What did you do before my arrival?' Khan wondered. 'Damn you, Raymond.'

Khan had partially hoped he could revive the Nak flesh, but that short inspection almost killed the idea. He would still try, but something told him that Raymond had done far more than patch up a few injuries, and he didn't know if he could replicate the outcome.

The Nak's third eye eventually attracted Khan's gaze. The alien's eyes were closed, but Khan didn't focus on them. His forehead had begun to itch in the exact spot where the Nak had that additional body part.

That wasn't Khan's first time experiencing something similar. The mental trip caused by the green substance had also caused related sensations, and Khan instinctively brought his hand to his forehead. He half-expected to find an eye there, but his fingers only touched skin.

Needless to say, Khan wasn't as calm as his cold face tried to convey. His aura had grown more suffocating with each second he spent before the corpse, and the scientists could only do their best to endure it.

Khan's thoughts also only existed in a sea of wild urges. A few years ago, he would have directly destroyed the container, the corpse, and anything in a ten-meter radius. He wouldn't have even minded his position, status, or danger. Yet, his maturity made him able to avoid giving in to those unreasonable desires.

It took a while, but Khan eventually collected himself enough to devise a strategy. He didn't want to but still diverted his gaze, running it over the rest of the lab. He had to start somewhere, and a suitable choice quickly appeared.

"What's that?" Khan asked, nodding at a container near the other side of the lab. He also tapped on his device, searching for the relevant information.

"Half a foot, My Prince," One of the scientists said, using all her strength to avoid stuttering under Khan's heavy aura.

"Deliver it to the previous hall," Khan ordered. "Activate the defensive protocols afterward."

"Yes, My Prince," The scientist announced, and her companions promptly echoed her words.

Khan didn't even hear the reply. His legs began to move before the scientist could answer, driving him back to the metal bridge. He shot one last glance at the intact corpse before returning to the training hall. Its time would come, but Khan had to start small first.

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