Chaos Heir

Chapter 1363: Hunger

The evolution was a dangerous process that every warrior had to undertake seriously, after countless preparations.

After all, the process was meant to elevate and transform the very nature and composition of someone’s existence. Failure would almost always lead to troublesome and potentially deadly mutations, which would prevent the warriors from attempting the evolution again in the best-case scenario.

Colonel Norrett was one of the best-case examples. His failed evolution didn’t kill him, but it left him internally scarred and partially mutated, a state that humankind didn’t know how to tackle.

If it weren’t for Khan’s discovery of the toxic substance on Baoway, Colonel Norrett would have probably never gotten the chance to attempt the evolution ever again, let alone succeed at it.

The Niqols relied on a different, more organic approach, but the process was no less dangerous. Khan didn’t know the details, but attempting the evolution on a random, isolated planet with no external support was simply reckless, even for a Shaman of Liiza’s caliber.

Still, Khan could never change Liiza’s mind, and she was already inside her frozen pillar. Moreover, she wasn’t the type to leave such important matters to chance. If she had decided to attempt the evolution now, she had to have been confident.

Also, Liiza’s reasons weren’t hard to understand, especially for Khan. The war was coming, so she had to get as powerful as possible for her husband, her daughter, the Niqols, and the universe.

Besides, not evolving had never been an option for Liiza. She had already planned to do so when the Niqols wanted her to become an Elder. Now, she needed strength to remain at Khan’s side and help against the Scarlet Eyes, and any place would do. Her surroundings hardly made any difference to her.

Khan stared at the white pillar, inspecting its half-transparent insides while his figure kept floating mid-air. Some worry manifested itself when he recalled Liiza’s vows, but unshakeable trust quickly replaced it.

That trust didn’t waver even when Liiza’s figure grew paler inside the pillar, her skin mimicking the ice’s fabric. She was transforming in ways only she could understand, and Khan could just continue to believe in her, which he did.

Actually, there was something else Khan could do, something that was quite compulsory for himself and the universe as a whole. He lingered a few more seconds in his inspection of the frozen pillar before turning, his gaze growing stern as his eyes fell on the spinning sphere.

Khan’s big boasts and casual manner didn’t make the spinning sphere any less dangerous. That item threatened to charm and capture his very being by merely existing. Its knowledge promised more than mere salvation and answers. It embodied something that bordered on godhood.

Khan had to thank his grudge against the Nak for his relative innate tolerance toward those appealing sensations. His general curiosity tried to work against him, but that feeling wasn’t strong enough to make him waver.

Yet, Khan didn’t have to stare at the spinning sphere or merely fly in its presence. He had to absorb it, and that could cause problems that his innate tolerance and general resilience might be unable to fix.

’This will be like the Great Old One’s memories all over again,’ Khan considered, ’Won’t it?’

The process promised to be far worse than that, but Khan had a vague solution in mind. He was only after the spinning sphere’s energy, not its knowledge. Despite being a waste, he had to give up on that unavoidable series of enlightenments to protect his sanity.

’How do I even want to tackle this?’ Khan wondered, his figure rising higher, crossing his legs once he stopped above the whole valley. ’The [Blood Vortex] will probably work, but it’s about time I improve it. I have to absorb a whole planet this time, too.’

Improving the [Blood Vortex] wasn’t strictly necessary, but Khan had no reason to hold back on it, especially due to the assignment’s magnitude. It wouldn’t even take any significant time since his new version would use his understanding of the Niqols’ runes.

’Absorption is too vague,’ Khan considered. ’I don’t really have any emotional connection with it, either.’

Theoretically, the Niqols’ runes couldn’t express complex meanings, and the [Blood Vortex] fell into that category. Even Khan’s version relied on an intricate arrangement of lines that carried specific functions, giving birth to quite a tangled symbol.

However, Khan didn’t use the Niqols’ runes. He relied on the theory behind them, but his application was highly personal. The intended meaning didn’t have to be simple in general. It only had to be simple for him.

The [Blood Vortex] had accompanied Khan for over a decade. His ability to translate and improve it through the Thilku’s runes vouched for his mastery over the technique. It was natural to him, so his mind saw it as simple despite its various functions.

Khan only had to find a word, or a specific expression that conveyed what he wanted to do in its entirety now.

’Meditation feels too boring,’ Khan brainstormed. ’What about eating? No! Hunger! Hunger is cool.’

Khan didn’t hesitate to summon his mana, his gaze growing lost as he focused on filling his energy with a specific, profound, and complete meaning so that it could assume the required shape.

The hallucination on the Scarlet Eyes had given one of Khan’s spells a peculiar shape, and the same went for the [Blood Vortex]. His mana gathered before his torso, creating a stylized, triangular head, which opened its mouth to show its long fangs.

The external influence was evident there. Khan’s mana had reacted to his genes and his awareness of where his issues with increasing his attunement with mana came from.

Khan’s body wasn’t even close to being human now. The Great Old One had changed his genes forever, showing its face now that he had to fix that problem.

That peculiar shape caught Khan’s attention, but he mostly focused on its functioning. Pieces of the valley immediately broke down into raw energy and flew in his direction, creating brighter azure trails that converged into that reptilian mouth.

When the energy reached the purple-red head, its fangs shattered it even further, allowing Khan to absorb it as soon as it entered his body. His very cells helped the process, greedily devouring that mana, almost preventing its storage due to their efficiency.

That already was an improvement from the upgraded [Blood Vortex]. Still, Khan only acknowledged his success when the reptilian head’s suction force started affecting the spinning sphere, making a white-azure trail of that energy escape it and fly toward him.

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