Chaos' Heir Chapter 1016: Headpats

Chapter 1016: Headpats

Lord Enforcer kept sending his intrusive but soft influence forward until Khan's breathing became regular. Even the uncomfortable feeling in his abdomen disappeared, making him lighter. That change highlighted the damage's severity, but the Royal Guard had fixed it in minutes.

"[Your ears now]," Lord Enforcer announced, lifting his hands to place them at Khan's head's sides.

The same strange influence shot forward from the Thilku's huge palms, fusing with Khan's ears to kickstart their cells' natural functions. The process led to pain once again, but Khan understood it better now. It seemed Lord Enforcer's mana could force a body's natural recovery to activate and accelerate, even healing grave injuries in no time.

Of course, Khan realized that was only part of Lord Enforcer's power. His influence in the Royal Palace had been far more ominous and invasive, affecting some of Khan's functions. It seemed the Royal Guard could both aid and hinder those natural processes.

'Rules, huh,' Khan realized.

That power sounded simple, but Khan immediately understood its devious potential. Negatively affecting evolved warriors' organs was probably hard, but nothing prevented Lord Enforcer from using more sinister methods to inflict damage.

Could Lord Enforcer make a body generate cancerous cells? Could he affect a brain's inputs, messing up with a warrior's key functions? The applications were endless, increasing Khan's wariness against the Royal Guard. He very much preferred straightforward soldiers like Lord Mighty over such insidious characters.

Khan couldn't really hide his wariness, but Lord Enforcer didn't seem to mind it. The Thilku's attention lay elsewhere, and only a few seconds had to pa.s.s for him to disclose it.

"[Your body is...]," Lord Enforcer exclaimed, temporarily falling silent to find the right words, "[Unconventional, Blue Shaman]."

The statement snapped Khan out of his study of Lord Enforcer's mana. He even forgot about his improving sense of hearing to look up at the Thilku.

"[You are complete]," Lord Enforcer explained, "[But unfulfilled. The Empire has interacted with species that followed similar procedures, but yours looks more extreme]."

Khan's eyes almost flashed. He was curious to discover that some species had something close to his unorthodox evolution but also felt it made perfect sense. The Niqols and Nele probably wielded similar theories, albeit far more natural.

"[I can harness my element and acc.u.mulate vast amounts of it]," Khan decided to reveal. " [So, I forced my body to evolve after finding the right reagent]."

That secret wasn't exactly a secret, so Khan didn't mind sharing it with someone far more knowledgeable than him. He actually wanted Lord Enforcer's opinion on the matter.

"[I understand]," Lord Enforcer commented. "[Was it luck that prevented unwanted mutations? Or did your Nak genes play a part]?"

"[My scientists devised a machine to make the mutations h.o.m.ogeneous]," Khan explained.

"[Their feat was a great accomplishment]," Lord Enforcer praised. "[They saved you from a fate worse than death]."

Khan could only agree with that statement. His current state was the culmination of different, often conflicting, fields. He had fused alien arts and human technology, creating something that defied common logic.

Truth be told, the evolution defied logic on its own, but Khan had broken many rules in that field. Reaching the higher realm without fulfilling the attunement with mana's requirement shouldn't have been possible, but he had done it anyway.

'Where does this place me?' Khan wondered while his ears completely recovered. 'Higher than those who evolved through natural induction? Lower than the extreme induction ones?'

Thinking felt pointless, now more than ever, so Khan stopped. The evolved realm had more than simple percentages and stats. Strength wasn't defined by numbers at that level, and only testing himself against more powerful warriors could give him a clear idea of where he stood. Khan looked at his damaged left hand, almost considering trying to summon the cloud's previous shape again before Lord Enforcer reclaimed his attention by moving to his right arm. The healing process there was more evident. Khan still felt pain, but his unblinking, glowing eyes could finally watch how Lord Enforcer's mana behaved, and its effects were slightly disturbing.

Cracking noises resounded from Khan's elbow and shoulder as his bones fixed their damage and returned to their natural position. His limb's insides moved on their own, quickly restoring its original functions.

Khan lifted his hand and flexed his fingers, elbow, and shoulder when Lord Enforcer retracted his healing palms. His limb still felt a bit stiff and numb, but something told Khan that its condition was temporary. His muscles and tendons simply needed time to absorb that forceful and immediate recovery.

Khan kept studying and testing his right arm while lifting his left one. He fully expected Lord Enforcer to finish healing him, but his reply to the gesture said otherwise.

"[I can't heal that, Blue Shaman]," Lord Enforcer announced, claiming Khan's attention." [Your element damaged it, and your element confuses the rules, if not breaking them entirely]."

Khan couldn't help but feel surprised, and his glowing eyes fell on his mangled arm. He couldn't see anything besides cuts and missing chunks of skin, but Lord Enforcer's evaluation probably had to do with his element, so he accepted it.

"[Am I your natural enemy]?" Khan asked, lowering his mangled arm. His tone didn't show it, but he felt like teasing that overly stern Royal Guard. It sounded fun, anyway.

"[Even chaos has rules]," Lord Enforcer stated, unaware of Khan's real intentions. "[Even if it breaks them, you still have your own rules, Blue Shaman]."

The statement sounded unbelievably deep, but the time for wisdom had ended. Lord Mighty and Lord Envoy had made their way toward Khan while Lord Enforcer healed him, and the two had arrived, bringing stupidity with them.

"[Ah]!" Lord Mighty cried. "[Blue, that last attack was nice! Lord Enforcer, who would have won if Old Envoy didn't get in the way]?"

"[Lord Idiot Muscles would have won]," Lord Enforcer promptly replied before adding something. "[Most-likely]."

The last part of Lord Enforcer's reply put surprised faces on Lord Mighty and Lord Envoy. Apparently, it was unusual for Lord Enforcer to be unsure about something.

"[Did you hear that, Blue]?" Lord Mighty laughed loudly, repeatedly slamming his huge palm on Khan's head. "[We are the only two people on Zedekiel who can make Lord Enforcer break

character]!"

Lord Mighty's unusually strong headpats were similar to what Amox used to do on Khan's shoulder. The former was simply too tall to target it, going for Khan's head.

"[The Emperor can, too]," Lord Enforcer corrected, partially confirming Lord Mighty's

statement.

As if called, heavy steps suddenly resounded on the arena's broken floor, crus.h.i.+ng the most brittle shards still lingering on its surface. The Emperor had left the gazebo, and the four waited for him to reach them.

The Emperor walked slowly, but each of his steps looked like a majestic event, turning that ordinary stroll into something extraordinary. Khan couldn't help but hear thunderous noises in his mind while preparing for that face-off, but the Empire wasn't done with its surprises

that day.

"[Blue Shaman]," The Emperor eventually called, stopping a few meters from the group. "[I have decided. I want you]."