Chaos' Heir-Chapter 1099: Underwater

Khan silently followed the glowing humanoid figure down the strangely solid liquid staircase. His eyes were fixed ahead, his steps showed no hesitation, and his face was expressionless, but countless thoughts raged through his mind.

Meticulous manipulation was harder than massive energy bursts. The latter only required immense mana reserves and the power to propel it. Meanwhile, the former demanded absolute and constant control, and its mental weight increased alongside the affected area's size.

The scanners had given Khan a clear idea of the sea's depth, and the diagonal tunnel seemed headed precisely there. The light stopped reaching the cavity's insides as the two descended, shrouding it in pitch-black darkness that showed no signs of ending.

Of course, the world in Khan's eyes never went dark. Only space was an exception, and his eyes did bring some light to that downward path. Still, he didn't fail to understand the magnitude of the feat, which shocked him to the core.

Creating a tunnel that connected a sea from the surface to the bed was too ludicrous of an idea even to consider. Still, Coravis' entity pushed it one step forward by adding a perfectly stable staircase.

Thinking about the manipulation level required to achieve such a feat tried to give Khan a headache, so he couldn't even imagine what it would take to perform it. Khan could understand that field, so studying the event astonished him more than the scene seen from orbit.

The walk was long enough to allow other thoughts. Khan didn't divert his eyes, but the deeper he went, the more concerned about the not-waters pressure he became. His body was incredible, but some natural catastrophes remained too much even for him, and being submerged at the bottom of Coravis' sea was one of them.

If the tunnel collapsed, no respirators would save Khan. The sea's pressure would instantly kill him. Even if his body somehow survived that deadly environment, he would end up badly wounded, and breathing would be the last of his problems.

Simulations and countermeasures came to life inside Khan's brain. He wasn't a powerless bystander. He couldn't defeat space, but Chuwei's sandstorms had bowed to his might. Coravis' not-waters probably wouldn't be any different, but Khan didn't dare to underestimate them due to the planet's ruler.

Eventually, Khan accelerated, hoping the pale green figure would do the same, which it did. The two almost raced to the sea's bottom, rushing through the perfectly circular tunnel and its staircase, diving into deeper darkness.

The world in Khan's eyes brightened during the descent. The density of Nak's mana was higher in the sea's depths, and the same went for the pale green energy. At some point, the latter became so thick it started to shine, but the tunnel remained dark. That light couldn't do anything against the not-waters' pressure.

However, the pale green mana's density increased, and its light intensified, eventually becoming blinding. The tunnel finally ended in a circular door made of light surrounded by a slightly darker glow. A vast patch of the seabed shone on its own, almost resembling an immense underwater lake.

The glowing figure crossed the bright door, and Khan followed. He felt his surroundings changing when he stepped past the pale green light, but no not-waters submerged him. The tunnel had ended and calmly closed behind his back, but nothing collapsed on him.

Khan's senses quickly updated him on his surroundings. He felt the not-waters above and at his sides, hanging still to create an air bubble at the sea's bottom and around that glowing lake. Moreover, Khan soon discovered he could breathe quite comfortably. His body didn't need to adjust to the new environment at all.

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At once, Khan knew the environment was artificial. His body instantly adapted to most atmospheres but still noticed their differences. Meanwhile, that underwater air bubble seemed perfect for his human genes. It replicated Earth's conditions, which Khan didn't experience above the sea.

'What even is this thing?' Khan wondered, recalling the stunt he had pulled on Baoway.

Back then, the Scalqa had needed something greater than a powerful leader. Their faith demanded a god, and Khan had tried to pass as one.

Nevertheless, Coravis' entity seemed like the real deal. Its influence could move the sea and sky and stretch through the universe, reaching distant planets. If that wasn't enough to be labeled a god, Khan didn't know what would.

The glowing figure disappeared after crossing the bright door, leaving Khan alone, but he didn't panic. Hovering above the underwater lake revealed it as the source of all those shocking events. All the pale green currents around and past the planet originated from there, as well as the primordial fear Khan's brain experienced.

"Greetings, Heir to the Nak's Chaos," The same deep voice Khan had heard in his ship resounded from the underwater lake, filling every corner of the air bubble. "As requested, we granted you an audience."

Khan promptly performed a bow without losing track of his surroundings. "Greetings, Great Old One. Thank you for granting my request."

"It was but a minor request," The voice responded, "And we shared an interest in meeting the rightful Heir to the Nak's legacy."

"There might be others," Khan pointed out, dismissing the veiled praise. "Aren't you Tainted as well?"

"Tainted, indeed," The voice confirmed. "The Nak's mana gave us strength and wisdom. We transformed through it, surpassing our species' potential, but we didn't inherit their Chaos."

"How is that possible?" Khan wondered, even if he could think of many explanations already. "Aren't you a potential Heir, too?"

"We fought the Nak long ago," The voice explained. "We defeated them. We fed on their energy, but we never accepted their legacy."

"Why?" Khan asked. "Isn't the Nak's enemy your enemy, too?"

"We were powerful, Nak's Heir," The voice announced as pictures formed on the pale green canvas of the underwater lake. "We were rulers. We were mighty."

A star map Khan recognized appeared on the lake's surface. Images he had studied countless times took form in shades of green, depicting the nearby quadrants. Still, humanoid figures littered the empty space, occasionally hovering next to specific planets while being as big as them.

"Until the Nak came," The voice continued, "And we punished their transgression."