Chaos' Heir-Chapter 1167: Solitary

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The call left a bad taste in Khan's mouth. He would have never expected Raymond to be the last person he would talk to before escaping the network's coverage, but the matter featured a silver lining.

Khan had swamped his scientists with experimental projects that would typically require years or decades even to start. Each of them was bound to be revolutionary but also involved some piece of conflicting alien technology, pushing the difficulty level past what humankind usually dealt with.

The projects weren't even a few, and Khan had somehow managed to increase their number after killing the Great Old One. The development of magic items was on hold since he was away, but much was still ongoing between Baoway, Coravis, and Nott Station.

Khan's scientists were working on the supplement, the improved training grounds, the Scalqa's training, the Fuveall technology, the Great Old One, the terraforming projects, the toxic pool, and more subjects that attempted to shrink the gap among species to empower them all.

The Nognes family had the manpower to handle that many projects, especially with all the allies Khan had gathered. Still, most of them, if not all, required specialized personnel and revolutionary geniuses, which every species had a short assortment of.

So, crossing a single one of those revolutionary projects off the list already counted as a significant development. Of course, Abraham would have to review whether what Raymond had promised was true, but the latter wouldn't have contacted Khan otherwise. As strange as it sounded, Raymond was no liar.

The promise to synthesize Scalqa's flesh was also quite reassuring. Baoway had no shortage of alien corpses since Khan had waged wars for months to unite the various tribes, but that resource wasn't endless, and he didn't want to use alive Scalqa to acquire samples.

That was the best-case scenario. Khan would obtain the resources he was after without sacrificing anything important. He had to ignore his anger to accept that deal, but that was a compromise he was willing to make.

'Norrett's evolution should be next,' Khan thought. 'He should be close already. He would be closer if I didn't bring Garret to Coravis.'

Khan rubbed the corners of his eyes but didn't go back on his decision. Obtaining evolved warriors was paramount, and perfecting the toxic pool was bound to benefit humankind as a whole. Yet, the Great Old One promised far greater rewards and the projects connected to it would probably be as smooth as the initial experiments with Baoway's toxic substance.

As always, time was the main issue. Theoretically, Khan's forces could get everything done and more if they had decades at their disposal, but he didn't know how long they had until the scarlet eyes assaulted his side of the universe.

Khan could only apply the same mantra he had forced upon himself throughout his life. His forces needed to prioritize the projects that promised more immediate enhancements. Everything else had to be delayed, hoping the looming threat would give Khan's scientists enough time to work on them.

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For the same reasons, Khan had to do what only he could do. His ship had been flying at full speed for three weeks already, and he didn't alter its course or reduce its speed, eventually crossing the point of no return.

By the fourth week of the flight, the ship lost connection to the network. Its communication array became useless, and the same went for Khan's phone. He became truly alone, cruising through quadrants of unexplored space.

The ship's security measures went online as soon as it crossed that empty landmark. A safety beacon lit up, sending signals through space that Khan's forces might be able to follow if he didn't return within the agreed timeline.

Also, a new holographic screen popped up on the control desk, featuring a series of specific stats and a countdown. That tracked how much fuel and time Khan could still deplete before being forced to turn back.

Khan inspected the new holographic screen briefly before ignoring it altogether. It was still too early to worry about that issue, and he even had a mystical set of reassurances.

For all intents and purposes, Khan was in uncharted territory. Except that truth didn't necessarily apply to him. The Great Old One's perception had flown through those areas already, so he recognized details that shouldn't have belonged to his memories.

Of course, those details only appeared in the form of vague instincts, and Khan could also feel how old they were. He couldn't put an exact number on them but believed they could be at least a few centuries old. That made him hope that something meaningful had changed, creating something worth exploring, but that idea waned with each passing day.

A week passed, and then another. Khan spent almost the entirety of that time in the pilot's seat, staring at the black canvas past the canopy, hoping that something, anything, would cause a valuable reaction inside his brain.

However, nothing of the sort ever happened. Even with the Great Old One's mystical and ancient memories, the dark expanse was empty and dead. Khan occasionally entered the range of unknown star systems, but his instincts made them disregard them since the snake had already crossed them off its list.

Khan could still visit those star systems to double-check his instincts and confirm whether the Great Old One's inspection was on point. He could also seize those opportunities to get some yearned-for breaks from the overwhelming dullness of the trip.

The breaks could even serve Khan's training since they would give him access to a natural symphony he could absorb. The regular meditation was almost useless for him now, and only the [Blood Vortex] could make a dent in the bottomless pit that was his body.

Nevertheless, landings, decelerations, and accelerations wasted more fuel than cruising at full speed through space. They would also demand some of Khan's already short time, so he avoided indulging in those beneficial breaks. He would endure and push forward, no matter what that did to his mental state.

So, Khan's solitary journey through space continued, and he barely noticed when it crossed its third month.