Needless to say, the comment added more fuel to Khan's anger, but enough information had entered his brain to trigger a pensive state.
The blue alien had spoken no lies. Khan was sure of that. Nothing could escape his heightened senses, especially in that critical situation, so he knew everything the alien had said had been the truth, at least in its mind.
That confirmed one of Khan's oldest hypotheses. The First Impact really wasn't a random attack. The Nak had a greater purpose in mind. They wanted to spread mana for reasons that seemed to involve the universe, but Khan couldn't think that far.
Everything learned about the Nak popped into Khan's mind. He knew that species embodied mana. He also knew they couldn't evolve anymore, which matched the blue alien's explanation and led to deeper hypotheses.
'Is mana at risk of disappearing?' Khan wondered. 'How?'
The experience gathered among the Thilku provided ideas. Everything was finite. Every source of energy would eventually deplete itself, and mana also expanded out of its own programming. Just like the Empire had stretched itself too thin, the same could happen to the mana.
However, mana wasn't the same as manpower. Professor Nickton had even explained that to Khan. Each lifeform touched by that energy would mutate and release some of it into the environment. In theory, almost anything could become a mana source, making it impossible for the universe to run out of it.
The blue alien's last words resounded in Khan's ears when he reached that conclusion. His resolve belonged to himself, but the nightmares did add something else. Khan knew what the Nak from the Second Impact felt. He experienced that every night.
The Nak's anger and desperation were probably related to the crash, but the fear went deeper. Khan had gotten used to it but still experienced it in its full intensity. He couldn't explain it yet, but the blue alien had given him an idea.
'Is mana in danger?' Khan wondered. 'Is the universe in danger?'
Khan tried to go over the topic, but the effort was pointless. He was only a third-level warrior with an odd skillset. He understood mana more than humans, but that couldn't stretch to something as big as the universe.
Also, Khan wasn't sure he cared about that problem. He didn't ask for that vague task. He didn't ask to suffer for so long. He didn't ask for that curse to ruin his life.
That pattern didn't stop at Khan either. The Nak had unleashed that partial genocide on multiple species. No matter the purpose, that practice was unforgivable.
Khan's focus returned to the blue alien. He was ready to cut that smooth throat, but the alien's smile stopped him. That helplessness drained Khan of his anger. The Nak might have turned him into a tool, but his opponent was even lower than that.
"[Aren't you going to kill me]?" The blue alien joked, slowly backing off to resume staring at the flowers.
That behavior was completely different from the mutated Thilku, intelligent wolves, and simple monsters. The blue alien looked relaxed and at peace. Its movements also carried a certain agency, pushing Khan to ask a direct question.
"[Do you have your mind]?" Khan questioned.
"[I don't]," The blue alien replied, crouching toward an exceptionally bright flower. "[I'm a tool with no freedom. I work for a greater purpose, and that's it]."
"[You aren't crazy]," Khan pointed out. He wanted to use better words but couldn't find them. It wasn't easy to explain things when it came to the nightmares.
"[My species doesn't fall prey to anger]," The blue alien explained, its smile broadening when he took the flower in its palm. "[My role is clear, and I don't regret it]."
"[What role]?" Khan asked, stepping forward but avoiding resorting to pointless threats. The blue alien gave no value to its life. The knife was useless in that situation.
"[Spreading mana]," The blue alien revealed, its completely dark eyes fixed on its palm. "[Spreading the Nak's task]."
Khan understood the blue alien and experienced merciless pity. That species only wanted to replicate the First Impact through different methods. As for the virus, that was a mere tool with no deeper purpose.
The lake inevitably attracted Khan's attention. Cegnore was filled with arrays of rivers, and its natives had a deep connection with water. They could probably use it to inspect the surface and plan attacks. It probably had something to do with their control over other specimens, too.
As Cegnore's secrets became clear in Khan's mind, only one doubt remained inside him. He knew what the Nak wanted to do. He knew what the planet's natives planned. He simply didn't know why.
"[What's this task]?" Khan questioned, looking at the alien again. "[What's worth committing genocides]?"
"[Many things]," The blue alien declared, finally moving its gaze to look at Khan. "[You should know that. I can see it in your eyes]."
Khan's demeanor went cold. He didn't want to accept those words, but the blue alien was right. He had already killed innocent people for his needs. He had even threatened to blow up parts of the Harbor. In a way, he was no different than the Nak.
"[Though I don't know the exact reason]," The blue alien continued. "[I only know it's right, just like you]."
The blue alien wasn't talking about Khan's personal reasons. Its words involved the nightmares and the feelings they carried. Something so intense couldn't come from a lie.
"[What do you plan to do with me then]?" Khan changed the topic. "[You said it yourself. I don't get it]."
"[That's a problem my species can solve]," The blue alien exclaimed, standing up and walking toward Khan. "[My species can remove the barriers shielding you from your task]."
"[And where is your species]?" Khan asked. He didn't know what the blue alien wanted to do, but that was his chance to gather vital information.
"[The planet's underground water is an intricate system that connects everything]," The blue alien explained, crossing Khan to reach the shore. "[Even the smallest pebble is part of it and can create an earthquake. It often does]."
Khan silently approached the blue alien, who crouched down to touch the water. Its expression was peaceful when it immersed its hand into the lake, but some severity reeked out of its figure.
"[There is a special node nearby]," The blue alien continued, "[Under the surface. An elder of my species lives there. She will open your mind to the Nak's task]."
"[How do I get there]?" Khan promptly asked. That was exactly what he wanted to hear. That was the very goal behind his mission on Cegnore.
"[The water protects us]," The blue alien explained, its eyes fixed on the transparent surface. "[Our lives are the only way to open a path]."
Everything made sense now. The blue alien was ready to die for that very reason. It wanted Khan to learn about the Nak, but those underground rivers required a steep price, which was within Khan's reach.
Khan hesitated, but not out of mercy or pity. The blue alien didn't specify it, but the path probably wouldn't be open for long. Khan wouldn't have the chance to get back to the Thilku if he decided to follow his curiosity.
Nevertheless, Khan was in no state to refuse his urges, and the Nak-related topic also applied special leverage on him. Moreover, he had already prepared himself for that eventuality, so he stepped forward until he arrived at the alien's side.
"[How does this work]?" Khan questioned, his knife ready to reap the blue alien's life.
"[Once you kill me]," The blue alien explained, "[Let my body float for a bit. The water will move at that point]."
Khan could add words, but his mind had already made a decision. His knife lit up and moved downward, piercing the blue alien's throat to dig a hole through it.
The alien didn't instantly die but fell forward, ending up into the lake and floating over its surface. Its blue blood leaked into the clear water as life abandoned its body, and Khan watched everything unfold with his cold eyes.
Blood continued to flow until the alien completely died, and its mana began to leak out of its corpse. The water absorbed it, and a change quickly happened.
The corpse's mana fused with the water, applying effects that existed in the very lake. They didn't come from the energy itself. The place had an instinctive programming that activated at the arrival of that mana.
A warm current formed inside the lake, diving toward parts Khan had yet to explore. A path had appeared underwater, and he could only jump inside it after creating an air bubble around his head. The approach developed before told him how to move in that environment, and he used his full speed from the get-go. It was time to go MIA.
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