Khan's hostility wasn't rational nor overwhelmingly predominant. His desperation still screamed. The years spent suffering every time he closed his eyes still begged him to get answers. Yet, his anger was no weak feeling. Actually, part of the conflicting aspects ended up fueling it.
The intense, bottomless, and overwhelming desperation didn't have a single mind. A big part just wanted answers to end the Nak's curse. However, after suffering so much, another significant side couldn't accept that compromise. Khan was no stranger to dangerous shortcuts, but diving into the lake felt like giving up.
That had given birth to hostile feelings, which the mutated Thilku sensed, forcing a reaction out of it. Khan had yet to do anything, but that sudden move played right into his anger.
"[I'm guessing this lake is important]," Khan commented, smirking at the Thilku below him before pointing his intense gaze at the elder in the distance.
The elder didn't initially reply, but the flowers around and inside her body eventually lit up, releasing a buzzing noise that Khan's brain translated.
"[This is a node]," The elder said in the Nak's language. "[All the rivers in the area touch these waters and spread their power]."
"[The Nak's power]," Khan pointed out.
"[The call to join their mission]," The elder responded, "[And the key to unlock it]."
Khan wasn't a scientist, but his knowledge of different aspects and practices involving mana allowed him to gain a vague idea about the situation.
The infection was everywhere, even in the air, but its sources had to be somewhere, and that lake seemed to be one of them. Khan guessed the entire quadrant depended on those waters to spread the illness, and destroying it would probably clear it from monsters.
The situation obviously wasn't that simple, especially with Cegnore's intricate underground array. However, Khan mostly focused on the Nak's presence, and that lake carried intense traces of them.
'Is the infection stronger here?' Khan wondered. 'Is the Nak's influence denser in these waters?'
The relevance given to the lake and Khan's senses confirmed those guesses. He probably was in the center of the enemy's lair, and destroying it could save many soldiers from eventual infections. That option became a certainty as he studied the waters, but the conflict remained.
'Should I immerse myself first?' Khan wondered.
The destruction of the lake was set in stone. Khan only had to decide what to do first, and certainties didn't arrive. Ideally, he would immerse himself into the lake, get the answers he sought, and detonate everything. Yet, that might not be an option if he lost his mind.
The previous doubts returned, and the same internal conflict happened. Anger and desperation fought each other to death inside Khan's mind, and neither could claim victory over the other. Only his mana remained biased, hating all those restrictions and secrecy.
"[Why are you hesitating]?" The elder eventually asked through the same odd speaking method. "[Why are you having doubts]?"
Khan could speak plenty about the topic, but something told him that the elder wouldn't get him. Discussing with aliens who had already lost their minds was pointless. Yet, questioning them could bring pleasant surprises.
"[This mission]," Khan exclaimed. "[Is mana in danger]?"
"[You should know the gravity of the situation]," The elder said. "[If you don't, these waters will reveal it]."
The elder reminded Khan about the fear in his nightmares, but that wasn't enough for him. He wanted to gather as many clues as possible before making a decision.
"[Why didn't the Nak recruit people normally]?" Khan questioned. "[With the universe at stake, many would join their call]."
"[We aren't privy about these details]," The elder replied. "[We respect them]."
Khan stared at the water past the standing Thilku. The lake was appealing, and his curiosity was hard to fight back, but more questions still left his mouth. "[Why me]?"
"[You have your mind]," The elder stated. "[You have the potential to reach the Nak and seize their legacy]."
That expected answer annoyed Khan, and the Thilku under him reacted to that feeling. It crossed its huge arms before its chest, and its uniform became unable to hide its bulging muscles.
After living among the Thilku for a while, Khan had gotten used to that iconic gesture. The mutated Thilku's aura didn't show any ripple, but its stance was self-explanatory.
"[Let me guess]," Khan announced, his smile vanishing without removing any trace of defiance from his face. "[I can't refuse, can I]?"
The elder remained silent for a few seconds again before her flowers lit up to convey her thoughts. "[We must spread the Nak's mission and open your mind to it]."
"[I see]," Khan uttered. "[You won't let me leave that easily, will you]?"
The flowers began to shine brighter again, but a blinding color suddenly appeared above the lake's center, covering that blue glow. Purple-red mana gathered and condensed mid-air, quickly giving birth to an unstable spear.
The Thilku didn't stay still at that offensive. As soon as it connected the spear to Khan, it lunged upward, stretching its right arm to catch him. That gesture was insanely fast. No third-level warrior could ever hope to dodge it, but Khan didn't need to.
The quick lunge left Khan stunned but for special reasons. He knew the Thilku was fast, but that didn't only apply to its body. Even the mana inside flowed smoothly, making predicting its movements harder.
Khan still reacted on time, ordering the mana to release a tremor that disrupted the Thilku's balance. The alien didn't falter but froze, slightly interrupting its attack before pressing forward.
Khan used that window to escape, but the Thilku recovered quickly, and two of its sharp nails touched his left leg. Blood spurted forward, but Khan still managed to retreat higher into the air.
The spear's stability crossed the critical point, threatening to detonate. However, the elder sent power to her feet, creating a connection with the ten blue aliens and causing a reaction in the lake.
A faint soundwave surged from the lake. Its waters remained still, but its effects were immediate. A dense aura that reeked of the Nak's power invaded the chamber and replaced any external influence in the symphony.
Khan almost lost his footing in the air when the aura arrived. His foothold vanished only to be replaced by a different kind of mana, which he quickly used to continue flying.
As for the spear, the dense aura destabilized it without triggering any explosion. Any internal meaning in that purple-red mana vanished, making the energy disperse on the spot.
The aura's effects didn't end there. Khan had affected the environment during the conversation, but his influence had vanished. The lake had brought the underground area back to normal, preventing Khan from using the Niqols' arts.
Khan learned about those events in a few seconds, and his eyes inevitably went toward his left leg. More of his ragged trousers had vanished, and two bleeding cuts had appeared on his shin.
'It barely touched me,' Khan thought, amazed by the mutated Thilku's sheer physical power. The injury wasn't deep, but that merely was the work of two nails.
"[Why do you oppose your duty]?" The elder questioned while Khan was busy making a point of the situation.
Khan looked at the elder but remained silent. He didn't think about an actual reason. His decision to oppose that procedure was unreasonable, almost childish, and he struggled to explain it.
Yet, as the inspection continued, Khan's mana raged loudly, and words finally appeared in his throat. "[Who do you think you are]?"
Khan's natural aura intensified at that simple question, sending ripples in the just-cleansed symphony. He was livid, but only his eyes showed traces of that feeling.
"[I paid my price with blood and pain]," Khan continued without waiting for a reply. "[Puppets with no freedom or doubts have no right to order me around]."
The ripples intensified, but the lake released another faint soundwave that cleansed the symphony. However, that aura couldn't affect Khan's presence, which resumed influencing the area as soon as it stabilized.
"[You are choosing to ignore your task]," The elder commented, her voice devoid of any emotion.
"[The Nak should have asked nicely]," Khan snorted. "[Now, will the infection stop in this area if I destroy the lake]?"
Khan joined his hands, and a spear quickly appeared. He wielded it with his right hand while his knife was on the left. Meanwhile, his influence continued to affect the area, making him battle-ready.
"[The individual is nothing before the entirety of the universe]," The elder said as if she had understood Khan's selfish reasons.
"[Let the universe burn]," Khan declared. "[I'll find the Nak without playing by their rules]."
Khan didn't wait for more answers. He threw the spear at the lake, ready to use his influence to shield it from any defensive mechanism. However, the opponent that got in its way wasn't something the Niqols or Nele arts could defeat on their own.
The mutated Thilku jumped toward the spear, covering its hands in purple-red mana before closing them around it. Khan's attack crumbled against that overwhelming physical strength, and the explosion that followed couldn't escape those tight palms.
The Thilku had countered the chaos spear with its bare hands, but that wasn't the end. Khan had thrown his spell at the lake's center, and the alien fell toward it once its momentum vanished. However, its feet didn't pierce the surface. The water had become solid for the occasion.
Khan didn't even need to ask. He knew that was the blue alien's doing, but the issue remained. He had to get past a mutated fourth-level warrior if he wanted to destroy the area.
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