Khan left on his own, but a few Thilku soon joined him to escort him outside. No one said anything, and the silence deepened when he reached the main hall.
It was still early morning, at least by Cegnore's standards. Usually, the main hall only featured tired and sleeping soldiers, but a completely different scene welcomed Khan.
The news of Khan's awakening had already spread. He had been out for almost two days due to the gravity of his state, but the short meeting had given the Thilku enough time to prepare to witness his departure.
When Khan entered the main hall, he found hundreds of eyes pointed at him. He recognized many of them and even felt a few who conveyed more than awe. The Thilku saved by his exceptional battle prowess couldn't help but experience gratitude, but he kept his gaze straight, focused only on leaving.
That wasn't a planned behavior. Khan was simply a mess, especially after the meeting. He didn't only hurt everywhere. He had also suggested a proper genocide, and his mind couldn't feel good about it.
As for the audience, that firm stance made Khan appear bigger than life. The Thilku ignored his relatively small body and only considered his incredible feats. They knew he had defeated a fourth-level warrior on his own and foreign battlefields. They knew he embodied power itself.
Disappointment spread among the soldiers when Khan finally crossed the main gate. He wasn't one of them, but his presence lifted everyone's morale. Besides, the Thilku respected strength enough to yearn to watch him fight again.
Khan left the building with the two soldiers escorting him and found himself before Cegnore's familiar environment. Still, his eyes quickly fell on a big car with a Thilku in the driver's seat. The latter was ready for him and promptly exited the vehicle to open the passenger's door.
Unlike Onp, ordinary soldiers didn't need to uphold stiff political standards. They also found it hard to see Khan as an outsider anymore after all the lives he had saved, so they didn't hesitate to show proper respect.
Khan glanced at the Thilku keeping the passenger's door open before looking inside. His backpack was already there, and Khan didn't need to check it to know it contained all his belongings. The aliens had been ready for his departure since his reappearance.
The Thilku closed the door as soon as Khan jumped inside before returning to the driver's seat. The alien checked that Khan was ready before accelerating, retaining a comfortable speed that wouldn't challenge those injuries.
Khan obviously didn't mind. His thoughts were elsewhere, and his mood was sour. He crossed his legs on those large seats and closed his eyes out of habit, but the meditative state didn't arrive. He wanted to punish himself by feeling the entirety of that moment.
Nevertheless, the symphony didn't leave Khan alone. The car's insides spoke to him, highlighting the Thilku's mana. The alien was struggling to hold back his voice, and Khan found that hesitation irritating.
"[Speak]," Khan ordered before his mana made him snap.
"[I apologize]," The Thilku immediately replied, surprised Khan could sense his eagerness to speak. "[I saw you fight, Captain Khan. That was the most marvelous battle I've ever witnessed]."
The praise didn't feel right in Khan's ears. The Thilku had been honest, but Khan was in a strange mood. He knew what he had become, and seeing that eagerness hurt him.
"[Beware of monsters]," Khan stated. "[Beware of becoming one. Once you cross that line, there's no turning back]."
Those probably weren't the best words to say to a Thilku. That species expanded through wars. Its soldiers would gladly turn into monsters to help the Empire's cause.
"[But no one can beat you afterward]," The Thilku pointed out, showing his shallow understanding of the topic.
"[Because you've already lost]," Khan replied, looking past the window to lose himself in Cegnore's dull environment.
"[Captain Khan]," The Thilku exclaimed. "[I don't understand]."
"[Don't]," Khan uttered. "[The moment you understand, it's already too late]."
Khan's cryptic words ended the conversation. The Thilku fell deep into his thoughts while continuing to drive the car, and Khan soon followed suit as his life replaced the sceneries past the window.
Khan didn't blame himself anymore. He didn't question his actions, especially when he pursued his goals. That desperation had to vanish, and Khan was willing to do untold things to make it happen.
Still, Khan couldn't let himself feel okay about it. He had gotten used to tragic events. He had learned to kill with ease, but the matter couldn't be meaningless. Khan couldn't allow it to lose value, so he opened the gates for his suffering. That was better than turning into Jack.
'[Bloody rivers],' Khan thought in the Nele language, and the urge to see Monica invaded him. He had already gone through something similar on Nitis, and Liiza had been there for him. Monica wouldn't shy back from that task, but Khan didn't know where she was.
The rest of the trip was silent and slow. The driver didn't accelerate to avoid causing Khan discomfort, and he soon managed to meditate. The rest helped, but the car stopped before he could get anything done.
"[I hope I'll see you fight again]," The Thilku exclaimed as soon as he saw Khan opening his eyes.
"[Hope we are on the same side]," Khan replied, grabbing his backpack. "[Thanks for the lift]."
"[It was my honor, Captain Khan]," The Thilku stated, and Khan only nodded at his peeking eyes before leaving the car.
The human territory didn't change in those weeks. Actually, the symphony told Khan that the area was calmer than before. Fewer to no battles had reached the distant trench for reasons he had witnessed first-hand.
The empty plain couldn't retain Khan's attention for long. He quickly focused on the nearby building and began moving while the Thilku vehicle left.
The solitary walk was awkward. Khan forced himself to wear a firm stance, but his backpack and the brittle ground slowed down his pace. He was still weak, but his mana kept him going, and his presence never faltered.
The main gate opened as soon as Khan stopped before it, and the decontamination process started once the entrance closed behind him. He dropped the backpack on the floor in the meantime, and a crowded scene unfolded in his eyes when everything ended.
The human main hall didn't look any smaller than the Thilku's due to all the people gathered there. Soldiers with different levels had gathered before the gate to witness Khan's return, and their eyes opened in shock at the sight of his bandages.
No one could question Khan's poor condition. He was almost naked, covered by bandages that stretched to his face. The metal tool on his arm revealed its broken state, but his eyes carried a type of power they couldn't even begin to understand.
The soldiers shook when Khan browsed through them before stopping at a figure directly before him. Captain Chaunac was in front of that crowd, ready to welcome Khan, but his polite smile froze when he experienced his presence.
"Caspar," Khan promptly called, stepping forward while dragging his backpack with him. "I need doctors to redo these bandages."
Captain Chaunac snapped back to reality at that order and immediately turned. However, the path deeper into the building was closed. Too many soldiers had gathered in the hall and were blocking the way.
Caspar began to panic, but his body suddenly froze again. He slowly looked to his left and realized that Khan had materialized there.
Khan didn't need to say anything. He glared at the stunned soldiers before him, and they moved away. There wasn't enough space for that process, but the troops made space for him anyway, squeezing themselves to create that passage.
Caspar couldn't help but gulp, but Khan was already on the move. He stepped forward, throwing his backpack at the first soldier in his range before diving deeper into the building. Caspar could only follow him, but various thoughts still filled his mind.
Khan didn't exactly socialize among the human troops, but Caspar had talked with him a few times. He even felt to have established a decent relationship with Khan, but a lot seemed to have changed in those weeks.
There was no politeness in Khan's demeanor anymore. He wasn't rude, but the intensity of his gestures felt overwhelming, even for a fellow third-level warrior. Caspar had seen that aspect of him during battles, but his entire existence seemed brimming with power now.
The two didn't manage to get far inside the building. As soon as the two Captains crossed the main hall, a group of men and women wearing white coats intercepted them, and Khan felt no surprise seeing Mister Wulfo in their lead.
"Captain Khan, we need to talk," Mister Wulfo announced.
The two groups were in a relatively isolated corridor, but curious onlookers still followed them. That wasn't the right place for political talks, but Khan didn't care.
"I'm tired of talks," Khan declared. "Prepare everything for my return to the Harbor, and get me those doctors."
Shock unfolded. Khan wasn't even trying to negotiate, and his statement carried impossible orders. He couldn't just decide to return to the Harbor on his own. The paperwork behind that process was insane and would take multiple authorizations from higher-ups.
"Captain," Mister Wulfo raised his voice, but Khan cut him short.
"I gave you what you wanted," Khan continued. "Our agreement is complete, so stop wasting my time."
A second wave of shock arrived. Captain Chaunac and the other scientists couldn't help but inspect Mister Wulfo, trying to understand the meaning behind Khan's words. They two seemed to have sealed a secret deal, which wasn't surprising, but no one would dare to speak about it publicly.
"Captain Khan!" Mister Wulfo shouted. "I don't know what you are insinuating, but you forget your position. The scientists are in charge here, and-!"
Mister Wulfo couldn't finish his line since Khan's materialized before him. He stared deep into the scientist's eyes, conveying all the feelings bottled inside his mind before uttering chilling words. "Do you feel in charge?"
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