Chaos' Heir
Chapter 1342: Changes

Chapter 1342: Changes

Despite Liiza having fully recovered, being a mother turned out to be busier than either she or Khan could have imagined, especially due to the situation and how unique their daughter was.

The mostly empty planet offered much room for privacy, but Khan and Liiza couldn’t just disappear for hours on end. Savdat could contact them at any time to convey the Elders’ decision, and improving their public relationships with the Niqols had a chance of affecting that choice.

Doku and Snow also weren’t people, or birds, Khan and Liiza could ignore, especially since the former kept throwing parties at night.

Those social gatherings would often lead to private and intimate moments. It would even be proper due to the Niqols’ customs, but Yeza’s hunger prevented the married couple from even attempting to vent their built-up lust.

Newborns had to feed often, but Yeza was ravenous. There didn’t seem to be a limit to how much she could eat, and she never had enough, either.

Actually, as the days passed, Yeza’s hunger kept growing, reaching the point where Liiza had to feed her twice or three times every hour. It was a draining experience for her, but something the couple had expected and partially welcomed.

Yeza was a unique specimen. She carried the genes of two mutated beings, and her existence stretched past the mana’s limits.

In a way, Yeza was more of a member of the Great Old One’s species than Khan was due to the natural inheriting of those traits, demanding more sustenance than any other newborn in the universe.

That vouched for Yeza’s current and future strength, which the married couple was obviously happy about. Chances were no child in the universe would be as tough as theirs.

However, frustration inevitably accumulated. Khan and Liiza had to restrain themselves during part of the pregnancy already, and Yeza’s hunger showed no sign of putting an end to that prolonged and now-complete abstinence.

Luckily, parenthood brought its fair share of fulfilling activities that allowed the couple to cope with the absence of their favorite and needed entertainment.

Social duties aside, Khan and Liiza also had much to do and prepare, which kept their schedules packed, creating a much-needed separation that worked as another coping mechanism.

Khan was dealing with one of those coping mechanisms now. He was far away from the camp, isolated in the middle of the grey desert, to focus on training sessions that had become the norm after the additional week that had passed.

Except Khan wasn’t alone that day.

“This is one of Papa’s new attacks,” Khan announced in a childish tone, pointing his left hand forward, arranging his fingers to mimic a gun. “Pew!”

A blinding light flashed through the environment, followed by a thundering noise. The event had been too brief to allow any meaningful inspection, but the grey desert carried its effects.

A fuming, deep, zigzagged fissure that stretched as far as the eye could see had scarred the desert. That bloodless wound featured glass-like edges, establishing a modicum of structural stability in that brittle environment.

After a week of training, Khan had grown more comfortable with that more powerful and flexible version of his lightning bolts. It was unfathomably fast, destructive, and piercing, and Khan could freely increase its might without delaying its casting time.

Of course, that new version didn’t stray away from Khan’s previous destruction. It was an expansion of his past culmination, which wasn’t exactly an improvement toward developing his element’s new full potential.

However, Khan liked to explore that new freedom when it came to his most destructive and previously desperate sides. It truly felt strange to take something he had once been too scared to unleash in his loved ones’ presence so lightly and casually, and his little companion vouched for that drastic mindset change.

Yeza weakly moved her arms and legs in Khan’s one-armed embrace, releasing short wails that had no meaning. Her glowing blue eyes shone on Khan, but she quickly closed them to go back to napping.

“Was it so boring?” Khan complained, shaking his head at his resting daughter. “This little Princess already has high standards.”

In the past, Khan would have never come close to considering performing his training sessions while his daughter was nearby. He would have actually threatened anyone who even dared to suggest those reckless ideas.

Nevertheless, there Khan was, casually keeping his daughter company while continuing to explore his element. He was obviously careful about where he directed his spells, but his mind featured no intrinsic worry about his chaos.

That probably was the greatest and most meaningful change since the battle against the two alien scouts. Khan didn’t feel wrong anymore. He didn’t see his element as a weapon too dangerous to exist near anyone he cared about. It simply was another version of himself, and he knew he would never hurt his daughter.

Meanwhile, Yeza featured the second-most meaningful changes. She was only two weeks old but had already become more active, allowing for short interactions that newborns of a similar age couldn’t entertain.

“You are growing way too quickly,” Khan commented, lowering his free hand to caress the baby’s dark-blue cheek, making a point to use the human language. “Don’t think that this means you can date earlier than others.”

Yeza seemed to hear Khan’s words, opening her glowing eyes to explode in a shrill cry. Still, Khan didn’t panic and kept caressing his daughter. After all, his senses had told him the reason behind those loud complaints.

A cold figure approached Khan’s position at high speed, making him lean backward to glance at it. Liiza hurried through the desert, her disheveled hair fluttering through the wind while she tried her best not to spill the contents of the cup in her hands.

“[I know, I know],” Liiza muttered, quickly sitting on the sand at Khan’s side, exchanging her cup for the crying baby. “[Mama was a bit late].”

Liiza swiftly pulled her white robe aside to expose her chest and start feeding Yeza. Afterward, she heaved a tired sigh, leaning on Khan’s shoulder to search for some respite.

Khan kissed Liiza’s head, unbothered by the dirt in her hair and the dark, dried-up patches of various substances that tainted her strands. Then, he looked down at the fuming cup, sniffing it out of habit before gulping down its entire contents.

The cold liquid flowed down Khan’s throat before splitting into countless tendrils that reached for every corner of his body, stirring awake the mana inside his tissues. His mana core activated on its own, forcing energy to circulate inside him, mimicking a meditative session.

That was one of the Niqols’ training methods, which Liiza had adjusted to Khan’s needs. More shipments had reached the camp, solving the temporary supplies shortage, so Liiza had started helping Khan however she could.

Of course, those drinks were nothing compared to the training sessions with the [Blood Vortex] but remained more efficient and shorter than Khan’s meditation, helping propel his attunement with mana forward.

“[Did you two have fun]?” Liiza asked, yawning.

“Our daughter finds my awesome spells boring,” Khan jokingly complained, laying his head on Liiza’s. “Maybe it’s a power move. She wants to establish dominance before she gets to a dating age.”

The switch in languages was on purpose. Khan and Liiza had agreed to alternate between the human and Niqols’ language in Yeza’s presence to facilitate her mastery over both. After all, she was a child of those two worlds.

“[Our daughter is too young to understand power dynamics],” Liiza laughed. “[And her Papa will never have any chance against her].”

Khan had a joke ready but refrained from voicing it since he sensed how tired Liiza was. Yeza’s hunger wasn’t giving her any time to rest, and she also kept herself busy concocting all kinds of potions in the camp.

Part of those potions were for Khan, but others had to do with the imminent departure. Liiza didn’t forget how she and Khan had to fly toward the Nak’s home world, and that demanded preparing enough supplies for Yeza in their absence.

Also, the footage about the Scarlet Eyes had spread through the encampment, and few knew the new old ways like Liiza. She had to help develop countermeasures, making her schedule beyond packed.

That was Liiza’s coping mechanism, which lost its effect whenever she reunited with Khan. He shared that sentiment, and the two turned at the same time, their half-closed eyes conveying the full extent of their long-since suppressed passion.

Yet, the universe didn’t like the idea of the couple getting laid, but was kind enough not to interrupt Khan and Liiza with bad news at that time.

A blue light shone inside Liiza’s robe, making her rummage through her pockets while her lips landed on Khan’s. She had no intentions of interrupting the kiss, but touching the device the Niqols had given her conveyed a critical message worth stopping her passion to relay.

“[The Elders have agreed to the ceasefire],” Liiza whispered, diving back into Khan’s lips in the hope of appeasing part of her frustration.

Needless to say, the kiss had the opposite effect, but Khan and Liiza could only stop themselves in order to address the happy news that was bound to finalize the allied front against the Scarlet Eyes.

I’m considering adding another, and last, privilege tier (something I had promised 3000 years ago).

It would be 99 coins for 20 chapters, basically 10 chapters on top of the current ones.

Let me know what you think!