Since that pocket universe had done the allied front the favor of condensing its matter into a single location, the Leviathan-class ship headed for it, relying on the full capabilities of its engines to reach its top speed.
The trip didn’t promise to be long, but it wasn’t short, either, and both the Emperor and Khan eventually decided to enter the ship once it beca clear that the vast expanse wouldn’t pose new threats.
Besides, while both Khan and the Emperor could resist the space’s deadliness to various degrees, that practice was tiring, and it was their duty to remain in top form before engaging in the final battle.
The allied front’s preparations obviously included sothing that could contain the Emperor. Actually, that had been one of the main concerns since he was far more problematic than Khan.
Luckily, Khan’s organization already had so experience with dealing with him, and the party on the white desert had added valuable data, leading to the creation of a vast hall that combined a mixture of reinforced alloys and mana barriers.
That hall stood near the very tip of the ship for safety reasons. Nothing was ever perfect when it ca to technology, especially when it was assembled in three weeks. The allied front had to account for the area’s potential destruction, placing it where it wouldn’t do as much damage or risk killing every passenger.
Nevertheless, the special hall held strong, leading to a peculiar but unavoidable arrangent. Khan and the Emperor were obviously inside, but the sa went for Liiza, Ilman, the Royal Court, and most of the evolved warriors who had joined that dinsional invasion.
In regular tis, that gathering would have created quite the rowdy scene. It had actually done so re weeks ago.
However, no one dared to speak. So warriors even occasionally held their breath, trying to be as silent as possible while watching the various holographic screens hanging from the hall’s surfaces.
Of course, there was only one thing the ship’s scanners could focus on. A few holographic screens depicted the vast expanse, but most of them were pointed at the distant star, which was growing closer by the second.
Whenever the ship closed so of that distance, new details appeared on the screen, as well as so advanced scientific data, keeping everyone’s attention on them. Words couldn’t fly in that tense environnt. Only silent preparations could unfold.
Obviously, there wasn’t much anyone could prepare for anymore. It was too late for that. That silence was more about dealing with the unavoidable tension before a key battle, which everyone handled differently.
The Thilku stood proudly still, while Mazatl paced left and right, looking restless. Ilman stared sternly at the screens, and Major General Arngan released occasional growls, which were his new version of deep breaths.
As for Khan, he was with Liiza, hugging her from behind, caressing her waist. Neither of them spoke or indulged in their usual public displays of affection, focusing solely on the screens while sharing their warmth and cozy cold before the inevitable separation.
Yet, the star on the screens grew closer, and then closer still, imposing movent among that tension. It reached the point when the ship’s scanners beca able to see the celestial body’s surface, revealing its magnificent but ominous environnts.
The scene was less surprising for Khan and Liiza since they had already witnessed the Nak’s ho world. However, that black star did look one step above the blue planet.
The celestial body was black but bright, shining with different intensities depending on its area’s purposes. Its barren ground was dim, its mountains were brighter, and flares of even more glowing True Chaos rose from vast crevices, creating deadly pillars that shed light everywhere.
No trace of life occupied those dark yet glowing environnts, but the planet itself looked alive and breathing, as if it were a single organism rather than a mass of energy.
That difference, and superior trait, didn’t go unnoticed to the married couple, but that still wasn’t enough to make them speak. Everyone in the reinforced hall remained silent even as the ship began its landing procedures, heading for a world that could swallow it whole.
For all intents and purposes, that planet would have devoured ordinary ships. Actually, regular vessels would have stopped functioning already.
However, the Leviathan-class ship made full use of the benefits of the experintal fuel, resisting the True Chaos’ annihilating properties. Its mana barrier flickered but remained active, too, piercing occasional glowing clouds and heading safely for that darker-than-black surface.
The tension skyrocketed when the ship touched the ground. Everything inside it went dark. All its functions suddenly stopped, seemingly unable to endure the direct contact with that more solid version of the True Chaos.
Still, darkness couldn’t trick Khan and Liiza’s eyes. Even Ilman and the other evolved warriors in the hall knew or sensed that the mana barrier around the vessel had yet to give in, and light soon returned.
All of the ship’s functions ca back. The hall’s artificial light resud shining, and the sa went for the holographic screens, which now inspected every possible corner of the surrounding black environnt.
Nothing but emptiness encircled the Leviathan-class ship. The allied front had held its part of the deal, reaching that appointed location, but the True Chaos seed to hesitate to make its move.
Of course, that was a wrong assumption. The True Chaos and its army were already there. They had always been there, and they soon showed their face.
The ground at so distance from the ship showed traces of movent, attracting its scanners. Black smoke, far brighter than what the occasional pillars featured, started oozing out of the dark surface, accompanied by veiled, solid figures.
The scanners couldn’t pick up much beyond the layer of smoke, only ending up capturing a massive cloud growing from the planet’s surface. In a way, it almost looked as if a giant fire had spread in the distance, containing untold dangers the allied front had to vanquish.
And that marked the end of the silent tension, as well as its highest point. Khan let go of Liiza, ignoring the many gazes that fell on him while continuing to inspect the screens. That was an army of his own creation, so it was up to him to give the final order.
"To war," Khan announced, and the hall’s speakers spread his voice throughout the ship, making it tremble in restlessness.
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