"Why would they do that?" Khan asked. "How is it even clear?"
Khan was desperate for answers, and Zalpa seemed to have them. He didn't know how the Niqols could feel so certain about a mere inspection of the nightmare, but he was willing to accept everything in his current situation.
"The dreams aren't natural," Zalpa shortly explained. "The Nak wanted you to have them."
Zalpa's behavior appeared far kinder now. She couldn't remain biased about Khan after witnessing what he dreamed every night. She hated humans, but she wasn't heartless, especially in front of a young man who had gone through so much suffering.
The trio fell silent after that revelation. The Nak had implanted that image in Khan's mind, but maybe it wasn't aware of the consequences that the event would cause to his mental state.
Doubts were stronger than truths right now. Khan, Liiza, and Zalpa could only come up with reasonable hypotheses, but they couldn't prove much.
"Lie there," Zalpa eventually said while pointing at the center of the cave. "I'll run tests."
Liiza nodded as soon as Khan turned toward her, and the couple separated. Khan lay on the cold terrain, and Zalpa didn't refrain from doing what she wanted with him.
Zalpa directly removed Khan's robe and left him with nothing more than pants while she played with the cauldron and the other materials in the cave.
The alien took some of Khan's azure hair, dropped dense blood on his skin to study its reaction, drew complicated runes next to the scar to trigger the power that it contained. She did everything in her power to understand the nature of Khan's mutations, and her discoveries led to conclusions that no one in the cave could appreciate.
"Your mutations are seamless," Zalpa explained when she gestured to Khan that he could dress up. "It almost appears that you don't have any, even if it's clear that you aren't completely human anymore. Still, I'm surprised that you could return to this form. Earth must have powerful shamans."
Khan inevitably thought about his father. Zalpa's words relieved part of his worry, but his doubts still resisted. He had never questioned Bret's love and ability. The issue was with his intentions and secrets.
"So, what exactly am I?" Khan asked after straightening his position and checking his phone.
The first morning of his third week on Nitis had arrived. Khan was still in time to attend the afternoon classes if he flew back to the camp in the next hours.
"Who knows?" Zalpa announced. "The other shaman's work makes you hard to read, but there is something else. Your body actively hides your mutations. I believe you can study them only from the inside."
"I've been in this state for almost twelve years," Khan commented. "I have no idea how to look for what's wrong inside me."
"I think everything would naturally become clear as your power increases," Zalpa explained. "You would have unlocked the map on your own at some point. The same should be true for the other mutations."
'Getting stronger is mandatory then,' Khan sighed in his mind.
Khan still struggled to understand how he had to feel. His life didn't change in the end. He still had to pursue the same goals set before enlisting in the Global Army. However, everything else in his view had changed.
"Don't you have some shaman way to make me stronger quickly?" Khan eventually asked while looking around the cave. "Can't you teach me something?"
Zalpa fixed her eyes on Khan before exploding into a loud laugh. Her voice was so coarse that she started to cough at some point, but she quickly cleared her throat and calmed down.
"Don't get the wrong idea, human," Zalpa sneered. "I helped you because Lii cares about you. I pity you a bit, but I don't care whether you live or die. Maybe I'm more toward the dying side so that the rebellious child can end up with a good Niqols."
Khan could only sigh at those words. He didn't feel too disappointed, especially since adding new stuff to learn would only turn his schedule more hellish. He was already sacrificing his interactions inside the camp to keep up with everything. A new training program would force him to stop sleeping again.
"Get out now," Zalpa suddenly ordered. "Daylight is coming, and I have a lot to prepare."
Zalpa's words reminded Khan of the conversation with the Niqols on the roof from the previous night. According to them, Nitis would experience its first daylight after two thousand years of darkness in the next months.
"Prepare for what?" Khan immediately asked while moving his gaze between Liiza and Zalpa. "Will something happen?"
"Zaza believes in the old legends," Liiza explained after heaving a helpless sigh. "Niqols don't have many records of the past daylight, but they are keeping the entire planet in check as the event approaches. Nothing strange is happening."
"[Fools]!" Zalpa snorted. "The entire planet evolved in darkness. Daylight will cause a catastrophe. The old texts are clear!"
"We still sent sacrifices to the Aduns two thousand years ago," Liiza shook her head. "How can you trust anything recorded in those texts?"
"You'll see in a few months," Zalpa exclaimed before her expression grew worried. "Promise me that you'll be in a safe place when the light arrives. Bring the human along even as long as you prepare yourself."
Liiza rolled her eyes, but she eventually nodded. Zalpa crossed her arms at that point, and the couple understood that their time to go had arrived.
"I didn't want to keep the daylight matter from you," Liiza revealed in a timid voice as soon as the couple returned into the corridor. "I wanted to make you a surprise."
Liiza hid her face when she said those words, but Khan heard the faint excitement in her voice. He waited until the duo climbed their way back to the surface to pull her arm and make her turn toward him.
"Are you excited about the daylight?" Khan asked when he saw Liiza's pout.
"How could I not be?" Liiza snorted. "I've never seen anything like that in my entire life. Though, I don't know how I would look outside the darkness."
Khan revealed a faint smile before shaking his head and reaching for Liiza's cheek. Yet, the latter grabbed his wrist and shot an admonishing gaze toward him.
"Don't even try," Liiza exclaimed in a firm voice. "There won't be any consoling me until you are better."
Khan's smile broadened, but his expression grew sadder. He had calmed down, but his situation didn't improve at all. Liiza had helped him establishing some stable aspects of his life, but the path ahead continued to appear grim.
A long conversation with Bret appeared mandatory, but Khan didn't know if he felt ready to have it. His father had probably lied to him for years, so nothing could stop him from doing it again.
Khan silently accepted that he was nothing more than a kid immersed in a complicated world. His seven months in the army weren't enough to give him enough experience in everything that happened in the universe.
A conversation with his father right now wouldn't lead to anything. Khan had to grow as a man and soldier to face him properly, which required more experience and years.
Lieutenant Dyester had warned him about the secrets and details that the Global Army refused to disclose to the public. Khan had already decided to climb the ranks and gain enough clearance to gain access to those reports, but the matter appeared mandatory now.
The sadness in Khan's eyes intensified while he silently decided that remaining on alien planets was the quickest way to gain merits. Returning to Earth would only slow him down.
'I hope they will let me stay on Nitis,' Khan sighed in his mind as his eyes fell on the stunning Niqols who was trying to do everything in her power to improve his situation.
His life was a broken mess, but he had managed to find faint happiness inside it anyway. The issues involving the different species, cultures, and politics suddenly lost any meaning when Khan placed his situation next to Liiza's resolute face.
Those problems felt so pointless when he considered his problems. Khan wasn't even seventeen, but he had already seen enough to make all the political issues lose value in his mind. They were nothing more than petty things that the rest of the world held in high regard for reasons that he struggled to understand right now.
"What is it?" Liiza asked when she saw that Khan was lost in his thoughts.
"I think I'm in love with your dress," Khan said in a calm voice.
Liiza blushed before complaining loudly. "And I was even worried about you!"
Liiza let go of Khan's wrist and turned to leave the forest, but she stopped and glanced back at him when she saw that he wasn't moving.
"Aren't you coming?" Liiza asked in a concerned tone.
"I was just looking at you," Khan smiled and walked toward her before taking her hand. "I don't have to return to the camp right away. Do you mind if we walk like this for a while?"
Liiza revealed a sweet smile and stared a Khan's eyes for a few seconds before nodding and clinging to his arm.
The two walked slowly toward the edges of the forest. They didn't speak nor hurry back. Khan didn't want to use his time left to go back to the intense kissing from last night. He felt the need to make the pieces of his life that he could trust solidify in his mind, and having Liiza next to him in those moments helped in ways that she couldn't imagine.
Snow and Liiza's Aduns were already waiting for the couple at the edge of the forest. The two eagles even looked away when the couple exchanged a long kiss and a meaningful stare before separating to jump on their rides.
The meeting with Zalpa had revealed more than just Khan's problems. The interaction between Liiza and the Niqols had shown what the couple already knew. Liiza and Khan's feelings were intensifying, and they both knew where they were going.
The flight back to the familiar mountains where the Aduns separated felt good. Khan forgot about his many problems as the wind blew in his face. He let Snow go crazy to experience the adrenaline generated by the reckless eagle, and his intense sensations suppressed the issues that afflicted his mind.
It felt good to be alive. Khan could experience so many wonderful things even if immense problems tried to devour him from the inside.
His father had probably lied to him for years, but how could he feel angry when he could fly freely across the sky?
The same Nak who had caused the Second Impact had saved his life before forcing him to experience years of nightmares. However, using mana felt good, and being strong was even better. Khan rejoiced whenever he performed a perfect execution. His confidence even increased after every victory or feat.
Could he even hate the Nak after discovering that part of his talent came from that tragedy? Khan didn't have a clear answer to that question, but he knew that his desperation wouldn't simply disappear. Yet, he could change how he approached that feeling. After all, he could train harder than others due to the mindset obtained after years of nightmares.
His experiences on Istrone had turned him into a murderer. Khan had killed mercilessly and had suffered from the all-devouring emptiness that the act had generated. However, his achievements in the rebellion had granted him access to Nitis and had allowed him to meet Liiza.
The good aspects of his life couldn't make him see his tragedies in a positive light, but they helped him deal with them. Khan had goals, things that he liked, and could still experience intense feelings. His efforts had to be on making sure that his pain didn't prevent him from appreciating what he had.
'I think I get it now,' Khan thought as he imagined to speak with Lieutenant Dyester. 'It's not about forgetting the bad or focusing only on the good. It's about acceptance.'
Life could suck, but it was worth living as long as he could pursue what he liked. It didn't matter if his interests only involved martial arts, aliens, flights, and Liiza. They were enough to keep his crumbled self into one piece, and he would do everything in his power to protect them.
