Chapter 500 - Moment of Truth
As soon as Rathnaar formed the soul-pact with Kahn, he immediately tried to take control over the latter"s body and revealed the truth about that being his main intention since the very beginning.
[System… do it!] ordered Kahn.
Soon, Kahn"s body arched down and he took a deep breath.
"You really need to stop looking down on others if you want to be in charge." spoke the real Kahn this time.
[What the h.e.l.l is this?!] shouted Rathnaar in his mind.
At this moment… Rathnaar"s soul form was put in a different s.p.a.ce as if some sort of jail was created just for him.
"Can I destroy his soul?" asked Kahn.
[No. The subject"s soul form is currently too strong for the host to destroy.
The host will need to at least become a 9th stage saint to completely overpower and absorb or eradicate it.] replied the system.
"I see. So I"m stuck with this old geezer for some time." spoke Kahn.
[h.e.l.lo there.] a sudden grim voice resounded in Kahn"s mind but this time, it was directed at Rathnaar.
[What the h.e.l.l! Why is there a Basilisk here?!
Wait... What kind of basilisk is this?!
What are these monsters!]
Exclaimed Rathnaar again and again as he saw Rudra and the rest of the members of the Legion inside Kahn.
[You even have a mythical rank dragon"s body in a separate dimension!
What kind of freak are you?!] shouted the first emperor.
"The kind that outsmarted you." replied Kahn with a grin.
[How? How did you know that I would betray you?] asked the peak saint.
"Well, you played your part perfectly. If I was a fool, I truly would"ve believed you seeing your sincerity.
But the thing is… your deal was simply too shady." said Kahn and continued…
"If you truly wanted to share the tablet and the truth about how to become a Demi-G.o.d with someone worthy…
You wouldn"t have made the whole successor thing in the first place.
Back when I acquired your core 2 years ago, all Lezron Mikealson, the First Sage"s remnant soul did was just inquire about me being a citizen of the Rakos Empire.
He did not test my capabilities, background, intentions or loyalty toward the empire or the imperial family.
He just bound the core to my body as if he wanted to get rid of it." elaborated Kahn.
"And after hearing about how you chose not to tell even your descendants about the secret or even your core… I came to a final conclusion.
The whole Successor thing was just a front. In reality, you just wanted a body to control and return.
Anyone strong and greedy enough would"ve eventually contacted the imperial family after finding your core and hearing the final message from the First Sage in order to become the emperor and they would"ve been brought here by your descendants.
I"m certain you made arrangements for everything.
Just that the Imperial family getting wiped out was not under your expectations when you planned all of this." explained Kahn with a smile on his face.
"Hence, I already prepared for you betraying me as soon as we made the soul-pact."
[Haha ha ha! To get outplayed by a brat who was born yesterday…
I really have gotten old it seems.] spoke Rathnaar as he kept laughing hysterically.
"Have you gone senile old man? Are you sure you should be still laughing?" asked Kahn with curiosity.
[You don"t get it, do you? You"re still screwed regardless of who"s in charge.
Only I can control the tablet of Arcana and have the access to Chamber of Exaltation. And know the location of my other part of the soul which holds the truth to becoming a Demi-G.o.d.
Do you think those three n.o.ble factions sent you here to retrieve the tablet without knowing about it? Why do you think they went as far as eradicating my kin?
And now… if they want it… they"d have to extract my soul from your body.] said the old emperor.
Kahn"s eyes were wide open as soon as he heard the peak saint.
[To extract one"s soul from a body… I guess you"re smart enough to know what it truly entails.] he said and kept laughing like a maniac as he rejoiced in Kahn"s current predicament.
"You mean… The factions already knew about this and sent all of us here regardless?
That no matter who got the tablet among the young generation… their fate was going to be the same?" asked Kahn with a flabbergasted expression.
[Hahaha. You have a good head over your shoulders.
Whether it was you, that mage who was killed or that halfbreed demonkin girl with my bloodline; if anyone of you got hands on the Tablet of Arcana… they planned to kill that person to get the ownership of the tablet as soon as you exited the barriers prohibiting a saint from entering here.
All of you were nothing but small p.a.w.ns since the beginning.] revealed Rathnaar.
"Lies! You"re just making a fat lie to get in my head so that I"d be forced to listen to you now that you can"t control my body." said Kahn in denial.
[Tell me, why did you decide to make the pact with me if you knew I was most likely to double-cross you?] asked Rathnaar.
"What choice did I have? If I put you in a box, I"d get the tablet and leave peacefully. And rest would be their problem." replied Kahn with a serious voice.
[Look at your options now, boy.
When you become a Saint, your presence will be noticed by the G.o.ds and their representatives.
But if you stay here, you will be hunted down by the n.o.ble factions for the Tablet of Arcana.
And you can"t stay inside Verla.s.sen unless you want to stay as a semi-saint for the rest of your life. Even here, you will have to be constantly at war.
On one side of the Rakos empire, there"s only Abyss Forest where you will definitely die since any G.o.dbeasts will be able to sense your presence after you become a saint.
Everything is against you at the moment.
So tell me… who should be the one laughing now?] elaborated Rathnaar.
Like a lightning bolt… Kahn was struck with this unforeseeable truth.
And with a terrified voice, he spoke to himself…
"I need to get out of this empire!"