C411 Hand
The symphony of mana was beyond messy. Countless energy sources added their influence to the environment and created a scenery too complicated to contain in a single brain.
However, one specific shade managed to stand out from the rest of the mess and attract Khan's attention. The sensation was faint, unclear, and even disappeared at times, but Khan was sure. Rodney was in the area.
'Did he send her?' Khan wondered while standing up to make his way through the crowd. Of course, he didn't forget to update Luke about that development.
Complaints resounded around Khan as he bumped and squeezed himself through the crowd. Someone stood up to challenge him, but a cold gaze and an alteration of the synthetic mana were enough to put anyone back in their seats.
Even among the glares, Khan ignored the crowd to go over what had just happened. Appointing Raymond as the man behind the woman's warning was almost obvious, but Khan didn't want to leave any blind spot in his preparations.
Did Rodney have the power to hire a third-level warrior? The answer was a resounding: Yes. Still, he probably didn't have the means to learn about Khan's seat right after the purchase, and having someone ready in the area sounded unreasonable without that information.
Moreover, Khan was convinced that Rodney had been honest during their meeting. His fear had been authentic, and their bloody history only added value to that conclusion.
'Why would Raymond send someone to warn me after being so friendly?' Khan ended up wondering once his thoughts moved to a new topic. 'What's the point of continuing to pretend even now?'
Khan couldn't solve those doubts, but he knew what could. The warning had to have some connection with the mission. The secret area was bound to have the answers he sought.
The staircases were immense structures that encircled the whole square, but they had a functional layout. They were firm enough to endure the tremendous weight of the audience while also having passages in their insides.
Khan spent minutes heading for another exit since he didn't dare to follow the woman, and the audience almost fought against him when he climbed the steps that led to the passage.
A similar issue appeared when Khan reached the passage. Staircases that dived directly into the structure stretched from the opening, but a crowd had claimed them. Anyone too poor to purchase seats had settled there, leaving no room for those who wanted to cross the area.
Khan had sensed that situation before he could lay his eyes on it, so he had already made up his mind. As soon as the crowd unfolded in his vision, he jumped forward and proceeded to use heads and shoulders as footholds to cross the area.
The crowd hid the directions depicted on the walls, so Khan stuck to going down. Passages connected to lower seats appeared occasionally, but he eventually found the opening that led outside the square.
The situation didn't improve even after Khan left the staircases. A river of people had invaded the streets around the square, forcing him to keep jumping from head to head until he reached the opposite sidewalk, where he finally found a landing spot.
Complaints flew in Khan's direction as soon as he landed, but he ignored everything and closed his eyes. A torrent of different colors filled his senses and conveyed a seemingly endless stream of information, but he cut the useless noise out until he found a strand of mana that matched his needs.
Someone had tried to approach Khan while he was immersed in his inspection, but the resolve conveyed when he opened his eyes made those people hesitate. The crowd hid his figure during that second, and the complainers lost track of him.
As for Khan, he squeezed through anyone on his path to follow the strand of synthetic mana that carried a trace of Rodney's presence. That scent intensified as he advanced, and his sensitivity eventually brought him to a narrow street on the other side of the block.
That street didn't lack people, but one hooded figure leaning on the metal wall managed to attract Khan's attention. The man wore sunglasses, and pale-blue tattoos covered his mouth, but his unmistakable presence brought Khan before him.
"What are you even wearing?" Khan asked while inspecting the hoodie. The latter was too loose to reveal the items hidden underneath, but traces of synthetic mana seeping out of it gave Khan a vague idea.
"I had to take precautions," Rodney explained. "I'm sure my faction didn't take my betrayal nicely."
"Betrayal isn't new to you," Khan mocked. "You'll be fine."
"You wouldn't talk like this if you knew the full extent of Raymond Cobsend's influence," Rodney scoffed. "You'd take even more precautions than me."
"Like the gun under your hoodie?" Khan wondered, and a smirk appeared on his face when a tremor ran through Rodney's mouth.
"You have become a proper freak," Rodney commented coldly. "No wonder you can't find your place among humans."
"I've been a freak since I was five," Khan corrected. "What's your excuse?"
"A freak chose an alien over a fellow human," Rodney stated.
Even with the sunglasses, Khan knew that Rodney was glaring at him. Tension also fell around the two. They seemed on the verge of fighting, but neither made sudden moves.
"You came to me for help," Khan pointed out. "Don't forget that."
"It was a negotiation," Rodney contradicted, "And maybe I should have given it a second thought. I can't believe you sent your green friends to spy on me."
"You can't blame me for not trusting you," Khan chuckled.
"I blame you for your poor judgment," Rodney explained. "Did you really think the flashiest species on Milia 222 could spy on the Orlats?"
"It's a matter of loyalty," Khan replied. "You wouldn't understand."
"I understand they did a poor job," Rodney declared. "At least I got my money's worth."
Khan could contradict Rodney. The meeting with the woman probably hinted that someone was aware of the mission, but Khan kept that information to himself. He didn't want Rodney to run away before showing the secret area.
"Let's get moving," Khan uttered to change the topic. "I'd rather fight only after seeing this secret floor of yours."
"You can't even take a loss," Rodney sighed. "No fun as always."
Khan snorted without adding anything, and Rodney voiced a faint laugh before leaving the wall to dive into the crowd. Khan followed him closely, and the two began a silent walk that saw them cross many blocks.
"They are endless," Rodney eventually cursed since people continued to occupy every street.
"You can't blame them for wanting to celebrate their home," Khan commented.
"They live on rocks kept alive by criminals and synthetic mana," Rodney mocked. "What's there to be proud of?"
"Arrogance is a human flaw," Khan sighed.
"Please," Rodney sneered. "Milia 222 is nothing more than a glorified space station. I get coming here to enjoy its illegal activities but seeing it as a home... They must be delusional."
"Most of these people have never gone outside the asteroids," Khan pointed out.
"That's their problem," Rodney declared. "The Nele are an exception, but the other species have planets and other settlements. This pride comes from ignorance and entitlement."
"Entitlement?" Khan asked.
"Some factions here are pushing for independence," Rodney laughed. "Can you believe it? They don't even realize that their species are the sole reason they have enough time to waste on those useless thoughts."
Khan couldn't help but agree with Rodney. Milia 222's independence was a nice dream for the natives of those asteroids, but none of them had the power to enforce and protect it without their species' support.
"These people don't know the grim side of the universe," Khan admitted, "But I can say the same for a big part of humanity."
"You are right about that," Rodney voiced. "Still, we don't have idiots asking for independence. We know we are born on the lucky side of the universe."
Khan remained silent, and Rodney turned to show his smirk. An insult seemed almost necessary after that exchange, and he didn't hesitate to throw it.
"Most of us know," Rodney mocked.
"You really want me to kill you," Khan casually threatened while his eyes remained on the crowd.
"I missed your empty threats," Rodney chuckled. "We both know you won't do anything until we reach our destination, and I still have your letter after that."
"I'm willing to bet that you have it on you right now," Khan guessed.
"Why would I be so stupid?" Rodney wondered.
"Because you wouldn't trust anyone with something so important," Khan replied. "Your money and influence can't buy that."
Rodney didn't give his usual immediate answer. Instead, he fell silent for a few seconds and turned to face the crowd again before voicing a whisper that almost lost itself in the surrounding noise. "It would still be stupid."
Khan's eyes flashed with interest. Studying Rodney's mental state among that mess was too challenging, but he knew he had struck a nerve. He only needed the right opportunity to test that out.
The silence continued for a while until it became deafening. Rodney never stopped walking either, so Khan ended up restarting the conversation. "Where is this passage?"
"Why would I even tell you?" Rodney sneered.
"I still wouldn't know how to reach the building you mentioned," Khan explained. "Unless the place has only one path."
"Are you trying to trick me now?" Rodney asked. "Look, Lower Level 1 is the home of many hidden passages. Most go to Lower Level 2, a few directly to Lower Level 3, and only one to the intermediate floor."
"Are you sure it's only one?" Khan questioned.
"No," Rodney admitted, "But there can't be too many since it would increase the chances of getting discovered. I bet there are at most three paths, with two of them known only to the leaders."
"What about the guards' situation?" Khan continued since Rodney's explanation made sense.
"That turned out to be quite lucky," Rodney revealed. "I expected many to abandon their post due to the celebrations, but not so many. We might have it easy down there."
'Don't disappoint him,' Khan repeated in his mind. The woman's warning continued to make no sense, and Khan could only see his mission as a possible connection.
"How far is it anyway?" Khan asked.
"Don't tell me that the pressure is getting to you," Rodney joked. "We are almost there."
Rodney's words turned out to be the truth. The two crossed a few more streets before reaching the corner of a block that featured multiple shops. All of them were closed except for a small door that still had writings flickering on its surface.
"What now?" Khan asked while leaning on the wall to imitate Rodney.
"One second," Rodney said while pulling out his phone and checking a few messages. "There should still be someone inside. We must wait for them to leave."
Khan pretended to move his attention to his surroundings. Multicolored lights shone in the distance, but the many buildings prevented him from inspecting their true nature. The same went for the loud noises coming from different directions. The various events had started, but he couldn't see much from his position.
Of course, Khan wasn't trying to catch a glimpse of the events. His gaze remained on the crowd, but his attention was on the sky. Many vehicles still flew among the buildings, and he tried to memorize as many of them to find eventual patterns.
Luke should have sent orders for the ships on his payroll by then, but Khan didn't know how far Rodney's influence spread. He might have hired vehicles too, and Khan hoped to notice them before it was too late.
The sky turned out to be too messy to spot patterns, at least with a short inspection. Instead, the ground reserved some surprises since someone left the still-open shop in those minutes.
A human second level-warrior, a woman, left the shop and activated a few functions on its entrance before diving into the crowd. It didn't take long before Khan lost track of her, and Rodney's phone buzzed at that point.
"Let's go," Rodney announced after checking his phone.
The two walked in front of the small door, which now showed no writings, and Rodney pulled out a second device before Khan could ask any questions. The black screen started to buzz when Rodney placed it on the metal surface, and a mechanical noise soon resounded.
Rodney stored the device and tapped on the door, which slid open without asking for any authorization. A seemingly ordinary shop with a small counter unfolded, and Rodney immediately led Khan inside.
Khan's wariness peaked as soon as the door closed behind him. He had just barged into enemy territory, and his current companion might very well be his worst opponent. He couldn't allow distractions anymore.
"Be ready," Rodney warned. "Even I don't know what to expect from now on."
A joke popped into Khan's mind, but he suppressed it. He drew his knife to answer, and Rodney nodded at that gesture before lowering his hood and taking off his sunglasses.
"Shouldn't you take out that gun of yours?" Khan wondered while Rodney went behind the counter and crouched to tap on the floor.
"Are you getting worried about me now?" Rodney joked.
"I don't know how useful you are without it," Khan responded, but a clicking noise resounded and ended that bickering.
"Hurry up," Rodney called while part of the floor went slightly down to turn into a platform, "And let's avoid meaningless talks. Lower Level 2 isn't exactly safe."
"Wait," Khan exclaimed as he interrupted his step into the platform. "Lower Level 2?"
"We must go through there to reach the hidden area," Rodney explained. "There might be other paths, but I don't know them."
The situation was different from what Khan had initially believed. Going to the hidden floor from the city was one thing, but lingering in Lower Level 2 was a problem, especially since the platform probably led to human areas.
"Are you chickening out on me now?" Rodney mocked. "I hope you didn't expect this to be too easy."
"I hope you really have that letter on you," Khan sighed as he finally stepped on the platform.
"Why is that?" Rodney laughed as he straightened his position and tapped on the floor.
Khan waited until the platform began to descend to give his answer. "Because if I end up killing you down there, I won't have to look through Milia 222 for it."
Silence couldn't fall due to the whooshing noise of the elevator. The platform was descending through a narrow channel, so every noise echoed between Rodney and Khan.
Still, the two men remained silent as they entered a different world. They glared at each other, fully aware that one might backstab the other at the first chance.
Some might lose their nerves under the tension caused by that constant threat, but Khan found the situation quite reassuring. He didn't need to think or review his stance there. He would show no mercy if Rodney attempted to do something funny.
Rodney seemed able to read the insides of Khan's mind, but he only showed a smirk. He wasn't stupid. The letter was his sole advantage there, but it wouldn't protect him if things turned rough. He had everything to lose, but his expression showed no fear.
In a way, Rodney had earned Khan's respect. Khan hated him on many levels, but he had to admit that no one else had been able to corner him so efficiently.
Rodney didn't have Khan's power of fighting experience, but he still managed to come out on top. His strength came from pure wits and knowledge, and the current situation showed how those qualities could be more valuable than sheer battle prowess.
The exchange of glares ended when the platform entered a room. Rodney and Khan tensed up, but the latter immediately relaxed since his sensitivity told him that the area was empty.
The two men jumped off the platform when it reached the floor, and Rodney swept his surroundings before heading toward one of the two doors.
Khan did the same while following Rodney. The area felt familiar. The place was a small warehouse carrying the same lack of features common on Lower Level 2.
A quick inspection of the phone told Khan that he had no connection and confirmed the arrival in jammed areas. He didn't know if he was precisely in Lower Level 2, but Rodney didn't give him the chance to linger on those thoughts.
The black screen succeeded in unlocking the door and allowed the two men to advance. They crossed an empty corridor that led into another warehouse full of items, but none of those goods managed to distract the duo.
Rodney quickly approached another door, and an area that Khan knew far too well unfolded in his vision. A flat ceiling and a grey floor enveloped an open space that expanded past the entrance. That was Lower Level 2, and Rodney expected them to cross it.
"Hurry!" Rodney whispered as he crossed the entrance.
Khan felt forced to follow Rodney, and the two soon found themselves in the open. They were right in the middle of Lower Level 2, with no other building nearby, and they weren't alone.
Khan was the first to notice the presence of multiple people. Fuveall, Orlats, humans, and even Nele roamed through Lower Level 2. However, they seemed to belong to sparse groups with no interest in their surroundings. Even Khan and Rodney's arrival only attracted their attention for a few seconds.
Khan and Rodney instinctively wore their casual faces. They were both masters of pretenses, so they didn't need words to opt for a slower but innocent walk that could avoid arising suspicion.
The pretense worked. No one approached or even paid attention to the duo. Still, the path was long, and the destination remained unclear.
'Resurfacing on my own might be a problem,' Khan thought while tightening the grip on the knife hidden behind his forearm, 'And I can forget the air support.'
Developing escape plans had become second nature for Khan, and the slow walk through Lower Level 2 gave him all the time he needed to explore every option.
The ships sent by Luke couldn't do anything in that area. Khan didn't even know if they had managed to follow him, but the need to cross Lower Level 2 had already cut them out of the equation.
As for the escape plan, Khan could only imagine himself running back to Lower Level 2 to find the Nele. His lack of knowledge over the distance among floors didn't leave any other viable option.
Khan and Rodney walked for less than half an hour to reach a structure that seemed to border the edge of the floor. The place was large and lacked any peculiar detail, but its entrance opened before the duo could reach it.
Rodney and Khan froze simultaneously when a group of humans crossed the entrance. The crew only had three second-level warriors among its eight members, but it remained too numerous to dispatch without attracting attention.
Khan prepared for the worst, but the faint stench of booze suddenly reached his nostrils. His behavior immediately changed, and a smile even appeared on his face as the crew inevitably inspected him and Rodney.
"Hey!" One of the women among the crew asked as she studied Rodney's tattoos. "Did you just come down?"
"We needed a break," Khan happily laughed before patting Rodney's shoulder. "Can we find anything worthwhile in there?"
"Everything is already inside our bodies," One of the men responded, causing a general laugh.
"We might catch you in the city then," Rodney joined the conversation, smiling like Khan.
"That sounds hard," A third member of the crew exclaimed. "I heard it's a mess up there."
"You have to see it to believe it," Rodney responded. "We also tried to enter the square, but you need a ship just to reach the lower seats."
"I'm sure we'll find something," The first woman declared as the two groups finally crossed each other. The crew advanced deeper into the dock while Khan and Rodney arrived before the building.
Rodney quickly pulled out his black screen and placed it on the door. Time slowed down as the crew's steps grew louder. Someone could notice something if they took too long to enter, and one man even turned at some point, but the entrance opened before he could ask anything.
Khan and Rodney basically jumped into the building and didn't dare to relax until the door closed. They were alone in a small room that featured four exits, and Rodney didn't hesitate to approach one of them.
"You sure know how to handle drunkards," Rodney commented as he deployed the black screen again.
"Do you really want to insult me about Nitis now?" Khan asked, and Rodney snickered without adding anything else.
A long corridor unfolded once the door opened, and Khan and Rodney hurried through it. They weren't outside anymore, so they could run at a decent pace without bothering about the noise they made.
Khan kept the synthetic mana in check to avoid surprises, but the path remained empty. The duo went through more corridors, warehouses, and simple rooms without meeting anyone. They continued to be alone even after reaching a passage that climbed through the building.
'Finally,' Khan exclaimed in his mind as he pulled something from his backpack. Climbing meant reaching the intermediate floor, so he needed his scanner.
"What's that?" Rodney whispered when he saw the rectangular screen in Khan's hand.
"Don't worry about it," Khan reassured as he turned on the device and activated its functions.
The scanner took only a few seconds to light up and inspect the area. Multiple labels appeared on its screen to describe the types of mana perceived, but Khan couldn't find anything odd. The device didn't see anything connected to the chaos element.
Rodney glanced at the scanner before resuming the advance. The two climbed and made a few turns before climbing again. The absence of peculiar artificial gravity allowed Khan to keep track of his position, and it didn't take long before the scenery changed significantly.
A dark area welcomed the duo when they crossed another door. The artificial illumination created a dim environment in the shape of a narrow corridor, and Rodney's increasing tension told Khan that they had almost reached their destination.
The scanner's results remained stable even after entering the corridor. A few percentages changed, but the metal element continued to claim first place. The values matched those found in any other environment, and Khan could only frown when he read them.
'How is this possible?' Khan cursed in his mind. He still felt that odd sensation, but even the Fuveall's technology was failing to pick up anything.
The matter made no sense, especially since the fourth asteroid had theoretically exhausted its hidden areas. Khan had basically been everywhere now, but he still couldn't find the reason behind that odd sensation.
Rodney was obviously unaware of Khan's internal struggles. His entire attention remained on the corridor and its various branches. He lacked Khan's senses, so he had to rely on his eyes and ears to check the area. Luckily for him, that secret maze seemed empty.
Khan remained relaxed for most of the journey since his sensitivity to mana checked the corners before he could even come close to them. Yet, a change eventually happened. Two clear and intense mana sources joined the symphony and grew stronger as the duo advanced.
'Second-level warriors,' Khan thought. His knife was ready, and he was fast enough to get the jump on those enemies. He could probably dispatch them without causing any ruckus, but he remained silent and pretended that everything was fine.
The advance had slowed down after the change in environment. Rodney and Khan had put a limit to their noise, so nothing alerted the two warriors in the distance. However, they were getting closer, and Khan had yet to say anything about them.
'Three turns away,' Khan counted as he crossed a branch. 'Two.'
The countdown reached "zero" after the duo crossed two more turns. Rodney was the first to peek past the corner, and his whole body tensed up when he noticed the warriors sitting on the floor. Khan already knew that his opponents were distracted, but he refused to exploit that advantage.
Three gasps resounded in the corridor. Rodney and the two second-level warriors remained stunned in front of those strangers, but a violent release of mana quickly replaced that feeling.
Rodney summoned his energy, and the same went for the man and woman busy leaving the floor. Rodney had the initiative, and his control over mana was surprisingly smooth, so his attack shot out before his opponents could stand up.
A high-pitched noise resounded in the area and expanded until it reached Khan and the two second-level warriors. The sound made Khan's mind go blank for an instant, and he found Rodney mid-air when he regained complete control over his senses.
Rodney fell on the two opponents, who lost their balance due to their odd stance and messy senses. The second-level warriors slammed on the floor, and Rodney dived toward them once he regained a foothold.
Khan couldn't see much with his eyes, but his sensitivity revealed the truth. Rodney used his mana to turn his fingers into sharp blades that pierced the warriors' heads while they were still confused. The attack dug holes into their skulls and killed them on the spot.
Rodney took a deep breath when he pulled out his fingers and wiped the blood on his hoodie. His gaze lingered on the two corpses for a few seconds, but he eventually turned to glare at Khan.
"You did it on purpose, didn't you?" Rodney coldly asked.
"What did you expect?" Khan questioned before changing the topic. "What element is that?"
"We truly can't trust each other," Rodney sighed. "I'll tell you, but I don't want other surprises."
"Sure," Khan exclaimed without putting any seriousness into his tone.
"Thoughts," Rodney declared. "I turn my thoughts into actions."
Khan remained amazed for a second before scoffing. Those words didn't explain much. They only described the nature of Rodney's element without saying anything about its limits.
"No wonder you told me," Khan shook his head.
"Am I not allowed secrets now?" Rodney wondered.
"Let's move on already," Khan stated, and Rodney smirked before following those directives.
Trying to make sense of that maze turned out to be a problem. Khan did his best to memorize the trod path, but the two crossed dozens of turns and changed directions multiple times.
The general position inside the structure was the only thing that Khan could genuinely keep track of. He knew where he was all the time, so he could opt for breaking through walls if he got lost during an eventual escape.
Except for a few instances, the march remained uneventful. Khan began to warn Rodney whenever he sensed new enemies, and they worked together to dispatch them. Needless to say, having the initiative made things way too easy for Khan.
Rodney didn't hold back either. He didn't use his spells anymore, but his fingers were deadly. It was actually surprising that they could withstand such attacks, and Khan even guessed that the technique hid a lot since he had tested something similar first-hand.
Also, the new enemies found along the way were weaker than the first team. Khan and Rodney never faced more than two opponents at the time, and they rarely had second-level warriors among them.
'This is the fifth team already,' Khan thought while waving his knife to remove the blood on it. 'How far are we?'
Two corpses stood before Khan and Rodney. They belonged to the first-level warriors they had just dispatched, and the blood coming out of their deadly injuries created a puddle that forced the duo to jump over them.
The corridor stretched a bit more, but a door eventually appeared and marked its end. Rodney relied on his black device to open it, and a new scenery finally unfolded.
A vast, dim area expanded past the corridor. The place resembled an emptier version of Lower Level 2, except for the single, large building standing at its center. The structure was tall enough to connect the floor and short ceiling, and its width made it able to contain multiple warehouses.
"I told you it was large," Rodney commented, "Stupidly large."
"And you never went inside," Khan recalled. "How did you even keep track of this area? It took us almost an hour to get here."
"Money can buy a lot," Rodney revealed. "Come on."
Khan and Rodney left the corridor to hurry toward the structure. The absence of windows or other notable details was in line with Lower Level 2's style, and Khan even accelerated when he confirmed that the area was empty.
The structure's front side had a big main door and a few entrances near its corners. Khan and Rodney opted for the smaller openings, and, to their surprise, they found that they were already unlocked.
The discovery added a new layer of tension to the duo, and Khan even replayed the woman's warning in his mind. He couldn't shake off the feeling that everything had been too easy, but he couldn't deny what he saw either. He had really reached the intermediate floor, and he had even found a secret building.
The scanner's results continued to remain stable. The only significant change involved the actual percentage of synthetic mana in the air, which had increased after entering the building.
As for the scenery, the place was an empty and immense warehouse. There was nothing there, and even the dust was absent. It almost seemed that someone had cleaned recently.
"Odd," Rodney commented before that desolate scene.
"Let's check the entire building," Khan suggested, hoping that the other areas would have something.
Rodney nodded and moved toward one of the entrances that led deeper into the building, and his black device turned out to be pointless again. The door was already open.
Khan and Rodney could only exchange meaningful glances as they dived deeper. The next area featured a few broken consoles that failed to fulfill Khan's goal. Yet, when the duo crossed another open entrance, they finally found what they were looking for.
A big, cylindrical machine occupied the center of a circular room. A container filled with greenish liquid and with multiple thick tubes coming from its extremities stood tall and claimed most of the available space.
The huge machine carried an imposing aura, but mere technology couldn't match the item floating among the greenish liquid. Rodney had seen similar images and descriptions during his studies, and his gaze snapped toward Khan as soon as he recalled a scene from Nitis.
"Khan, don't do anything stupid," Rodney warned, but Khan had already stopped listening to the world around him.
Khan simply couldn't divert his attention. The machine contained an azure, six-fingered hand that seemed to have come out directly from his nightmares.
To be continued