Liiza didn't like to see Khan hurting himself for her sake. She didn't want him to put so much effort into getting accepted by Zalpa and the Niqols society as a whole. She would gladly take his place and shoulder that burden, but opposing his resolve would only go against what made him so exceptional.
Khan's selfless determination was unstoppable when it came to a few topics. Liiza would only risk offending him if she tried to oppose that resolve, and she would even fail to make him give up on the matter. The best path was to show him her support and take care of him properly once he succeeded in his plan. In Liiza's mind, Khan couldn't fail when he put his whole self into something.
Zalpa didn't expect that turn of events. Liiza and Khan were extreme characters, but she believed that they could suppress each other's radical features when they were together. Still, they actually ended up condoning and supporting them if the situation required it.
Zalpa could see that Liiza wasn't happy about the situation, but she also noticed her earnest desire to support Khan. The girl couldn't stop him, so she would do everything in her power to make his path easier..
Both Liiza and Khan were willing to give their everything to their partner. That sight partially reassured Zalpa, but it also hinted at the dysfunctional aspects of their relationship. Their determination was in the right place, but their minds didn't abide by the spectrum that ordinary people should have.
'[They are influencing each other],' Zalpa concluded in her mind.
The old Niqols inspected the couple to try to understand whether their situation was healthy. She knew that the crisis was highlighting the extreme aspects of both personalities, but she didn't mind that too much. Her focus was on Liiza's well-being. Zalpa wouldn't hesitate to drive Khan away if she felt that his presence was hurting her.
However, Zalpa could only end her inspection with a curse that never managed to leave her mouth. She felt ashamed of herself in front of Khan's intense resolve and Liiza's effort to suppress her worries. She would go against everything she preached if she didn't show any respect for those feelings.
"[Where do you want the mark]?" Zalpa asked before turning to reach one of the monsters hanging from the ceiling.
"[Maybe I should know more about it before deciding]," Khan suggested while inspecting Zalpa cutting open the odd bear with her bare fingers.
"[I'm going to draw a mark on you]," Zalpa explained as she seized bloody organs from the monster and put them in the insides of her robe. "[If your feelings are honest and pure, the mark won't hurt you. Otherwise, it will burn like crazy for a few weeks. It might even require an invasive removal depending on how bad your emotions are]."
Khan's eyebrows arched in surprise, but no fear appeared in his mind. The explanation ended up reassuring Liiza too. The two did not doubt the feelings that they shared.
Zalpa returned to the couple while carrying a bunch of gory materials in her dirty robe. A patch of dark blood expanded on her clothes, but she didn't mind it and promptly picked those organs in a specific order to throw them into the cauldron.
"[Blood]," Zalpa ordered, and Khan quickly left Liiza to stretch his hand.
Zalpa drew a knife from the insides of her robe and cut Khan's palm open. She did her best to pierce his skin without using her mana since she didn't want to spoil that material, and blood eventually started to fall inside the cauldron.
"[The mark will become a lifelong testimony of your feelings if everything goes well]," Zalpa continued before removing Khan's hand and proceeding to send mana into the cauldron to make everything in its insides melt. "[Choose the spot carefully]."
Khan and Liiza exchanged a glance, and they ended up showing a warm smile when he uncovered his torso. He showed his back to his girlfriend before pointing at his shoulder and asking for her advice. "[Left or right]?"
"[We might have to fight soon, so pick the right]," Liiza responded.
"[You heard her]," Khan laughed while turning to show his back to Zalpa.
"[Sit]," Zalpa ordered, and Khan didn't hesitate to execute those orders. He crossed his legs and sat on the ground before shooting a confident smile toward Liiza.
Zalpa took a few minutes to prepare the liquid inside the cauldron. She requested Liiza's blood at some point, and she dipped two fingers inside her potion once everything was ready. The old Niqols then pulled Khan's hair and made him show her his face since she needed to draw a few marks there.
"[You'll fall into a trance]," Zalpa explained while drawing complicated marks on Khan's forehead, nose, and cheeks. "[Your feelings will fight while I draw the mark. The ink will seep into your skin, and your body will accept it only if your emotions are worthy]."
Khan nodded once Zalpa let go of his head. He started to feel dizzy as soon as she placed her fingers on the back of his right shoulder, and confused images slowly replaced the basement.
Khan found himself among complete blackness. He could stand, but he couldn't see the ground under him. His sensations also were nothing more than a mere echo. It was clear that his body wasn't there.
Lights slowly appeared in front of Khan. That glow slowly took Liiza's features. It transformed into a white silhouette of the girl, and he didn't hesitate to approach her.
A second light appeared on Khan's path before he could reach Liiza's figure. The familiar azure shades revealed the nature of that glow even before it took a detailed shape. Khan coldly inspected the radiance growing and transforming into the Nak from his memories in a few seconds.
The two figures remained still and expressionless. Liiza radiated a cozy coldness, while the Nak had a chilling warmth around its ethereal shape. They represented how Khan felt about them. Liiza reminded him of all the lovely nights spent in their home in the marsh, while the Nak carried the scorching memories of the Second Impact.
'Is the test asking me to choose between them?' Khan wondered as he inspected the two figures.
The choice felt obvious. Khan quickly approached Liiza's glowing figure and tried to touch her, but his hand seeped past them. He felt as if her white light didn't want him to touch her.
'Is it rejecting my feelings?' Khan wondered before correcting himself. 'No. It won't accept them unless I'm certain about my position.'
Khan felt able to understand what the test wanted from him. He couldn't explain that sensation, but he went along with it without lingering on pointless thoughts. He had encountered a problem, but solving it would require something that he wasn't willing to do.
"I can't abandon my goals," Khan stated, and his muffled voice echoed throughout the dark area before dispersing in the distance.
A hideous smirk appeared on the Nak's face after that statement. Its light intensified while the opposite happened to Liiza's figure. It seemed that the test was moving in the wrong direction, but Khan didn't panic. He couldn't fall prey to his fears after spending the last days thinking about his problems.
"This test would make me lose all my respect for the Niqols' old ways if it didn't understand the true nature of my situation," Khan mocked before glancing at Liiza's dimming figure to show a complicated smile. "How can I let her continue sleeping on my chest when I shake every time I close my eyes?"
Khan turned toward the smirking Nak to heave a helpless sigh. He raised his hand, and a scorching sensation spread on his palm when he touched the center of the alien's torso.
"You forced me to hate you for reasons that I still can't understand," Khan said, "But I won't let you affect her. My desperation isn't alone anymore."
The smirk on the alien slowly disappeared, and its face morphed to gain Khan's features. He could see deep into his desperation when he looked at those ethereal eyes. The sorrow accumulated throughout twelve years on nightmare was right in front of him. He had long since decided to fix it, and Nitis had added a reason to his goal. Khan wanted to get better so that Liiza wouldn't suffer by looking at his pain.
The Nak and Liiza vanished, and the blackness around Khan shattered as the basement slowly filled his vision. The test was over, but an uncomfortable stinging sensation spread from his shoulder and made him unable to focus on his surroundings.
Khan turned to look at his right shoulder. He couldn't see much from there, but he still noticed a few azure lines spreading down his back. Their color was almost identical to his scar and mutated strands of hair.
"[Your resolve is stunning]," Zalpa sighed before covering her palm with mana and manipulating it until it transformed into a mirror-like surface.
Khan could inspect his shoulder when he looked at his reflection. An azure cross that featured S-shaped lines at its center had appeared on the back of his right shoulder. The mark glowed for a few seconds before darkening and transforming into a proper tattoo.
"[You won't be able to remove it through normal methods]," Zalpa explained. "[This mark is part of you now. No Niqols would ever dare to question your feelings now]."
"[What does this mark mean]?" Khan asked, but a sniff suddenly reached his ears and made him turn toward Liiza.
Liiza was covering her mouth as a single tear fell from her eyes. She took timid steps toward Khan before crouching to sit on his lap. Her hands moved among his hair before going around his neck to pull him closer and make their foreheads touch.
"[You need to stop doing this]," Liiza whined. "[A single mind is too little for all this happiness]."
Khan didn't hesitate to hold Liiza tightly. She instinctively hid her face on his neck and gave him the chance to question Zalpa with his gaze. The old Niqols stared at him for a few seconds before heaving a deep sigh and voicing an answer.
"[That symbol means love or union]," Zalpa revealed while diverting her eyes, "[And it has a vague eternal sense added to it]."
"[Thank you, Zaza]," Khan smiled.
Zalpa voiced an annoyed snort. "[Don't get carried away. I still hate humans. You might have gained my approval, but I'll help you only because of Liiza]."
"[Help with what]?" Khan asked in confusion, and even Liiza raised her head to show a confused frown to Zalpa.
"[You are about to jump into a battle with warriors far stronger than you]," Zalpa replied. "[You won't be able to affect its outcome, but you might need to protect Liiza with your body. Improving your Blood Shield is the least I can do for her]."
****
Author's notes: I failed again to deliver the second chapter on time. The first took far longer than expected. Give me a few hours.
Also, you can find the symbol on my discord, or if you google "eternal love rune".