“Fuck, Mr. Johnson lied to me!” Klaus shouted, staring at the message in disbelief. “Is it because I never paid school fees that he did this on purpose? How am I welcoming a tribulation wh I hav’t ev stepped into the Saint Realm yet?”
Forty-nine years ago, wh the first person became a Saint, they were baptized by heavly lightning. It was said that many believed the world was coming to an d. The process was terrifying, to say the least. A few weeks later, the second person became a Saint and faced their own tribulation.
Th came the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth. After the sixth Saint, people noticed something differt. According to those first six individuals, once someone reaches the Grandmaster stage, they must form their star core before advancing to the next stage.
This star core determines the amount of spiritual qi one can store. However, no one knew exactly how to form this core or what it truly was. But wh they did form it, it triggered a heavly tribulation. Passing this tribulation made them several times stronger, ev granting them the ability to walk in the air.
But never in the fifty years since the apocalypse began had anyone heard of an Awaked undergoing tribulation just to advance to the Ascded stage. Klaus was first and for that, he is both scared and angry. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he had be set up.
“Fuck…” Klaus cursed again, feeling a wave of terror wash over him. He glanced up and saw the clouds gathering ominously above. Suddly, he felt something stir within him, specifically in his back.
In an instant, his shirt caught fire, but he didn’t feel the burning ssation on his skin. Instead, his eyes flashed, and he collapsed to the g.
He suddly found himself in the same place he had gone to during his awaking. He was sured by a sea of elemtal ergies, each with its own distinct color and fluctuation. In the cter stood nine tall and elegant doors.
“There’s something differt about this ice door,” he noticed. The first door, seemingly made of pure ice, had undergone some changes.
“Hahaha, you’re quite perceptive. It appears you’re more powerful than I thought, leveling up this quickly,” a voice suddly spoke from behind the ice door. It sounded exactly like his own voice but slightly more mature.
“Sior, can you tell me why I’m about to undergo tribulation wh I hav’t ev reached the Saint stage yet? I don’t know much, but I’m sure tribulations don’t come until after one forms their star core. How is this happing?” Klaus asked, his voice filled with panic.
“Of course, you’re about to undergo a tribulation. You’re a Paragon, after all. The heavs don’t want a competitor, so they’ll try to kill you,” the voice replied casually.
“Say what?” Klaus nearly dropped on his butt in shock.
Klaus felt his heart pounding in his chest, the weight of the revelation almost too much to bear. “A Paragon? What do you mean, Sior? I never heard of such a thing before. Who is a Paragon?”
The voice behind the ice door chuckled softly. “A Paragon is a being who stands above all others, someone who has the pottial to surpass ev the heavs. You, Klaus, were born with the pottial to be this very being. That’s why the heavs have tak notice of you. They see you as a threat and will do everything in their power to eliminate you before you can rise to your full pottial.”
Klaus took a step back, his mind racing. “But why now? I’ve only just started my journey. I hav’t done anything extraordinary yet.”
“That’s where you’re wrong,” the voice responded. “Your rapid growth, your unique abilities, and your connection to the eight elemts all point to something far greater than you realize. The heavs can sse your pottial, ev if you can’t fully grasp it yet. This tribulation is their way of stopping you before you become unstoppable.”
Klaus felt a mix of fear and anger building inside him. “So, what am I supposed to do? How can I face this tribulation and survive it?”
The voice grew more serious. “You must embrace your destiny, Klaus. This tribulation is just the beginning. If you survive, you’ll grow stronger, and your path will become clearer. But if you fail, th that is all.”
Klaus was at a loss for words. “How is this happing?” he muttered, his voice trembling. “I hav’t ev had any fun yet. My mom is still in the slum, and my dad is still missing. How can I be fighting for my life now wh all I wanted was to protect my mother and make her happy? I never had any plans to go against the heavs.” He felt tears welling up in his eyes.
The situation felt cruel and unfair. All he ever wanted was a simple life, not to battle against forces beyond his understanding.
The voice from behind the ice door interrupted his thoughts. “Tell me, Klaus, why do you cultivate to become strong?”
Klaus hesitated for a momt, trying to find the right words. “I cultivate to protect the people I care about,” he finally said. “My mother… she’s all I have left. I want to give her a better life, to make sure she’s safe and happy. And my father…
I want to find him, to understand what happed. I don’t want power for the sake of power. I just want to keep my loved ones safe.”
The voice was silt for a momt as if considering his words. Th it spoke again, more gtly this time. “Your inttions are noble, Klaus. But strgth, true strgth, oft comes with burds we don’t anticipate. The heavs see your pottial, and they fear what you could become. That’s why they’re trying to crush you before you can realize that pottial.”
Klaus clched his fists, frustration, and anger bubbling up inside him. “But I don’t want to fight the heavs! I just want to live my life, protect my mom, and find my dad. Why does it have to be like this?”
“Because the path of power is rarely simple,” the voice replied. “You can’t control what others perceive you as. But you can control how you respond. The heavs may see you as a threat, but that’s because they recognize the greatness within you. You can either rise to meet that challge or let it consume you.”
Klaus took a deep breath, trying to steady his emotions. “I never asked for this,” he said softly, his voice barely above a whisper. “But if this is my fate, th I’ll face it. I’ll protect my mom, I’ll find my dad, and I’ll survive this tribulation. I have to.”
“Good,” the voice responded, a hint of approval in his tone. “Remember, Klaus, the heavs only challge those who have the pottial to change the world. You are stronger than you think, and your journey is just beginning. Embrace it, and you’ll find the strgth you need to protect those you love.”
“Fuck, this bastard heavs just made an emy out of me. I’ll be sure to remember this one day,” Klaus muttered through clched teeth, his frustration boiling over. In his frustration, he didn’t notice that a small orb of light slipped through the ice door, siltly merging with one of the star tattoos on his back.
It was as if the heavs themselves were unaware of the secret gift bestowed upon him.
Desperate for a way out of his predicamt, Klaus decided to try a differt approach. If he couldn’t fight the heavs on his own, maybe he could gain some wisdom from the mysterious voice behind the ice door.
“Erm, Sior,” Klaus began hesitantly, his voice a mix of hope and nervousness, “you don’t happ to have a name, do you?”
The voice, which had be silt for a momt, responded with a soft chuckle. “You’re trying to curry favor now, ar’t you? Clever boy. As for my name… it’s not important. What matters is the power and knowledge you can gain here.”
Klaus felt a glimmer of hope. “Well, if you’re willing, could you share some of that knowledge? Anything that might help me survive this tribulation? I can’t let it d like this, not wh I have so much left to do.”
The voice paused as if considering his request. “There are indeed things behind these doors that you need, Klaus. But understand this: power isn’t giv freely. You must earn it, and prove that you are worthy of it. The tribulation you are about to face is just the start.”
Klaus’s heart sank a little, but he refused to give up. “Th tell me what I need to do. How can I pass this tribulation and come out stronger?”
The voice sighed, but there was a note of approval in its tone. “Your determination is admirable. Very well, I will tell you this: the key to surviving this tribulation and the ones to come lies in the balance of your elemts. Each of those doors represts a part of you, a power you’ve yet to fully understand. You must learn to harness them, to bring them into harmony.
Only th will you be able to withstand the wrath of the heavs?”
Klaus nodded, absorbing the words. “Balance the elemts… bring them into harmony. But how do I do that?”
“You are still far from understanding any of this, just know that the ice you channel and the sword you wield are part of your will. Embrace them and allow yourself to be absorbed by their essce, only th can you start harnessing your true pottial.
“Alright, time to go now… Your time is already up” A wave blew from the door and Klaus’s vision darked, and th he blacked out.
Wh he oped his eyes, he was shocked to find the dark clouds forming more intsely on the horizon. “Fuck, I just wanted to awak and make my mom happy, how did it d up in this plot” Klaus almost cried but th, his eyes lit up, and his sword appeared in his hands
“Alright Bastards, Let this young Master teach you what respect is”
