The Last Paragon in the Apocalypse

Chapter 3: The Awakening (1)

The next day, Klaus and his mother wt about their usual routines. Klaus headed to the academy for his janitorial job, while his mother wt off to do hers. His birthday was just nine days away, and he was working extra hard to save up ough money to buy Celestial Water—a rare drug that stimulates the mutant ge and awaks a person's innate talt.

What Klaus didn't know was that his mother had already managed to get her hands on the drug, but she didn't want to worry him about how she did it. So, she kept up the act, pretding to be working just as hard.

Fast forward to April th, Klaus's birthday. He woke up feeling gloomy, like he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. His mother wasn't a, but she had left a note for him.

"Happy birthday, buddy! You don't have to go to work today; I've got a surprise for you." Klaus smiled as he read the note, holding it in his hands.

"She really is the best. It's just too bad I couldn't save ough to buy the drug to awak. I guess I'll just have to keep saving. According to those researchers, I've got about half a month after I turn 6 to still have a chance at awaking my innate talt."

Klaus sighed as he thought about it. He'd overheard and ev snuck glances at lectures about how the awaking worked. It was something he desperately wanted, but knew was still out of reach. But today was his birthday, so ev though he felt foggy and weighed down, he knew he had to put on a happy face for his mom.

Several hours after Klaus woke up, his mother returned, holding a small bag with a cake inside. "Happy birthday, Klaus! I know this isn't much, but we'll have to manage for now. Once I secure that job, things will be much more lively a here," she said with a warm, motherly smile.

"This is more than ough, Mom," Klaus replied, smiling back. He closed his eyes for a momt, made a wish, and th blew out the small candle. It was a simple celebration, but it filled the room with a sse of warmth and togetherness.

They sat down at their small, worn-out table and shared the cake. It was a quiet momt, but one filled with love. They talked about little things—memories from wh Klaus was younger, hopes for the future, and the challges they'd faced together.

As they finished the last bites of cake, Klaus noticed his mother had a strange look on her face, like she was holding something back. "Mom, is everything okay?" he asked, concerned.

His mother took a deep breath and th reached into her pocket. "I have something for you, Klaus. It's not just any birthday gift… it's something I know you've be dreaming of."

Klaus watched as she pulled out a small vial from her pocket. The liquid inside shimmered with a faint, otherworldly glow. His heart skipped a beat. "Is that…?"

"Yes, it's the Celestial Water," she said, tears welling up in her eyes. "I know how much this means to you. I wanted to give you the chance to awak your talt."

Klaus was speechless. He'd be working so hard, trying to save up for this, and here it was, in his mother's hands. "Mom… how did you…?" His voice cracked as he spoke, overwhelmed by emotion.

His mother shook her head, her eyes shining with love. "Don't worry about that, Klaus. All that matters is that you have it now. You deserve this."

Klaus couldn't hold back the tears any longer. He rushed to his mother, wrapping his arms a her tightly. "Thank you, Mom. Thank you so much… I don't know what to say…"

His mother held him close, her own tears falling freely now. "You don't have to say anything, Klaus. Just know that I'm proud of you. No matter what happs, you've made me proud."

They stood there, holding each other, both crying tears of joy and relief. In that momt, the weight of their struggles seemed to lift, if only for a little while. They knew they still had a long way to go, but for now, they had each other, and that was ough.

"Go on, take it and awak your talt before I change my mind and sell it to someone else," his mother teased, breaking the emotional atmosphere. Klaus chuckled, wiping his eyes, and gtly took the vial from her hands.

He stepped outside, the eving air cool against his skin, and headed toward the small building behind their house. It was a quiet space where he'd oft tried to meditate, though he never really got the hang of it. Tonight, though, it felt differt. Tonight was his momt.

"The man from my dreams, if you're listing right now, this is my break or die momt. Don't make me lose face," Klaus whispered to himself, half-joking, but with a seriousness underlying his words.

He sat down in the middle of the small room, the vial of Celestial Water resting in his hands. The liquid inside glowed faintly, pulsing with a mysterious ergy. Klaus took a deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart. This was it—the momt he had be waiting for.

He uncorked the vial and hesitated for a split second before drinking it down. The liquid was cool as it slid down his throat, and he expected to feel something—anything—immediately. The Celestial Water was supposed to be a powerful drug that stimulated the mutant ge, awaking a person's innate talt.

It was said that once tak, the body would be flooded with ergy, and visions of one's true power would fill their mind.

But as Klaus sat there, waiting, nothing happed. He waited a little longer, expecting some kind of reaction, but there was still nothing. No surge of ergy, no visions, no sign that anything had changed.

Klaus's heart sank. He oped his eyes, staring at his hands as if he could will something to happ. But the room remained silt, and his body felt exactly the same as before.

"What's going on?" he muttered to himself, panic beginning to creep in. He had heard so many stories of people taking the drug and immediately feeling its effects. Why wasn't it working?

He tried to stay calm, reminding himself that maybe it took time. Maybe he needed to meditate or focus harder. He closed his eyes again and tried to clear his mind, but the anxiety gnawing at him made it impossible.

Minutes passed, and still, nothing happed. Klaus oped his eyes again, the reality of the situation settling in. The drug wasn't working. It was supposed to awak his talt, but there was no sign of anything being awaked.

He sat there, staring at the floor, feeling the weight of disappointmt pressing down on him. He had be so hopeful, so ready for this momt. And now, it seemed like that hope had be for nothing.

Just as Klaus was sinking into disappointmt, an explosion of ergy erupted within his body. It was like a bomb going off inside him, and he gasped, his eyes widing in shock. The force of it nearly knocked him over, but he managed to stay seated, gripping the floor as if it were the only thing keeping him ged.

His body started to tremble, uncontrollably, as the ergy surged through him. It was overwhelming, like nothing he had ever felt before. He could feel it coursing through his veins, spreading out to every part of his body.

Th, strange things began to happ. Sparks of lightning crackled a his hands, bright and fierce, before disappearing as quickly as they appeared. His breath caught as he saw flames flicker across his arms, licking his skin without burning him.

Suddly, the air a him grew icy cold, and he could see frost forming on the g beath him. But just as quickly, the frost melted away as water droplets began to form in the air, swirling a him like a small storm.

The g beath him trembled, and he could feel the earth shifting as if it was responding to the ergy inside him. Shadows seemed to grow darker a him, stretching and twisting unnaturally, while at the same time, a gtle breeze stirred, ruffling his hair and carrying whispers of power with it.

A strange, glowing light began to emanate from his skin, pulsing with each beat of his heart. It was a soft, warm light, but it felt alive as if it were connected to the very essce of his being.

Klaus was overwhelmed by the ssations, his mind racing as he tried to comprehd what was happing. He could feel the elemts swirling a him—lightning, fire, ice, water, earth, darkness, wind, and light—all reacting to the ergy inside him as if they were all part of him now.

His breath came in ragged gasps as he tried to control the power that was surging through him. He had never felt anything like this before. It was terrifying and exhilarating all at once.

For a momt, Klaus felt like he was going to lose control, like the ergy would consume him tirely. But th, as suddly as it had started, the explosion of ergy began to calm. The elemts a him started to settle, the lightning fading, the flames dying down, the shadows retreating.

Klaus was left sitting in the middle of the room, his body still tingling with the remnants of the power that had just surged through him. He took a deep breath, trying to steady himself, his mind reeling from the experice.

Suddly, another wave of ergy erupted inside Klaus's stomach, sding powerful shocks rippling through his tire body. The intsity of it was beyond anything he had ever expericed, and before he could ev react, a sharp, searing pain shot through his brain, like a spear piercing through his skull. The pain was so overwhelming that it blacked out his sses almost instantly.

His body remained seated, but his consciousness slipped away, fading into darkness.

For a momt, there was nothing—no pain, no sound, no ssation at all. It was as if he had died. Or maybe… something else had happed