The Last Paragon in the Apocalypse

Chapter 1060: Price of Defiance

There is always cause and effect.

Price has to be paid for every action performed.

As such, seeking to take one’s fate into one’s own hands came with a price that at times will appear more barbaric than one might expect.

Looking at Tifa right now, Klaus knew she had paid a grave price or was in the process of paying a grave price that, from the look of things, she didn’t seem to think she could pay.

Surprisingly, this touched Klaus, but for a moment.

However, looking at someone he was supposed to hate, Klaus couldn’t help but feel deeply drawn to her, and he wanted to learn more about her struggles.

’I don’t know how, but she helped twice. She allowed me to take back my life by understanding what a Paragon Hatred meant and how to harness it.

She also helped me fully awaken my bloodline, which, had it not been for her, would have taken me thousands of years more to complete the one requirement I was required to fulfill as a paragon in preparation for today.

This means even though I can’t say I like her, I am obligated to pay her back,’ Klaus said inwardly.

’Perhaps, if she had fully reclaimed her fate, the aura of the heavens wouldn’t be on her. However, they still have some hold on her, meaning the current her is a double-edged sword... a terrifying one too.’

Klaus can tell a danger when he sees one, and so far, the greatest danger he has ever seen is the Vampire Queen Tifa sitting before him now.

’Then again, she has my blood flowing through her, so there is some silver lining to it. However, for the sake of everyone’s safety, and knowing what the heavens are capable of, I must ensure she is no threat to me or anyone.’

”Tell me the price you had/have to pay for your defiance against the heavens.”

Tifa sighed, hesitant to tell Klaus what she had to do. Klaus, of course, saw through her hesitation and warned.

”Look. I am a paragon, a sworn enemy of the heavens and all those in bed with them. This means you are my enemy. However, unlike the heavens, I am a rational being, so I choose to spare you because of three things.

First, you helped me recover from my anger and hatred, something I struggled with for thousands of years.

Second, you helped me awaken my true self, which, had it not been for you, I would have struggled greatly before awakening.

Lastly, you are Miriam’s sister. I cannot kill you, not because I can’t, but because I don’t want her to become sad again.

She had been sad for years, thinking you had died. Now that we both know what happened, I don’t want her to lose the happiness she had gotten.

So for her sake, now might be the best time to tell me what you have to do and how fast you must do it.”

Klaus’s voice was calm, but the authority it commanded was absolute.

”The lady who helped me walk down this path told me the heavens are merciless, that they will do anything to get what they want.

I believed her.

However, I never expected her words to come to pass. I never expected the heavens to be this merciless,” Tifa sighed.

”I have two paths to pick, but from the way it looks, I can’t pick any of them.

The first is for me to kill my sister before she reaches the Life stage.” Klaus remained calm. In a twisted way, he had expected something like this.

”The second is to kill your mother.”

However, even though there are things that can be said, there are also others that are not meant to be said.

Hearing a mention of his mother, Klaus’s hand moved, and a scythe appeared, pressing it firmly against Tifa’s neck in an instant.

She didn’t react. She just remained calm as tears fell from her eyes. She knew none of the options she was presented with was something she would do.

Even if she is given everything, a new life, a new family, and a new beginning, she will never kill her sister or the mother of a paragon, someone the heavens even called his reverse scale.

However, if she doesn’t do it, her days in this life are numbered.

”How long do you have?” Klaus asked. He knew the heavens were precise when it came to countdowns.

”31 days.”

”That’s a day after the awakening.” Klaus sighed and took away his scythe. ”That’s if we manage to pass the awakening before the next day comes.”

”Indeed,” Tifa nodded and added, ”And before you say I should skip the awakening and prepare for my heavenly punishment, my answer is no. I will fight for what I believe, and if that means I won’t live long enough to enjoy it, then so be it.”

”So you seem to have already given up, huh?” Klaus smiled weakly.

”What do you expect? We both know the heavens wouldn’t come at me fairly. They want me dead, so they will ensure I remain dead.” Tifa also smiled.

Perhaps, in the entire universe, only she and Klaus truly understood what the heavens are capable of.

However, one of them had faced them countless times, and at the end of every battle, he would raise his left hand and give them the middle finger.

As such, over the years, he had developed the aura of defiance. This made him a direct arrow pointed at the heavens.

”You know, when people hear of the heavens, they believe they are these powerful beings that hold absolute control over all life. They see them as supreme over everybody.

However, the truth of the matter is, the heavens are mere pawns in a much larger game.” Klaus drank the last fill of blood in his glass.

”The heavens are people like me and you. The heavens are living, breathing beings like us. However, because they can’t directly interfere, they use people like you whose resolve can easily be broken to do their bidding.

They use something you hold dear to manipulate and turn you into their weapon.

It isn’t because you are disposable. That is not it.

It is more like they are afraid of you.

They are afraid of who you will become if they don’t take hold of your life now.

They tried that with me, and every time, I gave them the middle finger. Now, they just want me gone because they are afraid of what I represent.” Klaus laughed, a look of defiance painting his face.

”They should be, for I will tear them down until not even an atom of them remains. I am not afraid of them, because I told myself I wouldn’t fear them.

I told myself I am my own self. I told myself I am the paragon of the nine stars. I hold my own fate, destiny, and life. The heavens don’t dictate my life, so don’t let them dictate yours.

31 days from today, they will come, and you will face them. However, you wouldn’t be facing them alone.

Because you saved me twice and brought happiness to the life of one I love, I will face them with you and see it to the end.

You deserve your own destiny, you deserve to control your own fate, and you have every right to dictate how your life turns out.

So chin up, your days are not numbered, it is just a countdown for when you actually start to live the life meant for you and you alone.”

Klaus vanished and appeared back in Dream City...leaving in tears...