Chapter 17: Nine Star Paragon Art

Klaus woke up in complete darkness. It was so pitch black that he couldn't ev see his own hands or toes. He looked a, but all he could see was more of the same—just dless darkness. Th, out of nowhere, something appeared on the horizon. It was small, almost insignificant at first, but as soon as it showed up, Klaus knew he was in some strange cosmic space.

He couldn't quite put it into words, but there was this feeling deep down that he was here for a reason, like this place had a purpose for him. But staring at that tiny light, he wasn't sure what to do. He felt small, almost insignificant in the vast darkness that sured him. Yet, the darkness didn't last long.

Just as he was struggling with these feelings, the little light began to expand. It grew from the size of a pill to that of an egg, th to an orange, a watermelon, and a basketball—it just kept getting bigger. Suddly, it swelled up to the size of multiple moons, and th, without warning, it exploded. His vision wt black again, and he lost consciousness.

Wh Klaus woke up, he was back in the same dark place. But this time, things were differt. The light reappeared, but now there were nine of them in total.

The nine lights grew larger and larger until they were the size of the sun. But unlike the sun, they didn't radiate light. They just hung there, massive and dim, almost like pale moons with ev less color. Klaus stood still, froz in place, staring up at the ormous orbs in the sky.

Th, out of nowhere, a voice started speaking.

"From the darkness, from the cosmos, from the rivers of time and the age of destiny, through the struggles and through the sorrows, they shall rise. Nine of them."

Klaus's heart skipped a beat. "Excuse me, who's there?" he called out, his voice shaky. But the voice ignored him, continuing its strange chant.

"The dless rivers of time will never permit them to ascd, neither would it allow them to have fate. But what is fate, what is having fate. The nine are not, they were, they are, and they are to be."

Klaus had no idea what the voice was talking about, but he kept listing, unable to tear his eyes away from the giant orbs.

As the voice wt on, something started happing to the lights. At first, it was subtle. The edges of the orbs began to shimmer, like the surface of a distant ocean catching a faint light. Klaus noticed it, but he wasn't sure if it was real or just his mind playing tricks on him.

The voice grew louder, its tone more urgt. "They shall pass through the fires of the past, the storms of the prest, and the shadows of the future. The nine are the guardians of time, but time itself will not bd to their will."

The shimmering grew stronger, spreading across the surface of each orb. Klaus's breath caught in his throat as he realized these wer't moons at all. They were stars, massive and ancit, but something was differt about them.

"The nine shall be bound by the chains of destiny, yet destiny itself shall be their prisoner. The cosmos shall tremble, but the rivers of time shall flow, unyielding and eternal."

Klaus's vision blurred, and another sce took over. A city in ruins, buildings crumbling, streets filled with rubble. The sky was dark, thick with smoke and ash. People wandered aimlessly, their eyes empty, their faces gaunt with hunger. Klaus felt a deep sse of loss, of something precious that had be tak away.

The pain in his head intsified, but he couldn't stop the images. He saw a figure standing alone on a mountaintop, overlooking a battlefield. The figure was sured by bodies, their eyes wide op in death. The sse of déjà vu hit Klaus hard. He knew this place, this momt, but he couldn't place it. It was like a nightmare he had lived before.

"The nine shall rise," the voice chanted, "but not without sacrifice. Blood shall be the price, and suffering the path."

Another flash. A temple, ancit and crumbling, its walls covered in strange symbols. Inside, nine figures stood in a circle, their faces hidd in shadow. Klaus felt drawn to them as if they were connected to him somehow. But the closer he got, the more the pain in his head increased.

He could feel the weight of countless lives lost, the sorrow of a thousand battles fought and lost. He felt the despair of those who had giv everything, only to see it all destroyed. The sces kept coming, faster and faster, until they were just a blur of blood, fire, and death.

Klaus was overwhelmed. He wanted it to stop, but he was trapped, forced to witness it all. The voice kept chanting, each word driving the images deeper into his mind.

And th, just wh he thought he couldn't take any more, the images stopped. Klaus felt like he had just lived a thousand lifetimes in a few momts. The sse of déjà vu was still there, stronger than ever, but he couldn't shake the feeling that this was just the beginning.

"They shall be called the Nine Paragons, those who defy time and fate. They will come together and reshape the ruins of the past, building the walls of destiny. They will carve their own path, outshining fate and challging the heavs. They shall be known as the Nine Paragons of Destiny."

As soon as the voice finished speaking, the nine stars trembled and th shattered, shrinking rapidly. Out of nowhere, nine rings appeared before Klaus. The first ring was small, but each one grew larger as they ascded. The shattered pieces of the nine stars began merging into these rings.

The first star split into two and merged with the smallest ring. The second star split into three pieces and joined the next ring. The third star divided into five, the fourth into sev, and so on—the fifth into nine, the sixth into elev, the sevth into thirte, the eighth into fifte, and the ninth into sevte pieces.

The rings th rearranged themselves, forming a pattern in the air before flying straight toward Klaus. Instinctively, he tried to raise his hands to defd himself, but it was as if his body had froz, refusing to move. Panic surged through him, but th, from deep within, a voice echoed in his mind.

"You have be born but have yet to awak. Oh, Paragon of the Ninth, your destiny awaits. Your journey begins with the Nine Star Paragon Art."

Before Klaus could react, the lights from the rings flew toward him, merging directly into his forehead. His eyes snapped op, and the darkness a him vanished. He was back in the tattoo shop, lying on the chair.

At that exact momt, Ziggy, the tattoo artist, finished the last mark, completing the design. Klaus felt a jolt, a connection betwe the light in his mind and the fresh ink on his skin.