System's POV - Chapter 1501: In Thirty Days, The End Of The Universe Will Begin
Chapter 1501: In Thirty Days, The End Of The Universe Will Begin
Stella watched Thirteen agree to stop the war. But only because he trusted the Norns to keep their promise. As long as he could reunite with Kate, he’d agree to anything.
“Thirteen…” Stella said softly, pressing the cold Soul Core to her chest.
The memories of her past life surged into her mind like a tide, letting her relive a short-lived happiness.
She now remembered everything, including her one-sided wish to make Thirteen fall in love with her, despite knowing the System had no idea what love was.
Stella remembered her plans to teach her beloved how to live as a human. That way, they would know what to do once they built a family together. At that time, she didn’t care where they ended up. As long as Thirteen was by her side, she believed that everything would be fine.
Unfortunately, the fairy tale ending she dreamt of was just that. A dream. An imagination.
Instead of living a happy ever after, they got tragedy instead.
Stella wiped the tears spilling from her eyes. Her eyes were bleary as she continued watching the events that unfolded after her death.
She watched as the Saintess, Medea, married him despite knowing they could only live as husband and wife for a day. As expected, he left the next morning.
It was a bittersweet story, but it also made her realize that Medea had reincarnated by Thirteen’s side.
She was none other than Shana, who met him before she did in this lifetime.
Soon, the scene changed, showing destruction.
Thirteen had returned to the homeworld of the Systems and started a massacre. While it was referred to as a massacre, he had simply cut off the body parts of his brothers and sisters, leaving their Soul Cores intact.
Given enough time, their bodies would reform, and their lives weren’t really in any danger.
She watched helplessly as he fought against his own father, putting everything on the line for one last battle.
But she could feel it.
Even in his last moments, the only thought Thirteen had was whether Systems had souls.
Because if they didn’t, no matter how much he tried, no matter how the Norns weaved his destiny, he, Kate, and his other Hosts were meant to never cross paths ever again. Until the end of his existence.
When the System God Destroyed Thirteen’s body, a sob escaped Stella’s lips. Thirteen’s life was too cruel.
It was too sad.
Too heartbreaking.
From the very start, she knew Thirteen no longer had any intention of living.
He went home just to die.
Die… and be with her.
Stella saw the System God sigh as he held the same Soul Core currently in her embrace.
She could sense the brief internal battle inside the System God’s head. He truly seemed guilty about what had happened to Thirteen. Perhaps he thought things would’ve turned different if he had granted his son’s wish. But even if he wanted to, he couldn’t. It was impossible.
In the end, he decided to send his son’s soul core to Pangea, placing it on the body of a dying boy he had chosen to be his no-good-son’s new vessel.
To prevent him from doing anything reckless, the System God sealed his abilities, making sure he would never accomplish anything in his lifetime.
All the System God wanted was for his son to calm down a bit after living as a human. And once he died, he could just take him back to the Celestial Realm, where they could start over.
But he had underestimated Thirteen’s resolve.
He underestimated his desire for vengeance.
“You already knew what the Norns had planned to do, didn’t you?” Stella asked after the scenery returned to the spotless white world that was now their prison.
“That’s right.” Fate admitted. “I knew what the Norns were planning. But I cannot see Thirteen’s destiny. They have shielded it from me. In fact, Thirteen was not the only one under the protection of their powers.
“His hosts and his new family. I couldn’t see their futures, so I also didn’t know what will happen. That left me with no choice. I could only gamble and choose the one person he would never harm, even if the price to pay was his life. That was you, Kate… or should I call you Stella now?”
“It doesn’t matter what you call me,” Stella replied. “It no longer matters.”
That was right. It no longer mattered.
Now that her beloved had ceased to exist, what was the point of living?
A sigh escaped the Goddess’ lips. She then used a bit of her divinity to check what was happening outside of the box.
Although they were trapped inside Pandora’s Box, she realized she could still see everything in the universe.
The most distant planets, the least bright stars… and even the birth of a child billions of light years away.
But when her gaze shifted to the skies of Solterra, she froze upon seeing a crack in the sky.
This crack wasn’t something that mere mortals could see.
It was not something that ordinary Gods would notice.
Only a handful of Gods within the Temple of the Ten Thousand Gods could understand what this crack signified.
And as if to tel her that her worst fears were coming to life, the crack was slowly expanded.
“No…” Fate shook her head in denial. “It’s too soon… Too soon!”
A day inside Pandora’s Box was equivalent to a minute in Solterra.
But Fate knew that after an hour in Solterra’s time, hell would finally break loose.
It didn’t matter if the Infernals won the war. They, too, would be swept in by the incoming threat that had decided to appear right above their heads!
“Thirty days…” Fate muttered. “In thirty days, the end of the universe will begin.”
She once again thought of Thirteen, who might have already anticipated this to happen.
This was his checkmate.
The ultimate move that led to mutual destruction.
“There are no winners here, Thirteen,” Fate said helplessly. “Only losers.”
The Goddess then closed her eyes. Just like what had happened to the System God, the Goddess of Fate had an internal battle playing in her head.
A battle where she wanted to have the upper hand. But no matter what angle she chose to tackle the problem, it resulted in a loss.
Even settling from a draw was impossible.
Feeling the bitter taste of loss, Fate took out her sword, the Soul Eraser.
The blade shining with all the colors of the rainbow felt cold in her hand. She had thought of brute-forcing her way out of Pandora’s Box, but she understood that doing so would be useless.
This divine artifact had sealed all the evils of the world, keeping them in place until they were set free by Pandora.
Unfortunately for her, the Pandora who could open this box no longer existed.
Even if her reincarnation was around, the box had already changed ownership.
And its owner was none other than Thirteen.
“Stella… do you wish to have him back?” Fate asked.
“Do you even need to ask?” Stella replied coldly.
“I can make it happen… but both of us must pay a price,” Fate said reluctantly.
“And that is?” Stella asked.
“The two of us will be inseparable for five years,” Fate replied. We will live in the same body together, sharing half of everything.
“I don’t really like the thought of spending five years with you, but if it will bring back Thirteen, I will do anything,” Stella declared.
“Good.” Fate nodded. “Brace yourself. This is going to hurt.”
The Goddess left Stella’s body, materializing in a temporary body.
She then raised her sword above her head before slashing downward. But instead of using the sharp edge of the blade, the Goddess used the main body of the blade to hit the white ground.
Countless cracks formed on the sword blade’s surface until it shattered like shards of ice. The crystallized pieces then transformed into a rainbow tornado that spun in place.
“Throw his Soul Core inside,” Fate ordered. “The shards of Soul Eraser will repair it.”
Stella didn’t hesitate to do as she was told, throwing the core into the tornado.
It greedily sucked up the Soul Core, shattering into pieces.
“And now, it’s time for us to become one,” Fate stood only a foot away from the young lady, looking straight into her eyes. “Are you ready?”
“Yes,” Stella replied.
Fate then pressed her forehead over hers, and the two of them were wrapped up in a golden light, turning into an egg.
As the tornado spun, growing in size with each passing second, the consciousness of Stella and Fate started to merge, becoming one with each other.
This was Fate’s final gamble, and she hoped it was enough to save their universe from what was about to come knocking at their doors.
