Princess Xynalia watched as Thirteen killed one person after the other.
All their bodies emitted sparks as the young man sliced off their arms, legs, and heads from their bodies.
The young man kept on killing with the same cold, and indifferent look on his face.
The people he killed called him mad, and some even called him a "Defective System" who had lost his sense of purpose.
Princess Xynalia couldn’t understand what they were talking about, so she simply followed the young man in his one-sided massacre, feeling lost and confused about what was really happening. New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on N0v3l.Fiɾe.net
Thirteen only stopped when he saw a young man with long red hair and red eyes blocking his path.
A sigh escaped Sixty-Nine’s lips before scratching his head.
"Are you sure about this?" Sixty-Nine asked, his long red hair faintly swaying as a gust of wind blew from the East. "Once you leave this place, there is no turning back."
"I have no intention of turning back," Thirteen replied. "Get out of my way, Sixty-Nine. You are the only one I don’t want to kill."
"Is there really no other way? Kate won’t be happy if you..."
"Don’t make me repeat myself."
After hearing the name of his previous host, the anger that Thirteen had been holding back slowly rose to the surface, threatening to consume him and attack the only person whom he acknowledged as his friend among the Systems.
Princess Xynalia watched this scene and felt an ache in her chest after seeing how angry Thirteen was.
She didn’t know who Kate was or what role she played in Thirteen’s life.
But seeing him show his raw, pure anger made her feel jealous of the mysterious lady, who was the reason why Thirteen had decided to fight against an entire world on his own.
Perhaps sensing the killing intent oozing out of his friend’s body, another sigh escaped Sixty-Nine’s lips before he shook his head helplessly.
"Fine," Sixty-Nine said as he moved to the side. "Have it your way."
The one friend he knew looked off into the distance as he decided to not stand in Thirteen’s way.
As the Renegade System walked past him, Sixty-Nine opened his lips to give him one last piece of advice—or perhaps, one last farewell, knowing this would probably be the last time he would be able to talk to his friend.
"Don’t kill any of the Single Digits," Sixty-Nine said softly. "They have their roles to play."
"That will depend if they get in my way or not," Thirteen commented. "Aside from you, there is no one in this world I don’t dare to kill."
Leaving his only friend behind, Thirteen headed towards the Nexus with renewed determination.
Just as Princess Xynalia was about to follow Thirteen, someone grabbed hold of her hand, preventing her from taking another step.
"This is as far as you go, My Lady," the System known as Sixty-Nine said. "You are not allowed to see where my friend is headed."
"Let me go!" Princess Xynalia tried to break free from Sixty-Nine’s hold, but he was holding her hand in a vice grip.
"You can’t go there. The moment you see our father, the laws of the world will forcefully erase your memories," Sixty-Nine replied. "There are some beings whom you mustn’t gaze upon for it will only bring ruin to yourself."
"I said let me go!" Princess Xynalia shouted. "Zion! Save me!"
But no matter how loud she shouted, or pleaded, Thirteen never looked back in her direction.
A tear streaked across her beautiful face as she tried hard to prevent herself from feeling sad about her current situation.
She had felt it as she followed Zion in his journey.
The young man was walking to his death, and he knew of it.
It was as if he himself was looking at someone to end his suffering so he could finally be at peace.
After a few minutes of struggle, Princess Xynalia broke down and covered her face, her tears falling like rain.
Sixty-Nine finally let her go and allowed her to cry her heart out.
Suddenly, a loud explosion boomed in the distance, and a pillar of light shot into the heavens.
Princess Xynalia felt as if her heart had been forcefully taken out of her body. Then and there, she knew the person she cared about had finally met his end.
Sixty-Nine sighed before crouching down to look at Princess Xynalia in the face.
"Do you want to know who Zion Leventis... I mean, who Thirteen really is?" Sixty-Nine asked.
"No!" Princess Xynalia replied, holding back the sadness and the tears falling from her face. "I want to see him right now! I want to be where he is!"
Sixty-Nine didn’t answer right away. Instead, he looked at Princess Xynalia sadly before muttering something.
"So you don’t remember each other huh? That’s actually a little sad."
The System, whom Thirteen considered as his only friend, shook his head helplessly before lightly tapping Princess Xynalia’s shoulder.
"Thirteen is currently in a place of healing," Sixty-Nine stated. "What you saw a while ago was only a part of his memory. A part of who he really is. But I don’t want to see this kind of ending.
"He has suffered for thousands of years, and you are one of the reasons why he has suffered so much. Although this might be meddling, Thirteen is still my best friend."
Sixty-Nine then made hand seals and created a magic circle under Princess Xynalia’s feet.
"Go back and know more about him," Sixty-Nine said faintly. "The System who loved Cannon Fodders more than anyone did."
Princess Xynalia didn’t even have to say anything or to react to what Sixty-Nine had done.
The magic circle had activated, and it turned the princess into particles of light that shot up to the sky.
The System watched this scene with a sad look on his face.
"Kate," Sixty-Nine whispered softly. "I couldn’t stop him... just like you couldn’t."
His voice was swallowed by silence, and the world around him faded away, leaving only a very sad, and painful memory behind.