Sherry’s soft sleeper breaths spread inside the quiet room.
Maybe it was thanks to the potion she drank, but her face was no longer pale, and she seemed to feel better.
Thirteen still held her in a protective embrace, and her expression was peaceful as she slept.
He didn’t want to experience the same pain he had felt in the past after losing someone very important to him.
As someone who had started to learn what being human was like, Thirteen thought that love was very powerful and scary at the same time.
People in love often find themselves at their strongest and their weakest at the same time.
They would fight the world without hesitation, but tremble at the thought of losing the one they cherished.
Thirteen gently brushed aside a strand of Sherry’s hair, his eyes softening in a way that even he did not notice.
The boy who once waged war against a God held his lover like a priceless treasure, someone he wanted to keep safe forever.
Remembering Kate’s death had taken a toll on his emotional state. Not to mention, it didn’t end with Kate.
He had other hosts whom he couldn’t remember.
Thirteen could not remember them—not because he wished to forget, but because letting their memories fade was the only way he could survive.
This realization made him feel sad. He didn’t wish to forget anyone. His Hosts were very special to him, and it was for their sake that he decided to fight against Fate.
Kate might have been the last straw that broke that final shackle binding his reasoning.
But there were many others, like Princess Aracelle.
The only evidence that proved that she had once shared a past with him was the fragmented and scattered memories that lingered inside his Soul Core.
Even now, Thirteen couldn’t remember her completely. Still, he knew that at one point in time, Princess Aracelle had been everything to him.
He hated being powerless.
However, more than anything else, he hated the thought of repeating that cycle once more.
’This time, I will not lose,’ Thirteen closed his eyes, holding Sherry tightly. ’This time, I will win against Fate.’
High above the Celestial Realm, the Monkey King drank his wine calmly as he gazed at Thirteen.
He didn’t need to have mind-reading powers to know what he was thinking.
He, as well as the countless Celestial Beings who were now paying close attention to Thirteen, was starting to think that maybe, just maybe, he really stood a chance against Fate.
In fact, there might not be any other mortal in the multiverse that got so much attention from the Gods.
All of them felt that Thirteen might be the key to open a new era.
And the moment the new door was to open...
A Supreme Paragon would be born.
A Paragon that surpassed other Paragons, not because he was powerful, but because his words, actions, and willpower could bend any laws that stood in his way.
Sun Wukong believed that his best friend had the potential to reach that stage, making him one of, if not the most powerful, existence that would appear in the multiverse.
Of course, the System God didn’t share Sun Wukong’s belief. For Deus Ex Machina, Thirteen was one of his creations and couldn’t plausibly break free from his role as a System.
A system was bound by laws.
In fact, they were the most law-abiding existence in the multiverse.
Deus Ex Machina was like an Anti-Virus, whose purpose was to eliminate the bugs that threatened the Grand Order of things.
He had tried to "quarantine" Thirteen by destroying his vessel and preserving his Soul Core.
He even allowed him to experience what it was like to live like a human to make him understand how they thought.
But it didn’t end there.
He even put several restrictions on him, making sure that the black sheep of his family wouldn’t be able to abuse his powers.
However, he had greatly underestimated Thirteen’s resolve.
Despite his restrictions, despite the odds stacked against him, Thirteen not only survived the missions in Solterra but thrived.
Deus Ex Machina planned to let Thirteen realize how weak and helpless he was as a human, allowing him to finally realize how blessed he was to be a System.
He also wanted Thirteen to die in Solterra, so he would be reborn into a creation that didn’t need to feel.
A creation that didn’t need to love.
A System whose only role was to do its duty and follow the laws that Fate had decreed since time immemorial.
Unfortunately, despite his meticulous planning, the results didn’t go as he had anticipated.
Thirteen overcame everything, beating various situations that far surpassed his capabilities.
His mortal vessel was a weak boy bound by restrictions, and yet, it overcame all odds. Now, Deus Ex Machina had no choice but to recognize Thirteen as a threat that would destroy the balance he was striving to protect.
’When will his Fated Hero arrive?’ Deus Ex Machina narrowed his eyes. ’They better be strong enough to defeat this little Demon Lord, or we are all doomed.’
The System God then glanced at a distance, observing another one of his sons, who was looking at Thirteen with his arms crossed over his chest.
He was none other than Sixty-Nine.
The one System that Thirteen recognized as a friend.
After Thirteen’s death, Sixty-Nine juggled his task of supporting his new host and monitoring Thirteen at the same time.
Suddenly, Sixty-Nine chuckled as he looked at the window screen that was right in front of him.
[Retrieving Character Data...]
[Character Data retrieved...]
[Character name "Alex Stratos".]
[Resetting Skills...]
[Resetting Job Class...]
[Character Reset Complete!]
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"Sorry, kid. Your only choice is Hell Mode." Sixty-Nine smiled faintly as he forcefully picked Hell Mode for the pitiful soul about to be sent to the world of Arcana. "If you can’t even beat Hell Mode, then you will not survive your first meeting with Thirteen—errrr, your future Father-in-law."
Another chuckle escaped Sixty-Nine’s lips as he glanced at his best friend, who was holding Sherry tightly.
Sixty-Nine then shifted his attention to his father and gave the latter a brief nod before turning into a beam of light.
He had now chosen a new Host, and like Thirteen, he would also defy Fate.
A Chosen One who wielded a shield, standing in a place that others dared not go.
No chains could hold him back—no prison, lock, or wall.
Through trials fierce and endless, he would rise above them all.
The stars would tell his legend, and the Gods would heed his call.