System's POV

Chapter 1500: Illuminate The Future With The Ashes Of The Past [Part 1]

“Stella, what do you know about Systems?” Fate asked.

The young lady didn’t answer and kept her silence. But Fate already expected this, so she simply continued explaining.

“Super Yggdrasil Synchronized Technology Enhancing Manager,” Fate stated. “Also known as the System. They are the children created by the God of System, Deus Ex Machina.

“Their task is to find Hosts across the entire universe and help them in any way that they can. In fact, your father, William, possesses the Strongest System. He even gave it the name Optimus.”

Finally, the Goddess saw the briefest reaction from Stella, proving that she was paying close attention to what she was saying.

Emboldened, she used her powers to turn the completely white world into a scenery, prompting the young lady to look up.

“Thirteen… or in this case, Zion, as you call him, is also a system,” Fate said. “Was is probably the better word. After all, he’s been living as a human for many years by now. You asked me why I killed him, right? I’ll show you why he started rebelling against me.”

Since time inside Pandora’s Box moved differently from the outside world, Fate had plenty of time to spare.

She showed Stella her lover’s previous Hosts and the pitiful deaths they suffered after reaching a certain stage in their lives.

Every time the end of Thirteen’s hosts finally came, Stella felt a dread in her heart, knowing what was about to come next.

She showed her how Tiona died.

She showed her how Vincent died.

She showed her Aracelle’s tragic fate, forcing Thirteen to erase his memories of her.

“Thirteen had endured many things, but there was one incident that made him finally snap,” Fate said. “After this, you will know why I used you as a tool to kill him.”

And thus, the Goddess showed him Kate’s past. When she saw Thirteen for the first time, she realized that the Thirteen she knew was very different from the Thirteen of the past.

For one, Thirteen looked different, which was understandable.

Kate had wished for him to manifest, and she… ate him up whole.

At first, Stella didn’t know how to feel when Kate made love to Thirteen for the first time. It was very clear that the System knew what was happening to him.

What he didn’t know was why it was happening to him.

As if wanting to imprint everything in the young lady’s mind, Fate didn’t hold back and showed her the first timer’s awkward lovemaking.

When they reached the part about Kate being pregnant with his child, Stella could feel her cheeks burning.

’Zion called me Kate earlier… does this mean—’ Stella suddenly had a bad premonition, but she put this aside because she was curious on how the story would unfold.

She hoped beyond hope that the awkward couple would have a happy ending.

She hoped Kate would teach Thirteen how to be human and help him understand love.

Unfortunately, her worst fears came to life.

Although they tried to run away and leave everything behind, the Heroes caught up to them and dragged them back to the capital, where the Queen waited for their capture.

When Stella saw how the Queen used Thirteen to break Kate’s resolve, she felt so angry that she punched the ground with her fist.

But the damage she caused was instantly repaired by Pandora’s Box, leaving no trace of her anger behind.

When Kate died, Thirteen went on a rampage. He killed the Heroes, leaving only the Saintess and the Sorceress behind.

He then went to the Demon Lands and ordered their armies to march, destroying all the human kingdoms in their wake.

Humanity was pushed into the very corner of the map until they stood at their last bastion. It was then that the Goddess of the world begged for Thirteen to show mercy on the humans, but the System of Cannon Fodders had no intention to listen.

That was when a new Goddess appeared.

The Goddess of Hope.

The one Deity who had remained after Pandora opened the jar that released all the evils, miseries, and hardships that would plague mankind. Hope.

Stella thought Thirteen would also give the Goddess of Hope the cold shoulder, like what he had done to the Goddess of the world he was trying to destroy.

However, the young man actually gave her a chance to talk. After all, Hope had once saved his former Host, Pandora.

To stop the war, Hope made a promise.

She would help him reunite with Kate.

Not only Kate, but also some of his other Hosts.

But Thirteen didn’t buy it. He told the Goddess of Hope that he wasn’t a gullible child who would believe empty promises.

The Goddess didn’t take offense, already expecting such a reply. That was why she brought some backup.

She had brought the Norns with her.

The three Goddesses who weaved the threads of destiny.

Urd the oldest, representing that past.

Verdandi the middle, weaving the present.

Finally, Skuld, the youngest holding the threads of the future.

Together, the three of them spun the threads of destiny, guiding mortals and deities alike.

Among the Gods and Goddesses in the Temple of Ten Thousand Gods, Thirteen trusted the Norns more than his own Father, the System God.

They told Thirteen that they would help him meet Kate once more by weaving his thread of destiny separate from the ones the Gods could see.

They also told him that they needed to cut parts of his past and present, for skipping that step could lead to the full corruption of his Soul Core.

——————

“Although you will forget it, I will tell you now that Kate wouldn’t look the way she did in this world,” Skuld said in a serious tone.

“The laws of cause and effect will not allow it to happen. But I can promise you that she will be born in a good family and will not suffer too much until the day she meets you.”

“But we need a gimmick to make it happen,” Urd chuckled. “So… there is a chance you will not realize it’s her until the very last minute.”

“I don’t care,” Thirteen replied. “As long as I can meet her and my other Hosts, I’m willing to do anything.”

——————

Indeed. Thirteen didn’t realize that Stella was Kate until the very last minute of his life.

It was such a bittersweet ending. Stella’s tears fell again after realizing what had happened.

She was Kate’s reincarnation, which was why Thirteen couldn’t bring himself to kill her.

This was also the reason the Goddess of Fate possessed her body. She was the only weakness of the System of Cannon Fodders.

Thanks to this underhanded trick, the Goddess finally defeated the being who was dead set to remove her from the face of the universe.

—————

A/N: I already wrote something in the Author’s notes yesterday, predicting that some people will complain about me only writing one Chapter during the past few days.

Also, I want to make it clear that I’m not writing two Chapters today because of what they said, but because I “deemed” it fit to write two Chapters today to continue the story.

But since many of you don’t read the author’s notes, I will put it here in writing again, so you guys will understand why I do what I do.

The reason why I’m only writing one Chapter a day is because I want to focus on writing the end properly. I don’t want to treat it like ordinary Chapters where I can just write whatever I want.

This also makes the Chapter more impactful than the previous ones because I am taking great care in its presentation.

So, before you guys say that I’m being lazy, that’s not true.

I’m just preparing to give you guys the ultimate ending because all of you deserve it for supporting this novel until the very end.

And that’s it. Nothing more, nothing less. Of course, if you guys want me to write more Chapters, adding fillers like flashbacks in Naruto, I can do that too.

In fact, I can write three Chapters a day for you guys if that’s what you wanted.

All Flashbacks, and Fillers that will make you regret telling me to “write more Chapters” because you think I’m being lazy.

Also, if you want something more to read, it’s time for me to advertise my new story called “My Kingdom Building Done Right!” it is now visible in my profile, and has a decent chunk of Chapters.

This is the best time to binge read it before I lock the Chapters when this month ends. It is another wonderful adventure, and I hope that you guys give it a try.