System's POV

Chapter 1406: Audience With Destiny [Part 1]

When breakfast ended, Maple and Cinnamon dragged their Big Brother to their favorite picnic area.

They just had breakfast, but the twins were very eager to eat Thirteen’s cooking as soon as possible.

Chiffon was also on board with the idea, so she asked the maids to prepare all the ingredients available in Stella’s pantry.

Stella could only smile wryly as they followed her over-enthusiastic sisters and mother to the flower field where they usually had picnics as a family.

Just as they were about to arrive at their destination, the air suddenly cracked and a massive portal appeared in front of them.

A second later, Rocky’s head emerged from the portal. When it saw Thirteen, it immediately moved to greet him, making the twins raise their hands in excitement.

"It’s Rocky!" Maple exclaimed.

"Cinnamon will not eat Big Brother’s pet!" Cinnamon also raised her hand to greet the Hell Lord Bal-Boa who had suddenly appeared in their world.

Thirteen glanced at the portal and saw the God of the Apocalypse waving at him.

It seemed that Metatron felt a little anxious, so he sent Rocky to his Master’s side in order to assist him in the world of Hestia.

The God of the Apocalypse had used a backdoor after having a proper talk with the Goddess of Stella’s world.

After the Goddess Hestia had been informed about Eros’s prank on the teenage boy, she reluctantly agreed to let Metatron open a portal to her world.

Originally, Metatron wished to take Thirteen back but eventually decided against it. He had a feeling that the teenage boy needed to do something important in Stella’s world, so he chose to let him be, at least for now.

The moment the portal disappeared, the monsters inside Rocky’s Mobile Fortress came out to greet their Master.

Giga and Blacky hurriedly hugged Zion while Pico and Pica circled around their heads.

Hercules was too big to join the group hug, so it stayed back with the Ogres and Trolls. All of them looked relieved to see that their Master was safe.

"Giga, you’re crushing me," Thirteen said stiffly. But deep inside, he was also happy to reunite with his friends.

Giga finally let go of his Master, but Blacky took over and started to lick his face. Maple and Cinnamon giggled.

"Big doggy!"

"Good boy!"

After the Monster Army settled down, the majority of them returned to Rocky’s Mobile Fortress with the exception of Giga, Blacky, Pica, and Pico.

They were very curious about this world that they suddenly found themselves in.

A few minutes later, Thirteen was busy setting up the barbecue grill, while Maple and Cinnamon took out plates of marinated meat that had been prepared by their mother.

Stella’s gaze was locked on the teenage boy as he grilled meat for everyone. For some reason, she found him very different today.

Every gesture, every pose, and even his gaze that seemed to be focused on the meat he was handling looked... incredibly sexy in her eyes.

A blush crept up her face when she realized what she was thinking.

In order to distract herself, she shifted her attention to Maple and Cinnamon who were both giggling as they rode on the backs of Giga and Blacky.

The two monsters were running around outside of the flower field, allowing the little girls to have fun.

"Even monsters like him," Chiffon said with a smile. "No wonder my daughters adore him."

"Mother... you make it sound like Maple and Cinnamon are monsters," Stella pointed out in a teasing tone.

Chiffon giggled because her words did imply such a thing. After watching her daughters have fun, she asked Stella to look after them for a while.

The beautiful dwarf then walked towards Thirteen to ask him the question that she had planned to ask earlier.

"Do you have a minute, Zion?" Chiffon asked.

"Yes," Thirteen replied before carefully putting the cooked meat on the plates by his side. "What can I do for you, Lady Chiffon?"

"I want to know how you feel about Stella," Chiffon said seriously. "The Goddess Eros played a prank on you and confessed using her face, and body. But, I think that she did it for a reason. If Stella had been the one confessing to you, what would your answer have been?"

She asked this in a low volume to prevent Stella from eavesdropping on their conversation.

Actually, Thirteen had been thinking about the answer to this question ever since Eros had confessed to him using Stella’s face.

If the one who confessed to him had actually been Stella, how would he have reacted?

Thirteen then thought about the naughty dream he had a few hours ago. He had to admit that it was a very "realistic" dream, and Stella had told him that she loved him many times in that dream.

Just as Thirteen was about to tell Chiffon that he truly only saw Stella as a friend, he noticed something.

Chiffon was frozen in place. But it wasn’t just her. Giga and Blacky were frozen mid-jump with Maple and Cinnamon on their backs.

Stella was also not moving. Even the flowers that had been swaying in the breeze just earlier were frozen.

In short, time had completely come to a stop.

It was then when he noticed three presences behind him, which made him turn his head.

Three familiar looking ladies smiled at him at the same time.

The youngest of them all, who looked like a teenage girl around sixteen to eighteen years of age, lunged at Thirteen to hug him.

"Thirteen... it’s been a while," Skuld said with a soft sigh. "I missed you."

Her older sisters, Verdandi and Urd, also moved closer to Thirteen and enclosed him in a group hug.

The teenage boy closed his eyes and hugged Skuld back. He did not resist this affectionate gesture of the Norns, who weaved the thread of destinies of mortals and Gods alike.

The Norns didn’t usually show themselves because they played a very important role in the multiverse. But they had a few chosen ones that they would interact with from time to time, and Thirteen was someone that they held very dear in their immortal hearts.

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A/N: Please read the Author’s Note.