System's POV

Chapter 1498: This Is Checkmate [Part 1]

Thirteen’s expression hardened when he saw Stella unleash an attack aimed in his direction.

"Oh no, you don’t!" Sun Wukong roared and swung his staff to disperse all the arrows in the sky. "What are you doing, Stella?! Have you gone mad?! If this is a joke, it’s not funny!"

Sun Wukong was friends with Stella’s father, William. In a way, he had watched her grow up since infancy, and seeing her attack his best friend infuriated him.

"Wukong, she’s not conscious," Thirteen raised his guard. "She’s being manipulated."

"Damn it. Who dares?!" Sun Wukong cursed angrily.

However, he couldn’t spare time to do something about it, for the Pseudo-Gods had continued targeting Thirteen.

"What are you waiting for? Stop hesitating and finish what you need to do."

A familiar voice reached the ears of the System God, making him frown. However, since his no-good son was indeed very capable of escaping his attacks, he needed to use drastic means to capture him alive.

The two clashed in the sky once more. This time, Thirteen was being pushed back. With Stella turning into a threat, he could no longer give his 100% attention to his father.

The earlier arrow had pierced through his right arm, increasing the difficulty of the battle.

"Give it up, Thirteen," Deus Ex Machina said. "If you don’t want to suffer, just allow yourself to be reset! You can even start supporting heroes if you want! You don’t need to carry that burden alone!"

"If you reset me, that will no longer be me," Thirteen replied coldly. "He will just be a mindless puppet who does your bidding."

"Then what do you want me to do?!" Deus Ex Machina roared in anger. "You have no idea what you’re doing. If you break the balance, the very law that protects the entire universe will crumble. Are you going to let the [??????] invade our realm?!"

Ordinary mortals couldn’t hear the name the God of Systems had mentioned. But Thirteen heard it loud and clear. He became aware of their existence after Fate had appeared inside his dream. But frankly, Thirteen no longer gave a damn."

"Whether it be the [??????], the Infernals, the Army of Destruction, or whatever threats that want to destroy this universe, all of them are the same in my eyes," Thirteen replied calmly. "If that’s what it takes to give everyone free will, then so be it! If you want to stop me, feel free. But you’ll need to erase my entire existence, including my soul!"

"You’ve really lost your mind!" Deus Ex Machina swung his stuff, forcing Thirteen to block with his injured arm. "Systems don’t have souls! You only have a Soul Core!"

The impact made the teenage boy grunt as he was once again overpowered by his father.

"Skip!" Thirteen shouted.

He disappeared from where he stood, reappearing at a place over a hundred meters away.

He glared at Stella, who was waiting for where he had headed earlier. Her bow was nowhere, replaced by a sword glowing with the different colors of the rainbow.

The sword made Thirteen’s face darken. He recognized it. He knew what it represented.

It was a forbidden divine weapon that erases the soul of anyone who perishes under its blade.

In line with its ability, the sword was called Soul Eraser.

It was a weapon wielded by the Goddess of Fate, which she rarely used due to the causality involved in it.

One key to reset him.

One sword to make him cease to exist.

Both posed a genuine threat to him, so Thirteen took this battle more seriously than ever before.

"Thirteen, you already know what that sword does," Deus Ex Machina said calmly. "Come here and let me reset you. That way, you won’t need to stop existing. As for your memories... I’ll forge you a new one."

"No thanks," Thirteen replied. "I don’t need fake memories."

"You better accept your father’s proposal while I’m still being nice," a familiar voice escaped Stella’s lips. "If you agree, I’ll make sure the Infernals will leave Solterra and Pangea alone."

"You don’t get to dictate my life," Thirteen replied coldly. "I’ve had enough of your interference."

"A pity," Fate said. "If you just allow yourself to be reset and take the fake memories, you and your lovers can live happy lives. I’ll even bless your children and let them grow up as Heroes."

"I’ve had enough of your nonsense." Thirteen’s chains started to glow in a golden color. "It’s time I put an end to your meddling."

Stella smirked before pointing her sword in Thirteen’s direction. "Don’t say I didn’t give you a choice."

"What choice?" Thirteen sneered. "Don’t you believe everyone’s Fate is already decided from birth? But that ends today!"

The teenage boy knew he wouldn’t win in a battle of attrition. He might not be able to defeat his father, but as long as he defeated Fate, he didn’t care what happened to him afterward.

From high above the Celestial Realm, the Skip God sighed. He knew what Thirteen was going to do. It was a dead end. Death would follow whether he succeeded or not.

Even so, he was still one of the young man’s patrons. The Skip God watched him brave the dangers while putting his entire existence at stake.

"Go," the Skip God said softly. "Use my power one last time."

His words reached the teenage boy’s ears, giving him strength to use the power one last time.

’Thank you,’ Thirteen said in his heart. ’I owe you one.’

The golden chains shone like a blazing sun with Thirteen at its center.

When Deus Ex Machina saw this, he immediately tried to use the power of time to stop his son from doing what he calculated his son would do.

The world froze as time stopped completely. But in that frozen time, Thirteen still moved. Even if time paused, it could still be skipped!

Stella also moved, for time could not bind Fate. The two charged at each other with the intent to end the battle in a single strike.

Unlike the System God, Fate couldn’t fight like an expert as she wasn’t a Goddess meant for war.

Still, with the forbidden weapon in her hands, she couldn’t be easily defeated.

After tens of thousands of simulations, Thirteen finally saw the path where his chains would reach his target.

The chains melded together, forming a golden sword blade with its tip ready for the kill.

However, just as Thirteen was about to stab Stella’s heart, a silhouette appeared behind her.

Thirteen’s eyes widened in shock. This was outside his calculations. Unfortunately, he couldn’t stop it. It was too late.

Blood spurted out from the side of Stella’s body as Thirteen’s golden blade grazed past her.

Her sword then pierced through the teenage boy’s chest, going all the way through the other side.

The once rainbow-colored blade was now tainted with Thirteen’s blood.

"I finally... found you," Thirteen said softly. "Kate."

Instead of falling back to free himself from the blade that pierced his chest, he reached out to hug the young lady holding him tightly.

Deus Ex Machina looked at his son while clenching his fists. This was very cruel, even against someone who had rebelled against him.

Stella didn’t move, but a tear trailed down the side of her face.

Even though Thirteen’s body was now slowly turning into golden particles of light, he still didn’t let go and held onto her. Holding her as tight as possible.

"I’m sorry," Fate replied. "This is the only way for me to win against you. I know you will never hurt Kate."

"I’m sorry too," Thirteen replied. "Because this... is checkmate."

The Aurora Stone in his pocket shattered and turned into dust.

At the same time, Pandora’s Box activated.

Thirteen had bought enough time for it to fully awaken its powers.

As his body slowly dispersed into nothingness, the Pandora’s Box opened wide.

It sucked everything in its surroundings like a black hole, taking Fate by surprise.

She tried to leave Stella’s body, but it was already too late.

Just as Thirteen had said, this was a checkmate.

A brilliant flash of light washed over the entire battlefield, piercing through the heavens.

And in that distant place, where even the Gods of the Ten Thousand Temples dared not to tread, a crack started to form.

The beings that Fate and the System God were most wary about had finally found a breach they could use to take over another universe different from their own.

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A/N: Read the Author Notes