System's POV

The first time Thirteen met Maple and Cinnamon was during his trip to the zoo with his sisters, Remi, and Rhia.

The two gluttons had made the chefs of a restaurant cry tears of blood because they kept eating, and eating, and eating, forcing the staffs to prioritize them instead of the other guests.

Ever since then, the two adorable twins would pop up every now and then to meet Thirteen, whom they called Big Brother.

They even managed to enter the Treasury of the Apocalypse and were allowed to leave peacefully by Metatron.

The God of the Apocalypse even gave them the Skill that would allow them their pockets to produce an unlimited amount of snacks, which were perfect for gluttons like them.

Because of Metatron’s stance, Thirteen believed that Maple and Cinnamon were Transcendents.

They were beings that were born in one in a quintillion, making them extremely rare existences in the universe.

And they possessed power that far surpassed the norms.

The moment they were born, they had already defied Fate, and their actions were similar to the flap of a butterfly’s wings, sending ripples across time and space.

Stella was the older sister of these two Transcendents, which made her background all the more mysterious.

Unlike Maple and Cinnamon, however, Stella didn’t seem to have any gluttonous tendencies or over-the-top quirks.

In fact, she was quiet—almost too quiet, even.

She spoke with the weight of someone who knew too much yet rarely shared anything at all.

The first time he met her was in the Fractured Heaven, and since then, she had appeared in Zion’s life from time to time.

Even now, he didn’t know her goals were and why she was doing whatever she was doing.

But he had sensed her gaze upon him many times, filled with longing as if he had something she wished to have.

‘She’s not going to eat me, right?’ Thirteen thought.

Whenever he thought of the two adorable gluttons who enjoyed his cooking very much, he couldn’t shake off the possibility that Stella might suddenly decide to eat him out of a whim.

‘I better stock up some sausages in my storage ring once I can access it again,’ Thirteen mused. ‘It’s better to be prepared when she suddenly craves for something to eat.’

If Thirteen only knew the reason why Stella would always gaze in his direction—that in her world ruled by the colors of black, white, and gray, only he was an oasis of color, making her remember what she had lost.

In her eyes, the stars were dull, the oceans stagnant, and even the most beautiful scenery she could remember in her memory lost its beauty in the shades of black and white.

Sometimes, she wondered what it would be like to reach out and touch him—not physically, just brush against whatever power allowed him to add colors in her world.

In the end, Thirteen decided to stay at the lobby and sit across the four ladies, who were still paying close attention to her.

“You girls can continue talking,” Zia said. “I’m just here for some fresh air.”

“… But we’re inside a building,” Princess Laventia replied. “The air here is not fresh. They’re all from the air conditioner.”

“Yes, and your boyfriend, Roland, calls me Daddy too,” Zia answered in a voice filled with sarcasm.

But this answer made Princess Laventia look at Zia in shock.

“W-What?!” Princess Laventia gasped. “Roland calls you Daddy?”

Please read this chapter on its original platform—M|V|L1EMPYR.

Thirteen didn’t know why, but she found her reaction quite amusing. Because of this, she decided to tease her a bit.

But after a little consideration, she decided that it wasn’t worth it, and told the princess that she was just joking.

“I didn’t know that you could crack a joke,” Stella said with a smile.

“I do it during holidays and solar eclipses,” Thirteen replied.

“Very funny.”

“Then why are you not laughing?”

Thirteen didn’t know why she decided to start a conversation with Stella, whom she didn’t know much about.

Perhaps he wanted to know her better and understand why the skill, Destiny Bond, was reacting to her.

“By the way, have you seen Maple and Cinnamon?” Thirteen asked. “I last saw them up there.”

Thirteen pointed towards the Heavens, which made Stella pinch the bridge of her nose.

“What did they do this time?” Stella inquired after a minute of silence.

“They stole some snacks but got away without being punished,” Thirteen answered.

“Those two…” A sigh escaped Stella’s lips as she thought of the troubles that her two little sisters might be creating at the moment.

But even then, she couldn’t help but smile. Just like all of her siblings, she loved the naughty twins very much.

It was only then that Stella realized something that made her body stiffen.

She then looked Zia in disbelief and asked her a question for confirmation.

“When you said you saw them up there, who were they with?” Stella inquired. “Also, how did you know about that place?”

Her family was very close to the Celestial Realm.

Although she didn’t have the power to travel anywhere like her two adorable sisters, she was told of their adventures in the multiverse, including their casual visits to the temple of the ten thousand gods to chat with their friends there.

Thirteen glanced at Sherry and Princess Aracelle and told them that she would need to talk with Stella in private.

Stella understood that they were about to talk about something ordinary mortals should not know about, so she accepted Zia’s invitation to talk in private.

Upon entering one of the rooms in the hotel, Thirteen made sure that the door was properly locked before shifting his attention to Stella.

“Just who are you, and what is your goal?” Thirteen asked. “What do you know about the Celestial Realm?”

Since there was no point in beating around the bush, she decided to press Stella for answers.

In normal times, she wouldn’t have done such a thing.

But in order to understand why a thread connected the two of them, Thirteen decided to throw caution to the wind and ask the mysterious lady a question that would allow her to confirm if she truly had a connection with the temple of ten thousand gods.

———

A/N: I still owe you guys one chapter. I’ll probably post it tomorrow. I’m feeling better, but I’m still recovering from my sickness.

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