A five-year-old boy was doing Tai Chi, a martial art that focused on strengthening and improving the flexibility of the body, in the backyard of his home.
Since Thirteen was still recovering from his injury, he couldn't do anything strenuous. He simply did what his body could tolerate, ensuring that he wouldn't overexert his body.
Even so, it didn't take long for him to realize that the current body he possessed was quite weak.
Extremely weak.
'Is this what human bodies are like?' Thirteen thought as he carefully moved his left and right legs to alternately form a sweeping arch.
He had complete information regarding different kinds of Martial Arts, for the majority of his Hosts practiced them.
What Thirteen chose to practice was very basic, allowing him to probe the limits of his current body.
He was not aware that a five-year-old's body was indeed very weak. They were still transitioning from being toddlers to preschoolers at this point in life.
Although he mentally complained from time to time due to how weak his current body was, he still did his stances and poses to the best of his ability.
He understood that training now would bear fruit in the future, so even though the sun still hadn't peeked from the East, he had woken up early to start building his body's flexibility and strength.
"Zion has changed a lot since he lost his memory," Alessia said as she looked at her son from the window of their bedroom. "I'm a bit worried about him."
"Why?" Gerald asked.
"He's no longer acting his age."
"Really? I was doing the same when I was his age."
Alessia frowned after hearing her husband's reply. She kept on forgetting that Gerald came from one of the Ten Prestigious Families.
They were trained from a young age to become warriors so that when it was their time to be Spirited Away, they would be able to survive in the harsh environment of Solterra.
The moment a child reached thirteen years old, there was a chance that they would be teleported to the world of Solterra with or without their consent.
It was called the First Wandering, and it was considered as an initiation of sorts for the new hope of the next generation.
Some treated the First Wandering as a curse, while others thought of it as a blessing.
Disabled children and those who were suffering from diseases wished that they would be Spirited Away to Solterra after they reach thirteen years old.
The reason?
It was because their bodies would undergo a rebirth of sorts, fixing all of their disabilities, diseases, and anything that might hinder them from performing in their peak performance.
Those who were born blind, sickly, crippled, and suffering from any kind of injury or illness would be healed from it.
Their eyes would gain vision.
Their limbs would grow.
Their illness would be cured, and any kind of injury they had would be healed.
In fact, even children who were in a coma would find themselves perfectly healed and wake up in the world of Solterra.
For these children, the Night of the Solstice, the longest night of the year, was judgment day.
On this day, everyone who was chosen to become a Wanderer would be sent to Solterra and would need to complete a quest.
Once this quest was finished, they would return to Pangea, awakening the powers that were granted to them by the existence that they referred to as "The One".
In the past, people called this omnipotent being many names.
God.
Creator.
Universe.
Almighty.
As well as a bunch of other names.
In the end, they simply called the one who chose all Wanderers, The One.
As long as someone turned thirteen within the year, even if their birthdays were after the night of the Solstice, they would still be sent to Solterra if they were chosen to become a Wanderer.
"Mikhail is already eleven this year," Gerald commented. "I started training him when he was ten. He should have started earlier, but you wanted him to enjoy his childhood, and I respected your decision.
"But you do understand, right? Since we are both Wanderers, our children are bound to be Spirited Away once they come of age."
Alessia sighed before nodding her head. "I know. But I just want them to enjoy their childhood as much as possible. The moment they become Wanderers, they will lose the right to act like normal children."
"Being normal in this day and age is a death sentence." Gerald hugged his wife. "Only those with power will have the opportunity to survive. Solterra is a harsh place, but it forges one's character. As long as our children survive, they will have a future.
"Also, the invasion that is set to happen in Cygni worries me. The stronger our children are, the better."
Alessia rested her head on her husband's chest and sighed.
"I guess this world doesn't allow normality anymore."
"This world stopped being normal 300 years ago."
The beautiful woman gave her son one last glance before looking at her husband's eyes.
"Train Mikhail and Shasha well," Alessia said softly. "I don't want to see my kids dying anytime soon."
"I will." Gerald promised.
———————————
Days passed as Thirteen focused on strengthening his body through Tai Chi. Little by little, he was feeling less pain as his body adapted to his daily exercises.
However, there was something that changed aside from his body.
His older siblings, Mikhail and Shasha, as well as his father, Gerald, were also doing Tai Chi beside him.
At first, he was surprised, but in the end, he taught them the proper stances, allowing his older siblings to become more flexible.
Their father didn't really need it, but he also attended the morning exercises in order to spend quality time with his children.
Half a year later, Thirteen started to practice knife throwing. He originally wished to practice the sword, but he decided to postpone it until he was a little older.
Since the System God had placed restrictions on his body, he had no choice but to take a different path to become stronger.
'A jack of all trades is a master of none,' Thirteen thought. 'But oftentimes better than a master of one.'
The System God had blocked his path, but Thirteen intended to open multiple ones.
Armed with the knowledge from living thousands of years as a system, he believed that he had what it took to overcome all the situations that Fate would throw in his way.