Thirteen was a special number, holding different significance across many cultures.
There had been thirteen people at the Last Supper, followed by Jesus's betrayal by Judas. Persians went out on the thirteenth day to avoid bad luck, because ancient Persians believed the twelve zodiac signs governed the twelve months of the year; once the twelfth cycle ended, heaven and earth would collapse, and thirteen represented chaos. Taoism treated twelve as a cycle, with thirteen representing transcendence beyond the cycle—stepping outside the Three Realms, beyond the Five Elements. In Buddhism, thirteen was also an auspicious number; the thirteen Buddhist sects represented the completion of merit and virtue.
Salomon knew that his fate was closely intertwined with the number thirteen. Even the day he met Bayonetta had been connected to that number. He had chosen it for entirely objective reasons, because it held practical magical significance. Salomon had written and devised the customized ritual himself, allowing it to channel energy toward him rather than anything else.
Besides himself, the ritual required two others, corresponding to the three pillars. Ten points plus three invisible points: nothingness, infinity, and infinite light, corresponding to the Holy Marks—that was, his soul. The twenty-two days of preparation corresponded to the twenty-two paths. The ritual itself would take thirteen days from beginning to end. Only then could his soul safely return to the real world—not one day more, not one day less.
No matter how much the City of Immortals developed, it would be difficult for it to play any role in this matter. This was his own adventure.
If Stephanie learned of his plans, she would surely scream and denounce his irresponsibility, then repeatedly beg Salomon to drop a hydrogen bomb of at least eight hundred kilotons on Los Angeles. She did not care how many people