Ball of Nothing

Chapter 148 Mission: Fixing Zero 2

Floating. It felt like he was floating without anything to hold onto. The feeling of suspending and not moving felt all too familiar to Zero.

"Why am I here again?" he asked. There was no way to tell what he was looking at or where he was facing. Zero had never hated the void as much as he did right now. He wanted to go back, there was so much to ask Baal. He finally had a decent plan to save Schaf too!

"We meet at last," a voice that sounded exactly like his startled Zero. That was most definitely Zero’s imagination. The brunet frowned in suspicion. Was this a dream or a trick?

"It is neither," the voice spoke again and Zero jumped. he didn’t have time to ask questions because a bright light appeared and blinded him. Zero was reminded about the newbie God who disturbed his nap.

"I’m not that newbie God," the being huffed. Zero blinked at the person before him. Too shocked to speak, he could only gape.

"Hello Zero, we finally meet. I’m sure you’ve heard some things about me from various sources and I apologise for not being able to meet you any earlier. I’m Solo but the others may have called me the Great One."

Zero stared at a boy who looked exactly like him. Also, did he just say that his name was Solo? Wasn’t his name Great One?

Solo grinned as if reading Zero’s thoughts. "Well, it’s not as if your name is Nothing, right? That would be terribly awkward for introductions. Imagine having to introduce yourself... Hi! I’m Nothing, nice to meet you!"

Zero thought about it and cringed. Solo was right. Names were important.

"So... you’re Great One?"

Solo beamed. "That’s right! Are you surprised?"

Zero shrugged. "Not really. It’s just really weird to be talking to you like this. You’re me and you don’t exist?"

"How rude!" Solo huffed. There was a pink tinge on his cheeks as Solo simmered in mild anger at the indignation. Zero silently thought that Solo was adorable when he was annoyed and giggled.

Solo raised a brow. "You know, this is exactly how you look like when you’re annoyed too..."

Zero gasped offendedly. "I do not!"

Instead of arguing with Zero, Solo looked smug. "Keep telling yourself that."

Zero couldn’t think of a timely retorted when Solo snapped his fingers. Zero yelped and clung onto Solo tightly when they started falling at a speed comparable to the asteroid he once hitch-hiked on. Solo only laughed at Zero’s terrified expression. They landed with a loud crash but nobody came to check out the commotion. It wasn’t too surprising seeing that nobody lived within a hundred-mile radius from their landing spot.

Solo let the dust settle with Zero swatted at the particles with his hand.

"Where are we? Also, why are you here? What’s going on?"

Solo held Zero’s hand and dragged him along. "Come! I’ll show you how everything started."

"Wait! You’re not answering my questions!" Zero shouted as Solo started hurtling them forward using acceleration magic.

***

"Check this out! Isn’t it beautiful? This is the very first sea that I created. Sedna was born here. Oh, there it is!"

Zero squinted into the horizon. For a moment, there was nothing and everything seemed normal. The waves crashed against the sandy beach like it should and Zero thought that Solo was fooling around again when the sea began to move.

Zero watched in sick fascination as the waves became more violent. It roared and grew to monstrous heights. By the time it reached the shore, the waves were five times as tall as Zero and Solo. Zero screamed when the water pushed him backwards and pulled him under. Although he didn’t need to breathe, the sudden action made him panic. Solo calmly swam over and teleported them to the middle of the sea, hovering just below the clouds.

Zero calmed his mind and watched as the ripples grew in size. Something was coming from beneath the sea and whatever it was, it was huge.

From beneath the water, Zero saw some huge pointed corals breaking the surface. The creature moved slowly but when it stopped, Zero’s eyes were wide in amazement. Corals and seaweed decorated her hair. Sedna was huge...she was almost as huge as the cliff he first fell from when he met her.

Solo’s eyes shone with excitement when Sedna let out a blood-stopping shriek. Zero shuddered. That scream spoke of anguish and anger. he didn’t think Sedna would have such a scary side to her because she’d always been caring.

Zero watched as Sedna raised a large arm and sent a wave twice as tall as her crashing onto the shore. Whatever that used to be a beach was buried beneath the water. Sedna’s eyes glowed white and the Goddess continued her destruction, swallowing whatever land she saw.

From the aerial view, Zero noticed the water getting closer to the civilisation further inland. The villagers continued with their daily lives, unaware about the approaching disaster until it was too late. Screams of terror were literally drowned and Zero wanted to go down to save them at once. Solo’s grip was too tight and Zero glared at his past self.

"Let go! I have to save them!"

Solo didn’t give in, his grip tightened. "No. You can’t change it anyway, this is only a memory. Watch. Sedna’s about to do it..."

Zero turned around and saw how Sedna hissed at a small figure floating in the air like them. Compared to Sedna, she was tiny. Upon closer inspection, Zero noticed how it wasn’t one tiny figure but two!

Sedna howled and tried to attack them but the two figures repelled it.

"You have suffered," the first girl Zero spotted said. "Go to sleep for a while, you’ll feel better after you wake up."

With just one touch from her, Sedna fell back into the water. Zero couldn’t believe it. What was going on?

"Is it over?" the second girl asked.

"Yes, Rose. It’s over. Where is Zesti? We should send her back."

"Teehee! I’m here!" a third girl appeared in a flash of golden light. "Did you miss me"

"Stop fooling around Zesti... we still have work to do."

Zesti was a small girl of about five years old. She had brilliant golden hair, blue eyes and a wide smile. Zero liked her immediately.

"Aww... you’re no fun, Clow. Fine, let’s save her from her suffering. Man, I wish the Great One could have given us easier jobs."

Clow the serious girl frowned. "Don’t say that. Without the Great Gods, the humans will run out of control and the balance of this world will be destroyed. We can’t have the Great Gods falling victims to the void."

Zero only became more confused. What was going on? Still, Solo didn’t say anything so Zero could only observe in silence as the three girls cast some magic on Sedna and sent the sea back to where it should be. Sadly, they didn’t do much to restore the destroyed landscape or village.

"That was Zesti, Clow and Rose. They are Divine Entities that you will meet eventually. I’m sure you have many questions so let’s start from the beginning. Why did I create Divine Entities and the Great Gods?"

Zero nodded. He too wanted to know why his past self decided to do all these only to fall asleep and lose his memories.

"I’d like to make a correction," Solo cleared his throat. "I didn’t lose my memories. I sealed them away along with the Divine Entities."

"What?"

Solo laughed. "Oh well, it’s something you’ll have to find out once you have met all the Divine Entities. Long story short, the Great Gods maintain the balance and watch over the cycle of the world I created. The Divine Entities help to keep the Great Gods on the right path."

Zero nodded. "Huh... I don’t understand it but I guess I can see why. Sedna looked so sad. It was painful to watch."

Solo sighed."Well, it doesn’t happen often but once in a very long time the Great Gods will erase their memories and live as a human. They leave their domain to someone else to manage while they live as humans. Unfortunately, humans are not the kindest creatures to exist. Gods were created to bear the sufferings of those who believe in them. They were created to be kind but there is only so much pain anyone can carry. When that happens, they grow insane. Divine Entities must step in to take away their pain. They absorb those feelings into the void and guard it."

With a better explanation, Zero began to understand a few things. the title Inheritor of Sins must have been no coincidence either.

"Yes, that’s right. That is a title given to all Divine Entities but I thought you might need it too. Being kind is not a flaw, don’t get me wrong. However, there will be times where kindness can turn to become a weakness that people will make use of. Pain is something that can drive anyone insane. Once a person has gone through too much pain, they change permanently."

"Did that happen to you?" Zero asked. Solo fell silent and smiled mysteriously.

"No comment. You don’t need to know that for now. However, I didn’t call you here just to show you flashbacks of my past or idle chit-chats. My time here is limited. Isis’ power can only support a time paradox for so long."

Zero wasn’t expecting to be flicked on his forehead and stumbled backwards in alarm.

"Take time to think about it. You know, although this is a world that I created it also belongs to you. You have every right to do what you want with it. Don’t worry about what people would think too much. If you fail, we can always restart the game."

"Game?"

"Oops! I spent too much time. I must get going now. Remember, think about it! Nothing here is permanent. Not time, not the Gods, not friends nor feelings. It’s only real if you want it to be!"

"What’s that supposed to mean? Solo!" Zero yelled but he felt the pull grabbing onto him, separating them. He had so many questions but Solo was already too far away. Zero wanted to cry. The question was at the tip of his tongue but he couldn’t bring himself to ask it.

"Will I ever see you again?" was what Zero wanted to ask. Solo only smiled as Zero left. He couldn’t answer that despite knowing Zero’s thoughts.

Once Zero was finally out of the picture, Solo turned back to the destruction. His serene expression changed to one full of hate as he looked down on the humans scurrying around. With a wave of his hand, Sedna was retrieved safely. Zesti, Rose and Clow made their getaway immediately, not wanting to be caught up in the mess.

With nothing left to stop him, Solo ripped the planet’s core out and reabsorbed it back into the void. Without the core holding it together, the planet began to crumble. Volcanoes erupted, animals grew berserk. The ground shook and cracked, swallowing everything that failed to escape.

Without looking back, Solo left the planet. He didn’t regret anything. Other than the Divine Entities and the Great Gods, everything else was trash to him. An adventure? A beautiful place? They didn’t exist. He would rather be bored all his life than have to deal with this never-ending war.

Solo sighed, hating the decisions he made. If only he didn’t create humans. Yes, that’s right. It all started with the humans that he was once so proud of. Who knew that his best creations would end up trying to kill him? It was his mistake. He shouldn’t have wanted a companion that was capable of entertaining him and matching his level of intelligence.

However, it was too late. Isis would soon fall and it was up to Zero to clean up the mess he created.

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