Ball of Nothing

"Alright, Zero. Let's have a chat, shall we?" Hua Tuo eyed the brunet who appeared nervous. Still, he did not refuse the physician. Hua Tuo didn't know if Zero knew the impact of what he'd done. Making friends with the Demon King was something unheard of. Demons were known as creatures who did not understand the meaning of love or loyalty. Demon King Baal was one of the seven who ruled the abyss. His reputation would make anyone quake in fear. Yet Zero had gone and made friends with a creature born from nightmares without much effort. Cuteness was justice but how far could it go? Not to mention, the brunet had revealed some very hard to believe facts about Baal. A sleepy klutz? Really? All those years of disasters caused by Baal's supposed fury were merely side effects of his carelessness? Hua Tuo found it hard to believe and even harder to accept such facts. It was easier to imagine Baal as the merciless and unpredictable Demon Lord who killed thousands with his roar of rage rather than a sneeze from a sensitive sinus after waking up.

Zero didn't know what to do. His teacher was giving him such an intense look and it was getting uncomfortable. Hua Tuo would've bored a hole through his forehead with the intensity of that stare if Zero didn't snap him out of his thoughts.

"What are we going to talk about?"

"Huh? Oh yes, we were going to have a chat. Take a seat, don't look so tense. I just have a few questions to ask you."

Zero nodded and relaxed a little seeing the usual Hua Tuo return.

"How long have you known Demon King Baal?"

Zero hummed and tried to recall when it was. He hasn't been friends with Bell for long so it was still easy to answer.

"Slightly more than a week?"

Hua Tuo didn't know what to think. Why would a Demon Lord decide to help a child he knew for less than a week? Hua Tuo was no fool. Even if Baal wasn't completely evil, it didn't mean he had a heart of gold. This generosity may only be extended towards Zero but the physician still had his reservations. There may be deeper reasons behind Baal's actions and neither he nor Zero had the answers to it.

"How did the two of you meet? I'm sure you didn't have the time to be sneaking away to make friends with someone from the abyss. We've been travelling for the last two weeks."

Zero grinned and brightened up. "That's right! I made friends while I was travelling. If not for mediation, I wouldn't have been able to make friends this easily. It was slightly scary at first meeting so many new people and going to so many new places but it worked out in the end."

Wait... people? As in plural?

"Please don't tell me you've made more than one friend... also, how did you meet them when you were meditating?"

Zero frowned in confusion. Hua Tuo wasn't making any sense to him. Was he not supposed to make friends when meditating?

"But I did it the normal way? You told me to empty the thoughts from my mind and I did... then I went back to the space that I came from and waited until someone found me."

Space? Now Hua Tuo was confused. "How did that space look like?" He'd heard of Buddha meditating into a different dimension the spirit world. There were many dimensions that one's soul could travel to after mastering meditation. He hadn't realised that Zero had progressed to such levels.

Zero frowned. "It's dark and empty. I can't see anything, feel or move. It's not warm nor cold... there was just nothing there. It's exactly how I was before that bright light appeared."

Hua Tuo made a mental note to ask the Great Gods more about Zero's past. He didn't know what light or space his student was talking about but there was one thing clear. They were not on the same page.

"Alright, can you tell me what happened after that? How did you make friends?"

Zero grinned. "I heard voices calling out for help and responded to them. It was always a different voice and sometimes they responded, sometimes they didn't. Sometimes they said really mean things but then there are some who turned out to be real like Bell."

Hua Tuo didn't know how to react. Those voices... could it be that Zero had the ability to listen to prayers? He didn't know that Demon Kings prayed because they had no Gods to pray to but those voices Zero heard and described sounded a lot like the voices of people praying to the God of Medicine.

"What did these voices normally say?"

Zero tried to recall what he heard. "Most of them were lonely. They just wanted someone to listen to them or talk to so I did."

Hua Tuo didn't quite understand this. Gods could listen to the prayer voices if the people praying to them met two conditions. The first was to know of their existence and the second was to believe in their powers. The stronger their faith, the stronger the effect of blessings a God can bestow upon the person praying to them. Gods had different domains and prayers worked much like in a company. Different types of prayers were categorised and sent to the God responsible for the domain. For example, Sedna would listen to all prayers about safe sea journeys. She wouldn't receive or entertain any prayers about wanting blessings for fertility. Then there were those whose prayers didn't have any God to listen to and were discarded somewhere in the void. The voices that Zero heard sounded like those discarded into the void. But why would Zero end up in a void?

"Alright. Who else did you meet there?"

Zero didn't answer so readily. "It's a secret. I can't reveal their names or identity for now because I promised them."

Hua Tuo didn't push it. He had expected something like that after all. He assumed that all the people Zero made friends with were somewhat powerful and influential people. It would be bad for their reputation if the secret got out that these powerful beings were lonely. Just imagining Baal confiding that he didn't mean harm and was a natural klutz was a frightening enough image for Hua Tuo. Instead, he had one last question.

"How many friends have you made from meditating?"

Zero paused and counted them. Hua Tuo began to worry when Zero counted more than three but sighed in relief when the brunet stopped at four.

"Four I have met like Bell but many others whom I have not. I've spoken to a lot of people. Some come back to talk to me again but some don't so it is difficult to know who's considered a friend and who's not."

The physician almost face-planted at that explanation. Here he was hoping that Zero wouldn't go more than five but it was now a lost cause. He'd have to teach Zero about stranger danger, a lesson that Truen failed to get Zero to understand. The physician didn't know if Zero's ability to readily trust strangers was a good or bad thing. The worries he had for his apprentice only increased by the day and Hua Tuo felt exhausted. They haven't started any consultation in the village or done any surgery but Zero's made quite the impact by himself.

"I see... thank you for answering me honestly. Lovina and I need to discuss a little bit more about the healing magic method you proposed this morning so there is still a little bit of time before dinner. I'm not sure if the kids are back yet but I'm sure they would love to continue the game of tag. You haven't had the chance of becoming the tagger yet, have you?"

Zero shook his head. "I'll go ask around right now!"

Hua Tuo waved goodbye and sent Zero out with a smile. Once the brunet was gone, he quickly phoned Buddha for an explanation.

***

"Buddha speaking."

"How can Zero hear the voices of prayers in the void?"

The Sage God of Enlightenment let his smile drop a little. "Pardon?"

Hua Tuo scowled at the other end of the line. "You heard me. What is the child's background? He meditated and his soul returned to the space that had nothing in it. He was in the void and he said he came from it. What's going on? Why can he hear the discarded prayers? Not too long ago he'd just told me he was friends with Demon King Baal."

Buddha blinked and the smile fell from his face. "Baal? As in the Demon of Sloth, Belphegor?"

Hua Tuo sighed. "Yes, that Demon Lord. The same Demon King Enma requested me to treat in the abyss a few centuries back. That unpredictable all-powerful King of the Abyss who could level a country with a sneeze. The one that Zero said was a klutz who didn't mean to hurt anyone."

Buddha was lost. "Can I call you back? This requires a meeting."

Hua Tuo shrugged. What could get worse than this? "Sure. As long as you come back with an answer."

Buddha ended the call with a troubled expression. As a confidant of the late Great One, he knew certain secrets. However, he didn't know everything. Demon King Baal wasn't one of the Gods' creations. This required Isis' powers to travel back in time and view history. Also, it might be time to tell both Hua Tuo and Merlin more about Zero's 'birth'.

***

"Seriously, where have you been? We were worried sick when we were told to evacuate suddenly."

Zero raised both his hands up in surrender as Rima yelled at him. Jacqueline and Leon were uncharacteristically silent as the spirit propagator ranted. Zero could only bow his head in apology until Zoe stepped in, placing a calming hand on both children.

"Thank you, Zoe," Rima said and turned back to Zero with a slightly annoyed but resigned expression.

"I'm glad that nothing bad happened to you. Just don't do it again alright? Leave the dangerous things to the adults. We have very strong warriors protecting the village."

Zero nodded and Leon proposed continuing their game of tag, livening up the mood.

"Can I be the tagger this time?" Zero asked and all three kids agreed without arguments. Zero grinned as the three kids took off. Zoe smiled at Zero and patted his head gently before giving him a light push, encouraging him to go. The brunet flashed her a bright smile and started counting aloud, planning silently who to go after first.

***

"This is delicious!" Zero moaned as he took another bite of the wrap.

He'd never seen such a strange meal but he loved how creative it was. Lovina and Cleo prepared a wide spread of fillings that could be put in the thin pastry. Zero could choose to put anything in it and add different sauce. Every wrap had a different taste and Zero found the barbecued meat to be his favourite. Zero liked the applesauce even though Hua Tuo kept giving him strange looks whenever he added it to the wraps he made.

After dinner, Cleo handed Zero a cup of herbal tea to wash to food down. Zero thanked her and then Lovina asked him a question that made Zero jump up in excitement, almost knocking the cup of tea over.

"Yes! I would love to... Master can I? Please.....!"

Hua Tuo pretended to consider and gave in when Zero pulled the wide-eyed look. He chuckled and granted Zero the permission to 'skip work' for an entire day tomorrow.

Zero couldn't believe it. He never thought that he could become a part of Half Moon village and it made him happy to know he could become one of them even if it was temporarily.

Cleo smiled. "Well, you'll have to sleep early tonight since we wake up before the sun comes up to tend to the fields."

Zero agreed and left in a hurry, much to the physician's amusement. Unknown to him, Hua Tuo and Lovina arranged for the village to babysit Zero while they worked on researching Zero's idea. If it worked, Grandma Moppo would never have to rely on her staff again and many old injuries for many of the warriors could potentially be cured.

Zero skipped along to the hidden underground passageway entrance. He'd gotten quite familiar with the village after the game of tag with the kids. Hua Tuo was impressed with how energetic Zero was despite the long day. He just knew that the moment the lights went out, Zero would drift off immediately. Unhurriedly, he walked over and waved goodbye to the occupants of the tree apartments.