Ball of Nothing

It wasn't as easy for Jevy 2.0 to form a bond with Zero as compared to Venn 2.0 and Gugu 2.0. The green mist cloud had already failed to tempt Zero twice. Duu 2.0 didn't offer any advice to her. For someone like Jevy 2.0 who didn't know the meaning of defeat, offering her help would only look like an insult.

Zero felt tired. It was the same kind of sleepiness that took over him especially after eating so much. He knew that Jevy was doing her best but at the moment, the doctor-to-be wanted nothing more than to curl up and snooze.

Slightly disheartened and utterly vexed, Jevy 2.0 decided to back off and re-strategise. In terms of passion, Jevy 2.0 was confident that she would lose to Venn 2.0 or her twin brother's fragment. In fact, she was known to be one of the more aggressively passionate Divine Entities.

Truth be told, she didn't have the slightest clue about what she should be doing to form a bond with Zero. She didn't know anything about the young doctor. Even Solo was somewhat like a stranger to her. For Jevy 2.0, she didn't care about anyone around her. She was always too busy increasing her collection and working to become closer to perfection.

Zero felt someone prying into his mind but was too tired at the moment to bother. Jevy 2.0 took this opportunity to steal a peek into Zero's memories. She was dismayed to find that there wasn't much to work with. However, she managed to find something that she could work with.

Unlike Anger and Greed that is more commonly experienced by the munchkin, Jealousy isn't something very familiar to him. Zero has very little desires apart from the hunger for knowledge. While Greed and Jealousy were born from the same source, their interests greatly differed. The desire for physical possession wasn't the same as the desire for better quality or dissatisfaction with oneself. Zero didn't have much to begin with and those who have not want not.

If there was one thing Zero was dissatisfied about himself, it would be that one thing.

Yes, Zero had a height complex. Jevy 2.0 smirked to herself. The young doctor wished he was as tall and elegant as Truen sometimes. There were even instances that Zero read up about magic to accelerate one's growth. Needless to say, whatever magic Zero tried to use failed miserably. One does not simply alter the body gifted by the Great Gods with mere magic.

Speaking of complexes, there were more. Jevy 2.0 couldn't believe what she was finding.

"The fact that he isn't 'normal' bothers him... He envies people who can speak their minds freely like Clowis and Vrald. Zero wishes he was smarter too... wait, are you serious?"

The green mist cloud was perplexed. Just when she didn't think her digging would prove useful, one thing led to another.

Duu 2.0 listened to Jevy 2.0 fumble through Zero's memories and hold a conversation with herself. He sighed. Leave it to Zero to complicate matters. Anyone could tell that the kid would be insecure. Imagine being thrown to an entirely new place without memories or knowledge about how the world worked. In his opinion, Zero was doing rather well in adapting to the situation and finding himself.

"What? I can't believe this exists. How can you be jealous of somebody else's ability to be lazy? Baal isn't even a good role model, why do you aspire to be as useless as him? He doesn't clean his castle because he doesn't want to, not because he doesn't need to. Also, it's ridiculous to be jealous about the amount of time adults are allowed to stay past your bedtime curfew. You're technically a child..."

Zero frowned in irritation at Jevy 2.0's non-stop complaints about his personal opinions. Who cared if he envied how plants didn't need to open their mouths to drink water? It was his personal opinion and thoughts about the matter. He envied the animals for their ability to walk around without clothes for obvious reasons. Jevy doesn't have to prod at that fact with a stick to check if it was dead or alive. Her incessant comments about other people's matters made Zero wake up. He was no longer in the mood for a nap.

Duu 2.0 pretended not to notice the drastic change in mood. As the atmosphere soured, Jevy 2.0 grew quieter. The tension in the air got so thick at one point and the Divine Fragment of Jealousy completely stopped talking. Perhaps, she'd gone too far.

"Are you quite done yet? I'm trying to sleep."

Jevy 2.0 blink. She didn't know if her strategy would work in the first place. Imagine her surprise when it did. Then again, it was too soon to celebrate. Zero needed a few more shoves to completely sync with her emotions before they could forge a bond.

Playing the role of an obnoxious woman, Jevy 2.0 continued to point out all of Zero's flaws and insecurities. When everything Zero tried so desperately to keep in the dark came to light, he gave up. Who cared if he didn't know how to lie? Zero wasn't even going to bother trying at this point. The damage was too extensive.

"Yes! I have issues with everything that you just mentioned. Is there a problem?"

Jevy 2.0 watched as Zero's eyes widened ablaze with fury. Just a little bit more before she could slither her way into his mind and heart.

"Of course not, why would I? I'm just saying that you're not perfect. It's completely fine to feel that way. Besides, isn't it just silly to think that only special people can have special things? If you want something, I think you should simply take it."

Zero was about to agree with her but paused when he repeated that statement in his mind.

"No," he said, calmer this time. "You're wrong. I'm not going to take what I want from others like you. It's not considerate and it doesn't belong to me."

Jevy 2.0 rolled her non-existent eyes and circled Zero. "Yes, you do. You made this world so everything in it belongs to you. You want to be taller, find a new body with the height you like and chase the soul away. If you're being generous, give the poor soul your old body. If you want people to be more accepting of you at the village, speak up. Nobody is stopping you from saying what's on your mind."

Zero thought about it carefully. Jevy 2.0 wasn't lying. In fact, that sounded perfect! There was only one tiny problem. Zero didn't feel like he could understand Jevy 2.0. He couldn't sync with her or form a bond even though they agreed. There was still something missing but he didn't know what that was.

"Your thoughts are aligned but your hearts aren't," Duu 2.0 yawned. Sitting in a corner for so long got boring quickly. Unfortunately, he still had a duty to fulfil and sleep was out of the question.

"Our hearts are not aligned?" Jevy 2.0 echoed.

"Sure, there may be many things that Zero wants and envies others for. However, you're not taking time to understand Zero as an individual. You'll never be able to match each other. Technically, Zero is supposed to work to earn our recognition before inheriting our powers. However, both you and I know the truth. There isn't much time left. Stop dallying and quickly give him what he wants to know already!"

The green mist cloud stilled and Zero blinked. What were they going on about?

"I understand. Solo... it's about Solo isn't it?" Jevy 2.0 asked the stunned brunet.

"You are jealous that Solo is so far ahead of you and that you have a lot to catch up with. You wish that you could swap places with him."

Zero didn't answer this time. He wasn't quite sure if that was what he truly wanted. When he first inherited the memory of his time in the void from the Great Gods, Zero wanted to experience creating something too. Unfortunately, his gift was meant for taking and not giving. Hence Zero thought that the best way to give back to this world was to take away sufferings. In a way, he was jealous of Solo's ability to bring forth precious things endlessly. Zero too wanted to be the one to create this beautiful world despite how flawed it was.

Zero fell solemn for a while and Duu 2.0 wished Jevy 2.0 good luck. It wouldn't be long before those two synced with each other. Knowing Zero, he would understand it very quickly. The munchkin may have lost his memories but not his wisdom. As the creator of the multiverse, he had an extraordinary mindset that not even Divine Entities could understand.

It wasn't unusual for Solo to change his mind when you least expect it. Nobody can come to understand his thought process sometimes. The Great One was known to create dozens of dimensions only to tear them down the very next moment to create something grander. Lives meant little to the Great One and only beauty did. Duu 2.0 didn't want to tell Zero this yet. He would find out once he meets the actual Divine Entity of Laziness. For now, the blue mist cloud watched as Zero devoured Jevy 2.0's energy.

Sighing, Duu 2.0 started to pound on the seal that contained him. Mii and Bob did a decent job designing such a complex seal in such a short time. While Venn and the rest decided to use brute force to break through it, Duu had been observing how the seal was designed while they fought. It didn't take him long to find a way to escape. Only, it took too much effort so he didn't bother attempting.

Now that Zero was almost stabilised, it was his turn.

His objective was simple. In order for Zero to not undergo too much of a mental growth spurt and personality change, Duu would bring forth some of the more mundane wisdom to entice Zero before merging with him.

"Are you ready?" he asked Zero who nodded with a small smile. Now that the noisy ones were finally gone, Duu 2.0 allowed himself to relax more. Zero was immediately comforted by Duu 2.0's presence that felt very much like Baal's.

"Let's do this," he told the blue mist cloud and Duu 2.0 wasted no time.