Ball of Nothing

"Really?" Zero's eyes sparkled. Mii nodded, confirming the first piece of good news in a while.

"Gaia will create a new body that looks like your current self. Please do your best to control those powers, the new body is not indestructible. I would suggest holding off any kind of magic experiments to after you have started your magic training with Merlin."

Zero pouted but agreed. It wouldn't be good if he got kicked out of his body again. There were still so many things that he wanted to do. Fun things like combining magic to perform neat tricks as seen in his inherited memories can come later. For now, all Zero wanted was to get out of this boring mindscape.

"Isn't there anything we can do here in the meantime?" he almost whined. Conversations have run dry between him and the dragon with Bob being a very monotonous story-teller. Nobody wanted to listen to the tales of how he conquered time and escaped danger. Zero was more interested in knowing about the strange creatures that existed in a different dimension but Bob was terrible at describing them.

Mii thought about it. She still had many errands to run before Zero gets his new body. Truth be told, she thought that Bob could be a little more useful by distracting the curious overpowered being. Sadly, there was nothing much a baby dragon could do, ancient or not. If only there was a way to entertain the doctor-in-training while getting her work done...

"That's it! I'm such a genius. Zero, do you think you'd be keen to help me out on a little problem that I have right now?"

Zero blinked. Having something to do was better than having nothing to do. "Sure! What do you need help with?"

Mii smiled widely. This was too easy. "Are you able to contact Baal through meditating?"

Zero looked slightly unsure. It was usually not an issue. However, he was now in his mindscape. It might not work the same way. "I could try," he told her honestly.

"Good. Here is what the plan is, I need you to let him know the details so that he can pass the word to Merlin and Wiser. I need to go see Buddha and Hua Tuo and coordinate matters. Who knows, if you do well you might be able to return to your body quicker."

Hearing that he would be out of the mindscape quicker if he assisted, Zero threw in his lot with Mii's plan.

***

"Ok, let me get this straight," Baal sighed. Zero had contacted him via the same way they usually communicated. Even in a different time and space, the brat managed to sniff him out. A terrifying gift that Baal didn't know if he should be thankful for or not.

"You want me, the Great Demon Lord of Hell, to pass on a message for you."

"Yes. Can't you?"

"..."

"..."

"You know that I would never do this for free, right?"

The Demon Lord could feel the petulance from their mental link. Although Zero has matured, his character at the core hasn't changed much. The teen still wore his heart on his sleeve and through their mental connection. Knowledge wasn't everything in the world and Baal was glad that he still had the advantage over his friend who was still wet behind the ears. Give and take a few decades and Zero would prove to be a worthy rival.

"Do we really have to negotiate in the form of stories?"

Baal smirked, spooking Coux who happened to catch a glimpse of the lazy demon. The half-succubus quickly led Amaraline away, not wanting to get involved in whatever Baal was planning.

"It's one of the ways we could negotiate seeing how you don't have much to offer me."

Zero thought long and hard. "How about games? We can play games. I can be your game buddy to entertain you instead of telling you stories."

"What kind of games do you have in mind? Mind you, I might be lazy but I'm not dumb. There is no other demon in Hell who can win against me in any game."

"How about the Elements game?"

Baal blinked. "What's that?"

"We have six types of magic elements. Light, Darkness, Fire, Water, Earth and Air. I thought about this game after inheriting more knowledge about magic. This is how it works..."

Water -> Fire

Fire -> Air

Air-> Earth

Earth -> Water

Dark <=> Light

Same Element = Same Element

"That's unfair. You can always throw light and darkness to tie every round," Baal pointed out and Zero giggled.

"That's why we will be playing with two hands~" he sang.

Fire + Air = Dark

Fire + Earth -> Light

*No two hands with the same element.

** Left hand vs left hand, right hand vs right hand. Any combination will take the form of one element only.

"That's..."

"Interesting right? I made this game myself!"

"Let me confirm the rules again," Baal blinked. He might have the experience but Zero had the creativity to make up for whatever he lacked. "If I use a combination, I can only deal the same element against both of your hands..."

"That's right!"

"That doesn't seem fair... you can take opposing elements and win with just one hand!"

Zero smirked, mirroring Baal who found it irritating. How dare that twerp act so mighty!

"That's your call to make. Besides, I don't think I made this clear enough. Dark and light take each other out. That also means if you throw dark and light on your team, it counts as team kill. While dark or light wins every other element, they cannot co-exist."

Baal blinked. "That... makes a lot of sense. Assuming I throw dark and one element and you throw a combination, it's a fifty-fifty chance of an all or nothing. Did I get that right?"

Zero nodded. "Yupp! Exactly how it is. Then again, I might not throw a combination. Remember, it is left vs left and right vs right. It could be a draw too if we throw light in opposite directions with the other as an element. There are many ways this game can end up. Did I interest you?"

Baal had to admit. Zero was getting better. It was time to raise his game before Zero left him behind in the trial of dirt. "I accept your game on the terms that we have three practice rounds. You can decide the term of winning."

Zero agreed. "We should play first three to win. If I win, I want you to give me a tour of Hell!"

Baal raised his brow. Although that request sounded troublesome, it wasn't something difficult to do. It's not even going to bother him if the person he's playing tour guide for was Zero. Even if the teen didn't ask for it, he would've made some sort of arrangements after Zero recovered.

"Deal. If I win, you're going to have to accompany me to school for a week. Lucifer is dying to meet you and I have to go back and give a guest lecture as payment for his services to clean up Kerberos' mess. Speaking of which, you had better think of a good way to punish the sheep and the dog when you return. I'm sick and tired of hearing Kerberos' howls every night! I can't sleep!"

Zero felt slightly sorry for his friend. He couldn't imagine the horror of not being able to fall asleep. It must feel terrible. That was something Zero looked forward to rectifying once he got his new body. For now, he was content to have Baal help him kill some time.

"Well then, what are we waiting for? I'm bored out of my mind... let's play already!"

Baal shook his head. Patience isn't one of Zero's strongest suit. In fact, the Demon Lord wondered if Zero had any patience in his nature. He highly doubted it. The doctor-in-training couldn't sit still and do nothing. It was an impossible feat from the very start. Solo was also one of the most impatient fellows he'd come to know from Duu's memories. Baal shook his head sadly. Zero was missing out on a lot.

The three practice rounds ended rather quickly and Baal was feeling confident. Other than his official title as the King of Laziness, Baal was also known to be the unofficial King of Games. Nobody, not even Lucifer, could beat Baal in any game. The Demon Lord blinked at the result. How had he lost?

"This is ridiculous! How could I have lost? You must have cheated!"

Zero blinked innocently, too innocently for Baal to believe he was up to any good.

"I didn't! It was in the rules. You can use any kind of magic when playing this game..."

Baal felt as if someone had thrown a bucket of iced water over his head when Zero said that. It didn't occur to him at the start during the practice rounds that this was a huge handicap in Zero's favour. The practice rounds flew by so quickly with Baal winning two out of three games and Zero's adorable pout. The Demon Lord hadn't noticed it till it was over.

"Zero... You cheater! Normal people can't use all elements in magic, much less cast them separately in each hand! It was rigged!"

Zero rolled his eyes. "Says who? You could cast darkness, fire, air and water yourself. There was nothing unfair about it. Besides, you were able to cast combination magic..."

Baal seethed internally. Who knew that after transformation, Zero would have the guts to talk back to the most fearsome Demons of Hell with such disrespect.

"Don't be cheeky, combination magic isn't the same. I had to cast them beforehand, not hold them and cast them immediately. For an ordinary person, that split second wouldn't have made a difference. For you, I don't trust that you wouldn't have noticed it and swapped your decision halfway. Tell me, how is it that you won three out of three rounds without even contemplating your choices. You knew what I was going to cast, you prepared for it."

The brunet didn't deny or admit to it but that gave Baal all the answers he needed.

"I'm not keeping to the deal. It's not fair and you know it."

Zero sulked. "Oh come on! Nothing is fair, you said that too right? There is only the strong and the weak in this world. Are you running away just because I've grown stronger?"

Baal felt as if Zero had carved a hole in his pride and added a sea full of salt into it before kissing his cheek to make the boo-boo fly away. It wasn't helping.

"Zero?"

"Yes?"

"Do me a favour."

"Ok?"

"Don't talk to me for a week. Have fun in your mindscape, I hope boredom drives you insane."

Baal shut their mental connection abruptly and threw his paperweight across the room, creating a huge hole in the wall. Despite the outwardly rage, the Demon Lord was still numb on the inside from both shock and disbelief. Where had the sweet and innocent Zero gone? For some reason, the Demon Lord felt as if he had failed for the very first time in his life. Perhaps he was raising Zero the wrong way...

He sighed. Baal suddenly felt as if he'd aged tremendously. Now he understood how Lucifer and Raphael felt raising him when he was younger. Being a parent was such a difficult thing. With that in mind, the Demon Lord picked up his pen and started drafting a letter. He needed some practical advice and he needed it fast. Who knows which other poor souls Zero would start scamming while in his mindscape.

"No no... that wouldn't do," Baal shuddered at the thought of Zero following Schaf and Mammon's footsteps. If there was one thing Baal would work for, it would be to prevent such a nightmarish future from coming true.

"Please don't grow up too fast Zero, you're making me feel old..." the Demon Lord of Laziness whispered and scribbled his signature at the end of the letter before having his familiar deliver it. Whatever the case was, Baal was determined to not let the teen make his societal debut with such a twisted character. He would fix the mess caused by the divine entities' memories with or without help.