Ball of Nothing

"What are you going to do if you have to face Solo who has become your enemy?"

Zero blinked. Buddha wasn't joking and the boy found himself smiling for some reason. It would mean that he would be able to meet Solo again wouldn't it?

"I will save him," he told Buddha who wasn't expecting such an answer.

The Enlightened One smiled a genuine smile when he heard that. His heart felt lighter and the Sage God knew what he should do. Even if he was breaking his promise to his old friend, Buddha would put all his hopes onto the teenager before him. While Solo was a powerful being, he was extremely fragile on the inside. His distrust for his creations made him lonelier than when he was alone at the beginning. It was why Solo made the Mind's Eye system as insurance to protect his future self.

Seeing Zero now, Buddha didn't think that Solo's insurance was needed. Zero was strong even if he didn't know everything. That resolution and courage to face the unknown were what made the teenager different from his past self. Zero didn't only rely on his capabilities to get out of sticky situations. He counted on the people around him to watch his back while he forged the path ahead for them even when everyone despaired.

Buddha recalled how Zero was always able to find a solution that nobody else was able to come up with. Back in the abyss, Zero didn't kill Rhinestone. Instead, he broke the man-made dimension by flooding it. Nobody else would have been able to do what Zero did. If it were Solo, Buddha knew that his old friend wouldn't be as merciful. The creator would have reconstructed that dimension and erased the spider demon's existence for eternity.

It was ironic how Solo destroyed his creations easily as the original creator while Zero tried to preserve the creations and nurture them even though he was the destroyer. Buddha thought that no matter what his old friend had become, there would always be light to darkness and darkness to light. Like two sides of a coin, Solo and Zero might never meet but the Enlightened One knew better. If time ran in a circle as all cycles did, Solo and Zero would eventually meet where the end is the beginning.

Zero watched as Buddha got closer to the ominous box. He couldn't help but feel nervous. Was this Solo's tomb? Was Buddha going to release the zombie called Solo residing within? Zero wasn't prepared for it. He met Solo once in the time crossing but he didn't know much about Solo's life. Buddha wouldn't ask him random questions about his past self without reason. The box definitely had something to do with Solo even if it wasn't Solo himself.

Buddha chanted something in a language that made Zero's head feel fuzzy. It was familiar but he couldn't recall where he'd heard it before. The system didn't translate it for him either and started malfunctioning much to Zero's alarm.

[System re-registering rights.]

[External interference detected, eliminating the threat...]

[System failed to eliminate the threat, emergency sleep-mode activated.]

When the system fell asleep, Buddha caught the box in his arms. The box no longer glowed and didn't float. Zero blinked as he put two and two together.

"That's Mind's Eye?"

Buddha nodded. "I took a gamble," he told the teen who gaped at him.

It felt unreal to Zero. All along, he thought that Mind's Eye belonged in his head just like how the Blessings the Great Gods gave. It should be something akin to mana and not some mysterious box floating in his inner dimension. Now that Mind's Eye had gone to sleep, Zero worried about Mii who was technically a by-product of the system. What was going to happen now?

Buddha took a while to tinker with the settings of the box and Zero watched without understanding what was going on. He had many questions. Why would Buddha know about Mind's Eye? If this was the system made by Solo, did it mean that he could no longer see Solo in person unless there was another time crack? What's going to happen now that the system isn't working?

The Enlightened One tapped the box and rebooted the core functions. The box came back to life and floated with a white glow this time. As it spun and gave off quite the light show, Zero stared at Buddha who studied it intently.

Then, the Enlightened One turned to him. "Go on, identify yourself and register your name."

Zero didn't know what he was meant to be doing but a friendly introduction shouldn't hurt.

"Hi there, I'm Zero."

The box didn't seem to register it and Zero gave Buddha a helpless look. The stupid thing continued to spin slowly and Zero wondered if it was broken. Maybe they should take it out and get someone else to look at it.

Just as Zero was about to suggest it, the box stopped spinning and settled on a low golden glow that felt warm.

[Registering new owner: Zero.]

[System restarting...]

Zero waited with wide eyes when the box slowly opened up. The teen could barely hold onto his excitement as what was inside started to reveal itself. If this wasn't Solo's body, perhaps it was an afterimage of Solo himself? Was he going to receive a message from his past self or a gift?

Buddha monitored Mind's Eye closely as it registered Zero as the new rightful owner. Solo did tell him to pass the system on to his future self after all. He just didn't specify who should be the administrator of it. Back then, Solo's will controlled Mind's Eye and Buddha didn't think it was a problem seeing how Zero was new to everything. However, over the past few months in Earth's time, Zero had matured considerably. He was no longer alone and ignorant about the world. While Zero was growing, Solo's will remained frozen in time and stuck to the conventional thoughts, restricting Zero's potential. Now, Buddha was going to correct it.

Instead of a face similar to his, Zero saw someone else familiar emerging from the box.

"Mii?"

Indeed, it was the strawcherry fairy. Zero wasn't exceptionally thrilled to see her. He thought that something grander was going to appear from the box and that disappointment was clearly reflected on his face. Mii woke up after being forcefully powered down earlier. She was slightly disoriented but it didn't take long for all the information to catch up with her.

One thing that shocked her greatly was the change of ownership. Zero was now the administrator of the Mind's Eye system and as a by-product of the new system, Mii was worried. Solo's will didn't allow her to express her opinions about what was good for Zero. With Zero as the new owner, would he bind her as a puppet simply to do his bidding instead of treating her as a friend who often played the devil's advocate?

"Mii? What's wrong?" Zero asked when the strawcherry fairy simply stood still, not completely coming out of the box.

Buddha decided to give the assistant a literal hand out of there. With Mii sitting on his palm, Buddha explained. "She's still processing the new information. A system update after the change of owners must be a rather big thing."

Zero bought it and started working on the system configurations when it prompted him for some setting requirements.

"How should I fill this in, Buddha? I don't know anything about Mind's Eye!"

Buddha allowed Mii to collect her thoughts and observe her new system owner as he made some configurations. The Enlightened One helped Zero navigate his way through the complicated system administrator panel and explained some of its functions.

"You can also add anything to it that you feel is insufficient," the Sage God told him and Zero thought about it.

"Can I add something that I'm bad at?"

Buddha blinked. "For example?"

"A calculator function!"

Mii felt riled up by Zero's suggestion and snapped at him. "Do basic addition yourself! Also, don't think that I do not know you've been asking Bob for answers pertaining to basic multiplication. You've been skimping on homework too ever since you came back from the abyss."

Zero cringed at Mii and mumbled under his breath.

"What did you say?" the strawcherry fairy raised her brow with hands on her hips. Her spunky attitude was back and the assistant made a full recovery when she felt that nothing much has changed with Zero taking over the controls ads the system administrator. If anything, she felt a huge weight lifted off her. She no longer had to watch out for things that might get her existence erased again.

"I said that you haven't really changed," Zero muttered and went over to nuzzle the small fairy with his cheek.

"Hey! Stop that, you're getting snot all over me!" Mii squirmed but Zero ignored her complaints. He was too happy.

The first thing that came to his mind when the system malfunctioned was how he might lose Mii. Now that he was certain the spunky assistant was alright, Zero couldn't help but cry a little. Mii gave up struggling after a while and resigned herself to fate. If being lazy and wanting a calculation function added was all Zero wanted, she would still be able to help him with it.

"Seriously, is that all you need? A calculator?"

Zero released the fairy who quickly put some distance between them. "Of course not, I want to know everything there is to know about the system. If it was created by Solo, surely there must be more information about how he created the worlds, where the divine entities are and how to meet him again, right?"

Buddha shook his head. "The system was designed by Solo with what he knew back then. Hence, it is not possible for the system to tell you what it does not know. The database has not been updated in a long time and many things are lacking. It was only recently found out that some Divine Entities made Divine Fragments."

Zero sighed. He knew it was too good to be true. being the system administrator only added more responsibility and Zero didn't like responsibility very much.

"What about quests? Can I cheat quests now and unlock all the functions?"

Mii shook her head. "The system was designed in a way to build and improve itself after objectives are met. Usually, it required materials to do so. For example, the energy conversion function was only possible after Solo completed the map of his creations. It's not as simple as you think it is. In order for the system to 'convert' energy, it has to sacrifice some of the energy sources you have in the void and put it back into creation while harvesting the energy form that you requested another source and put it into your void pocket."

Zero felt his jaw slacken. So it was nothing more than a trick done by the system all the time? What about the water that he used to burst open Rhinestone's dimension?

"That was a different case. We simply used what already existed in your void inventory. No conversion was required. However, when you converted one thing to another, we had to source for the item you were looking for and exchanged it with what you had. The void is a very funny place. Only you are able to access it freely. To everything else that goes in, there's a very strong force that doesn't allow it to come out unless you will it. Time doesn't exist in the void either."

After listening to Mii's explanation, Zero gave it careful consideration.

"Does this mean I can use it as a portal to store not just people but living creatures too?"

Mii gave Buddha a look for help. The Sage God stepped in to explain how the void was not a sustainable place for life.

"Living creatures need air or water or some sort of sustenance that your void doesn't have. It's more complex than that."

Zero sighed. "What about Bob? He lives in the lamp technically and his mind can travel to and fro in my mindscape. That's part of the void."

"You have a contract with him that allows him to do that."

Zero grinned. "So if I have a contract with people I can bring them along on travels using the void?"

Buddha and Mii didn't confirm or deny it so Zero declared that he will be bringing more people along.

"System! Make Mii, Bob, Zoe and Lily the moderators. Share with them my administrative rights so that they can manage tasks on my behalf."

[Drafting contracts for individuals Mii, Bob, Zoe and Lily in progress. Sharing of administrative rights denied. Reason for denial: Security and risk management conflict.]

Mii rolled her eyes when Zero fumed over the denial. "You can't pass us all your rights. However, you can pass us part of the system rights for things you want us to do. There are several levels of the system that only you can access. It should be fine to share the rest."

Zero tried again and this time, the system accepted it.

Mii found herself staring at a long magical contract draft by the system. Not wanting to read it, the strawcherry fairy simply signed it with her mana and the contract disappeared.

Zero watched as the names of four individuals became added to the system. By now, the box was starting to close and Mii hurried back into it but Zero stopped her.

"Don't go back there, it's lonely. Come with me! You can live in the lamp for now and still be in the mindscape with Bob if you don't want to meet everyone else."

The strawcherry fairy thought for a while. "I can't. As the system's guardian, I need to protect it from external parties trying to steal the system's mainframe. Also, it's easier to manage things from inside the system."

Zero looked sad for a moment and made the assistant promise to come out every once in a while.

When Mii returned to the box, Buddha decided that it was time for a good spring cleaning. If Zero was in charge of the system, there was no longer a need for all the strange collection of lifeforms in the void as power. Zero was now responsible for finding the source of power for the system. Besides, it only ever consumed huge amounts of power when Zero made a special request. After Mii's explanation, it should be clear that the teenager was expected to do more quests in order to receive help from the system.

"If there isn't anything more, would you like to clean this place up and redecorate your inner dimension? I can't think of this as something you'd be comfortable with."

Zero nodded quickly. "Yes, please! I want to have an inner dimension somewhat similar to shifu's but with a waterfall and a big lake with many kinds of animals and not just plants."

Buddha chuckled. In his inner dimension, there was only a huge lake with lotuses of all kinds. For cultivators, the greater the variety of things, the more they comprehend.

"I don't know if we can achieve all of that in one day but we can definitely clean the place and brighten it up a little," the Sage God told Zero and started working on chanting the mantra.

Zero joined in and slowly but surely, the nameless creatures started disappearing one by one. When they disappeared, they became stars in the sky and Zero marvelled at the beauty of having at least a million stars in his huge inner dimension. Although it was still dark, there were stars to guide the way.

"How do I add all the plants, water and animals in here?" he asked.

Buddha smiled. "Through cultivation. Come, let's go. Your teacher has been waiting for us for some time now. With this, you should be able to develop the eight extraordinary meridians without issues now."

Zero smiled and held Buddha's outstretched hand as they started the long walk back.