Ball of Nothing

"Excuse me, I have a question for the angels over there," Zero stood up, surprising everyone in the middle of such a heated argument.

Michael sneered. This kid was becoming too bold. He didn't believe that the boy had any right to be in this meeting. If it wasn't for Mammon and Merlin vouching for his credibility as the creator of a domain in Hell, the archangel wouldn't have allowed Zero to attend the meeting.

"Please ask," Gabriel smiled, his earlier composure returned. Unlike Michael and Uriel, the messenger archangel was rather fond of Zero. Raphael heard of many stories about this interesting boy from Baal and thought that Zero might not really be the destroyer in Uriel's vision. While it was commonly known that Uriel was the archangel of prophecies, not everybody knew how it worked. Isis already confirmed that those prophecies are not to be trusted completely because time is a mysterious factor that often altered the future.

Zero smiled. Merlin gave the boy a worried look while Lucifer narrowed his eyes. Zero had better not bring trouble again.

"If there is a way to seal stop the leakage and mend the crack in the plane for Heaven, will you let the abyss have the mana generating flowers instead? I'm sure with the number of residences, the mana generation will slowly heal the damages done."

Nobody was expecting such a solution. To seal the plane was something Merlin had once thought of. Steve and Merlin worked on that project for a long time but were unable to succeed. Robo Mike was a failed experiment and is currently working as a guardian at the mana lotus farm in the Spring of Vitality. Did Zero have some sort of idea?

"Zero," Uriel swallowed nervously. "You might not know it but this has been attempted before. Merlin and Steve worked on the project for a long time but they were still unable to seal the leakage. Planes were never meant to be torn apart. It is a miracle that both Heaven and Hell haven't been destroyed yet. However, our abilities to hold the broken plane together is coming to an end. Nobody can fix it either, the Great Gods have tried it but it wasn't possible."

The news surprised Zero. He sat down again in silence deep in thoughts this time. Merlin wished he could read Zero's mind. The seriousness of his student's face scared him a little. It was true that their experiment and attempts ended up in failure. Back then, Merlin couldn't seal the leakage properly because Robo Mike wasn't able to replicate the complicated energy balances that a plane required. It was Zero's discovery about the correlation between qi, mana and chaos energy that changed everything the wizard knew. Lovina's report shocked Merlin greatly and he had been revising his research ever since, digging out old projects from the dust. From this new perspective with new information, Merlin wouldn't say that the possibility of Zero's suggestions are zero.

"I think," Merlin spoke up in haste. "We might be able to give this a try. Recently, there has been a shocking discovery that could make repairing broken planes very possible."

Zero looked surprised and even the archangels were stunned. Lucifer and Buddha didn't look too sure. They didn't want to give the archangels false hopes because it would bite them in the back later if the experiment failed. The demand for mana lotuses would be increased from Heaven's side and there might be war again.

The wizard smiled. "Yes, Zero's here for his training with me. We will work on creating this solution within a year. Please hold out on the negotiations of the mana lotuses until then. It is still not known but Steve and Wiser have been working tirelessly on a new machine to convert chaos energy into mana. If this works, Heaven can get the first batch of mass-produced machines. How about it?"

Zero stammered and looked unsure. What was Merlin talking about? He came here to learn magic. Why was he now involved in repairing the plane? Also, Zero didn't think he was capable of such feats. If the greatest magician alive failed, how could a novice like him succeed? He didn't have Solo's wisdom either, the thought was ludicrous!

Uriel looked at Zero, eyes full of wonder. Nobody knew what he saw in his prophecy but he stopped Michael from lashing out.

"I think we can wait for a year. If he can create the seal and repair the plane, we can be assured that he is not the destroyer of our world."

Gabriel sighed in relief when the hot-headed archangel sat down again. However, the messenger was curious about Merlin's claims. What could Merlin possibly have discovered to give him so much confidence?

"Can you share with us what you've discovered? What is this new knowledge that gives you so much confidence?" he asked.

The wizard god grinned. "Remember Robo Mike? The initial concept was to make him a door to block the plane's energy flow into the void through the crack. However, as you all know, it failed miserably. Robo Mike wasn't able to withstand the huge pressure after the dam of mana built up and got washed away, never to be found again until recently."

Zero listened with interest. He didn't know much about the history of Heaven so hearing stories like this made him very happy. Merlin also explained how the mana and chaos energy was constantly fighting against each other at the crack.

"Robo Mike was a shield that couldn't withstand the pressure built up. We thought that the mana was being rapidly drained into the void. However, according to Zero's discovery, mana counters chaos energy. This is the reason why Heaven isn't polluted with miasma while Hell is filled with it. Heaven produces its own mana while Hell's plane cannot do such a thing. It is sustained using the power of Demon Lords who lock their souls to the plane in exchange for sins that can be converted in mana."

Slowly, things were beginning to make sense. Zero looked at Buddha who was also paying close attention to Merlin's theory.

"The most mysterious discovery was reported by Hua Tuo, Lovina and some of the Half Moon Villagers. Zero was seen developing a move that simultaneously used qi and mana. It's never heard of before. When asked, he told us that the secret to this balance is chaos energy."

That statement made the whole room go into an uproar. Not even Lucifer could maintain his cool. Buddha had an enlightened look on his face and the archangels started to throw questions directed to Zero.

Overwhelmed by the sudden attention, Zero didn't know who to answer or what to do. Thankfully, the wizard protected him and tackled all the questions calmly.

"We have to do further research to know the correlation of each energy type as well as the formula for interaction and harmonisation. I heard that Wiser is studying this at the Academy?"

Lucifer nodded. "Indeed. He has been making huge progress with the discovery although the product is far from completion. We've recently run into problems trying to contain miasma. Also, there is a possibility that chaos energy and miasma are different types of things. It's still in the researching phase. We do not understand chaos energy and miasma as well as we want to, it's difficult to come to any solid conclusions as of now."

Hearing this gave Buddha some sort of hope. "I can assist in the research of chaos energy. Nirvana has been long practising the ways of cultivation using qi and chaos energy. There are records in the library that might aid in your progress."

Gabriel smiled. "This changes everything now. Merlin, you said that Zero will be training under you for a year. Do you intend to borrow the time-space dimension for training? Are there any facilities that you require? We can arrange that for you."

Merlin thought about it and looked at Zero. "That's yet to be decided but thank you for your offer. If Heaven is assisting, it would be quicker for me to ease Zero into an assistant. I'm afraid we'll have to trouble Steve once more."

With the main agenda out of the way, Gabriel brought up other things for discussion.

"Lucifer and Zero. We invited you here especially today to ask for permission to operate our business in Hell, specifically the Garden of Roth district. Could you grant us permission to set up an establishment for trading?"

Zero looked at Lucifer who shrugged. "It's your district," he told the teen who grinned.

"All registrations must go through Soul & Sins Bank. You'd have to accept the standard terms and conditions for foreign traders and also abide by the laws of the abyss. Other than that, I have no objections to becoming business partners although I wouldn't be the one directly managing it. Mammon will."

Gabriel smiled. "Thank you, we will bring this up for discussion with Lord Mammon. On a separate matter, Heaven would also like to borrow some experts from Half Moon Village. As the village head, can you allow us to seek the witch Lovina and the researcher Wiser?"

Zero looked slightly surprised. "I wouldn't give you permission on their behalf but I can arrange for a meeting if you'd like to. May I know who is requesting for them?"

Gabriel smiled and looked over to Merlin who coughed awkwardly. "I need Lovina to help me out with some alchemy research and Steve wants to talk to Wiser in more details about the machine he wants to create."

Zero laughed at that and nodded. "I think I can arrange tea for the meeting if Luci allows Wiser to take a day off from school for it."

The room froze when Zero called Lucifer by the nickname he was accustomed to. Zero realised his mistake and apologised quickly, correcting it to Lord Lucifer instead. Lucifer didn't scold Zero or showed any expression so it was scarier when the meeting continued smoothly. Zero kept giving the Demon Lord nervous glances for the rest of Buddha's update about the situation at the Spring of Vitality.

"Last but not least, we have to address the issue of Athena's curses. The Arachne descendant that almost caused a rift between Heaven and Hell might have been punished but Athena's curses still live on. We'd like to hear everyone's opinion about it," Uriel sighed.

Merlin shook his head. "A Goddess' curse is not something that can be easily removed. Not even I can do anything about it, especially one of a deceased Goddess who was one of Zeus' children."

Zero gasped. Zeus had children?!

Before anyone could debate further, a bright light glowed from Zero's chest and three beautiful ladies appeared. The ladies were dressed in white, yellow and lilac dresses respectively. Zero took a while to search his memory of the three sisters he knew he saw once before.

"Ah!" he exclaimed. "You're the three Divine Entity flower sisters!"

They smiled at Zero warmly. "Hello, Zero. We meet again."

Knowing that not many people would remember them, the ladies stepped forward to briefly introduce themselves.

The lady in a white dress introduced herself as the Divine Entity of Kindness - Murvin. The lady in a yellow dress introduced herself as the Divine Entity of Acceptance - Law. The last lady in a lilac dress introduced herself as the Divine Entity of Trust - Isaben.

"We heard that you wish to resolve Athena's hatred that still lingers," Law said.

Gabriel nodded. "Yes, indeed. However, a Goddess' curse is not easily lifted and her hatred will not be dismissed so easily even after her death. As one of the former Great Gods, Athena's presence still runs strong in our world."

Murvin looked at her sisters then back to Zero. "A Goddess' hatred can be removed but only by the right person. Zero, would you like to accept our quests? Mind's Eye will be fully unlocked once you have incorporated the powers of at least three divine entities. Nullifying a Great Goddess' hatred will be only the tip of the iceberg for what you can do once you have full control over the system."

Merlin's eyes went round and he wasn't the only one. Zero was slightly stunned by the sudden system-generated quest.

[You have received Murvin's quest to resolve the Gorgon's grief and undo Athena's curses. Do you accept?]

[You have received Law's quest to revive the Tree of Knowledge in the Garden Eden. Do you accept?]

[You have received Isaben's quest to plant the new Tree of Life. Do you accept?]

Zero looked at the new screens and clicked yes for all three quests. They briefly appeared on his long quest list and the three sisters smiled.

"We wish you the best of luck and godspeed, Zero. Till we meet again," they said and disappeared with another bright flash of light.

Zero laughed nervously when he noticed that all eyes were on him. "I guess Athena's curses will be resolved by me?"

Merlin frowned. "What did they task you to do?"

Zero sighed. "To undo Athena's curse, I need to undo the Gorgon's grief. Also, I have two trees to care for. One of them is the Tree of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden. I need to revive it. The other one is the Tree of Life, I have to plant it somewhere."

Uriel blinked. "The Tree of Knowledge is dying. Can you really revive it? Also, do you have the seed for the Tree of Life? Are you going to plant that in Heaven?"

Zero frowned and thought very hard. "I don't know. I guess I'll figure things out on the way. Is there anything else on the meeting agenda left to discuss?"

Gabriel looked at his notes and shook his head. "No, I think we're done for today. If there are no further questions or topics for discussion, the meeting for today is adjourned. Thank you for attending. If you're not in a hurry, we've readied a feast for you at the cathedral."

Zero drooled at the f-word and begged Merlin to let him go. The wizard god was already expecting it and nodded. Zero and Hua Tuo were probably already there. They didn't start lessons officially until tomorrow so Merlin thought that it might be best for Zero to take it easy and explore Heaven a little to get familiarised with some of the places.

Only Lucifer excused himself immediately to return to his duties so Zero hastily bade him goodbye after apologising for calling him by that embarrassing nickname in front of everyone.

"Come on, "Buddha smiled. "Let's go," he told the teenager who was staring at the spot where Lucifer was before he left.

He definitely needed convenient portals like that one instead of climbing up a thousand flights of stairs to reach Heaven. Zero refused to go back to that labyrinth, not when such convenient magic existed.