Ball of Nothing

Zero was excited. The pieces were finally all gathered. All he had to do was assemble them. Understanding the relationship between different types of energy and the true purpose of chaos energy made Zero more confident. If his hypothesis was correct, Solo would be able to manipulate chaos energy. After all, he was trapped by chaos energy for a long time, most likely a deliberate set up by his past self.

Firstly, he had to find a way to create a defence against chaos energy. Zero didn't tell Merlin what he was doing and snuck out to Titan's Cliff alone using the portal from the lamp. After learning how to modify portals, Zero found that this ability was extremely handy. Mii and Wii seemed to have levelled up too from all the new knowledge.

Wii was able to hold a few hundred Parallel minds and had the ability to make judgements better. This made Mii's job a lot simpler. The sisters found a way to create copies of Merlin's translation gadget and everyone worked more efficiently. Wii also worked as his mindscape's librarian and organised whatever she could.

Mii's appraisal skill had increased significantly. Maps were now updated according to the books read and the number of things Mii could do and control was very handy for Zero who often needed someone to give him a second opinion. The strawcherry fairy still remained very logical in her deductions and wasn't quick to pass judgement, unlike Zero. She was his devil's advocate and pushed Zero to become a better version of himself.

If there was one thing Zero loved about his assistants' growth, it would be the ability to conveniently drop by to different places using modified portals. Even if a portal didn't exist where he was, Zero could easily borrow the one in his lamp.

The only thing worrying him now is Lily. Her progress would be dependent on his abilities to complete the quests of all Divine Entities. Murvin, Isaben and Law have agreed to help Zero unlock the ability to customise the Mind's Eye system after he completes their requests. It was something that Zero was looking forward to.

Right now, the young doctor was planning. Zero was the kind who preferred to roll with the punches but due to the complexity of his assignment, the teen decided to take a step back this time. There were many preparations that had to be done before he could finish his special magic. Now that he understood the concept and how recreation magic worked, Zero needed to create his grimoire.

Herein lies the next hurdle. After finding out that chaos energy could hurt him, Zero needed a grimoire that can act as both a weapon and a shield. It had to guard him against chaos energy while absorbing all kinds of attacks that could be thrown at him. His grimoire had to be able to manipulate creation and Zero had to cram everything he knew about creation and their basic forms with rune writing. After that, Zero had to imbue it with his magic and tie it to something to prove his resolve for power.

Zero sighed. Normal magicians over their souls or hearts but neither of these things belonged to Zero. The teen agonised over what he could sacrifice in great value that could prove his resolve. Merlin mentioned that he had vowed his entire existence in exchange for his powers. Could Zero do that as well? However, his existence was a questionable thing. If he was gone, would the world collapse? After all, it was made by his past self.

The paper was full of scribbles and doodles on the side as Zero thought. As of now, his list of priorities looked a little like like this:

Things to do:

1. Get Gaia's permission to visit Garden Eden

2. Revive the Tree of Knowledge

3. Plant the Tree of Life

4. Make the Grimoire

5. Use Grimoire to seal Titan Cliff

Although there were only five things on the list, the preparations required and uncertainty of success for each thing on that list frightened Zero. Unlike Hua Tuo, Merlin's style of teaching more counselling when in doubt and encouraged self-learning. The wizard hardly did anything more than introduce and recommend reading materials to Zero when he had questions. The only time they actually interacted were mealtimes and even that was rare with both of them being so busy. Merlin also felt more like a child despite being an old man. Zero sometimes found himself behaving more mature and the drastic change from how Zero was like with Hua Tuo made the teen feel slightly insecure. Many times, Zero didn't know what he was doing wrong or right.

\"I know! I'll find Buddha...\" Zero decided and sent the Enlightened One a text.

Sitting on a lotus pad in the Lake of Enlightenment, Buddha felt his communicator vibrate. Reaching into the bead-like hair on his head, the Sage God pulled out his communicator and checked the text. It didn't surprise him to receive a text from Zero. He had been expecting it for some time now.

[Hey Buddha! Is it alright for me to drop by Nirvana for tea?]

Buddha smiled at the light tone Zero used to text him. The teen certainly was getting better at masking his feelings. However, the Sage God knew better than to think that the young doctor was bored and simply wanted company. His lack of emoticons in the text message indicated his pensive mood and probably troubled thoughts. Buddha didn't need to read the future to know what this is about. He heard the news from Steve about the conclusion of the experiment with chaos magic. The Great Gods have also gotten involved with the situation, keeping a close eye on Titan Cliff.

Merlin was a great magician but he wasn't known to be a very good teacher. Freya's complaints about how the wizard tried to teach Truen were evidence about the magician's attitude. If anything, Buddha was relieved that Zero had become more mature before he started learning from the wizard.

[Sure. I'll meet you at the Hall of Attachments. It's Jasmine Tea today.]

After sending the text, the Sage God got up and prepared himself for the teen's arrival.

Zero stumbled out of the portal and waited patiently for Buddha to meet him. Some of the monks who were expecting Zero already served the Jasmine tea as agreed. Zero's mind was in turmoil over his uncertainties. He didn't want to alarm Merlin with his recklessness but it had to be done. Knowing Merlin, the magician will not permit him anywhere near Titan Cliff before the recreation magic was created. However, without observing the powers of chaos energy up close, how could Zero design his grimoire?

\"Hello, Zero. I hope you've been well since the last time we met.\"

The young doctor beamed and waited for Buddha to settle down before explaining his current predicament.

After the Wise One understood Zero's situation, he felt a pang of pity for him. Merlin was certainly not the easiest person to get along with. For Zero to not have any confidence in his teacher to tell him about the problems he had, Buddha thought that Merlin must be really sad if he learnt about Zero's opinions. Still, the Enlightened One had no way of disagreeing with Zero. Merlin's judgements were not always very sound. The magician was a very volatile emotional person.

\"Titan Cliff is a dangerous place. Not even I can visit it. You have to gain Hades' approval to go there.\"

Zero sighed. \"Do you think Hades will agree to let me visit it?\"

Buddha smiled. \"It is worth a try. I will be escorting you if Hades permits you to go. Someone has to be the anchor in case the chaos energy sweeps you away. Also, if you want to go to Garden Eden, you need to seek Gaia's permission. I'm not sure if the Tree of Knowledge can be so easily revived but I'm also not a gardening expert. As for planting the Tree of Life, I know that it requires a place that is rich in mana source. Endow Hill is rich in mana because of the Eternal Dragon guarding Sleepy Cave. I don't think the withering Garden Eden is a good place to grow the Tree of Life.\"

The young doctor cancelled something from his notes and thought about it. \"How about the Spring of Vitality? The mana lotuses are growing very well. I'm sure the Tree of Life would be able to grow there as well.\"

Buddha laughed. \"It is a good location but you will have to do a lot of convincing and drawing boundaries. Once the Tree of Life exists at the Spring of Vitality that doesn't belong to anyone, there will be a lot of disputes.\"

Zero pouted. He should have known things weren't going to be as simple but he couldn't think of a second location better for the planting of this special tree. Besides, if the Tree of Life didn't die, Lovina's curse can be easily broken. Merlin promised to help him search for a way to remove Lovina's phoenix curse.

\"I understand. Can we arrange a time to see Hades? I have some miscellaneous matters to attend to before I start the second part of my special assignment.\"

Buddha agreed and they picked a date to visit the God of Death who was still roaming around.

Hades received a text message from Zero and Buddha while he was sitting on a boat cruising along river Styx. The God of Death blinked twice and told the undertaker to turn the boat around. the visit to the Purgatory could wait. If Zero was already making his move in Heaven, Hades thought that it might be better if he stationed there. The teen made a splendid mess of Hell before and if left to his own devices with Merlin's encouragement, who knew how different the landscape of Heaven will become after he returned?