Ball of Nothing

They say that a woman is most beautiful on her wedding day and Zero couldn't disagree with whoever said that. Medusa was stunning and even Poseidon was floored. Zero couldn't believe that the dresses he helped to choose, accessories and even makeup could transform the sisters by so much. It was a shame that Poseidon refused to get his eyes treated to see how beautiful his bride was. Still, the reinstated titan ran his hands over her face repeatedly and touched her hair to ensure that it really was the Medusa he knew from his younger days.

\"But how?\" he asked. Poseidon was no fool. He knew the rumours about the gorgon sisters and their appearances. It was also not a lie because when he went to visit them in Valhalla, he could hear and smell the difference. Back then, they really had snakes for hair and were covered in scales. Using echolocation, he was able to make out their general shapes in his mind but the shape reflected today is very different from what he remembered when he last saw them.

Medusa smiled. she really didn't know how to thank Zero for not only helping them with a beauty makeover but also giving them a place to belong. With the three divine sisters of Heaven gone, Medusa and her sisters were the new three celestial maidens of Heaven as they left their gorgon pasts behind. The glasses that Zero passed to them helped them to lead a more normal life and Medusa had a feeling that Zero did this out of his own volition instead of purely for the sake of a quest.

Zero really didn't have to go all out doing this for them. According to Freya, the quest only requested him to resolve the gorgon's grief. There was no need for arranging a marriage, reviving a planet, reinstating a Great God and helping three hideous women with a beauty makeover while restoring their former reputation. The teen really went all the way out and these glasses that they wore now were definitely expensive products beyond imagination. Zero didn't seem rich, Medusa knew that for a fact that most of the things Zero had were given to him by his teachers and the Great Gods. Yet, according to Freya, the boy used what money he had to ensure that the gorgons got the best they deserved. He was back to being dirt poor again apparently. She had a lot to thank Zero for.

The wedding at the House of Great Gods was very simple. The one marrying them was the archangel Uriel who made them recite vows and exchange rings. Zero watched the happy couple from the side and smiled. Things were finally coming to an end. While he was glad that he could complete the last quest to unlock the system's customising function, he was slightly sad that he no longer had much of an excuse to stay in Heaven once his business was complete.

As the couple shared a kiss to seal the deal, Zero silently left. The remaining pieces of Athena's lingering spirit have finally given up and fell to the Natural plane. Zero borrowed the teleporting portal to get to where he was meant to meet Tanya.

\"Are all the pieces collected?\" he asked using the party call function.

\"Yes. They are very weak so I tried my best to preserve them but some have been lost to the void. Athena doesn't want to reincarnate,\" Tanya explained.

The teen sighed. He had a feeling this would happen. \"How much of her spirit and soul fragments are left?\"

The queen of dryads hesitated. She knew that the answer would displease Zero. In order to create a soul stone, there had to be at least sixty percent of the original soul. However, the fragments that were in her hands only amounted to thirty. It was too few to be able to condense the soul and spirit without damaging it and losing it forever.

\"Tanya,\" Zero called out warningly. \"How much?\"

The queen of dryads sighed. \"Thirty percent, maybe less. We should just let Athena rest.\"

Zero bit his lip. Thirty percent? That was worse than he thought. Without wasting more time, Zero hurried over to where the dryad queen was waiting. \"Can you talk to her?\"

Tanya nodded. \"What would you like me to tell her?\"

Zero thought for a while and smiled. \"Ask her if she wants to be reborn as Poseidon and Medusa's daughter.\"

Tanya did as told and the soul pieces glowed a faint blue. Tanya was slightly surprised and Zero smiled. \"Tell her that I am currently terraforming a planet called Hyacinth that will become Poseidon and Medusa's home planet. I need her help to stay strong as I find a way to tie her spirit to the planet and find her a vessel to occupy. King Yama or Hades could help to erase her previous memories if she wants.\"

After Tanya relayed the message, Athena's soul glowed stronger.

\"She said that it would be great. She wants her new name to be Minerva.\"

Zero grinned. \"It's settled then. Here, let me keep Athena. Thank you, Tanya. Also, Zeffery wanted you to have this even if I don't know how you'd be able to use it.\"

Zero passed the dryad queen a rouge box and smiled. Tanya was overjoyed and thanked Zero before waving goodbye to the young doctor who still had a few more last matters to attend to. The wedding was going well and the feast kept everyone occupied.

This time, Zero didn't need a lightning bolt express to get to Hyacinth. His arrival was so unexpected that nobody was there to welcome him. The teen didn't mind. The fewer people in his way, the faster he could accomplish things.

Zero used the materials of Hyacinth and combined them with some of the space junks he absorbed earlier from his galaxy and wormhole hopping adventure. The new vessel he created for Minerva resembled Medusa strongly with Poseidon's traits and the only thing that reminded Zero of Athena was her gothic fashion.

Satisfied with his created vessel, Zero started drawing a complex rune circle and placed both the soul and vessel in the centre. The teen chanted for the sea fairies to lend him power and bless the vessel with life. Slowly but surely, the spirit channels of the planet were fused with the vessel. The soul pieces that Zero put on the ground by the vessel were also slowly being absorbed into the seabed. Once the magic ritual ended, a beautiful gothic girl was sleeping on the bottom of the sea. Zero decided to remove Athena's past memories using the power of absorption. He was able to separate thoughts after the system identified that as a source of energy. Without thoughts and memories about her previous life, Zero introduced new ones into the child who was now called Minerva.

Zero smiled. The next thing he did was to pull out the building materials he had saved up from his trip to Gummer and poured them into creating a small island not too far from the sea temple. Before Zero left, he decided to write a magic note so that Poseidon and Medusa could find it when they eventually returned to Hyacinth. Zero decided to leave Minerva somewhere that Carlsen would find her and take her back. How things played out from then on would be up to them. Zero had done his best and in a way, this was his wedding gift to the couple.

Now that the quest was truly complete, Murvin appeared before the young doctor with a smile. \"You've done well, Zero.\"

Zero thanked the Kindness Divine Entity who kissed him on the forehead and blessed him with the gift of Mercy.

Skill: Mercy

Effect: Creates amnesia within an individual, making them forget everything about their current life.

\"Now that you have all three of our blessings, you can use the Tri-coloured petal mark to unlock the customising function of the Mind's Eye system. However, as the quest Finding Nel isn't completed, the more advanced features to Mii's map function will not be unlocked.\"

\"What's the function that's currently locked?\" Zero asked.

Murvin smiled. \"It's something that allows you to travel through galaxies easier without having to make guesses about which wormhole to jump into. It will also give you clues about Solo's locations based on indications about his activity and energy traces. You will also be able to identify time cracks or rifts that will allow you to briefly prepare for a confrontation with Solo or avoid him altogether.\"

Zero's jaw fell. He really needed that last function to upgrade the system. However, he would have to complete finding Nel first. For now, Zero didn't want to deal with too much. He was going to focus on the current problems and thanked Murvin for the information.

The moment Murvin became one with his existence, Zero felt a pleasant warmth tingling from his head to his toes. The skill Mercy became added to his list and Zero inspected his system window once more. This time, he was able to customise his vessel to his liking.

Without holding back, Zero spent a few hours exploring the different options, He eventually settled on something more androgynous. The height was customisable but Zero didn't think being too tall was a good thing either. He didn't know if he wanted to change his hair and eye colour because he technically could afford to do so now. Thinking about needing to meet up with Truen soon made Zero put that off for a while. There weren't many changes to his exterior appearance apart from having the increase in height that Zero wanted and the increased length of his hair. Now, Zero's hair reached till half of his back so the young doctor fashioned a hair tie out of a ribbon that he got from Grem's shop.

Zero checked his new appearance and noticed that he could now easily pass off as a female if the need ever arose. The puffy dress that the Great Goddesses bought him a while ago could come into practical use now and Zero was happy that it was not a wasted purchase.

Zero decided that for his travels, he would stick to a simple outfit that didn't make his YY Tonfas look out of place when it wasn't in combat mode. Origin was hidden in his inventory sling bag that Enma gifted him but even if it wasn't, Zero doubted anyone would suspect that to be a grimoire.

Satisfied with his overall appearance, Zero made his way back to Heaven. This time, he would be bidding goodbye to everyone before he left. Of course, the one thing Zero had to do before he left for good was to reap his profits. He was going to have to negotiate with Michael to buy a pasture in Heaven to own under his name so that he could give it to Merlin and have the agriculture team from Half Moon Village maintain it. The soil in Heaven never lacked nutrients and it was a good place for Zero to grow his medical and magical crops if he ever required them. It could also help to make some money in the time that he was away.

With one last thing on his to-do list before he started on his adventure, Zero hurriedly left Hyacinth. The wedding wasn't over yet and he could still catch the people he needed.