Ball of Nothing

The stone dial was starting to make less sense as Zero tried to solve it. Sure, they could shift pieces around but without a guide or knowing what it did, was there really a need to solve this?

"Perhaps we should come back to this later," Zero told his assistants who agreed.

"I'll continue to try moving them around with Mii. You should probably join Truen to see if they've managed to get to the door. According to the minimap, they are probably already exploring the east gate."

Betrayed that his friend didn't inform him about the success on his side, Zero sulked and complained to Truen over the party call function. Truen didn't entertain Zero's whining and felt a childish side in him retort that it was only fair.

"You cut us off in Poop Lord's dungeon, before this. I'm simply taking the initiative to scout ahead with Jermine. Don't worry, unlike you, we have not cleared the first trial or wiped out the entire dungeon."

With that, Zero fell silent. Although he was frustrated, he couldn't help but feel guilty when Truen put it this way.

They agreed to meet up at the entrance and Zero found the tunnel that Jermine dug. It was a lot wider than the one she dug before they found the dungeon and Zero was thankful for the headroom. He met up with Jermine and Truen quickly, the gate was very deep down and Truen must have used magic to light the area going down. The air had also gotten chillier by the time Zero was face to face with the huge eastern gate.

"Truen!"

Jermine was resting when she heard Zero's voice. The mole beast girl stiffened slightly. Was Truen going to tell him about her unpleasant conduct and ill-intentions? Sure, she didn't exactly betray the magic contract signed but she still considered getting out of the deal. The contract was vague and Jermine was only tasked with navigation. Nothing was mentioned about her participation, actively or otherwise, during their travel. technically, navigating through the ruins didn't count as part of her job scope. However, Truen's arrows were going to get her faster than the magic contract could. If he breathed a word about it to Zero, Jermine didn't know if they would still want to keep their end of the bargain to help her reunite with her family.

Zero sensed the strange tension but ignored it for now. There were more urgent things to care about now. The first trial wasn't going too well and Zero stared at the door.

"What's with this brass door? Did you try blasting it with magic or kicking it yet?"

Truen deadpanned. Zero was getting influenced by Venn a little too much. Those memories were not the most helpful ones and the archer sighed. "I would advise against doing that. The brass door has a magic barrier and is full of traps. There is a very strange pillar by the door frame with many carvings. I can't read hieroglyphs and neither can Jermine. We're stuck at this point."

Zero summoned some light and moved closer to the pillar by the door frame. True enough, there were carvings. Zero couldn't understand them either and it struck him as odd.

As he brought the light further down the pillar to look at more symbols, Zero started to think that some of them looked familiar.

"This is..." he stared at one that resembled a broken wing. Why did this symbol look so familiar?

While Zero tried to recall where he'd seen it, Jermine anxiously looked at the brass doors. They were reacting crazily to something ever since they entered but the mole girl couldn't understand what was going on. The magical output kept fluctuating greatly even though nobody was doing anything to them.

"Ah! I got it!"

The sudden shout made Jermine jump and Truen quickly went over. "What is it?"

With a grin, Zero beckoned for Truen to follow him. They went to the other pillar and Zero pointed at some symbols.

"This, that and this are repeated. Over there, this, this, these three and that all the way up there are symbols I've seen before."

Impressed, Truen nodded. "So what does it say?"

Zero blinked. "It doesn't say anything. That's the thing. I don't know the other symbols but I've definitely seen these symbols before. Wii and Mii are still working on it."

Confused, the archer looked at his friend. Zero didn't look like he was still under the influence of an illusion spell but he couldn't understand what Zero was talking about.

"The stone dial has these symbols."

Jermine listened to Zero try to explain what he saw and where the symbols came from while Truen struggled to make sense of the words coming out of Zero's mouth.

"What stone dial? Why are Mii and Wii playing jigsaw with it? I didn't see a stone dial coming down here. What are you talking about?"

"Not here!" Zero groaned in frustration. "Outside. Mii and Wii are outside. I told you I saw something fun and went to check it out, that was the stone dial! It has one missing piece and all the other stone pieces can move into the empty spot. Every stone puzzle has a symbol like the ones on the pillar. Not all the symbols are there but I've seen them before."

While the friends bickered, Jermine wondered if she should speak up. At this rate, these boys were not going to get the job done. She didn't really like the idea of being stuck in the dangerous ruins for longer than she had to be and if her idea worked, she might be able to redeem herself with Truen.

Gathering courage, Jermine timidly raised her hand. "Um... Excuse me, can I say something?"

At once, the elves looked at her and stopped talking. Jermine decided to tell them what she thought rather than wait for a response. Without someone steering them to look in the right places, these doors won't be opening.

"I think that the stone dial and the symbols on the pillars are related."

Truen dropped the argument earlier with Zero and shifted his attention to the mole girl. What was this ingrate trying to do?

Jermine felt the piercing stare from Truen and swallowed. "The brass doors have been feeling weird ever since you were arguing. I think it has something to do with the stone dial that Mii and Wii, I hope I got their names right, were working on. The symbols here matched the stone dial and on the pillars, they sometimes repeat. I think this is a sequence for a code. Seeing that there are more symbols, there should be more stone dials to help open these doors."

After listening to her explanation, Zero and Truen didn't need to think much further. Figurative light bulbs appeared on their heads as the dots finally connected.

"I'll go check on the stone dial," Zero announced.

"I'll go with you too," Truen said and Zero deadpanned.

"If you come with me, who will tell us what the symbol sequence is like?"

Truen smiled charmingly and placed an arm around Zero. "Zero, my friend. If you go, will you be able to locate the other stone dials? I have a mapping ability that can be useful in many ways."

Getting irritated by his friend's insistence, Zero forced a smile and tried to throw that arm off his shoulders. "Oho? I found the first stone dial so I don't think there would be a problem."

Jermine chewed on her claws nervously as tension rose once again. They weren't really like this when she knew them in Deadman Town. Why were they suddenly acting like cats and dogs ever since they entered the ruins?

Speaking of ruins, Jermine had been feeling a little strange ever since yesterday. Normally, she wasn't one to try and ditch companions even in the face of danger. They tried to get to the dungeon of the dung beetle together and Jermine wasn't this cowardly back then. What was going on?

"Excuse me..." she spoke up again, this time with more surety in her voice. "I think this first trial isn't about the dials or the door. I kept thinking it was odd for me to have thoughts about abandoning comrades. I might be afraid but I'm not an ungrateful person. Zero and Truen saved me from the slave traders and you gave me your word to help me reunite with my family. Normally, I wouldn't think of running away. Even when we chanced upon a dungeon, I never had thoughts of running away. However, ever since we came across the ruins yesterday, I have not been acting like myself. Could there be magic influencing our thoughts and emotions? Truen and Zero are also usually very harmonious. You've never really fought like this even if someone does something that upsets the other party."

Her words made them sober at once. The charm that the ruin master made was so quickly ruined by the mole girl who was the weakest of the group. Clicking his tongue in dismay, his entertainment in a few years was now over too soon. Once these people figured out his trick, the first trial was as good as cleared.

"You're right," Zero agreed and Truen remained silent, trying to think back the last time he felt such annoyance for Zero. From the very beginning, Truen swore his entire life to Zero. Why did he want to go against Zero all of a sudden?

"I see what is going on now," the archer said and looked at Jermine before bowing deeply. "I apologise for my rudeness to you earlier. Even under the influence of magic, I shouldn't have done that."

Flustered at such a serious apology, Jermine refused and didn't know where to bury herself while Zero looked at them in confusion. Did he miss something?

To save Jermine from exploding with all the embarrassment and awkwardness, he asked Truen for the next course of action.

Needless to say, Truen didn't argue with Zero this time. "I'll stay here with Jermine, you let Mii and Wii know. There should be at least one more stone dial out there."

Zero checked his i-communicator and told Truen to use the device to save pictures. "It should be better for both of us to go. You can travel with Jermine, I will group up with Mii and Wii. There's no real need for anyone to remain behind. I wasn't even using my head. Bell must be disappointed in me. The art of laziness is to exercise the brain for maximum efficiency and move the body as little as possible. Getting work done with least effort should have been the way."

Listening to Zero quote his friend's motto about the path of least resistance, the mole girl didn't know what to think. How could anyone be so proud of laziness?

Then again, it wasn't her concern. They split up to find the stone dials and Truen didn't take long with Jermine's help to unearth a new buried stone dial. The symbols matched the carvings on the pillar and made up all the other symbols that Zero didn't recognise earlier.

"This must be it," he said and asked Jermine to hold his communicator up so that he could shift the pieces into the right positions.

On the other side of the sand dune, Zero and his mindscape assistants worked hard to match the arrangement.

In no time, the two stone dials were rearranged to match the pillars and finally, they heard a rumble from beneath the sand.

Rushing back to the east gate, Truen and Zero watched as the brass doors were now open. Giving each other a hi-five and praising Jermine for her contributions, they decided to enter the fallen city where the other trials awaited them.

"Congratulations on passing the first trial, that didn't take long at all," the owner announced. "Now, please locate the library in this labyrinth for your second trial. Traps and death await you so tread carefully. Be careful not to incite the wrath of the resting golems. Good luck."