Ball of Nothing

Indeed, once they settled into a gallop, the trio arrived at a barrier that couldn't be mistaken. Zero couldn't understand why there were no guards around, and King Sharo smirked.

"You must be wondering why the security is lax here compared to the king's private property."

Zero didn't want to feed the elven king's ego and remained silent but analysed the magic barrier. It was a powerful spell on par with the Great Gods' Blessings, and no mortal could break it. In fact, Sage Gods and Demi-Gods might not be able to create a dent in it unless they were someone like King Yama. King Sharo's confidence in the barrier was only natural.

The elven king thought that he would be able to scare the fake chosen one from the prophecy into begging for mercy, but he didn't expect Zero to walk straight into the barrier before he could stop him. Yet, when Zero walked past the barrier, he was still unharmed and in one piece.

"Stay right there," he told King Sharo and Truen. "I'll talk to the Tree of the Future and be right back. Still have to thank her for donating her flower."

Casually, Zero hopped away with a playful grin. King Sharo, who was unable to pass through the barrier, gnashed his teeth in frustration. Truen kept an eye on the elven king and smirked at the man's frustration. Without the servants and guards around, King Sharo was very much a spoiled brat who deserved a spanking.

"I guess he has proven himself as the one from the prophecy. Surely you have no other complaints now."

King Sharo glared at the wood elf. "What does a lowly wood elf like you know? The one from the prophecy is a great hero! A skimpy s.l.u.t like her isn't fit to be the chosen one! How many years did we elves spend guarding the tree and the spriggan just for this day when the chosen one would reunite all the continents?"

At his choice of words, Truen summoned Sureshot faster than King Sharo could blink. The tip of a mana arrow tickled his jugular, and King Sharo broke out in cold sweat. That movement was too fast for even his trained archer eyes to see. What was this monster? Surely, this was no ordinary weak wood elf!

"Be careful of what you say," Truen warned. "Zero might be generous and forgiving but not me. You're just a mortal, watch your words. Even the Great Gods won't forgive you if you wag your tongue loosely when referring to Zero with such disrespect."

King Sharo shoved the fear aside and laughed in the face of death even if it sounded strained to his ars. He was the king of Great Altear. He couldn't let a mere wood elf intimidate him. His father would not have it.

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It wasn't hard to locate the Weeping Willow once Zero was past the barrier. The Mind's Eye system worked well without interference. If anything, that barrier wasn't just a simple security measure to take out unwanted guests. It was also a jamming signal meant to hide from prying eyes of more powerful individuals.

"There you are," Zero smiled and let out a yell when the Weeping Willow lashed out at him with one of her branches.

"Why are you attacking me?! Can we talk? I just wanted to thank you for lending me a flower to create a new World Tree!"

The short explanation worked effectively, and the Divine Tree calmed down a little.

"Are you Zero?" she asked using telepathy, and Zero nodded. He was still wound up from the sudden attack earlier and remained on the cautious side as he explained his purpose for visiting.

"I came here to understand more about your request. Thank you for giving us a flower. It wouldn't have been possible for me to create the Tree of Fertility without your help."

The Weeping Willow was still for a long while, and Zero was starting to wonder if she'd fallen asleep.

"Child, your appearance is vile. Gaia told me you were a cute youngling, and I must be mistaken."

The honesty of the Weeping Willow made Zero laugh instead of taking offence. If this appearance was customised to Alex's liking from King Sharo's feedback, it must certainly look vile to the Weeping Willow, who was arguing with her spriggan. He should have thought about it before dashing in looking like that.

"Is this better?"

The Weeping Willow rustled her leaves in happiness. It didn't take much to figure out that the Weeping Willow was a sucker for good-looking men and hated the women that spriggan Alex liked. He didn't know the history between the tree and her spriggan, but from what Zero knew about World Trees, they were usually very close to their spriggan guardian.

"Much better, child! Now come closer so I can see you better."

Zero walked up to her and allowed the Weeping Willow to touch his face with her leaves. They were still dripping wet for some reason, and Zero supposed the Weeping Willow was still crying alone.

"Why are you crying? Are you sad?"

The Weeping Willow's leaves trembled. "No, I'm happy. You're the child of the prophecy that Nel said would come."

Zero felt oddly touched when he heard it. They shared a moment before Zero asked the important questions.

"Can you tell me more about what happened between you and Spriggan Alex? Why is he acting the way he does?"

With an inaudible sigh, the Weeping Willow told her story.