Ball of Nothing

Chapter 288 News from Afar

Merlin didn’t know why he was roped into helping his student out with the farm and the kitchen renovations. He grumbled all night but Zero continued to ignore them. Merlin felt wronged. With Truen, he was scolded by Freya for putting too many unrealistic expectations on his student. Why was it that Zero took his ’unrealistic expectations’ with so much ease? Were they perhaps not unrealistic after all?

A crack in the air space made Merlin drop his work. The sudden movement startled Zero beside him.

"What’s wrong?"

Merlin growled. "Somebody’s infiltrating Arabesque through the air space instead of the portal..."

That surprised Zero. Who would have thought that there were other means of transportation coming to the City of Night? Merlin seemed very confident in his security as well. The portal was the only way Zero was taught to access the sub-plane. Was there actually other ways?

Zero followed after the magician and ran out of the tower. Merlin even forgot his hat and looked furious. From the lobby, they could hear spells being fired. The golem guard must be fighting the intruder who was holding up rather well against the advanced golem. Merlin growled and stormed out of the door with Zero running behind him.

The door burst open with a strong blast of wind magic. The vein at Merlin’s temple was a dark shade of purple, threatening to burst. Zero worried about his teacher’s health. This amount of rage couldn’t be good for anyone’s heart!

"Swift!" Merlin yelled and Zero looked into the night sky with difficulty. There was too much wind going around but the teenager was sure that he knew that name from somewhere.

A peal of shrill laughter and familiar feminine voice made something click. It’s her!

Merlin commanded his golem guard to stop attacking and the obedient golem went back to guarding the door in a standby position, ready to attack the intruder if she attempted something else.

Zero smiled. He’d never seen this person face to face before but he knew her rather well.

"Swift!" he called out. "What are you doing here?"

The harpie cooed and swooped down to hug Zero with her huge purple wings. The teenager spluttered when his mouth got filled with feathers. Merlin only glared at the harpie from the side. He didn’t really like the universal librarian. She always found ways to get under his skin. Merlin would never forgive her for cutting off his beard that one time she tried to escape after invading Arabesque. Too ashamed to meet people and not willing to wait a few centuries for his beard to grow out, the wizard was forced to invent a tonic for rapid beard growth. Swift laughed at that so heard when she learnt about it five years later. Talks might have died down after so many years but the humiliation Merlin felt never disappeared.

The bespectacled harpie grinned. Her lime green hair swayed with the now gentle wind. Swift looked at Zero and nodded thoughtfully.

"You’ve grown prettier."

Zero blushed at the comment. The tip of his ears became completely red and Zero tried to bury his face away somewhere, making the harpie laugh loudly at his actions.

"I’m just kidding, don’t run!" she grinned and chased after Zero before he made it to the tower. The golem guard hummed ominously and Swift became slightly nervous. She didn’t want to battle that guard again. It was tough dodging the projectiles.

"What do you want?" Merlin growled, having enough of the disturbance.

Swift assumed a more professional image and bowed. "Sorry for the intrusion but I bring important news for Zero. Gaia found some clues about Nel’s last location. Shittomi also sent me a letter about her investigations when she could not reach Zero. However, she isn’t in her territory at the moment so I’m here to pass the message on her behalf. It’s rather confidential so I’d need to borrow Zero for a while."

Zero looked at Merlin and the golem guard. "It’s alright, Merlin can know. Maybe we should move this discussion to the tower?"

Vulnerable to Zero’s pleading look, Merlin relented with a heavy sigh. "Only this time. We’re going to the library."

Zero quickly led Swift through the security while Merlin restrained the golem guard. Swift was amused when Zero started dancing on the floor tiles before her. Merlin didn’t say anything and the harpie soon understood what that odd ritual was for. Leave it to Merlin to come up with the weirdest ideas.

The library was messy beyond belief. Zero didn’t have the opportunity of visiting it often but he clearly remembered helping Merlin to clean it up two days ago according to the time on the communicator. How did it become even messier than it was before? Ignoring it for now, Zero cleared up a pile of books from the chairs so that they could sit and talk. There wasn’t any tea to be served in the library so Zero apologised for the lack of hospitality while Merlin simply looked as if he wanted to throw the harpie out of the window.

"What brings you here?" Zero asked at last.

Swift sighed. "Let’s start with the thing I heard from Gaia. We found traces of Nel’s activities a dimension on the Energy Plane called Whiskeria. It’s a rather old trail so Nel might have travelled away by now. There’s no real rush to investigate it either because the dimension has been reduced to ruin."

Merlin raised a brow. "Whiskeria? Isn’t that the planet of Furries? What happened to them?"

Swift sighed. "They were wiped out by the Humanoids. To be honest, they weren’t a match for Humanoids. The Furries were always fighting among themselves and the inter-breeding became too serious. The future generations were weaker because of that but they stubbornly refused to change their ways so it was inevitable."

Zero frowned. "Was Nel there to help?"

The librarian looked surprised. "How did you know?"

Merlin also gave Zero a questioning look. Then he remembered that Swift didn’t know about Zero’s special identity and wore his default annoyed expression. The librarian only knew that Zero was on a mission to find all the Divine Entities and recover them. She must think that Zero was going to be a hero of some sort to finally clean up Solo’s mess. However, the wizard knew better. Zero must have learnt a few things about the Divine Entities he created after recovering some of his memories.

Zero smiled. "Nel is the Divine Entity of Hope. She wouldn’t abandon those who are in need."

Swift smiled. Zero’s guess was on the mark. She’d only met Nel a few times but the harpie knew that despite her cutting words, Nel always meant well. She was simply unable to be honest about her feelings and that was rather cute.

"That’s true. Nel was there to help but it was too late. She left something behind but Gaia and I could not identify what it was. We cannot remove it either so you’ll have to travel over when you are ready. Apart from that, this is the report that Shittomi wanted to pass to you."

Zero received the letter and read it carefully. Merlin decided to pick a random book to start reading while keeping a close eye on the harpie from the side. Swift didn’t touch any of the books in Merlin’s library even though she eyed them with interest. As a librarian who frequented even the Pharoah’s Crypt, how could she not want to read the books in Arabesque rumoured to have not been read by anyone apart from Merlin?

Dear Zero

I’m writing to you instead of sending a message because of the confidential information this message contains. I would be out of my domain while you read this letter because I’m still compiling the list of damages done by Gugu and Jevy. It would take a few years even for myself to get everything. On the other hand, Hannya House received some clues about Duu’s location. We’re currently sending someone to investigate the rumours so hold on tight!

As for Venn’s whereabouts, my girls found battle traces that indicated not only Venn’s interference but also Kale’s. From the report, Venn and Kale are both severely wounded. We suspect that they might have parted ways and gone into hiding to recuperate.

As for Solo... I believe that you might be right. However, without concrete evidence, I cannot claim that Solo still exists in this world. Considering how you and Solo are the same kind of existence, the traces of signature energy left behind should be the same. Before we parted ways, I collected some of your energy to trace it backwards, hoping to find a match and clue about Solo’s activities before he fell into slumber.

I found something on Earth that led me to believe that Solo had once visited the place. However, the energy signature left behind was strange. It certainly felt like your energy signature and reacted to the sample I had as it should. However, the energy traces left behind by Solo didn’t merge with the sample I took from you. It tried to destroy the sample, leading me to believe that there was someone still controlling the remaining energy traces left behind by Solo.

Still, nothing should be taken at face value. The mysteries surrounding Zero and Solo are simply too many. Likewise, there are many people who are seeking the powers of the creator and the destroyer for personal benefits.

I shall write again when I have more news. For now, please work hard and give it your all for the magic training! We will be cheering for you. When you visit Hell again, please let us know in advance. The girls have been practising in the kitchen to prepare you a feast when you drop by again.

Always watching over you from afar,

Shittomi

Zero quickly incinerated the letter and thanked Swift for the information. Mii was slightly worried after knowing about Solo’s possible interference with Zero’s life. While it was uncertain what Solo’s intentions were, one thing was clear. Zero and Solo stood at different poles in terms of belief. If Zero wanted to save the world then Solo wanted to destroy it, even if he was the creator.

"How’s the training so far?" Swift smiled and delved into less serious matters. It was nice to see the teenager in person. He was exactly how she imagined him to be... maybe even cuter.

With that, the harpie wasn’t ready to see such a smirk appear on that youthful face. "What training?"

At that, Merlin threw the book in his hands down on the table with a slam. Enraged, the wizard pointed a finger towards the laughing teen who cheekily smiled at his teacher.

"But sir... we have not completed the kitchen renovations or the farm. If I proceed with the training, will you complete the project yourself? Do you know how to farm or cook?"

Merlin felt his blood pressure rising as Zero explained how farming shouldn’t be treated lightly. He didn’t need to be reminded by Zero about his embarrassing failure to plough the land in front of Swift.

Instead of running for her life, the harpie simply threatened to snip Merlin’s beard again and the wizard simmered down quickly even if he was boiling under the surface. With a gloating smile, Swift turned to Zero, wanting to know more about the project and Merlin’s involvement.

Unable to listen to their conversation, Merlin ran away and locked himself up in the research lab. Once the wizard was out of sight, Zero dropped the naughty expression and became serious.

"Do you know what the letter was about?"

Swift shook her head. "Shittomi didn’t allow me to know but I’m guessing it must have to do with your request of her. Would you like to write her a reply?"

Zero thought for a while then shook his head. There was nothing much to say. He’d long suspected the reason for his existence but refused to see it that way. As long as there wasn’t concrete evidence, Zero could pretend that the fated day wouldn’t come. He could still enjoy his life with Truen and everyone else.

"I have questions about Nel. You said that she left something behind at Whiskeria. What is it?"

Swift sighed and pulled at her hair. "It’s something troublesome. Gaia got hurt trying to dig it out so we stopped trying. Of all the Divine Entities, Nel is the most unpredictable. If she wants something to remain hidden, it will not be found. Gugu, Jevy and Venn may be the more troubling Divine Entities but they can easily be subdued when you meet them. Nel is special. She was born from desperation and has the ability to negate even the attraction force of the Great One. Gaia didn’t tell me much about what you’re trying to accomplish but if I were you, I would gather all the other Divine Entities to pit them against Nel."

The frown deepened on Zero’s face. Nel was an insurance Solo made against his future self. While Zero was rather confident of his abilities to get along with almost anyone, he didn’t know what Nel would think of him. Would she hate him because of the responsibility Solo entrusted her with?

Swift decided to take her leave when Zero slipped into a pensive mood. The brunet must have a lot of things to worry about now that the wheel of fate had started to spin. the clock that had stopped ticking was now starting to work again. The things that Solo buried would start surfacing one by one. Isis told her how the three sisters have already given Zero their quests. After saving the abyss, Zero had to save Heaven.

The harpie sighed. This was too much responsibility for one person even if it was the ’fated child’ from the prophecies. With a heavy heart, she flew up the tower to bid Merlin goodbye before heading for the Pharoah’s Crypt to report her findings to the Great Gods.