Ball of Nothing

With Zero spearheading operations, Half Moon Village was extremely busy. Nobody had any time to really rest and Hua Tuo was also roped into operations as a pair of extra hands, not that the Sage God minded. He simply felt bad sitting around and twiddling his thumbs while everyone worked. The Sage God volunteered to look after the medical herb garden as well as Karris' health. With the pregnant mother showing signs of more frequent pains lately, the physician knew it would only be a matter of time before little Seff was born.

By golly, he was right. Little Seff knew just when to pick the time too and it was at the height of the village's busiest operations that Karris collapsed in cold sweat with blood and water trickling down her thighs, soaking her dress.

Cleo was the first to find Karris collapsed on the ground in the fields. With the efficient security team, the pregnant lady was rushed into Hua Tuo's room. Zero was already working on sterilising the surgical instruments. It was going to be his first time witnessing the start of life and he was excited but nervous.

Hua Tuo remained calm and told Ruth to be on standby. They had no idea what would happen to newborn vampires, much less, half-vampires. The physician could only hope that there were no supernatural complications for that would be falling way out of his field of expertise. Zero was told to assist Hua Tuo and the teenager had a feeling his teacher didn't want him interfering unless absolutely necessary. His reason? While healing magic worked well for sick and wounded people, using it on a woman in labour will only make the body reject the baby, causing danger to both mother and child.

Zero had never felt so helpless watching Karris scream in pain as baby Seff struggled to get out. The poor lady was so pale and Zero wondered where she gained such strength to continue pushing despite the pain she was evidently going through. Many times during the eight hours of labour, Zero thought that Karris wouldn't make it. She faded in and out of consciousness and even Hua Tuo was uncertain if he should cut open her stomach and retrieve baby Seff before sewing her back.

"We need another basin of hot water," Hua Tuo told Zero and the teen scrambled to his feet, quick to comply. Although healing magic was forbidden, elemental magic wasn't. Zero tossed the dirty water out the window and conjured a ball of water before manipulating it with heat magic. The dirty towels were also quickly cleaned using fusion magic and Zero looked around to see if anything was out of place. Hua Tuo was grinding some powder and the apprentice went to check on Karris' pulse. It was feeble but stable so Zero waited for the next round of contractions to come.

"Come on, baby Seff... you can do it!" Zero whispered to the unborn child.

Nobody knew if Seff understood Zero but as soon as he said that, the half-vampire started struggling again but with more vigour this time. Karris screamed in pain and bit the tough leather that Hua Tuo provided. She gasped and grunted with Hua Tuo wiping the sweat from her brows in silent encouragement.

At the side, Ruth was completely silent. Nobody knew exactly what the vampire was thinking. As he watched the fragile human give it her all and more to bring forth the monster that would be shunned by its kind, Ruth had a strange feeling in his chest. Back in his village, strength was everything. Watching Karris struggle made the vampire think that there was something special about such a woman. Most humans were known to be weak creatures. There were some exceptions like Wiser but Karris didn't seem like the kind of human who was gifted. In fact, Ruth didn't sense anything special about her except for the child in her womb. What was giving her such courage and determination to persevere through the pain? It was unnecessary. Hua Tuo had already said that surgery was an option. She didn't have to endure such suffering.

"I can see the head!" Zero exclaimed and smiled widely. There it was, the unmistakable tuft of soft dirty blonde hair covered in blood. Karris smiled tiredly at Zero's announcement and Hua Tuo nodded in encouragement.

"Almost there. I think little Seff will be ready in the next hour or so. How are you holding up?"

Karris closed her eyes and sighed before taking a sip of water that Zero brought over. "I can do this... thank you, doctor."

Ruth was observed the unborn half-vampire and sniffed the air. Although Seff was a half-blood, the magic of Earth Vampires ran strong in him. The darkness magic in baby Seff's blood called out to Ruth and the vampire allowed his mana to be taken. This must be baby Seff's way of feeding seeing that half-vampires do not have fangs at an early age. Truth be told, Ruth wasn't sure if Seff would take after his mother or unknown father more. Some of the half-blooded vampires in his clan did not even drink blood. They were the only exceptions who could eat cooked food and were often the weakest warriors. Perhaps the same would be for Seff too.

A groan from Karris had Zero and Hua Tuo running around again busying away until baby Seff finally decided to give his mother one hard kick enough to slip out of his cramped living space.

Karris shuddered as Hua Tuo readied the scissors to cut the umbilical cord. Zero almost wanted to stop his teacher from doing so because he sensed something akin to a soul bond breaking when the cord was cut. The teenager didn't know why but he felt sad when Seff and Karris were finally separated from each other. Hua Tuo told Zero to swathe the newborn child in warm woollen blankets and Zero complied. However, little Seff wouldn't stop fussing and the teenager looked to Ruth for help.

Hua Tuo was too busy tending to Karris but he watched his apprentice and the vampire warrior from the side of his eyes. It surprised him slightly that Ruth was good with children by how he carried Seff in his arms and rocked the hysterical infant to a soft sob. Seff took his finger and stuck it into his mouth but Ruth was quick to stop that from happening. The vampire noticed that Seff took after his unknown father more with claws and silver eyes. Baby Seff didn't have fangs when Ruth gently pried open his tiny mouth but he wasn't sure if they would grow out as Seff grew older.

"Can I hold him?" Karris asked weakly after Hua Tuo finished tending to her. She was hungry and tired but nothing was more important than being able to see the child she'd carried for about two years now. It was a long and painful wait but everything became worth it when she landed eyes on the sleepy infant.

Karris smiled. "He's beautiful... thank you."

Hua Tuo smiled tiredly. It wasn't an easy delivery but at least both mother and child are healthy. That was what mattered for now.

"I would have Ruth to give you a crash course on taking care of a vampire child but for now, go to sleep and regain your strength. Seff is safe with us."

The mother nodded and Hua Tuo tucked her in. Zero offered to stay by Karris' side for tonight and Hua Tuo agreed. Baby Seff was carried away by Ruth and he left with Hua Tuo to live in a separate building. Prior to the delivery, Ruth expressed his concerns about the safety of Karris as a human in the presence of a starving vampire child. Unlike adults, children have no control over their thirst and hunger. Many would turn into monsters and kill whoever is nearby to satiate their cravings. It wasn't uncommon to hear stories of children vampires killing their human foster parents who didn't know better.

"What do you think?" the Sage God asked in a low voice once they are far enough from Karris' home. It was currently night with no risks of sun exposure but they still took the underground route as a precaution. It was agreed that due to special circumstances, the cave would be used as a temporary home for baby Seff.

Ruth was still carrying the sleeping infant. His eyes glowed ruby in the dark and Hua Tuo was reminded of how dangerous the vampire actually was.

"He has a gift in dark magic. With proper training, he would be able to transform and fight. It's the most common type of magic undead have. I don't know if silver and sunlight will affect him or if he can stomach normal food. For now, I'm feeding him my mana. It doesn't have to be me but Seff can only feed on mana with dark magic element."

Hua Tuo nodded. Luckily, this village had a talented witch who specialises in dark magic. Rith wouldn't need to always be in the village. It would've been terrible if the vampire couldn't leave the village because of his obligations. Ruth told Hua Tuo everything about what happened in Hell that Zero failed to inform him about. The physician didn't know if he should smack that reckless disciple of his for buying a dangerous trained warrior vampire from the auction house with no money of his own or praise that moment of genius.

"I'll let Lovina know. The village can raise this child on behalf of his mother if the need arises. I will be dropping by the village more regularly to check on the progress and on Karris' health. The agreement still stands. While I am not around, you are to act as Zero's guardian in my place. Combat training only, no magic."

Ruth nodded. It was a strange request but he didn't question it. Hua Tuo must have reasons for not wanting Zero to learn any more magic than he already knew. It was obvious to anyone that Zero had a magical gift. However, the boy was a ball of unpredictableness that came with a truckload of trouble wherever he went. Sometimes it was a good thing but even Ruth wouldn't be so sure to place his faith in Zero's recklessness. Not everything will turn out well, the world never revolved around any individual no matter how powerful they were. Even Gods had to co-exist to preserve the sense of balance and harmony.

"Is there a limit to combat training that I should know beforehand?"

Hua Tuo thought about it. "As long as Zero is willing to learn, teach him all that you can teach. As an aspiring doctor, I don't think Zero wants to learn how to kill. However, it is necessary for him to learn how to protect himself. Lord Amon has given him a strange martial art manual. Perhaps you could look into that."

Ruth knew of that strange manual. He'd seen Zero reading it a few times but it was a very strange book. Normal martial arts manual would have illustrations demonstrating the moves. This book had few illustrations and if anything, sounded a lot like hogwash written by a drunken man. Ruth didn't know how to describe it or what to make of it. The vampire wasn't a very learned person but the manual sounded very flowery with its poetic description about some useless stories. How was he meant to be teaching Zero something that even he couldn't understand?

Seeing the troubled expression on Ruth's face, Hua Tuo wondered if he'd said something wrong. The vampire hasn't spoken a word about it so the physician thought it might be better to leave him alone. Unlike Seff, Ruth didn't require much sleep at all. He only ever really needed sleep once every few days and tonight, he needed no such thing.

"I'll be retiring for the night. If anything happens, you know who to look for."

Ruth nodded as Hua Tuo yawned and parted ways with him. The vampire carried baby Seff all the way to the feast cave and settled down in a corner. Vampire children usually grew very quickly until a certain age before time froze for them. He didn't know if the same was true for Seff who had human blood in him. In fact, he had too little information about anything and that made Ruth worried.

"What if I don't do a good job of raising this kid? Will he become the monsters in the legends that humans fear? What about the humans... will they accept him into their society? The snobbish vampires will never accept him as one of their kin with tainted blood..."

Uncaring about Ruth's worries, Seff slept soundly through the night.

***

There were still a good number of people who weren't sleeping despite it being night. Zero peered out of the window and saw that the two people he'd plotted to have them meet up tonight were staring at each other with hot faces in the herb farm. He covered his mouth to stifle a giggle as Gweshr hid the bouquet of flowers behind him. Moona looked prettier tonight under the soft moonlight and Zero was rooting for the werewolf to find the courage and finally confess to her. Qin Yun had a hand in their 'accidental' meeting after Zero told her about what he knew. The fox spirit was somewhere nearby and conjured some slippery ice beneath the hunter's feet, causing him to slip when he tried to walk away.

Zero covered his eyes with his hands shyly but still peeked through his fingers when the lovebirds tumbled onto the ground before sharing a slow kiss. The flowers were long forgotten and ruined from the fall. Moona had petals in her hair and Gweshr was sneezing at the petals that tickled his nose. That ruined the romantic moment but not the happiness after they declared feelings for each other. The fox spirit made her sneaky getaway to give them some privacy but not before giving Zero a discreet thumbs-up. Zero returned the gesture and giggled.

"That was fantastic!" he told Qin Yun using the group call.

"I know it was. It's about time too if you asked me..."

"I hear gossips. Come on, fill me in!"

"..."

"..."

"Coux?"

"Yes, Zero?" the secretary's happy tone made Zero slightly nervous.

"Wait, how are you able to join in a private conversation between Qin Yun and me?"

"Oh? You didn't know about the new update? Mii said that the system has recently upgraded to v3.0 so there are many new functions. You're not exactly private in the group call. It's an open chat system and I happened to be available to hear it. So? What's the juicy news?"

Qin Yun chuckled. "Moona and Gweshr are finally a couple."

"Really? Oh congratulations to them! But seriously... it took so many years for them to finally reach this stage. If it weren't for your meddling I guess it might have never happened."

"Don't say that.,.." Qin Yun chided. Zero only giggled and listened as the two ladies bantered lightly. He also got to hear some updates about his projects in the abyss.

"Lord Mammon was asking if you wanted anything from the Auction House. The new collection is coming soon as we have dibs."

Zero blinked. After loaning an exorbitant amount from Mammon, the Demon Lord was willing to continue treating him like an esteemed customer? Zero was surprised. He didn't even have money, what was Mammon trying to do? Certainly not ask for a favour... right?

"But I still owe him money..."

"Well... he said that he would write it all off if you agreed to attend the meeting with the angels on his behalf."

"I knew it wouldn't be that simple... couldn't he just skip that meeting?"

Coux sighed. "If only it was that simple. No, the Archangels want to discuss the mana lotuses growing in the Spring of Vitality. They want to buy some of those flowers from us on a regular basis for a strange project going on in Heaven. I'm not privy to the details."

Zero thought for a while. "I don't know... I'll be very busy with my training for the next half a year with Hua Tuo before I study magic with Merlin. Perhaps I could do that when I study with Merlin? I'm sure it's easier to make a trip to Heaven while I study magic."

"Alright. I'll inform Lord Mammon about it. Also, Olaf is on the loose. Bob might want to be on the lookout, that dragon is out to create trouble from what I heard. Lord Lucifer isn't pleased that his library is in a mess. Olaf took with him some of the most prized ancient grimoires and Lord Lucifer isn't happy about the theft."

Zero and Bob grimaced. "Thanks for the warning. I'll be heading to bed really soon. Today has been a long day and tomorrow will be a busier one. I need to set the home teleport mark in Half Moon Village and do the final round of checks on everybody's projects. Master doesn't want to stay too long in Half Moon Village. He says that we are behind schedule on my training as it is."

"Understood. Goodnight, Zero. Sweet dreams."

"Goodnight everyone..."

"Goodnight, Zero..." Qin Yun smiled. "May the Gods bless you."

With that, the group called ended and Zero decided to skip cleaning his teeth tonight. He was simply too tired.

"I'll do it tomorrow," he told himself before drifting into a dreamless slumber.