Ball of Nothing

Zero wasn't too sad to see that his sending off party had so few people. Merlin wasn't present and Lovina told him that his teacher was still having a bad hangover. Zero didn't point out that Merlin could have easily cured it away using some healing magic. In fact, he was a little thankful that he didn't have to see Merlin otherwise it would be difficult to part. Although he wasn't going to cry when he parted with Merlin like how he did when he had to part with Truen and Baal, Zero would definitely feel sad if Merlin showed up.

Steve wasn't a very talkative person to Zero's surprise. The God of Technology stepped through Zero's portal and arrived in Heaven at the House of Gods where they parted ways. Zero wanted to take a look around Heaven and drop by a few places since he was early. He had about an hour before he had to meet Freya at the entrance of Valhalla and decided to buy some souvenirs. Steve agreed and sent a text to Merlin informing him about his student's intentions.

Zero wasted no time and left for one of the residential districts where there were all sorts of small shops selling handmade crafts and unique food. As a foodie, Zero couldn't pass up the chance to check it out. Thanks to the business he started with Merlin, Zero wasn't dead broke like he was before. The communicator was a very convenient tool, especially in Heaven. Zero had to thank Mii for helping to connect the communicator's function with Mind's Eye. The strawcherry fairy outdid herself once more when she linked the currency to the system's void inventory and conversion. Although Zero didn't need it now, he could convert the money he had in heaven and Hell to a different currency if required, especially when he was on Earth.

As Zero hopped from street to street, buying snacks of all kinds and carrying his purchase with one hand while eating with the other, he noticed that there were many caged white doves.

\"Excuse me,\" he called out to a lady who was selling caged doves. \"Why does everyone here sell doves? Are they some sort of delicacy here?\"

The lady gave him a scandalous look and Zero backed away when she threw a huge tantrum. Not wanting to cause a scene, Zero quickly apologised and explained that he was a tourist who didn't know much about the culture in Heaven. That worked like magic and the lady quickly calmed down, even apologising to the teen.

\"These doves are used to answer the prayers of our loved ones who are separated from us in the world of the living. If you buy one, you can ask these holy doves to send a message on your behalf to your loved one from a different place. Of course, every resident is only given one dove a day. Those who no longer have loved ones among the living like me sell it to those who have many loved ones who are still among the living. These birds are certainly not for eating!\"

Hearing this made Zero curious. \"If I want to send a message to someone, what do I have to do?\"

The lady smiled. \"You need to first have an existing connection with the person you want to send the message to. They need to be aligned in feelings with you to receive the message. Many people buy doves and send messages to loved ones who have long closed their hearts off to them in hopes that one day their loved ones will receive their message. I've seen it happen one too many times and I can assure you that it wouldn't work no matter how many doves you send.\"

Zero nodded. He had a very strong connection with the person he wanted to send it to. \"Does it work on sleeping people?\"

The lady smiled. \"That's the second criteria of using the dove. The person you send it to will only receive it when they are asleep. These doves will take the form of an angel in their dreams to deliver their message before their spirits return to Heaven again.\"

The young doctor was pleased when he heard that. \"Are there any other criteria?\"

The lady laughed. \"Other than paying for them, there isn't anything else. Young lad, are you interested in buying one?\"

Zero thought about it. He could store some of his doves in the void inventory and use it to send messages when he wanted to. For now, he had to check his available funds and Mii calculated that Zero could buy about four hundred birds. Unfortunately, the lady only had ten birds to sell.

\"I'll buy all the birds that you have,\" he told the stunned shop owner who happily obliged. Zero used his communicator to transfer the payment and the lady's jaw dropped when Zero started stuffing the birds into his sling bag that never seemed to grow any bigger.

\"Pardon me for asking, is that a dimensional bag?\"

Zero smiled. \"How did you know?\"

The lady smiled fondly. \"My son was once an adventurer too. He used dimensional bags but they never could store more than five items. It must be a very well crafted dimensional bag to store all ten birds.\"

Zero laughed to over up his unease. Enam did tell him to use the cover of the bag to not be so suspicious to others but if an ordinary dimensional bag could only store five items, wouldn't his bag that could store just about anything a legendary grade accessory?

After learning about the value of the items he was gifted, Zero was starting to learn that he was actually asset rich. Artefacts, divine-tiered objects, legendary potions and powerful companions... Zero really didn't start with the beginner's package at all! No wonder Hua Tuo was always trying to get him to experience the humble life. If Zero became too used to special privileges, he would never be able to adapt to the ordinary lifestyle of peasants when he travelled. The young doctor was beginning to appreciate Hua Tuo's teachings more now.

For the rest of his time before he had to meet Freya, Zero spent it buying doves. The teen looked at his financial balance and sighed. Despite having money, the teen still couldn't buy four hundred birds. It was a long search but Zero only managed to buy about a hundred and eighty birds. That was only enough to last Zero six months of writing to Baal if he wrote one every day. That was barely enough... Zero wondered if there was such a thing as a word limit for these messages. Would Baal be annoyed if he sent him a prayer twenty thousand words long?

It wasn't very early after Zero spent his time touring the small markets in the residential area so the teen borrowed a portal and calibrated it to the entrance of Valhalla.

Zero couldn't recognise Freya immediately. The Goddess looked rather different. Her long scarlet hair pulled into a messy bun behind and she was wearing some heavy-duty armour while she carried her spear and a shield that reflected light. The goddess looked very serious and Zero became slightly nervous. It was the first time Zero understood why Freya was the Goddess of Beauty and also War.

\"Are you not going to be using a bow?\" Zero asked.

Freya smiled. \"Normally, I would. However, we are going to visit the gorgon sisters today. It's better to carry a long-range weapon and a shield. I will be your escort today, none of my other followers can handle the three gorgon sisters. Of all the criminals, outcasts and prisoners that reside in Valhalla, they're one of the worst. Athena's curses tend to be very powerful and can draw out the worst in anyone.\"

Zero nodded and Freya threw him a blindfold. \"Cover your eyes with them,\" she told the young doctor who gave her a questioning look but complied.

Once Freya was certain that Zero was thoroughly blindfolded, she told Zero to follow close behind her. The teen nodded and used echolocation to determine where he was. The goddess didn't comment about how Zero was using a strange skill to get around Valhalla but she did constantly warn Zero about not getting too close to the sides. The walls of Valhalla are alive after all.

From the information gathered using echolocation, Valhalla was like a huge town or castle. It was also very huge, reminding Zero about the House of Great Gods. Was Valhalla actually the town of giants? He could easily imagine Camie growing up in a place like that.

\"This used to be Odin's kingdom,\" Freya said. \"But he is no longer here, just like all the other Norse gods. I'm probably the only one left.\"

Zero didn't comment on it and allowed Freya to give him a brief history of the new place. It was a shame that he had to be blindfolded. Zero was willing to bet that the architecture here was beautiful in a way that was different from Heaven. Valhalla would have looked very grand during its glorious moments. The structures weren't as detailed as Heaven's but for some reason, Zero liked it more. If Heaven was like a high-end shop on La Boutique, Valhalla was like Bells and Begonia in Listless Town. It felt like home for Zero and he wondered if Freya felt nostalgic visiting something that was left behind by someone she once knew. Valhalla might just be the place Freya grew up in but Zero couldn't be sure.

For a long time, they walked in a spiral heading upwards and Zero wondered why the town was built on a hill. Was the kingdom built on a mountain like Mount Olympia before it was destroyed? Giants should try to live on flat ground instead of on a hill because it was harder to build structures that big on such uneven surfaces. Maybe there was a reason why they built it on such difficult terrains.

Zero wasn't too far off the mark with his guesses. Valhalla was indeed built on a mountain. Freya was walking to the temple where the gorgon sisters were held in place by a very ancient and powerful barrier. The reason why these sisters were cordoned off and imprisoned in the remains of Valhalla was because of how deadly they were.

Zero listened to Freya explain about the curse Athena put on them. It sounded horrible to the young doctor but he finally understood why Freya chose to wield a spear and carried a shield that could reflect light.

\"Wouldn't the gorgons turn into stone if they saw their own reflection?\" he asked.

Freya smiled. \"That's right. They will be petrified but Athena's curse is cruel. She wouldn't let them simply die from that. After they've been petrified, the curse will bring them back with a vengeance and repeat the never-ending torture of not being able to die and being so horrifying that nobody can get near them.\"

Zero cringed as they neared the temple. He could hear the shrieks already and the voices of these gorgons would have caused hallucinations in a normal person. Thankfully, Zero had Michael's feather that can negate all these effects. Still, it didn't make it any more pleasant on his ears. Every shrill cry was like a whip to his mental health. Freya continued to walk steadily while Zero struggled to keep his headache down. These weren't ordinary cries, they were sonic waves amplified with mana.

\"Freya,\" a beautiful woman's voice greeted when they stopped in front of the temple. Zero couldn't see anything but with echolocation, he made out the shapes of three lamia-like creatures. If Zero didn't know what they looked like from Freya's earlier description, he would have thought that Medusa was a great beauty like Cleo. She had an alluring voice that sounded magical.

\"Medusa,\" Freya greeted but averted her eyes and raised her shield.

\"What brings you here?\" the gorgon asked deceitfully calm but Freya knew better. The woman was only bidding time before she tried to attack her if she got too close. For now, none of the sisters took interest in Zero who was hidden behind her.

Freya smiled. \"It's been a while. All of you look like you're doing well. I've actually brought over a doctor after I heard that the three of you were hurt during one of your usual fights. It looks like there was no real need.\"

Stheno threw herself at the barrier, creating a loud crashing sound as she hissed. \"Is that the doctor behind you?\"

\"Doctor?\" Euryale asked and slithered closer to get a better look.

Zero shivered a little under the scrutiny of three dangerous women. He knew a little about Medusa and her sisters.

Apparently, Medusa was a human queen of the old world who was known for her cold beauty and arrogance. Poseidon, the God of the Oceans, whom Athena had a crush on was seduced by Medusa with the help of her sisters. When Athena found out, she got so angry that she cursed all three mortals to become gorgons and banished them away. Initially, they were held in Tartarus but after Heaven and Hell broke apart, they were transferred into the empty city of Valhalla so that the Great Gods could keep a closer eye on them.

Stheno was the strongest gorgon and the oldest of the trio. Her strength was terrifying enough to rip apart a manticore with her bare hands. A slap from her tail meant instant death. Looking in her eyes would be the last of anyone's concern when faced with such overwhelming might.

Euryale was the youngest of three sisters and was terrifyingly agile. She was also very cunning and often used her siren-like voice to mislead people before turning them into stone. Zero felt that while Euryale was the least dangerous of all three gorgons, none of them could be treated as harmless.

Freya and Zero discussed earlier that Zero would visit them on the pretext of treating them and hoping to find a way to break Athena's curse. Freya would always escort him and guard him personally in case any of the sisters try anything funny. The entire Valhalla was under Freya's control so she was the only one capable of keeping the gorgon's under control. The only thing Freya couldn't control was the power of the gorgon's eyes. It didn't matter who the opponent was, Athena's curse was strong enough to threaten even Freya if she got careless. Zero was told that Freya wasn't immune to the effects of petrification even if the curse can be dispelled when she regained her powers. It was very risky and they had to both be careful.

\"We wouldn't refuse a visit from the doctor,\" Stheno smiled. \"However, he looks a little too young to be a doctor.\"

Zero smiled. \"I understand your reluctance and hesitation but I am a student of both Merlin and Hua Tuo. As a full-fledged doctor and magician that my teachers acknowledge, I can assure you that my skills are reliable.\"

Freya felt slightly proud of Zero who was able to hold his own position against three gorgons. for some reason, the blessing she gave Zero was working and the goddess wondered if the gorgons would figure out that their unusual interest in Zero was because of her Charmer blessing. Hopefully Zero would charm them enough to get the information he needed before they figured it out.

\"Doctor, my tail hurts,\" Euryale whined and Zero started asking about symptoms, getting into work mode quickly with Freya following closely behind.