Ball of Nothing

It wasn't very difficult for Zero to understand how the game of chess worked. In fact, he had some practice playing it with his mindscape assistants. Mii and Wii proved to be tough competition combined. The sisters were able to calculate in advance the moves Zero would make and create strategies to counter Zero's moves. It frustrated the teen a lot how they were always steps ahead of him.

While Zero physically slept, he was kept busy in the mindscape playing chess and several other strategy games with his assistants. For some odd reason, Zero thought it was a brilliant idea to play with both Mii and Wii at the same time. The sisters thought that Zero had lost his mind in a high-speed game with Wii based on accumulated experiences and a careful approach with Mii who was constantly baiting Zero. The stress Zero felt was incomparable to the kind of training Merlin and Hua Tuo subjected him to.

Poseidon was pleasantly surprised to see that Zero was able to cope with his advanced methods the next morning and decided to change his tactics. If Zero was able to understand the fundamentals of chess and could utilise each piece to their maximum potential, he was ready for the next stage.

Needless to say, the first twenty games with Poseidon resulted in a landslide victory to the blind titan who had to stop for the day because Zero looked like a possessed person starving of victory. The competitive spirit reminded Poseidon very much of Athena in her youth before she debuted as a war goddess.

Zero was reluctant but he knew that he still had his part of the deal to uphold. \"I will be taking the afternoon off. If there is a sudden drop in seawater levels, please do not be alarmed. I'm only going to take what I need to create a small piece of land for testing. If it is to your satisfaction, we can always expand it.\"

Poseidon didn't say much and nodded, sending a few of his servants to follow Zero just in case but the young doctor dismissed them.

\"It's dangerous so I will be going alone. You can send some servants to watch from afar if you are curious but please have them evacuate immediately should there be any signs of danger.\"

Nobody argued with Zero and they let the strange human swim away. Poseidon decided to contact a long time acquaintance for the first time in many years. Zero had better be thankful that he was willing to pull strings for his sake.

In the ancient library, Swift was still translating the text when she felt her mark flare. Someone was calling for her and the harpie raised a brow.

\"Sorry Isis, I think I will have to continue this another time. Business calls,\" she informed apologetically and accepted the summon, teleporting in a flash.

Isis didn't appear too surprised. Instead, she smiled. If Zero continued walking this path, she had faith that he could accomplish what his alternate selves couldn't. Solo might have laid the plans carefully but this time, Zero was a wild horse who was capable of foiling them. For a stubborn titan like Poseidon to call for help on his own volition could only mean that Zero has succeeded once more in gaining a new ally. Everyone in Heaven knows about this grumpy old and blind titan who decided to isolate himself in a dead planet after he found out about Athena's death. It was an open secret that Poseidon harboured secret feelings for his niece but was unable to admit them simply because he didn't want to be known as a cradle robber. Isis found it strange that Poseidon thought about it this way. As gods, it was common for them to procreate with their siblings or fall in love with their family. Poseidon must have spent too much time walking among humans to have such a silly notion ruining his entire life.

The Goddess of Time sighed. It doesn't matter anymore. What is done is done and even if she rewound back time, nothing would change. Both Athena and Poseidon were too stubborn. They were more alike than they thought and for that very reason, that love of theirs couldn't bear fruit. Isis looked at the hourglass in the library and sighed. At the very least, now that Zero was there, they could find closure and move on.

Poseidon sent all his servants away when he felt the harpie arriving. Carlsen protested a little but when his master sent them out of the room forcefully and erected a barrier to get rid of all the water in the room, the turtle understood the importance of this new guest. The loyal servant was slightly worried even though a part of him was happy to see his master acting more like himself back when he was still a powerful Great God. The arrival of that strange human-like child might be a good thing after all.

Swift appeared from a vortex and sneezed. It had been so long since she was invited to a water planet and the humidity made her feathers feel sticky. Poseidon must have cleared out the room especially for her and the universal librarian bowed before the titan.

\"Greetings, God of Oceans. It's been a while since we last saw each other. How have you been?\"

Poseidon wasn't one to indulge in pleasantries and grunted in response. \"Save it, harpie. I see that you haven't lost your glib tongue. I've summoned you for a job, this may be my last job request for you.\"

Swift was surprised. \"Oh? Are you finally going to retire? Why so sudden? Even if you didn't do anything, you would still be able to enjoy the next thousand years in recluse on Hyacinth.\"

The blind titan made a face. \"I don't have the next thousand years to enjoy. Think of it like a dying man's last charge. I'm putting all my hopes on this strange individual that crash-landed on my planet a few days back. You can say that I've taken a liking to him in the same way that my brothers had.\"

Swift paused and thought for a while. Her eyes widened and a wide grin broke out on her face. \"You've met Zero!\"

Poseidon neither confirmed nor denied it which made Swift very excited. Who would have thought that her messaging buddy would be causing literal waves the moment he left Heaven? Everyone knew that Poseidon was like a hibernating bear. You wouldn't go near him unless you were seeking death. If Zero could move this immovable mountain enough for him to make the first contact, Swift was certain that Poseidon would return to Heaven once more.

\"Do I need to send someone to clean up your old temple in Heaven? It might not have been very well maintained but I can assure you that the remaining Great Gods have taken very good care of it. Zero has recently restored Mount Olympia and Eros is reforesting it so you'll be able to enjoy watching life return to your former home. What do you say?\"

Poseidon sighed. \"As it is, I won't be able to leave Hyacinth, much less travel to Heaven. It's vexing to admit it but I'm no longer the powerful Great God I used to be. I feel bad for pushing all the responsibilities to Sedna but even if I feel like sharing her burden, I simply cannot. The old Earth was destroyed and all the people who worshipped me are gone. My divine powers are dwindling, I can only ask for a favour from you to retrieve all the books I wrote in my prime. I want to pass on what I know to this promising young man while I can still walk.\"

Swift was speechless. \"Is it really that bad?\"

Poseidon said nothing and the harpie held back tears. \"I-I understand. Is there anything else I can do for you not as a librarian but as a friend of the old times?\"

The blind titan thought about it. \"I'd like to taste more of the cuisines in La Boutique that Zero boasted about. If I'm going to disappear, I want to enjoy something more than just bitter and salty tea. And if it isn't too much to ask, I want to send a letter to a few old friends.\"

Swift nodded. \"Of course, whenever you are ready. I shall leave now to make preparations. I'm assuming you want to keep this a secret from Zero?\"

Poseidon nodded. \"I shall summon for you again in a week. Is that sufficient time to gather all the books?\"

\"Of course! In fact, it can be done in four days. I will talk to Isis about the cuisine in La Boutique and make arrangements. Is there anything in particular that you want to try first?\"

The God of Oceans grinned. \"Barbarian Roasted Veal Steak. Braised mountain goat loins. Rosary Salad. Strawcherry Shake with whipped cream and crushed chocolate. Lemon Meringue. Mint and Caramel Sherbet. Tiramisu Cake.\"

Swift didn't know to laugh or cry at the menu. She felt like a waitress taking down orders but still complied. Zero's presence could certainly be felt from the long list of food Poseidon wanted to eat. The teen was quite the foodie and his palate was very experienced from participating in the Mega Gourmet Competition as well as being a regular at La Boutique. She was sure that being friends with Beelzebub only made Zero's love for food increase exponentially.

\"Understood, I will make the arrangements. Until next time,\" Swift bowed and left as quickly as she arrived.

Sensing that the guest was gone, Poseidon lifted the barrier and allowed Carlsen back into the room. \"How is Zero doing?\"

The armoured turtle was a little nervous. \"About that, master... He is indeed absorbing the ocean but I have been receiving many complaints about Zero's recklessness even if he is about a thousand kilometres away from the temple. The citizens were terrified when several whirlpools suddenly appeared and sucked everything in the vicinity of a few hundred metres into them. As per your orders, the servants have issued a notice and evacuated the area but Zero is simply too powerful. Homes have been destroyed in the process and the seabed looks very different now after a part of it has been ripped out.\"

Poseidon didn't comment about it. \"Tell the servants to evacuate a greater area and settle the homeless nearer to the temple. There shouldn't be anyone near a few hundred kilometres of Zero as he works. The boy is going to create land, he needs a lot of space.\"

Carlsen lowered his head respectfully and swam away to inform the rest of the servants. Things were going to be very busy for the next few days but everyone was excited about it. The legend about 'land' was still fresh in everyone's minds ever since Poseidon announced it yesterday. For creatures to be able to out of the water and bask under the warmth of the sun was like a dream come true. To be able to escape this dark depths and live under the light on 'land' was an opportunity to die for. Before even Poseidon released the command, Carlsen was bombarded by a long list of names for creatures volunteering to live on that newly created land.

Still, Poseidon said nothing about it. The excitement was contagious and news spread very quickly. While Zero worked on accumulating enough water to create land, he found that water was a very weak substance.

\"Mii, is there any way we can make the conversion rate more efficient? Going by the current trend, I think the sea would be emptied before even I can create a continent!\"

The strawcherry fairy glared at her master. \"Unless you count on digging up the surface of this planet, there isn't another way. Hyacinth's planet is dying. The core is very weak which is why there are no volcanoes present. It's a water planet for good reasons, evolutions have stopped here and the only reason why life exists is thanks to Poseidon's mana supporting them.\"

Wii tried to ease the tension between her older sister and her master. \"It wouldn't hurt if we got the materials for other sources, right? Instead of draining the ocean on Hyacinth, we could borrow some space rocks to make up for the material density.\"

Zero thought about it as he continued to absorb water and Mii frowned. \"How are we going to get that many space rocks? Zero intends to make land and not just an island.\"

While his mindscape assistance discussed and debated, Zero tried to recall where he read about a treasure mine of ruins in space that he could recycle materials.

He sighed. \"If only I can remember the name of that space ruin... I might be able to visit it to clean it out for materials to build land on Hyacinth...\"

Hearing that, Lily tapped into Wii's knowledge and tried to find a location match in the system. The map function created from Zero's knowledge was very brief but it was good enough for them to have a general idea of where they wanted to go.

\"I know!\" Lily shrieked triumphantly. \"Gummer! We can go to Gummer ruins to clear out the broken ruins of the old solar system. Shittomi told us that Gummer was one of the places that Gugu and Jevy fought, resulting in great destruction. It was a great shame that Gummer was reduced to ruins that nobody could do anything about but that's perfect for what we need right now.\"

Zero cheered up at the idea. Mii and Wii stopped fighting and the strawcherry fairy looked at Lily proudly. \"I like the idea.\"

\"Me too,\" Wii agreed and Zero laughed.

\"Alright, let's make some plans. To Gummer, we go!\"