Chapter 144 Zero's Decision

Bob sighed as he tossed and turned in his egg. Merlin's decision to separate him from his contract master was making him anxious. The child of Endow first felt the tug of something dangerous pulling at his connection with Zero and immediately decided to reach through the bond to contact his master. Even if it was up against an ancient being way more powerful than he currently was, Bob was no coward. He would fight scale and claw to protect his kind master.

Imagine his horror when he couldn't reach his master. The mental connection was still there but in Zero's mindscape, there was only endless darkness that awaited him. For days he tried to reach Zero but there was no response, only that never-ending stretch of void. He'd almost given up hope too until Mii contacted him. Apparently, his master had fallen unconscious due to magic overuse. That explained everything.

"I might not be strong enough but I can sustain a mental projection of myself using my magic instead of Master Zero's. Please tell me that Master Zero is safe!"

The strawcherry fairy nodded. "He's currently in the abyss. There is something that he's troubled over but it's not something I could advise him about. I agree with Baal after all."

Bobbinskrier frowned as Mii explained what happened. As a young dragon, he didn't know much about the world outside. However, Mii was right. The survival of the fittest was an instinct every creature had. If Schaf did what he did, he should accept death valiantly too. Kerberos had to be punished but not as harshly as Schaf seeing that he was still only a pup.

"The pup is strong. He can learn from his mistakes and repent by taking my rightful place as Guardian of Endow Hill. There is no better candidate to guard Sleepy Cave. However, Schaf isn't someone I think we should save. Master Zero is far too kind."

Mii shrugged. She couldn't be bothered by such trivialities, unlike Zero who thought it was appropriate to stick his nose into everybody's business. She wasn't kind enough to care about some nameless fool who decided it was alright to sacrifice others for his personal desire.

"It's not about what we want at this point, Bob. Zero has made his mind up. He doesn't want Schaf to die but he also wouldn't fight Baal and the Gods to get it his way. He wouldn't let them kill Schaf. As Zero's servants, it is our duty to protect both our Master's mind and heart."

Bob rolled in his egg. "We still have some time before they hold the meeting. Please let me know the outcome, I shall speak to Master Zero about Kerberos' punishment to appease the Gods and Demon Lords. As for Schaf..."

There was only a sigh but Mii understood. It wasn't easy to give cold-blooded murderers second chances. Schaf didn't even have a good reason for what he did. Those lowlives didn't deserve to die even if the society would've been better without them. He didn't have the right to decide the lives of others. He wasn't a God after all.

Speaking of God...

"Do you think it is wise to let Zero call King Yama for his opinion on the redemption of sins? I read Zero's thoughts. He intends to give Schaf a second chance at life by paying his sins back much like how he gave Douglas one. He really doesn't learn."

Bob made a face, his projected image distorted badly. Mii didn't blame the young dragon's shaken state of mind.

"Does he intend to use divine magic again?! Has he not learnt how dangerous that was? Shouldn't we let Baal know what Zero is thinking about doing? Someone should stop out foolish Master!"

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Mii sighed and massaged her temples. "No, Zero wouldn't do that. He had an argument with Baal about it. Thankfully, Baal was able to make our Master see some sense. He wouldn't use divine magic. However, he will ask King Yama for advice. Zero now thinks that he can use Freya's blessing to charm Schaf into promising to not be a bad sheep and have Schaf work his sins away."

Bob was speechless. "Well, that sounds better than anything I could possibly think about at this point. I was thinking about convincing Zero to toss Schaf into Sleepy Cave to 'guard' it with Kerberos."

Mii gave it a thought before smiling. "Well, as enticing as that sounds, Zero wouldn't like it if he knew we planned for Schaf's death in a different manner. Sleepy Cave ate the previous guardian, Schaf wouldn't stand a chance."

Bob made a face. "Please don't remind me. I still have nightmares about it. The memories are still fresh in my mind. It's not easy inheriting the memories of all the guardians."

Mii sympathised with Bob. Her very core resonated when Zero met the Demon Lords. There were four fragments of Divine Entities in the abyss. There would be no doubt that they knew who Zero was. After recovering a portion of the Great One's memories, Mii didn't know if she wanted to inherit more. The Divine Entities were more powerful than the Great Gods and held most of Great One's emotions. To inherit Jealousy, Anger, Idleness and Greed all at once, Mii didn't know if it would affect Zero's character negatively. Those were very dark emotions after all. After inheriting Kindness, Acceptance and Trust, Zero had drastically changed. He became more stubborn about wanting to help everyone when he was previously very indifferent about life. Although the abilities for the Divine Fragments Kindness, Acceptance and Trust were sealed, it still had such an impact over Zero. Mii simply couldn't imagine what it would be if Zero recovered the memories of four very powerful Divine Fragments at once. Would that push Zero to walk the path of the Destroyer?

"Are you alright? You seem ill."

Mii quickly snuffed those thoughts. She'd almost forgotten that Bob was still there. "It's fine," she smiled. "Let's do our best for our silly Master, shall we?"

Bob knew that the strawcherry fairy was lying but he let it go. After all, Mii was a creation by the Great One. He couldn't possibly compare to her.

Bob watched the strawcherry fairy flicker away and decided that he should talk to Zero again.

***

Zero was pleasantly surprised to see Bob materialise before him. He was so bored out of his mind. Mii wasn't free to translate any of the books in Baal's library. Baal had a meeting to attend and everyone was away. The castle was big but Zero had already explored every inch of it twice. Now that he had his magic back, he could teleport everywhere with ease. He was sorely in need of a distraction and Bob came at the right timing.

"Bob! Great timing! Would you like to play a game of Poker with me?"

The dragon stared at the deck of cards, not knowing what they were. "Perhaps after we have a chat... Remember the talk we had about Kerberos and Schaf? Mii visited me earlier and we came up with a great idea."

Zero put the deck of cards down and became serious. "Do you really know of a way to save Schaf from death?"

Bob felt pressured but remained firm. Mii entrusted him with the responsibility of persuading Zero, he shall not fail them as Zero's strongest servants.

"It's not fool proof but we have confidence that it will work. It's better than not trying and leaving him to his fate. The Demon Lords will surely have him repay his sins with his life."

Zero made a face that and Bob made a mental note that he should never let Zero out of his sight in future when he had that expression. Zero was determined to do whatever it took to have things his way and Bob knew that the brunet wasn't against self-sacrificing.

"Don't worry, if it doesn't work there are always other ways. There will always be room for negotiations even if it doesn't seem possible."

"How can you be so confident about it? You can't see the future..." Zero frowned. Ever since he'd gotten Amaraline's ability, Zero wished Mii and the Great One hadn't decided to absorb this ability. The brunet wished he didn't know for certain that his attempts to save Schaf were going to end up in failure even before he tried. He couldn't see visions like Amaraline but the horrible feeling he had about Schaf's fate didn't go away. It didn't matter what the plan was, Schaf was probably going to end up dead.

Bob blinked. He wasn't aware that Zero had been agonizing over that. Mii once informed him about Zero's new ability. It was also what landed Zero in his coma. Bob was no clairvoyant and he was actually thankful he didn't need to see the future. He couldn't imagine having to bear the burden of knowing that something bad was inevitable. If someone told him that he was going to be forever cursed to guard Sleepy Cave, Bob would probably have given up on his dreams to someday travel past the cursed mountain range.

"I'm sorry… I can't understand what you're going through. However, I believe that the future isn't fixed. It never was and never will be. I heard from Mii about how you changed the future for Amaraline, Lowis and Douglas. They were supposed to die, weren't they? What you saw came true. However, that doesn't mean it has to end up that way. They are still alive thanks to you."

Zero let the words sink in. It was true that he managed to save them. The future he saw hadn't changed. However, their fates certainly did and it was all thanks to the fact that Zero interfered. Understanding dawned upon the brunet. Bob was right. It didn't have to be this way. Instead of agonising over the fact that Schaf was going to die and try to change it, Zero could always look at it another way. Schaf might be going to die. However, Zero could still do something about it. He had the ability to do so. The only thing that he will be doing differently this time would be how he handled the situation. As Mii mentioned, he shouldn't trouble others while pursuing his goals. Baal and the Demon Lords would be troubled if Zero demanded that Schaf should be spared. There were rules in the abyss after all.

"What if I let Schaf get sentenced to death in Hell and save him once he isn't in Hell? Technically, as long as Schaf remains a demon and a resident of Hell, he would have to follow the rules here, right?"

Bob didn't know where Zero was taking this idea to. Honestly, he was a little afraid to answer. How he wished Mii was here having this conversation with their Master instead...

"What do you mean, Master?" the dragon asked cautiously. He didn't want to agree with something he wasn't sure about. Zero can be rather sly when he wants to be. Bob was no fool. He took Mii's warning very seriously.

Zero grinned mischievously, giving more reason for Bob to support his previous assumption. Zero was definitely up to something no good. The dragon didn't like it.

"You're right, Bob. I shouldn't be agonizing over some future that I can't change. I should be looking at a future that I can create. You're so smart! I know what I should be doing now, thank you. Also, please help me thank Mii too... she must have asked you to talk to me about this."

Zero's charming smile soothed Bob's heart but only for a moment. "Ma-master! What are you talking about? I came on my own accord... Mii didn't send me or anything of that sort!"

Zero patted the mental projection on the head, his hand passing right through.

"Oops! I forgot that this isn't your real body. Don't worry, Bob. I appreciate how considerate both you and Mii are. I'm feeling much better now. Also, I'm not angry at Mii because of how she scolded me before. If anything, I'm happy that I have such a dependable friend by my side to tell me when I'm wrong. I don't want to forever remain an ignorant child in this world. I want to grow and become someone capable of righting the wrongs of my past self."

Bob blinked. "It's an honour to serve you, Master Zero. I'm sure if there is anyone capable of such a noble feat, it would be you. Since you've made up your mind, we shall not interfere. Do call for us should you require our assistance, I will take my leave now."

Zero watched as Bob disappeared. Somewhere from their connection, the brunet felt Bob's uneasiness. He sent his reassurance through their bond and only felt the troubled feelings increasing. Sighing, Zero shook his head. Sometimes his friends worried too much. They should learn to relax a little like Buddha and Zeus. Zero paused in the middle of his thoughts. Maybe not as relaxed as Zeus… They should think a little or they would be inconveniencing a lot of other people like how Hades is constantly cleaning up after Zeus. That's not a good thing to do.

Nodding to himself, Zero pulled out his communicator. There were a few people he had to talk to and he was hoped that they were interested in helping him out.