Chapter 234 - Zero Faces His Fears (2/2)

”I don't want to be alone, come back!”

”Don't leave me here! You promised we'll always be together... where are you?”

Disturbing voices and thoughts kept attacking Zero and he felt the fear that every individual felt strongly if not more. Zero felt like he was going to go insane and felt sick. Yet there was nothing he could do, he was stuck.

”Join me? I'm scared.”

”I'm lonely, would you like to be my friend?”

The two new voices that joined scared Zero greatly. Why did they sound so familiar? Whose voice was that? Why did he feel like he knew them?

Sight... Zero finally saw who these voices belonged to and in a tiny space, there were at least a few thousand people whom Zero didn't know. It terrified him that all those people were walking around aimlessly, talking to nobody in particular. Some walked right through Zero and Zero was slightly reassured after he saw that he still had a physical body in this weird dream.

”Will you be my friend?”

”Thank you for saving us, won't you join us?”

Zero turned around and saw the two familiar faces he only saw once. They were the Moontaur sisters he tried to save before. What were they doing here?

Zero smiled and ran over to meet them. Unlike the other people in the room, they seemed to be aware of Zero's existence and the doctor was happy that he could finally talk to people he knew even if they were strangers.

”What are both of you doing here? Have you been well?”

The older Moontaur sister clung onto Zero's arm and the younger sister clung onto Zero's other arm. They smiled and led Zero away.

”Join us,” Kayla the silver-haired older Moontair smiled.

”We can have so much fun here together! Isn't that right, big sis?” Layla the blonde Moontaur smiled.

Zero looked at both sisters who were smiling and chatting happily, talking about all the things they could do here today, tomorrow, the day after and next month. He tried to entertain them for a while but his mind wasn't here.

”Sorry, I have to go back...” he apologised and the moment Zero said that he felt something was wrong. The people who weren't bothering him earlier all turned their glares towards the young doctor and Zero was startled by how the Moontaur sisters were also glaring at him like he'd destroyed something sacred.

”Are you leaving us?” Kayla asked.

Zero gulped and didn't know what he should be answering. He wanted to leave and find Hua Tuo but the sisters clung onto his arms tighter.

”You can't leave, your teacher has abandoned you. You weren't good enough at your training remember? Why should you go back when they're only disappointed with you? They would never love you back because you're not good at combat. But over here we love you and want you to stay. Why must you leave us for them?”

Zero froze. He felt conflicted. Compared to Mitchnew and Ruth's disapproval, Hua Tuo's uncharacteristic coldness before he tried to drown Zero, the people here were nicer and wanted him around. Zero finally felt like he had somewhere to belong and to rest. He wasn't alone, he had many new friends even if they weren't as good as Baal or Truen.

Still, something didn't feel right. Zero didn't like the idea of replacing Baal and Truen. True, if possible, Zero would never want to be alone. Travelling and going on an adventure alone in this big world when he knew nobody and nothing about how things worked was scary. He also could not help but feel sad at not being able to create such beautiful places. His past self was brilliant in every sense of the way the Great Gods worshipped him. Zero could never dream of being even half as good as Solo.

”That's right,” Layla smiled gently, all the previous hostility wiped away from her eyes. ”Why should you go out there and be miserable all over again? Over here, you can have anything you want and always be happy. You don't need to struggle or worry about a single thing that you don't want to. There is enough for everybody.”

Zero wanted to agree but he looked at the people and found that it was strange. Like the Lake of Reflection, they all wore that same calm expression like some bad joke of cloning. Was that what Zero wanted to become too?

Suddenly, he understood what the Lake of Reflection meant. It didn't matter who these people were, they were telling Zero things that he secretly wanted but could never have. Zero was afraid of being alone and didn't want to be lonely so the Lake gave him friends. Zero wanted to be normal above all else so they gave him people who acted all the same so Zero wouldn't be left out. Last but not least, Zero hated being inferior so the Lake removed expectations from the ideal world.

All these were nothing but illusions born from Zero's insecurity and he shuddered. What would happen if he truly believed in happiness here in this fake world? Would he never be able to return to the people who were waiting for him back at Endow Hill?

”No, I must decline. It is a very nice offer but I cannot stay. I have people waiting for me back home, I must go.”

The apprentice wasn't quite expecting for the meek crowd to suddenly growl and try to tear him apart. Zero instinctively tried to escape and when they gained on him, the young doctor was forced to assume an offensive stance, ready to fight back and kill if he must.

At this point, there was a crack in the space and Zero almost cried in relief at seeing Bob.

”Hurry up, young master! I can't hold this for long, let's get out of there!”

Zero jumped into the portal and vanished from the weird dimension, happy that he didn't fall for their honeyed words.

So what if Zero wasn't perfect? He would rather be imperfect and himself than perfect and just another boring existence who didn't know why they existed. As they travelled back to Endow Hill, Zero made up his mind. He had been too cautious during his training about not hurting anyone especially Ruth and Mitchnew. He wasn't doing them a favour by being mindful, he was showing them disrespect by not giving it his all.

In order to improve, he would have to face them head-on like real enemies trying to harm him and his friends. Just like how Zero faced himself and his insecurities back in the Lake of Reflection's strange dimension, Zero would face his teachers with the same courage. No more running.

This time, Zero would throw in everything he had to learn earnestly. He couldn't be like Solo with the talent to create but Zero would harness his power to destroy and use it wisely.

He was going to tell Solo all about the things he did instead of the things he saw Solo made. He was going to take ownership like Solo told him to and make this world entirely his.