Chapter 285 - Playing Tourist in Heaven (1/2)
The cathedral didn't disappoint Zero's expectations. Everything in Heaven could be described as grand and this building was no exception. The building was carved from white marble stone and had many colourful stained glass windows to add vibrancy to the cold structure. The doors were full of intricate details and the beautiful stone slabs with words of wisdom and scriptures floored the teen.
The cathedral was very tall and Zero noticed something unique about it. At the top of the tallest tower, there was a large golden bell. Zero didn't know if it worked or why it was there but it sparkled under the light so wonderfully that Zero found himself staring at it for a long time.
”Come on, Zero. Let's go,” Buddha urged.
Zero nodded. Then, a question came to mind. ”Does it ever become night in Heaven?”
The Enlightened One smiled. ”No. It doesn't become night in Nirvana either. Sleep is not required.”
Zero's puzzled expression made the Wise One laugh. He gently led Zero into the cathedral and explained that the residences in Heaven learned to tell the time when the bell rings.
”The bell rings loud enough so the entire Heaven hears it. There are three bells every day. The first bell indicates the start of work, the second bell indicates the end of work and the third bell indicates the time for rest. Of course, not everyone follows the bells but it is a rather good indicator. Clocks don't exist in Heaven because of the complicated time flow. Sometimes it takes an entire year on Earth for one day in Heaven to pass and other times, ten days can pass in Heaven before one Earth day is complete.”
Zero nodded and was led into the cathedral where he was greeted by two six-winged seraphs. They smiled serenely but Zero still felt as if something was off. He didn't feel any genuine joy or good feelings coming from the supervisory angels. It was the same as the cupid who guided them to the pavilion earlier. For some reason, Heaven felt very cold and Zero wasn't as fond of it when compared to the abyss. True, the scenes might be beautiful when compared to the gloomy skies in the abyss. However, Zero felt no true joy or comfort in Heaven. It simply made him uneasy.
The feast was wonderful and nobody bothered Zero much despite his unsightly manners. In fact, Zero didn't see many people eating. There were plenty of leftovers and people were more interested in mingling around to socialise. The teen had the opportunity to listen to some of the small talks while waiting for Truen and Hua Tuo to appear. He'd cleaned out an entire platter of appetisers and was now moving to the second platter when someone tapped him on the shoulder.
Zero turned around and found himself falling for a childish trick when the person poked him on the cheek as he turned to look back.
”Truen!” Zero huffed and started to give his guardian a friendly punch in the shoulder. The wood elf didn't dodge and allowed it. His heartfelt laughter turned heads but neither of the boys cared. They were finally reunited after such a long time and had a lot to talk about.
”Shall we take this to a less crowded place?” Truen asked and Zero looked at all the food left.
Hua Tuo noticed it and waved at his disciple. ”They will still be here when you return. Not many people in Heaven have appetites like you.”
Zero grinned and stuck out his tongue before hopping up to Truen, waiting to be dragged away to somewhere more private. The wood elf offered an arm and Zero took hold of it readily like a maiden being escorted by her knight. Merlin was amused. Truen wasn't a gentleman by nature but when it concerned Zero, he had perfect knightly mannerisms. What confused the wizard more was how Zero didn't have any shame in acting spoiled around his friend and appeared full of weaknesses. He turned to Hua Tuo with confusion.
”Are they dating?”
Startled by the conclusion, the physician grabbed the wizard by his collar to pull him to an empty balcony. ”Don't say that!” he chided the wizard.
Merlin scowled. He didn't particularly enjoy being dragged around. For Hua Tuo to have such an extreme reaction, maybe there was some sort of truth there.
”They're just very good friends. Think of it as a princess and her knight. In case you've forgotten, Truen is Zero's escort, guardian and protector sent by the Great Gods. There's no way for them to form any sort of romance. Zero's not into romance anyway.”
Merlin wiggled his brows and nudged the doctor. ”But you wouldn't know. They're already at that age and I know Zero can change his gender if he wants to.”
Hua Tuo rolled his eyes. ”This is why you're single.”
”Hey!” Merlin took offence and smacked the doctor hard on the arm. ”That's rich coming from someone like you.”
Hua Tuo deadpanned. ”I'm a cultivator like Buddha. Being single is a choice in our case. It's not the same for you.”
Before Merlin could refute, Hua Tuo waved his hand. ”Whichever the case, they are not dating. Zero's just naturally clingy with the people he likes, just like a child. There's no special meaning to it. You have no idea how hard it is for Ruth and me to convince Zero that it isn't appropriate for three grown men to share the same bed. Zero's love for cuddles didn't disappear along with his old vessel.”
The wizard made a thoughtful expression. Hua Tuo advised him to watch out for Zero's childish tendencies. ”Even if you reject him, he won't stop trying to ambush you for hugs. Also, if you treasure something, don't let Zero near it. That boy has a habit of destroying things out of curiosity. It isn't the first time he's done private experiments behind my back and made a huge mess. My hut has been demolished without my consent when Zero decided to test his cleaning magic on it.”
For some reason, Merlin was thankful for the tip. He simply couldn't imagine having to deal with Zero's nonsense the way Hua Tuo did over the year of training. The magician would have been driven insane by the boy's constant destruction.
As the two Sage Gods exchanged stories and tips about how to deal with their student, Truen and Zero were sipping on stolen wine from the banquet below on the cathedral's roof. Zero couldn't help but admire the shininess of the bell. It was larger than he thought it would be. The golden bell was four times taller than he was and Zero was slightly worried about it ringing with them so close.
”I'm still curious about how it works,” he admitted and Truen laughed.
”Someone will come up when it is time to ring the bell. Don't worry too much. Also, I brought you up here for the views of Heaven and not just to see the bell up close.”
Zero blinked. He was so caught up with examining the golden bell that he didn't notice how far he could see from the roof.
”Whoa...” Zero breathed. From the roof, it was quite an amazing sight. He could see very far into the distance and to his surprise, there were actually many gardens surrounding houses.