291 Altered (1/2)

Merlin was still working on the first layer of Zero's spell when the barrier vanished. Without caring if there were more traps inside, the wizard flung open the doors and searched for his student who appeared to be fine if not a little tired.

”Zero! What happened here?” he asked.

The young doctor looked slightly dazed and disoriented but he didn't seem to be hurt. Merlin inspected his student and noticed that Zero's magic status had increased yet again. Was his training actually working?

”It's nothing. I might have forced the creation of Parallel Minds in a different way but it works now. Just some technical issues that have been sorted out. Sir, I'm going to read all the books now as you've requested of me since I have at least five Parallel Minds now. Can I borrow these spare golems? My Parallel Minds can control physical vessels.”

Merlin was pleasantly surprised. If Zero was able to manipulate vessels with a Parallel Mind, did that mean he was almost on par with Truen's control of magic? The wood elf had about thirty Parallel Minds now and was only able to achieve the art of controlling a separate physical vessel if he dedicated five Parallel Minds to one vessel.

Merlin looked around. No, Zero had more than five Parallel Minds if he was controlling all ten spare golems.

”Zero, how many Parallel Minds do you currently possess? Answer me honestly.” Merlin frowned. If each vessel required five minds, Zero had to have at least fifty.

Zero laughed nervously. Truth be told, he didn't know. He was leaving it all to Mii and Wii. How should he explain his unique nature to Merlin? Would the Sage God even believe him?

Merlin noticed his student's troubled expression and suspected that Zero was hiding something. According to Hua Tuo, Zero never did things the normal way. Maybe Zero didn't have as many Parallel Minds as Merlin thought he had. He simply had a different way of using them.

”Zero, it's ok. You can tell me anything, I'm your teacher.”

The teenager hesitated a little. Mii did tell him that these methods other than Mathematics were considered unorthodox and only worked in theory. For Zero, he was able to create a different kind of outcome using the same methods and he didn't want Merlin to think that he was cheating. He really tried the initial method and studied Arithmetic to the point of tears. It just wasn't working for Zero so the young doctor sought an alternative method to the task his teacher assigned him.

”I... Will you be angry at me if I didn't follow the method proven in the books?” Zero asked.

Merlin shook his head. ”I won't. Books were written by people of the past. Many things are not accurate with changes after many years. What worked for them back then may not apply to us now. I assume you've discovered something new not related to the books in my library?”

Zero nodded, happy that Merlin understood and agreed with him. Unlike Hua Tuo who believed that ancient scriptures should be adhered to and not deviated from, Merlin was more open-minded and willing to explore new paths with Zero. If there was one thing Zero liked more about Merlin as compared to Hua Tuo, it was the wizard's like-minded curiosity and insatiable desire to learn new things even if it sometimes landed them both in trouble.

Slowly, Zero told Merlin about his ability to duplicate his mind in his mindscape. Merlin didn't understand what Zero was talking about so the teen had to explain everything from the very beginning with the Mind's Eye system given to him after he met the Great Gods. In the process, Zero also divulged a few hints about Solo that Merlin took note about. ;

”So this Wii is a mindscape assistant solely in charge of your Parallel Minds?” Merlin clarified.

Zero nodded. ”She is. However, I don't know much about her yet or how this happened. All I was told was after reaching five, the Mind's Eye system created Wii to help me manage things. I don't seem to have a limit in cloning my mind but Mii was a limit when it comes to processing all the information and synchronising them. My current limit is ten because Mii cannot handle anything more than that. Even so, I want to reduce Mii's burden. I just don't know how yet. Wii cannot help Mii in her work because the system created them differently. Mii is So- I mean, the Great One's creation and Wii is mine.”

Merlin frowned with so much new information swimming in his head. ”Wait... the mindscape belongs to you but the Mind's Eye system was created by the Great One which created the mindscape you have now along with Mii and Wii? The change of administrators... What does that mean? Is the Mind's Eye system currently under your control or the Great One's? Also, if you are the Great One's future self, doesn't that make both of you the same person?”

Zero sighed. some of Merlin's questions really hit the head on the nail. ”This is what I'm trying to figure out too, sir. I don't think So-, the Great One and I are the same even if we should be the same existence. I am not the Great One, I am Zero.”

Merlin blinked and thought hard. ”Zero, do you know what a time paradox is?”

Surprisingly, Zero nodded. ”It's something that shouldn't exist on the same timeline. The balance of the world is destroyed with a time paradox so two people of the same identity should never exist on the same timeline. The entire branch of the timeline will disappear if there is a time paradox. The world rejects the foreign existence and tries to get rid of it, often ending itself while doing so.”

Merlin nodded. ”That's right. The Mind's Eye and your mindscape is something like a time paradox. They shouldn't exist. If it was created by the Great One for his future self, Zero you should have been the owner of the system. Why was there a need for an administrator transfer? Something doesn't add up for me.”

Zero froze. He never thought of it that way. ”But the one who helped was Buddha...”

Merlin froze. Buddha was aware of this? Why did Buddha know what to do? The more Zero explained the sequence of events, the more questions Merlin had. Suddenly, he felt fearful of the Enlightened One. Buddha definitely knew things that not even the Great Gods did. he looked at Zero with fear in his eyes.

”What else happened? Did Buddha interfere in anything else after Trigression Falls? Other than Wii, were there any other changes? Did you ever attempt to use your Parallel Minds after the stitching lessons? No, that's not right. You learnt how to stitch with Mitchnew before you went to Trigression Falls. If you heard voices back then, how could Wii have been created by you? The system still belonged to the Great One. I was there. I saw you develop your first Parallel Mind at Hua Tuo's hut stitching fabrics using magic.”

Zero looked lost and confused, alarming Merlin.

”Sorry, Zero. There's something I'd like to investigate. Can you allow me access to your mindscape?” the wizard asked and Zero had no reason to refuse.

Merlin couldn't help but be impressed by the size of Zero's mindscape. There, he saw a lot of books and met three fairies.

”Lily, Wii, this is my magic teacher, Merlin. I think you've met Mii before so I won't introduce the both of you,” Zero smiled.

Mii stopped working and looked up. True enough, Merlin was in Zero's mindscape. She became wary. Without permission, nobody could enter Zero's mindscape. Why was Merlin here? What did he want? Zero's memories were a secret even to Merlin. The Divine Entities, Solo's identity and so much more... the strawcherry fairy paled. All those books were lying around in plain sight. If Merlin decided to forcefully retrieve them, not even she would be able to prevent the wizard god from learning Zero's secrets in here.

Wii the little eggplant fairy was immediately seized by Merlin who trapped her in a glass prison. Zero was startled and begged his teacher not to harm his newest assistant. Merlin turned a deaf ear to his student and continued to layer detection spells and tracing spells on the small fairy. Mii and Lily were likewise alarmed by Merlin's sudden attack.

Trapped in a glass prison, Wii could only beg for mercy and cry in fright. Merlin looked very scary with the anger evident on his face. Zero couldn't stop his teacher and didn't know what to do. He shot Mii and Lily a pleading look but neither fairies could interfere.

Soon, a golden thread appeared from Wii. The golden thread was tied to something in the library so Merlin followed it quickly. Zero didn't know what was going on but that golden thread reminded him of the golden chain on the purple book they found earlier. Mii was also shocked. She didn't know what Merlin was doing but it didn't seem as if the wizard wanted to harm Zero. Lily panicked when Merlin went to the second level of the library. Those books contained some of Zero's memories and as a mindscape guardian, she had the duty to protect her master's privacy.

”Please stop!” the flower fairy shouted and flew after the nimble wizard.

Merlin didn't stop. For someone his age, he was still as fit as a fiddle. That golden thread led him to an ordinary-looking book that Merlin quickly pulled out. Wii struggled and pleaded to be let out with the spells hurting her. She didn't recognise that unfamiliar golden thread tied to her wrist but no matter how much she tugged at it, the golden thread wouldn't come off. It was bound so tightly to her wrist, causing her to feel pain whenever she touched it. THer wrist felt as if they were on fire but there were no signs of external damage.

Merlin flipped open the pages of that book and knew what the book was about. Mii was ready to smack the wizard with the dictionary of archaic tongue that she was still recording until Merlin flipped to a section of the book with torn out pages.

Lily gasped and Zero who had just arrived wondered what they were up to. ”What's wrong?”

Merlin gnashed his teeth in anger and glared at Wii. the golden thread was tied to the missing pages in that book. Wii was no eggplant fairy or assistant. Merlin narrowed his eyes. The Mind's Eye system did not create an assistant to aid Zero in controlling his Parallel Minds. Something else did. That something else was responsible for the missing pages and golden thread. No wonder Zero's memory sequence was altered.

”Who are you?” Merlin demanded and Zero blinked, not sure if he heard it right.

Wii whimpered. Mii and Lily gave each other confused glances.

”Sir,” Mii called out. ”She's Wii, an eggplant fairy assistant to assist Zero in his mindscape when he uses his created Parallel Minds.”

Merlin ignored her. ”Who are you?” he demanded once more.

This time, Wii stopped crying. She had a terrifying smirk and Zero felt a chill in the library. ”As expected of the world's greatest magician. I should have gotten rid of you when I had the chance.”

Zero knew that voice. Mii also shuddered and Lily quickly left the scene, trying to get help from Gaia when Wii smacked the flower fairy with a powerful spell that made Lily lose consciousness. Zero jumped forward to catch the flower fairy and glared at Wii.

”Why are you possessing Wii? She didn't do anything wrong! Also, didn't how are you here? The last time we met you showed me the fall of a Great God. What do you want from me?”

Merlin looked confused as Zero talked. Did Zero know who this was?