Chapter 516: [Bonus] Frozen Water (1/2)
Author's Note: Thank you Demelios for suggesting this idea. Now we will have Zero skating artistically like Yuri. Also, I tried to calculate it so that this will be pushed out of my 50 privilege chapter range to be seen for non-privileged readers on X'mas day because I know nobody buys my privilege tiers. Enjoy the X'mas gift, whenever it was published for you <3 And Merry X'mas to everyone!
It was that time of the year again when gifts were given and received. Zero wasn't too sure of what he should prepare for everyone this year but he did think that nobody would reject good food. Hence, with some difficulty, Zero hunted and foraged for the best materials he could find to make a huge batch of Christmas cookies.
Swift was startled when Zero called her to send the harpie a long list of people he wanted to send cookies to. While she wasn't against making such deliveries, she had a better idea. It has been a full year since they had a gathering. This time, there were even more people who wanted to be part of the gathering. With Heaven and Hell getting along better after Zero's intervention, it was a good idea to invite the Demon Lords who could make it.
Gods couldn't leave Heaven and Demon Lords couldn't leave hell so this was quite the pickle. Where would be a good place to gather without throwing the plane's power out of balance?
”How about the Spring of Vitality? Raphael suggested. He was helping the harpie plan and Isis liked the idea. The Christmas party planning community was gathered in Garden Eden and Cleo clapped her hands in delight.
”Half Moon Village will take care of the food!”
”Heaven can take care of the decorations,” Raphael offered and Swift agreed. It was better to leave artistic designs to the angels. She'd seen some of the designs that certain Demon Lords have and she must admit while they didn't look bad, they were mostly questionable.
”I'll send the invitations,” Isis told them. ”We must prepare gifts for Zero, there isn't much time left.”
The small planning party agreed and quickly went their separate ways to complete the task while Swift told Zero to keep the cookies away for now because they wanted him to bring it all to the Christmas party after details were finalised.
Needless to say, Zero was thrilled and told Truen about it. The doctor also decided to send messages to the people he would like to see at the party including his teachers and little Minerva.
When the invitations were finally sent out, almost everyone RSVP'd. Isis was overjoyed to let Zero know that they would be hosting the party at the Spring of Vitality. To ensure that it followed the White Christmas tradition, Queen Shittomi and Olaf decided to take turns pouring magic and making it a wintery wonderland. When Zero heard that there would be frozen water to skate on, he was excited even if he didn't know how to skate just yet.
The day finally arrived and the party was everything Zero expected it to be and more! The huge Christmas tree was the highlight of the decorations. Gaia must have a hand in creating such a huge fir tree because it was almost as tall as Sedna in her original form.
The party was full of fantastic food, courtesy of Zoe whom everyone praised. Cleo worked hard to make it as homey as possible, arranging the mana lotuses in a way that didn't look like a farm. Robo Mike had the day off.
Among the people who attended, Mammon and Enma were the ones Zero didn't expect to see simply because they were extremely busy individuals. True enough, they only stayed for a short while to pass Zero their gifts, receive their cookies, eat and leave. They didn't stay for too long and Zero didn't blame them. On the other hand, he didn't know what to think with Michael and Lucifer indulging themselves in a drinking competition. Hua Tuo and Buddha also indulged in some herbal tea and Zero wondered if this was alright.
With music and dance that the Great Gods enjoyed, Zero didn't think the night could get any better but he was proven wrong when Truen and Merlin disappeared for a while. Zero only found out why they could not be found when he heard the crackle of fireworks exploding.
”Merry Christmas, Zero!” they shouted and the doctor teared up. He might be grown up on the outside but on the inside, Zero still couldn't believe that another year had gone by so quickly. His journey had only just begun but it felt like he'd not seen these people for a very long time.
Seeing that Zero teared up, the ladies were quick to give him a hug while Ruth gifted him something that lit Zero's world. It was a pair of ice skates that Zero had heard about but never seen before.
”Be careful, don't touch the blades below. Minerva will teach you how to skate, she's been doing a lovely job at it in Hyacinth on the surface,” Poseidon explained. Medusa was with her daughter in Hyacinth because Minerva couldn't leave the planet but her father promised to make her a water clone so that she could meet the person who matchmade her parents.
Zero smiled at Minerva. She grew into quite the pretty young lady even though it wasn't too long since she was created. If Minerva was anything like Athena was, he could understand why she was also called a Goddess of Beauty and War.
After putting on the skates securely, Zero accepted Truen's help to stand in the skates. It was trickier than he thought it would be with how he slipped and slid with every step he took. It was hard to balance and the shoes were heavy!
”Don't walk,” Minerva scolded. ”Glide across the ice like this!” she said and demonstrated a push off from where she stood. The movement was extremely graceful and it looked effortless enough that Zero was almost fooled into believing it wasn't hard at all.
Like a clumsy duckling just hatched from an egg, Zero pushed off into his first tumble into the hard ice, falling onto his chin when the toe pick dug into the frozen water. It looked like a painful landing and Minerva winced before skating over to help Zero up. Cameras were readied from all directions and everyone wanted to see how Zero would skate after he learned how to push off. Hua Tuo was on standby in case his disciple needed medical assistance even though Zero was more than capable of healing such minor injuries. Merlin and Shittomi were on standby to refreeze the lake's water in case the ice broke while Zero skated. Olaf had to reassure them that the ice was about a foot deep and a tiny fall like this wouldn't be enough to break such thick ice.
After two more attempts with many wobbles and windmilling arms, Zero finally found the correct posture with knees slightly bent and chest leaning forward to push off nicely. He found the posture slightly awkward with his butt sticking out too much but it couldn't be helped, for now, this was the safest method while he learned how to move around on ice without assistance from anyone.
Turning was tricky and Zero tripped over his own feet while crossing one foot over the other making a bend. Minerva cringed at the impressive tumble but Zero wasn't ready to give up. Truen held his breath watching Zero learn how to skate for the very first time. His friend had an incredible sense of balance and coordination so it wasn't too long before Zero was doing a figure of eights on the ice and speeding fast enough to chase Minerva. He even mastered how to skate backwards and do a wide circle in a spread eagle stance.
The tiny tips and tricks Minerva taught were soaked up by Zero like a sponge. In just twenty minutes, Zero was able to play tag on ice, occasionally crashing out of the lake onto the soft snow piles when he failed to stop in time. The Gods and Goddesses decided to join them and Zero watched how some of them cheated. Not everyone used skates and that gave Zero an idea.
”Minerva! Teach me some skate tricks!” he grinned.
From spinning to jumping and even somersaulting in the air, Zero learned everything after one demonstration and was eager to put his brilliant inspiration to use. The Great Gods were able to use magic and their natural abilities to create cool moves so Zero decided to invent some of his own by fusing traditional skating moves that looked extremely glamorous.
”Let's host an artistic skating competition!” Zero suggested to anyone who was interested in skating. Michael didn't hesitate to take care of the music for the competition.
”The theme shall be skating with your talent,” Zero grinned.
Not one to pass up the rare opportunity to make money, Mammon started a gambling pool that many people took advantage of when Zero said he was going to participate.
”What's the prize going to be for the winner?” Ruth asked. ”There's no meaning in a competition without a winner or a prize, is there?”
”Good point,” Poseidon agreed and Minerva quickly backed out of the competition. Against the Great Goddesses and Demon Lords? She wasn't crazy enough to fight with them.
Zero hummed and tried to think about a good prize for the winner. Seeing as it was Christmas, Zero pointed to the large Christmas tree decoration. ”Special photos and a present of the winner's choice from any of the participants?”
”Deal!” Freya shouted and changed into her skates to participate. How could she pass up the chance for limited edition photos?
Mammon was torn. If he won, he would be able to demand limited edition photos for resale in the Onion Union. However, he didn't want to make a fool of himself for not being able to skate. Hence, he proposed an alliance with Queen Shittomi who agreed with a seventy-thirty profit split.
Due to the overwhelming number of participants, the event organisers made some adjustments. Only one participant from each plane or planet can represent their team. Zero represented Half Moon Village and Earth. Ruth represented the Garden of Roth which the Gods, Demon Lords and Archangels agreed that it counted as a special zone because of cross territories. Queen Shittomi represented the abyss, Freya represented Heaven, Merlin represented Arabesque and Minerva was forced to represent Hyacinth because her father uncle Zeus wanted the limited edition photos, not that she was hopeful in winning this skating competition with such strong competitors.
The six competitors drew lots and the order was decided. Minerva was pleased that she was the first to go because it would mean setting the bar for the other competitors. Not seeing what the overpowered competitors could accomplish made her confident about doing her best.
Michael prepared the choir and musical arrangements quickly. Minerva requested for a ballad with strong strings so they quickly pulled together a song befitting her impromptu performance. Poseidon had his camera out from the moment the music started and Truen was in charge of special lighting effects.
Like a swan in the water, Minerva executed each move with elegance, reminding Poseidon about his wife. Medusa would be very proud of her if she saw how lady-like Minerva was on the ice. Like a branch swaying in the breeze, Minerva allowed her body to flow to the gentle music as she built up speed around the bend.
In a burst of power and grace, Minerva shot into the air, dragging ice crystals with her skates and spun thrice before landing with a swish. Nothing could affect her balance and the way her hair danced to the wind with her sharp movements made Poseidon smile sappily. His daughter was simply too beautiful!