Ball of Nothing 336 Reunited Lovers

According to Zero's guess, Athena didn't actually curse Medusa to become a hideous gorgon monster so that she would be shunned and isolated by all. It was with much difficulty that Zero found out about Athena's unique preferences from Poseidon after the blind titan got drunk on one of Tambolt's trial wine brews that he received from Half Moon Village. Unlike Zeus who was good at holding his alcohol, Poseidon wasn't very good at that while Hades shunned the beverage like the plague.

Athena was quite the unique collector and after Zero had Wii to verify the truth, he could only sigh. The goddess of war was a very strong warrior but she took after her father too much and has an equally peculiar artistic sense. Zeus loved everything that big and bulky or robust looking. On the other hand, Athena loved cute things that people would often describe as spooky. Who knew that Athena was secretly a goth beneath that radiant appearance? She preferred black to pink and worshipped Hades' sense of fashion immensely.

After this final piece of the puzzle was found, piecing the story together was a simple task for Zero. The matter was made overly complicated due to circumstances at that time with so many unstable variables. However, the young doctor was certain that Athena was indeed a pure maiden at heart who had nothing but kind intentions. Then again, like many other things Zero had seen so far, the road to Hell is often paved by kind intentions.

Following this train of thought, it can be deduced that Athena's curses were actually blessings from the goddess. It was also why it was very strong and remained even after the goddess' death. Arachne became an immortal weaver taking on the form of a spider that Athena adored from the bottom of her heart. The innocent goddess of war merely wanted a companion but because of her unique taste in aesthetics, Arachne got called a cursed weaver and demon. That part of the story was left out in the rumours and after many centuries, it became the twisted story that everyone knew. In truth, Arachne wasn't too bothered about her new form. She was treated very well in Heaven when she was alive and shared a very close friendship with Athena. It was Arachne whom Athena cried to regarding the matters of her complicated emotions for Poseidon.

Poseidon and Arachne had to be in cahoots because the blind titan revealed that he knew Arachne on a more personal level than most. Some of the information Zero was given about Athena was something Poseidon heard about from Arachne. The goddess of war kept her feelings under many layers of wraps and when the God of Oceans found out about it from a slip of tongue from Arachne, he started making plans to be demoted as a Great God because he couldn't return his niece's feelings. Instead of rejecting her and hurting her, Poseidon wanted to make her disillusioned and hate him instead. His plan partially succeeded when he finally became demoted after begging his brothers for help. However, Athena's feeling for him never stopped. She simply buried them after Arachne told her about what she had done. As Poseidon's student before Zero, Athena knew what her uncle was thinking about and wasn't fooled.

However, after Poseidon was exiled from Heaven, he started travelling the world as a wandering god. Without his eyes, he couldn't see who he was interacting with. Sometimes, Athena would disguise herself as a human to give the struggling wandering god a helping hand whenever she could. It didn't matter if it was as a passing-by merchant or a bird. When she was too preoccupied with her duties, she would still keep an eye out for her beloved uncle.

When Poseidon became involved in a war where Medusa was still a queen of her country, Athena was in charge of overseeing that. When Medusa built a temple for Athena with Poseidon, the war maiden felt her heart breaking. Medusa was a good lady and it was obvious that the couple was in love. After hearing the promises they made in her temple, Athena decided that she couldn't be selfish and blessed Medusa with immortality as well as the power to hold onto the man she loved and protect him in her stead. Thus, the gorgon was born. It was a terrifying power that solidified Medusa's power and status as the ruler of her country. The war after was quickly concluded as the stories about the gorgon spread far and wide.

Poseidon who couldn't look into Medusa's eyes wasn't affected by the horrible powers just like what Athena intended. However, the goddess of war never imagined that the two would part ways soon after her blessing. Horribly shocked by her transformation, Medusa was too ashamed to face Poseidon. She thought that Athena had cursed her to be ugly because of jealousy and felt as if she had done something wrong towards the goddess who still loved Poseidon. The queen didn't want to be someone who snatched away another person's man so she left secretly.

Poseidon didn't find out about what happened to Medusa until many years later. He had parted with the queen back there and travelled around as a wandering god after the parting when he heard the news about Athena's curse on Medusa. Immediately, the God of Oceans thought that his niece did so out of jealousy. He also heard of Medusa's sufferings but had not been able to help her because he made a vow that as long as Athena is still around, he wouldn't meet with her again. They would walk separate paths, his as a wandering god and her as a mortal queen. Hence, the blind titan could only harbour that intense guilt for many years and punish himself by isolation in Hyacinth where he was awaiting his death after his powers had been depleted. Athena was also thinking of doing the same thing after she heard about the unintended sufferings that Medusa had to go through because of her blessing. The goddess of war overworked to her death and decided to leave her last will with Arachne who helped to sew the most beautiful picture of her and get rid of everything depicting her actual appearance. When Heaven and Hell fought, the spider demon was trying her best to stitch the breaking plane together and ended up overworking that led to her death like Athena. Her soul was shattered and her descendants were born in Hell. Sadly, nobody knew the truth and her descendants like Rhinestone was led to believe that Athena was an evil goddess.

At the end of everything, Zero could only sigh. Gods weren't very different when it came to the affairs of the heart after all. If only there was clearer communication between all three parties, this thousand-year tragedy could have been avoided. Sadly, there was no use crying over spilt milk. What he could do now is wipe away the mess and try to make the best of the situation.

Thinking about it, Zero now understood why Murvin looked slightly odd when she gave him the quest. The quest was to undo the gorgon's grief instead of lift Athena's curse. Could the three divine sisters of Heaven already know the truth of the matter? Well, it shouldn't matter now. Once Medusa knows the truth and has her feelings addressed, Zero had a feeling that Athena's curse will disappear with Medusa's regrets.

The only thing that remained uncertain in Zero's mind is how to deal with the blessing Athena left behind. It was true that Medusa might not be all that hideous looking once her grief had been addressed. In fact, Zero had confidence that the way she appeared so hideous was only because she wasn't able to use any beauty products. As a doctor, this was somewhat within his area of expertise. The more worrying matter was finding a way to temporarily suppress the power of all three gorgon's eyes. It was very similar to the basilisk's ability and Zero already made some special orders for alchemic gadgets.

It must have been hours since they arrived in Valhalla because Zero could feel his legs cramping up from being in a sitting position for so long. Under normal circumstances, Zero would have used healing magic or something to ease the discomfort but using magic in Valhalla while Medusa and her sisters were still talking to Poseidon was akin to death. Without much options, Zero was reduced to wiggling his toes.

As the discussion cooled down on Poseidon and Medusa's side, Zero found himself dozing off.

"Oh, poor boy," Euryale cooed when she saw Zero sleeping with his mouth slightly ajar. For some reason, after Medusa and Poseidon talked it out, Athena's curse gradually felt weaker. The three gorgons regained their human-like appearance after Poseidon made his feelings for Medusa known. The blind titan informed them about his newest student who was the moving force behind his reinstatement so Euryale went to get Zero but she never thought the young doctor would fall asleep here of all places. Did he not have any sense of danger? They were in Valhalla with three gorgons on the loose for crying out loud!

Still, she wasn't one to quibble and shook the teen's shoulder gently. "Wake up, Zero. It's time for you to leave with Poseidon. Freya must have been bored of waiting by now if you can take a nap. I don't know why you're trying so hard for us but thank you."

Zero blinked and wondered why his world was dark but after hearing what Euryale had to say, he remembered where he was and what he wanted to do.

"Oh! Sorry about that, I fell asleep without meaning to. We will be back, Athena's curse hasn't been resolved yet. I still hope that your sister and my teacher were able to patch things up somewhat... I can feel that Athena's remaining soul is appeased. Just a little more to go..."

Euryale didn't know how Zero could sense that kind of thing but she supposed the brunet was a special existence enough to reinstate a Great God's position. Poseidon shared a little about what Zero did on Hyacinth. Even as a doctor, nobody has performed surgery on a planet of all things. The teen was truly one of a kind.

"Zero, it's time to go. We will be back again," Poseidon held Medusa's webbed hands tightly. After much discussion, Medusa agreed to go to Hyacinth with the blind titan and help him with his work now that he had a lot of responsibilities to assume as a reinstated Great God.

Zero didn't dally and bid goodbye cheerfully. Merlin and Steve had already completed the gadget he requested and the young doctor only had to pass them to Poseidon to give the gorgon sisters. With the petrification power suppressed, Zero would have resolved the gorgons' grief and completed his quest.

Poseidon spent the rest of his time in Heaven getting reacquainted with people and checked out the reformed Mount Olympia with Freya. Zero chose to excuse himself to make the final preparations. Without wasting time, Zero went straight to the House of Gods where he knew Merlin and Steve would be waiting for him in the lab.

When he arrived, he was greeted by a book to the head which Zero cleverly caught.

"How dare you make us wait for hours!" Merlin huffed in mock annoyance. The truth was that the wizard had been worried about his student's safety when Zero didn't contact them. Going to Valhalla wasn't very safe after all even if Freya was there.

Steve settled them down and passed Zero three boxes.

"Are these...?"

The God of Technology smiled. "We had Clowis from Half Moon Village to try them out to ensure that it worked. We gave the prototype to him and fashioned something more suited for ladies. I'm hoping the gorgon sisters will put them to good use."

Zero checked out the eyeglasses and nodded. The glass was very well made and through appraisal, he knew that his magic teacher spared no expenses with the multi-layered charms and counter curses. It had a very strong seal that was tied to Merlin's blood so the chances of it failing to work were very slim. As long as Merlin was alive, the spell will continue to work. Zero didn't want to imagine the possibility of Merlin dying. He believed in his teacher's strength. Arabesque was very hard to enter, much less conquer. Should the day come that Merlin died, Zero would know that his fight with Solo couldn't be put off for much longer.

"Thank you, Steve. Thank you, sir. Once I have concluded the last quest by Murvin, I will return once more."

"All the best, Zero," Steve smiled and Merlin quickly shooed his student away, not wanting to show his weakness and Zero just laughed it off. His magic teacher was still very odd.

As Zero walked out of the House of Gods with the three glasses in their cases, he thought about how he was going to collect back the fragments of Athena's soul and infuse it with the artificial land that he was going to create on Hyacinth as a parting gift to Poseidon who had taught him a lot about strategies and tactics. Thanks to the blind titan, Zero was no more confident in dealing with cunning humans who have bad intentions.

He was finally ready to travel the world with Truen and thinking about it made Zero smile. He couldn't wait.

Chapter end