Chapter 291 Altered
rlin 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. rlin 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 so technical issues that have been sorted out. Sir, I’m going to read all the books now as you’ve requested of since I have at least five Parallel Minds now. Can I borrow these spare golems? My Parallel Minds can control physical vessels.\"
rlin was pleasantly surprised. If Zero was able to manipulate vessels with a Parallel Mind, did that an 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.
rlin 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 honestly.\" rlin 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 rlin? Would the Sage God even believe him?
rlin noticed his student’s troubled expression and suspected that Zero was hiding sothing. According to Hua Tuo, Zero never did things the normal way. Maybe Zero didn’t have as many Parallel Minds as rlin thought he had. He simply had a different way of using them.
\"Zero, it’s ok. You can tell anything, I’m your teacher.\"
The teenager hesitated a little. Mii did tell him that these thods other than Mathematics were considered unorthodox and only worked in theory. For Zero, he was able to create a different kind of outco using the sa thods and he didn’t want rlin to think that he was cheating. He really tried the initial thod and studied Arithtic to the point of tears. It just wasn’t working for Zero so the young doctor sought an alternative thod to the task his teacher assigned him.
\"I... Will you be angry at if I didn’t follow the thod proven in the books?\" Zero asked.
rlin 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 assu you’ve discovered sothing new not related to the books in my library?\"
Zero nodded, happy that rlin understood and agreed with him. Unlike Hua Tuo who believed that ancient scriptures should be adhered to and not deviated from, rlin was more open-minded and willing to explore new paths with Zero. If there was one thing Zero liked more about rlin as compared to Hua Tuo, it was the wizard’s like-minded curiosity and insatiable desire to learn new things even if it sotis landed them both in trouble.
Slowly, Zero told rlin about his ability to duplicate his mind in his mindscape. rlin 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 t the Great Gods. In the process, Zero also divulged a few hints about Solo that rlin took note about.
\"So this Wii is a mindscape assistant solely in charge of your Parallel Minds?\" rlin 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 manage things. I don’t seem to have a limit in cloning my mind but Mii was a limit when it cos 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 an, the Great One’s creation and Wii is mine.\"
rlin 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 an? 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 sa person?\"
Zero sighed. so of rlin’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 sa even if we should be the sa existence. I am not the Great One, I am Zero.\"
rlin blinked and thought hard. \"Zero, do you know what a ti paradox is?\"
Surprisingly, Zero nodded. \"It’s sothing that shouldn’t exist on the sa tiline. The balance of the world is destroyed with a ti paradox so two people of the sa identity should never exist on the sa tiline. The entire branch of the tiline will disappear if there is a ti paradox. The world rejects the foreign existence and tries to get rid of it, often ending itself while doing so.\"
rlin nodded. \"That’s right. The Mind’s Eye and your mindscape is sothing like a ti 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? Sothing doesn’t add up for .\"
Zero froze. He never thought of it that way. \"But the one who helped was Buddha...\"
rlin froze. Buddha was aware of this? Why did Buddha know what to do? The more Zero explained the sequence of events, the more questions rlin 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 rlin.
\"Sorry, Zero. There’s sothing I’d like to investigate. Can you allow access to your mindscape?\" the wizard asked and Zero had no reason to refuse.
rlin couldn’t help but be impressed by the size of Zero’s mindscape. There, he saw a lot of books and t three fairies.
\"Lily, Wii, this is my magic teacher, rlin. I think you’ve t Mii before so I won’t introduce the both of you,\" Zero smiled.
Mii stopped working and looked up. True enough, rlin was in Zero’s mindscape. She beca wary. Without permission, nobody could enter Zero’s mindscape. Why was rlin here? What did he want? Zero’s mories were a secret even to rlin. The Divine Entities, Solo’s identity and so much more... the strawcherry fairy paled. All those books were lying around in plain sight. If rlin 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 imdiately seized by rlin who trapped her in a glass prison. Zero was startled and begged his teacher not to harm his newest assistant. rlin 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 alard by rlin’s sudden attack.
Trapped in a glass prison, Wii could only beg for rcy and cry in fright. rlin 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 sothing in the library so rlin 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 rlin was doing but it didn’t seem as if the wizard wanted to harm Zero. Lily panicked when rlin went to the second level of the library. Those books contained so of Zero’s mories 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.
rlin didn’t stop. For soone his age, he was still as fit as a fiddle. That golden thread led him to an ordinary-looking book that rlin 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 co 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.
rlin 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 rlin 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?\"
rlin 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. rlin narrowed his eyes. The Mind’s Eye system did not create an assistant to aid Zero in controlling his Parallel Minds. Sothing else did. That sothing else was responsible for the missing pages and golden thread. No wonder Zero’s mory sequence was altered.
\"Who are you?\" rlin 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.\"
rlin ignored her. \"Who are you?\" he demanded once more.
This ti, 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 ti we t you showed the fall of a Great God. What do you want from ?\"
rlin looked confused as Zero talked. Did Zero know who this was?
Wii laughed and easily broke rlin’s spell. \"What a sha... you found too quickly. I was hoping to make this last for a little longer.\"
Zero sighed and walked up to the eggplant fairy. \"What do you want, Solo? I’m still in the middle of my training. You really don’t like eting in the real world.\"
Solo rolled his eyes using Wii’s body. \"Didn’t you hear? Ti paradoxes will destroy worlds. You and I cannot exist on the sa tiline.\"
Hearing that, rlin imdiately understood who was possessing Wii. He didn’t know who Solo was but if he had to guess, that would be the na of the Great One. More questions flooded rlin’s mind. If Solo was the Great One, why did he alter Zero’s mories and pose as Wii? Was Wii even real? What about the Mind’s Eye system? How did Solo hide in here for so long without anyone noticing? Did Solo actually exist or was he rely a mory fragnt left behind by the system to pass a ssage to Zero?
Zero sighed. \"You don’t have to harm anyone to et . I don’t like it when you do that. Can’t we agree on a date and have so tea to talk like normal people?\"
Solo raised a brow. \"Where’s the fun in that? Also, I’m going to send these nuisances out so we can have a heart-to-heart talk. It’s been a while, Zero.\"
Zero didn’t have ti to respond before Lily, rlin and Mii were dismissed. With only the two of them left in the mindscape, Solo abandoned Wii’s vessel and dismissed her too. Right now, he assud Zero’s teenage form and grinned.
\"You’ve grown again,\" he comnted and Zero sighed.
Solo frowned. \"What’s with that reaction? Aren’t you happy to see ?\"
Zero glared half-heartedly at his twin. \"Do you always have to cause trouble and frighten each ti you see ? I have so many questions to ask you. Is Wii even real?\"
Solo smiled. \"One thing at a ti,\" he told his future self. \"Wii is every bit as real as Mii. She’s created by the Mind’s Eye system but under my will. The one who sealed Wii away the first ti was you. The Wii that you saw after freeing her was a recreated version after the administrator rights have been changed. About that, I’m still rather upset with Buddha for changing the rights over to you.\"
Zero raised a brow. \"Oh? Pray tell. You’ve been bothering Mii a lot while you were in charge of Mind’s Eye. I could tell. Mii couldn’t speak about many things freely and chose to avoid so topics when I asked. That was because of you, right?\"
Solo didn’t deny it. He sat beside Zero and placed an arm around the young doctor. \"After regaining so parts of the mories from Divine Fragnts, you’ve beco smarter. Yes. You’re right. You can say that Mii has also been recreated several tis under my command. However, I did them all because of you. You’re way too reckless. If it wasn’t because of my constant guidance and watching over you the whole ti before you matured, did you think you could survive in that cruel world so comfortably?\"
Zero didn’t deny that he was immature back then. He always had to turn back and rely on Mii to help him navigate his way through the world. However, as he started seeing the world differently, his opinions often differed from the system. Solo’s and he weren’t on the sa page.
\"You know that I will never beco you, right?\" he asked.
Solo faked disappointnt. \"What a sha. No wonder Buddha so willingly betrayed to help you. After changing the administrator, the system started purging . If I didn’t hide in Wii before you sealed her up and alter the commands, would we have this opportunity to talk?\"
Zero inhaled and looked at Solo with wide eyes. \"So it is you! All this ti I was wondering why Mind’s Eye would never do so of the things I wanted, you were the reason why it never happened!\"
Solo didn’t look remorseful. Instead, he had a thoughtful expression. \"Do you hate ?\"
Zero frowned. \"What a strange question. You are but from the past. I don’t like the things you’ve been doing but I can never hate you. Are you here just to tease again? Your ti is almost up. I can feel it.\"
Solo smiled. \"So kind as always,\" he mused and kissed Zero on the cheek. \"Let’s see what kind of doctor you will end up as. From now on, be prepared to et a lot of victims. Unlike you who wants to save as many lives as possible, I want to destroy as many lives as I can. I want to destroy the lives of those who want you and gone. Arachne and Athena are just the beginning of this tragedy.\"
Zero didn’t like the sound of it but he couldn’t do anything else because Solo’s remaining energy traces dissipated. As soon as Solo disappeared, rlin and the three fairies were brought back to Zero’s mindscape.
\"Zero! Are you alright?\" rlin asked. Mii was still restraining Wii while watching over Lily who had yet to regain consciousness.
Zero nodded. \"You can let go of Wii, she’s the real deal. It’s a sha that she’s originally created by Solo but after I broke that seal, Wii’s new vessel was created by the Mind’s Eye under my control. Solo rely hid in her body to preserve his remaining energy to pass on a ssage. he’s no longer here.\"
rlin seethed. \"I’m going to find Buddha!\"
Zero quickly pulled the sleeve of his teacher’s robe and shook his head. \"No, Buddha didn’t do anything wrong. In fact, Solo admitted that he took matters to his own hands because Buddha decided to betray their agreent. Mind’s Eye system should have always been under Solo’s control. Solo never had any intention of allowing control of the system. Once I was in-charge of Mind’s Eye, Solo’s fragnt had nowhere else to go. Buddha was helping .\"
rlin didn’t know what to believe or think. \"Solo... that kid... is he the Great One?\"
Zero remained silent and rlin seethed. \"Solo altered your mories.\"
Zero nodded.
\"He could have killed you.\"
At this, Zero glared at rlin. \"He would never do such a thing. Hurt by killing the people around , yes. However, he would never kill . This is going to be a battle against myself. I have to stop Solo. Arachne and Athena’s feud was only the start of Solo’s grand plan, he told so himself before he disappeared.\"
The revelation troubled rlin and Zero’s assistants.
\"Let’s talk about it outside of the mindscape. I think your assistants need ti to recover. This ti, you’re not going to hide anything from . I won’t forgive Buddha for trying to hurt you. That golden thread was Buddha’s. He had a part to play in altering your mories. If I didn’t notice that sothing was wrong, you would have been manipulated.\"
Zero had no cobacks for that. He truly wanted to believe that Buddha and Solo would never harm him but rlin had concrete evidence of their misdeeds. The fact that Mind’s Eye had hindered what Zero wanted to accomplish several tis in the past was evidence that they were trying to control him even if they didn’t want him dead.
Zero looked at the book that had fallen. the torn pages were recovered and Zero could now rember the correct sequence of events along with a few other altered mories including the ti he spent recuperating at the Spring of Vitality with Baal. Zero felt the tears well up in his eyes at the particular mory of Baal whispering to him over and over again his unheard prayers for Zero’s recovery. To think that Solo removed that mory as well... Zero felt angry and betrayed.
Yet, there was nothing he could do about the past even after recovering his altered mories. He knew now the truth about Mii and was able to dig up information from the Mind’s Eye system now that it was no longer deceived by Solo’s influence. Zero felt a dark cold fire burning in his heart knowing how much Mii fought against the system, begged and cried as she was scrapped and recreated with Solo’s ideals.
\"Teacher...\" Zero called out once they exited the mindscape.
rlin was slightly surprised. Zero often called him ’sir’ or ’rlin’, never ’teacher’.
\"What is it?\"
Zero looked up with a pained expression. \"Please don’t tell anyone about this. Not Buddha, not Truen, not even the Great Gods. This is a battle between and my past self. I need to save Solo if I want to save the world. However, I am weak. There are so many things that I do not know. Won’t you teach ?\"
The wrath rlin felt earlier sizzled and fizzed away to nothing more than smouldering ashes. Zero’s heartfelt plea touched the wizard and rlin decided to impart to Zero what he didn’t even ntion to Truen.
\"Arithtic,\" he said.
Zero looked up in surprise. Why bring Math into the topic all of a sudden?
\"You need to master Arithtic if you want the power to defeat Solo and save this world. While I am the Sage God of magic, there are many things more powerful than magic. You cannot defeat Solo who is the creator of this world with the things he created. You must invent sothing of your own to match his powers. For that, you need Arithtic.\"
Zero swallowed and trembled. He didn’t know if he could manage this.
\"Don’t worry,\" rlin told him. \"I will help you. First, you need to finish reading all the books in this library and the forbidden library that I have. Don’t forget to update the outdated information. Once you have finished, we will move on to higher level things.\"
Zero nodded. If it was rely a reading marathon, he could manage that. As for Arithtic... he would cross that bridge when he reaches it.
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