Ball of Nothing

Chapter 40 Grandcreator

When Zero left with Sedna, En froze. Did the child just call him uncle? How was that possible? He'd been called many things including 'boy', 'young man', 'handsome', 'demon' and 'king'. But 'uncle'?!

Shellshocked by the revelation that he might be getting older, En let Egui go. Collapsed in a chair, the King of Trials appeared very tired and although he had the body of a young adult, the air around him revealed otherwise.

From behind, Isis stifled her laugh and Gaia watched with amusement at how her son's mental breakdown at Zero's innocent comment. Freya's anger from earlier disappeared and a mischievous look replaced the scowl. Without En realising, Freya snapped a photo and forwarded it to Hades, explaining what happened.

The reply came quickly. Hades was laughing and told Freya that Zeus suggested selling that picture of En. The Goddess of Love and War agreed. Their son had a very large fan pool and as pictures of him were rare, many would sell their soul for it. Freya decided to ask Isis to manage an auction and collect some favours that they could use in the future. After all, nobody has a keener business sense than the Goddess of Time.

Zero returned shortly and all the attention was focussed on him at once. Nobody realised that Sedna still hasn't returned. Instead, the goddesses beamed at the little boy.

"Uncle En!"

The King of Trials felt as if someone had used his voodoo doll as a pin cushion. Although Zero's voice was cheerful and refreshing, his preferred term of endearment was a huge blow to En's pride. Was he less loved than his mothers? How was this possible? Did his godmother corrupt the poor soul already? How could this young boy not know the difference between who was older? How could he call his mothers by their name but not him? They had fine wrinkle lines if one squinted but he had flawless skin!

"Uncle En, so sorry about earlier. I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Zero! About the question that you asked earlier, I'm actually an unknown existence with great powers that I'm still learning about. Hades knows me because he is one of the Great Gods who helped me recover memories of my past self called Great One."

Forgetting about his depression for a while, En listened to the boy's explanation. Instead of getting the answers he wanted, he ended up with more questions. Just what was going on? He'd heard that his parents were Great Gods. Only Great Gods were able to create other gods without a demigod offspring. Although gods were almighty, they were infertile. Gods cannot reproduce the normal way with each other. They must use a 'cauldon' to bless with their powers. The cauldron was often a human with high magical powers. The offspring of two gods by a cauldron was called a demigod. Great Gods were the only exception to this rule. Although they can use a cauldron, their offspring are full-fledged gods. Gaia can act as a cauldron using her world tree and the offspring will be born from a fruit. En was such a child.

Other gods cannot reproduce like Great Gods as their domain or area of godship does not allow them the power to create souls. Most gods are born from a very strong force of energy with the same harmony that develops a soul of its own. Hence, they are unable to create souls and give life to others. Many gods die when the energy they were created from has been depleted. A created god has no choice but to grant wishes to anyone who calls them by their name. Wishes cost energy and this energy can only be replenished by an offering under their name. The offering can come in many forms - food, money, flowers, lives etc. However, as the human heart is fickle, many gods find themselves dying with time when their believers forget about them. The age of demigods happened because gods didn't want to die but that was a story for another time.

In any case, En has not heard of the Great One or Zero's existence prior so he felt extremely confused.

Taking pity on her godson's confusion, Isis decided to give him a crash course about the history of Great Gods and the Great One.

After she ended, there was a strange look on En's face.

"I understand now. However, I have one question. Would that make Zero my grandcreator? Why is he calling me Uncle?"