Chapter 42
"Zero, what's wrong?"
Sedna panicked . Freya ordered Jeremy to arrange for a doctor while Gaia poured healing magic into Zero, trying to identify the problem . Isis kept calm and observed the situation . Zero looked pale and weak . Also, there was a strange noise that occurred occasionally . Could it be?
"Jeremy! Forget the doctor . Get some food that's easy to swallow . Hurry up . "
The butler looked confused but obeyed anyway . Freya looked at Isis as if she'd gone off her rockers . Gaia and Sedna didn't know what to think but helped Zero sit up to drink a glass of water .
After taking a sip, Zero took another and another until the glass was empty . He looked better but still felt weak .
"Zero, answer me honestly . Did you eat or absorb the food this afternoon and at the Mega Gourmet competition?"
The boy looked at Isis guiltily . The goddesses pursed their lips in silence .
"Why didn't you eat? Was the food not to your liking?"
Sedna was puzzled and concerned at the same time . Eating was something natural that even gods do it . Why did Zero refuse to eat to such an extent? Anything that has a physical body required sustenance . Although they came in different forms, they still consumed food to replenish their energy, plants included .
Reluctantly, Zero shared with them about his journey before he met Sedna . He'd seen the shellfish get dissolved in the bird's stomach and how Namekuji's secret move killed the bird . He'd seen so many things getting eaten and dying that Zero felt ill . He didn't want anything to end up in his stomach like how he'd ended up in the bird's stomach . It was horrible!
Listening to Zero's explanation, the goddesses understood . Then again, they had a question . Zero absorbed food that gave him energy points . Why wasn't that helping him?
Mii was unable to offer an explanation either . Isis had two theories and only En can help to confirm her hypothesis . One, the physical things Zero absorbed were converted into energy points and stored in the void so it wasn't used for Zero . Two, Zero's physical body is not linked to his absorption powers so it cannot be used . After all, the physical body was something created by Gaia and shaped by Buddha . Zero's soul resided in this physical container but it wasn't tied to it .
Jeremy and Jen came with food . This time, they brought cockatrice soup . It was nutritious and easy to swallow . Even old Grem Lee had come up, worried when he heard something had happened to Zero .
After much coaxing and proving that the cockatrice was really not going to eat his stomach from the inside, Zero took a sip of the soup . The warm liquid spread quickly from his throat to his stomach . The discomfort quickly eased with that single mouthful of soup . Unable to restrain any longer, Zero ate quickly, spilling soup all over but nobody mentioned anything .
All the time while he ate, he cried . Nobody said anything, only helping to pat Zero's back occasionally when he choked on something or passed him water when he needed it .
When Zero felt the discomfort disappear to be replaced by a sloshy feeling in his stomach, he stopped eating . Many thoughts and feeling passed through his mind . He finally understood what was hunger and fear . He also recognised that Sedna and the rest cared and concern about him although they had various reactions . For the first time, Zero felt loved and safe . When he ate, he forgot all about his worries and was grateful .
"Is this what being human is like? It's a wonderful thing to be cared for, loved and wanted," Zero thought . At that very moment, he made his decision . He didn't want anyone to suffer because suffering was an unpleasant experience . When he visited the humans, he wouldn't simply adventure . He would help any human who was suffering just like how the goddesses had helped him .