The father-daughter duo had calmed down in the meantime.

Satoshi still hugged his daughter tightly even though his bones were already wet because of her tears.

"So, father, could you please explain to me why you're leaving?" Hideka asked while looking at the red burning eye sockets of her father.

Satoshi continued to caress his daughter's hair while whispering: "Oh Hideka, my sweet daughter. Your father has sinned, and now he is trying to redeem himself. That is the reason why he will be leaving with them.

One day, Az will explain to you why but that day is not today."

"I don't know what you did, but I hope you'll visit me soon again," Hideka responded to him.

"Hideka, before you go, I want to tell you two things. I, as your father, always loved you, and I was always proud of you. Just go to my laboratory later with your mom if you like to see the proof. In the letter you opened earlier is a ring with which you will be able to find Az later."

A few tears rolled down her face, and she whispered with a smile, "Thank you."

She slowly turned towards a child her age, watching the duo silently. Az could still see her reddened eyes.

"I'm sorry you had to watch the quarrel between me and my father, Az," Hideka muttered with a bright smile.

"It's okay, and I'm sorry for being responsible for such a mess," Az replied while not daring to look into her eyes out of shame.

Hideka, on the other hand, just shook her head and stepped closer to Az. "Az, please look me in the eye when we talk," she remarked while slowly caressing Az's cheeks with one of her fingers.

At that moment, Az had to smile. It had been weeks since the last time he had experienced genuine physical contact with a human being. For Az, these few weeks felt like an eternity by now.

"Secondly, thank you for bringing my father home, even if it is only for a short time. I expect an explanation of what is going on here at our next encounter," Hideka stated.

Az just nodded, and not even a moment later, he felt Hideka's warm breath against his neck. He winced and blushed slightly from the sensation of her breath.

The young female mage, on the other hand, whispered into his ear: "You better visit me again soon, or I'll be looking for you. Don't forget that I now have a ring with whom I can easily find you."

At her words, Az felt a cold shiver down his spine and replied with a smile, "At our next encounter, I will be superior to you when it comes to magic. Trust me."

"I'm not so sure about that, but hopefully, since otherwise, you'll end up under me again," she commented with a chuckle.

If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

Hideka leaned back before showing her silver-green ring to Az. The magic ring was crafted from silver with countless magical diagrams carved into it. These magical runes were interconnected, and if one were to look at them, one would neither find the beginning nor the end of the runes. There was also a sapphire green mana crystal at the top.

'In any case, it suits her,' Az thought.

"Hideka, I want to give you something too," Az told her while slowly taking out his medallion.

The medallion consisted of a green mana crystal encased in bone. If one were to look closer at it, one would see that the bones that encased the green mana crystal seemed to be living. They moved all the time and changed the placements of the bones regularly. But one thing never changed, even though the bones regularly changed their configuration, they continued to form runes.

Every time Az shot a little mana through the medallion, the runes lit up and Az could either summon stored bones out of the medallion or store them.

Another advantage was that Az always helped when using necromancer spells. For example, Az Bone Armor spells could be easily conjured, since the amulet automatically placed each bone used in the spell in the most efficient structure.

Whenever Az used the spell, he only had to provide the mana needed to attach the bones into an armor. The used mana also provided another layer of protection to the user.

Bones are known for shattering into many small sharp pieces that could injure someone. The used mana provides a layer of protection to the person under the armor since it forces the bones to shatter outwards rather than inwards.

Az stepped closer and handed her his medallion while stating: "This may mean little to you, but it is something my ancestors gave me."

"I'm not taking such a precious present like that from you," Hideka replied while shaking her head.

"I'm not gifting it to you. I'm just lending it to you until our next encounter. I will retrieve it than you. But until then, you shall wear it," Az stated while still holding his medallion.

Hideka, however, still did not accept it, and as Az turned around, she stammered: "At least put it on me."

"Gladly," Az said as he hung it around her neck. "It suits you. I hope you learn necromancer magic so it can be useful to you," Az whispered to her ear.

"I will learn it, and I will be superior to you even in it," Hideka sobbed softly.

Az slowly wiped away her tears with his thumb and whispered back to her, "I hope so because otherwise, I'm going to bully you."

"That will never happen, and besides, I don't care. I just want to see you again," she whispered to Az.

"Oh, Satoshi, why are you dragging me and the Author into your family drama," Az muttered before bidding farewell.

"Az, why the hell did you give her your medallion," Ogron whispered in his ear.

"I thought I was relying too much on the amulet's power. This is why I thought it was time to say goodbye to it for a while so I could focus on other magic disciplines," Az replied with a smile.

"You know it was a priceless medallion. You could have given it to me to keep it from you till you're strong enough," Ogron cursed.

"I know, but that's my decision," Az replied while shaking his head.

Ogron only stared holes into Az before stating with a sigh: "That was a pretty unwise choice. But that's fine since the only thing you'll be losing is the small advantage you would have had against other mages that are around your age. You are such a young, naive child."

Az ignored his words and turned his attention to Satoshi. "Satoshi are you sure you still want to come with me, or do you want me to free your soul or leave you here?"

Satoshi, on the other hand, shook his head before kneeling in front of Az. "Yes. I've resolved the situation with my daughter and am now ready to leave with you. I only hope that someday you'll grant me the chance to see her again," Satoshi stated.

"I will fulfill your wish one day. But we should slowly leave this place now," Az stated as he slowly made his way out the door.

However, the next problem awaited Az outside the marble tower. A red-haired woman stood in the air while sitting on a broom. She only looked down on Az, and before Az knew it, Satoshi jumped in front of Az.