“5 meters!? Are you serious?” Sarey shouted in shock at the reveal. It was quite a big number considering the general height of the living creatures. She never heard of a species like that in her world at all. At least from the stories, teachings, and materials, she got to learn about. In fact, the stories of her former master Terg left some bits and pieces of information about the worlds beyond hers. However, they were the kind of information which were unimportant for the young child.

It was only later that Terg managed to tell her some more things he found worth telling her. An example were beasts that led life on the planets outside of this one. Filled with strength and hate towards humans with the ability to use energy in a similar way humans do. It was a summary of the fundamentals, but it still left a small impression on her. Even when she still remembered it, it didn't mean that Terg saw them or anything. Terg's energy and overall appearance were definitely abnormal, and his teachings were interesting.

“I befriend him,” Allan added with a small smile on his face.

“He led me out in the name of some sort of promise to my father. It was around that time when he gave me that cloth that I wanted from you in the past. It was father's so Skoll's relation to him must have been true, but which kind of relation? I don't know. We resumed the run with not many things which Skoll wanted to say to me.”

“It was at that moment when we were attacked by an ambush of some sort of master of energy. Old man with a scar on his face filled with a green cluster of dusty colorful aura around him.”

“Energy master? You met an Immortal?” Sarey exclaimed, while ignoring the fact, that she already knew the truth about that cloth. Although, she didn't want to reveal that, because the story was still continuing.

“Right. It was the first true master of energy I've seen. A lofty Immortal, who played with nature as if it was a toy. It was a strange sense of oppression that filled dozen or even hundreds of meters around him. Absolutely terrified, I grabbed into Skoll's back in the fear of imminent death. Skoll on the other hand felt nothing much as he shooed the old man away, or at least try to. Talk about some deal and other things left their discussion somewhat strange, but I didn't get it that much. Before I even noticed, both of them went into the chasing sequence where the old man wanted to catch Skoll and capture me as well.”

“We kept going around the trees and the sight that I will never forget entered my view. The mountains and boulders of incredible mass began to fall from the skies. Not right into the locations where we were running, but since the attack was so wide, it was a matter of time. It caught us... That old man had a massive bird he used as a mount and looked down on us from high in the sky.”

“Mountains falling from the sky?” Sarey tried to picture it but was unable to even try.

“It was kind of a situation where Skoll decided to discard me. He needed me alive, and the dangers of that Immortal were high. At that time, both our lives were on the line and Immortal held the upper hand. He attacked from the long-range so, with no choice, he let me go. Fighting with me, on his back wasn't a question. Skoll forced me to go into hiding until he will deal with that Immortal himself.” Allan bitterly sighed upon finishing this part of the story.

“It was the last time I actually saw him. The figure of the wolf's tail and his last words were about everything. He wanted me to be safe, and assured me to keep on going until the nighttime.”

“I left myself in the dark cave where I hid until the dawn of the day. My time was interrupted by the man who I previously didn't mention to you before. The Immortal had a servant with a huge scar across half of his face. He found me for some reason in the cave as I was asleep.”

“What is about the scars on people's faces? Did they think they could intimidate their foes or what?” Sarey tried to underappreciate their appearance and ease the mood.

“I don't know. I never asked them.” Allan nonchalantly answered and continued with his story without provoking her idea. He previously wanted to end the story with Skoll leaving him to protect him, but he decided to keep going and explain himself until the end.

Since he started already, he shall finish with everything.

“That man was a complete lunatic and psychopath. He kept taking me for some sort of prey that he wanted to hunt. Throwing me out of the cave with broken bones and bleedings all over my body. He punched and played with me as he wished.”

“He constantly made fun of the way I tried to live. Tossing pebbles at me with unnatural speed, he broke my limbs until I had no strength left to stand or crawl into safety. I kept trying for some reason or another, but it was a futile attempt on my part. There was no hope to find an opportunity in such a hopeless situation when the foe had me on the tip of their fingertips.” Allan for the first time said the big insecurity and fear of his life. That moment left him in a complete state of fear and helplessness that was still eating him from the inside out.

Sarey fell completely silent, but this time, for different reasons. Small tears involuntarily appeared from the corners of her eyes. She found this to be sad and terrifying at the same time. The past was one thing, but she knew the Allan of the present more than enough. He kept going even through that experience and was even able to smile and joke around. This somewhat changes her already kind view of Allan in a new light.

Around the corner of the room, there was a sudden listener. A person who was crafty, silent, and hidden. It was Zigmund who held his hands crossed around his chest. Listening, frowning, but otherwise spying with a numb and indifferent face, he heard the majority of the story. He was there since the beginning when he wanted to make breakfast.

To his disappointment, he discovered a meaningful discussion instead. That was surprising since he wanted to leave, but with some hesitation, and after hearing their conversation, he remained. He had no need to hear Allan's story, but he did so, while not expecting it between his daughter and Allan. He would remain here until their exchange ended, while his stern face remained the same.

Unnoticed by another pair of ears, Allan continued.

“There was nothing much afterward. The sigh which I have no personal clue about interrupted this fate of mine. A sea of crimson enveloped my vision and that man in a moment. Afterward, I felt a searing pain from a sudden impact, and then I fell unconscious. I was already half dead for sure, but I don't know what that was.”

“Crimson color? Did he kill you?” Sarey asked with a debatable kind of question.

“Kill?” Allan didn't know how to respond to that and scratched his head in thought. Pausing, his feelings were kind of hard to describe at the moment, as he was sure he indeed died.

Yet, talking about it was one of the strangest things he met. He didn't want to describe the scene of The Underworld, of sure, and the barking dog was out of the question too. The things his mind went through afterward would be his own secret. Never mind the barking, just the sight of his real body in The Underworld was crazy for him to think about. The lights, pain, fog, or whatever else was there. He couldn't even understand it.

Something strange stopped his consciousness from falling off the rail. Dark was the next course of his life, and he still sees it, even now. He woke up in this house, after what seemed like years. The Voice of a girl as well as some noise and pain on his cheeks awakened him from his slumber.

That was about everything he was aware of while talking about everything wasn't a good idea. Allan refrained from telling her about some things, but overall, he told her quite a bit. The sheer believability of these statements left him without a choice but to stop right here. Death was also a range of possibilities, but what would he consider with that in mind? He still had his memories, his life, and he felt alive once more. He couldn't just reincarnate? That would be... unbelievable. He didn't believe in life after death, so the most likely reason was still somewhere. Out there, out of his vision, and knowledge.

Before he became aware of his finishing, he had no answers to the question Sarey asked. Her hands, body, as well as something soft, were tightly hugging him at the side. He could tell that Sarey's unexpected embrace wasn't expected, but a welcome one.

Yet no tears were within his eyes or any kind of bitterness. He talked about it with a surprising amount of indifference. As if he talked about some form of fiction that he read. However, it was his life, and a bitter part of the past he had no idea what entailed. The silence remained, while Sarey could tell the story was over and she couldn't do anything about it.

“Thank you for telling me your story.” She whispered in his ear. Still hugging him, she felt right to do so for a long time.

“I feel a little bit better telling you this... Thank you for listening.” Allan muttered as well.

At the end of their long exchange of words, Zigmund around the corner was somewhat shocked but didn't show it. The words Allan described, and his overall story were indeed incredible. He could tell from his experience that this boy hadn't exaggerated or lied about anything. Call it expertise or a hunch of a spy, liar, and older man who had plenty of experience in life.

Although, this changed pretty much nothing for him. His view of Allan was a little bit broader with this amount of information, but that was about it. Unfolding his arms, he walked into the kitchen, where Sarey still hugged Allan, who didn't know what to do.

It was only unfortunate that Zigmund came at this moment. He felt no surprise as he discovered his daughter embracing Allan. He couldn't tell the last time his daughter even hugged him, but Zigmund considered it normal for a teenage daughter.

“Ehm. Ehm.” Zigmund let his throat speak volumes of his presence.

“Oh. Father!” Sarey finally let go of Allan. A bit surprised by the appearance of her father, she almost pushed Allan away, but no amount of her force could do that. This little exchange of the stories felt brief to her. Even though the time they spent talking to each other was rather long. It was no surprise that Zigmund wanted to eat, so she acted as if nothing happened. However, she secretly pulled the sleeve of her shirt across her face to wipe the tears away.

“Can I eat, or does something else matters?” Zigmund asked out loud while observing his daughter.

“Nothing. Nothing. We simply discussed something. We already ate our fill so you can have breakfast on your own.” Sarey muttered in quick words while cleaning the table, she had yet to clean up.

“We will go out now if it's fine, mister Zigmund,” Allan added while being not that surprised by his sudden appearance. He could tell he began a bit harder to hear for quite some time already. As if his steps weren't there, and not even his body or clothes let any sounds.

“Do whatever you want.” He said as he began to prepare his own food. Not paying much attention to the pair, he walked to the other part of the kitchen.

Allan got up from the chair and gripped his staff that lay aside. Feeling the weight and burden on his heart lighten up, he figured this wasn't as bad as he thought. Talking, that is.

Walking out into the backyard, he didn't wait for Sarey to finish the cleanup. The fresh breeze of the summer wind refreshed his nostrils and his stiff face after talking for so long.

There was no time for sighing, as another day was before him.

Quite a few days already passed from the beginning of the 2nd training, which 36 prepared. He planned to finish it as fast as he could, but at the same time take care of his body a little better. He wasn't keen on overextending his limits. The muscles in his body were his precious reward. It was good to prevent any tiredness and soreness. That was at least his own observation, while 36 talked nothing of it.

In truth, he never felt much discomfort apart from the overextended training he did. Although, it was more of his own problem that led him to bitter thoughts because of his blindness. It was the same with the climb or the water bending.

As for the rock smashing, it was the toughest to do. The rock that he had to crack and damage left very little to Allan's imagination. It was as if he was striking the mountain, but it was no mountain. It was just a boulder of around three-quarters of his height, but he couldn't guess the weight. By this point, the most rocks were decided either by Sarey or 36 who looked at the training from time to time.

Bathing in the light, Allan walked into the tree which had flickering leaves which led him there. Grabbing the familiar pole, which stayed 3 meters up in the air, he started the pull-up to ease his mind. It was about time to get his body into the heated moment of training. He was doing this for himself, and no one else. Even though he didn't have to, some stretching was better before the real training. After all, his body was back to its full power from acupoint treatment and good sleep.

As for this training, it was negligent. His back muscles, triceps, biceps, shoulders, and to some extent, his clenching legs went into a singular motion of stiffness. He was moving up and down the three with his own body weight. Each upper body part was doing its part, while his back was straight and quite tight with muscles. So far, his climb and water bending were cause for half of his well-developed muscles.

30th. 46th. 64th. 84th. 138th. 150th pull-up was the ending result where he stopped and let go of the pole.

He then stretched his shoulders and hips before the few rounds of push-ups and squads to squeeze more out of his time.

Sarey was changing her clothes for their journey to the valley, while the walk to the city would come later. In a bit, the door to the backyard opened and Sarey, with the uniform-like robe, entered the backyard.

Smile and expectation were on her face as usual when it came to Allan's training, but Allan's story was still in her mind.

It was now her time to lead Allan to the chaotic paths and the wilderness that led into the open valley. It would lead them right below the huge crevice with only half a mountain left.

“What it will be today?” Sarey asked as she released her hand in the middle of this valley, which was usually their spot.

“It is either training or training. 36's summing isn't up for today, or do you want to do him too? I don't mind if can do both at the same time as well. 36 said a few times he wanted to be present when I am training, but he never said when and why.” Allan talked as if the matter of fact didn't bother him in any way.

“Should I even decide that?” Sarey asked while forgetting it wasn't 36's summoning day.

“Do you want to cut my finger? I surely won't do it myself.” Allan smirked at her.

“Fine. 36 it is, and you can do your rock smashing.”

Pulling a knife from her pocket, and a brown leather-covered diary to the ground, she sliced a slight cut to Allan's finger. A small wound dropped about a dozen drops of his blood onto the ground where was the Diary of the Body.

Once again, there was no healing factor of the soul-fire in his wound, while Sarey was looking out for it every damn time. She was constantly in an outlook for some hints which could reveal something about its appearance.