There was a stable hidden and build behind the house. There were bushes and thick trees in a line around them and bigger trees which shrouded everything in the close proximity of the forest. They provided with a natural wall and looked quite nice. Inside, Zigmund was preparing a horse. On its back were small boxes and closed bags. It didn’t strain the horse as he would run, and there was still room for a single rider.

Outside, Sarey opened the door which led to this area. Dressed in similar clothes as she hunted. With a hood and leather jacket.

“Eh? Just one horse? Don’t tell me you won’t go to your own company?” She harshly said to her father. The horse was now standing within a hall which led outside with Zigmund, who was further securing the goods.

“What do you mean? This is just for you. I think you will appreciate today’s day.”

“Hmph!” She stomped to the ground in frustration.

“What did you prepare this time?” She asked.

“You will see. Ask Pedro when you go to the restaurant. There will be some special guests coming today and I don’t want to trouble myself with them.”

“Again? You are quite good at dealing with such people.”

“You as well.” Zigmund said calmly.

“Hmmm... I guess that is one of the qualities I got from being your daughter.” Sarey sighed to herself and came to a horse. Earlier, she checked on Allan, and there didn’t seem to be an issue, but she still felt uneasy.

“Are you staying home, father?”

“For a bit. Why?”

“If so, can you just check that boy at least a few times? It won’t kill you, won’t it?”

“Sure. Also, get some leftovers home. There should be plenty after today.” He answered in expectation.

Anyone would guess that this business should be highly profitable, but that wasn’t always the case. The restaurant industry was rather complex but very easy to get into. Food was consumed by every human in nations and kingdoms. Zigmund’s shop wasn’t doing that well since he got it from his heritage. Not like the previous owners did the best, either.

He invested some of his own money into it since he could find some weird sense of satisfaction with these ordinary and everyday things. His military buddies would not recognize him as an owner of a restaurant, but what was in the past did not matter too much in the present and Zigmund was aware of it.

Sarey, after checking that everything was secured and ready, patted her horse and rode towards the near city. Both she and Zigmund usually walked towards the town. For his business, he mostly used a carriage or a single horse.

Seeing that her father was fine with such a simple task, she felt better, since her sleep was not that good last night. She dreamed about leaving this place and venturing into the broader world. Beyond the stars themselves, such things have to wait, in the dreams of a hopeful future.

Zigmund was watching as his daughter left with no problems. He thought she would protest a bit more. Maybe his words about the doctor who would come if she worked for it helped.

“Hmmm. If there is a reward, people try to work harder towards it. I learned at least that much in the military. Hehhehehe.” He laughed madly as he was left alone.

Truthfully, he wanted to deal with today’s guests, but at the end of the day, they did not matter. He already had something important to do. A three-headed lion symbol emerged from his pocket. He was tossing it into the air as he walked back to his home.

He sat in front of Allan with crossed arms. Looking at him, he had a lot of wandering questions, but they were mostly about the things he discovered around his body that morning. He did not care about him, per se, but he did not want to betray his daughter’s feelings and only could just accept her stubborn nature and deal with it.

“Maybe she just did it in a fleeting moment, or perhaps it was a string of fate? For you boy to strike my daughter like that. I wonder if you are lucky or unlucky. Heheheh.” He talked out loud to silent Allan. Laughing at his life and perhaps even his own.

“Good luck, lad. If you survive with minor damages, I may as well help you.” Zigmund added and left the room.

He headed outside.

In the surrounding forest, birds were once again chirping loudly. Life was audible, and it made Zigmund glad that nature would always prevail. He wondered about the ghostly images at that time and even the weird situation of that deer. It was as if the world turned into a ghost town of The Underworld, but he never heard anything like that, nor seen something like that himself.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

As for his daughter and the cause of her trauma when she watched the same scene as him. He never wanted to admit her weird talents, but he was aware that she was, in some sense, special. No energy was the cause, though. That was the first thing he came up with. At that time, his wife was not surprised or worried about her daughter. She was, after all, just 7 years old when certain strange things happened to her. Headache and weird visions hunted her until they stopped one day, with their occasional return in the future.

The thing he was worried about was his wife, Lorean. She left him and her daughter amidst some work to do. She left when Sarey was 7 years old. Her visions meant little. He came up with some spiritual nonsense that calmed himself, as Sarey coped with it in her way. Most of the time, it was not that bad, apart from the sights that morning. He never saw her that frightened. But she was a very brave girl, and he was aware of it as well. She was his daughter, and nothing would change that.

Zigmund on the other hand couldn’t help but feel sad. His wife had left him ever since then. She did not make another contact, either. He was angry at himself and wanted answers if he did something to her. Anything that would calm his heart with any ability to change the past. He simply did not know if he did something wrong, or if Lorean wanted to leave him from the beginning when they found each other.

Years went on, and his care went to Sarey, although it was a sort of tough love. Sarey, as she grew up, did not help much with that either.

Stubborn from her mother and father.

After some time of walking and reminiscing about the past, which ate his mind constantly, he finally reached his destination. This part of the forest had a lack of trees. There was also a small green hill in the middle. This was Allan’s place of landing.

Zigmund took a shovel, which he hid under some bushes, and began to dig by a side of the hill. A small chest slowly appeared from the soil. “Phew. There it is.” He sighed in relief. It is not like anyone would put their fingers on this side of the forest. It was under his jurisdiction and papers. He owned the land.

He sat on it in satisfaction and took the three lion-headed emblems and chanted an incantation. “I call you! You fucker!” He couldn’t help but chuckle. He found the reason hilarious.

Each eye woke up, light shot from them into the skies. It was only the third time he activated this thing with yesterday's failure. It was one of his tightest-kept secrets. This item would be incredibly rare to see for any mortal being and even some parts of weak immortals.

This was an item forged, made, and used by immortals. Beings who walked paths beyond mortal means. Users of energy were called like that in most stories, although their power level vastly differed from person to person.

Zigmund watched in anticipation as the beams of light disappeared. In a moment, the emblem was the same as before. He went with this yesterday as well, but nothing happened afterward.

“I hope this will work this time.”

He waited for a few minutes in this serene moment in his life. Light flashed in one of the lion’s heads. Its face was weirdly distorted and its mouth smiled with joy.

“How many years it has been? You madman! You are still alive? What a tough bastard. Yeheheheh.” Head talked in a wild manner. Like a man with a penetrating voice. It echoed in his ears and the surrounding forest.

Zigmund was happy that his attempt was successful.

“Good. Good. It has been a while, Elder Brother. I have been quite well since the last time.” He said with a smile on his face.

“Man, I wish I could visit... it is insane out here. You would be dead in a heartbeat.” Voice jokingly said.

“Why did you call right now? It is not a good time for it, but I can’t blame you. This emblem has a purpose, after all.”

“I discovered something I would like to share with you. It is more of a request and I will spare some talk with information, as I don’t want to trouble you too much.”

“Ask away.”

“In some unexpected way, I obtained certain materials, or it looks like that. Can I send you a few pieces to identify them for me?

“Huh? Is it a joke? Are you aware of who you talk to? Oh. wait... you don’t since the last talk. Fine. Fine. But are you certain these materials are something that needs my attention? I can’t imagine anything that could be interesting in your homeland.”

“I am pretty sure it is.” Zigmund confidently said.

“Situation over here is getting rather tense. I will see if I can help you.”

“Tense? The talks about wars are constantly happening, even here.”

“You know… I can’t tell you much.”

“I understand. I have some samples of the materials. How to go about it?” Zigmund decided to forget the other matters and not bother this Elder Brother of his. He didn’t want to bother him too much, since the things he got involved with are anything that Zigmund wants to get involved with.

“I will send a message hawk. Sometime tomorrow you can expect it. Also, have my emblem with you for the time being. I will notify you as your request is done.”

“Alright. I must thank you.”

“Don’t sweat it too much. It is now only me and you who are left. You got pretty lucky in your misfortune, so don’t be sad too much. Hehhehhe.” The voice laughed.

“Heh. You bet I won’t. I have a daughter now which I need to care about, but that is not a thing which could concern you.” Zigmund told in satisfaction.

“What? You did? Congratulation. Maybe I will send you a gift for her. How long it has been?

“Already 15 years. She grew a lot in the last years.”

“I bet you have not had it easy. I never thought you would be the one to start a family. What a world we live in.”

“That is true, brother. I hope your life is going smoothly over there. I will surely treasure this life of mine here, right now.”

“ We have to, and we will. That must be our fate. I will have to cease this call, for now. I will need to go. Good luck out there, brother. This little exchange will happen in a couple of upcoming days, so look out for it.”

“Thank you for your help. Goodbye.”

The three-headed lion’s face became normal once again. Zigmund looked at it with a smile on his face. It has been ages since the last time he talked to his Elder Brother. It was long before he even met his wife.

Although it was not his blood relative, they became close as one. He was one of Zigmund’s buddies when he was in the military, who had his spark awoken. Most of his experiences went to Zigmund as well, but he was later sent somewhere else. The time, when one awakens the spark in the military, is by no means good news, and even Zigmund was not aware of everything that went behind the scenes, but his Elder Brother was still alive and well, and that's all that matters.