Two people were sitting in a room. Sarey was checking Allan’s wounds and body if everything was really better, as he says so. She found nothing wrong after a careful check. It would be a lie if she did not find it rather surprising that his body was looking much better than she expected without anything in the way. There were few visible scars, either. They disappeared, apart from ones, which were there for a long time. Those were memories and mistakes since Allan was a younger kid.

“Are you sure you are a normal boy, Allan?” Sarey asked in honesty.

“Yes, but I can’t tell if something happened to me in the time I was out. It feels surreal. This darkness and everything.” Allan said after thinking about his weird experience. He remembered the obscure scene of his ghostly body floating in the dark void beneath himself and the barking sound still lingered in his mind.

That was, of course, not something he would tell her. She would probably think he had a loose screw in his brain. Weird dreams with sudden and heavy injuries were a common thing, but for it to be so realistic, he truly believed he was in a land of death.

After hearing what happened to him and what extent of injuries he survived, Allan felt speechless. He trusted himself on this one. He died and came back. How? He wasn’t sure, and even if he was, seeking an answer to such an occurrence was impossible.

“I still believe there is more to your story. Well, I think it is about a time I will introduce you to someone who could help you. Probably…” Sarey took a brown-covered book after being finished with everything.

“Help? With what?” Allan asked in confusion.

“There are some things we found with your body. Not sure what it could be, but do you recall something? Some treasure perhaps?”

“I wanted to live… I remember having my diary with myself, although very briefly as I fell unconscious amidst tremendous shocks.” He recalled the last shred of attack which strikes his body. It was a duel of Cendirr who wanted to end the life of both of them. Allan’s and a shred of the will of that red orb. Unfortunately, the clueless Allan held no idea or memories about any of it. Even though, it directly affected his body in many things.

“Just a book and your bag?” Sarey wanted to make sure he had really no clue.

“I am sure. Even if there was something else, it is beyond me. No clue, really.”

“Good. Good. I don’t really care either way.” Sarey, having her questions answered, went and grasped a knife and the brown leather book.

“Anyway, excuse me for a moment.” She took his hand and made a slight cut on his palm.

“Ouch, what are you doing?” Allan was surprised by the stinging pain. Although it felt like a bee sting.

“Wait, hold still for a moment.” Sarey did not bother with an explanation. It would be harder to tell everything, so it was faster this way.
Blood slowly dropped down. It formed a small crimson stain on the brown leather cover.

In a matter of minutes, a bright light shot from the book as the vortex appeared above them. A sudden gust of wind surprised Allan. He couldn’t see, but he felt everything much more than before. His senses were very sensitive at the moment. There was something else, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. Feeling of someone or something calling him. It was not a pleasant, nor overly sinister feeling. It was just a hunch of something unfamiliar and strange.

Sarey watched everything calmly as a wooden figurine dropped from the flatter light portal.

“Hello there, 36.”

“What is happening, Sarey? 36?” Allan asked in confusion.

“I see. You have finally awakened. I thought I would die without a speck of a chance. Heheheh.” The voice laughed throughout the room. One which was not very pleasing to the ears. Somewhat lofty and arrogant.

There was suddenly another person here, but Allan was unaware of his appearance, or how he came to be.

“M-mister? Do you know me?” Allan asked, quite unsure.

“No. It just… Our fates are crossed. Not like you are any better than me. Heheheheh” 36 found himself in a rather confused mood once again. Sarey was not really surprised. His mood was like the mood of a teenager. Changing at rapid speeds whenever there was something crazy.

“Let’s get to a point. You wanted to know when he wakes up. What now?” Sarey impatiently asked, as she could not feel more embarrassed after introducing this sort of being to Allan.

36 voice paused for a moment.

“I forgot… Boy, let’s have a game of questions. How about that?” 36 asked.

“A game?” Allan couldn’t help but question if he heard it correctly.

“We don’t have time for this 36. Just ask him. He will answer honestly.”

“What is going on, Sarey? Can you explain it, please? I am confused.” Allan once again asked.

“Boy, there is nothing to be afraid of. Death is probably the worst thing that can happen to you. I will just ask something, so I will at least understand you better. How about it?”

“Ask away, but don’t be so weird about it next time. I am blind.”

“Blind? Like completely?” 36 asked.

“No eyeballs, no sight.” He nonchalantly said.

“Unfortunate, but not surprising. Well, we shall see. I want to have some fun in the last moments of my life at least. I will become your teacher for the rest of your life. Deal with it as you wish.”

“Teacher? I refuse.”

“I didn’t ask you. Do you even have any idea what that book on the table is?”

“What book?” Allan was getting fed up with this. This clueless game was not up to his taste.

“Damn. I forgot. The Diary of the Body! DO you know it?” 36 agitatedly said.

“No idea.”

“We found it beneath your body in the forest.” Sarey added.

“I am sorry to say it, but I can’t say anything of importance to you. It doesn’t ring a bell for me at all. Sounds like a medicinal book or teaching material to me. All I had in my possession are my own book and teaching materials I took with me when I left my home.”

You are half correct, but it doesn’t matter now. Do you have something on your mind? I could care less about your past or the life you had. You are probably some bumpkin from the mortal world who stumbled upon a fortune that one would look for in millions of years. ”

“Well, excuse me for my life. What can I even do for you? Do you want to teach a cripple? Is this some kind of joke?” Allan said with gritted teeth and anger.

“No points in regrets now, boy. Do you want to find a chance to get your life back?”

“Are you aware of my life? You sound like some kind of charlatan.”

“Uhhh. Allan, calm down with this already. He could really help you a lot. He is someone from beyond the stars. There could be a way to solve your eyes.” Sarey said to Allan in hope and worry.

“At what cost? I do not know if something like that even exists. A way to solve this? You know… how to fix something that doesn’t exist.” Allan pointed his fingers at his head, not really being surprised by the possibility of someone beyond the stars. It was barely of some interest to him at the moment.

“Quiet with it now. I will explain to you now a few things. Even if I don’t particularly like this situation. If I want to live, I will do it. I hope for your cooperation, Allan.” 36 said in a serious tone.

“Go on. I can only listen anyway.”

“Alright. What is currently beneath you is a book of tremendous fortune. Although I don’t know the full details. The ones who made this collection are one of the most powerful people in the universe. If you don’t get the scope, I will explain it to you at another time. There is a lot to unpack here. I will just introduce myself.”

“You can call me 36. That's basically it. No need to know anything more. The ones who made this book forced me to be imprisoned inside. I don’t know the full extent of time, but thousands upon thousands of years passed by and possibly even longer before I had time to regain freedom. That is to serve and teach someone using this book.”

“There are a lot of sections and things I know, but the majority is locked behind your progress. I don’t know how, but you became such a person. I can’t care about your unwillingness. This is an opportunity to better yourself. To walk the path of unordinary.”

“Interesting story. What sort of things I can do with myself? If you are so mighty, why you won’t try to fight for your freedom yourself?”

“I cannot do it... Do you think I did not think of something like that? There was nothing! Just death.”

“I can help you, but how to… is a completely different thing.” Allan went along because he could do otherwise absolutely nothing. This did not seem like a prank made up by Sarey. At least he hoped that.

“I can help you. You can help me. That doesn’t sound that bad. As for the restrictions and things I talked about earlier. This is a master and apprentice contract with more power given to the apprentice. You can summon me anytime and ask anytime. There are time limits of a matter of hours every day when you can summon me. There is also a test every year, but it will come to it once we are close to that.”

“As for now, I will teach you the language this book is written in as well as an insight towards it. It will be yours from today.”

“How am I supposed to read?” Allan nonchalantly said.

“Ugh… Uhhh… Sarey, I guess my promise to you will come first. This is a basic knowledge of this language. Try to learn it.”

Pieces of paper appeared from the figurine’s body. It formed regular-looking pieces of paper which were held by strings.

“Alright. I will help as well! Yeay!” Sarey enthusiastically shouted and grabbed the papers.

“Will this disappear once you will go away?”

“I hate you… No, I don’t think so. This is specially crafted with my hands over the last few months.” 36 proudly said.

“Alright then. I have my work done. What do you need Allan for? What sort of things are going on in this diary?” Sarey asked as she glanced left and right at the mysteries of an unknown language.

“It is an accumulation of hundreds of body forging methods. You could call it an energy user’s manual to upgrade their body. It could go into more complicated things, so I won’t bother with them for now.”

“Energy user?” Allan muttered.

“I am not one. What sort of things do you want to teach me?”

“I made some preliminary plans for you, but after seeing you, I will need to change them in some ways.”

“I want you to be completely honest with me, mister 36. I can’t see you after all. ”

“What do you mean?” 36 asked.

“Are you an immortal? Is there some way to solve my eyes?” Allan couldn’t help but ask. Having at least some hope was tremendously beneficial to his mood.

“No. Not at least for the next year. Probably more. If you succeed, of course. You need to work on yourself. Improve yourself.”

“For what, mister? I can’t see a reason why I should worry about your problem. Why should I become powerful because someone wishes it?” Allan said in a serious tone. He was talking from a deep experience of his heart.

The willingness and time he spent working and seeing his father left him in disapproval of being someone beneath the common folks. This could, of course, change throughout time. Allan’s time in an otherworldly sense of conflict left his change to not be his. Being forced to do something, he had no power over it. He dislikes it very much.