In the dim room...

"Miaow!" (Please tell me, Master!)

"The recipe? No way, that's a family secret!"

After the Dawnbringer girl had left, Damon hadn't lost any time. At the moment, he was hands deep in bloody rat meat, grinding it all to a pulp and making... sausages?!

"Miaow!" (That's not it, Master! I'm talking about that Heart thingy from before. What is it?!)

"Oh? That? Just a Magical Beast Awakening Catalyst."

"....?!?

A-Awakening... for Beasts?! Even as a cat, it knew how invaluable this was! Even as it shook, it tried to play it cool.

"Miaow!" (Is that so? I see! Anyway, Master, how can I help with the cooking?)

"You take care of the oven; I'll do everything else. Make it tender!"

In the now not-so-dim room, an inferno burned. The two quickly settled into a rhythm that would have put sweatshops to shame. Damon wanted it ready before the Amber Academy's recruitment the day after.

Then, just like that, the two kept working. They worked as the day passed, and the room temperature became spicy. They kept working as his Dungeon Companion APP finally unlocked. They even worked as people started banging on their door...

"Whoever lives there, get out now!"

"Yeah, yeah, are you trying to commit Arson?!"

"Come on out already, or we'll report you to the building manager!"

Damon sighed, finally taking a break for the first time.... not because of the disturbance, but because he had actually run out of materials! Somehow, this was already the last batch of rat meat. Stretching, he lazily made his way toward the front door.

On the other side was a flock of aunties. As soon as he appeared, they glared daggers at him.

"Young man, what are you doing in there?! Also, what's with that burnt smell? From now on, we'll oversee this building. No more rats on our watch!"

They even had hand-made knitted armbands that read: "Building Committee!" Was this the equivalent of a neighborhood watch? Seeing this, Damon couldn't help but feel it surreal. Not long ago, he was in a world where humanity was mere prey. And now...

"Young man, you must let us inspect your apartment!"

"Yeah, yeah, and if it's not to our standards, we'll get you kicked out!"

"Hehe, think we can't? Don't dismiss us so fast. We actually know a Tamer, see!"

By now, a Karen had taken her cellphone and was proudly displaying... a selfie?! Damon could see a certain Sylvia Dawnbringer on the screen, her entire face red from embarrassment. She looked kinda cute and so goddamn naive.

"Hey, are you listening to me, young man?!"

"Not one bit!"

Damon casually replied but turned pensive; they looked so sure of themselves! People now felt safe in their "impregnable" cities, but how would they act if they knew it'd soon end?

He still remembered the day Amber City had fallen in the original timeline. He remembered it vividly; it was the day he had initially Awakened.

Blue Zone? What Blue Zone? It had quickly become unlivable, all civilians dying. He himself had barely ascended just in time to preserve his life— only to be reduced to a slave by those goddamn lettuce eaters!

This sure brought back bad memories...

"Hey, unfilial bastard, has no one taught you to respect your elders?!"

The aunties were now red in the face, their fists raised in anger. A little more, and they'd assault him! But just as things were getting heated, a certain cat came out to defend its master.

"Miaow!" (You all, wash your blind eyes! My master's AMAZING!)

Seeing the fluffy and cute cat appear, the middle-aged women almost forgot their grievances— Only to raise some more!

"Poor cat! Is that dried blood?! What about its paws? They're all burnt up! Oh my god, this youngster's a monster! Don't worry, kitty; we'll rescue you from the bad man."

Rescue? Rescue your ass! With Damon, it would be as strong as a Magical Beast! Why the hell would it want to go with those old ladies instead? It wasn't dumb!

That's when Damon made a move. Chuckling, he slowly grabbed his cell phone, showing it to the old ladies. As soon as they saw his screen, they freaked out.

Pictures with a Tamer? Damon had those, too! But instead of a casual one, it was Sylvia literally kneeling before him. This instantly made it clear what kind of power dynamic they had between them!

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"See? I've got pictures too. In this one, she's begging me to teach her..."

"?!?"

"?!?"

"?!?"

The auties suddenly felt like crap. T-Teach?! Wouldn't this mean that this guy was an even stronger Tamer?! That's when their eyes finally landed on the cat. It looked so unassuming, yet those patterns probably meant something, right?!

"Sir, I'm so sorry! I was just trying to—"

"Leave it. I've already heard that tune earlier today..."

As soon as he rejected their apologies, their faces drained from blood. If he wanted, he could easily get them evicted simply by snapping his fingers. After all, having a Tamer in a building vastly increased its safety.

That's when Damon pointed at their knitted armbands...

"I have a task for you. Knit me a banner for tomorrow, and I'll forgive you this once..." He then quickly explained his requirements, the aunties' eyes widening in disbelief. A day for all that work was impossible! But then he kept going:

"Or, I'll get you kicked out. Ah, and I don't mean the building, but Amber City. Well then, have a great evening, you all!"

He closed the door on the dearly regretting auties. What kind of Devil had they antagonized? Kicking them out of the City? Could he? He sounded like he could... and that'd be a death sentence!

Back in the apartment, his pet questioned...

"Miaow!" (Master, won't they die of exhaustion?)

"Naw, they'll be fine; I'm sure they have friends. Besides, it's a small price to pay for their arrogance..."

So what if they were old? The whole point of aging was to gain wisdom to share with the new generations. Damon respected old people, but he couldn't give a flying fuck about pointlessly arrogant ones— especially since he was older than all of them combined!

"Miaow!" (What now, Master? Rest a bit and head to a Dungeon?)

"That was the plan, but that Corrupted Heart changes everything. We'll focus all our efforts on it. The next step will be to get Alchemical Materials to extract the power contained within. Anyway, I'll nap for a bit, wake me up when darkness descends."

As shameful as it was, his current body actually really needed the sleep. Barely after a minute of lying down, he was already snoring: no pillow, no blanket, and on the cold hard floor too...

"Miaow." (Rest well, Master. I'll watch over you...)

It would watch him out of duty, loyalty, and, most importantly, gratitude. Damon could have picked any creature as his first pet, and yet he had chosen a small puny little cat. It had definitely used all its luck just to meet him!

Now, it found himself observing him, trying to guess his secrets. Where had he come from? What had that portal been? But just as it was wondering, a murmur echoed in the room:

"ZZzzzz. ZZzzzz.~ You're here…"

The cat raised its head warily, only to freeze. Its master was mumbling in his sleep. But what dumbfounded it was his face. It appeared so… gentle?! Blood-soaked devil? Scheming mastermind? There was none of that, only gentleness.

What could he be seeing in his dreams to show such a face?!

It would have given everything to know...

.

.

.

"You're here…"

Damon sensed her before she appeared, and all the pain went away as he did.

The Miasma Eroding his soul? The soul-crushing suffering? The knowledge that it would never end. The darkness, the depression, the loneliness— it all melted away as he greeted her.

"You're finally back. Ah, let me do this properly: Hey there, gorgeous; fancy meeting you here. Wanna grab a bite? Just look at the weather- perfect for a date!"

Damon could feel her soul happily tremble from his playful proposition. This was their usual routine, so he kept going.

"Where should we go today? How about a fancy café? Then we could swing by the park and catch some pigeons. We could even camp there, cuddling and stargazing until the world ends or the day comes, whichever happens first. What do you say, are you in?"

She would love it. Love it so much, in fact, but that wasn't too practical.

For now, just being together was more than enough.

As long as she could hear more of his voice...

"Shall I tell you a story then? How about one about the mighty Roman Empire?"

He could instantly sense her piqued interest as she listened attentively. She always loved it when he told her about stories of the past, a past so long gone that he wouldn't have known it existed had he not actively studied the "Archives of the old Internet".

"Once upon a time, in a far, far away land..."

He felt warm as he started narrating. In fact, he would have been satisfied spending eternity like this, the actual stories mattering little. Every topic was good as long as it made them escape their reality of being devoured endlessly. Yes, devoured.

This place was the ABYSS.

An endless void filled to the brim with Miasma and Demons.

Finally back? —> Time didn't exist here.

Fancy Meeting? —> Everyone else had perished.

Gorgeous? —> Demons had long devoured her actual body.

They'd mention none of it, which made his usual greeting that much better. He'd tell her stories just like this one about a boy named "Gaius Octavius, " the OG protagonist destined for infinite greatness. But he had barely started when they were rudely interrupted.

— CRACKLE! CRACKLE! —

A crackling portal of darkness spawned. It was always a portal in this god-forsaken place...

As it opened, corrupted Mana poured out like crazy. It was so vile that it would make one's very being churn with disgust and despair. Yet, the two lovebirds didn't even flinch, basking in it like the coolest breeze. It was vile, but not as much as their current surroundings!

"See? What did I tell you? Perfect weather for a date!" Damon grinned.

That's when a man was thrown out of the portal or what little remained of him. The smell of blood, the stench of fear, and the anxiousness of a soul about to disappear. "Mhhhhh!" A wordless scream escaped it. That scream was a mistake.

— SHRIEK! SHRIEK! SHRIEK! —

That's when they came, beaconed by the suffering. Formless Demons, the Devourers.

Thousands of them swarmed like locusts, their darkness somehow casting a shadow on this world, even if it was already devoid of light. As far as Damon was concerned, this was a small pack, but it was enough to devour the universe!

— MUNCH! MUNCH! MUNCH! —

Then happened a nightmarish devouring scene. Anyone else would have been too petrified to talk, but Damon instead sighed as he flipped his middle finger to the creatures.

"Goddamn eldritch space bugs! Can't you see you're ruining the moment?"

That’s when they turned their hunger toward him…

They teleported straight to their favorite snack, him, plunging their hooks, fangs, and tentacles into his body. They who had evolved from the Nightmare were truly revolting. It was like being pricked by millions of acid-filled syringes…

But Damon didn’t even have time to flinch. They were done with the first guy and had also turned their gaze her way. That wouldn’t do. She wasn’t like him. She wasn’t Immortal. She was also the only reason he hadn’t yet given up.

“You want to eat? Come, you bastards! Dinner’s fucking served!” He taunted them his own way as the power he had cursed countless times before activated.

[Curse of Damnation Triggered! YOU CANNOT DIE!]

His soul and body began recovering faster than a Deadpoolish-Wolverine juiced with a Legend-Grade Blessing— only to be instantly gobbled up like sushi at an all-you-can-eat. After all, those things were nothing like mere Specters. They were—

Specters. Right, Specters. Specters on a train. Specters in another world, and a cat. Damon sighed as he surveyed the Demonic Realm, seemingly forgetting about being eaten alive, his eyes lovingly lingering on her. He would definitely save her this time!

“I’m dreaming, aren’t I.” He already knew the answer.

With a wave, he shattered the Dream.

Just in time, Dusk had come...