As the sun began to set, casting a golden glow over the sky, a giant body tumbled backward onto the Empire’s wall with a loud thud. The giant's body was covered with wounds sustained from the pillar's attack.

The force of the fall broke through the wall, creating a massive hole that allowed the setting sun's light to shine through, giving those who had fought in this treacherous battle a glimmer of hope and a new light.

The warriors who had battled against the onslaught of monsters that infiltrated their home through a crack in space stood solemnly, staring with both unexplainable excitement and fulfillment at the setting sun over the horizon.

They couldn’t help but laugh and smile as they raised their weapons high into the sky and yelled with all their might, signaling to the citizens of Celestia that the crisis had been averted.

Davis stood among the many warriors and magicians, unable to resist joining in the celebration. He hadn't been able to do anything against the crack in space back then, but now he had made a difference.

Amid his celebration, Davis suddenly remembered something important and rushed through the crowd. At the start of the chaos, he left someone behind at the restaurant. He hurried back to it and burst inside with glee.

"K? Where are you?" Davis shouted with joy. When he didn't get a response, he went further inside and found that most of the people who had been there earlier were slowly waking up.

Davis was confused by the sight in front of him. "What happened to them?" he murmured. A voice came from behind, "They're having a slumber party," K said coldly.

Davis turned to see K in his cat form sitting next to him. "K... damn it, don't just pop out of nowhere like that!" Davis exclaimed, jumping backward. Turning to the crowd, he noticed they seemed to shudder at the sight of K.

Davis wanted to inquire what K had done this time, but knowing him, he thought it was to be expected and didn't say anything. "We’ve won, K. We did it!" Davis joyfully said.

K replied almost emotionlessly, "Yeah, you did it..." His voice was a stark contrast to his usual tone; he sounded lifeless.

"Are you al—" Davis tried to ask, but K cut him off.

"I'm tired, Davis. I'm going back inside." Without waiting for a reply, he melted into a shadow and disappeared into Davis's shadow. Davis didn't know what was wrong, but he could tell something wasn’t right.

As the happiness of victory faded, the grim reality set in. Families of survivors sobbed in horror and grief at the ruins of their humble abodes and the loss of their loved ones.

Davis walked across the once lively street, now filled with sadness and sorrow. It reminded him of his past. As he looked left and right, all he could feel was the hollow sense of powerlessness that had plagued him back then.

Once again, despite winning the battle at hand, they had lost the war at large. The people they fought to protect were alive, but they would be forever haunted by grief and the nightmares of their experience.

"This is… it," Davis struggled to find the right words. Meanwhile, K remained silent, watching through Davis's eyes. He didn’t care for them, or at least that was how he would have felt in the past. But now, although faint, he felt a small pang of sympathy for them.

Davis noticed the family he had saved and rushed over to them. As he got closer, he couldn't see the girl he had rescued. "Where… is she? Is she alright?" Davis asked with difficulty, his voice slurred with fear of their answer.

The moment he saw them embracing one another with teary expressions, he understood everything. "When we were hiding, a lizard monster with a large scar on its body found us, and… and…" the father answered, tears running down his cheeks.

Even though they were unrelated, Davis could feel a throbbing pain in his chest. Standing there, unmoving, he clenched his fists tightly and gritted his teeth with a painful expression as he uttered one last word, "I'm sorry for your daughter."

The knights and those on the other side of the Empire, who were only slightly affected or not affected at all by the invasion, unexpectedly banded together to help those who had suffered this catastrophe. They offered everything they could: food, money, materials, and more. Members of the pillars and noblemen also came to offer their assistance, though mostly to garner fame and admiration.

Back at the Academy, Davis walked back to his dorm with stiff, heavy steps. As he entered, he was met with a horrifying sight: claw marks and blood everywhere, and the corpses of both monsters and students alike.

Davis bolted through the hallway, navigating left and right until he finally arrived at his room. The door was burst open, with a blood trail leading from the outside into his room. "SKYE!" Davis yelled as he burst in.

A large animal jumped and tackled him to the ground. Davis almost retaliated, but then he recognized Skye's fur color and stripes. Skye was a Fenrir, and his unique fur was unmistakable.

"Skye?" Davis asked, to which Skye replied with a happy cheer, "Dad." Davis was shocked and shouted in surprise, "You can talk?"

Skye sat on his hind legs like a normal wolf, his tail wagging happily as he replied, "Yes, I can talk with Dad and Uncle now." K appeared in his cat form, adding, "Skye is a mythical beast so that he might grow differently from other creatures!"

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Davis stared at Skye's form. He was now the size of an adult wolf, sitting on his hind legs and wagging his tail. "Wait, who is your uncle?" Davis asked. Skye tilted his head, answering with childish innocence, "Uncle K. Where is Uncle?"

"I'm here, Skye!" K emerged from the shadows in his cat form, sitting between Davis and Skye. Skye jumped for joy, barking, "Uncle!" Before K could reply, Skye pounced on him, playfully hugging and licking his head.

"Wait, why is he your uncle and I’m your father?" Davis pointed at K. Skye turned to Davis and barked, "Uncle told me." Davis turned to K with a 'Seriously?' look on his face, to which K replied, "Good luck!"

"Hey, Skye, go play with your father," K said coldly. Without missing a beat, Skye did as he was told, running toward Davis. Watching them with indifferent eyes, K transformed into a crow and flew off.

As Skye obliviously jumped in front of Davis, trying to coax him into playing, Davis watched K fly away with a sense of perplexity. He didn't know why or what had happened during the past few hours, but he could tell that something was wrong with K.

In a cavernous room, Vincent awaited K's arrival. "Master," he greeted with a bow.

"I have a task for you," K replied coldly.

Vincent was taken aback by K's unusual demeanor. Using his ring, K unloaded a vast amount of treasure he had acquired from the dragon's cave. "Take these and sell every last one of them," he instructed Vincent.

Vincent hesitated before asking, "Master, may I inquire how you acquired such treasure?"

K's response was icy. "Vincent, sometimes ignorance is preferable to seeking answers you don't need." He leaned in closer. "So shut up and do what I tell you to do."

Vincent quickly took a few steps back. "I apologize, Master, for my nosiness."

Hearing his words, K transformed into a crow. "Get it done right and fast," he cawed, then flew off, leaving Vincent alone in the room filled with treasure.

Later that night, as the silence of the night settled over the city, Davis sat atop the Academy roof, overlooking the aftermath of the sudden invasion. The night sky felt peaceful to Davis as he gazed at the glistening stars above.

In his crow form, K flew to Davis and perched next to him before transforming into his human form. "What a nice view," K remarked with a forced smile, and two tankards filled with beer appeared between them. "Care for a drink?"

Reluctant at first, Davis soon gave in, grabbed one of the tankards, and chugged it down almost in one go. "Something on your mind?" K asked, noticing his actions.

Davis looked heartbroken as he stared at the city. "K" He stared, "Why do things like this always happen wherever I go?" He then turned to K, who was sipping his beer while coldly staring at the city ahead. "Am I the problem?" he inquired with a pained voice.

K's eyes shifted to Davis for a moment before returning to the scenery. "What makes you say that?" K replied with a tired voice, he didn’t even bother to try and attempt to make a smart remark or joke around, his response felt hollow.

Davis paused. After a few moments of silence, he answered, "I don't know. Sometimes I feel like no matter what I do, I can never change or help anyone." His voice was filled with doubt and uncertainty.

"I saved a young girl and her family," Davis stated before taking a sip of his beer.

"I know," said K as he casually drank his beer. Davis shook his head and chuckled. "Of course you know," he said, taking a deep breath. "You always know everything."

K didn't say anything; he only let out a low grunt. "The girl didn’t make it," Davis said, his voice heavy with guilt.

K nodded in confirmation. "I saw them when you spoke to them earlier." He sighed before offering Davis some words of comfort. "It’s not your fault. You did your part in protecting them. She died because of another monster."

Davis laughed, using his hand to wipe away a tear. "No, it was my fault. The monster that killed her was one I failed to slay." This revelation caught K off guard.

Davis continued, "The monster was in a group. I tried to use my blade to slash them, thinking I could be like you if I imitated your actions. " He looked down at his trembling hands. "But my cut was too shallow. When I was about to finish them off, an explosion happened nearby, causing them to escape. "

"If only I hadn't let them go… If only I had fought them with my magic, then maybe…" Davis's face slumped into his hands as he tearfully confessed, "Then maybe she would've…"

At first, K didn't say anything. But then, for the first time in their entire partnership, he opened up to Davis. "You can't change what's already happened. The best you can do is learn from it and make sure it never happens again."

Davis softly asked, "But why?" His voice grew serious. "Why do things like this always happen to those who don't deserve it? Why must we suffer like this?"

K shook his head as he gazed upon the stars. "That's the fucked-up thing about life. No matter how much you give, it'll always take, and take, and take... until there's nothing left." K's eyes showed a reminiscent sadness as he remembered the past.

On nights like these, he would sit cross-legged beneath the giant pink tree, his hand stroking his daughter's head as she pointed curiously at the sky, asking various questions about the universe.

K finally responded to Davis's earlier question, revealing an answer he had long pondered. "The crack in space occurs because the crossing of two or more separate dimensional energies creates instability, causing a rift in reality. Typically, the gods of space and time are responsible for maintaining balance."

"But after the war, most of the gods are dead, and the rift will only worsen in the future." K extended his hand, and light formed an illustration of the universe as he explained, "The perpetual rhythm of the universe is held together by the Celestial Tapestry. However, now that the Celestial Tapestry is nearly non-existent, chaos of uncontrollable magnitude is spreading across all planes of existence."

"It's so bad that even I, the demon prince of Chaos and Knowledge, have no idea how to deal with it." K closed his hand, and the light show disappeared, leaving them in the silence of the night.

"In the future, there will be many powerful beings that we'll meet," K said, sipping his drink. "They will soon fight each other in a power struggle, and we'll be active participants in that war, whether we want to be or not." K remembered Beelzebub's words about coming back for his prize.

Davis asked earnestly, "If what just happened will get worse, then so must I. Please teach me, K. I want to become stronger, strong enough to stop it on my own." His determination was evident as he pleaded with K.

K scoffed in response. "Fine, you'll need to grow eventually." He turned away, whispering under his breath, "And so do I."

For the remainder of the night, the two unlikely companions sat in the quiet embrace of darkness, deep in conversation. Their bond had begun out of mutual benefit in the past, but now Davis felt he understood his traveling companion a bit better, and that made him happy.