Kaelan opened the door to his apartment with a tired sigh.

  “I’m dead…”

  The moment he stepped inside, something small brushed against his ankles.

  “Hey… little kitty…”

  The white cat had spent the whole day hiding under the bed, curled up like a snowflake.

  At the sound of his voice, she ran toward him with a soft meow.

  Kaelan smiled for the first time in hours.

  “At least you’re not yelling ‘Excalibur’ every two minutes…”

  He picked her up, stroking her back. The cat purred, rubbing her face against his chest.

  THM.

  The Resonance pulsed slowly.

  Not as a warning.

  As calm.

  “…Weird, right?” he whispered. “That something in this world can actually give me peace.”

  And then—

  A creak at the window.

  Kaelan turned sharply.

  The curtain shifted. A small white shadow dropped from the windowsill… landing lightly on the floor.

  “…Koneko?”

  The small devil stood up with the same composure someone would use to rise from a couch.

  “I came in,” she said.

  Kaelan froze.

  “W-what do you mean you came in?! Through the window?”

  Koneko looked at him like the answer was obvious.

  “The door was closed.”

  “That doesn’t justify—”

  “You looked strange today,” she interrupted. “I came to check if you were okay.”

  Kaelan blinked.

  Once. Twice. Three times.

  The white cat slipped from his arms and walked straight toward Koneko, sniffing her.

  Koneko looked down, surprised for the first time all day.

  “A cat,” she said, kneeling to look closer.

  The cat sniffed her… and purred.

  “She likes you,” Kaelan murmured.

  Koneko gently touched the small animal’s head.

  “…She looks like me,” she whispered.

  Kaelan laughed.

  “I was just thinking the same thing.”

  A warm silence settled between them.

  Warm—and confusing.

  Kaelan realized then:

  When… when did we get this close? Koneko climbing through my window… worrying… with that serious face and everything… When did that happen?

  She stood and looked directly at him.

  “Don’t die,” she said—for the fourth time in two days.

  A strange warmth spread through his chest.

  For a second, that simple command felt more real than any “canon,” prophecy, or story arc.

  But the Resonance didn’t get to enjoy it.

  Because suddenly—

  THM.

  A sharp pulse.

  Not gentle. Not restless.

  Alarming.

  Kaelan staggered, bracing a hand against the wall.

  “What…?”

  Koneko grabbed his arm, steady as stone.

  “What do you feel?”

  Kaelan swallowed.

  “Kiba…”

  Koneko frowned.

  “What about him?”

  The white cat’s fur bristled at the same time.

  Kaelan felt it clearly.

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  It wasn’t the pain from the bridge.

  It wasn’t trauma.

  It was… movement.

  Intention.

  Contained rage… breaking loose.

  Kaelan stepped to the window. The city was dark. Quiet.

  But below, near the park… something moved fast.

  A shadow. A figure.

  Kiba.

  Running.

  Not toward the school. Not toward home.

  Toward the city. Toward the streets where exorcists, angels… and fragments of Excalibur lingered.

  A chill ran down Kaelan’s spine.

  “Koneko…” he whispered. “He’s going to attack.”

  Koneko’s eyes widened—alarmed for the first time.

  “But in the canon—” she started to say it shouldn’t happen yet, then stopped.

  In memory, Kiba broke later. After more sparks, more arguments, more time.

  This Kiba was breaking the clock.

  Koneko couldn’t understand that concept.

  Kaelan could.

  And what he was seeing wasn’t the Kiba he remembered from the story.

  This Kiba was shattering earlier.

  Faster.

  Deeper.

  “No…” Kaelan muttered. “Kiba wasn’t supposed to move today. Not today. Not yet.”

  Koneko gripped his arm.

  “Do you know where he’s going?”

  Kaelan clenched his teeth.

  The Resonance vibrated like a broken compass.

  “Yes,” he said. “To the place that hurt him most.”

  Koneko stiffened.

  “We have to go. Now.”

  She blinked, surprised.

  “Shouldn’t we inform Rias… or Sona…?”

  “There’s no time,” Kaelan said, serious. “If Kiba finds the sword girls without thinking…”

  He didn’t finish the sentence.

  He didn’t have to.

  Koneko studied him—this was the first time she had seen him this resolute.

  “…All right. Let’s go.”

  Kaelan glanced at the white cat, who watched from the couch as if she understood the weight of the moment.

  He inhaled.

  Earlier that afternoon, in the courtyard, he had seen Kiba walk away. He had felt the pull—and chosen to stay where he was, beside Tatsu and Hiroshi, pretending it wasn’t his problem.

  That choice lasted exactly until now.

  Koneko jumped out the window without hesitation.

  Kaelan followed, clumsily climbing down the building’s ledges—but with urgency.

  The Resonance pulsed.

  THM. THM. THM.

  And as they ran into the darkness, Kaelan murmured:

  “Kiba… what are you going to do this time?”

  They moved across rooftops like two streaks cutting through the night.

  They didn’t speak.

  They didn’t need to.

  Wind hit their faces as Kuoh passed beneath them like a dark, indifferent map. Kaelan felt the pulse in his chest—not as alarm, but as physical urgency. Like knowing you’re late for something irreversible.

  Koneko stopped abruptly.

  Not slowed.

  Stopped.

  Her entire body tensed, as if invisible ears had lifted at once.

  “There,” she whispered.

  She pointed toward a narrow alley between two abandoned buildings. Bad light. Damp walls. Thick silence.

  Kaelan felt it hit his chest.

  Not the Resonance.

  Instinct.

  They leapt down and landed at the edge of the alley.

  And saw him.

  Kiba leaned against the wall like gravity was the only thing keeping him upright.

  He was breathing badly.

  Shallow.

  Like a wounded animal unsure whether to flee or attack.

  Hair plastered to his forehead.

  Hands trembling.

  His aura… in shreds. Like it had tried to reassemble itself too many times and had forgotten how.

  “Kiba!” Kaelan shouted, dropping down.

  Kiba’s head snapped up.

  His eyes weren’t focused.

  Glassy. Broken. Too wide.

  “What… what are you doing here…?” he murmured, desperation overriding anger. “Go away!”

  Kaelan swallowed.

  That go away wasn’t a plea.

  It was an order.

  And it wasn’t entirely Kiba’s.

  Something was pushing him from inside.

  Koneko stepped forward, fists clenched.

  “You’re the one who shouldn’t be here.”

  And then Kaelan saw them.

  Three figures behind Kiba.

  Black robes.

  White masks without mouths.

  Broken crosses hanging from their necks.

  Vatican symbols slashed with dried blood.

  Not angels.

  Not official exorcists.

  Renegades.

  Functional trash. The kind the Church “doesn’t recognize,” but that always appears when someone with black wings wants the world to bleed a little more.

  One of them lifted a cracked cross and laughed behind the mask.

  “Well, look what showed up today… The failed Sword Project experiment… the new devil vibrating like a living corpse… and the kitten who thinks she’s strong.”

  The air trembled.

  Koneko growled—low and deep. Her white aura began to rise like a contained roar.

  Kaelan placed a hand on her shoulder.

  “Koneko… wait.”

  She didn’t look at him.

  “Wait for what?”

  The one in the center stepped forward.

  “We came for fragments. We want holy swords. But you’ll serve better as bait.”

  “If we scream loud enough, Xenovia Belial will come alone. And with the sword.”

  “So the Lord of Black Wings gets entertainment,” another snickered. “And we get paid in broken miracles.”

  He pointed at Kiba.

  “Let’s start with you. The boy who escaped the slaughterhouse.”

  Kiba stepped back.

  Breathing like something invisible was pulling him backward—dragging him into another time.

  Kaelan felt the cold in his chest.

  Vision.

  White tiles.

  Children lined up.

  Blades.

  Soulless prayers.

  “Another one that doesn’t work.”

  He blinked.

  Koneko looked at him, noticing the shift.

  One of the renegades advanced.

  “The blond one smells like shattered Excalibur. Perfect. Him first.”

  Koneko stepped forward.

  Small.

  But monstrous.

  “Touch my friends,” she said, “and I’ll dismantle you in one strike.”

  The man laughed.

  “Cute threat. But you three… are already dead.”

  THM.

  THM.

  The Resonance awakened.

  Not as power.

  As decision.

  Koneko glanced sideways.

  “Kaelan… what are you going to do?”

  Kaelan swallowed.

  “The same as that night. I think…”

  He scratched the back of his neck, nervous. Exhaled. Closed his eyes.

  And placed his hand on Koneko’s shoulder.

  She opened her eyes slightly.

  “What are you—”

  THM.

  The pulse detonated.

  Not light.

  Not energy.

  State.

  A blue-white heartbeat passed through them like shared breath.

  Confidence.

  Steadiness.

  Clarity.

  He didn’t lend her power.

  He returned hers—sharpened.

  Kaelan felt his soul brush against hers for half a beat. Just contact. Like blowing air over a flame.

  It worked.

  Koneko gasped softly.

  “What… did you give me?”

  Kaelan smiled tightly.

  “A little of yourself. The rest… is on you.”

  She lowered her head. Her aura roared.

  “Then I’ll break them.”

  The exorcists attacked first.

  Consecrated daggers. No warning. No ritual.

  “Run, Koneko!” Kaelan shouted.

  She was already moving.

  BOOM.

  A white flash. Dust rising. The daggers grazed Kaelan’s face with sacred heat.

  He rolled and slammed into a metal dumpster.

  Koneko appeared behind the first.

  THUD.

  A brutal strike to the stomach.

  The man dropped to his knees, gasping.

  “SANCTUM IMPULSUS!” another shouted.

  The sacred wave surged like an invisible hammer.

  Kaelan breathed.

  Read the emotion.

  Fear.

  Resolve.

  Anger.

  …Doubt.

  There.

  He leapt at the right moment. Used a rusted pole as a springboard. Twisted midair and grabbed a fallen dagger.

  He didn’t aim to kill.

  He aimed at the shoulder.

  SHNK.

  The scream was immediate.

  The third charged with a crude sacred blade.

  “I’M TAKING YOUR SOUL!”

  Kaelan saw the stance.

  Xenovia.

  “Thanks…” he muttered.

  CLANG—BOOM.

  The impact shook him completely—but he held.

  Twisted his wrist.

  An invisible cut.

  The sword flew.

  Koneko finished the first with a brutal knee strike.

  The second tried to flee.

  “Where are you going?” Kaelan said.

  Koneko appeared beside him.

  “Not in our city.”

  He fell unconscious.

  Kiba was still against the wall.

  Breathing badly.

  “…Excalibur…” he murmured. “…it’s coming back…”

  The Resonance pulsed.

  THM.

  Not warning.

  Recognition.

  Kiba was falling.

  And this was moving too fast.

  Koneko straightened.

  “We have to take him home.”

  Kaelan lifted Kiba onto his shoulder.

  A white flash crossed his mind.

  Not his memory.

  But it was starting to feel like one.

  As they left, Kaelan looked back.

  The bodies.

  The broken blade.

  The quiet night.

  This wasn’t supposed to happen today.

  THM.

  THM.

  THM.

  “The canon…” he whispered. “…it’s accelerating.”

  High above, black wings stretched.

  The show had begun.