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Once the pair reached the apartment, Azazel led the way inside and motioned for Sora to sit on one of the bean bags on the floor in front of the TV. The boy obediently complied and made himself comfortable in his place, while Azazel arranged a set of cups on the small table next to Sora before pouring the both of them some hot tea.

"Well help yourself, kid. Never hurts to have some tea, you know. It also helps you calm your mind and you look like you really need it." Azazel remarked as he sat on the opposite bean bag and began to drink from his cup.

"Thank you." Sora bowed his head in respect and taking a sip from his own. Azazel was right, he did feel a lot calmer now that he had a taste and from what has been happening to him lately, he really needed this. But now, he needed answers. "So, Azazel… what did you mean when you said that I fell out of the sky? Was I falling like a meteor and then you somehow saved me from crashing to the ground?"

Azazel chuckled and shook his head. "No, nothing like that, kid. But I can't exactly answer that question yet without me being enlightened first. Like how did you end up falling out of the sky in the first place? Where did you even come from?"

"Oh, uhm…" It looked like he really had no choice but to spill it. On one hand, it felt like Azazel was leading him on but on the other hand, the man was genuinely curious with what happened to him. Well, he already made his decision, didn't he? Better to stick with it and deal with the consequences. "If I tell you… you have to promise me to keep this between us. It's not something you can tell anybody, for their own safety."

"You have my word, Sora. I can keep a secret." Azazel nodded.

"Okay. First off, my name is Sora and I'm a Guardian of Light. I wield a weapon called the keyblade and I use it to fight against the forces of Darkness. Being a Guardian of Light means that I have to travel through different worlds and deal with the Darkness that resides in it."

"Interesting… so you're basically a hero who fights for good, am I right?" Azazel began, cupping his chin as he took in Sora's explanation.

"You could say that…" Sora scratched his cheek in embarrassment. He always thought of himself, Donald, and Goofy as heroes but to hear it from someone else felt a bit awkward and embarrassing.

"You say you wield a weapon called a 'keyblade'? Can I see it?"

Sora nodded and raised his right arm, summoning the Kingdom Key and Azazel widened his eyes at seeing the weapon up close and personal. He actually expected the kid to bring out something complex but he was taken aback that it was just some kind of giant key with a keychain.

Oh yeah, it looked like a key and it was supposed to be a weapon. Hence, 'key-blade'.

"Fascinating… it's almost like a Sacred Gear…" he muttered carelessly, and Sora perked up at hearing his words.

"A 'sacred' what?" the boy asked, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Never mind," Azazel dismissed the question before their conversation could make a turn. "Anyway, when you said that you fight against the 'forces of Darkness', what did you mean by that?"

"Well… there are actually different kinds of creatures that come from the dark." Sora rubbed his chin as he remembered the different kinds of enemies he fought against during his adventures. "The most common to appear are the Heartless. They come in different forms and sizes. They are creatures that come from the darkness inside people's hearts, and their only goal is to eat more hearts until the whole world is essentially filled with their kind."

"That's… quite scary to imagine." Azazel frowned. He wouldn't admit it, but the way that Sora described those creatures and what they are actually made him flinch for a bit. A world filled with these Heartless creatures, what a scary thought. "Are there any other creatures I should know about?"

"Hmm… there are three others that I can think of." Sora crossed his arms and looked to be in deep thought. "There are the Nobodies. They are empty shells of people who have strong hearts to continue living even after being consumed by the darkness. There are even some Nobodies who could retain their human appearance because they have really strong hearts."

"Somehow, I feel that these 'Nobodies' are more dangerous than the Heartless. It's like they are fallen angels from how the kid is describing them." Azazel mused to himself as he continued to listen to Sora's story.

"The next set of creatures are the Unversed. They are born from powerful negative emotions, and they also come in different forms and sizes. You can tell if something is an Unversed by looking at their eyes. If they are narrow and they glow red, then it's one of the Unversed."

"Jeez, you got your work cut out for you, kid. Three kinds of enemies, and you have to deal with all of them while only using a giant key as a weapon." Azazel chuckled in amusement, causing Sora to grin sheepishly.

"All right, so… the last set of enemies are called Nightmares. I don't know much about them, but they're sort of like evil spirits that show up when a world is in a state of sleep, or… limbo, but nobody is actually asleep. It's more like the world is…" Sora scratched the top of his head to think of an appropriate term only to slump his shoulders in defeat. "...I have no idea, really. All I can say is that they're usually purple or dark bluish in color."

"Wow, four kinds of creatures you fight against… no wonder you're a hero, Sora. You must be very proud of yourself right now." Azazel smirked, leaning back on his bean bag chair and resting his face on his palm.

"Not really… it's just my duty as a keyblade wielder and a Guardian of Light to maintain the balance of the worlds." If he could, Sora would hide his face right now out of embarrassment that he was willingly called a 'hero' by someone else. It felt completely different from him usually referring to himself as such.

"I just have one question left for you, kid."

Hearing this, Sora looked up and hardened his gaze. After this, he'll be able to get some answers and know how exactly he ended up in Kuoh. "What is it?"

"Is there any kind of proof to show that what you're saying is actually true? I can't just believe you based on your words alone, even if you showed me that keyblade of yours earlier." Azazel asked him, his smirk never leaving his face. In reality, Sora revealing his keyblade to him was already enough proof but there might be more ways for him to get information from the kid. It's not everyday you see a spiky-haired teenager fall from the sky, after all.

Sora looked at him for a few seconds before being deep in thought. Azazel was right, his words sounded so ridiculous that everything he said would be impossible to believe. It took him a few moments before a sudden thought came to his mind, remembering a certain something in his pocket from earlier.

"The proof is right here." Sora confidently said, pulling out his Gummiphone and handing it over to Azazel.

After about ten minutes of going through the phone's records; seeing pictures, journal entries and the calls that were made, Azazel handed the Gummiphone back to Sora who put it back inside his pocket.

"I see there's no reason for me not to believe you now, Sora. I just read a lot of things that would make a normal person faint, but I'm not like them. One thing I have to say about you kid, you got guts. And having those can take you a long way." Azazel remarked, seeing the entries written about Sora in particular as well as his adventures. Sora was a gold mine among gold mines, as he never thought he would come across a kid like him.

Boy, if the kid was a part of this world all along, he could stand beside Gabriel as two of the purest Angels in Heaven.

"Thank you." Sora bowed his head with a smile.

"So from what I read, you used something called the 'Power of Waking' two times before using it again in order to bring one of your friends back?" Azazel pondered, recalling the last journal entry he read from Sora's phone.

"Yeah. I thought at first that everything was gonna be alright after I saved Kairi, even though I got warned by one of my enemies and my friends not to abuse the power." Sora sighed and looked at his hand that was his last form of contact with any of his friends. It was his left hand that was intertwined with Kairi's right before he disappeared. He then clenched his fist tightly and flashed a look of determination. "And now this is the price I have to pay. But I swear, I'll make it back home if it's the last thing I do."

Azazel sighed. He felt bad that the boy was too optimistic and dense for his own good, and that he had no clue what exactly happened. After reading about what Sora went through, he had a good idea of how he ended up here. "I guess this is where I come in," he said solemnly.

"Oh, right! It's my turn now!" Sora exclaimed with a huge grin on his face. "So… how did I end up here, Azazel? You said something about me falling out of the sky, but I didn't quite understand what you meant."

Azazel crossed his arms and took a deep breath. "A few days ago, there were various government reports on sightings of a 'dimensional rift', or a tear through the space-time continuity of our dimension. There has only been one other documented sighting of a rift and that was months ago. Now, dimensional rifts normally don't affect lives to the point that it spells doom all over it, but I believe it's the reason why you're here, Sora."

Sora raised an eyebrow. "Huh? I'm not quite sure I follow."

Azazel leaned forward a bit. "Tell me, Sora. Do you know the concept of worldlines?"

"Uhm, yeah… I'm sure it's another word for alternative world, timeline, dimension, or universe. Why?" As soon as he finished talking, the heavy realization came crashing down on his mind. "Wait… you don't mean…?" Sora's eyes widened with shock and his face paled in understanding, but clinging to any ray of hope out of there that it wasn't true.

"I'm afraid so, kid." Azazel said sadly. He truly felt bad for the spiky-haired boy, who has constantly endured stuff like this at such a young age. It wasn't any different from what's happening in this world. "You're not just stranded in another world. You were exiled from your own universe and got thrown here, into a different worldline. That's the consequence of interfering so much with space-time in your universe to save your friends from death." He explained, before noticing how Sora just sat there, frozen in his place as if time had stopped for him.

The boy then stood up all of a sudden, a desperate look showing on his face as he turned around and summoned his keyblade. "Then I have to go back!" he said in an exasperated tone. Fortunately for him, Azazel was able to react quickly. The older man stood up and grabbed Sora's arm to prevent the spiky brunette from doing anything.

"Kid, don't even think about it!" Azazel said with a serious tone, hardening his gaze at the boy who was struggling to break free from his grasp.

"But if my power of waking brought me here, then it can just bring me back, right?!" Sora said desperately, struggling to free his right arm from Azazel that held the keyblade.

Azazel glared at him, which actually sent shivers down the boy's spine for some reason. "Theoretically yes, but you'll end up using it the wrong way again! You said it yourself that it's not for chasing hearts around. There's no telling if it could even return you home. You could end up in another universe, or even worse, dead!"

"But…! But… I have to go back…" Sora's arm began to shake as the boy breathed raspily, feeling as if all of his strength was taken away from him. His keyblade then vanished, prompting Azazel to let go of his arm as the boy just stood there, with his head hanging low. Sora then fell to his knees, as tears began to fall from his eyes. "I can't stay here… I don't want to be alone… I need my friends…"

Azazel simply stepped back and listened to the boy, all while thinking of a way he could possibly help him. Now in reality, he should have no business nor any reason to help a stranger like Sora, but he couldn't just ignore the kid like he was nothing. Not after what he found out about him.

"Kairi, Riku, Donald, Goofy, Roxas, Xion, Axel, Aqua, Ven, Terra, the king and all of the friends I made… without them, I'm nothing…" he cried, bringing his fist towards his chest as he felt his heart ache. The thought of not seeing them anymore hurt so much, despite his earlier words of accepting his fate. The pain of being alone hurt so much that Sora thought his heart could break at any moment, unless it was already broken.

It was then that Azazel walked over towards Sora and held his shoulder, helping the boy straighten himself. Sora looked up at him with a tear-streaked face with his eyes red from all the tears he had shed. "Kid, you're not alone and you know that. Your friends are always with you. You may not see them, but they're with you, in your heart and mind. You're a strong kid, Sora. If it was another teenager in your shoes, I don't think they could have handled what you had to go through."

Sora continued to look at him with a tearful look, as though he still had doubts.

"Also, don't think that this is the end of your journey, kid. Because I think there's still hope for you to return to your world and come back home to your friends."

"W-What?" Sora asked, giving Azazel a hopeful look despite his eyes being all red from all the crying he's done.

"That's right, kid." Azazel said with a little smirk. "There's a way for you to go back home without risking yourself any further."

"Really?" Sora's eyes widened as he wiped the tears from his eyes. There may still be hope for him after all, and what else could he do other than to cling on to it? He was always a guy who would remain hopeful even in the most desperate situations. "C-Can I really go back to my friends?"

"Like I said a while ago, this is only the second time that a rift teared through our dimension. I believe that this won't be the last time either, and once another rift happens in space-time here, it could bring you back to your universe safely without risking yourself any further. The fact that you're here in one piece already means that it's a safe method to utilize. Now the power of waking, from what I understand, can make these rifts but using that is already out of the question. There are only two other ways I can think of where these dimensional rifts can appear."

The boy's eyes widened even more, hearing that there were other ways for him to return home. Truth be told, he had no idea if his power of waking could even bring him back but it was his best idea at the time. Now that he heard from Azazel that there were other methods where he can safely return to his own universe, Sora was eager to know.

"Which is?"

"One, we wait for another rift to happen naturally. No one knows how long it would take for that to happen, but it's the safer of the two. The second is a lot riskier, which is to build a machine that can artificially make one. There's also no concrete idea on when a machine like that could be finished, but given how complex space-time is, it would most likely take a long time to be completed." Azazel said, crossing his arms.

"But that means… I'll be stuck here, either way." Sora immediately felt tears welling up in his eyes again. He thought there was a way for him to get back home and there was, but at the cost of waiting for the correct circumstances. There was no telling how long it would take too.

Azazel shook his head and smiled in an almost-fatherly way. "Sora, it's not the end of the world. Sure, you're stuck here for now, but you'll be able to return home eventually. I'm sure your friends are doing their best to try and find you, and I can tell they won't give up until they do. They know it's not easy to tell your exact location, and it might take a long time for them to figure it out. But you're their friend, aren't you? They're willing to wait if it means bringing you back safely. You should do the same for them, and wait for the right moment."

"I… I guess…" Sora blinked a few times, before looking down. He thought of his friends, who must be worried sick about him after he just disappeared without a trace. Knowing them, especially Riku and Kairi, they're working tooth-and-nail just to figure out where he is and how to bring him back. That alone was enough for Sora to feel slightly better, but what would he do while he's here? He couldn't just sit around and do nothing while waiting for the opportunity for another rift to appear. "But what am I gonna do now?" he asked, looking up at Azazel in confusion.

"Well, aren't you a kid who likes to go on adventures?" Azazel smirked. "Go out there and make yourself familiar with this place. You'll get used to it in no time, since you're used to this kind of thing. I'm no tour guide, so you're gonna have to go off on your own, kid. You can take care of yourself, right?"

It took Sora a moment to take in Azazel's words. It would no doubt take time before he even gets a chance to make it back home, but he shouldn't let this stop him. The man was right, his friends are surely trying to figure out a way for him to return to his worldline but while that happens, he should be making the most of his time here. Maybe he could do some good in this world too, just like the other worlds he has been to in the past.

Because he was a hero.

Wiping off the last of his tears from his eyes, Sora flashed his signature grin and nodded firmly. "Okay!"

"Now that's more like it! You truly are one of a kind, kid. Even in the toughest situations, you still manage to crack a smile. You'll go a long way, I'm sure of it." Azazel exclaimed, giving Sora a thumbs-up.

"Aww… I'm used to it." Feeling a lot more reinvigorated than before, Sora let out a small chuckle as he put his arms behind his head in his usual pose. "Besides, I think you're right, Azazel. I shouldn't let this get to my head. My friends believed in me many times, now I'll believe in them." He smiled as a mental image of his friends back home appeared in his mind. "And maybe this world won't be so bad, I'll look around this place and see if there are any people who need help."

"And that's why you're a hero, kid. But before you go, can you give me your phone for a second?"

"What for?" Sora asked curiously as he brought out his Gummiphone and handed it over to Azazel.

Azazel took it and began to type in his contact number before saving it. "If you ever need help with something, give me a call. I'll try and help you out any way I can. That way, I can also inform you if I have any leads on when you can return to your worldline."

The older man gave back the phone and Sora took it with a huge smile on his face. "Really?! Oh, thank you Azazel! I don't know what I would have done without you!"

"Eh, I'm not fond of receiving compliments but you're welcome, kid. Now go out there and see the world while the sun is still in the sky. If you need me for something, you know where to come by." Azazel leaned back in his chair and gave the boy a finger salute.

"I will! Thanks again!" Sora bowed his head and rushed out the door with a smile while waving his arm, as if he had forgotten the fact that he was crying his eyes out earlier.

Azazel stared at the door for a few moments before narrowing his eyes in deep thought. Seeing the records and entries in Sora's Gummiphone answered many of the questions he had in mind, especially regarding a certain issue that he has been trying to analyze months ago, when the first dimensional rift was sighted.

"So that little ant back in Headquarters is a Heartless… at first, I thought they were just some strays from the Underworld but seeing the kid's phone… I have a feeling that there's something more here. It's too suspicious that Sora got thrown into our dimension after those things first showed up. The kid was brought to this world for a reason, but what is it? Also, why did that 'keyblade' feel like it's some kind of Sacred Gear…?"

A certain thought then came to his mind, which caused the brown-haired man to laugh in amusement. He then stood up from his seat to wash the teacups that he and Sora used.

"If that kid plans on helping out people here, then there's no doubt he'll cross paths with that girl…"

Sora was walking through the sidewalk with his arms behind his head. He was in a lot better mood after leaving Azazel's apartment, now that he had hope of being able to make it back home. The fact that there were people walking around with him added to it. He always feared being alone, it was one of his few weaknesses.

Ignoring the weird looks that some people were giving him (most likely because of his 'weird' clothes), Sora was deep in thought and thinking of what he would do from here.

"I should try and explore this place a bit. Azazel's right; if I'm gonna be stuck here for a while, I should get to know this world a lot better." He then sighed, imagining Donald and Goofy were walking beside him before shaking the thought off. "This feels a lot easier with those two half-pints with me… is this what Riku and the king feel when they go on a mission alone? I don't like it, but… I have to get—"

Sora was then cut off from his thoughts various shouts around him.

"Run!"

"What are those things!"

"They're monsters!"

Upon hearing the word 'monsters', Sora quickly flipped the switch in his mind as he turned his attention to the situation before him with a serious expression. That wouldn't last long as his eyes widened upon seeing a group of Shadows and Neoshadows appear in the middle of the street, with all of them staring directly towards him.

"Heartless?!"

And there we go, Sora finally gets an audience with Azazel, who is secretly the leader of the fallen angels. Sora doesn't know about that yet, but he will, soon. Let me see, what else… oh yeah, he got to the DxD-verse through a dimensional rift that the power of waking created and he travelled through there before ending up in Kuoh. Looks like the Heartless proved yet again why they are annoying because they have showed up just as Sora was starting to get to know this new world better, lol. It seems as if Azazel had an encounter with the Heartless in the past too… I wonder what that means.

Goodbye… and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture*

-Lance