The magical portal received Dayas in the middle of a forest on an island that overlooks a massive kingdom surrounded by towering walls. Dayas begins to wander around, trying to explore the place, and accidentally catches sight of a donkey leaning on a swing, leisurely reading a funny comic. Dayas looks at him in astonishment and says:
"Wow, what a strange sight, a donkey that doesn't work."
The donkey replies, annoyed after hearing this, saying:
"Hey, who said that? I'm not a donkey... I'm a mule."
Dayas reveals himself from behind the bushes and says:
"But you look more like a donkey."
The donkey is surprised by Dayas's appearance, adding:
"A human! How did you get here?"
Dayas:
"I really don't know; a strange magical portal suddenly opened in front of me and threw me here."
The donkey:
"Oh no, that's a problem. You must be the academy student who tried to summon me back then."
Dayas:
"Wait a minute! Are you my companion horse?"
The donkey:
"No, you are my human."
Dayas:
"But why didn't you appear back then?"
The donkey:
"What would you do when you're in the bathroom and suddenly a magical gate opens before you trying to summon you to some place, huh!"
Then he adds sarcastically:
"Hah, it must have been a scandal when everyone could summon their horses but you couldn't."
Dayas replies with a smile:
"And it would have been an even bigger scandal if I could."
The donkey:
"Hey, what do you mean!"
And while they are talking, a group of magical horses suddenly bursts into the place trying to catch them, but before Dayas can move, the donkey puts him on his back and flees towards the kingdom. After they have distanced themselves from the horses and are walking, Dayas asks the donkey:
"Hey, what's the story?"
The donkey:
"My mom must have sent them to bring me back."
Dayas:
"More details... please."
The donkey:
"Let's go to my close friend first so he can help us, you'll find out there."
The donkey and Dayas arrive at the kingdom, and Dayas catches sight of a strange inverted star emblem engraved on the massive gate of the kingdom as he enters. He glances at the emblem with a sense of familiarity, trying to remember as he continues walking. The two companions stealthily make their way to the backyard garden of a large wooden house. The donkey throws a small pebble at one of its windows, which opens moments later to reveal a brown horse. Dayas enters the room with his companion and is surprised to see "Wood" in front of him, who says:
"Dayas! Is that you! What are you doing here?"
Dayas:
_"Wood! What a coincidence! So, you are this idiot's friend."
Wood:
"It seems you are involved in something as usual."
The donkey interrupts them, saying:
"Hey, we are not here for a reunion."
Then he turns to Khashaba and adds:
"Wood, I want you to let me into the palace without my mother knowing."
Dayas:
"So... does your mother work inside the palace?"
Wood:
"But why? I thought you were on the run!"
The donkey:
"Ugh, I just want to get in."
Wood:
"Sorry, you know the rules... I have an owner now; I can't use my family's powers except when he is asleep."
Dayas:
"Your family's powers?"
Khashaba:
"The kingdom of magical horses is divided into several tiers. At the top are the royal family, where each member has a unique exclusive power. Then come the elemental families, the most famous of which are the water, air, and fire families. Finally, there are the material families like iron, steel, and wood, like me, and they represent the common people."
Dayas:
"General! But all the houses here look luxurious and big."
Wood boasting:
"Haha, that's because we don't have the concept of the nuclear family; the family here consists of all those who share the same blood... and perhaps that's what made us prosperous."
Dayas:
"Huh, the situation here is quite similar to my family."
The donkey:
"Well then, it seems we're going to continue with the plan to sneak in through the garden."
The donkey and Daiyas descend from an old wall into the palace garden, and Dayas accidentally drops the cup his teacher gave him. But when he bends down to pick it up, Dayas looks up to find a huge horse with glowing yellow eyes staring directly at him, causing him to panic and flee behind the donkey, saying:
"A horse ghost, it's a horse ghost."
The donkey reassuring him:
"Don't worry, it's Uncle "Luminous," the gardener."
Dayas:
"Luminous! You really have funny names."
The luminous horse to Dayas:
"Your scent resembles his; he hasn't summoned me in a long time."
Dayas:
"Who is he?"
The donkey whispering:
"Don't pay attention to him, he has been hallucinating sometimes since he lost his owner a few years ago."
The shining horse returns to his senses and says in surprise:
"Hold on, you are human! Your presence here is forbidden."
The donkey:
"My mother must have brought him, she is the only one capable of that."
The shining horse:
"Your escape has caused a great danger."
Dayas:
"Huh! How so?"
Luminous:
"Our kingdom has always been a source of greed for weak cosmic beings wishing to increase their power, and our ancestors managed to fend them off with difficulty. However, three hundred years ago, two mysterious individuals established the academy and contracted with us in exchange for hiding our kingdom using the magic energy of the academy. Any breach by either party of the main contract rules will result in consequences that could expose us to external dangers."
Then he turns to the donkey with a sly look and adds:
"And that is why I must return you to the palace immediately."
Without any prior warning, the donkey Dayas places him on his back, trying to escape from the place, but in the blink of an eye, the glowing horse easily catches both of them and takes them inside the palace. The glowing horse throws the donkey and Dayas in front of the queen sitting on her throne, and the queen glares at the donkey with angry looks and then says:
"Where have you been? Because of your actions, there is now a cosmic being heading towards us."
The donkey:
"I'm sorry, mother."
Dayas, surprised:
"The queen is your mother!"
Suddenly, one of the guards enters, saying:
"My lady, it has come very close."
The queen:
"Where are the support forces from the academy? Why haven't they arrived yet?"
The guard replies:
"The power of the being has severely affected the magical gates; they cannot cross over to us."
The queen:
"That's fine; we will rely on ourselves."
Then she turns to her son firmly and adds:
"You will also fight."
The donkey, complaining:
"But Mom, you know my strength..."
And before the donkey finishes his sentence, a strange darkness suddenly envelops the place, causing everyone to rush out of the palace to be shocked by the sight of a massive green octopus blocking the sky. One of the ministers, with a look of horror, exclaims:
"It's the cosmic octopus, the devourer of planets. The collapse of the main contract has nothing to do with its arrival; it was coming for us anyway."
The leaders of the families gathered in front of the palace give orders to attack the mouth of the cosmic being, but with no effect, as the octopus opens its mouth, attempting to begin devouring the kingdom. At that moment, the leaders launch their own attack, targeting its mouth, successfully managing to close it.
The donkey lowers his head in thought and then says:
"Mom, where is Dad now?"
The queen:
"He's sleeping in his room as usual, why do you ask?"
The donkey:
"The star emblem."
The queen:
"I understand, good idea."
Dayas:
"Is your father's sleep considered normal in such circumstances?"
The donkey and Dayas enter the palace's bedroom to find an ordinary donkey sleeping on the bed, to which Dayas responds:
"Hah, it seems you really are a Armpit."
The donkey seriously said:
"This is not the time for jokes; my father sleeps for some random reason four days a week, and he can only be woken up by putting him in danger."
Then he adds, affected:
"I don't know how that happened to him; maybe it's something from his childhood, but it becomes annoying sometimes."
Dayas's eyes well up after hearing his friend, despite his smile, and the donkey sarcastically says to him:
"Take it easy, sensitive one; it's not that dramatic."
Dayas replies while wiping a tear from his eye:
"No, it's just that the situation here really resembles my family."
The donkey lights the room curtain and then places it directly in front of his father's face, causing his father to wake up startled, saying:
"We shouldn't let him wake up."
Dayas and the donkey:
"What!"
The donkey's father:
"Son, what's happening! It's not like you to wake me up."
Dayas, smiling:
"A cosmic being in the shape of a giant octopus is about to devour your kingdom."
Donkey's Father:
"Very clear, so what's the plan?"
Donkey:
"Didn't you tell me when I was young about your powerful cosmic friend who visited our kingdom in your youth and left you his emblem at the main gate before he departed so you could call on him when you needed help?"
Dayas:
"Guess what, you need help now."
Donkey's Father:
"That was a long time ago, but maybe we can succeed."
The three of them exit the palace heading towards the gate amidst the destruction and panic spreading throughout the kingdom until they reach the emblem of the inverted star engraved on it. Dayas then remarks while looking at it:
"I don't know where I've seen this emblem before."
The father of the donkey steps forward, placing his hoof on it while the donkey and Dayas watch from behind, anticipating what will happen. The situation remains unchanged for a few seconds, and suddenly, the saddle of the donkey's father and the star emblem begin to shine together, revealing from that emblem a creature shaped like a yellow star with one eye, wearing a purple robe adorned with nineteen small stars. The creature stares at the place and says, squinting:
"Wissst wisssow and so, what is happening here?"
As it scans the surroundings with its eyes, it notices its old friend and adds:
"Morst, is that you! I haven't seen you since you were a donkey without saddles."
The father of the donkey replies:
"Shiny, it seems you are still as mischievous as ever."
Dayas looks at Shiny with a sharp gaze and says angrily:
"You, you are that damned cosmic creature who stole my feelings when I was a child."
Shiny responds:
"Wow, what a surprise, it's little Dayas, you've grown up, you rascal. So, how is the adventurer Friderin?"
Dayas:
"Don't you dare mention my father's name, now let's get back to it."
Shiny, laughing:
"Hahaha, you'll have to try, my dear, but before that, I think I need to deal with this mess."
Shiny flies toward the eye of the octopus and knocks on it as soon as he arrives, saying:
"Hey you, big guy, you're bothering my friends over there, so leave."
The octopus turns its eye toward Shiny, and its expression changes upon seeing him, then it says fearfully:
"Sshh Shiny, I'm sorry, I didn't know, I'll leave right away."
The cosmic octopus flees from Shiny, allowing the academy forces, led by Arenas and another older boy, to cross the magical gates from the sky. Then Shiny remarks:
"Hey, it seems like there will be more hats; I better get going."
Then Shiny disappears, leaving behind the kingdom's celebrations for the departure of the threat. The kingdom's leaders and the academy leaders hold a meeting in the evening when Dayas and the donkey burst in, boasting about what they did. The queen turns to her son, embracing him in her arms, and says:
"Good job, my little one, you are the hero of today."
The donkey:
"Yes, I know this, but I apologize again... even though it's clear that it's not my fault."
The queen:
"On the subject of mistakes, where is your father?"
The donkey:
"Ah, he has gone back to sleep."
In the meantime, Dayas spots Scorpy standing with Arenas and a plank, and heads towards them saying:
"Hey guys, hello."
Arenas responds angrily:
"You! I knew you would get us into trouble with a cosmic being; it's a good thing I kicked you out."
Dayas replies:
"First of all, I didn't greet you; I greeted my brother and his horse. Secondly, the donkey is the one who didn't respond to my invitation; I have nothing to do with that."
Arenas:
"Huh! The donkey?"
The donkey then interrupts their reunion, saying annoyed:
"Hey, who said that? I'm not a donkey... I'm a mule."
Dayas hugs him, saying playfully:
"Don't listen to them you poor thing; they don't know."
The donkey to Dayas:
"Well, my friend, I think it's time to finalize our contract, come on, touch my forehead."
Dayas touches the donkey's forehead, and a white paper suddenly appears in front of him, and the donkey says to Dayas, adding:
"The contract is with you now; you will find in it a way to summon me and some other matters. I advise you to read it when you return home."
The donkey finishes speaking and then adds with arrogance:
"But more importantly... what name did you choose for me? It better be a distinctive name, for I am a prince, as you know."
Arenas:
"The prince!"
Dayas thinks for a moment and replies:
"Cinnamon, I will name you Cinnamon because your color resembles it a lot."
The donkey:
"What? That name doesn't suit me, you fool."
Dayas:
"But I have already chosen it; look, it is written in the contract."
The donkey:
"But that's not fair."
Wood adds to Scorpy while the two fools are arguing:
"Yes, the naming... I think it's your family custom."