The Eminence of a True Monarch of the Shadows

[Third Person's PoV]

As darkness consumed everything, expanding endlessly into the void, one being remained untouched. He was the darkness. The Shadow Monarch floated in the abyss, unscathed by the void's hunger.

Cid scratched the side of his head, sighing. "I may or may not have overdone it slightly," he muttered.

Closing his eyes, his senses stretched across the multiverse. Worlds lay shattered, the laws of reality twisted and broken. Universes bled into each other, planets from different dimensions colliding in catastrophic explosions.

"..."

"Yeah, I've really overdone it… Luckily, my girls are fighting with the Monarchs in a different dimension, but I can't say that no one was affected."

His gaze turned toward the world where he had spent the first fifteen years of his life—the place where his mother and father were supposed to be.

All that remained were floating remnants of rock and rubble drifting through space. His expression darkened with guilt.

"Ugh, I should have secured them along with the solar system…" Cid shook his head. "Well, I guess it's time to clean up after myself."

Without hesitation, he reached into his chest. His expression twisted in pain as his hand pierced through his skin, delving into the place where his heart beat.

With a sharp exhale, he withdrew it—his own heart. It pulsed furiously in his grasp, black as the abyss, radiating a deep purple aura.

By his chest, a new heart had already begun to regenerate, sealing the wound shut. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, but he wiped it away with a sigh.

'If I want to restore the laws of the universe and undo the damage, 'revive' isn't the right word—since they ceased to exist. I'll need to use the infinite energy my Black Heart provides, channeling it with the Aether it produces. With Aether's power, I should be able to reconstruct the laws that were shattered and set things right.'

Cid sighed again. "But there's another problem… Even though my Black Heart is outside my chest and a new one has grown, the Black Heart is still a part of my existence. If I go through with this, I'll suffer a backlash."

He shook his head. "But I'll manage… hopefully."

His dragon-like eyes flared, narrowing with resolve. The heart in his hands began to beat faster—pumping Aether in overwhelming waves, painting the void in its luminous purple essence.

The heart grew brighter, shifting into a pulsating violet light, like a newborn star in the abyss. Then, it started to dissolve.

Blood surged up Cid's throat, and he coughed violently, his entire lower jaw stained red. His brows furrowed, but his grip on his resolve remained firm.

As the heart dissolved, only a concentrated core of Aether remained—the very core that had once been integrated into his heart.

Closing his eyes, Cid raised three fingers on each hand—his thumb, index, and middle. He spread them apart, and the particles of Aether obeyed his will, swirling together to form a massive halo above him, the core floating at its center.

'Time is a circle. The past defines the present, the present shapes the future, and the future eventually becomes the past, repeating in an unending cycle…'

And so, Cid began with the reconstruction of Time.

Once Time was restored, the rest would be easier to repair.

His skin paled as he worked tirelessly to mend the universe. Laws restructured and reformed under his guidance, Aether weaving them back into place. Days passed without rest, his willpower alone driving the restoration forward.

Then—crack.

Cid saw fractures forming across the Aether core. He exhaled sharply.

He closed his eyes, making a decision. He would use what remained of the core's energy for one final miracle.

Drawing upon the last of its power, Cid commanded the new Law of Time to reverse the multiverse's destruction.

Planets that had been on the verge of collapse began to pull away from each other. Their broken remains drifted back into place, cracks sealing as if time itself rewound.

Shattered worlds reassembled piece by piece, their fragments drawn together like puzzle pieces. For an instant, they burned in a blaze of explosive energy—then the detonations reversed, withdrawing inward until the planets stood whole once more.

Cid watched as the Aether core shattered—splintering into shimmering purple light before disintegrating entirely.

His heart skipped a beat.

Pain surged through him. He clutched his chest, hunching forward, his breath ragged. His vision blurred, and exhaustion weighed down his limbs.

Still, he managed to straighten up, though his eyes rolled back slightly.

"I think…" he whispered hoarsely, "I'll just take a quick nap… I deserve it."

And with that, his body went limp, falling backward into the void.

His clothes had long since burned away, leaving him bare, his hair drifting as if he were submerged in deep water. His arms hung loosely at his sides, his body completely still.

Yet, despite the blood smeared across his face, there was a peaceful smile on his lips.

He looked like a man who had finished a hard day's work… and was finally getting the rest he deserved.

---

Elsewhere…

Igris, locked in battle with Tarnak.

Beru, clashing with Yogumunt.

Bellion, dueling against Legia.

They all froze.

Their movements came to a sudden halt.

They weren't the only ones.

Tusk. Tank. Iron. Kaiser. Every one of Cid's shadows had stopped, their expressions grim.

An ominous BOOOOOOM!

Mana erupted across the battlefield—a surge so immense, so vicious, that it suffocated the air with a bloodlust unlike any other.

A rage that didn't belong to any single being.

No.

It was shared.

It spread through them all like wildfire.

Their Monarch had been injured.

Their eyes burned with hatred.

None would be forgiven.

They would all pay.

And they would make sure of it.