Chương 1: Rebirth in the Shadows
The darkness was thick, suffocating. It wrapped itself around him, weighing him down like an inescapable force. Consciousness flickered, dim and distant, as if he were slowly sinking into a deep abyss. He tried to move, but his body was foreign—light, fragile, and unfamiliar.
Am I… dead? The thought struggled to take shape in his mind, yet even as it did, the memories came flooding back. The streets of the city, the blinding headlights of a speeding truck, and the sudden impact. Pain. Sharp and quick, followed by a hollow silence.
He should have died. He did die. So why was he here? Wherever here was.
Then, as if in response to his confusion, a sharp breath filled his lungs. His senses snapped back into place. He blinked rapidly, his vision blurred, and for a moment, he saw only a faint flickering light above him. The smell of dust and old wood hit his nostrils, grounding him in reality. He was lying on a cold, hard surface, the air thick with a strange mix of incense and decay.
Panic surged through his chest, and he bolted upright, his hands slamming against the wooden floor. He looked around, eyes wide with fear and confusion.
It wasn't the hospital. It wasn't the street. It wasn't anywhere familiar.
Instead, he found himself in what appeared to be an old room—tattered drapes, a wooden ceiling, and stone walls that looked centuries old. Faded tapestries hung from the walls, and an ancient, flickering lantern provided the only light. The room looked like it had been pulled straight out of a medieval fantasy novel.
Where am I? The question hammered at his mind, but before he could process his surroundings, a sudden realization hit him. He was no longer in his old body.
His hands were small—too small. His limbs were thin, his skin pale and smooth. With trembling fingers, he touched his face, feeling the contours of a child's features. His heart raced as he stumbled to his feet and ran toward a nearby mirror, catching sight of his reflection.
A boy stared back at him. No older than ten, with messy black hair and dark, almost unsettlingly sharp eyes. The boy's face was gaunt, serious, and unfamiliar. But there was something vaguely recognizable in those features—something he had seen before. It was the face of a character, one he had known all too well from his obsession with anime and manga back on Earth.
"No way…" he whispered, his voice sounding foreign even to his own ears. His reflection mirrored his disbelief.
Cid Kageno. The name reverberated in his mind, sinking in like a cold, hard truth. Somehow, impossibly, he had been reincarnated into the world of The Eminence in Shadow. A world of magic, danger, and secret organizations. He had become none other than Cid Kageno, the enigmatic character who dreamed of living in the shadows, controlling the world from behind the scenes. The boy who pretended to be normal but had grand ambitions of being the ultimate manipulator in a world of darkness.
His mind spun as the enormity of the situation hit him. He wasn't just in a fantasy world—he was in a world he had watched, a world he had read about, one where danger lurked at every corner. But this wasn't a dream, nor was it some casual role-playing game. This was his life now. He was living in a body that wasn't his, in a world that was both familiar and terrifying.
---
Cid—or rather, the soul now inhabiting Cid's body—staggered back from the mirror, his thoughts a whirlwind of panic and disbelief. How had this happened? He remembered dying in his old life. His life back on Earth had been ordinary—mundane even. He had lived in a modern, bustling city, obsessed with his fantasy of being a hidden mastermind. The kind of guy who dreamed of manipulating events from the shadows like some untouchable chess master. But that had always been a fantasy. Something he would daydream about to escape the monotony of life.
Yet now, here he was. Living in the very body of a character who wanted to be the Eminence in Shadow.
He closed his eyes, trying to calm the racing thoughts. Deep breaths. Deep breaths. He could figure this out.
Okay. Focus. What do I know?
First, he was now Cid Kageno—a boy from an aristocratic family. That much he could gather from the lavish yet decaying room around him. He was in a medieval fantasy world, but this wasn't just any ordinary medieval setting. There was magic here, dark organizations like the Diabolos Cult, and a world brimming with danger lurking beneath the surface. Cid Kageno, in the original story, had dedicated his life to pretending to be a background character while secretly training to become a master of the shadows. And eventually, he had formed Shadow Garden, a secret organization that fought in the shadows, against the Diabolos Cult, all while his subordinates misunderstood his true intentions.
The real Cid had been a bit... eccentric. He enjoyed the thrill of pretending to be a manipulator, despite his lack of grand goals. He reveled in misunderstanding, in playing the part of a mysterious leader without any true purpose.
But the man inside Cid's body now wasn't the same. He wasn't just playing around. There was something heavier in his heart—a sense of responsibility, perhaps. A desire to do something meaningful, something that could change this world for the better.
He wasn't the same carefree, eccentric Cid who treated everything like a game. He was a man who had experienced death, who had seen how fragile life could be. He wasn't about to waste this second chance by playing pretend.
---
But that didn't mean it would be easy.
As he tried to gather his thoughts, the door to the room creaked open. His head snapped toward the entrance, his heart pounding in his chest.
A young girl stood there—blonde, delicate, and dressed in the attire of a maid. Her eyes widened in shock as she saw him standing in the middle of the room, fully awake.
"Master Cid!" she exclaimed, rushing toward him. "You shouldn't be out of bed! You were hurt! What are you doing up?"
Her voice was high-pitched with concern, and for a moment, Cid couldn't find the words to respond. He quickly searched his mind for any details about this girl—Claire, his older sister's maid, if he recalled correctly. This was Cid's room, after all, and he had been bedridden for some time after an accident in this life.
"I… I'm fine," he muttered, his voice sounding foreign yet familiar at the same time. "I just… needed some air."
The maid's worried expression didn't ease, but she didn't push further. "You should still rest. Lady Claire would be furious if she found out you were up and about already."
Cid nodded absently, still trying to process everything. Claire Kageno—Cid's older sister. Another key character in this world, a sword prodigy who played an important role in the story.
The maid helped him back to bed, and Cid allowed himself to sit down, his mind racing.
How am I supposed to live like this? he wondered, staring blankly at the room. He was in a noble's home, part of a well-off family. But the expectations, the world around him, the challenges that lay ahead—they were far from the simple life he had once known.
And then there was magic. He could feel it now—a strange, tingling sensation deep within him. It wasn't like anything he had felt in his previous life. It was power, raw and untapped, and it hummed faintly beneath the surface of his skin, as though waiting for him to unlock it.
Magic, he thought. Real magic.
His heart raced with a mixture of excitement and fear. The possibilities were endless, but so were the dangers. The Diabolos Cult, the secret organizations, the battles that would unfold—this world was unforgiving. If he wasn't careful, he could easily end up dead again. But if he played his cards right, if he used his knowledge of this world's storylines and its hidden dangers, maybe he could survive. Maybe he could even change things for the better.
---
Days passed, and Cid gradually regained his strength. His new family—Claire and their parents—visited often, expressing concern for his health. He played his part well, pretending to be the quiet, recovering boy they knew. But inside, he was preparing. He knew that he couldn't just coast through life. This world was dangerous, and without the original Cid's carefree approach, he had to start planning.
Late at night, when the house was quiet, Cid began to experiment with the magic that hummed beneath his skin. His first attempts were clumsy, but over time, he learned to channel it. He felt its flow, like a river of energy he could shape and bend to his will. It wasn't long before he started practicing simple spells, drawing on the knowledge he had from the world's lore. But even that was just the beginning.
He needed to become stronger. Not just for himself, but for what was to come.
---
As he lay in bed one night, staring up at the ceiling, Cid's mind wandered back to the original character's ambition—the dream of being the Eminence in Shadow. A figure who controlled events from behind the scenes, whose influence was vast and unseen.
Maybe… just maybe, that wasn't such a bad idea after all. But unlike the original Cid, who had treated it as a game, this new Cid had a purpose. He wouldn't play at being the mastermind. He would become one, not for the thrill of it, but to make a difference. To protect those who couldn't protect themselves. To fight against the darkness that threatened this world.
The idea began to take shape in his mind—an organization. One that could fight the Diabolos Cult, that could work in the shadows to protect the world from the dangers it didn't even know existed. An organization that would be more than just a fantasy.
Shadow Garden.
The name came to him like a whisper in the dark. Yes, that was what he would call it. A garden of shadows, where those who walked in the light would never know its true purpose. A place where people with power and purpose would gather to fight against the unseen threats of the world.
And he would lead them. As Cid Kageno—the Shadow who controlled everything without ever stepping into the light.
A small smile tugged at his lips. He didn't need glory. He didn't need recognition. All he needed was to be in the shadows, where he could make the greatest difference.
This wasn't just his second chance at life.
It was the beginning of something much greater.
---
With a newfound resolve, Cid closed his eyes, letting the weight of his decision settle over him. He had been given a second life in a dangerous world, but this time, he would use it for something greater. Something that could change the fate of the entire world.
The journey ahead wouldn't be easy. There would be battles, betrayals, and losses. But Cid Kageno wasn't the type to back down. Not anymore.
In the silence of the night, he made his first real vow to himself.
"I'll become the true Eminence in Shadow."
And so, with that promise, his new life truly began.
SUY NGHĨ CỦA NGƯỜI SÁNG TẠO 
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