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**POV:-Minoru Kagenou**
For as long as I could remember, I had only ever possessed one dream.
Not fame.
Not wealth.
Not power for the sake of power.
No, my dream was far greater than that.
I wanted to become “The Eminence in Shadow.”
The unseen mastermind. The figure no one ever notices until everything falls perfectly into place. Neither hero nor villain, but something beyond both. A shadow lurking behind every major event, manipulating the world from the darkness while remaining completely unknown.
A true eminence in shadow is never the centre of attention.
He appears briefly, resolves everything in the coolest way imaginable, drops an impossibly cryptic line, and disappears before anyone can understand what just happened.
That was the ideal existence.
Now then, why exactly was I reminiscing about my lifelong ambition?
To answer that, I need to rewind time by a few weeks.
**A Few Weeks Ago**
“How do I survive a nuclear bomb?”
That was the question occupying my thoughts at the time.
Most high school students spend their days worrying about entrance exams, relationships, or part-time jobs. I, however, had dedicated my life to preparing for my future role as an eminence in shadow.
I had mastered countless martial arts.
Studied military tactics.
Trained my body beyond normal human limits.
Conducted research into underground organisations, assassination methods, psychological warfare, and covert operations.
And, naturally, I maintained my secret identity as the “Stylish Bandit Slayer.”
Everything was proceeding according to plan.
Except for one fatal flaw.
No matter how strong I became, I was still human.
Bullets could kill me. Explosives could kill me. A sufficiently trained military unit could absolutely kill me. And nuclear weapons? Those erased entire cities.
As an eminence in shadow, dying to something as mundane as modern weaponry was unacceptable.
Thus, the question remained:
“How do I survive a nuclear bomb?”
I spent days searching for an answer.
Technology wouldn’t be enough. Human biology had limits. Armour had limits. Martial arts had limits.
And then, while staring blankly at my ceiling one night, the answer finally struck me.
“Magic.”
Of course.
The answer had been right in front of me the entire time.
Magic transcended logic. It ignored conventional laws. If something could allow a person to survive the impossible, then it had to be magic.
My path was suddenly clear.
The next question became:
“How do I obtain magic?”
**Timeskip:-Two weeks later**
The answer, apparently, was not “repeatedly smashing your head against a rock.”
In hindsight, that should have been obvious.
Over those two weeks, I tried everything remotely connected to supernatural phenomena. Meditation beneath waterfalls. Sensory deprivation. Breathing techniques. Ancient rituals found on obscure forums. Standing beneath lightning storms. Fasting.
At one point, I became convinced that wandering naked through a forest while concussed might awaken hidden spiritual energy.
Desperation does strange things to people.
And yet…
Nothing worked.
Until that night.
I stood alone in the darkness, breathing heavily after another failed attempt at enlightenment, when suddenly—
I saw them.
Two brilliant lights, rushing toward me.
My eyes widened.
“Finally!” I thought.
After all my efforts… after all my sacrifices… I had finally found it.
Magic.
Real magic.
Those glowing spheres had to be manifestations of supernatural energy descending upon me from another realm.
At last, destiny had answered my call.
Then my brain finally processed reality.
Those were not magical orbs.
They were headlights.
Attached to a truck.
A very large truck.
Moving very fast.
“Ah,” I thought.
That was my final coherent thought before impact.
At first, there was nothing.
No pain.
No sound.
No sensation.
Only darkness.
An endless abyss stretched in every direction, swallowing everything in silence. I floated aimlessly within it, unable to tell whether seconds or centuries had passed.
Perhaps this was death.
An eternal void where human consciousness drifted forever, reflecting on its failures.
If so, death was surprisingly boring.
At least when you’re alive, you can train, fight, and dramatically monologue to yourself. Floating endlessly in darkness had significantly fewer opportunities for cool moments.
I eventually began wondering whether I should have chosen a different path in life.
Maybe I should’ve become a doctor. Or an engineer.
Then again, no engineer could become an eminence in shadow.
Probably.
As I continued drifting through the abyss, something changed.
A light appeared in the distance.
Tiny at first.
Then larger.
Closer.
Brighter.
It rushed toward me with incredible speed until my entire vision was consumed by white.
And then—
Sound.
Warmth.
Movement.
Voices.
I blinked slowly.
My vision was blurry, but I could vaguely make out figures standing above me.
“…Congratulations!”
“…healthy baby…”
Baby?
Wait.
No.
Absolutely not.
I attempted to move, only to discover that my limbs were tiny and uncoordinated.
My thoughts froze.
Had I… been reborn?
That made no sense.
Reincarnation wasn’t scientifically possible.
Then again, neither was magic.
Speaking of which…
My attention shifted toward the air around me.
Tiny glowing particles floated everywhere.
They shimmered softly, drifting through the room like microscopic stars.
The moment I sensed them, instinctively, I understood.
Mana.
Magic existed.
For a brief moment, pure joy overwhelmed me.
I had done it.
Against all odds, I had reached a world where magic was real.
Unfortunately, my infant body lacked the stamina necessary to sustain further excitement. Exhaustion quickly overtook me.
As my consciousness faded, one final thought crossed my mind.
“Have I finally become closer to the Eminence in Shadow?”
And thus, Minoru Kagenou died.
And Cid Kageno was born.