The last thing Cid Kagenou remembered was the blinding headlights and the satisfying thought that he'd finally achieved the perfect nuclear magic compression technique. Then there was darkness, a strange pulling sensation, and—
"Ow."
Cid opened his eyes to find himself face-down on cobblestone. Not modern Japanese asphalt, but actual, honest-to-god medieval cobblestones. His heart began to race, but not with fear. Oh no. This was excitement.
Please be isekai. Please be isekai. Please be isekai.
He pushed himself up, taking in his surroundings with barely contained glee. Medieval European architecture. People in fantasy-world clothing. A fruit stand with produce he'd never seen before. The distant sound of horse-drawn carriages.
"YESSSSSS!" Cid pumped his fist in the air, startling several passersby. He quickly composed himself, slipping into what he called "Background Character Mode #3: Slightly Lost Tourist."
He'd spent his entire previous life preparing for this moment. All those years of training his body, developing his magic, perfecting his martial arts, and most importantly, crafting the perfect chunni persona—it was all for this. To become the Eminence in Shadow in a real fantasy world.
Cid checked himself over. Same body, same age—he appeared to be around seventeen. He was wearing simple traveling clothes that somehow fit the aesthetic of this world perfectly. Even better, when he reached inside himself for his magic, it was there. All of it. Every technique, every innovation, every ridiculous power he'd cultivated.
He allowed himself a small, totally-not-evil smile. "Shadow Garden, huh? Time to rebuild from scratch. But first..." He looked around at what appeared to be a bustling market district. "Intel gathering. A good mob character always knows his setting."
The capital city of Lugnica, Cid learned within an hour, was a treasure trove of chunni potential.
Royal selection with candidates chosen by dragon stones? Check.
A mysterious witch cult terrorizing the countryside? Double check.
Demi-humans, spirits, and actual magic that everyone could see? Triple check with sprinkles on top.
Cid sat in a corner of a tavern, nursing a drink and listening to gossip while maintaining the perfect "forgettable traveler" persona. He'd already picked up the language—apparently, whatever force brought him here included a translation package, which was convenient—and was busy cataloging every delicious detail.
"Did you hear? Another village got hit by the Witch Cult last week," a grizzled merchant muttered to his companion.
"The White Whale was spotted near the Liphas Highway again," another voice chimed in.
"I heard Lady Emilia is in the capital for the royal selection. Can you believe it? A half-elf with silver hair!"
Cid's eyes gleamed. A witch cult. An actual witch cult. Not a fake one he had to create himself, but a real, genuine secret organization of bad guys. This was almost too perfect.
"Excuse me," Cid said, approaching the merchant with the exact amount of hesitant curiosity a background character would display. "I'm new to the capital. What's this about a witch cult?"
The merchant launched into an explanation about the Witch's Cult, the Sin Archbishops, and the Witch of Envy who'd destroyed half the world four hundred years ago. With each word, Cid's internal chunni meter rose higher and higher.
This world is PERFECT, he thought, maintaining his innocent, slightly nervous expression. A cult that actually uses dark powers, multiple factions, political intrigue, AND I can sense there's something weird about the magic here. Something... off. Like there's another layer to reality.*
He'd noticed it when he first arrived—a strange distortion in the magical atmosphere of this world, like reality itself was slightly malleable here. His atomic-level magic manipulation let him sense things others couldn't. Whatever this phenomenon was, it was big.
"Thank you for the information," Cid said with a polite bow, perfectly executing "Background Character Exit #7."
As he left the tavern, his mind was already racing. He needed a base of operations. He needed to establish his Shadow persona. He needed to find or create subordinates for Shadow Garden. And most importantly, he needed to figure out what that strange distortion in the world's magic was.
Was it related to the Witch of Envy? The Royal Selection? Something else entirely?
It doesn't matter, Cid thought, allowing himself a small smirk as he walked down an alley. Whatever conspiracy exists in this world, I'll uncover it, insert myself into it, and make it part of Shadow's legend.
He found a secluded spot and let his magic flow. Black and crimson energy swirled around him as he accessed his full power for the first time in this new world. The sensation was intoxicating. His atomic manipulation, his compressed nuclear magic, his sword techniques—all of it was here, and even stronger than before.
"This world's magic is denser," he muttered, watching the energy dance between his fingers. "I can do things here that would've been impossible back home."
As the sun began to set over Lugnica's capital, Cid made his way toward the slums. Every good shadow organization needed to start from the bottom, after all. That's where you found people desperate enough to believe in your cause, strong enough to be worth training, and loyal enough to dedicate themselves to the shadow.
Plus, statistically speaking, that's where the actual conspiracies usually had their roots.
He was so focused on his plans that he almost didn't notice the strange pulling sensation—like someone had tugged on a string connected to his very existence. It lasted only a moment, barely noticeable, and left behind a weird aftertaste in his magical senses.
Cid paused, frowning. "What was that?"
He probed the sensation with his magic, but found nothing. Just that strange distortion he'd sensed earlier, maybe slightly stronger now.
"Hmm. Interesting." He filed it away for later investigation and continued walking.
Unbeknownst to Cid, in a small shop in the merchant district, a boy named Subaru Natsuki had just experienced the most terrifying moment of his life—and had his death rewound for the first time.
The next day started normally enough.
Cid had spent the night in a cheap inn, using some money he'd... acquired... from a group of thugs who'd made the mistake of trying to mug him in an alley. He'd let them land a few hits first, of course—background characters didn't fight back immediately—before perfectly executing "Defensive Mob Counter-Attack Pattern #12," which left them unconscious but not seriously injured.
A perfect mob would show just enough competence to survive, but not so much that people remembered them.
He'd woken up early, done his morning calisthenics (modified to not draw attention), and headed out to continue his reconnaissance of the capital.
That's when he felt it again.
The same pulling sensation, the same distortion in reality. Cid stopped mid-stride, his eyes narrowing. This time he was paying attention. This time he felt it fully.
It was like the entire world had... skipped. Like someone had rewound a recording by exactly one day.
"What the..." Cid looked around. Everything was exactly as it had been yesterday morning. The same merchants setting up the same stalls. The same guards on patrol. Even the same cloud formation in the sky.
His mind raced. Time magic? No, that's not quite right. This is something else. Something that affects the entire world but... I'm not affected? Why would I be exempt from a reality-warping effect?
He tested his memories. Yesterday was still clear in his mind. The thugs he'd fought, the money he'd taken, the conversations he'd had—all of it remained.
"Is this... a time loop?" Cid felt his chunni heart soar. "A mystery that affects the entire world, but I'm somehow outside it? This is..." He had to physically restrain himself from laughing maniacally. "This is perfect! A conspiracy that literally rewrites reality itself!"
He needed more data. If this was truly a time loop, then presumably someone else was also aware of it—the person at the center of the phenomenon. And if he could sense the distortion, maybe he could track it.
Cid closed his eyes and extended his magical senses as far as they could go, searching for the epicenter of the reality distortion.
There. In the merchant's district. A signature that felt... wrong. Not malicious exactly, but out of sync with the world around it. Like someone who didn't quite belong to this reality's current timeline.
"Found you," Cid whispered.
He made his way toward the distortion, keeping his presence suppressed. Whatever was causing this phenomenon, it was too perfect to ignore. This was exactly the kind of conspiracy Shadow should be investigating.
As he walked through the market, maintaining his mob character persona, he spotted something interesting. A boy—Japanese, by the looks of it, probably around his age—wearing a tracksuit and looking completely lost.
More importantly, the boy was at the exact center of the distortion Cid had sensed.
Another person from Earth? Cid thought, carefully observing from a distance. And he's connected to the time loop. Interesting. Very interesting.
He watched as the boy asked for directions, got ignored, and generally made a fool of himself. A perfect mob character would help, establishing themselves as a minor friendly NPC.
But Cid had a better idea.
If this time loop keeps repeating, I can gather data. Watch how events unfold, see what changes, figure out the mechanism. And since I'm apparently exempt from the loop itself, I'll remember everything while the rest of the world resets.
He smiled to himself. "Thank you, mysterious time loop power, for granting Shadow the perfect information advantage."
Cid melted back into the crowd, already planning his investigation. He'd observe this loop, see what happened, and when it reset again (if it reset again), he'd be ready.
It reset again.
Three hours later, Cid felt the same pulling sensation. One moment he was watching the tracksuit boy argue with a fruit vendor, the next—
The same morning. The same setup. The same confused boy appearing in the street, looking around in panic.
But this time, the boy's panic was different. More intense. Like someone who'd just experienced something horrible.
So he retains his memories too, Cid observed from his vantage point on a rooftop. Which means every time something bad happens, he loops back. A save point system? No, more like... Return by Death?
The phrase popped into his head unbidden, and somehow felt right.
Cid spent the second loop following the boy from a distance, watching him make slightly different choices. The boy was clearly trying to change something, prevent something.
When the loop reset again an hour later, Cid was ready.
By the fifth loop, Cid had compiled quite the dossier.
The boy's name was Subaru Natsuki. He was definitely from Japan. He had some kind of ability that reset time whenever he died—a power that apparently came with the inability to tell anyone about it, based on the way shadows literally manifested around him when he tried.
A curse from the Witch of Envy? Cid theorized. That distortion I'm sensing could be the witch's lingering influence on reality. And somehow, I'm outside its effect. My atomic magic manipulation must be interfering with the curse's perception of me.
More importantly, Subaru was trying to save a girl. A half-elf with silver hair and purple eyes, accompanied by a cat spirit. After watching the loops play out, Cid had figured out the basic pattern: Subaru meets the girl, they get involved with a theft, they track it to a loot house, and then something kills them.
The fifth loop was proceeding as normal when Cid decided it was time to intervene.
Not to help, mind you. That wouldn't be very Shadow of him.
No, he needed to insert himself into this situation in a way that would be mysterious, impressive, and completely inexplicable to Subaru. The boy had no idea Cid was aware of the loops. As far as Subaru knew, this was the first time they'd met.
The perfect opportunity to establish Shadow's legend in this world.
Cid made his way to the loot house before Subaru and the half-elf girl arrived. Using his detection magic, he'd already identified the enemy—a woman named Elsa, an assassin specializing in disembowelment, hired by someone to kill the half-elf.
Perfect, Cid thought, finding a shadowy corner to wait in. A beautiful assassin, a mysterious target, a theft as cover for assassination. This has conspiracy written all over it.
He suppressed his magical presence to absolute zero and waited.
Twenty minutes later, right on schedule, Subaru and the half-elf entered the building, accompanied by an old man named Rom. They were confronting a girl named Felt about a stolen insignia.
Then Elsa arrived.
Cid watched from the shadows as Elsa revealed her true purpose, as Subaru desperately tried to fight back, as the half-elf used ice magic. He observed Elsa's fighting style, her magic, her weaknesses.
When the moment was right—when Elsa had the half-elf pinned and was about to deliver the killing blow—Cid made his move.
He didn't just step out of the shadows. That would be too mundane.
No, he emerged from them, his form coalescing from pure darkness itself, black and crimson magic swirling around him like a cloak. His presence, previously suppressed to nothing, exploded outward with enough force to shake the building.
"To think I'd encounter the Bowel Hunter so soon," Cid said, his voice layered with magic to make it deeper, more ominous. "The night certainly is full of surprises."
Everyone froze. Elsa's eyes widened slightly—the first sign of surprise he'd seen from her. Subaru looked like he'd seen a ghost. The half-elf stared in shock.
Cid stood there, perfectly backlit by moonlight streaming through a broken window, his coat billowing dramatically despite the lack of wind. He'd spent years perfecting this entrance.
"W-who are you?" Subaru managed to stammer out.
Cid turned slightly, just enough to show his profile, his face half-hidden in shadow. "I am but a shadow, a humble traveler of the night. You may call me..." He paused for maximum dramatic effect. "Shadow."
Nailed it.
Elsa recovered quickly, her smile returning. "My, my. Another player enters the stage. How delightful." She launched herself at Cid with blinding speed.
To everyone watching, what happened next was impossible to follow. Cid and Elsa became blurs of motion, exchanging dozens of strikes in seconds. Knives met... something. Sword? Magic? No one could tell.
But Cid could tell. He was holding back, naturally. Using maybe five percent of his full power. Enough to match Elsa evenly, to make this look like a challenging fight between equal masters.
In reality, he could see every movement in slow motion. He could end this in one strike if he wanted. But where was the fun in that? Where was the mystery? Where was the STYLE?
"Impressive," Elsa purred, landing a short distance away. "You're the first person to match my speed in quite some time."
"You're not bad yourself," Cid replied, allowing a thin trickle of blood to run from a shallow cut on his cheek—entirely intentional, of course. "But I'm afraid your contract ends here."
He raised his hand, and shadows erupted from the floor itself, writhing like living things. This was pure theatricality—he was using atomic magic manipulation to excite the particles in the air and create pseudo-solid constructs, but it looked like dark magic straight out of an anime.
Elsa's eyes widened. "Impossible. That's—"
"I Am Atomic," Cid intoned, and unleashed a compressed burst of magical energy.
The explosion was carefully calibrated—enough to blow a hole in the wall and send Elsa flying, but not enough to kill her. She landed in the street outside, somehow still on her feet, now looking at him with genuine wariness.
"We'll meet again, Shadow," she said, and disappeared into the night.
Cid stood there, his coat still billowing, magic still crackling around him. He could feel everyone's eyes on him. Perfect.
He turned to face the group. Subaru was gaping. The half-elf looked shocked and grateful. Felt looked confused. Rom looked ready to pass out.
"The conspiracy runs deeper than you know," Cid said mysteriously. "The theft, the assassination attempt—they're merely pieces of a larger game. But fear not. Shadow watches from the darkness." He started walking toward the hole in the wall. "We shall meet again when the time is right."
"Wait!" Subaru called out. "Who are you really? And how did you—"
But Cid was already gone, melting into the shadows like he'd never been there.
Several blocks away, he allowed himself a huge grin. "Oh my god, that was PERFECT! Did you see their faces? And that exit? Flawless! I've still got it!"
He did a little celebration dance in the alley before composing himself.
Now came the real question: would this loop reset again, or had he prevented whatever death was supposed to occur?
More importantly: if it did reset, what would Subaru think when Cid remembered everything about their encounter, even though from Subaru's perspective it would be the first time they'd met?
The confusion on his face will be priceless, Cid thought gleefully.
But beyond the theatrics, his analytical mind was already working. The Bowel Hunter—Elsa—had been hired by someone. Someone who wanted the half-elf dead. And that someone was connected to a larger conspiracy.
"This world," Cid murmured, looking up at the stars, "is going to be fun."
The loop didn't reset.
Cid waited the entire night, staying alert for that pulling sensation, but it never came. By morning, he was certain—whatever Subaru's death condition had been, Cid's intervention had prevented it.
Which means he'll remember this loop, Cid thought. He'll remember Shadow appearing mysteriously, saving them, and disappearing. He'll have questions. And I'll have to carefully manage how much information I 'let slip' when we inevitably meet again.
The game was afoot.
Over the next few days, Cid threw himself into reconnaissance and planning. He explored the capital, mapped out the slums, identified potential recruits for Shadow Garden, and most importantly, started investigating the various factions at play.
The Royal Selection candidates. The Witch's Cult. The merchant guilds. The knights. Every organization, every power structure was a potential thread in the grand conspiracy he was constructing in his mind.
Some of it was real. Some of it was probably his imagination. But that was the beauty of it—in a world this messed up, the line between paranoid delusion and actual conspiracy was delightfully thin.
He also kept tabs on Subaru. The boy had apparently gotten himself employed at a mansion outside the capital—the half-elf's residence, if Cid's intel was correct. Some kind of indentured servitude arrangement to repay her for helping him.
Interesting. He's inserting himself into her faction. Smart move, even if he doesn't realize the political implications.
Cid, meanwhile, had begun establishing his own base of operations. He'd found a warehouse in the slums, nominally owned by a merchant who was never around. A few judicious applications of money (acquired through "redistributing" funds from criminals) had secured him exclusive use of the building.
Now he was furnishing it. Not too lavishly—that would attract attention. But enough to serve as headquarters for Shadow Garden once he got it running.
He was in the middle of setting up what he called the "Dramatic Entrance Doorway" (which was just a normal doorway with really good lighting) when he felt that pulling sensation again.
Cid froze. The loop reset? But it's been days. Why would it reset now?
He immediately extended his senses, searching for the distortion's epicenter. There—the mansion where Subaru was working.
"Something happened at the mansion," Cid muttered. "Something that killed Subaru and triggered the loop."
This changed things. If Subaru could die and reset even after their first encounter, that meant the time loop ability was still active. Which meant Cid's immunity to it was permanent, not temporary.
Which meant unlimited information advantage.
Cid grinned. "This is going to be interesting."
He made his way toward the mansion district, careful to maintain his background character disguise. He had no intention of interfering yet—first, he needed to understand what was happening.
But as he traveled, his analytical mind was already working. A mansion outside the capital. The half-elf's residence. What kind of threat could exist there that would kill Subaru?
The Witch's Cult? Another assassin? Internal betrayal? Or... His eyes narrowed. What if it's connected to that distortion I keep sensing? The witch's curse on Subaru, the strange magical atmosphere of this world—there's a pattern here I'm not seeing yet.
Whatever it was, Shadow would uncover it. Because that's what Shadow did—lurk in the darkness, uncover conspiracies, and look absolutely badass while doing it.
As the sun set over Lugnica and Cid made his way toward the Roswaal mansion, he couldn't help but smile.
His second life was just beginning, and it was already shaping up to be everything he'd ever dreamed of.
Thank you, truck-kun, he thought. Thank you for giving me the ultimate chunni playground.
The shadows deepened around him as he walked, and somewhere in the mansion ahead, Subaru Natsuki woke up screaming, completely unaware that his confusion was about to get much, much worse.
To Be Continued...