Really should start watching Eminence in Shadow. I've followed the manga since chap 1 got translated and never regretted it. Was thinking what it'd be like if Cid just got kicked into DxD universe instead, and, well, you know what they say

If there's something you want to read but it's not been written yet; write it yourself

So here it is

Debating still whether i should turn this as a crossover since the world is still completely dxd

〖 Prologue 〗

⦕ I Am… Positively on the Wrong World ⦖

This might be a strange thing to say, but I have this weird feeling that I shouldn't be transported —isekaid— here. Perhaps this is just a funny gut feeling of mine, but I am 97.8% certain (this guy came up with that number just so to sound smarter) that I should have been reborn as a son of a nobility in a fantastical world completely different from my world of origin, instead of a… an already grown up, healthy 18-year-old Japanese guy with completely clean record who is of course, orphaned, and lives in an ordinary apartment.

It is saddening that I have to be separated from my real parents… and maybe I'll start feeling sad once I get over the fact that THIS WORLD HAS ALL SORTS OF SUPERNATURAL STUFFS BABY. WOO.

Which directly translates to as long as I have the will, the perseverance to train… and sheer fucking will… which I suppose I just mentioned earlier, I can be the one thing that I want…

To become the Eminence in Shadow.

What does that mean, you ask?

Heh. Simpletons like you won't get it.

But very well, I'll explain in a flash. My ultimate goal (read: fantasy) is to become the kind of character that controls the flow of things in the back of the stage, occasionally and preferably stealing the spotlight. Not the story's hero, not the villain, but the chessmaster. A mysterious entity that pulls the strings yet blends in all too well with commoners that no one can suspect a thing. The "Eminence in Shadow".

Now there's one major problem.

Several, actually.

In this world, I have learned that there exists things called "Sacred Gears", which sounded badass as hell, and I know I have to get one of them. There's also Longinus, which is basically Sacred Gears that are so special that it gets a dedicated category. Big problem is, you can only get them from birth. It's like a lottery. And I always sucked at lotteries. It's the reason why I avoid gacha games.

But apparently, there are ways to get them.

I learned just so in the first week I got here… in this small, unassuming town of Kuoh… the perfect starting ground of my up and coming underground syndicate… Shadow Garden.

Oh, my new name's Cid, it seems like. Cid Kagenou. It says so on my student's card. If it were up to me, I'd have picked more milquetoast name like Yamada or Honda or even Kenji. They're more or less the Japanese equivalent of the name 'John', but I'll make do with Cid. A name is only a name.

An Eminence in Shadow must adapt, improvise, and overcome.

〖 Chapter 1〗

⦕ I Am… Taking the Leap of Faith ⦖

I understand that while I might be 'magically transported' to Japan, and although the building design is definitely of good ol' Nippon culture; this 'Kuoh Town' is not in my original Japan. Oddly enough, upon checking the map, Kuoh Town is the only addition of this world's Japan that I can tell at a glance.

It must mean this town must be vital to this world.
(And while his assumption turned out correct, it was nonetheless a poor basis to set his grounds on. Annoyingly, this happens rather often on a regular basis.)

And yes, of course I have memorized my country's region. I can't afford to get lost in my 1.000 km marathon. Pretending to be lost and playing the part is another thing though.

Actually, to label it as 'pretending' is an insult.

It is an art.

A long forgotten art… the Mob Fu. One I have perfected in my old world.

Shoving that aside, I can definitely tell there magic is rich in this world. I can sense it. I can't tell which of my meditation methods allowed me to sense these thin, invisible fabrics of magic; it could've been the waterfall meditation, my quiet meditation in front of my TV, my dedication of yoga, the Ouija Board I used to connect to the spirits (didn't work), my 40 days fastings to replicate Jesus, my self-affixing to a cross to replicate Jesus, or perhaps by reciting the R'lyehian chant — but the methods don't matter to me. Only the result.

I can sense that there's magic that is potent in this world, and that's all that I give a crap about.

Now, using it is a different question. What's the point of being able to sense it if I can't use it? Because most of the humans here certainly can't. Most of them are just regular joes, going about their day. While I certainly did dream about entering a world where using magic is an ordinary thing that won't freak the public, this does make my goal of blending in with the masses a lot more difficult… In other words, a challenge.

Nice… I mean, excellent.

I enjoy challenges. I thrive on those things.

But I do need to find people that can use it, observe and learn from them. To defeat any magic-users or anyone for that matter, I first must know about them. The way they fight, their fighting stances, what weapon they predominantly resort into, how they 'use' magic, their range of engagement, and so and so. The last one is the crucial one.

In my old world, people can't just conjure a sword out of nowhere and effectively increase their engagement range. They can't shoot bullets out of their hands. They can't dash 5 meters in a blink (which is possible here; I've practiced). Magic brings an entirely new variable to winning a fight, and potentially takes some away if they focus or rely completely on magic.

Now it's been three days since I got here and as per usual, my luck has been crappier than crap. Having to attend second grade high school again doesn't help either. Yes, it will be more convenient to simply ditch school as I've learned all of this back in my old second grade, achieving a perfectly average score, but getting expelled or requesting an out of a rather prestigious school and scholarship for no good apparent reason is too attention-drawing. I don't want to be recognized as a punk. In fact, I don't want to be recognized at all.

But alas, such is the struggle of going down this road… but it is the path I've chosen and there's no turnaround. I don't do things half-assed.

"Yo, Cid," a familiar voice. A boyish voice. Coming from my left—

That was Hyoudou Issei. A brown-haired classmate of mine. An ordinary guy like most of my classmates here. While I can tell this school housed some Supernaturals, I can't pinpoint them yet. It's like they have a scrambler installed somewhere, scattering the faint traces. It's also one of the reasons I can't yet leave this school.

Normally, flanking him would be his two best and perhaps only friends; The Baldie and The Glasses. The three making the Perverted Trio. Hyoudou himself is dubbed as the Trio's leader, and I've no intention of turning it into the Perverted Quartet, as nice as that roll off the tongue.

This time, it's just Hyoudou though.

"Hey," I greeted casually. "Sup."

"You got time today?" he asked.

"If you're going to ask me to get you porn mags, it's still a no. Just because I'm 18 doesn't mean I'll buy stuff for you. Unless you pay me."

"No! It's not that! And damn you're a cheapskate..." That's a quick denial, sounding more like an outburst. Is this guy really about to fill me in with something actually of worth for once that has no relation to a girl's body? "Look, man... I… I got a date."

Huh.

Huh?

Seriously?

I guess miracles do happen. As expected from a world of magic!

"Well, good for you," I say to him. Genuinely, of course. And sort of surprised. "Congrats."

"Hehe thanks— wait, no. Look, man, thanks for that, but I need your help."

"I'm not buying you condoms."

"Not that!" Hyoudou shouted, before reconsidering it for a moment. "...Wait, for real? Do you carry one— no of course you don't. You're afraid of girls."

"Yeah. Girls freak me out," I lie naturally as I breathe.

I'm not afraid of girls, of course, but in this school where the majority of the students are female, it's just much more convenient to stay in the background by painting myself as one. It reduces the amount of regular people I need to interact with to keep up this facade, and staying away from them won't raise suspicion. I'll just claim it's from my traumatic past or some shit like that. My unassuming, hyper-standard black straight hair definitely helps me blend in.

"...You're probably the worst guy I can ask this but I literally have no one else to ask," Hyoudou continues anyway. I can feel the desperation in his voice, but with it also embarrassment. Is he really going to ask me for some dating tips? "But if you can tell me what to do on a first date, then you gotta tell me now."

He really did ask me for dating tips.

"...How should I know. I never dated either. I don't even know what your girl is like."

"No, but you're logical! And 'my girl' huh? I like the sound of that… A-anyway, c'mon man, give me some pointers! I'd ask Matsu or Moto but yesterday those two wanted to uppercut me when I told them about the news!"

Of course they would. Just few days ago, you were having a brotherly crying session about not having a girlfriend.

"Should I take her to the amusement park?"

Well… when in doubt, go for the most basic answer. "Erm… uh… take her to the movies before you eat? You don't have to do much when watching a movie, and you can always discuss it later when you eat."

Hearing that, his eyes glittered like he's found the way. "Dude you're a genius. Why didn't I think of that? Thanks Cid! Next ramen is on me! If things go well, I mean!"

And he ran off, likely to meet his new girlfriend. I can always learn what not to do from him when I'm in my mob-mode; making that sort of rushed exit is one of them. Anyway, I should get going too; normal mobs don't stay at school when it's over.

I was heading elsewhere that is not the school when I sensed it; the essences of magic, clumped together. It's faint; it's like someone just brushed your hand with a soft brush very gently, but I felt it. Excitedly, I followed it. Imagine my surprise that the magic-user turned out to be Hyoudou's new girlfriend. This is excellent— in the future, I can use my status as his 'more than acquaintance less than friend' and my 'fear' towards girls as an excuse to stick around them occasionally while, of course, observing how she manipulates magic.

Looks like my luck isn't so bad after all.

She's wearing a green blazer from another school, and has his arm wrapped around hers. Maybe it's just me, but isn't she being too proactive that it seems forced? Eh well. What do I know about relationships. Not to mention it's a different world. The morals are probably slightly different to mine.

And looks like he's not going to the cinema as I recommended, he instead goes straight to the park. Might as well, I thought. I frequent the town's park every so often. It has this strange pull… if I have to describe it. Like it's a place that will be a historic place in the future because of how many important events that occur in that place. Call this a chuuni's intuition, but I sense there will be many 'first-encounters' events happening in the general vicinity of the park.

Like a movie on a budget that has limited shooting areas.

I keep my distance, always making sure there's a crowd between us which is rather easy because the park is one of the popular spots for highschoolers to spend their time, and not just Kuoh Academy students, but other school's too. Like that girl's school… and others.

I admit I haven't paid much attention to the educational institutions in this town or bothered to remember their name.

Anyway, as they're entering deeper into the park, that's when things… start to get an interesting turn (he always wanted to say that).

I feel a distortion in the world around me. It's hard to explain, but I know it's true because those two suddenly disappeared when they approached the fountain. Weirdly enough, nobody noticed. Nobody except me, that is. So I take a closer look to the last place I saw them, and sure enough, I can sense the fabric of magic has been disconnected right there. It's as though there's a sphere around the fountain, where it has two different rooms. One room is the normal one; the one able to be seen with the naked eye and traversable to ordinary people.

And it seems that regardless of where you enter this sphere, you'll be sent to the first room because that's where I keep ending up (much to the confusion of the people nearby, who had wisely decided to stay a further distance from the weirdo that had been circling the fountain).

Right. Time to reconsider.

These are essences of magic… they're fabrics. They should be able to be cut. But with what? Or how? Logically, they're only interactable with something of the same plane or of a higher plane. But I am of the 'mortal' plane I guess, but so is Hyoudou and he got in there, so it means it won't reject things that aren't of the same origin. All he needed was a medium… which was the girl.

So I need another Supernatural to help me get into this hidden room… Well that doesn't help. Any Supernaturals lying around? No? Thought so.

Fine. I'll create my own medium.

I sit down at the bench some distance from the fountain, leaned forward with my hands clasped as if I'm about to pray. People are staring, but I can't really care right now. Gotta empty my mind and focus — I feel my senses sharpening, yet drowning out all the unnecessary sound. Entering a trance is so difficult at first but once you learn how, it's easy and relaxing…

And it lets me refresh my head, and helps me zero in on my senses.

Achieving tranquility, I open my eyes, and I can no longer see the visitors.

But I see it. I see them. I see the skies have taken a purple hue. I smile as I see the fabric of magic clearly for the first time, and that I have entered a different plane. Mystical light blue in color. Many scattered and without form like damaged cobwebs, and one giant cocoon currently encasing the entire fountain.

I touch one of the stray, lone, essences of magic, picking it like cotton, and it pools in my hand. It feels nice and cool to the touch. Liquidish, but shapeable. They're sorta like tar but less icky. If I can find a way to absorb these like a vacuum, I can already see the capabilities of what I can do. Right now though, I don't know what I can do with a marble-sized essence of magic —which I'm going to start referring to as Mana from now as it's shorter— but it's a huge start.

I can't hold my smile from turning into a grin. I, Cid Kagenou, have found my way to traverse into this… whatever this dimension is called, but I'm naming it the Shadow Dimension to stay thematic. It makes perfect sense as it's right next to the ordinary dimension and and perfectly unnoticeable.

Actually sensing a glorious laughter coming, I decide to save it for later as now I need to change to my disguise and hide my backpack.

One thing for certain… This marks the start of my career as The Eminence in Shadow.

…Oh man, I'm so excited. I'm glad I have enough time and money to order and receive my custom outfit. It's all black, obviously. You can't have the Eminence in Shadow to dress in flashy colors.

To be continued…

Here I bring you Cid, the unapologetic chuuni edgelord. Do expect quotes so insanely cheesy you thought you were reading a double mozzarella pizza

And even if Cid's going to go through some learning curve to fulfill his full potential, he's still gonna be grossly overpowered, and I don't care. The 'I am atomic' line is just *chef's kiss*

Hard to be cringe if you have no shame and have full confidence

It's a short chapter than usual, yes. I'm experimenting with the length and first person POV

lots of question i'm sure, like how did Cid get to DxD for one. I'm sure you can imagine what to expect from Cid, so let me know all of your questions and I'll make sure to either cover them in future chapters, or respond it via PM or next chapter's A/N if your PM is disabled

until next time, by3by3