I have a feeling that by the time Shadow actually meets with Aurora and Elizabeth he will already be way too OP to consider them worthy opponents, but at the same time magic research is Cid's second nature so he can't just stop with it. Thoughts?

And Yellow Liz: your point on this subject is pretty much interesting, but unfortunately I challenge you with Infernum Masochist Legendary GetFixedBoi Calamity run; come back when you reach Eternity instead of your measly Nascent Soul stage %)

"Hmm, that's some great tea. Thank you, Gamma," Cid was enjoying himself.

"I am glad to be of service, Lord Shadow," Gamma smiled warmly.

They were currently sitting in Mitsugoshi's VIP room, him, Seven Shades, and Claire. He didn't know what exactly his sister was doing here but considering she already knew about his secret identity he didn't bother with that.

"Master Shadow, I assume you decided to deepen your knowledge in artifact making?" Eta's eyes sparkled as she stared at him, her usually sleepy nature completely suppressed under thirst for knowledge.

"M-m-m, that is correct, Eta. And I was absolutely satisfied with the results. If you wish, we can discuss it right here," and that would save him from Alpha's scolding for some time.

"Hmm… Not now… Lady Alpha first…" well, it was worth a try.

"So, Master Shadow," Alpha scrutinized him, "we already understood that your goal was artifact crafting. What happened next?"

"Oh, right! I understood that Ancient Runes are complete garbage!"

"…What?" Alpha and Eta blinked at him as everyone else just stared, dumbfounded.

"No, of course not complete garbage, they serve their role pretty well… But the problem is, they inhibit your growth!"

"Elaborate," Alpha frowned.

"Ah, how do I say that…" Cid rubbed his chin, "Well, you know that some languages have more ways to express some things and completely lack the means for others?"

"Yes, and that relates to runes, how?" Eta inquired.

"The runic language was specifically created as means to enchant things!" he proudly declared.

And then silence permeated the room. Women exchanged glances, not understanding the meaning behind his words.

"My dearest little brother, that's precisely what runes should do?" Claire was the first to ask.

"…You don't get it? Not even you, Eta?"

"I am afraid… not, Master Shadow…" researcher sulked.

"Right, then let me ask you this," Cid stood up and reached out to her, "What knowledge do you have about artifact making as a whole and runes in general, my trusty scientist?"

"Umm…" Eta unexpectedly blushed, "runes are used… to make pathways for magic energy… and to enchant material… Depending on your knowledge… it may be possible to increase prowess of something and even add abilities…"

"Mostly correct," Cid nodded, "however, what you don't know is… Runes carry meaning."

"Hm?…"

"The whole runic language was created in collaborate efforts of all craftsmen. They imprinted their own understanding in every letter, allowing countless people to use enchantment without learning too much about how nature works," Cid frowned, "And that's why it's complete garbage. You are, quite literally, use borrowed power. You, by yourself, don't understand how it works. You just know that if you write things in specific order, it will work. This is not even maths, where you simply use numeric language to make an order out of nature. Runic language is, quite literally, someone's else thoughts about nature, and you end up relying on them too much."

"But…" Eta frowned, "whenever I apply my knowledge in enchantment, it works better…" researcher's eyes widened.

"You start to understand, don't you?" Cid smiled, "If you do actually learn about nature, then your comprehension outweighs whatever opinions creators imprinted…"

"…Which allows me to continue in my growth, and the only reason I continue using runes is because I grew on them too much," scientist beamed.

"You understand anything?" "Uh, somewhat…" "Delta can't understand anything…" "I should have taken Ancient Language courses…"

"Um, little brother…" Claire coughed, "Now can you please explain to every sword user in the room what does that mean for us?"

"Hm, well…" Cid face became extremely serious, as women waited with bated breath, "nothing."

"…What?"

"Yeah, it means nothing for you. You never dabbled in the enchantment, runes, yadda-yadda, you only used sword, which is cool, but…" he made 'so-so' gesture.

"Oh yeah?! Well then, allow me to see how actually strong you are, little brother!" Claire fired up.

"Please, wait, miss Claire," Alpha interjected, "I still haven't asked something."

"Yeah, fine, but after that we will fight!" his sister huffed.

"Well, alright, what is it, Alpha?" Cid urged the elf.

"How did you appear from the shadows?"

"I am Shadow. I lurk in the shadows," he smiled.

"But there's no magic that allows you to literally merge with the shadows, to my knowledge," sta-a-are.

"Well, now there is."

Alpha went silent for a moment.

"It wasn't dangerous, was it?"

"Hmm…" Cid estimated a bit, "nah, everything was perfectly okay."

"Good," Alpha nodded, "because I don't want to think about it anymore. You are to cuddle with me tonight."

"Sure- hold up?"

"You are to cuddle with me tonight," Alpha repeated, "And if everyone else wishes for it, you are to cuddle with them, too."

"But I haven't finished yet! There's so much to explore!"

Bonk!

"Little brother, neglecting your girls surely would bring nothing good, right?… Ugh, your head is like metal…" Claire grimaced, massaging her hand.

"Right, right, I'll stay with you for tonight," he sighed and leaned back in his chair.

"Good. Next point: Goddess' Trial in Lindwurm."

"Oh, I know about that one," Claire spoke, though after a moment of consideration she added, "but the only thing I heard is that challenger will meet with spirits of warriors from the past."

"Yes, you are indeed correct, miss Claire," Alpha nodded, "Which is precisely why we wish to investigate this place. How does it work? Where do the spirits come from? Could there be… something deeper?"

"Hmm, that sounds pretty great," Cid rubbed his chin.

'Damn, they even invited my sister to play with me. Talk about dedication.'

"Do you know what could it be, Master Shadow?" Alpha turned her head.

"I have a couple of theories, but it would be the best if I saw it personally… Right, how about-"

"No, Master Shadow, you will not go away right now."

"Bummer," he sulked.

"It will start in a week, so we have plenty of time to prepare. Gamma, organize a carriage. Beta, Epsilon, prepare your squads. Zeta, investigate the inner workings beforehand. Eta… Stay here, you have work to do. Delta, do nothing for now, until I or Master Shadow tell you otherwise."

"Right, Cid, I don't think we are needed here. Let's go, you owe me a fight!" Claire beamed.

"You want me to fight you at full power?" he blinked.

"Yes! Let's go!"

"Sure, I guess…"

Next moment, Claire was blown away by a sudden gust of wind. You know, they sometimes may appear in absolutely closed room, yeah?

"U-u-u…"

"Stop sulking, you asked for it yourself," Cid sighed.

"U-u-u!"

"Goddamnit…" he slowly patted her head.

"U-u-u…"

After three times of him completely annihilating her in a fight, Claire got pissed. She asked him to fight her using only swordsmanship, and in two blows she was defeated. He didn't even use magic while she gave it all. After that she just fell on his lap and pouted. Her elder sibling pride was hurt.

Yes, she knew that her brother was amazing, but she was praised as one of the kingdom's finest sword users, with magic reserve large enough to sustain her through the fight! Yet here she was, being completely thrashed by her brother, two years younger than her, while he even gave her an advantage of not using his magic.

"Come on, sis, I have quite literally trained myself in every martial art possible and refined my magic control further and further."

"You're supposed to be consoling me, not boasting about your achievements," she glared at him.

"Eh, no biggie, I know you are strong cookie and will be able to learn everything now that I can train you properly," he waved his hand.

"Hmph," yet she still smiled.

He just continued patting her head.

"Say, Cid."

"Yeah?"

"Why do you actually hide your power?"

"Oh, I just don't want all this trouble that will come with me coming to light. I want to stay in shadows and do everything in shadows!"

"Uh, then why do you still go to academy?"

"Foolishness, Claire, foolishness!" Cid struck a dramatic pose (with her still on his lap), "If you play the role of an average person, nobody will suspect you to be the one ruling everything from the shadows!"

She stared at him, unamused.

"Now don't look at me like," he deflated, "that was my dream since childhood, and I gave away a lot to achieve it."

"Yeah, especially public opinion about you," Claire poked him.

"Eh, who cares about them. They know nothing."

She went silent.

There was a lot to unpack, of course, but she was happy. Happy that her brother actually decided to open up to her now that she was smart enough to connect the dots. Happy that her brother was actually really strong, stronger than her even. Happy that he actually cared for her and developed a cure for Possession, which allowed to save countless lives (even if these hus- women become enamored with her brother, grrr…).

"Hey, Cid?"

"What is it?"

"How are you gonna teach me? Like, will you give me points about swordsmanship or…?"

"Your swordsmanship is actually pretty fine, because you were indirectly training under me, but your magic control…" he grimaced, "It's trash."

"Excuse me?! Just so you know, I am one of the most gifted magic users in the kingdom!"

"Exactly, 'magic user' and by standards of Midgar kingdom. By my standards, almost everyone that were not taught by me are complete trash in magic control. All you know is to take more and beat harder. Literally," he ruthlessly spoke. "So you are in for a hellish training. By the end of the month I expect you to be able to use slimesuit," he thought for a moment and added, "And that's the minimum passing grade."

"But the month will end in two days!" her eyes widened.

"Indeed, I expect a lot from you," he nodded sagely.

"Then we need to do it now!"

"Hmm, true… Alright, here, take it," a part of his suit suddenly shifted and divided. She stared at how the black mass slowly fell on the ground in front of her.

"That's…"

"Slime, yeah. I spent some time researching how to use it the best, so listen to me now, because I still have a session with Shades…" he shuddered.

"Hmph! And what will I get if I manage to do it, say, in twelve hours?"

"Well, I'll allow you an hour of doing almost whatever you want. With me."

"DEAL!"

Needless to say, by the end of sixth hour Claire barged in the room where Cid and Shades were cuddling. Shades wanted to protest, but upon hearing about bet immediately resigned, though they took a promise out of him to give them similar challenges in the future.

What Claire did with him? That's a secret that he was unwilling to share…