Alexia was scared.

It was bad enough to be in one room with, apparently, high-ranked Cult member and high-ranked Shadow Garden members, both of which she managed to piss off in a span of minutes. However, she placed everything on the fact that Shadow Garden seemingly did not target anyone other than Cult of Diabolos… and that Shadow himself was interested in her as a future powerhouse.

But now situation turned to the worse.

All of sudden, shadows all around started coming to life. They slowly took everything into themselves, and based on Nelson's expression, that was not supposed to happen… And neither did the existence of mist-like dark beasts.

"So, any ideas what to do now?" she managed to speak without stutters, yay!

"By the Goddess, I can't believe that something like this can happen…" Rose was pitiful to look at: wide eyes, nervous grip on her sword, and sweat rolling down her face were all clear indicators of her current state.

Alpha frowned as she looked around.

"Something about that… seems familiar…" she muttered.

"Well, if you know what that is, maybe you also know how to fix that?" Alexia clung onto this hope.

"If I am correct about its nature, then we do not need to do anything."

Alpha calmly stood in place and let the first shadow to touch her. Moments after, a rift appeared and forced her out of the Sanctuary.

"…Well, guess we have to follow her," Alexia sighed and walked into the shadows.

Then she found herself in some forest… No, that's not some forest, that's actually the forest near the city!

"So I was correct," she heard elf's voice behind her.

Soon after, everyone else popped out. Everyone, except Nelson.

"Delta wonders why the bald man didn't appear with us… Delta would show him!" therianthrope growled as her tail waved around.

"Oh, I think our Lord has his own plans about him," Epsilon dusted herself off, making her well-developed curves shake… Though Alexia could swear that something about her figure was strange…

"Indeed," Alpha calmly confirmed, "it was as I expected. Our Master managed to find his way to the Core way before we could even pinpoint its location."

"The what now?" alright, now Alexia was calling bullshit.

Some guy just found out the secret behind Goddess' Trial, fought the strongest being, won, then opened the door, then in time they were watching memories he already found out everything and is now doing his own things?

What is he, some kind of a God?!

Cid watched as the Sanctuary slowly stopped shaking. It seemed like the Shadow Realm suppressed the claw enough to make sure it won't break the dimension apart. Well, more power to him, then!

On a side note, it seemed like his reactions towards Violet were kinda… teenager-like. No, for sure, he never left his teenage years in either of his lifes, but he also made sure to work towards his goal so hard that even romantic/platonic/sexual/familial (underline the necessary) relationships paled in comparison, yet now he felt like a boy in front of his crush. He always controlled his hormonal reactions, then why was he reacting like that?

The answer turned out to be interesting: he was so enamored with Violet's battle style that subconsciously lifted his control in front of her. On one hand, that sucks: what if instead of his lovely Violet that was actually friendly with him it was an enemy that wanted to use him?

On the other hand: it seems like exactly because of their amicable relationships he relaxed with her. Kinda strange, but it is what it is. It's not like he minds being with her, after all, and Violet seems happy to tease him, so after everything is over he will let her have her way for some time.

"So, what exactly did you do?" Violet's curious gaze ran across the place as she watched once pristine white walls turning an interesting shade of gray; somewhat close to purple but not quite it.

"Oh, I used the energy of another dimension to suppress this one," he answered nonchalantly, focused on his current task: making sure everything works well in her brand new body.

"Aren't you scared that it would break this place?" she innocently blinked at him.

His hands stopped for a moment.

"Nah, everything would be alright," he returned to his operation.

"Well, if you say so, my gallant knight," Violet chuckled cutely.

Good thing this time he managed to control himself!

Right, body. Take this claw, take a bit of his own blood and flesh (Violet screamed a bit, but honestly it wasn't even that big of a deal… yes, that's exactly what he told her), synchronize with the memories carried by her Astral Body (yep, another cool name, now for the ghost ladies… and not ladies too, but he doubts he will meet that many ghost boys), and start molding.

Oh, the hand resists? Well, no biggie, take a bit of her mana — because if Cid uses his mana he has a feeling his lovely Violet will have a lot of troubles trying to use her powers in new body; also because her mana was really interesting so he took a sample of it for the future, — and force the way through claw's flesh. Huh, it worked even better than he thought! It seems like this body part was created to be compatible with his lady!

Her mana slowly flowed through the claw without any resistance; moreover, it seemed like the claw itself slowly… calmed down? As if once it found its new owner it became extremely docile. Better for him, then!

Cid slowly started molding the now obedient claw. He can use four fingers as basis for her limbs… maybe. Hmm, maybe not? Maybe just completely break down the current structure and just create it anew? Yeah, that's way better.

He commanded for claw to morph into a mass of flesh. It seemed resistant at first, but still obliged. Eh, it's fine, he does it for his lovely Violet, your sacrifice won't be forgotten, unnamed claw!… Note to self: name the claw… Right, now he has a large amount of work materials. Let's start!

Obviously, first will go vital organs. The claw's vitality was absolutely marvelous, but he has doubts it will remain that way for a long period of time, especially considering that claw was just chilling in the Sanctuary, while Violet most likely would participate in fights, which will drain her energy pretty quickly.

He will start with the heart as the engine behind distributing the energy through the body. Take her Astral Body's memory… What the fuck is this? It's horrible! It's absolutely inefficient! And circulatory system is downright horrendous! Upgrade! Upgrade it now! Add multiple blood vessels that connect everything! Add some minor organs that generate blood based on owner's mana! She uses Blood Magic, why doesn't she have any way to replenish the supply?! Upgrade the heart, too! Yes, she will need more energy to sustain that, but her mana pool seems large enough to endure that!

Respiratory system? What is this mess?! It's absolutely inefficient! And he can clearly see someone tried to mess with her build! Oh how he wishes to completely tear off that someone's limbs! If you don't know how to min-max human bodies, don't even touch them, you monkey!… Wait, he shouldn't say that. It's bad. It's insulting! Poor monkeys don't deserve to be compared to that piece of garbage! Immediately add another little organ that would take the surroundings' mana in and filter it for her lovely Violet's body! Oh, and while we are at it, let's fix the system itself: obviously she needs a filter to protect herself from poisonous gas! Even more, make it filter the poison itself, too, so she can store it and remove later!

Digestive system?… Hmm, that one doesn't look that bad, actually. He could just mold it as is… If not for the fact that he upgraded all other parts for higher energy consumption! Upgrade it, too! Make it take more energy from the food! Human's body can only take 25% of it at maximum! She will need more! And waste is useless! Take every last bit of food away, dissolve it fully! Oh, he can't reach that much… Sucks, but he will do what he can… Well, that should be enough: CoP about 60%, same thing about respiratory system… Oh, and her mouth… Nah, that one is actually pretty good. Just add the ability to regenerate teeth based on her will, because humans can't get new ones.

Oh, she will also need a skeleton, because as of now everything is being hold by his mana, and once he stops the supply… Skeleton, skeleton… Hmm, normal one is fine, but how about… Nah, making it out of metal is bullshit, but just making the skeleton a bit sturdier and elastic? That is possible. Oh, and another little magic organ to restore bones too, please.

Well, since he took the skeleton, let's also change musculature… Nah, these he can't actually touch, because her whole experience was with a muscles of certain type. She can quickly re-train herself with new organs, but not when her whole body is different. Moreover, as Blood Magic user, she should be able to fix that little issue by herself; same with immune system.

Now for the hardest part… Nervous system. And it's hardest because of brain. Unlike everything else that just needs to be, so to say, turned on in order to work properly, new body's brain has nothing. And that's a problem, because it is the controlling part of the whole body! Well, he can make brain the last, when he inserts Astral Body into physical one… If he can even say that…

"You know, it now suspiciously looks like me…" Violet interjected, placing her chin on the top of his head (you know, maybe sitting down was not the best idea) as she looked at what was practically her copy, minus the eyes as of now.

"Because it is your new body," he answered and focused on the nerves.

"Oh, really?"

"Uh-huh, now let me focus, that's the most important part here."

"Sure, do it, I believe in you, my gallant knight" he could feel her smiling. And honestly, he couldn't keep himself from smiling after hearing it, either.

Right, nerves. Her Astral Body still contained the layout, but he honestly felt like… It was strange. It wasn't inefficient, compared to organs, but it wasn't the best, either. As if something messed it up. Hmm, maybe he can shorten response time like he did with himself? No, it's better to just copy and paste the current layout, then consult with her. Yep, let's do that.

Eyes… Hmm, copy-paste that one, too. She can do that one herself, after all.

And done. Only brain left. For that one he will need to ask her…

"My lovely Violet, I am almost finished. I only need for you to do one last thing…"

"Yes, my knight?"

"Concentrate on the head and slowly pour your essence into the new vessel!" yes, he went all cool again, but can you blame him?

"As you wish," she curtsied and took the body's head into her hands.

As she did so, Cid could slowly feel something passing from Astral Body into physical one. He immediately ordered for the claw to start creating brain based on Violet's layout. Fortunately, claw itself seemed eager to be a part of this, too, as he felt the body coming to life. If he didn't know better, he would even say that this hand was a part of her once! Hah, obviously that can't be true.

The Astral Body slowly dissipated in the air as Violet cast him a sad smile.

"Thank you, my gallant knight. It is the first time someone not only protected me, but also gave everything to help me. Let us meet again, in the real world."

Right, it's about time they leave this place. Yeah, he can just leave it in the Shadow Realm for later research, for now he must take his lovely Violet back to the material world.

"Why am I lying on your lap, again?" Cid asked.

"Why, that's because I wanted to give my knight his well deserved rest," Violet smiled warmly.

Yeah, once he took them out of Sanctuary, they reappeared in the material world… Somewhere deep in the forest, for some reason. But it's fine, because his lovely Violet was actually alive! His experiment was successful!

Oh, there's so much he wants to have a conversation with her about… Battles, magic, mundane life (as it turned out, she very much wanted to experience what is it like to be normal, and he's expert in that area!), foods, scenery! And it seems like she wants to do that with him, too! So cool!

Hmm, he can feel someone familiar coming up… Right, as much as he doesn't want to get up, he needs to meet Shades.

"Your friends?" Violet placed a hand under her chin.

"Best friends, even," he smiled at the memories of being with them.

"BO-O-OSS-M-A-A-AN!" a wild Delta jumps from the bush! She uses "jump over your owner" and "lick her owner"! It's super effective!

"Hi, Delta, how was it?" he pet her ears.

"Oh, we met with some baldy, then something cool happened, but Delta was dozing off, then he finally started fighting, but then some dark beast appeared and it turned out it had your scent! It was yours right?!" she wagged her tail in excitement.

"Yeah, that one was mine," Cid confirmed.

"Delta knew it!… Wait, who is that? Is she a new member of the pack?" Delta tilted her head… before suddenly freezing, "Hey, Boss…"

"Yeah?"

"She is strong…"

"Yeah, I know?"

"No, like, she's super strong! Not as strong as you, but Delta wouldn't want to fight her…" poor wolf-kin whimpered.

"Relax, little one, I have no wish to harm my gallant knight's peerage," Violet was amused at therianthrope's antics.

"Really?" Delta squinted.

"Really, really," Violet chuckled.

"Alright, then!" Delta beamed.

"Hmm, and how might I call you, then?" a beautiful blonde elf walked out of the trees as her sky-like eyes locked onto the raven-haired woman.

"Oh, that one is Alpha!" he nodded at her.

"Ah, so you are Alpha… Hmm, indeed, you seem to be the most acquainted with my knight…" Violet mused.

"Your knight?" Alpha frowned.

"Hmm, right, allow me to introduce myself," raven-haired woman slowly stood up as the pressure slowly emanated from her body.

Delta only stared at her in shock.

"My gallant over here knight calls me Violet… But my true name is Aurora, the Witch of Calamity."

'Hmm, familiar name… I think girls mentioned her once, but apparently she was only in history books… Well, Goddess' Trial was supposed to summon warriors of the past, so it checks out.'

"Aurora…" Alpha's eyes widened, "But- But that means!…"

"Indeed," Aurora sadly smiled, "You may also know me as… Diabolos, the Demon of Destruction. Pleased to meet you."

'…What.'