A/N: So, if you hadn't seen it already, there's a CG for the chapter on my pixiv. By the way, the title of this chapter is Identity Crisis, incase you skip reading titles (or are on ). That'll be relevant, especially in the later bits.

Leon Fou [now Rapha] Barfort: Renowned adventurer and current crown prince. / previously: Hiro (pre:isekai)—Lea of Bart's Fort (The true founder of Holfort and lover to the Saintess Ann and Mary)—JOU_MOU_ (someone who used to work in Luxion's facility.)

Angelica Rapha Redgrave: Daughter of Duke Redgrave and ex-fiancé to Julius/ Previously: Ann of Bart's Fort (aka Saintess Ann and lover of Lea of Bart's fort). / Also goes by Angie to close friends and loved ones.

Olivia: Commoner from the Kagenou Barony. / previously: Mary (lover and companion to Ann and Lea. What happened to her is a mystery). / Is also known as Livia by her close friends and loved ones.

Cid Kagenou: fiancé to several famous elves but just a regular mob you'd find anywhere / previously: Minoru Kagenou (Pre:isekai and possibly post[this fanfic only, details on that to come]) / Also dons the secret identity of "Lord Shadow." Leader and founder of The Shadow Garden.

Alice [Kagenou: Cid's personal elf servant, lover, and childhood friend / previously: Beatrice (this is non canon, but all of Shadow Garden had identities before joining so I made a name up for her.) / Dons the secret identity of "Alpha" or "Lady Shade." Co-leader and second founder of The Shadow Garden, first of the Seven Shades. The name "Alpha" is only used by those in Shadow Garden.

Other Shadow Garden Members: All of the seven shades have secret identities. They see their Shadow Garden names as their true names and will use that in their own thoughts. But to everyone not in Shadow Garden that sees them as their secret identities will use those names.

Beta: Natsume Kafka, renowned writer.

Gamma: Luna of Mitsugoshi, owner of said store and many others, richest Woman in the world.

Delta: Sara, certified good girl.

Epsilon: Shiron, amazing musician known internationally.

Zeta: Zetan. Previously known as Lilim, named after the therianthrope hero, Lili.

Eta: Goes by Eta Lloyd Wright, renowned Architect.

Charlie : Known previously as Carla Fou Wayne.

Yankee: Known previously as Stephanie Fou Offrey

Foxtrot : Sherry's mother.

Aurora: Called Violet by Cid. Known as the Witch of Calamity, and the Demon Diabolos.

Disclaimer: I don't own Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs nor The Eminence in Shadow. The only Beta reader here is the elf.

-Alpha-

I had once believed that Elves and Humans were completely different species. It would explain the low rate of crossbreeding after all. However, the more I look around these ruins as I slash away at the endless horde of what I can only describe as animated mangled corpses, I begin to believe that elves…

Are humans.

Or rather, beings created by humans, and not in the natural way.

Elves were not meant to exist.

Were I not busy defending my loved ones I would likely break down at the revelation. But for now, I let instinct take over as I work with Delta to keep the princesses safe and end our enemies.

In some part, I do feel bad for these enemies. They are naught but the remnants of the experiments used to create all of us, after all. But I suspect that these things do not have souls, and if they did, I would likely be unable to cure them of their affliction. I can cure possession, but whatever this is… The only conclusion is to be swift.

To treat these beings as nothing more than monsters.

…

I glance over at Delta.

Delta dashes about, using her momentum to execute a swipe with her claws. The monsters do not even attempt to block and find themselves sliced apart as a result.

For a moment, Delta stops, muttering, "Huh?"

Some monsters attempt to swipe at Delta as she fiddles with her claws, but with her other hand she easily catches the blow. She frowns while staring at her own claws.

"Ugh," Delta growls before pouting and looking back to me, "…something's wrong."

I look at my own slime suit and see it begin to melt away. It's interesting.

(Oh, do you hold that material together with magic?)

I glance at the metallic orb.

(The Sanctuary keeps itself running by draining the magic of others. I have been continuously creating my elves to help with this, but I suppose they don't have anywhere as much as you all do. Actually, the closer you get to the center the worse it gets.)

"Is that why I can barely do anything!?" shrieks Alexia. "If it weren't for Leon's training, I'd be dead!"

Rose would attempt to speak, likely in an attempt to stop herself from crying, "Can't you do anything miss…"

(My creators often called me Cleare. However, no. I wouldn't help any new humans to begin with.)

"New humans?" questioned Epsilon.

(Oh no, I'm afraid I don't have much to say to you all.)

"Jeez, why can't you be as nice as Luxion!" shouted Alexia.

(Luxion?)

"He's an orb that looks a lot like you, but with a red lens instead of blue." Said Rose.

(…I see. How have you gotten his help.)

"Er, my brother-in-law found him and got him to start helping him somehow. I don't know." Said Alexia.

(…Take me with you. I shall help you leave. I need to see this person this… Luxion had partnered with.)

" Why should we?" I demanded as I continued to slash at the mosnters.

(Is helping you leave not enough reason child of Olivier and Minoru?)

"… My parents were two elves." I pointed out.

(Apologies, I'm new to the language. I believe… descendant would be correct? Though given the typical elven life span I wouldn't be surprised if you aren't anything more than a great grandchild. Oh, how about this, I believe that Olivier's test tube should be nearby, would you like to see it?)

I glance over to Delta.

"1 prey, 2 prey… SO MANY!" roars Delta. She pays no heed to the danger of being outnumbered. Her only concern is pursuing her kill.

There is no art or emotion in her attack—I's an act of pure violence. Even with the disadvantage of the Sanctuary causing her slime suit to melt off of her, Delta is able to take down most of the monsters.

It is beyond comprehension.

I see everyone stop and stare for a second, as Delta is now completely naked. Delta notices and briefly focuses what slime is left on her body to create a small bikini. She covers nothing more than the bare minimum, but I know in my heart that this is really as much as I could expect from her.

(My, my. Did you truly awaken on you own…? Such techniques have not been used in a long, long time.)

" Oh, we have our ways." I reply smugly.

(Neato! However, you may want to focus I see a large crowd.)

I look back to see a crowd of nearly 100 monsters all coming out at once compared to the hordes of 10 they had been doing.

"Graaaaah!" screams Delta with excitement as she gathers the slime from the ground into the shape of a great sword roughly the size of a building.

Delta raises the huge weapon with a wide grin.

"Aaaaaaaaaah!" roars Delta in such a way that sounds just like a cruel laugh.

And then the slaughter commences.

I turn to Epsilon and her subordinates, telling them to go investigate the rest of the area. Beta, Delta, the numbers and I should be more than enough to guard the princesses.

As they leave, I take up Cleare. " Okay, so where is Olivier's past cell?"

(Go straight down from here and take a left!)

I follow the instructions Cleare gives me until I find myself in a location that feels… strangely familiar. I suppose that I did have that interaction with Olivier earlier.

Before I can think about that too hard, I see Delta fly by me.

I quickly turn my head to see one monster left, their body looking much more like a slime than it does a person, and it only gets bigger each time we strike it. I see Delta swing her great sword more times only for it not to do much each time.

I attempt to join in, leaping up high, grabbing Delta's sword, and then slashing it in half. Only for it to repair itself once more.

Delta strikes with her claws as many times as she can, only for the monster to reform over and over again.

(Oh~ that one…I believe it originally used to be a therianthrope, but it was really stubborn, and I ended up… well you can see. I don't suppose that you have a reliable method of destroying something in its entirety?)

I want to say no, as there is only one man I have ever seen accomplish such a thing with such little mana, but then-

-Alpha(?)-

My name is…

It's…

…

It's unimportant.

I have been referred to by many things, and all of them have been forced upon me.

Nothing about my existence was something I asked for.

It was merely something that happened.

I was born.

I grew.

I was tested on.

I witnessed the death of others.

I carried out tasks.

That is all I know.

…

That is what I knew.

But then.

One day…

"…Only able to follow orders. Living for nothing but the ideals of others… how pathetic."

To many, I have been known as a hero. Others a monster. A puppet. What have you. But…

Never before had someone's word cut so deeply.

I could only lower my head in response. I briefly recall the noise of some other people's words but nothing had cut anywhere nearly as deeply.

But then.

I found a hand outstretched to me.

"Oh elf, being created from humanity, you have so much work to put in to truly know what it is like to be alive… no, you have much, much to learn about what it means to live. To desire to live, to struggle, to yearn, to be selfish… you must be in so much pain. But you know not of what pain actually is, as you know not how to seek pleasure. If you'd like, I will show you the path of strength. The strength of body, of mind, of soul."

I took his hand.

I helped others take his hand.

I walked shoulder to shoulder with him, as I learned what it meant to live. We became… a family. And… I made friends. I may not remember much of anything about them… but I remember that they were warm. Those three sources of light.

But I did not desire to live a life under the sun. I desired to walk underneath the moonlight.

With him.

For him.

"That's not allowed." He said.

I needed to live for me.

But…

Who was I?

I recall the name a mechanical voice gave me: Subject 011534

I recall the name the people gave me: Olivier.

"Well since we're friends and partners, how about I give you a nickname… How's Olly sound? Girls like cute names, right?"

Olly…

A name that was once again forced upon me. But this was not from a place of scorn, an observation that dehumanized me, nor one that worshiped me.

It was a name that was given to me… with love.

How could my heart not quicken. How could I not desire to hear it more… but only from him. He is the only one who could give it meaning.

How was I supposed to not live for him.

"I said that's not allowed. It's not like you're my wife." He said.

So, I begged, "Please make me your wife."

…Hehe.

His face turned such a cute shade of red.

With a pout he would go onto to say, "I need my wife to be strong."

"Am I not the strongest woman you know?" I asked. The lights do not count, given how they constantly circled around one another.

"Strength? That is merely borrowed power." He laughed, hurting me once again. Perhaps it showed on my face, because he would then go onto say this, "…But perhaps Lea had a point. Perhaps I could… work with you. Perhaps we could create something together."

Having learned to tease him and love his reactions, I jumped at the chance to say something else, "Like a child? I am ready at any time. Just give the order."

His face crimson from my comment and proximity to his, he pushed me away while screaming, "I wouldn't order something like that!"

I remember giggling, enjoying his silly expressions.

"Anyway, this is something I always wanted to accomplish myself, but since I wasn't transported to this world with the ability to cast magic I never could. Not in this life. But, I thin that we could do this together. Fair warning, it might hurt, and it could be dangerous. Do you trust me?" he asked.

"With my life." I answered immediately.

He would then sit me down and explain his knowledge. Knowledge that could have only ever come from a different world. "Okay, so this power comes from the great mind of a man known as Oppenheimer…"

-Alpha-

"Alpha!" screams a voice, breaking me from the reverie that I had been trapped in. I look before me and see the monster quickly approaching. Then just quickly the memory floods my body, and I draw my sword behind me charging it with very little mana in a very specific way.

In the atomic way.

I smile and then slam the sword into the ground, making it burst with raw mana as it approaches the monster and eradicates it.

I then pick up my sword before it can melt away and look back to everyone triumphantly.

The princesses have no idea what just happened, but the girls…

"Heh." I laugh as their jaws collectively drop.

"Lady Shade!" cries out Epsilon.

I look up and see her jump down.

" Done already?" I asked.

Epsilon nods enthusiastically. I pat her head as we work together to open a new doorway.

I turn back to the others and motion for them to follow through.

I can probably count on Cid to clean up after… wherever he is.

-Cid-

Lea opens the door for Violet and me. We finally find ourselves at the center of the sanctuary, which really just look like a bunch of ruins.

Up until now I had a persistent hazy feeling clogging up my senses but as we all shuffle through the slightly chilly air wakes me right up.

The ceiling is high, and the area is lit by magic.

With one eye I look before me and see a door covered in chains that glow red. Scanning the door, I see a gem of a similar color in the center.

"That's the gem from Mary's staff…" says Lea as he narrows his eyes and puts one hand on his holster.

Huh, I was going to have some of the numbers look for this since I promised Leon. But hey, now I don't need to worry about it.

Violet walks up to me, "It would appear that little Mary is the one guarding the center of the Sanctuary."

"Remind me," I say as I turn to Violet, "What was it we needed to do to escape the Sanctuary?"

"Break the cores in the center, which these chains are currently keeping us from accessing. I don't suppose you boys could break these chains?" asked Violet.

I take a quick glance at the chains, seeing as how most of them are as big as my head my academy sword likely wouldn't do anything, and I don't have a reliable way of using slime here either.

I shake my head, "Yep, not happening with this sword. It'll probably break before those chains do."

We both turn to Lea who's staring at the gem, worried.

As he glances back at us from the corner of his eye he says, "No, breaking it won't work. Mary was second to Ann in healing, but that only was because she never figured out how to bring back people from death. She could still regenerate entire bodies, and I can sense her magic on the chains."

Violet puts a hand to her face, leaning on it, "Well, usually there'd be a key, wouldn't there?"

"Oh yeah, true." I nod.

There's nothing in the room aside from the door though…

I look back to Lea.

"What is it?" he asks.

I gesture to the gem, "Well, if anyone could interact with that, wouldn't it be you?"

He thinks about it for a few seconds before nodding. Lea walks right in front of the door and places his hand on the gem. With a loud *Crackle* and *FSSH* reminding me of whenever the old CRT TVs would glitch out, I see somethings begin to emerge from the gem.

From around the edges, a white glow emerges, wrapping the gem up in the staff that I helped Leon steal earlier. It's not exactly all there though, as though the Staff here is merely an illusion given its opaque appearance. But from the center of the gem I see a hand meet Lea's, interlocking fingers with him.

The hand continues to emerge from the gem, and after it the body of a woman. She has a ghostly appearance, with her body white and glowing the same red of the gem, just like the chains on the door. As she emerges from the gem her body is covered in a teal and lime green outfit with a gold trim. As I recall, that is the Saintess' armor.

This is Mary. She's the spitting image of Olivia, if a bit more mature looking. Some wrinkles on her face, hair that's a bit paler, eyes that seem a bit sunken. Though I'm unsure if the last bit is thanks to age or something that happened in her life.

She smiles, and once again I hear the familiar sound of a TV glitching out. And, for just the briefest of moments, I see her eyes and outfit darken. But I blink and miss some of the details. Probably doesn't help that I only have one eye open right now either. What doesn't leave is this foreboding sense of pressure coming from Mary.

"Lea… you finally came…!" said Mary, happy to be reunited with her lover.

In normal cases, this would be cause for celebration. However, Lea still keeps one hand on his weapon. His face is tightly wound in a complicated expression.

I mean, to be fair this is a ghost meeting his ghost wife after who even knows how long. One possessing the suit of armor created by his descendant/reincarnation and the other from a gem kept by a corrupted church.

This really is a fantasy world. I love this shit.

"Mary…" whispers Lea.

Mary stands on her tip toes and kisses Lea. As she moves, I notice that the gem and chains do as well. However, there are still some covering the door even though the gem is no longer attached to it.

Mary returns to her feet giggling like a schoolgirl. Which, I'll admit looks both in place and not on her face… it feels a bit forced. Not the joy of it, but rather, she seems to be wincing as she does it.

"Lea… Lea…! You found me…! You finally found me…!" laughed Mary.

Lea opens his mouth to say something, but swallows his words, allowing Mary to continue.

Mary lets go of Lea's hand and cups his face, touching the scarred section. "You and me… if Ann were here it'd be perfect! But… we can get her. I know you were with her. I sacrificed too much for you two to not be so closely wound. You likely were trapped in the accessories as well, right? Both my memories of you and her…"

Hm… memories again.

I think back to the Goddess' trial. Data, memories, that's all those warriors were. This sanctuary too, all we faced here were memories of the past. So… is it the case that Angelica and Leon's interactions with Lea and Ann were less meeting ghosts and more interacting with the memories of their past lives?

Perhaps my made up title of Lea's lingering memory had more credit to it than I thought.

Back to Mary, was she the one to place her memories within the relics? If it's just her memories though, how is it that Ann and Lea were in them. Shouldn't it just be her? Even if it was her memories of those two… hm. I may have to look into how this soul magic works, especially given the clone shenanigans I think were going on in the past.

For all I know there could be two of a given person alive at the same time, but who knows if a clone could have a soul. And even if they had something resembling one, if someone were to reincarnate again, would their soul be able to last? What if there's two of one person, where would the soul go?

Lea grabs Mary's hand again, swallowing the spit in his mouth before tersely saying, "Mary… you know that isn't how things are going to-"

"IT WILL!" shouts Mary before she realizes and quiets down, "It will. We… we just need to go see our current vessels. Once we get there we can… we can fix everything! We can be together! We… We can… we can finally live happily together… I… I can marry you! Have your children in my body, myself… I can apologize to Ann for taking hers… we just need to… take over."

Mary begins to cry.

That's right, Ann had been able to partially possess Olivia. I wondered how that even worked given how Ann was Angelica's previous life. But I suppose if Ann and Mary once swapped bodies, it stands to reason they could do so again.

What's that about taking over?

"We would effectively kill Leon, Angelica, and Olivia by doing that." Said Lea. "We lived our lives already Mary!"

"NO, WE DIDN'T!" shouted Mary, forcing the chains to rattle and the ground to shake, "WE SPENT OUR ENTIRE LIVES FIGHTING THE WAR SOMEONE ELSE CREATED AND LOSING OUR FRIENDS LEFT AND RIGHT! ALL WE WANTED WAS TO LIVE! WE WANTED TO HELP PEOPLE! But even after… even after losing Minoru and them… even after being forced to kill Minoru after we lost Olly, Violet, and all the girls…"

Wait what? They were the ones to kill me?

The ground shakes more as Mary continues, "Your… brother… his friends… THEY TOOK EVERYTHING FROM US!"

"I know. I know!" shouts Lea, causing Mary to flinch. "Not a day went by where Ann and I didn't want to go back and save you! But you stopped us!"

Mary smiled sadly, "How could I have possibly let you ruin what I had done? No, I knew that in our past life we could never be together. Someone had to sacrifice themselves. But that was just the first part of my plan! Lea, please! We can be together now!"

"Mary…" said Lea, his voice failing him as he looks on at Mary in such a way that makes her uncomfortable.

Mary turns to me, "Minoru! Tell him!"

As I had been doing nothing but watching awkwardly with Violet, who also backs off from me as Mary approaches me. Mary drags Lea by one of the belts on his shirt as she uses the staff to jab me in the chest.

"…My name is Cid." I manage, not really wanting to get involved.

Mary rolls her eyes at me, which looks just wrong coming from a face that resembles the human puppy that is Olivia, as she says, "Don't you try and lie to me, you're Minoru. You're the boy that constantly got into trouble trying to be a 'shadow broker' or whatever it was."

I feel like I've been slapped.

"Mary, there's no need to be rude. You know how much being a shadow broker meant to Minoru." Said Lea as he tried to placate Mary.

"Yeah and look where that got him." Shot back Mary, as she turned back to me. "Minoru, don't you want to make it up to Olly? Don't you want to save Violet?"

I turned to Violet who is standing like a child in the middle of a scolding, not meeting my gaze.

"…My name is Cid." I say again, as though it really mattered to me.

Mary rolls her eyes again, "No you're not. You're Minoru, the boy who was transported to our world. We had to save you from the Cult and you ended up running around with a bag on your head calling yourself the Stylish Cultist Slayer. But because you didn't have magic we constantly had to bail you out until you met Olly and the other girls."

…I know my body had its limits back then. But I don't remember any of this. I remember seeing those two white lights and then waking up as a baby. I don't know any of this past stuff… why? If I was truly transported first when I was Isekai'd, then why would my memories end there? Why does my current incarnation not remember my previous life in this world?

"I'm Cid." I say once again, firmly.

Mary slaps her face and drags the hand down in frustration, "Oh my god… NO YOU'RE NOT!"

I look to Lea for back up, but he just shakes his head.

"You're Minoru, just like how Leon was still Hiro until I stopped him." He said.

I'm Cid. I want to say again. But I can't bring myself to this time for some reason.

"Minoru, don't you want to be with everyone?" asked Mary.

I think back to the seven shades, "I'm already with everyone that matters to me."

"What about Violet?" said Mary, "Didn't you want to save her? Didn't you get everyone killed trying to save her? Don't you think it's selfish to be the only one who continued living?"

I feel like I was slapped again.

"I can reunite you all," said Mary as she raised her staff into the air. Around us I see seven doors open along the wall. From them seven bodies draped in white cloaks emerge. As they surround me, I can see that it's the seven shades. Or rather, another version of them.

Some part of me thinks about how romantic Beta would find the idea that I had been with them in my past life as well. But as I stare these vessels in the eyes with only one of mine, and see how empty and even sad they look. I know that I won't have a single issue with what I do next.

The familiar *SHINE* of my sword being drawn permeates the room.

"Minoru!" screams Mary, turning back to Lea only to see a gun in her face. "Lea…"

"We need to let the current lives take over, Mary." Said Lea, his voice warbling as it's overcome with emotion but no less resolute in its tone. "Please, don't make this difficult."

Mary shakes her head, as if denying what's going to happen. I see her begin to glitch out with that same static sound as she quickly switches back and forth between her current Saintess armor and an outfit that looks like it belongs to either a witch or a widow in mourning. Given what I can piece together about her, it's likely both.

She turns to Violet, in one last desperate attempt. "Violet… don't you want everyone that tried to save be happy?"

Violet doesn't say anything, and her hair hides her face from me so I can't tell what expression is on there. But Mary's expression hardens, meaning she probably didn't get the response she wanted.

Mary lowers her head, but obviously this isn't her surrendering.

"I see…" said Mary as the ground begins to shake once more "YOU ALL NEED YOUR SENSES BEATEN INTO YOU!"

Mary switches into the black outfit once more and flies into the air like a puppet pulled on a string as she surrounds herself with a white orb.

The seven replicas of the past selves of the seven shades… okay that's a mouthful. I'll just call them replicas. Violet, Lea, and I all stand back to back in the center of the room as we ready ourselves for battle.

Replica A attempts to charge in with her sword, I pull out mine and deflect her blow. Replica B attacks next with her sword but Lea manages to catch her next, deflecting her blow and forcing her back, hitting Replica E.

By the way, I plan on taking it to my grave that Replica E doesn't seem to need slime in the same way Epsilon felt she did.

Given that she has no magic, Violet can only arm herself with the gun she borrowed from Lea. Luckily, it seems to be a mana-based gun, meaning that even though she can't keep the mana in her body thanks to the Sanctuary she can force some directly into the gun to fire it immediately.

Violet fires the gun at Replica D who attempts to close in with her claws only to back off as Replica Z leaps over her and throws some knives. I go in front of Violet and catch the knives, then give one of them to her before throwing the rest back. Replica Eta charges in with an energy I've only seen Eta have when Gamma says she'll give her more money for research.

Speaking of, Replica G also tries to charge in only for Eta to shoot at her, causing her to trip. However, unlike Gamma she manages to catch herself with her free arm, does a flip and then does a spinning slash that I have to do my best to block. Violet readies the gun and shoots Replica G off.

"Minoru," said Lea, "You're going to have to stop holding back."

I'm Cid… right?

…Right.

Replica A tries to slash at me again and allow her to get the hit.

"Minoru!" screams Violet and Lea in worry.

However, what they don't realize is that I'm just scratching one off the bucket list.

" I gotcha." I say in utter glee as I open my mouth and with more force than I've ever used before, take a chunk out of Replica A's neck.

She falls as one would when their jugular is torn out, and the other Replica's stop momentarily. I use the opportunity to grab Replica A's sword and use it and my own to slash apart the other Replicas.

"Phew!" I say as I wipe off the blood from my face, looking up at Mary smugly. I also see Lea somewhat horrified, but I don't really get why. He killed me and my clones a bunch of times, I think, so this is really the same thing. Plus, these aren't my girls, just replicas. If anything, it's insulting to let them exist like this.

Violet's face is unreadable really, she seems a bit confused… or excited? I can't tell.

"You didn't think that was it did you?" calls out Mary from above.

Suddenly the *RATTLE* sound of a bunch of metal shutters opening sounds off, and I see that the walls that surrounded us were nothing more than a bunch of windows to cells. All holding another replica. There must be at least 100 of them. Some part of me, the part of me that is a teenage boy, likes the sight. I know that these aren't my girls.

I look back to the other two.

"I'll hold off the horde," starts Lea, taking the role of leader. Since he is a king it makes sense, "Minoru, you and Violet take on Mary."

"Shouldn't you fight Mary?" said Violet. I agree with her honestly.

Lea shakes his head and smiles sadly, "I couldn't save her then. And I don't deserve to save her now. So, I'll just do as best I can to help you both…" Lea begins to laugh, "Honestly, it's a bit funny. Never thought the roles would be reversed like this."

As the other replicas begin to jump, Violet hands Lea his gun back so he can dual wield. Then she mentions to him, "I suppose teaming up with Diablos and her favorite shadow broker to slay the Saintess wasn't a thing you'd ever thought would happen."

Lea nods, and we race off.

I dodge a few replicas, using both my and Replica A's swords as I dash along one of the chains on the gems, making sure to jump off of each one as Mary moves about. As she does, I see Lea and the replicas have to move around them. Violet is using her knife to throw off whatever Replicas approach her but I don't think she can last too long, given that she's more of a mage.

"What do you even plan on doing, Minoru?" taunted Mary from within her barrier. I give it a few swings and find my swords not doing much, my academy one even beginning to chip.

I do one last big swing before backing off, being followed by a few Replica A's as the other Replicas are kept busy by Lea and Violet.

"I'm not Minoru," I say as I run along the chains once more.

"Then who are you?" laughs Mary.

I smirk.

I open both my eyes this time as I get right next to the barrier, as I coat it and the room with hundreds of violet-blue strings.

"Th-this doesn't make sense! The sanctuary must have been stealing your mana!" shouted Mary, doing her best to reinforce her barrier.

It was actually, at least most of it. That's why I had to do my best to gather some secretly, hence why one of my eyes had been closed ever since the first time Violet killed her younger self. But now, I have just enough.

" I…"

"STOP, MINORU STOP!"

" …AM…"

"YOU OWE ME!"

" …THE…"

"IT'S YOUR FAULT WE WERE SO WEAK WHEN WE WENT BACK!"

" …ALL RANGE…"

"LEA PLEASE SAVE ME…!"

"END THIS MINORU!"

"Such power…!"

" ATOMIC!"

-P2W-

From outside the Sanctuary people would be watching in awe as an explosion of violet-blue light would dye the sky, lighting it up as though it were day.

For many of the citizens, they assume this to be the work of the Saintess or the Hero.

They are correct, in some part.

But to the members of The Shadow Garden and all the people who know of them, they know who this actually is.

Alpha in particular, has a rather wide grin on her face as she watches the explosion, her hands still tingling with a similar glow.

Then, the light dies down, leaving nothing more than a crater where there had once been the arena for The Goddess' Trial. The members of Shadow Garden leave, save for Natsume who had stayed behind with Alexia and Rose.

-Cid/Minoru/Shadow-

I wake up feeling the slime back on my skin, although my head seems to resting on something soft. Opening my eyes I see a familiar sight. Half the sky blocked by a woman's chest. However, I can tell that this isn't Alpha or Gamma so I get up and see Violet's face.

"Thank goodness, you've come to." She says with a smile. Pinching my cheek in a way that feels strangely familiar, she continues, "You're just full of surprises aren't you? We were lucky Lea had been there to help us."

I shrug, "Meh, even if it was just us I would've been fine."

Violet chuckles, "You know your girls stabbed him where his heart was a couple of times. If he weren't just a sentient suit of armor that would have done him in y'know."

I wave off her concerns, "Yeah but so long as you protect the vitals you'll be fine with some light stabbing. Hell, I could've stopped my heart to pretend I was dead too."

"What a handy heart you have." Replies Violet. She then smiles and directs her attention to the endless sea of flowers that we find ourselves in.

From the horizon I see a woman in a black outfit show up once more.

"Mary?" I asked.

"Minoru," greeted Mary.

"I beat you." I said, not wanting her to pull some third phase… I mean a duel in an endless sea of flowers sounds cool but I think Leon said something about having done that already. But if I have to do it, I'd want mine to be under the moonlight in a sea of white flowers specifically.

"You did." Agreed Mary taking out the gem that I had put out of the blast radius and what looks like a small severed arm. "Your prizes."

I take both and when I touch the arm I realize something. This is Violet's.

…How do I know that?

I look back to Mary who smiles as she gazes in the distance, I follow her gaze and see Ann and Lea over there, waving. Looking back to my feet I see the remnants of Leon's Armored Angel set. Lea's not there anymore. Mary begins to walk to her lovers but not without saying one last thing.

"Turning monsters into items was common practice for us adventurers. It's a way to take the memories everywhere we go. Remember?"

And with that final remark, Mary was gone. The edges of wherever we are begin to disappear, so I look back to Violet who seems to be choked up.

Then, I say words that I don't believe to be my own.

"Wanna come on one more adventure with me Violet?" I asked.

She smiled.

"I'm not much more than a memory, you know?" she replied.

I shook my head, "Even if that were true, we'd just need to get the other pieces of you, right?"

She smiled, but this time for real.

I did my best to get to work with some slime as the world faded around me.

-P2W-

When Zeta had originally approached Eta about some of the Cult bases she hid from the others, Eta did have some expectations on what would happen. Although she will admit that it seems that even though all of her subordinates (Yankee, Charlie, and Foxtrot) are with her, they are all in over their heads.

Such is the cost of information she supposes. Though she does wish that perhaps next time it will not be something on par with the dragon Nidhogg.

Eta glances to see Zeta panting, while her subordinates are all leaning on each other just to stand up to the dragon's pressure.

Eta attempts to use focus to amp up her next move, but finds that she's too tired.

"Ungh… My magic… is failing…" grumbles Eta.

Zeta slaps her cheeks to focus, "How can it be so strong after just waking up?"

Despite not yet being at full strength after waking up from its slumber, the dragon has everyone overwhelmed. The fight they have went through has left everyone too tired after their continuous use of spells. Were it not for Zeta's charm needing others to be present, Eta would have thought to use her subordinates as a necessary sacrifice.

Nidhogg roars, forcing everyone back a few feet from sheer force alone, then smashing its way through a wall.

"Crap!" shouts Zeta, "It's gonna tear things up outside!"

Eta keeps a cool head, though that may be due to her usual nature, "It's wings are only partially formed… so it probably can't fly… but it's close enough that people in Laugus will… panic."

"And it's still groggy enough that it shouldn't be able to use it's full power yet… Everyone, let's hurry!" commanded Zeta.

Eta nodded and used her slime to fling everyone outside quickly. As they land on the beach they see Nidhogg.

"…Whew! It hasn't gone that far!" remarked Zeta.

Eta readies her slime once more, "We must… stop it!"

"Easier said than done ma'am!" shouted Charlie.

"Haven't we been trying for the last hour!?" shouted Yankee.

Nidhogg notices them all again and roars once more. The force sends the three named numbers back, while Zeta digs her sword in the ground and stays still. Eta uses her slime, only needing her hands to keep her bangs from flying up.

As she's looking up Eta sees Nidhogg charge at her, so she dodges only for Nidhogg to quickly spin and

SWISH!*

"Eta!" shouted Zeta.

Eta responded, "I'm… okay… It just grazed me…"

Zeta frowns and steps in front of Eta, "…Step back and focus on covering me."

Despite herself, Eta can't help but say "But you're at your limit too…"

Zeta shakes her head, readying her Chakrams this time, "Don't worry about me! I have my charm and am still in better shape than-"

With a loud *Shuuuuuuuuoooooo!* Nidhogg suddenly begins sucking in air.

"What… is that?" asked Eta.

"A breath attack?! You gotta be kidding!" shouted Zeta as she stomps her foot in the ground and begins to use what mana she has left to cover her and the others in a shield. Foxtrot even took Yankee and Charlie into a protective hug, not having enough mana to do the same.

As Nidhogg begins to take in less and less air, everyone closes their eyes and hopes for the best, knowing that this may be it. The air trembles, and the ground shakes.

But then.

SWISH*

The flash of an ebony blade cleaves through Nidhogg and the night sky.

Nidhogg roars in confusion and perhaps fear, as it recoils in pain.

"…Huh?" remarks Eta.

Zeta smiles, "That flash… Could it be?!"

From atop a nearby cliff everyone watches as a man in a black coat spins around before brandishing his blade with one hand and wagging his finger with the other. "My name is Shadow. I lurk in the shadows and hunt the shadows. Black dragon… what is it you seek?"

While everyone rejoices at being saved, their savior Minoru is thinking Aha, a rare event encounter! I thought I came out of the Sanctuary in the same forest where I entered it, but it turns out it's a totally different island… I don't like the idea of being warped somewhere without my consent. But I do have something I want to test out… Plus! A dragon encounter on the way home! And this time it's a picture-perfect black one! And check out how stocky it is, and those huge yes! It's everything a guy wants in a dragon from a fantasy world!

Nidhogg roars once more, as if trying to assert itself as the strongest person on the scene.

Shadow tilts his head, "…Huh? Guess this one can't talk. Bummer."

"Is that really you… master?!" asked Eta.

"My lord?! Why are you here?!" asked Zeta.

Shadow looks over to see his two girlfriends and a few subordinates, having not noticed them until now. He opens his mouth to say something like 'I was on the way home' before realizing that this is the best moment he's gotten all day to be a shadow broker.

Striking a pose, his hand on his rather… Violet tinted mask, Shadow states, " I sensed that a black dragon would appear…"

Zeta gasps in shock, "What?! You mean you knew of Nidhogg's existence, and even what we were up to?!"

Eta merely nods as though there could be no other conclusion, "Our master is… impressive as ever…"

For whatever reason, Cid's heart hurts hearing this.

But Shadow continues, " I assume it's fine if I slay it?"

"Yes… Please do… master!" begs Eta.

Shadow smirks.

" Good. Dragon. Feel honored." States Shadow as he begins to pull at his mask, it now seemingly being attached to his face. " This is the power of my other half! Come forth, Witch of Salvation, Violet!"

As blood splatters from Shadow's face, his entire being is coated in a familiar red and black aura that once again coalesces into the figure of a woman. The power she emanates as she enters the field makes even a dragon incapable of speech feel fear.

Violet smiles, her somewhat translucent appearance draped over Shadow's. Both raise their hands and fire off a spell.

" Megidolaon "

Nidhogg roars with a loud "GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" as it disappears from existence, leaving nothing behind.

Silence befalls everyone as Violet and Cid wave to each other before she also fades, turning back into a mask, which then melts like slime and transforms into a bracelet around Cid's left arm.

"Um, Foxtrot… We're safe now." Pointed out Yankee.

However, the mother holds onto both of the young girls dearly, as though she'd lose them by simply letting go. Only letting her grip loosen slightly so that they may follow behind their superiors.

Minoru would shake his head in disappointment at how easily the dragon was defeated as Cid's two lovers would walk up to him.

"My lord!" shouted Zeta as she walked up to Cid and gave him a big hug before separating. Zeta's ears droop as she says, "I'm sorry to trouble you… we were completely unmatched… I'm so ashamed."

Cid boops Zeta's nose before smiling, "Not at all, that was actually pretty fun. I'm glad you two are in one piece as well…"

Zeta blushes, "My lord…"

Eta sighs as she stares at the now deleted dragon and the research facility it had been kept in. "Still… it's a shame… to lose such a valuable… research subject… Maybe it will… appear again?"

Zeta puts her hands on her hips and frowns at Eta, "…Are you serious?"

Eta pokes her fingers together and looks away, stating, "…Just joking."

"Yeah, right…" sighs Zeta, feeling more defeated than she was at the hands of the dragon.

"By the way," says Cid, "when did you two become such good friends that you go off on secret adventures together? I had no idea."

In unison, Zeta and Eta say "No, we aren't good friends…"

Cid tilts his head in confusion, "…Well you sure seem in sync to me."

Zeta and Eta share a look after unintentionally saying the exact same thing.

Zeta folds her arms and looks away from Eta before saying, "…Well, I suppose we are alike in how we think first and foremost of our lord and lover, perhaps."

Eta nods in agreement, "…Yes. I want his brains… and his heart… and perhaps his di-"

"That's not what I said." Growls Zeta as she cuts Eta off.

Disguising a laugh as a chuckle, Shadow then goes on to say, "You're definitely in sync. It's a good thing… which reminds me. I made quite a scene back there, so I think we're going to have company soon, especially with this being near a touris destination. We need to get out of here, fast."

"Right, in that case I think this is our best route. The road turns into cliffs up ahead, and then-" All but saying this is her big chance, Zeta seizes the initiative by taking Cid's hand to show him the way.

Eta grumbles, "You never miss a thing… Zeta…"

Just as Eta begins to follow after them, she notices something else off about Shadow's outfit. Its coattails are normally long, but this time a piece of paper manages to get caught in it, as it now drags along the floor.

"Master…" questioned Eta as she pocketed the paper, "What is with… your new… additions?"

"Ah, a gift." Said Cid as he opened his coat slightly to show off the pieces of armor left behind by Lea. Eta's eyes sparkled, as previously no one was able to obtain any sort of armor unless they were nobility or rich. And despite Gamma being the latter, no one wanted to sell armors to elves. So the idea of not only having some armor to use at her own disposal, but specifically armor that is designed by a lost item… Eta was thrilled.

"What about…" said Zeta as she gestured towards the bracelet.

"That's a long story, I'll tell you later," said Cid as he gazed up at the moon, "Say, how long ago was The Goddess' Trial?"

"About a week ago milord." Replied Charlie from behind the trio, still very much being held onto by Foxtrot.

Minoru bit the inside of his cheek to hide a frustrated scream.

" We're going to pick up the pace." Demanded Shadow, leaving no room for the girls to say otherwise.

They did their best to keep up with his somewhat-serious sprint, and as a result every muscle in their bodies was sore, with Eta in particular being unable to move for some time.

.

.

.

A/N: If you don't know there's an event from the Master of Garden game called "Truth Seekers." That's what the last section is, not something I made up, lol. Not much is gleamed from that event that is relevant right now, hence why I only used the last bit.

Speaking of Canon, the fight of Cid vs all the Olivier clones was actually pretty short, hence why it was here as well. I just felt there wasn't much I could do here given that they really were all replicas and not actual people.

Also, I actually wanted for all the previous lives to be summonable like personas before, but I didn't want them to play too big of a role, as I feel like they'd just upset everything if they were permanent rather than people that popped up every now and again.

Like, how am I going to use the SMT/Persona magic system, and not give someone a Persona? So, hopefully you like the decision to use Violet for that reason. I was inspired by the fact that one of the characters in Persona 5 Royal uses that as a codename lol.

Also, that bit with Cid won't continue forever, just sometimes when I think it makes narrative sense. Such as now when he just got though a bunch of stuff that he's essentially choosing to ignore. But you know what they say, if you don't schedule maintenance, it will be scheduled for you~ :D

Now let's answer the comments.

SB:

MWKillKenny84: It was Cleare. Lol, though I originally wanted to give her a GLaDOS like body instead of the normal orb.

Ah, Leon's specialties.

Ao3:

Wolfpaladin: Yeah, it's really a matter of what I think would be useful at the time. I figure KH fits Leon better than the SMT did. Really it's just what I'm feeling I guess.

I figured it had been a while since I used Claire, so I thought giving her a POV made sense. I also tacked that on last second so I'm glad that Marie being in prison could make you laugh.

They know some of it (Claire had known about Leon being the descendant of Lea), but I do plan on doing a chapter with some down time next, wherein there will be a serious talk about stuff. And probably a lemon.

Hope you liked what happened with Olivier and Mary.

Rainsensei: Horita. Jajaja.

Anisomeone: And she's here to stay! Also, I hopefully clarified a bit, but added more questions. Gotta keep you guys wanting to read more somehow.

So grandma was just something Alpha said quickly. But in essence, Alpha is the descendant of one of Olivier and Minoru's clones. This will be important later and also be in the story next chapter. I just hinted at it this time, but I have some lore clarifications to do before going to the next arc.

Deathfang1920: thanks!

BOY4_GOW: that's a good way of putting it.

Lmao, door of acceptance. In the manga Cid compared it to the one from Doraemon.

Aurora wasn't always the demon. I think. From what I can tell she was also technically 'possessed' but she was… someone who really succeeded in turning into a monster. After all they had to have had her human at some point so she'd be known as the witch. But yes, Leon/Lea/Hiro knows not the idea of a peaceful life.

Sherry is from Fanoss in this fic. She was also seen with Hertrude and captured alongside Hertrude during the invasion.

I did originally plan on having it be more of a boss fight instead of a horde battle, but yeah Cleare is going to do more than be funny in this fic.

Hope you liked the stuff with Mary.

Shadowyguy: I mean, I got a bit to go through to get there I think.

Totntotbt: She didn't really like Alexia because of the dog stuff, but yeah the slashing from Cid's rejection didn't help.

I can see that. But also Eta is pretty mean in general whenever angered.

Hope you liked what I said here, but yeah I can do more with her.

Thanks! No worries, I just can be a bit dyslexic sometimes.

Fanfic:

Guest: Yeah showing her face wouldn't be a good idea here, lol. To be Leon is to suffer… poor guy.

QQ:

28th00: Yup! Alpha got her own power up.

You know, I didn't think of that, but I could see it. Especially now that she has memories of Freyja (Alexia's past life).

Nelson's gimmick is funny, but the elf monsters were more fun.

It was Cleare.

Claire didn't get kidnapped. The portal Lea threw everyone through sent them to the ship.

Yeah, it's for Sherry's safety mostly. I like to think that Sherry's allowed to walk around while Hertrude has to wait for them to return to the kingdom.

Yeah, Lea did figure it out. He figured out things Minoru/Cid/Shadow didn't realize… on an unrelated note, have I ever mentioned that I really like the stories of KH Chain of memories and Coded? No? Well don't worry about it.

The first step of the quest has begun, the reward a Persona/Summon!

Zackman2k12: Buddy I have no idea how to use that word. Thanks for trying to help the story be more interesting, but I also don't like the idea of straight up being told what to write.

Glad you liked the previous chapter.

Someone ani: Yeah I did copy a good chunk of it, but hopefully since this chapter had more original stuff in it, I clarified somethings.

As for Aurora, she's fun, so there's going to be more of her without the incest vibes.

I saw those, remembered what you said, and avoided them. Thanks.

Dragon_cloud16: So if it wasn't explained well enough, in the previous chapter where Leon had the memory of being Lea and seeing all the seven shades' past lives dying, leaving only Minoru, that was following a fight with Aurora.

They were trying to save her then. But… well, they lost everything. They had to kill Minoru when he was possessed too (when his hair started to turn white.)

Here, Alpha got a boost and Cid got… well, essentially the heebie jeebies have been added to his inventory.

More on the granddaughter thing next chapter, but it wasn't exactly the case. Heck, as I hinted, it wasn't Olivier's original body that gave birth to Alpha's family line. It was the union of an Olivier and Minoru clone.

Yeah, Cid being Cid can be annoying. But now he's gotta wonder, who is Cid? Like legit, in the context of Lea, Leon, and Hiro being different people. What does it mean for Cid, Shadow, Minoru… and the other things coming up.

There is a memory of Minoru, because the fanfic's history is a bit different. Minoru was isekai'd first, then reincarnated after Lea killed him. Minoru was a menace to the cult, so they took his body and cloned him like they did Olivier and the others.

Yeah, I'm not done with Cleare. But as I said before, she's probably not going to stick with Shadow Garden. More on that next chapter though.