The light that had snatched him from the edge of the Nexus gently dissipated, leaving Cid Kagenou in a place beyond
ordinary understanding. Not the desolate void of the Nexus where the fighting had taken place, but a vast chamber
suspended in pure energy. Geometric structures, replete with a tranquil glow, floated in air that didn't feel like air. At
the center, a towering structure—The System itself—radiated a silent but absolute power. Cid felt the resonance of
potency and order on an unimaginable scale. The base. The Central Base of Operations. Clean, functional aesthetic.
Perfect.
Cid adjusted his cloak, planting his feet on an invisible but firm surface. He maintained his impassive expression beneath
Shadow's mask, a mask that now felt more like a symbol of his role than a mere cover.
Cid thought: Integration phase complete. The Cosmic Allied Organization has brought me into their hearts. They operate
from a plane that transcends individual realities. This is the true scenario.
The Nexus's distant, robotic voice was replaced by an immense, vast presence. It communicated directly within her
consciousness, not with audible words, but with a stream of pure concepts and data that her mind processed
instinctively.
[The System: Level 7 Agent Integration... complete. Initiation protocol... in progress. Operational network compatibility
assessment... Optimal.]
Cid thought: Level 7 Agent. A seemingly modest rank, but whose subtlety is its strength. It's a covert position within the
Allied Organization, allowing me to operate from the inner shadows. A perfect infiltration point into the structure that
combats true evil. Only I, the Level 7 Agent, can see the deepest threads.
The central structure pulsed, and a form emerged from it. It had no discernible body or face, only a humanoid silhouette
made of pure light and fluctuating data. It was a direct manifestation of the consciousness in charge of The System. It
radiated a serene but undeniable authority.
[The System: Cid Kagenou. Existential Annihilator. Level 7 Agent. You have been designated to understand the true scale
of the operation. The Nexus Selection was merely the identification phase of unique assets. Your conceptual alignment
and operational proficiency have brought you to this point.]
Cid listened with the gravity required for a high-level briefing. The Entity was projecting knowledge directly into his mind,
rewriting his understanding of the universe. This was the briefing. The hidden truth. What he always sought.
Cid thought: Prepare your mind, Your Eminence. It's time to put away the minor concepts. The real game has begun.
[The System: The reality you know as home is a single strand in the vast tapestry of Creation. What the entities of this
plane call the 'Sixth Cosmos.' But the Cosmos is not all.]
Mental images arose in his consciousness, not as visions, but as pure knowledge injected directly into him. Vast, infinite
spaces of darkness. A primordial silence that existed before the stars, before light, before time.
The System: Before Creation, before the light of the Big Bang penetrated, there was the Primordial Void. And within
that void... there was an entity. Knull.]
A colossal figure, made of pure darkness and shadow, emerged in his mind. Ancient. Immense. Its very existence was a
negation of light. Knull. The origin. The ultimate source of chaos and shadow. Not the "Cult" he had imagined, but
something... primordial. The scale was perfect. Its purpose crystallized.
[The System: Knull was not created. He is the Void manifested. Creation's intrusion into his realm was anathema. In
response, he forged the first weapon of darkness... the All-Black Necroblade... and from his own shadow, created the
living darkness... the symbiotes.]
The symbiotes. The living darkness. Created by the god of the void. The connection was clear now. Everything fit
together in its terrible perfection, a dark symmetry that appealed to Cid's secret aesthetic.
Cid thought: The Architect of Darkness. The Leader of the Supreme Cosmic Cult. All of the above was just a prelude.
Knull is the ultimate target. The leader the Shadowed Eminence was destined to face.
[The System: Knull waged war against Creation. He sought to extinguish the light and return everything to the void. The
forces of Creation... responded. Entities of great power arose to oppose him. Entities such as... the Celestials.]
He saw images of the gigantic armored beings, the Celestials. They represented light, order, creation. Knull's void
counterpart. The original cosmic war.
[The System: These forces managed to contain Knull, imprisoning him. But his influence... and his creations... persisted.
Scattered across the multiverse.]
The revelation was overwhelming in its scale, but Cid's Level 7 Agent mind absorbed it effortlessly, sorting and filing it
away. This was the truth that validated his existence. The real fight. He was at the base of the Cosmic Allied Organization,
receiving his superior's briefing on the ultimate enemy. This was what he'd always wanted. The true power behind the
shadows.
[The System: Now, Knull is awakening from his prison. His power is reactivating. He is spreading his influence across
realities, seeking to reclaim his creations and destroy the Creation that invaded him. The threat is... imminent.]
The System paused. Its glow pulsed, conveying the gravity of the situation. The game had changed. The threat was
multiversal. And he, the Level 7 Agent, was about to receive his direct orders for the operation.
Cid thought: Imminent. Just in time. The stage is set. Knull... the true final boss. It's time for the Eminence, as a key agent
of the Allied Organization, to take action. My role is pivotal in what's coming.
Anticipation grew within Cid. The first chapter of the next phase of his life as a Shadow Eminence. The awakening of the
Level 7 Agent.