The Eminence of a True Monarch of the Shadows

[Third Person's PoV] 

Cid calmly walked through the crowd of his shadow soldiers, who parted and knelt, creating a path towards the fallen bodies.

He patted Iron on the shoulder and said, "Good work."

Iron beamed with pride, his chest puffing out as tears gathered in his eyes. Overcome with emotion, he quickly hid behind his forearm and began to sob happily.

Cid scratched Tank's chin, eliciting a satisfied growl. "You did well too," he added with amusement.

"My lord…" Lucifer knelt, presenting Zeraphiel's punctured body to Cid. He said nothing, simply looking at Cid expectantly.

Cid resisted the urge to roll his eyes in amusement and patted one of Lucifer's horns. 'They're like children, how cute,' he thought. "You should be proud."

"With you as my lord, I always am," Lucifer responded, his head bowed.

'Cheeky brat,' Cid thought, shaking his head as he approached Auriel—or what was left of him. His body parts were scattered across the ground.

"Did you have to mangle his body? I have use for it, you know," Cid said, casting a wary glance at Tusk, who crumbled to the ground in disbelief at being reprimanded. Tusk glared at his subordinates behind him, placing the blame on them without hesitation.

"It's fine, Tusk. I'm not blaming you, nor are you in trouble," Cid said, amused, as he levitated Auriel's body parts and reassembled them.

As Auriel's body reformed, he levitated the other three bodies. Cid recalled all of his shadows, who melted into the ground and swam back into his shadow.

He smirked at the bodies before him. "I hope my wives enjoy the treat I bring them."

…

Igris reappeared in the meeting hall where the 14 Sins and Virtues were gathered. Some crossed their arms in irritation, others looked tired of waiting, but all turned their eyes curiously towards Igris.

"What is it, Igris?" Alpha asked.

"My lord is returning, and he requests that the table be cleared, for he brings a feast that some of you will enjoy," Igris relayed.

Once the table was cleared, Igris took hold of his cloak, spread it to the side, and bowed with a hand to his chest.

Cid emerged from Igris's cape with his hands in his pockets. As he walked towards his seat, large objects followed behind him, stacking themselves on the table to form a pile.

Seated, Cid crossed one leg over the other, leaning back with his elbows resting on the armrests and his hands pressed together. "I'm sorry, ladies. Something minor came up, and I had to step out for a moment. I hope you didn't mind," he said calmly.

The room fell silent as all eyes widened in disbelief. The objects on the table were the giant bodies of angels, their massive white wings making it unmistakable.

"You should have brought me with you," Claire pouted.

"This was something I had to do on my own," Cid replied calmly.

Even Beta pouted a bit. "We just wish to help you, Lord Husband. We have the ability now where we won't be a nuisance to you."

"I know you do, Beta. I never once thought otherwise. But this was something only I could do. They thought they could barge into my home and make demands without consequences. I had to be the one to handle it," Cid explained. "No one else. Besides, you're not the only one who enjoys a good fight."

Cid smiled slightly. "I can't always sit back and let you all do everything."

Though Beta understood, it didn't mean she liked it.

"So, who are you going to pass their power to?" Claire asked, looking around the room.

"They'll all go to the Seven Virtues—"

"WHAT?!" Epsilon exclaimed. "But that's not fair!"

"It's not about fairness," Alpha retorted. "It's because the Virtues represent the light, and these Rulers are beings of light."

"But I'm a Monarch," Claire said, raising her hand slightly. "Does that mean Alpha will become a Ruler? It would be symbolic—a being of darkness leading the light, and a being of light leading the darkness."

Cid placed a hand on his chin. "That could work…" 'However, I was thinking about making Alpha the Monarch of Destruction and passing the Ruling of Light to Akane since…'

"No," Cid said finally, shaking his head. "As good an idea as that is, I have other plans for Alpha."

"You do?" Alpha asked, taken aback.

Cid placed his hands on top of hers. "You'll have to forgive me, but it might take a while for you to become a Monarch. In fact, you might even be the last."

Alpha didn't look displeased in the slightest. "I trust your judgment. I will do whatever you think is best. And I have a feeling it will be worth the wait anyway."

Cid kissed her hands, making her chuckle. He then turned towards Yukime. "Yukime, as the Virtue of Charity, it will be up to you to pass on the powers of a Ruler to everyone here."

"Oh?" she said, her mouth hidden behind a fan. "So I'll be the first to perform my duties as a Virtue," she said happily.

"What do I have to do?" she asked, standing up.

"Place the hand with the Godrune on top of one of the bodies and think about absorbing it into your body," Cid explained.

Yukime reached over to the table and placed a hand on one of the Ruler's bodies. The rune on the back of her hand glowed briefly, and the body slowly disintegrated into particles of white light that flowed into her hand.

She looked towards Cid to see what she should do next. "The one you just absorbed is the Ruler of Fate, and that one will go to Aurora."

"Me? And why Fate?" Aurora asked in surprise.

"Because, out of everyone here, you perhaps didn't have the best fate. However, your fate changed when you met me. You are practically fateless because your fate should have ended with your disappearance. Thus, as someone whose fate is undetermined, making you the Ruler of it seems like the most logical choice."

Gamma then raised her hand slightly, "My lord I think I speak for everyone when I say you hang all of our fates, none of us would be here if it wasn't for you" 

Most of the girls nodded their heads in agreement. 

However Cid shook his head and looked towards Aurora, "You understand what I mean don't you?"

Aurora nodded, "Compared to everyone else I was only a memory, I was already dead. I really had no fate since Cid had used the memory of myself to create a soul, and then create me a body" 

They were shocked, they had never heard of Aurora's tale before, they all had just assumed her body was trapped or something and Cid had rescued her. They would have never in a thousand years would have thought that she was created out of a memory fragment. 

"So it's not farfetched to say that I really am Fateless" Aurora said seeing the looks they were giving her.