Originally named Minoru Kageno, he dedicated his past life on Earth to becoming an unseen power behind the scenes, an "Eminence in Shadow." His relentless training encompassed martial arts, swordsmanship, and extreme physical conditioning, all while cultivating an unremarkable public facade. He operated secretly as the vigilante "Fancy Hoodlum Slayer" or "Balancalava Berserker," targeting criminals. His life ended when he misinterpreted truck headlights as magical energy during research, resulting in a fatal accident. Reincarnated into a fantasy world as the son of the noble Kagenou family, he retained his memories and adopted the name Cid Kagenou. From childhood, he secretly trained in magic and combat, deliberately presenting himself as weak and mediocre, especially compared to his sister Claire. To fund his activities and gain experience, he hunted bandits, inadvertently rescuing individuals such as Rose Oriana and Yukime. At age ten, he discovered an elf girl suffering from magical corruption called "possession." After curing her through experimentation, he invented the "Cult of Diablos"—a fabricated demon-worshipping organization manipulating history—to recruit her into his role-playing organization, "Shadow Garden." Unbeknownst to him, the Cult was real, and his story mirrored actual events. He named the elf Alpha and later recruited six others with the same affliction (Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, Zeta, Eta), training them in combat, economics, science, and arts from his past life. Cid maintains two primary identities: - **Cid Kagenou**: His unremarkable civilian identity as a below-average student at Midgar Academy for Dark Knights. He cultivates mediocrity, befriending fellow unexceptional students like Skel and Po, and actively avoids attention. To preserve this persona, he employs extreme techniques, such as stopping his heart for ten minutes to feign death, believing it reinforces his "background character" status. He entered a fake relationship with Princess Alexia Midgar to appear ordinary, later exploiting it for money. - **Shadow**: His idealized alter ego, clad in a black-and-gold slime bodysuit with a face-obscuring hood and using a deepened voice. As Shadow, he leads Shadow Garden with dramatic flair, delivering ominous pronouncements and performing grand acts like destroying fortresses with "I Am Atomic." He remains unaware his fabricated narratives about the Cult are true, attributing his subordinates' successes to their dedication to role-playing. He adopts short-lived personas for specific scenarios, each with self-imposed limitations: - **Mundane Mann**: A seemingly weak swordsman persona used during the Bushin Festival, gradually revealing overwhelming strength to defeat opponents like Iris Midgar. - **John Smith**: A "stealth" persona in Lawless City, wearing a black suit and using razor wires. His actions unintentionally strengthened alliances between Shadow Garden's Mitsugoshi Company and local factions. - **Jack the Ripper**: A serial killer persona eliminating corrupt nobles, marked by clown attire and playing cards. - **Suzuki Hope**: An "intelligence" persona posing as a student, using fountain pens as weapons. These identities often attracted admirers, though Cid viewed them as disposable roles. Cid exhibits extreme focus, categorizing life into "Important Stuff" (his Eminence persona) and "Unimportant Stuff" (everything else). He discards relationships, emotions, or interests distracting from his ambitions, leading to isolation. Despite this, he sporadically extends compassion to those he perceives as suffering similar hardships, such as offering guidance to Rose Oriana. He describes the Seven Shadows as friends and thanks them for indulging his role-playing, though he views their successes as coincidental. His pride prevents him from accessing Shadow Garden's wealth, leading to financially desperate acts. Cid's abilities stem from lifelong training: - **Pre-Reincarnation**: Proficient in karate, MMA, wrestling, fencing, and kendo. - **Post-Reincarnation**: Mastered magic, swordsmanship, and slime-based technology. He developed techniques like "I Am Atomic" (a massive energy blast) and "I Am Recovery Atomic" (healing). His training granted immunity to poisons and enhanced durability, surviving continent-level toxins. He employs "magic threads" to bypass anti-magic barriers and controls his physiology for feats like cardiac arrest. His adaptability allows him to imitate abilities like vampire blood magic. Cid operates with minimal planning, relying on improvisation and luck. He underestimates opponents to prolong fights for dramatic effect, causing unnecessary destruction. His secrecy as Shadow forces him to compromise his civilian reputation, fabricating humiliating excuses to investigate incidents. These traits, combined with his chūnibyō-driven actions, risk compromising his goals or safety. Notable events include: - Rescuing Claire from the Cult at age thirteen, confirming the Cult's existence but dismissing it as coincidence. - Curing the possessed saint Victoria at age fourteen, who later joined Shadow Garden. - Thwarting a fake Shadow Garden attack at Midgar Academy, where he feigned death to save Rose Oriana. - Preventing Rose's forced marriage by revealing her mother's betrayal, driving Rose to join Shadow Garden. - Traveling to his original world with Beta, reuniting with his past classmate Akane Nishino before returning. Cid's actions consistently influence broader events: His bandit hunts saved future allies; his Mundane Mann persona redirected Rose's suicidal despair into resolve; his John Smith persona stabilized Lawless City's power dynamics. Despite his belief that Shadow Garden is a shared delusion, the organization actively combats the real Cult, with Cid's accidental truths and overwhelming power shaping the world's fate.