Chapter 156

1[Third Person's PoV] 

As they were all standing up, they suddenly gained two surprising visitors.

"CELESTE, STOP TELEPORTING EVERYWHERE!"

What followed were loud, maniacal baby giggles, filled with mischief.

"Hehehe!"

Hearing the voice from above, they looked up to find Aurora holding Celeste while flying. The bluish-purple aura around Celeste then vanished, causing them to start falling.

"Ahhhh! Catch us, Cid!" Aurora yelled, grabbing onto Celeste protectively and turning her back towards the ground.

Cid had a look of amusement as he held out his arms. Aurora soon landed in his arms while holding Celeste.

Celeste raised her arms in the air and cheered while giggling. Cid chuckled, shook his head, and looked towards Aurora. "How did this even happen?"

Aurora sighed. "Celeste started teleporting all over the room and wouldn't sit still. So, in case she teleported somewhere dangerous, I jumped and grabbed her. But when I grabbed her, she teleported both of us here."

Celeste looked proud as she puffed up her chest.

"Have you not been listening to Mommy?" Cid said, beginning to chastise her.

Seeing that Cid was mad at her, Celeste lowered her head.

Cid then put Aurora down and took Celeste in his arms. "You have to stop worrying Mommy and listen to her when she tells you no, alright?"

With pouted lips, Celeste nodded. Cid smiled and started patting her head.

Aurora looked around. "Where is this place?"

"The Shadow Realm, a different dimension that exists in my shadow. It appears Celeste's abilities are becoming stronger as time goes on; she was able to enter my dimension on her own," Cid praised.

Celeste went back to puffing her chest with pride upon hearing Cid's compliment.

Epsilon then looked towards Celeste before picking her up from Cid's arms. "You mentioned Monarchs having titles before. What are yours?" Epsilon asked curiously.

Cid saw all of them turn to him, their eyes burning with curiosity.

"You guys really want to know, huh?" Cid asked.

The girls all nodded, except for Celeste and Aurora, who looked at Cid in confusion. Cid reached into the air and pulled out a scroll from nowhere. As he undid the scroll, it fell to the ground, continuing to expand with no sign of stopping.

The girls looked at the scroll with wide eyes and mouths agape.

Cid cleared his throat while lifting up the scroll as if prepared to read it. "You girls ready? Buckle up, this may take a while."

Cid chuckled, threw the scroll to the side, and turned into particles of light, revealing it was only an illusion. "I'm just kidding."

Celeste covered her mouth as she giggled cutely.

Bellion then appeared next to Cid. "My lord, I think it would be better if I announced your titles to them."

"Go ahead, Bellion," Cid nodded.

Bellion smirked before loudly pronouncing: "My lord is Monarch of Shadows, The Emperor of Death, The King of Black, The Greatest Fragment of Brilliant Light, The Owner of The Seven Deadly Sins, The Husband of Many, The Sovereign of Mana, The Manifestation of Willpower, The One without Limit…"

As Bellion started announcing Cid's titles, all of his shadow soldiers began appearing and surrounding the area. They went on one knee, put a fist to the ground, and bowed their heads.

Bellion then quickly followed he walked towards everyone that was kneeling down and knelt down with them as well as they all faced Cid, 

"OUR LORD IS THE EMINENCE OF A TRUE MONARCH OF THE SHADOWS!" 

Alpha and the others had looks of worship, while Aurora looked deeply impressed. Celeste's eyes shone like stars upon hearing all of her father's titles and seeing everyone show him great respect.

'He's the coolest… I'm so glad he's my daddy.'

…

In the real world…

Rose was twisting and turning in her bed, tears in her eyes as she muttered in her sleep, "I'm sorry… forgive me, Father…"

In her dreams, she held a sword deeply embedded in her father's chest, blood staining her hands and flowing from his mouth.

"I won't forgive you," he said in a raspy voice, holding out his bloodied hands. "I won't forgive you, Rose!"

He wrapped his hands around her throat, looked her in the eyes, and screamed in her face, "I WON'T EVER FORGIVE YOU!!"

"I'm sorry!" she yelled as she woke up, realizing her own hands were wrapped around her throat.

She sat up in bed, catching her breath, and buried her face in her hands as she muttered, "That same dream again… It happens again and again."

Suddenly, she heard the sound of knocking on the door, followed by Sherry's voice from the other side.

"Rose? Are you okay? I heard screaming."

"I'm okay… just a dream…"

"...Okay… Well, I came to inform you that we have a mission set up. Please get ready quickly."

"Alright, I'll be there in a few," Rose answered as she walked towards the mirror and let out a sigh as she examined her body.

She lifted her neck, exposing the red markings she had created. She ran her fingers over them before using magic to heal them.

"That's the third night in a row I've woken up with self-inflicted wounds. One of these days, I'm going to wake up dead by my own hands…"

"..."

"Can I wake up dead? Is that a thing?" Rose pondered before shaking her head, She summoned black slime and applied it to her whole body, creating the Shadow Garden's main outfit.

'This slime is really amazing. As expected of Cid, he's really a genius,' Rose praised as she examined herself. Nodding, she walked out of the room.

She found Alexia leaning against a wall with Sherry standing next to her, waiting.

"Are you really okay?" Sherry asked with a hint of worry in her gaze.

Rose smiled and nodded. "I'm okay, really. Like I said, it's only nightmares. Sorry for worrying you guys."

They both nodded and began to follow Sherry.

"If you ever feel like you need to talk to someone, just know we will always be by your side. We are a team now, after all," Alexia said, looking at Rose with a serious expression.

Rose nodded. "Thank you."

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