Chapter 178

[Third Person's PoV] 

As Rose cut off Mordred's head, the blood on her sword evaporated into smoke. She scoffed, looking down on his lifeless body with disdain. 

Meanwhile, Shadow's shadow soldiers were already eliminating the remaining monsters that had poured through the Gates. The battlefield was littered with the corpses of defeated creatures, and the air buzzed with the lingering energy of the fierce battle.

Shadow's strongest soldiers, leading their own armies, emerged from the Gates with the bodies of the monsters they had vanquished. Tusk and his army of ogres carried the carcasses of various beasts, while Tank, the ice bear shadow, returned with the bodies of ice elves draped over his back. 

As they exited, the Gates closed behind them, sealing off the threat and preventing any more monsters from escaping into the world.

The monster carcasses littered the ground, and Shadow's soldiers diligently gathered them, offering them as tribute to their master. Shadow's shadow expanded, revealing Aurora, Celeste, and Alpha. Alpha, still pouting from being excluded from the fight, stood by with a mix of understanding and frustration. 

Celeste, upon seeing Shadow, immediately extended her arms, signaling that she wanted to be carried. Shadow complied without hesitation, lifting her into his arms and planting a tender kiss on her cheek. 

"I take it, it's all over?" Aurora asked, stepping closer to him with a calm demeanor.

"No… This is far from over…" Shadow replied solemnly, his voice tinged with a sense of foreboding.

Aurora chuckled, her amusement evident. "Cid, honey… I meant the attack on Oriana…"

Realizing his mistake, Shadow's cheeks turned slightly red as Celeste giggled, covering her mouth with her small hands. Shadow cleared his throat, attempting to regain his composure. "Then yes, yes it's over… for now…"

Aurora raised an eyebrow, teasing him. "Did you need to deepen your voice toward the end?"

"Yes…" Shadow responded, with a tone that was both serious and slightly embarrassed.

As all the monsters were gathered before him, Celeste, still in his arms, threw her tiny hands in the air and with a serious expression declared, "Awised!"

Both Shadow and Aurora turned to look at each other in surprise. Aurora's expression was one of disbelief and slight annoyance as she realized what had just happened. "Are you serious? Those are her first words!?" she exclaimed, unable to hide her disbelief.

Shadow couldn't help but smile, pride and amusement evident on his face. "Well, she does take after her father," he said, brushing off Aurora's annoyance with a smirk.

Aurora shook her head, exasperated but ultimately charmed. "Of course, she does..." she muttered, a small smile tugging at her lips despite herself.

Seeing that her first attempt didn't work, Celeste turned toward Shadow with a sad, pouty look. 

Shadow chuckled and, with a smirk, lifted her up in the air, facing the monsters. "Baby, they didn't hear you. You have to say it louder," he encouraged.

Celeste's expression grew serious as she puffed out her chest and cheeks, taking a deep breath. Then, with all the might her tiny lungs could muster, she threw her hands toward the sky and shouted, "Awised!!!"

As she did, she didn't notice Shadow's eyes glowing a bright purple. The shadows of the monster carcasses began to expand, and shadow soldiers of all shapes and sizes manifested, surrounding the empty streets of Oriana. They all knelt down with their heads lowered in submission.

"Heh," Celeste said, crossing her arms with a smug expression as she watched the shadows bowing in her direction.

Everyone who saw her melted at her cuteness. Beru, who was close by, clapped his hands in approval. "Good work, young Monarch, as expected of you," he praised.

Celeste put her chin in the middle of her thumb and index finger, smirking with satisfaction. "Heh," she repeated.

Shadow, smiling proudly, pulled the shadows back into his own. He felt the presence of every shadow under his control, and his thoughts raced with the realization of his power. *I now have over a million shadows... from just 1,000 to over 1,000,000. I've come a long way,* he mused.

His attention shifted to Rose, who was standing nearby with tears in her eyes as she surveyed the battlefield that had once been her kingdom, now reduced to ruins.

"Rose, come here for a sec," Shadow called out to her.

Rose quickly wiped her tears and jogged over. "Yes?"

"Here, hold Celeste for a moment," Shadow said, handing Celeste over to Rose. Rose took Celeste into her arms and began to comfort her, smiling as she rubbed Celeste's cheek.

Rose's smile faded into confusion as Shadow began to levitate off the ground, his cloak fluttering in the night wind. Rising to a height where he could see the entire kingdom, Shadow closed his eyes and whispered, "Earth Magic: Total Reconstruction."

A wave of mana exploded from Shadow, painting the night sky with his energy. Rose stood wide-eyed as she watched the buildings rise, reconstructing themselves. Even the castle was repairing its damaged parts. The streets cleared of rubble, and Oriana Kingdom was restored to its former glory, as if the attack had never happened.

Shadow then snapped his fingers, causing the Shadow Domain to disappear. The citizens of Oriana, who had been confused and frightened, looked around in bewilderment as they found their surroundings back to normal. Shadow released a small burst of Conqueror's Haki, knocking them all unconscious. With a raised hand, he conjured a magic circle that flew up and expanded over the citizens.

"Memory Eraser Spell: One Hour…" Shadow mumbled, causing them all to forget about the Monarch's attack, leaving only the memory of him defeating Ragnarok. They would believe his attack was so powerful that it knocked them all unconscious. 

After completing his spell, Shadow floated back down and explained what he had done to Rose, who looked at him with gratitude in her eyes. "Thank you," she said warmly, her eyes filled with love.

Before the moment could linger, Epsilon spoke up. "Umm, husband dear, I don't mean to interrupt this special moment, but are we going to do what you told me about before?"

The others looked at her in confusion, curious about what she was referring to, but Epsilon only smiled as she glanced at the Black Rose.

"Members of Shadow Garden! Gather around; I have an announcement to make!" Shadow commanded, his voice authoritative.

They all appeared, kneeling with a hand over their hearts. "Ready for your orders, Master!" they shouted reverently.

Shadow took Celeste back into his arms, smiling as he turned to face the Black Rose, still active. "I'm taking you all with me to another dimension that I feel like conquering…"

Their eyes widened, even Rose's mouth fell open at the news. "I know some of you might be worried about what will happen to this world if we're gone, but don't worry. I'll be able to change the time dilation between dimensions, so let's say we spend ten years in that dimension—only a second will pass here. So, what do you all say to that?"

A sparkle ignited in their eyes as they responded excitedly, "We'll follow you anywhere you go, my lord!"

Alpha, who was close by, leaned in and whispered, "Can you really control time, Master?"

"It's a bit difficult to explain, but with my memories of Ashborn, I've been able to control the Gates and change the time dilation between worlds. This won't be any different, even if I don't possess time magic just yet," Shadow replied, confident in his abilities.

Alpha nodded in understanding and turned to face the Black Rose. Shadow's shadow expanded, enveloping everyone and sending them to his shadow realm, with Celeste and Aurora being no exception. The only one remaining by his side this time was Zeta.

"Zeta, how about we spend our date testing out the universe before letting everyone else have a go at it?" Shadow suggested with a smirk.

Zeta smiled, taking his hand. "You lead, I follow."

With a firm squeeze of her hand, Shadow stepped through the Black Rose, leaving their world behind, ready to conquer the next one.

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A/N: This is the end of this volume and you know what this means!! Everyone favorite moment even though it was a short volume. My was during the wedding when Celeste lifted a finger and saw blood flying everywhere but then decided that it was before not to and lowered Cid's finger back down and gave it a pat. 

Now then for the sad thing I'm going to share with everyone… This next volume will most likely be the last. I know some of you are going to be disappointed that there won't be any multiverse but I want to properly finish at least one of my fics. There must come a thing were all good things come to an end

I want there to at least be an ending to this one.

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