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As seen in the previous episode of The Eminence in Shadow, Cid Kagenou finally made it to the sacred city of Lindwurn. Shadow Garden is prone to act on its own without causing trouble to its leader. However, to unravel the mystery behind Archbishop Drake’s assassination, Alpha needs Shadow’s help.
Episode 11 of The Eminence in Shadow, titled The Goddess’ Trials, sees Shadow Garden continuing their investigation in Lindwurn to find the culprit behind Archbishop Drake’s death. Shadow pays a surprise entrance into the Church of the Holy Knights and awakens one of the feared ancient warriors who once rained destruction and chaos down the world.
Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for The Eminence in Shadow anime series.
The Eminence in Shadow episode 11 highlights
Alexia suspects the acting Archbishop
Episode 11 of The Eminence in Shadow kicked off with Alexia surprised to see Cid sharing the same spring pool. To avoid awkward silence, the former asked him about his purpose for visiting Lindwurn. Cid lied by saying a friend invited him to the Goddess Trials. Alexia revealed the purpose behind her visit, which she was prohibited from sharing with outsiders.
She wanted to audit the acting Archbishop, Nelson, but he refused to help with the investigation and asked her to leave these matters to the Church itself. The strange behavior of the acting Archbishop caused Alexia to put him on the list of prime suspects behind the assassination of Archbishop Drake.
Alexia and Beta dislike each other
After Nelson, the only person who seemed shadier to Alexia was Natsume Kafka (Beta’s public persona). Unbeknownst to her, Natsume also despised her since she was the only person who was able to get too close to her master, Shadow (Cid Kagenou). Natsume deemed Alexia to be a morally corrupt individual because of her royal status.
The Goddess Trials finally kicked off with contenders from around trying their luck to call out the ancient warriors to spar with them. Cid was craving to do something eminence-in-shadowy during the event, but he couldn’t. He eventually chose to remain seated and accept his fate like everyone else as a background character. But all of a sudden, his name got called as the next contender.
Shadow vs. Aurora
Cid wanted to participate in the competition to face mighty ancient warriors, but it would cause him to unleash his eminent powers, destroying his purpose of living as the eminence in shadow. His second option was to run away from the Goddess Trials, but it would get him expelled from the Midgar Academy if the administrators discovered his cowardice, and his sister, Claire, would be disappointed.
Cid relied on the third option to confuse the matter by suddenly appearing in the trials in his Shadow persona. Activating the sanctuary, Cid summoned Aurora, the most powerful witch ever to exist, commonly known by her epithet, Witch of Calamity.
He was fascinated by his opponent as he could feel the raging bloodlust within her. Using her ancient blood manipulation techniques, Aurora tried to overwhelm Cid but failed to even land a scrape. Facing a worthy contender after a long time caused Cid to nickname his opponent 'Violet' out of deep affection.
After defeating Aurora with just a fraction of his power, Cid left the arena, which eventually broke the barrier shield and summoned a magical door. Elsewhere, Alpha was happy that the sanctuary answered his call.
Final summation of The Eminence in Shadow episode 11
Episode 11 of The Eminence in Shadow proves that the protagonist, Cid Kagenou, is even more potent than someone who almost destroyed the world. Although Cid enjoyed sparring with Aurora, he didn’t even get to use his maximum potential, which was a significant dissatisfaction for him. After satisfying his desire to do something eminence-in-shadowy on the holy grounds, he somehow activated the sanctuary.
Despite acting on his own accord, Cid inadvertently accomplishes Shadow Garden’s mission without his knowledge. Alexia is suspicious of Nelson turning away the help provided by the Kingdom of Midgar. Meanwhile, Beta also keeps an eye on him in her Natsume Kafka facade and relays his every single movement to Alpha. The Eminence in Shadow is just an episode away from closing the curtains for season 1.
