"Are you really a Devil, Uncle?"
Cid's expression darkened as he stared at Rizevim across from him. By the end of his sentence, his tone had clearly grown heavier.
"I think… I should be."
Despite being a powerful being who had lived for countless years, with a heart long on the verge of decay, Rizevim's reply still carried a hint of uncertainty.
"Uncle, you keep saying Devils are the most evil, most despicable, and most vicious race in the world. You sound like you understand them really well.
But why are you so naive when it comes to basic things? What are you, some third-rate villain?"
"You're the one with the problem, Cid. Why does a Human like you have more Devil-like thoughts than me, an actual Devil? Are you sure you weren't born into the wrong race?"
"That's your problem, Uncle. I don't have any problem at all. No, it's the world's fault. The Devils in this world are way too naive, and that's what influenced you into becoming such a naive Devil.
I thought I'd finally met someone who liked classic Devils like I do, someone I could have a proper exchange with about different kinds of dreams. But you're such a letdown. Have you never even thought about your own dream?"
"Now that you mention it… I really haven't. I just came up with it on a whim back then. But didn't you say chasing dreams doesn't require thinking?"
"That's not what I meant at all!"
After throwing jabs at each other, the two fell into silence.
Just moments ago, Cid had been thinking about how to send Rizevim away as quickly as possible, while Rizevim had been thinking that now that he had said what he came to say, it was time to leave.
Originally, that should have been the end of it.
Until Rizevim casually brought up how to truly be evil, and Cid casually responded to keep things from getting awkward.
At first, Cid thought it wouldn't take long. Since they were both fans of classic Devils, he treated it as a simple exchange of interests.
But after just a few lines, things went off the rails.
To put it simply, Rizevim was completely outmatched when it came to the art of being evil, and his entire worldview took a heavy hit.
Now he sat on the sofa, eyes dull and unfocused, like someone who had just had a whole new world opened to him.
Cid swore he hadn't meant for this to happen. It was completely accidental. Who would have thought that this man, who claimed no one understood Devils better than him, didn't even grasp the most basic concept of manipulating people's hearts?
Of course, part of the reason was that the Devils in this world were genuinely underwhelming. Calling them Devils was almost an exaggeration. Even the so-called most evil among them felt more like medieval nobles than true Devils.
"Um… Uncle, are you okay?"
As time dragged on, Cid couldn't help himself and reached out to lightly tap Rizevim, who still hadn't recovered.
Only after being touched did Rizevim snap out of it.
Once he came back to his senses, he stared straight at Cid. After a brief silence, hesitation filled his eyes, then gradually gave way to resolve. Suddenly, Rizevim stood up and bowed deeply.
"Please accept me as your disciple, Cid-sensei."
"?"
Cid was momentarily stunned by the sudden gesture, but his mouth instinctively moved to refuse.
"No, no, Uncle, don't do this. Look at your age. How could I possibly be your teacher? That's not appropriate."
"Cid… no, Master Cid. There's an old saying: 'Those who excel are fit to teach.' On the path of evil, you're the true Devil, Cid-sensei. There's no shame in becoming your disciple."
Rizevim remained bowed, lifting his head to look directly at Cid, determination shining in his eyes.
Meeting that unwavering gaze, Cid fell silent.
That look reminded Cid of himself as a child in his previous life.
Back then, the first time he saw a character like an Eminence in Shadow on TV, his immediate thought was simple.
That character was cool.
And just like that, admiration was born.
Yes, it was that simple. Most people are like that, aren't they?
There might be some who talk about how deep the character is or how well they are written, and like them for those reasons. But how many people actually think that way?
Kids are just like that.
Because something looks cool, they admire it. Because they admire it, they want to become it. And because they want to become it, they try to work toward it.
Most people only make it to the second step, wanting to become that character. But is that because they do not want to put in the effort?
No.
It is because they do not know how.
How do you become that character?
You need Chakra, a Zanpakuto, or a Rubber Fruit.
That is how most people think. Cid simply managed to step outside of that way of thinking.
He had been stuck there at first too, but he quickly broke out of it without getting trapped.
Because what he admired was never that a specific character happened to be an Eminence in Shadow.
What he admired was the concept of an Eminence in Shadow itself.
Others admired the character, so they got stuck.
Right now, the look in Rizevim's eyes was exactly like his own back then. A dream born purely from admiration, yet with no path forward, leaving only confusion.
Thinking about it carefully, Uncle Rizevim really was quite similar to him. Back when they drank together, Rizevim talked about the difficulties of his dream. And since Cid himself had once struggled with the absurdity of his own dream, that was why he got carried away with the alcohol back then.
And now, seeing that same look again, it really did feel like they had some kind of connection.
Uncle must have come to love those classical, primordial Devils because he admired someone too.
With that thought, Cid's eyes suddenly sharpened as he stared straight at the bowed Rizevim.
But I refuse.
He did not have the time to entertain Uncle Rizevim. It was not like Cao Cao was paying him.
"But I…"
"This is my tuition, Cid-sensei."
"I believe that when it comes to doing evil, we could become great friends, discussing all kinds of Devil misdeeds together."
PS: As for Rizevim's character, just consider this an overinterpretation of the original work.