72 Path of Evolution

A/N: Ended up rewriting the entire ending, hopefully, that will be the last delay I have to make.

"This…" Shen's eyes flashed as a notification appeared in front of him. He has been waiting for this, he knew it would come eventually. The moment his Life Fiber-Hybrid percentage hit one hundred the System began to work autonomously.

[Potential Evolutionary Paths have been detected! Analyzing paths of evolution...]

[Analyzation complete. Compiling potential paths…]

[Eliminating lethal mutations…]

One after another notifications popped up, and after these first three more and more appeared. Countless lines of text that Shen couldn't possibly read in time. As more and more notifications popped up, Shen was greeted by one last notification.

[Loading Evolutionary selection.]

And just like that Shen's vision faded into darkness. He didn't know how long he remained in this blackened state until finally, his eyes opened again. Despite opening his eyes he didn't know where he was. He was in a blank void that seemed to stretch on endlessly in every direction.

Looking down at his body, he realized nothing was there. At this moment he was only conscious with his body and soul, if there was such a thing, nowhere to be found.

[Please select an Evolutionary Path.]

The familiar voice of the system echoed through the entire void, at the same time figures began forming in front of Shen. Piece by piece, they were created and it was as their faces were being formed that Shen realized that all looked like him.

All lined up next to each other stretching on into the distance. Each 'Shen' was unconscious and unmoving, not life could be seen in them as if they were dolls.

'I see so this must be some kind of space created by the System.' Shen never would have guessed it had the ability to do something like this. Though considering how powerful the System was he shouldn't have doubted the possibility. In what felt like seconds it had created thousands of 'Him' which hung in the void like lifeless dolls.

Forming in front of him was a System Menu, similar to the ones Shen had seen before. It only had four buttons, one to go left and right, only to view information and the other just saying the words 'Confirm'. It was only then that Shen realized something, despite all having his face, these 'Hims' all looked different.

For example the one in front of him, he didn't notice before but its skin seemed transparent. Instead of bones, veins, and muscle, the inside of its body seems to be like a living storm. What looked to be Karmatic Lightning was constantly coursing through it as if it was alive, with no organs or even a brain, a being of electricity wrapped in human skin.

'What is this?' Shen wanted to get a closer look, but he couldn't move in any direction, all he could do was look around.

'Alright fine, I'll use the buttons.' Selecting the 'View Information' button in his mind suddenly the other 'Shens' disappeared as the one in front of him grew larger and more vivid.

{Evolutionary Path}

Name: ???

Combination: Goro Goro no Mi + Karmic Retribution + Relic of Creation

Discarded: Life Fiber-Hybrid, Human-Demon Hybrid, Relic of Destruction, Relic of Choice, Relic of Knowledge

Stats: Physical Strength (180), Endurance (450), Dexterity (300), Power(680)

Features: Karmatic Field, Electricity Control, Shapeshifting, Near-Instantaneous Regeneration, Immortality

<Description>

(This Evolutionary Path creates a being who exists purely of lightning and energy being entirely inorganic. Because of this, they are virtually immortal, never aging, and capable of utilizing the Relic of Creation's ability to recreate their body and shape it however they wish as long as a piece of them remains undestroyed.

They passively release static electricity into the environment around them. This affects both the body and soul, tearing away their vitality while also attacking them mentally. Their very nature causes any electricity around them to be either assimilated into them or fall directly under their control.)

...

For the first time in a good while, Shen was at a loss. His eyes were wide and his expression showed sheer shock and disbelief. From the stats to the abilities, everything here was on an entirely different level.

No matter how much it looked like it, Shen was not actually Immortal. He could live for millenniums without ever seeming to age. But all living things eventually faded away with time and Shen was still such a living thing. But this, the 'Him' that was in front of him at this moment was truly Immortal.

Just the word alone made Shen feel like he was short of breath despite him not having lungs at the moment. On Top of that its regenerative abilities were way beyond his. It took him years to regenerate from what Ozpin did to him, yet if he was like this being before him, he could come back from something like that instantly.

The difference was too massive, and that was ignoring the ability to control and absorb any type of lightning as well as attack the souls of the people directly just by existing. But what really got Shen was the stats.

It had to be noted that all of his current stats were almost all under two hundred. This wasn't a simple boost, it was practically a multiplier. Simply staring at the screen and the evolution in front of him Shen needed to take a second before he exited the view information button.

Once again thousands of Shen's were created and lined up from left to right.

'All of these are potential evolutions… And all of them are probably around this power, if not more so, with their own advantages and disadvantages.' There was a chance once he made a decision this place would be lost to him, though he doubted it.

The more likely option was that once he selected an Evolutionary Path his future choices would be molded around what he decided here and now.

'And if that's the case.' Shen paused for a moment before selecting the button to go right. He flipped past thousands of himself until eventually reached the end of the right side.

Yup, for this Shen was going to go through each and every single possible evolution. After that, he would make the best possible decision he could.

Shen looked to his left seeing just how many potential evolutions there were.

'Looks like I'm going to be here for a while.'

It had been nearly a month since Ruby and the others had been captured and Shen disappeared into the depths of his palace.

Sienna was currently in Mistral, being the first Kingdom they took over and with Kuchinashi being their main base, this was by far the most stable Kingdom out of all of them.

Looming in front of her was a massive mountain, however, it had been transformed. One could clearly see reinforced windows and lights located across the surface of the mountain. Metal stairs lead from one door up to the next each on different levels of the mountain.

The mountain itself was mainly isolated in the middle of a forest, yet a giant electric fence was cutting it off from the outside world. Airships flew overhead while Dreadhorde Soldiers did patrols through the forest and around the mountain itself.

With Mistral being such an optimal place, it was also where they built their prison. Any Huntsman, Huntress, or important figure in the world that did not comply with Shen's rule had either been executed or brought here until they had a 'Change' of heart, or rotted away.

"I'm here to see Prisoner#155294." She was standing in front of a gate. This one was massive and made out of a combination of the strongest alloys available. It was directly built into the side of the mountain, large enough for entire transport trucks to move through and drop off any new prisoners.

The guards there saluted Sienna as they responded.

"Of course right away! We just need your scan first, and to check your voice." Sienna nodded as one of the guards grabbed a tablet-like object and held it out. Sienna placed her hand on the tablet which proceeded to scan her. After a few moments, the guard took the tablet and looked at the results.

"That checks out and your voice scan please." Getting a different device this time he held it in front of her.

"Sienna Khan." She only spoke her name and the device stayed silent before beeping. Hearing that beep the guard nodded.

"Everything check's out, please this way." Someone replaced the guard's position as the gate opened revealing the inside of the mountain, completely transformed into an underground structure.

This entire place was built under Shen's orders with no one else interfering. After seeing how easily characters can bust out of prisons in fictional worlds he decided he would make one himself to keep that from happening.

The moment they stepped inside of the prison Sienna could feel her semblance turn inactive. It was the same technology that was used in the handcuffs to suppress semblances though on a must larger scale. The only people who had powers here were the captains in charge of security in each section of the prison.

And that was due to them having Ultima Uniforms.

After making it in, the guard left and Sienna was greeted by the warden. He had a look of reverence on his face as he spoke.

"It's an honor to have one of Lord Shen's Generals visit us. I hear you wish to see Prisoner#155294, James Ironwood, former General of the Atlas Military correct?" Sienna nodded.

"Indeed it's an important matter that requires the utmost secrecy. I assume you can understand what I mean."

"Of course, of course, I'll make sure to keep this private and remove this meeting from our records. If you would please follow me and I'll personally escort you to the visitation room." The warden led Sienna through multiple twisting hall walls. Each one had grey metal floors, yet the walls were all made of the rough dark grey stone of the mountain itself.

"Here we are, the prisoner is already inside waiting for you." They arrived at a room that looked similar to the other's except it was labeled 'Visitation' above the door. Two guard's where already waiting with weapons in hand.

"Sadly I cant not stay as were still processing the Atlas Prisoners that arrived a few weeks ago. If you need anything let these guards know." With that the Warden excused himself and Sienna was let into the room with the two guards waiting outside.

Just like you would expect it was a cubed room, with the floor, walls, and roof all being made of the same metal. There were cameras on each corner of the room but at the moment they were off. In the center of the room, there were two chairs, each in front of a table that had reinforced glass separating both ends.

Sitting down Sienna tapped on the holographic button on the table in front of her activating the microphone on her end. On the other side of the glass was Ironwood. Compared to the last time they met, he looked surprisingly ok. His beard was clean and so was his hair, with not a single wound or bruise on his body.

The only major changes were that his eyes seemed sharper and that his clothes had been changed out for a white prisoner uniform.

"I see they have been taking care of you as I requested."

Ironwood activated his microphone as he responded.

"So I do have you to thank for that. I was beginning to think-" Ironwood stopped himself as he glanced at the cameras.

"No worries they're off, nothing we do or say here will be recorded and the record of me meeting you will be deleted." Ironwood eased up after hearing that.

"I see, I didn't think you had that much authority."

"Of course, this may be his empire however we are the ones who run it for him."

"So that's what you meant by him focusing too much on the bigger picture?" Sienna smiled slightly to his question but didn't answer.

"In any case, I didn't come here to talk about little things like that. I have news for you about Mantle and Atlas." Ironwood's gaze immediately became focused as he raised his head.

"What happened?"

"Just what you could expect. I'm not sure if Shen planned it out from the start or if she was acting of her own volition but Salem attacks Mistral and Atlas with a horde of Grimm. With no military, they didn't last a day and Atlas was already plummeting out of the sky without the relic to support it."

Ironwood's eyes widened as he heard that and he slammed his hands onto the table and shot to his feet but was unable to move to be shackled to the ground beneath him.

"What! How did- This…" Sienna looked at his panicked face and sighed.

"I had already sent some of my personal forces to Atlas and Mistral to try and evacuate as many citizens as we could after we left with all of your captures. I suspected Shen might try something like this. But my forces are limited compared to the others and even then only a percentage are completely loyal to me."

Hearing that Ironwood grit his teeth and clenched his fist before begrudgingly sitting back down. He spoke somberly and asked a question.

"How… How many?"

"I don't have an accurate number, but the entirety of Mistral and Atlas were laid to waste and flooded thanks to the melted glaciers. We only managed to evacuate less than eighteen percent of the rest…" Sienna didn't need to continue.

he couldn't do too much or the others would grow suspicious. But if she did too little things would never change. She was walking a tight rope, and because of her limits who knows how many people had died.

She was doing all of this in the interest of the Faunus, to give them a future without Shen. But even so, even she could understand how much life was lost.

"I see." Ironwood took a deep breath collecting himself as his eyes turned steely.

"So what exactly is your plan?" Sienna straightened herself as she spoke.

"From his recent actions, Shen will be leaving soon as expected. Were in it for the long haul since we have to widdle down his control after he leaves. I also have to find a way to get you and your comrades out of here. That'll be especially difficult to many people revealing him as some sort of god." A lot of people who joined Shen voluntarily did it out of a want to survive.

However, upon seeing the kind of power he wielded, that slowly turned into an almost fixation. To normal people, hell even to Huntsman and Huntresses with their semblances. Shen was quite literally a god to them, and that idea had infiltrated a lot of people's heads.

"But no structure can last forever, especially once its foundation is gone. We just have to bide our time. I promise I will tear down everything Shen has built, even if it's piece by piece, even if it takes the rest of my life. That, I can solemnly swear."

At that moment both Sienna and Ironwood had a similar look in their eyes. Absolute resolution and unwavering will.

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