70 Forced to Endure

Night had already fallen across this side of Remnant. Sitting on his throne Shen looked down on everyone who had just arrived. Two soldier's stood at the entrance of the chamber with Torchwick, Taella, and Blake kneeling in front of him. With a wave of his hand, the guards who were standing at the entrance bowed before leaving.

With only the four of them left Shen spoke.

"I'm assuming there were no issues after I left?" Shen held the Relic of Creation in his hands while speaking.

"None whatsoever."

"Surprisingly, they quieted down a lot on the flight here."

Shen nodded hearing Blake and Torchwick before turning his gaze to Taella.

"I'm assuming you're here about Winter. If you want her then fine, I have no more need for the maidens. But no matter what you are not allowed to kill her, at least not yet."

Taella smiled hearing that thanking Shen with the same energy as a child getting a present.

"I have things to do so you three are free to leave. Don't disturb me for the next few hours." All three of them nodded as they stood to leave.

"I can't believe we get to guard Lord Shen's throne room. Lucky us, I mean I'm pretty sure this counts as a promotion. "

"I know right, we even got to see the three of the generals. I wonder if-" The guards were cut off as the double doors beside them opened.

"Well then ladies this has been a truly bonding experience, but I'll be taking my leave first." Torchwick gave a half nod as he walked away.

Only Blake rolled her eyes ignoring him as she left in the opposite direction. Only Taella seemed to really be neutral out of everyone as the doors closed. The guards stood there silently not moving an inch when they saw Taella. After standing there for a second she eventually left without glancing in their direction causing them to let out a sigh.

"Phew… I swear every time I see her she freaks me the hell out."

"Always the pretty ones that are crazy I swear."

…

[You know as good of a plan this is, are you sure you can handle it? Even if your body is special and I'm acting as a medium, you'll still end up absorbing a lot of volatile energy. If this goes wrong then you could end up being destroyed entirely.]

"That's exactly why I've waited till we gathered all of the relics before I attempted this. I needed to make sure I was entirely prepared." Shen had left his throne room and had instead traveled into the depths of his palace. The relics were both valuable and extremely powerful, as such, they were held in an area that was inaccessible to practically everyone.

After traveling down a multitude of stairs each with its own security checkpoints and using two separate elevators he arrived. A massive vault door was located thousands of feet underground. It was lined out of the same material they used to create the Aura and Semblance suppressing handcuffs.

By all means, except for his own generals, it was impossible for anyone on Remnant to get through these doors.

"I have to admit they did an impressive job." Glancing around the solitary chamber with the only entrance being behind him Shen didn't go towards the panel next to the vault door. Instead, he walked straight, his body sparked creating static in the air. The moment his body touched the door he transformed into electricity.

He was conducted into the door itself and traveled across to the other side. Within seconds his body reformed as he was greeted by yet another room. It was a circular room, less than ten meters in each direction. The walls, floors, and roof were all made of smooth metal and the only luminescence came from the four overhanging lights.

Under each light was a small platform, and floating in the air above them, suspended were the relics. They were all lined up next to one another, with the altars for choice and knowledge located on the outside and destruction on the inside.

"The Relic of Knowledge, Choice, and Destruction." Walking forward with the Relic of Creation in hand, Shen walked towards the empty altar next to the one holding the Relic of Destruction.

"And now Creation." Letting the Relic of Creation go, it floated in its place alongside its siblings. None of the Jinn that rested inside of the Relics woke, instead they remained silent.

'Either way, easier for me.' With both hands now free Shen held out his arms as the Life Fibers in his body began to grow wild.

"Tangle!" With a single command, Life Fibers shot out of every inch of his body. They attached themselves to everything, the walls, the floor, and even the roof. Thousands… no hundreds of thousands of Life Fibers layered on one another forming a walled-off surface. Within ten minutes time, the entire room had been coated and looked like a crimson cocoon.

This was as much for Shen's protection as it was for Kuchinashi's. The relics held an immense amount of power, one slipped up and they could easily level Kuchinashi wiping it off the face of Remnant. At the same time if Shen didn't do this, as The Godkiller said the volatile energy would destroy him.

Almost as if it was alive, the cocoon of Life Fibers began to move. Stretching down from the roof and up from the altars Life Fibers wrapped themselves around the relics' top half and bottom half. Like veins, they seemed to pulse slightly once the connection was complete.

"Now, its your turn." Holding out his hand The Godkiller manifested itself in a flash of light. Its shape began to change according to Shen's will, changing from a one-handed bladed to a two-handed greatsword.

[Hehe, you know this is going to be extremely painful for you. You'll be lucky if you don't go insane within a matter of seconds.]

"Tell me something I don't know." Of course, it was going to be painful, nothing could ever just be easy and simple in this world.

"Anyway, how long will it take you to siphon off all the energy my body can handle?"

[Hmm, assuming you don't die in the first few minutes and the nature of those relics… I would say a week at the least.] Shen's eyes immediately narrowed as he frowned.

"Are you kidding me? A week?"

[Don't blame me, your body can only handle so much in a single span of time. If I tried to forcefully speed up the process, that would be the end for you.] To that Shen could only sigh to himself. He had come up with this idea a while ago, but he hadn't put it into practice. How could he?

It was all speculation and theorizing. He could either spend the rest of his days here on Remnant or potentially rise beyond. No matter what he refused to be stuck in one place without advancing. That's why he was doing all of this in the first place. He died the moment he decided to break his promise to himself.

The moment he stepped out to help someone other than himself, he was killed. He did it out of impulse and not rational thinking. He had told himself when he first reincarnated that he would live solely for himself, doing as he see fit. If one day he died because of his actions, then he wouldn't regret it.

He wanted to see just how far he could get following his own rules. Whether it be Fate, Plot Armor, or some other abstract force that controls how he lives or dies, he would reject them entirely.

'No matter what happens the path I chose will turn me into a villain. Someone viewed as evil from all fronts, and I'm fine with that.' The villain always loses in the end huh? Alright then, he would let the world take its best shot at him. He had no plans of stopping anytime soon.

Raising The Godkiller into the air above his head, he gripped the handle with both hands tightly. Gritting his teeth Shen's eyes flashed. With no hesitation, he plunged The Godkiller into the cocoon. Immediately its ability to absorb energy kicked in as Life Fibers wrapped itself around the blade.

At the same time, Life Fibers shot from Shen's hands and arms attaching themselves to the hilt. In that instant, Shen felt it. The relics, each an endless and unlimited source of power. They felt bottomless, they felt ancient. They were beyond human understanding, beyond the logic and physics of the world he and everyone else knew.

And at that moment, that power that was sealed within them diverted itself. Traveling into the Life Fibers attached to them into the cocoon. Every crimson fiber seemed to glow a vibrant orange beautifully. It was as if the cocoon had turned into a heart, it pulsed and beat as the light and power absorbed into them grew.

And at the same time, The Godkiller began to take all of the power from the cocoon itself. Acting as a conduit it absorbed energy greedily which was then transferred straight to Shen. The moment all of that power reached Shen's body, he felt his mind blank.

His arms and body cracked, almost like a glass. His vein's popped, his heart burst, and every organ in his body exploded instantly. Blood poured out of his body like a fountain as the energy forced its way inside of him.

This wasn't just painful… It was unbearable Shen couldn't even scream as the feeling completely overrid his thoughts. This was what The Godkiller meant by him going insane. As Shen's mind continued to fall deeper and deeper into white, it was his instincts that saved him. Without his input, his body began to transform as his Devil Trigger was activated.

His body was forcefully stitched back together as his eyes which had gone unfocused regained their light.

"AGH!" Letting out a scream Shen's grip on The Godkillers handle tightened as his demonic form got back upright.

[Oh you actually managed to survive.]

Shen couldn't even answer back as he felt pain racking through his body. Even with his Devil Trigger, the power ravaged him physically and mentally. It was tearing his very being apart, the only upside is now he could actually scream due to the pain.

'Dam… I- I have to endure this… For over a week?' The words impossible rang through his mind. He could only keep his Devil Trigger state for a few minutes at a time. That meant he would have to survive during its cooldown period only to get brief relief when he could transform again.

In both states, he would be feeling enough pain to kill a normal person dozens of times over.

[Well you were the one who signed up for this. No backing out now…]