A Nexus of Tempation

The world corrected itself according to Shen's will, all issues with space were corrected, time which had been distorted and stopped returned to its normal linear flor, and the cycle of creation and destruction of all things continued. After fixing everything Shen flew high into the atmosphere allowing him to see Remnant in its entirety.

Millions had died during his battle with the brothers, and although Shen didn't care about their lives it was still a significant loss in every way. The amount of power the Relics were pouring into him endlessly was massively reduced meaning it would take even longer for him to get back to the point he fought against the two gods.

On top of that, he had also harmed his own forces, who knew how many of the Dreadhorde had been affected, planes falling out of the sky, ships running aground or being left to drift at sea. The entire communication network around the world had been shut down, and that was ignoring the more physical damage he had caused.

If there was one upside it was that their main HQ Kuchinashi was on the other side of the planet so it was mostly unaffected beside the effects of the natural disasters they caused.

'Still, it's fine, humans are resilient, and given time they will be able to return to normal especially since every Kingdom and City are united.' Although it was more of a side effect over time the entire world would be working for a singular purpose, his purpose.

But for now, as much as he wanted to immediately head into the Nexus of Stories there were things he had to deal with.

'Starting with…'

Without even turning his head Shen disappeared moving much faster than the speed of lightning he had moved before. At the same time, his Life Fibers began creating his fake body coating.

…

Sienna had asked Neo to help Blake, though in all honestly, she planned to even without her prompt. Originally the two of them despised each other, there was no real reason for it other than deep seeded jealousy. It was both a mix of their own emotions along with their reaction to Shen's Mental Refitting.

However over time, everything began to blur and become one, it was like a dough set over time. Now although the two of them bickered they had actually become close, at least closer than they were with the others.

'Something must have changed.' Neo thought that to herself the moment she saw Shen holding Blake by the neck. Even though she knew Shen didn't and couldn't care about them the same way they did she also knew he wouldn't let something as small as Blake speaking up cause him to act that way.

It had something to do with him taking power from the relics she knew that much. But at the same time, she couldn't do anything… Even the mental connection she had with Shen had been cut off abruptly. Neo's gaze trailed down towards Blake who was lying her head on her lap.

Her ears were low and her eyes were staring into nothing, she was completely out of it.

At the same time far off in the distance, Shen was greeted by the sight of a large fortress of Grimm. Massive flying Grimm Whales, Grimm Wyverns, and even Nevermores were flying around this massive castle in the sky. It seemed to pulse as if it was alive, yet didn't look grotesque. Its bricks were pure black with the red veins of the Grimm trailing alongside it.

It seemed to absorb all light and give nothing back, yet at the same time, it was built in such a way that everything looked marvelously detailed. As Shen flew to the center of the massive fortress he saw a courtyard, or perhaps a garden would be more precise. None of the Grimm reacted to his presence seemingly ignoring him completely as he landed on the ground.

And only seconds after he did so he heard footsteps coming from the open-walled hall to the high right. Looking over he saw Cinder. Unlike in the original show, she hadn't lost her arm, in fact, or gotten scarred up. In fact other than occasionally assisting Shen's forces under Salem's orders she had gotten the life she wanted.

She was free, whether it was wealth or power, anything she wanted she could have at a moment's notice. And perhaps because of that, she had become a lot more regal. The black dress she wore blended in perfectly with the castle around her and her jet black hair which had been grown out did as well.

Truly only her amber eyes shined like stars in comparison similar to Shen's own. When she saw Shen she smiled and greeted him.

"Master is waiting for you, this way." Shen didn't say a word as he followed Cinder through the empty halls far from the garden he had landed in.

Inside was an elongated room that could easily fit hundreds of people, yet only contained a single table with multiple chairs. Sitting on one end of this table was Salem who was simply sipping wine out of her glass. The table was adorned with all types of food and delicacies, whether it be meats or desserts.

The moment Shen entered the room Cinder seemed to disappear as the doors closed.

"It's been quite some time since we last met. Back then I never would have imagined you would end up taking over remnant so quickly. You succeeded where I had failed so many times." Staring into the crimson wine in her cup she spoke rather quietly.

"I suppose age and experience weren't the winning factors after all."

Shen's face remained neutral for a moment, but slowly he smiled and his voice changed from the monotone sound it had been since he changed to his original.

"In the end, it was a combined effort no? I've heard about how much you assisted us in utilizing the Grimm. It's such a simplistic ability yet useful in so many ways."

Taking a seat Shen noticed Cinder wasn't the only one who had changed. Salem had let her hair down, no longer tied up like it used to be. At the same time she seemed more relaxed, that constant facade of calmness was replaced with one of true bliss, she even smiled naturally as she spoke.

After all the changes that occurred to his body Shen no longer had any need to drink or eat. He could even survive in the harsh vacuum of space. Still, he ate what was in front of him, the two immortal monsters seemed like the most normal people at this moment.

"I've lived longer than I ever want to recount yet I never managed to do what you have. I had long given up on this planet and its people, their petty squabbles and insignificant issues held no meaning to me. No matter how evolved they are whether it be Faunus or Humans they act no better than rabid beasts."

Shen glanced up at Salem as she stared at her wine glass, it shined from the light coming in from the windows. In response, he admitted he understood her viewpoint.

"I can understand that much, In the end, unification forged through contracts and understanding is only temporary. All of those things are based on restrictions people put on themselves and it takes very little for people to break those restrictions for their own personal interests. The only true way to create a world of unity is for a hand to guide them."

That is why people came up with the idea of gods, all-powerful beings that can guide them and reinforce their ideals and actions. An absolute guarantee that they were right, that they are chosen and even in death they shall live on.

"In the end, it's always the Tyrants of history who trigger the greatest progress in the world. The only issue is no one of them could ever follow through, and it would all fall apart when they died." But Shen had bypassed all of that, he was an Immortal, someone who would never die via the passage of time.

Putting down her glass Salem looked Shen directly in his eyes, her crimson glare clashed with his amber.

"Why don't we get to the point shall we? I know you didn't visit me purely because of our deal, you want my loyalty. Or more precisely you want access to the magic that loyalty comes with. I've seen exactly how you support the Dreadhorde, uniforms made from a fiber beyond human understanding.

And I can only imagine the times I've infused the ability of Grimmification into those fibers have resulted in powerful forces being born under your control. I imagine that black cat who I've heard so much about was one such result."

Shen simply smiled, of course, she was right, the Blake of today had been created thanks to Salem's assistance. Despite being compared to Taella and the endless potential hidden in her insanity Blake still didn't fall behind. And that was only with 40% Life Fibers mixed with the ability of Grimmficiation.

Even now she could grow even further, her insatiable hunger born from the destructive desire of the Grimm made her more powerful than any normal Life Fiber infusion could hope to be.

"If you can apply my magic to every soldier under your control you would have an army beyond any Hunter or Huntsman. Conquering the stars would be a dream you can easily accomplish no matter the enemy, even if they have magic. That is why you are here isn't it?"

Shen was actually a bit surprised, she managed to figure it all out despite their limited contact. Though his goal wasn't the stars but instead the Nexus of Stories. With that thought, Shen's face turned from light-hearted to stone cold.

"In all honesty Salem I could kill you fairly easily. No one on this planet, no this entire universe is powerful enough to stop me. The power I've obtained after killing the gods is beyond your imagination. However, I've learned that as useful as fear and violence is to keep the masses under control, it's best if I allow some amount of freedom to those I plan to keep close."

There was another option for Shen, he could simply go into his shop and try and buy the magic Salem had. However, he would then have to level it up himself and learn to use such ability efficiently. Whether it be her skill, experience, or understanding Shen wanted Salem under his umbrella even more so than anyone else.

In the entirety of the RWBY Universe only she was Immortal like he was and that was something even Shen could not give to people.

Salem had listened fully to Shen's partial threat but her expression was still calm as she sipped her wine.

"You should not I don't fear death, I welcome it. Nothing you do, no amount of torture could ever compare to what I've experienced over the millennia. Rage, Anger, Fear, Hate, Betrayal, Heartbreak, and pain of all kinds. None of it matters to me anymore, and any interest I had in ruling this pathetic world or any others made by those gods has long vanished.

These people don't deserve anything of mine, especially my time and effort. Their desires disgust me and their goals are so pitiful its maddening. Whether the world burns or prospers is no longer my concern." Upon hearing that Shen's smile returned as he stood up and held out his hand.

The Story Management Book appeared in his hands, with only the word RWBY written on its cover to it. With this book in hand, Shen was beyond even the two brothers, within the RWBY Universe his limits were pitifully small. Anything that had not deviated majorly from the original story of RWBY due to him was under his complete control.

"What is that?" Salem looked at Shen in both intrigue and confusion, just looking at that book she felt she would get lost in its pages which seemed to be infinite.

"Allow me to show you the possibilities you never considered." The pages of the book flew open information and text on each page writhing with power and information and details pouring into Shen's mind. In an instant space within the hall, they were in was warped, and the walls that had been only metered apart expanded.

The floor and ceiling seemed to fall away, and the table and food seemed to crumble like glass.

In an instant, Salem was no longer in her castle, but instead, she was standing on an invisible floor with the voidness of space around her. Below her feet lay countless bubbles of various sizes. They were like crystal balls, each one seemed to be specced with numerous galaxies.

"Have you ever heard of the concept of parallel universes? Entirely separate realities that can be both like our own and entirely different. You can consider it to be an even grander universe, call it a multiverse, call it an omniverse if you like. In the end, the name doesn't really matter. However, even if you despise this world, I doubt even you don't feel a tinge of interest."

In truth what was below them wasn't actually the Nexus of Stories, after all, Shen only had control over the RWBY Universe, showing her the Nexus of Stories in just a single stories universe would be impossible, it was too large. However, he could replicate it on a semi-grand scale within a corner of the RWBY Universe far from Remnant.

"Ho- How did you… How did you learn about this?" Salem was in shock, in complete awe. Even in all her time looking up at space she had never imagined she would see an even grander scene. It was overwhelming, yet at the same time, she couldn't help but wonder how Shen could do such a thing, show her such a thing.

"Consider it a gift stolen from the gods, knowledge never meant to be known." Shen answered simply, he had no intention of ever revealing the System to anyone. It was too priceless of a secret especially when it was one he himself didn't fully understand.

"I plan on creating a way to travel between these worlds Salem. And the Dreadhorde will be the manifestation of my force across these countless universes you see before you. And endless reservoir of potential and possibility, and I plan on taking it all." Call it greed or him simply having a god complex, but Shen's desire for the Nexus of Stories was real.

He had no intention of starting over in each universe he went to. He wanted to create a network, a connection between each world, and through that, he would be able to interact with more worlds than he ever could on his own. In comparison to the XP, he got from the RWBY Universe alone would be paltry.

He wanted to hold the entire Nexus of Stories in his hand and it all started with this one moment. Suddenly Shen closed the book in his hand and it seemingly disappeared. Once again space creaked as everything began to unfold, the walls of Salem's castle returned and so did the floor, table, chairs, and food.

Everything reverted a second only this time Shen was standing right next to Salem.

"Assist me Salem and in return, I will give you the power to forge your own world. Free from the gods, free from any semblance of oppression. You'll never have to seek relief in death as long as you live. Anything you desire can become a reality." Salem's eyes flashed when Shen whispered this into her ear as she thought back long she said similar words to Ozma.

There was a moment of hesitation as suddenly she began to chuckle.

"Your way too good at tempting people you know that. Who could possibly refuse a universe of their own in comparison to death?" Even before Shen offered anything she had already been transfixed just as Shen was when he viewed the Nexus of Stories for the first time. It was impossible to describe such a scene in words or emotions.

It trivialized your own thoughts and left only a sense of wonder and desire. The moment Shen displayed such a scene before her, even if it was only a replica, Salem was as good as his.

…

"Good, now only two more issues need to be dealt with." Shen's voice was cold and monotone, the false emotions he was displaying before were completely gone as he floated in the sky miles from Salem's castle.