“Are you sure about this?” Erik asked for the hundredth time.

“I don’t think this is a good idea,” Lily said for the thousandth time.

“Are we starting yet?” Cat whined for the millionth time.

“Munch crunch graoch.” Asherta chewed on a bag of caviar and charcoal. It turned out that, once she joined a modern society instead of living in the middle of nowhere on the side of a mountain, Asherta really liked fine dining. She just had…eclectic…tastes.

“Ok, that’s ENOUGH.” Caeden’s voice boomed on the last word as he unconsciously put some Physical Enhancement into it. Jaws clicked together as open mouths shut. Asherta very slowly, very carefully maneuvered another handful of her snack into her mouth before chewing with deliberate slowness.

Caeden looked at his friends, letting out a sigh as he looked at the expressions that ranged from concern to guilt to annoyance to food-based bliss. “Look, I get it. We’re taking a risk here. But I’ve already done this without any notable consequences. Erik, I’m sure. This isn’t just to help you, obviously. Lily, I get that there are risks, but can you really tell me that we’re better off not knowing what the consequences are for evolving a shroud before it becomes necessary?”

Erik looked conflicted while a stubborn edge slipped into Lily’s expression. “Why do you even have to do it at all? We’re fine. We’re all strong enough as it is. You just need to rely on us more.” She pouted.

Caeden smiled softly, suddenly reminded of the faction tournament. Lily tried so hard to take on everything, fight for everyone. “Lily, you don’t know what we’ll be up against. Honestly, I’m not at all concerned about the Tournament. Yes, the majority of them will be older than us, more powerful than us in raw Invasion Pressure and reserves. But we have powerful shrouds and effective teamwork. I’m sure we’ll be fine.”

“The problem is whether or not the Revolution shows up and what they do. Or what happens if the other countries figure out how broken the CA is now. We can’t just expect our fights to be limited to the expected opponents. We need to be ready to use every tool we have, or we risk coming up short when it counts. Look me in the eyes; tell me I’m wrong.”

Lily glared at him before her gaze slid off to the side. Caeden didn’t miss the flicker of agreement that flashed through her eyes. “...Fine, you’re right. I know you’re right. It just seems so risky!” Caeden could practically feel the waves of worry rolling off her.

“Not really.” Everyone turned to look at Cat after her nonchalant statement. “What? Caeden evolved Lily’s shroud no problem, and there weren’t even any ill effects we noticed at all. Things only came apart when he started overusing his thorns. Honestly, the only reason we’re worried right now is because that shroud-obsessed dude Caeden met on the soul plane said it would be bad. But the dude also admitted to not even understanding how Caeden had Physical Enhancement in the first place. It’s not like he had all the answers, and we need to take his word as law.”

“...That’s…Very well-reasoned, Cat,” Lily said. She and Caeden shared a surprised glance. Cat wasn’t much of a deep thinker.

“Plus, even if Cae fucks up his soul, I’ll be right here to fix it! More practice for me!” Cat rubbed her hands together, looking exceptionally pleased with herself.

Caeden and Lily simultaneously rolled their eyes. Neither would be surprised to find out they had the exact same thought at that moment. Now the real reason comes out. Cat never put any thought into something she wasn’t interested in. She wanted to mess around in Caeden’s soul more, so she was all for it getting more messed up. More work for her to do!

“Despite Cat’s blatant disregard for your safety-”

“Hey!”

“-I can see her point.” Lily continued, ignoring Cat’s protests. “I also see your point. We won’t know unless we try. And it's better to try here, where we can guarantee most of the conditions.”

“Exactly.” Caeden nodded. “There’s no better time or place to do this.”

Caeden, Erik, and Cat had long since left the Headmaster’s office, picking up Lily along the way. They had returned to the Hearthhome and were sitting in one of the open spaces meant for casual conversation and relaxation. Considering the absurdly advanced ethertech involved in the ancient vessel, as well as the ability Caeden had to lock it up and only grant entry to set people, it was likely one of the most secure and safe places on the Starry Sea right now. The only thing that could have possibly been better was going back to the ancient structure they had found it in.

“So, how are we doing this?” Erik asked.

{}

“So, how are we doing this?” Erik asked. He was nervous. Which was new and kinda cool, but also scary in its own way. He wasn’t used to being uncertain about anything, relying on his defensive sense to give him a little lead into what would happen. At least, it would let him know how dangerous a given situation was.

And that was the real kicker. He knew what was going to happen, getting his shroud evolved. He nudged his defensive sense in that direction, trying to get a read on the dangers involved. And he was drawing a blank. That had not happened in a long time. Erik’s defensive sense was so overdeveloped, so highly honed and sensitive, he could practically predict the future. The only thing he could predict was danger, true, but it was still his greatest non-medical achievement and something he was more than a little proud of.

So he was a liiiittle bit worried when his defensive sense hit a wall when it came to shroud evolution. He had no idea if it would place him in danger at all. Added to that, Erik was deeply familiar with Stitch, to the point that he used it subconsciously all the time when little accidents happened because of his luck. Which all made him nervous.

“Well, I think having Cat actively monitoring my soul is a good safeguard, considering the situation,” Caeden answered Erik’s question.

“That seems prudent.” Lily agreed. “Other than that, this is pretty simple. You form your sigil and put it next to Caeden’s. Then, it evolves your shroud. Honestly, the whole thing would be stupidly easy if not for the whole soul damage complication.”

“Ok, here goes.” Erik pushed a few small filaments of Stitch into existence, folding them in on themselves until they popped and his sigil appeared. A white human heart that beat steadily as it was cut up and sewn back together appeared over his chest.

“I’m ready whenever.” Cat stared intently in Caeden’s direction, though her eyes were unfocused, like she was looking through him.

“Great, let's do this,” Caeden commented, his right hand shifting to purple and gold before the image of an ornate golden throne covered in detailed sculptures of heroes and monsters with deep purple padding took shape on the back of his hand. At the same time, he pulled out Forged Infinity and popped open the screen that Erik knew contained information on his soul’s condition.

He stretched his hand out, reaching toward Erik’s sigil with his own.

“Wait!” Erik shouted, causing everyone to jump and Caeden to stop reaching.

“What?” Cat huffed. “Scared the crap out of me.”

“What happens to Sauma if we do this? I’d feel awful if she disappeared. I know she’s a part of me, but still.” Erik felt horrible at the idea of his sapient Incarnation disappearing. He wasn’t sure he’d want another Incarnation, no matter how much better it technically was.

“Erik, Cat figured out that you can keep your original domain as a splinter of your evolved shroud, remember?” Caeden said gently. “That’s why she still has Soul. You just need to hold onto Stitch during the evolution, and nothing will happen to Sauma. She’s an expression of your domain and soul, so nothing will change so long as you still hold Stitch.”

“Oh, yeah. Sorry, I forgot about that.” Erik laughed, the sound several octaves higher than normal. He felt his face warm. “Glad I asked, honestly. Would have forgot to do it. That would have been a disaster.”

Caeden gave him a weird look. ‘...Ok. Are you good?”

“Yup! Totally great! Let's do this!” Erik laughed. It still didn’t sound right.

“Right.” Everyone was looking at Erik strangely.

Caeden reached out again.

“Wait!”

“Erik, what the fuck?” Cat threw her hands in the air.

Caeden looked at Erik. Erik looked at Caeden.

“...Will it hurt?”

“Erik, shut up.”

Caeden reached out, and his hand stopped underneath Erik's sigil. A pull formed, Erik could feel it in his shroud, unstoppably, inexorably pulling his sigil down. At the same time, Caeden’s throne peeled off his skin, pushing up into the air underneath Erik’s ever-repairing heart.

For a moment, half an instant, Erik felt like he could stop this. It wasn’t something forced on him but an open resource waiting for him to use it. And in that moment, he hesitated. All the worries he felt, something he never normally dealt with, came back.

We will be alright. This is power. Power you need. Do not be afraid. Sauma’s voice pushed through his concerns, and his sigil settled into the seat of the throne.

Instantly, he felt an unimaginable amount of raw power flood into him, overwhelming his shroud with strength. Some part of him recognized that thick, fat bands of purple and gold were flowing out of him and into his sigil, lighting up the entire space in radiant color.

But most of Erik’s mind was shoved into his shroud as he felt the power flowing from Caeden’s sigil begin to change it. His shroud shifted, and grew, and expanded. And the moment came where he felt he could hold on to Stitch, keep that domain even as his shroud continued to grow.

Erik was about to grab on, holding onto his familiar shroud with all he could. But he was stopped. He felt as the part of Stitch that was Sauma passed wholly into the something new that his shroud was becoming. As she went, he heard a gentle whisper telling him to let go.

Erik wanted to deny it, but that was Sauma. And denying her would be denying himself. She was a part of him, after all. The part that wanted to heal and comfort. The part he was proud of. So if she wanted him to let go of what he had, even if that thought was terrifying, he would.

Relief poured through him as Erik relaxed for the first time since he could remember. He stopped looking out for the danger around every corner, let go of the constant churn of his aura sense, and relaxed. Stitch slipped away, gone. In its place, a new power formed.

Then it changed.

As Erik relaxed into his new shroud, it stopped growing, seeming to bulge and malform. At the same time, Caeden’s shroud kept feeding endless streams of power into it, boosting his power endlessly, pushing Erik’s shroud even further.

Despite the sudden change. He wasn’t concerned in the slightest. It was like someone had dropped a hundred pounds of morphine directly into his brain as he floated on a cloud. Everything felt so nice and calm; he was practically catatonic. Erik reveled in this sensation, not worrying about every single thing and how it could go wrong. He hadn’t realized how much he needed this.

His shroud bulged and pulsed. Then it split. Half of the power went one way, and the rest went another. Yet Erik still felt equally connected to them both. They grew and grew, forming independently but still linked through him. Finally, they flashed brilliantly, and Erik felt a deep sense of completeness.

He opened his eyes, not even realizing he’d closed them. Hovering before him were two sigils, Caeden’s throne nowhere to be seen.

One was a heart, much like his old one. It was colored burnt orange with veins and arteries of brown. Even as he watched, it suffered all kinds of damage. Stabbed, sliced, burnt, shot, exploded, melted, disintegrated. Then it would glow with a soft yellow and green light, and the damage would vanish. Between the orange and brown heart and the yellow-green glow, he was reminded of a sunflower.

The other was wholly different. A black coffin covered in scenes of pain and suffering hovered, wrapped in thick iron chains. The coffin was bolted shut and seemed to shake occasionally, as if something within was trying to get out.

“Well, that’s different.” Erik looked around. “I think I got a second shroud.”