The deep, rolling rumble of the researcher’s laughter sounded less like a sound that would come from a person and more like a perpetual avalanche bearing down on Caeden’s head. It was oppressive, with a weight that settled on Caeden’s very soul.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! YES, FINALLY, AFTER EONS OF WAITING! FINALLY SOMEONE! JUST! LIKE! ME!

The weight of the being’s words increased until they smothered Caeden’s consciousness, nearly scattering his thoughts apart. He could barely comprehend them through the raw power echoing across the soul plane with every verbalization.

Caeden had, on some level, understood that the entity he’d been casually conversing with was powerful. How could he not be, considering all the things he’d claimed, let alone what Caeden had personally witnessed or experienced. But his casual attitude and light tone somehow mitigated that knowledge, letting Caeden slip into a comfortable space where he felt like he was talking to a peer rather than a being older than his universe that could utterly crush his soul with a word.

And that’s what Caeden was feeling. The truth of it echoed through his soul. This being had been constraining itself, hiding away almost all of its power so it could talk to Caeden. Vividly, he thought back to when they’d first met, and the researcher had started blaring his voice into Caeden’s consciousness. At the time, it had seemed like a careless mistake.

Now, Caeden realized that the difference between deafeningly loud and a normal pitch for this titan was the matter of a mere fraction of a percent of a percent of its might. The idea that it had such precise control so as not to kill Caeden by talking to him too loudly was a testament to how long this being must have spent learning to control itself.

Because Caeden could feel that the plane-shaking voice he’d just heard was merely the being letting himself slip a little in a bout of raw emotion. The researcher had gotten a little excited, and his control had slipped by the smallest fraction. Behind the sound of his voice, Caeden could hear the weight of what this entity was holding back. No wonder he never showed any real emotion. Doing so would have wiped Caeden’s soul out of reality.

Raw terror, like a mouse watching a lion, no like a mouse looking up at the stars, and understanding for the first time just how small and insignificant it was, surged through Caeden. He lost control of his thoughts, falling into a jumbled mess as he couldn’t stop himself from panicking.

Of course, the researcher’s emotional outburst didn’t last very long. Thankfully, Caeden’s terror fled along with it, though it still echoed through his thoughts. Once it had cleared enough, Caeden realized that the sensation was, on some level, unnatural. Something about the researcher’s power carried fundamental fear with it. Caeden had just been on the receiving end of that very uncomfortable sensation.

Ahem. Sorry about that; I got a little over-excited. You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for this. Knowing your unique circumstances likely led up to this almost counters the anger I feel whenever I think about someone mucking up my test field.

Uhhh. Caeden’s mind was still more or less blank after what he’d just experienced.

Right, you probably need a minute. Take your time. It’s not like that’s a limited resource right now.

Caeden took that suggestion to heart, simply letting himself rest and process the echoes of fear that had settled into the back of his mind.

Ok, that was…a lot. I had no idea you could cause fear like that.

Unfortunately, it's a natural quality of my latent energy. Not something I consciously control. Actually…You might be able to do that, too, now.

Why’s that?

Like you, I have draconic qualities to my soul. It’s more common than you might think. Dragons are one of the most far-flung magical species out there, and their power is attracted to and attracts other powers. There’s a joke in many places about the powerful always turning into dragons at some point, and it has more than a little merit to it. Anyway, what you experienced is Dragonfear, a magical expression of the apex predator. It’s part of the their souls and auras, something you might be able to draw on. I’m not sure, as your soul isn’t fully draconic yet. More like a shadow or an echo of one.

Your soul doesn’t look very dragon-like. It looks like a grey man. Not that I don’t believe you.

Kid, you’re not looking at my soul. If I were to get this close to you with my actual soul, some very unpleasant things would start happening to you. This is basically an energy puppet I made so we could talk. But all of this is besides the point. No, the real point is that you’ve finally fulfilled one of my main goals for this experiment.

Care to fill me in on that? I’m feeling more than a little lost, and your whole outburst was not helping. Caeden was surprised how fast he fell back into his old way of thinking about the researcher. But the entity spoke in such a casual and friendly way that, without the overwhelming aura of fear and power surrounding him, he was easy to talk to.

Right. I believe I mentioned in our first meeting that I created this experiment to study shrouds. I also mentioned that I have shrouds. In fact, my shrouds were the first, an accident produced by another experiment that had inherently unpredictable results. Much like my model of your evolved shroud, in that experiment, I knew some of the outcomes, but there were several gaps. One of those gaps produced shrouds.

Caeden felt like he was starting to get an idea of where this was going. I remember. I think you also said something about your shrouds being different from ours.

Yes, yes I did say that. The researcher chuckled. I believe you’ve caught on. Finally, you’ve stumbled into a shroud like one of mine.

I’d appreciate some insight if you don’t mind.

HA! At that, the researcher started laughing again. So would I, kiddo! That’s what this whole universe was for, to help me understand my shrouds better. Unfortunately, I’ve learned precious little with any certainty. Honestly, most of my knowledge of my own shrouds has come not from this universe but from painstaking trial and error. But I’ll do my best to give you some context and hopefully a place to start.

First of all, shrouds in the Starry Sea universe, as you call it, are all based on an existing concept or fundamental aspect of reality. Even magic shrouds, like your friend's Necromancy, are based on existing things, whether from your universe or not. How that aspect of shrouds works, I don't actually know. It’s one of the main questions left to us.

Shrouds attach to a soul when the soul is newly formed before you’re even born. And the domain it forms is almost entirely random, outside of a single circumstance.

Caeden already knew this one. Lineages.

Correct! Some facet of the parent’s shroud or shrouds bleeds over into the child in the womb and can influence their domain, often creating children with the exact same domain, though variances in aura and infusion, as well as higher forms like Incarnation and Embodiment, exist no matter what.

Like I said, I don’t really know how the domain selection process works. The fact that parental lineage affects it suggests the factors affecting it may be partially environmental, but I’ve seen a hundred thousand cases that, by all rights, should refute that fact entirely. So, who knows? It’s seriously annoying.

All this leads us to me. And you, now. My shrouds are special. Formed under completely different conditions to yours, yes, but more than that, they operate under different rules with different implementations. And it all stems from one fact. My domains are based on nothing.

I’m not sure I understand.

It’s pretty simple. Every other shroud is based on existing concepts. My shrouds formed wholly new concepts of their own. They aren’t based on anything that existed previously. That’s it.

So you’re saying…

Yes, exactly. The overwhelming ‘noise’, for lack of a better term, that you experience when viewing your sigil is the exact same sensation I get from looking at mine. Because your Blade Forge isn’t based on something that already is, so there are no true sensations that correspond to it.

So, what does that mean for me? Is it just unusable? I have to understand Sharp and Physical Enhancement to use my shrouds properly. Caeden wasn’t sure if this new bend to his abilities was more blessing or curse. So far, it had been a mixed bag. He could evolve people's shrouds, but at the cost of injuring his soul. So where did Blade Forge fall on that scale?

Oh, it’s definitely usable. The researcher laughed. You’ve managed to gain something others from your world would kill and die for. I won’t lie; there are challenges. But this will be a major boon for you.

How? And what exactly do you mean by a ‘new concept’? A blade forge is a real thing that already exists. I don’t understand how that qualifies.

First, one must understand this. Your shroud has given birth to an entirely new concept. There is a level of raw power to that which cannot be described. This new concept is solely under your control, meaning no one else in existence can tap into it. The words ‘Blade Forge’ are just the closest relevant description your shroud can convey for the power it now holds. I don’t think there’s a way I can properly describe just how powerful owning a concept is.

Now, for the bad part. You are officially in unexplored territory. There is no guide, no knowledge that exists, which can help you control your new domain. Even I couldn’t tell you because you literally just made it. You basically did the equivalent of inventing a new color and trying to use it will be the same as trying to make a painting with your color as a centerpiece. Basically, you’re now in for a lot of experimenting and trial and error.

Great. Awesome. Any helpful tips? Caeden wasn’t exactly feeling thrilled about having something entirely new to work on. He still had to get Physical Enhancement to 100% external integration. This was just another thing he had to deal with.

Yes, actually. Unlike your other domains, you own this one. It is yours and yours alone, and you are its master. That means it is for you, not an ambivalent force you draw from for power. It will take time and effort, but if you listen to it, it just might help you learn how to use it. For now, I’m going to fix your soul up, get that annoying shroud back up to tip-top shape. Afterwards, I suggest you actually stay here for a while. Just long enough to grasp the edge of your new domain.

Oh, that’s another thing. This is a new concept. It could do literally anything. Don’t let the name or your initial impression confine your thinking. You’ll no doubt find hidden depths at every corner, as a new concept is undoubtedly a powerful thing.

Ok. Caeden was doing his best to internalize all this new information, going over it again and again in his mind to retain everything.

Eh, you know what? I’ll write this all down and plug it into Forged Infinity’s interface. You’re going to need it. On that note, I know I said Forged Infinity would need to be recalibrated, but I can’t actually bring it in line with your new shroud since even I don’t know what it is. You’ll need to get me a lot of data before we can go ahead and modify your shrouded weapon to accommodate your new domain. It will still work with Sharp and Physical Enhancement, just like before, so there’s that.

Caeden mentally waved off the entity’s slightly apologetic tone. That’s fine. Honestly, one less thing for me to work on.

Alright then. Time to set you straight, and then you have some work to do.

{}

Hours later, Caeden sat in silence. He was meditating, just as he had before. But instead of lines of manifested shroud encircling him, the sigil of Blade Forge floated in the air before him. Caeden was taking the researcher’s advice and trying to commune with the concept behind his new domain.

The way it had been explained, the concept wasn’t actually alive by any typical standard. Or even sentient. It didn’t think like a person does. But the researcher had explained that such a vast aggregate of power would contain more than simple energy. It would have a will of its own, even if it could hardly express it.

And as the sole holder of his domain, the only access point the concept had to the material plane, Caeden would be squarely in front of that will instead of it being spread across the entirety of existence. If he listened well enough, he might just learn something.

Something brushed against his soul from beyond. Caeden’s eyes snapped open, and his hand thrust out, following the vaguest impression he’d felt for a brief instant.

A massive ball of molten steel, easily a dozen feet across, formed in front of him, rapidly forming into a thousand different blades which blasted forward, slamming into the wall. Caeden couldn’t help but laugh a little. He felt for how much shroud that display had cost him.

He couldn’t even feel the difference.