Initially, Caeden wasn’t exactly a fan of this idea. Attempting to evolve his shroud, while he was inside it? And it was the only thing keeping him alive? Yeah, that sounded like a great idea. Next he’d blow a hole in the boat he was on while chained to the anchor. It was about as stupid.

But continued failures wore down his resistance to the idea. With some more thought, Caeden realized it wasn’t exactly that bleak. There were a few factors that made the proposition viable. Namely two. The most important being that Caeden knew domains weren’t fragile things. Even if he evolved Blade Forge and it shifted the domain to match, it likely wouldn't destroy it, just shift it. Now that the Blade Forge existed as a domain, Caeden doubted there was much of anything that could destroy it and, by extension, him.

The second reason he had any confidence was more iffy. The founder had stated that both he and Erik were experiments. Erik being an attempt to turn a dual-shrouded into a single-shrouded, and Caeden being the opposite. Erik, through Caeden’s Thrones, had already returned to his dual-shrouded state. Meanwhile, Caeden still had two shrouds instead of one.

Looking at the copy of his soul within the soul-mass, Caeden could actually see It. The history of the founder’s experiments were imprinted on him. His soul had originally had one shroud, but the founder split it into two, likely when he was still a baby, or possibly even before he was born. Caeden took a moment to wonder what that did to his biological mother. Likely, nothing good.

As the founder had indicated, the experiment failed. There were some small shards of soul-stuff embedded in his soul that were very old, and seemed woven into the fabric around them. Injuries from the damage of one of the shrouds collapsing. After his own experiments, Caeden could guess what failed. One of the two shrouds the founder tried to create had far less compatibility with his soul than the original. When it tried to bind with his soul, it failed and collapsed.

That damage hurt both him and the other shroud, the one that became Sharp. But it also left a giant hunk of potential inside his soul, the leftovers that didn’t dissipate. And then, years later, Caeden almost died when his smithy exploded due to Travis’s attempted fire-bombing.

The damage to his body triggered a response in his soul, and the hunk of potential triggered. He was on the brink of death when the potential resolved into a second shroud. But Caeden also saw something there that he wasn’t expecting. Signs that a chunk of that potential was ejected from his body. It wasn’t gone, still connected to him. But no longer within him.

He was stumped until he remembered the only other thing to survive the destruction of his smithy. The malformed lump of metal that eventually became Forged Infinity. Which seemed obvious, upon a moment’s reflection. How else could the researcher remotely create a shrouded weapon for him without his input. Caeden had learned how to make shrouded weapons and made them for his team. It wasn’t something you could do without them being a part of the process.

Forged Infinity stopped working as his shrouded weapon once Sharp evolved into Blade Forge because his soul had changed, so the pieces of Caeden’s soul inside the weapon couldn’t sync with his main soul. He’d left it in the Forge, planning to eventually look into why it’d stopped working like before. The researcher hadn’t bothered to explain any of this to him, which Caeden found more than a little annoying. But the being was a bit scatterbrained.

Calling it over to him, Caeden peaked into the hilt-shaped base form with his newly refined soul senses. Immediately, he could see a chunk of soul stuff embedded in it, exactly like he expected. The chunk was very apparently different from the copy of his soul held by the Forge in a few interesting ways, changes that happened when he gained the Blade Forge shroud.

All of this lent credence to the idea that his two shrouds used to be one. It even explained why using Physical Enhancement to evolve Sharp had been so effective. The two shrouds resonated, two halves of a whole mutilated and separated, working in tandem once more. The result was so powerful that even the researcher had been surprised at the result.

Caeden could only smile bitterly. The founder had thought his experiments with Caeden and Erik were failures, but now both of them were reaping the rewards of those mistakes. Erik had quite possibly the single strongest set of dual shrouds ever seen in the Starry Sea. And Caeden could use the combined origins of his two shrouds to escape his current predicament.

He was going to reforge both his shrouds back together.

Forged Infinity would have to play a part. The chunk of soul inside of it was the closest he had to his soul’s original state, back when he had one shroud. Plans on how this would work rapidly spun out through his mind, different possibilities playing out only to be discarded as he encountered fundamental problems.

Finally, a concrete idea settled into place. A first step that might let him see a way forward. Physical Enhancement needed to be stronger, it needed to match Blade Forge. If it was left in it’s current state, when he attempted to combine the two shrouds, Physical Embodiment would be crushed by the power of Blade Forge, and the process would fail.

Luckily, he had an easy, risk-free way to do that. Caeden called up the sigils of his two shrouds, the golden throne with purple cushions, scrawled with a hundred scenes of triumphant heroes and powerful monsters for Physical Enhancement, and the bladed, molten-seated throne for Blade Forge.

Then, he popped the golden throne onto the molten one.

Caeden had never evolved a shroud while inside the Forge before, and he realized immediately that doing so would have been a good idea. The normal surge of power running through his body, using it as a medium to flood the other shroud, didn’t happen. After all, the whole domain around him was him in a very real way. Instead of having all that power ravage his body, it simply flooded out of his surroundings, piling into Physical Enhancement’s golden throne without affecting him.

Without that burden, Caeden could observe the process more closely. He watched the basis of Physical Enhancement unravel as foreign essence poured into it, bloating the shroud beyond the original confines. Finally, the shroud’s connection to its domain disappeared. Immediately, the evolving shroud cast out into the emptiness of infinity. Caeden could feel it searching for a new domain, one aligned with all the Ki flowing through it, both from the original shroud and from Blade Forge.

He could also feel that it wasn’t finding anything. Several prospective connections tried to form, but the connecting domains were incapable of withstanding the depth of connection required to handle the amount of Ki Physical Enhancement now contained.

Finally, something fundamental shifted inside the shroud, a profound change occurred. Caeden couldn't say exactly what it was, or how it happened, but the shroud started to swell faster and faster. Finally, it spilled out and solidified, forming a new domain for itself. At the same time, Caeden felt the shroud prompting him. This was his chance to keep Physical Enhancement as a splinter of his new shroud, or abandon it. Of course, Caeden choose to keep it.

Physical Enhancement had a huge amount of utility, something he was loath to give up. Especially since he had no guarantees about what aspects of Physical Enhancement would carry over to the new shroud. And, keeping it cost him nothing.

Finally, the process completed, the new domain settled. Caeden could feel it calling to him, wanting to absorb him the same way Blade Forge had the first time. Being more experienced with controlling a domain now, Caeden rejected the pull. Plus, he could feel that this new domain was very different from Blade Forge. It wasn’t a physical space. Rather, it felt like a connection, the embodiment of a bond.

Looking at his new sigil, Caeden saw that not much had changed. The backrest of the throne had turned into an elaborate rendition of a massive greatsword, tall and broad. An impractical weapon for a normal human, so large that even most shrouded would find it unwieldy.

The lack of changes indicated something that Caeden had suspected. Physical Enhancement had already been an extremely powerful shroud. It didn’t need much of a push to reach the same level as Blade Forge. Now, his two shrouds were on equal footing.

There was an ominous shiver that ran up Caeden’s spine as his new shroud settled into place. Instantly, his attention was drawn to the soul-mass keeping him alive. He could feel a pressure emanating from it that hadn’t been there before.

It occurred to Caeden that most people wouldn’t be able to do what he’d just done. Yes, he was the first dual-shrouded to have a throne in the recorded history of the Starry Sea. But even then, repeatedly evolving his shrouds back and forth wasn’t something one could do without paying a price. And Caeden, looking at the soul-mass, figured out what that price was.

The weight of a shroud was too much for most souls. Eventually, it would shred them apart. Cat had told the team at one point, having been informed by her grandfather. That was how the very strongest shrouded died. Their souls were unmoored from their bodies by the strength of their shrouds.

Looking at his two shrouds, it occurred to Caeden that the weight to Blade Forge was a lot higher than other shrouds. He wondered how long he would have lived with his normal human soul with that weight compared to someone with a normal shroud. The average lifespan of a shrouded with a True Shroud was roughly 100,000 years. How many would he have gotten? 75,000? 50,000? Less?

Looking at the soul-mass, Caeden figured that adding the weight of a second shroud was its own domain to his old soul would have likely instantly killed him. He only survived because the soul-mass the Forge created was far stronger than a normal soul.

It looked like his previous plans wouldn’t work. He couldn’t use the soul template he’d built with this new shroud, it wouldn’t withstand the weight. He needed to create a stronger soul, one more powerful than anything he’d seen yet.

Sighing, Caeden decided to at least find out what his new shroud and domain’s deal was. Maybe it’d be helpful. Looking at his sigil, Caeden called upon the shroud’s name. One Body, One Blade. The name echoed from the Ki in the sigil. Tapping into the domain, Caeden did his best to feel out what it did.

This was an advantage Caeden had over any other shrouded. Within the Forge, he had access to senses of a caliber and breadth that would cripple the mind of a normal human. He could dig into this new domain for its secrets and discover its purpose without going through the pain that people like Cat had, trying to figure out how to use an esoteric shroud.

His initial impression came back, just as strong as before. His new domain wasn’t a physical place, unlike the Blade Forge. His first domain was a location, the perfect environment for forging blades. It gave Caeden every tool he could ever need to make any blade he could imagine.

This new domain was a connection. The name was indicative. His new shroud could form a connection between him and a blade, a symbiotic connection that would strengthen both of them. Immediately, Caeden could feel the implications. It was similar to Physical Enhancement, in that it would make his body more powerful. But that effect was now readily extended to whatever blade he bonded with, making this shroud a far more potent weapon. Literally.

Caeden smiled, chuckling to himself. The synergy between One Body, One Blade and Blade Forge was obvious. If Caeden hadn’t known that his two shrouds were originally one, he might have guessed so at this point. Even the influence of evolving each other wouldn’t account for such synergy.

Caeden could create blades with Blade Forge, and then connect to them with One Body, One Blade to enhance his body. A test showed that the effects were even better than he would have ever guessed. Using an uninfused iron short sword made without magical materials or Ki enhancement gave him a dramatic boost in strength and resilience. His body became like iron itself.

Further testing revealed that infused blades would also grant a portion of their infused properties to his body. He could add a basic fire infusion, and conjure fireballs in his hand. More complex infusions offered even better advantages.

None of this even mentioned the benefits the weapon itself gained. Caeden could tell, being in the Blade Forge, what the properties of his creations were. And every blade he connected to through One Body, One Blade, gained a holistic improvement to every aspect. They were sharper, more durable, their magical effects were more potent, and they even felt inexplicably easier to use.

Finally satisfied that he’d gotten the gist of his new shroud’s abilities, Caeden turned his attention to Forged Infinity. It would be the linchpin of his attempt to fuse his two shrouds into one, containing a sample of soul that was the closest to his original state before the founder’s experiments, and containing equal portions of both Sharp and Physical Enhancement, the precursors to his new shrouds.

More than that, both of his new shrouds had strong connections to blades, especially Forged Infinity. As a blade that he had a part in creating, Blade Forge could sense every aspect of the shrouded weapon. And One Body, One Blade allowed Caeden to create a powerful bond directly to it.

However, he wasn’t about to blindly jump into things. Caeden spent ages even after evolving Physical Enhancement testing and tinkering with everything he’d discovered, refining the vague plans he started with and stumbling across a few hiccups that might have been deadly if not for his caution. This was his soul he was trying to make. He wasn’t about to half-ass it.

Finally, with the weight of time starting to truly drag on his mind as the loneliness got harder and harder to bear, Caeden had to accept that everything was as perfect as it could possibly be. The only way he was going to learn more was during the attempt, when it was too late to change anything anyway.

Finally, he settled his mind. He let himself feel the gulf of time between now and the last time he’d seen another person. It hurt, and he let it. He couldn’t afford to ignore the emotions, only to have them trip him up at the worst time. So he did his best to acknowledge the emptiness he felt and settle his mind. He encouraged himself. If he succeeded, he would be back in the Starry Sea and could see his friends again. Even with the massive dilation he’d managed by cutting himself off as much as possible, he knew that several dozen minutes must have passed. Minutes in a pitched battle. He needed to get back.

Feeling his resolve return to its peak as his loneliness transferred to determination, Caeden finally felt ready. It was time.

Forged Infinity floated before him, flooded with Ki from both Blade Forge and One, Body, One Blade. It was in its eighth form, a sword. With a wave, Caeden cast the hilt out into the soul plane. Then, he used the blade to cleave into the soul-mass the Forge had created.

Instantly, His body vanished, and his mind was unmoored. Only to be immediately pulled into Forged infinity. The connection he’d built to it with One Body, One Blade, activated one of the effects he’d discovered. If either the body or blade that defined the connection were destroyed, the power of one would flow to the other, providing a refuge from which the destroyed party could convalesce and recover.

He used that aspect now, combined with the scrap of soul in Forged Infinity, and the power granted to him from holding two domains, to keeping his consciousness from disintegrating without a soul to hold it. Using this unique position, removed from everything and in a position of neutrality, Caeden drew on both his shrouds and their domains.

He couldn’t combine his shroud while inside the Blade Forge. Its influence on him was too strong while he was inside, so he had to leave. Outside of it and not supported solely by its power, Caeden could finally make the adjustments to the Forge that he needed.

He pulled both domains into an orbit around himself. With the force of his will and his understanding, they started to bleed energy into each other, swirling faster and bleeding more power with every moment. In the middle of this, right on top of Forged Infinity, literally overlapping with the sword itself, Caeden started to make his new soul.

This was his solution. He needed to make a soul powerful enough to withstand his shrouds. For that, he needed power and connection. The power came from the shrouds fusing, and the connection came from the process he chose. He was forging a blade, and that blade would be his soul. Literally, a soul forged of both body and blade. A perfect mid-point between his two domains.

The process started just fine until he started making his new soul. Once he began, the orbits of his domains changed. Caeden almost panicked. This was outside his expectations, and he didn’t know what was happening. But instead of spiraling out of control, the three components fell into an even better harmony. His soul and two domains started to synchronize, each drawing on the others and reinforcing each other even as the domains became less and less distinguishable. His soul started to take on an ineffable aspect of power that Caeden didn’t understand, but seemed to be strengthening it in some fundamental way.

The new aspect of his soul seemed to reach a critical threshold, suddenly blooming out to envelop the merging domains, drawing increasing amounts of power from the process to sustain the unexpected transformation. Caeden felt new strength surging through the entire harmonious mess he’d created.

That’s when he felt a presence shift its attention to him, and a voice spoke across the soul plane, its power every bit as potent as the researcher’s had been.

“Unidentified Nascent Divinity forming inside Argentia-managed territory. Recognized imprint of shroud material. Elevating event to relevant authority.” The voice was smooth and slightly feminine, but no less terrifying for it. The presence held a potency that left Caeden mentally gasping for air, feeling like he was suffocating.

He didn’t think he wanted to meet the ‘relevant authority’. But it didn’t seem like he was going to get a choice.