Caeden almost wanted to freeze up after hearing the mysterious and powerful voice, but his reforming soul wouldn’t let him. The process had passed some kind of threshold, and it wasn’t stopping. Not even for him. The power of his domains bled more and more into his soul.

At the same time, the shrouds were also coming together, just like he expected. Caeden could feel the sense of kinship between the two growing ever stronger, as what was split became whole again. Just with a whole lot of extra power collected along the way. Caeden had no illusions that he was reforming his original shroud, the one he’d had before the founder messed him up. What came next, he didn’t know. But it would be more.

Aspects of Blade Forge and One Body, One Blade started to shed off as the two came together. Things that didn’t connect perfectly were stripped away, leaving only core aspects behind. Watching it happen with essentially no involvement on his end, Caeden couldn’t help but wonder what would have happened if he’d tried this with shrouds that weren’t compatible. They’d probably just shred each other apart until nothing was left.

When the shedding was done, only one aspect from each shroud remained. From Blade Forge, the new shroud held onto the physical aspect. Despite being a domain, Blade Forge was a physical place. Something most domains didn’t share. This new shroud and the domain it was creating would copy that aspect.

From One Body, One Blade, the new shroud took on the core aspect of connection between animate and inanimate. Caeden wasn’t sure exactly what the result would be here. One Body, One Blade was still new to him, and he’d barely explored what it could accomplish. It was also a more spiritual shroud and domain, making it even harder to comprehend. He could just feel that the remaining core related to binding a living being to an object.

At the same time the shroud was coming together, Caeden felt his soul continue whatever mystical process that had brought that foreign attention to him. Strength surged through his existence, pouring into Forged Infinity at the core of his new soul.

Under the strain of all that power, Caeden watched with horror as his shrouded weapon melting into slag. The change was so sudden he didn’t even have a chance to react. However, his soul didn’t collapse, the process kept going. Rather, the lump of slag started flickering, phasing between a thousand different appearances at a mind-numbing pace. Some materials caeden knew, others were foreign to him.

Not feeling anything going amiss with his soul, Caeden turned his focus back to his newly forming shroud. There, he found yet another surprising transformation. His new shroud had, so far, been forming within the domain plane. Now, it started to bleed into the soul plane. Simultaneously, the shroud started to take shape.

To his senses, Blade Forge’s domain always looked like a giant ball of molten metal. It was hollow inside, holding the space where his Bladeborne had lived and he had forged blades. One Body, One Blade, by contrast, was an ephemeral image of a human body superimposed with a sword, somehow being both at the same time. It had no substance, but no less power for it.

The new shroud’s domain was forming into a completely different shape, but one that Caeden was intimately familiar with. Within the soul plane, lumps of soul stuff started to form a reflection of the new domain. Despite recognizing what he was looking at, Caeden couldn’t help but be surprised. Then again, maybe he shouldn’t have been.

Funnily enough, neither of his shrouds had kept the aspect of blades when they combined, despite that being the point of intersection between them. Caeden could only speculate that the new shroud didn’t have any connection to blade specifically because it was the binding element between his two previous shrouds. They’d used blades as a link, meaning it couldn’t become a part of the new shroud.

The new shroud was actually formed of three distinct parts. A hammer. An Anvil. And a Smith to use them. The Hammer and Anvil were simple things, unadorned and plain. That simplicity was not reflected in the pressure they radiated. Each contained power enough to dwarf the Pillar, Caeden felt. These were instruments for forging the greatest of masterworks.

The Smith was similarly simple and mysterious in equal measure. The being was only a vague humanoid shape, not distinct enough for Caeden to tell if they were meant to be man or woman, human or something else. The pressure from the Smith was enough to single-handedly match the power from the Hammer and Anvil combined.

Each had their own unique feel to their aura. The Anvil was stability and an endless vitality that Caeden associated with Physical Enhancement. The Hammer held both great creative and destructive power, tempered by a sense of purpose. Finally, the Smith felt like a font of creativity and primal power. Looking at the Smith felt like staring at the birth of a universe, something grand and new ready and waiting to be born.

Once the new shroud, its corresponding domain, and the soul-mass that reflected it was stabilized, Caeden waited for something more to happen. His soul was incomplete, he could feel it. But no new change overtook him. Rather, it felt like everything ground to a halt, the momentum of the change rapidly dying out.

Now, Caeden started to panic. A shiver ran through his half-finished soul, the progress that had sustained its formation stalling out. But the instinctive drive and seemingly natural process that had gotten him this far showed no signs of reappearing. A kernel of despair formed. Caeden must have messed up the process somewhere along the way, causing it to fail here. He wouldn’t get another chance, starting the process cut him off from returning things to how they’d started.

“Oh, you got pretty far on your own from someone who has no idea what they’re doing.” the same voice from before spoke up again. Though this time it's tone was far more lively and almost playful. “You look like one of Kendr’s experiments. And a success, too. I wonder why he never told me about you. Then again, looking at the logs, it seems like you aren’t quite done yet. Interesting. Even more so that you ended up heading in this direction.”

Despite his dire situation, Caeden could help but be curious. “Kendr? Who’s that? And who are you, if you don’t mind me asking.” He spoke politely, inherently feeling just how far beyond him the owner of this voice was.

“He didn’t…? Of course he didn’t.” the voice snorted. She, Caeden thought it sounded like a she, seemed amused. “Kendr and his weird secrets. What pseudonym did he use with you… Ah, you know him as ‘the researcher’. He’s a…friend…of mine. I’m Argentia. I’m responsible for managing a lot of the basic strata of the cosmos in this sector. Kendr likes to put his little experiments where I can easily keep an eye on them for him, since he tends to be pretty busy with other things and I’m…not.”

Kendr…Caeden now knew the name of the researcher. Without context, it didn’t mean much. He had no idea who Kendr was in the wider span of existence, so nothing really changed from his perspective. But it was…nice…to have a name to go with the individual.

“See, that thinking right there is exactly my point. Kendr didn’t tell you his name, which would make sense if you were part of the wider Material Plane, but you’re stuck inside that little pocket universe of his, so it’s meaningless to not tell you. He’s just weird.” Argentia laughed.

Caeden just glossed over her reading his mind. Honestly, with how strong she felt, it didn’t seem that impressive. “Is Kendr a big deal, out in the wider cosmos?”

“Eh, depends on who you ask. He’s mostly a giant nerd obsessed with gaining a deeper understanding of the rules of reality, and how to bend them over backwards. Consequently, he’s very good at doing that, which makes him pretty powerful. But he doesn’t tend to mess with other people’s things so long as they leave him alone, so most just ignore him.”

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“So he’s strong.”

“Unbelievably so, yes. That’s what happens when you learn the secrets of the cosmos.” Caeden could practically feel Argentia shrugging, like it wasn’t a surprising revelation.

Before he could ask anything else, Caeden’s soul quivered again, reminding him of his circumstances. “Um, sorry to ask, but could you help me? My soul got destroyed and-”

“I know exactly what happened to you, silly. I know everything about you. Kendr’s quarantine of your universe doesn’t apply to me. I manage the quarantine. And yes, I’m here to give you a hand. I’m just as interested in where you’re going with this as Kendr, at this point. You’re about to become something wholly new, beyond even what Kendr has done with shrouds. New things, in the span of all of time and space, are rarer than you could imagine. That’s pretty exciting, and I’m not about to let you fall here just because you have no idea what you’re doing.”

“Great, so what do I do?” Caeden asked, feeling relieved. “I don’t know what I did wrong, or how to fix it.”

“Oh, it’s not what you did wrong, it’s what you’re not doing. You’ve reached the part of the process that requires your direct intervention. And I think the answer of what you need to do is obvious. You’ve got an Anvil, a Hammer, and a Smith.” Caeden felt his attention being drawn back to his new shroud. “And you’ve got a lump of raw material with practically infinite potential.” his attention was pulled to the remains of Forged Infinity. “You are a blacksmith, aren’t you?”

Once she’d said it, Caeden felt almost stupid for not figuring it out himself. Then again, he hadn’t realized he would have to actively finish off the process of creating his new soul. Every example of a soul being created that he’d found had the soul forming naturally once the process had begun. By all rights, interfering should have ruined his soul, not been the solution.

But with Argentia confirming the path, all the pieces fit together with an almost comedic perfection. Caeden had been focusing on the portion of his soul outside his shrouds, but they were also parts of his soul. That included his new soul, meaning he was in control of the Anvil, Hammer, and Smith. And the core of his new soul was currently a lump of possibly the single greatest raw material Caeden had ever seen.

So, he got to forging.

Caeden’s consciousness moved from the remains of Forged Infinity, shifting to settle into the three parts of his new shroud. As he did, their functions and powers came to him. He immediately realized that each was essentially a shroud and domain unto itself, equivalent in power to Blade Forge and One Body, One Blade. Those two had combined to form something that was truly greater than the sum of its parts. Especially since these three shrouds and their connected domains combined to form something even greater. A supreme shroud.

First, his will settled into the Anvil of Ages. It could grant overwhelming endurance and resilience in the face of partially any force. The power to endure eons. And it needed to, as Caeden soon discovered as his will extended to the Hammer of Beginnings and Ends. Embodied in the Hammer was the cycle of life and death, and the fact that ends and beginnings were one and the same. Through this, it could bring creation from destructive forces and destroy through the act of creation, overturning cause and effect in the process.

Finally, Caeden’s mind readily seated itself into the Cosmic Smith. This was the body through which he could wield the previous two shrouds. In fact, it was the only way to do so. Caeden could feel the mind-numbing power contained in the other two shrouds, and his normal body would not be able to withstand delivering a single blow to the Anvil of Ages with the Hammer of Beginnings and Ends without exploding.

The Cosmic Smith was space itself, able to contain the force of time passing through it from the other two, allowing Caeden to forge at levels that were impossible even with Blade Forge. And that is what he did. Caeden’s consciousness submerged within his new shroud, all three portions of it in equal measure. A wave of the Cosmic Smith’s hand had the remains of Forged Infinity flying over and settling onto the Anvil of Ages.

Taking a deep breath, the Cosmic Smith breathed out, spewing forth fundamental forces of existence onto the ever-changing substance, which melted, regardless of what form it took. The Hammer of Beginnings and Ends rose and fell, fell and rose, the actions seemingly happening simultaneously and yet not at all. Through it all, the Anvil of Ages endured.

It was the single greatest forging Caeden had ever done. Forces he’d never even known, ones previously beyond his understanding, bent to his will. No matter what form the endlessly changing material before him took, the nature of it never escaped the eyes of the Cosmic Smith, its amorphous eyes spilling rainbow light as they divined the truth of everything they saw. Each new form required slightly different forces, a subtly different hammering technique. The auras of the Anvil of Ages and the Hammer of Beginnings and Ends surged and receded as needed.

Finally, he was finished. Resting on the Anvil was a sword, one that took myriad forms. Caeden could feel it anchoring him, forming the true core of his being. It acted as a counterpoint and final component to balance out the power of his new shroud. Both Blade Forge and One Body, One Blade, having remained after the transformation just like his other splinters, instantly connected to the blade as well.

This was something wholly new, as Argentia had said. Caeden could see it with the eyes of the Cosmic Smith. It was a Soul Anchor. Caeden could feel properties of all his shrouds in his new creation, and see its myriad uses. But now wasn’t the time. He could feel something big happening within the multitude of forces that now composed his existence.

“Congratulations. You’ve done something pretty interesting. I think me and Kendr will both be in touch.” Argentia said. Caeden could feel her attention shifting away.

“Wait! What happened to me? I’m not sure I understand.” Caeden asked, feeling more going on than what he could easily see.

“Oh, you became a deity. A God. More than that, you’re a Progenitor Deity, the founder of a new Pantheon and a Universal Originator. But you don’t really have time for all that now, do you. Your friends need your help. We’ll talk about this later.” And she was gone.

Caeden’s attention snapped back to his weak connection to the Starry Sea. More time had passed than he’d thought while he worked, and he needed to get back. He trusted his friends to hold their own, but the founder had been full of surprises. All this craziness could wait for later.

With a thought, Caeden was back inside the Forge. He could feel the space created by his new shroud, but it was currently empty, waiting to be filled with the things he made. Meanwhile, the Forge had all his Exit Blades. With his soul restored, better than ever, he could just leave. Making a new body for himself with the Forge was the work of a single thought.

Without hesitating, Caeden stepped through the Exit Blade leading to the founder’s workshop. But the second his foot touched the portal, it collapsed, and the Exit Blade melted. Startled, Caeden felt around with his new senses for what had happened. His eyes bled rainbow light as he peered through the building blocks of existence.

The answer was immediate. His new soul, a God’s soul, whatever that meant, was too strong for this portal to work. With a sigh, Caeden had to return to the liminal space made by his new shroud, calling on the Anvil, Hammer, and Smith once more to forge a portal that could withstand transporting his new strength.

It was unsurprisingly easy, considering his new abilities and his increased familiarity with souls. The eyes of the Cosmic Smith didn’t grant any insights there, unfortunately. They were purely for observing the physical worlds and the components that made it up. Caeden found it amusing that he’d gained so much power, only to immediately encounter his limits. No matter what had happened to him, he could tell that his power wasn’t limitless.

With the new portal made and tested in the liminal space, Caeden moved back to the Forge. There, he passed one half of the portal through an Exit Blade, this one leading to the outside of the founder’s false island. It was unfortunate he didn’t have any Entrance Blades closer to his goal, but he hadn’t expected to destroy the one in the room he wanted to get to.

Dropping the other end, Caeden flexed his soul. Instantly, his Soul Anchor was in his hand. It was a part of him in a way that Forged Infinity had never been. Rather than containing a small soul fragment, it was literally a physicalized expression of half of his soul.

“Alright, let’s get a move on.” Caeden stepped through the portal.