“It’s definitely a second shroud,” Cat confirmed. “Now that I know what to look for, it's exactly like Caeden’s except not all fucked up.”

She had spent the last few minutes confirming Erik’s statement. After Caeden evolved his roommate’s shroud, two sigils had taken the place of one. Except, that is not what happened when he evolved Lily and Cat’s shrouds. So they went about double-checking. Which was why Cat was poking around Erik’s soul. After confirming that Caeden wasn’t in danger of dying from the evolution process.

He glanced down at the display coming out the side of Forged Infinity. The soul damage counter for Physical Enhancement had jumped all the way from 4% to 54%. So it was a good thing he’d tested this Before they actually needed it. Yikes. Cat had told him to not even use Physical Enhancement until she could bring that counter below 10%.

“So, is this like what you did with your shroud?” Lily questioned. “You can use both your shrouds at the same time, right?”

Cat shook her head. “No. What I did was bypass the limitation on a splinter by adding a second Ki Gate. There’s way more to a shroud than just that one component. And adding one doesn’t make me dual-shrouded. It just lets me mimic their ability to use two domains at once. I can’t activate two higher forms independently, and my domains are limited to the same aura range. They also hold the same capacity for aura and infusion. Take Caeden, for example. His Sharp shroud has a massive aura range compared to Physical Enhancement. Because they’re different shrouds. It’s not the same with my Soul and Necromancy. They both have the same range and the same capacity for aura and infusion.”

She looked around as the room had become completely silent. “What? I find the difference really interesting! Caeden’s soul is so different. Some of that is from his weird soul birth defect situation, but a lot of it is from having two shrouds. Actually, now that Erik is dual-shrouded, I might be able to help more. Comparing Erik’s normal dual-shrouded soul to Caeden’s fucked up soul should let me pick out the wrong parts easier.”

“...Well, it's nice that you’re passionate about it,” Lily said after a moment. Caeden was confident that none of them expected such a comprehensive breakdown from Cat.

“So, I’m dual-shrouded now.” Erik looked between the two sigils floating in front of him. They started drifting towards him, settling into specific locations. The glowing heart settled over his chest, much like his Stitch sigil had. Meanwhile, the ominous coffin drifted over his head. “Well, that’s kinda creepy.”

“What are they?” Caeden asked. Since Erik already had the sigils out, he should be able to instinctively tell what their domains were.

“Well,” Erik looked between the two sigils. He had to tilt his head just the right way to look at the one above him. “They’re both actually good. How about that?”

He glanced around, ignoring everyone’s expectant looks. “Let me try this.”

{}

Erik was feeling overwhelmed. Going from one shroud to two was a lot more than adding to what he already had. He was only half listening to Cat talk, but everything she said resonated with him. Stitch had a decent aura range, and now Erik was disoriented by the two different limits on each of his new shrouds. He immediately reached for defensive sense and found himself trying to activate it with both shrouds at once.

There was a brief moment of blind panic as one of the shrouds refused to do it. That vanished as the other shroud took it up instantly and with even more detail than what Erik was used to. He had no idea why, but this new shroud took his overblown defensive sense and boosted it even further. He genuinely felt like he was looking into the future now.

The creeping anxiety that vanished during the evolution process started to return. His defensive sense was active, but Erik had no idea how to use his new shrouds. He couldn’t defend himself the same way he would with Stitch. Or dodge. Or heal himself. Basically, he was feeling pretty vulnerable right now.

Then the sigils kicked in, and Erik gained an awareness of his new domains. And relaxed. In fact, he almost wanted to laugh, but he was feeling like messing with his friends for a minute. Plus, he wanted to be a little dramatic with the reveal. Just telling them his domains lacked…impact. So Erik ignored Caeden’s question and relied on as sneaking suspicion building in him. After all, these new domains were very, very familiar to him. And if they were, that meant…

“Let me try this.” Erik thrust his will toward both of his sigils, and his shrouds responded in a familiar way. Instantly thick bands of manifested shroud rolled off him toward the sigils. Rigid sheets of black and grey with a metallic sheen pushed up into the bound coffin, while pale yellow light with flecks of green in its beam passed from his chest into the sunflower-colored heart. The dichotomy was beautiful to watch, and Erik found himself staring, even as the power rolling off him grew more intense.

With a final burst of power, Erik’s sigils glowed blindingly bright in their respective colors; even the coffin burned with a black light. Their forms distorted and shifted before both moved out in front of Erik, one to each side of him. They grew as their shapes became more amorphous and undefined.

Over the course of a few seconds, that lack of definition disappeared, as both formed into humanoid figures with very familiar faces. Both were decidedly female, with the necessary parts being obvious to anyone who looked. The one on the left had vibrant yellow hair that glowed softly and fell down her back in waves. She wore white robes styled to fit closely to her body instead of hanging loose.

Her eyes were a soft green and glowed much like her hair. All of which contrasted sharply with her dark black skin, including the brilliant smile lighting up her face. A stream of sunlight circled her head in a halo, as sunflower petals seemed to drip off her skin with every motion she made, only to vanish before they reached the floor.

The other figure was in stark contrast to the first. A dark cloak draped over her figure, hiding most of its features, even her face, to some extent. She had iron grey hair cut short, only barely brushing her shoulders. Both her mouth and eyes were covered by stripes of a black leathery material, with pale white skin showing through the gaps. A halo of barbed wire circled above her brow, while the rattling of chains could be heard every time she moved.

“Hello, Master.” The one on the left spoke. “It is good to see you again so soon.”

“Sauma.” Erik sighed in relief. He had been a little worried, even though he felt her consciousness pass into his new shrouds.

“Indeed.” She nodded, still smiling widely. “I have been reborn through your new shroud as a Spirit of Life. My capacity to heal and grow is unparalleled, though if you wish for something or someone to be restrained, it would be best to ask my sister.” She gestured toward the other Incarnation, sunflower petals drifting from her arm as she did so.

“Greetings, Creator of my existence.” A voice echoed around the room with no apparent source. The stripe covering the woman’s mouth didn’t so much as twitch. “This one’s name is Laekna. I have been born from your new shroud as a Spirit of Confinement. All your enemies shall know agony as I steal every freedom they so casually enjoy in defiance of you.”

“Oookay.” Erik wasn’t sure what to do with that statement or the raw intensity behind it.

“Erik, how did you get both the Incarnations of your new shrouds instantly?” Caeden was staring open-mouthed between the two. “That should be impossible. It would require you to already have a deep, fundamental understanding of the new domains right off the bat.”

Erik laughed. He laughed long and hard. “Oh, that’s the good part. I couldn’t have gotten better domains. I literally can’t think of anything that would have been better.” he looked toward his Incarnations. “Ladies, would you mind telling my friends what domains you came from.”

“I was reborn from the shroud of Healing.” Sauma smiled.

“My Creator forged me from the shroud of Binding.” Laekna intoned.

“Healing and Binding, damn.” Caeden shook his head. “Now I get it.”

Lily nodded in agreement.

“I feel like I missed something.” Cat looked between the two.

Erik giggled. “Oh, c’mon Cat. What did I do with Stitch? What were the only things I did with Stitch on a daily basis.”

“Well, dodging all the stuff coming at you, and healing any-oh.” A look of comprehension crossed her face.

“Yeah, exactly. I got two shrouds that split Stitch down the middle and took the only two things I did with it to the max.” Erik laughed. He couldn’t help it. This was perfect. He had shrouds that could do everything he already did but a million times better. Plus some new stuff, if he had to guess.

“But you said you’re both Spirits, right?” Cat asked. The pair of Incarnations nodded. “Well, isn’t that what Dave is? Hold on.”

A summoning circle formed, and out of it emerged Cat’s Familiar. Her bound Spirit of War was clad in understated and form-fitting pitch-black armor and carrying more weapons than any one person should. His full helm covered any features except for burning green eyes.

“What’s up, boss?” Dave looked around casually. “Oh, shit.” His burning gaze locked onto Sauma. He reached for a blade at his hip.

“Dave, relax. These are Erik’s new Incarnations. Caeden evolved his shroud.” Cat waved him down.

The higher undead relaxed. “Ahh, still not fully up on the lingo, but I think I get the gist. Sorry about that. Normally a Spirit of Life would be my mortal enemy. Or at least want to destroy my unlife.” Dave apologized.

“That’s perfectly fine, Dave. Though we have met before, my form has changed significantly since then.” Sauma waved him off. “I believe Cat had some questions for you about your nature and ours.”

“Right, I’m a Spirit as well now.” Dave nodded. “Still getting used to that change. I’ve been a Death Knight for a long, long time. So what do you want to know?”

“What are Spirits, exactly? Actually, I guess I could have asked Sauma or Leakna,” She shot the pair an apologetic look.

“No, your action was prudent. Though I am now a Spirit myself and cognizant of my abilities and nature, the history of my kind is unknown to me.” Sauma smiled brightly. “Just as I had no knowledge of the history or culture of arachne in my previous form. My knowledge extends only to myself.”

“Right, that’s how it goes.” Dave nodded. “I guess you are kinda similar to how a new undead is, what with only knowing about your own powers and nothing else. That’s rough. I remember the early days.”

He shook his helmet. “Well, boss, Spirits are a diverse lot. Don’t go thinking we all fall into the same basket, as Spirit is little more than a general term for a specific kind of being. We’re all more or less energy beings given physical form and draw from a specific concept, or what you lot would call a domain. We’re not ‘spirits’ as in, undead spirits. More like ‘spirit’ as it refers to an ephemeral creature. Most have nothing to do with the souls of the dead. Only a few varieties, like the Spirit of War that I am now, alongside the Spirit of Death, Famine Undead, Pestilence, and basically any Spirit that rises from a domain related to the ending of a living thing. That normally makes Spirits of Life like Sauma here our natural enemy. But there are tons of Spirits that have nothing to do with either life or death.”

“Honestly, my becoming a Spirit at all is an oddity. Very few exist in the Necroverse, as its chalk full of dead gods. Gods and Spirits don’t get along well since they step on each other's toes too much. Gods are normally energy beings too, but they’re born from belief and given power over a domain. Their strength tends to vary wildly. Spirits, being born from a domain itself, are much more even when it comes to power.”

“That’s more or less all I know. Most of that information comes from worlds where Spirits are much more common. How they work in this universe, I wouldn’t know beyond my own experience. Though I would say, we’re pretty damn powerful here. This universe is soaked in raw power, and since Spirits are tied to the world, that power is reflected in us.” Dave concluded his explanation.

“Well, it looks like I have some reading to do.” Lily sighed. “I’ll look through the CA records for Spirit Incarnations and check the library on board.” The Heathhome had a library of ancient records on board holding information that had been lost to time. Lily had already been looking through it in any spare moments she could get, which wasn’t much. Erik hoped a topic would give her something to focus on since he was pretty curious about what Sauma and Laekna could do.