Shroud

The Shrouding is a multiversal event originating from the Shattered Glass and TransTech continuity families.

The Shrouding was an event initiated by Nexus Prime that altered the fabric of the multiverse, significantly influencing dimensional travel and the histories of the Thirteen.

Fiction

Timelines

Nexus Prime finally succeeded in his mission of reuniting the Origin Matrix and the pieces of the Star Saber. He also recovered the equally powerful Terminus Blade, relic of the ancients, from the insane Ultra Magnus. His efforts came too late, however -- the fabric of the multiverse was almost irrevocably damaged by Magnus's actions with the Terminus Blade, and other inter-dimensional incursions.

In order to undo some of the damage and stabilize multiversal space, Nexus Prime brought the Star Saber and Terminus Blade together. These relics were powerful enough to reweave the fabric of reality to some degree, while permanently strengthening the boundaries between dimensions from that point onwards. Nexus Prime realized that these stronger boundaries would have a unique effect on multiversal singularities like himself, and he would be forever altered by his actions. Nexus Prime's brothers and sisters among the Thirteen arrived in his presence, marking the passing of their unique identities as he finalized his repairs on the multiverse. Out of the One, Many In particular, Vector Prime took a leave of absence from Axiom Nexus to attend the Shrouding. Ask Vector Prime

The aftermath of the Shrouding was felt most strongly on Axiom Nexus, by the Transcendent Technomorph Transformers who observed and interacted with other realities on a daily basis. TransTech authorities lost track with their probes and agents in most universal streams. Rook - Axiom Nexus News: Investigative Journalist

Notes

• The Shroud, or Shrouding, is an event which affected the entire Transformers multiverse. It developed following a clash between forces of the Classicsverse and the Shattered Glass universe, after the destruction of the former. The event itself occurred on a multiversal plane, affecting all of existence. The name for the phenomena was coined by residents of the TransTech universe.
• Out-of-universe, the Shrouding was an editorial event that resolved many outstanding conflicts regarding the in-fiction Transformers universe. The idea once championed that Primus, Unicron, and the Thirteen were multiversal singularities and therefore singular entities throughout all fiction was often challenged by individual depictions of them. This was especially true after the Aligned continuity's Covenant of Primus composed the first full list of the Thirteen, excluding some expected members and including at least one highly controversial one.
  • Ask Vector Prime incorporated these discrepancies into its Q&A sessions, establishing that Aligned continuity (or Uniend cluster) used to be completely separate from the traditional multiverse and its multiversal singularities, instead having its own version of the Thirteen. After the Dark Spark broke down barriers passing from Uniend to a Tyran cluster, however, aspects of Uniend began to "bleed through" into the multiverse. Even Vector Prime, a multiversal singularity himself, began experiencing contradictory memories about who his brothers and sisters in the Thirteen were at any given time.
  • The Shrouding was therefore an in-universe event that undid the multiversal singularities as a concept, to avoid further conflicts. Now each reality in the multiverse could have its own Thirteen, or not, or its own origin of the Transformers without that decision affecting other franchises in the process.