Soren approached the body of the enormous rat and inspected it carefully.
Metallic spines protruded from its back, small sharp claws extended from its paws, and it was the size of a dog, with pumpkin-orange fur.
"Blade-Spine Rat, you said?"
Audrey nodded.
"Even though their legs are short, they're quite fast. They live in groups inside burrows, and their singularity is fairly useful. If I remember correctly, it's a retractable dagger. Because of its versatility, the value can reach twelve silver."
She said this while crouching beside the body.
A white knife appeared in her palm.
It was terrifying.
Curved, double-pointed, the handle carried a pattern of snake-like scales. It didn't shine. It made no sound.
And yet it seemed sharper than anything visible.
Soren watched it closely.
It didn't move, but it gave the impression of containing something—like the blade was restraining itself.
This was not an improvised weapon.
It was the weapon of someone who had survived.
Audrey inserted the knife into the soft part of the creature's belly and, with a shiccka, shacck, opened it.
Then she withdrew the blade and pushed her hand into the flesh, searching inside.
The process was messy, but quick.
She found the reddish singularity and showed it to him with amusement, her hands covered in thick blood.
Viscous.
Unpleasant.
Soren took it without hesitation, staining his own hands.
The warmth surprised him.
It wasn't scorching… but it was latent.
Alive.
Its color shifted in a gradient between deep red and orange. Inside the galaxy within it, tiny metallic spikes rotated slowly, like thorns drifting through a miniature universe.
For a moment, he had the strange sensation that he wasn't holding a sphere.
But something waiting to be used.
He handed it back to Audrey.
She left the body of the Blade-Spine Rat on the ground, stood up, gathered her things, and mounted Sira.
Soren approached the horned Bengal tiger, grabbed its fur, and pulled himself up with a jump.
Despite the tiger's great size, this time—after resting, eating, and assimilating his first singularity—he managed to climb up on the first try.
There were butterflies in his stomach.
But not from fear.
From anticipation.
The tiger dug its paws into the ground and accelerated.
They quickly left the clearing and plunged once again into the thick, shadowed forest. Sira began weaving between the gigantic branches of ash trees as if navigating a living labyrinth.
Then she pushed through bushes, passing through paths marked by beasts.
Sira seemed to know exactly where to go.
Audrey didn't need to guide her. She simply watched the path attentively.
Sira deliberately sprayed certain areas, as if she knew predators might be nearby, and circled around others that seemed more dangerous—like she recognized something Soren himself couldn't perceive.
Then she descended a hill covered in dense vegetation, reaching the deeper parts of the terrain.
Finally, she crossed a small stream and stopped behind a gigantic twisted ash tree that curved toward the sky as if seeking the light of the two suns.
The forest suddenly felt too quiet.
"Good girl," Audrey said, patting Sira.
They dismounted, hid among the bushes beside the twisted ash, and looked into the distance.
The first thing they saw was a mountain of mud.
It looked artificial.
Clay-like.
As if the nest had been built little by little.
It was a massive wall of earth filled with craters, pores, and holes.
Hundreds of openings dotted its surface, and from some of them Blade-Spine Rats were emerging in large numbers.
Several carried food in their jaws: bird carcasses, insects, and mostly fruit.
Others simply wandered around.
From that distance, they looked like ants.
"Damn," Audrey said. "There are too many. Blade-Spine Rats usually live in groups smaller than ten… but this is a massive burrow."
Soren nodded.
He looked at Sira's paws, still wounded from fighting just one.
Here there were hundreds.
"Is there any reason this nest is so large?" he asked cautiously.
"There could be many reasons. Beasts don't always behave the same. But the most likely… is that there's a king among them."
"A king?" he said, concerned. "You mean there might be a creature much stronger among them?"
Audrey nodded.
"It's not something beyond my reach. If it's a level-two singularity, I could handle it. If it's level three, things will get difficult… but what really worries me is the number of level ones."
She looked again toward the nest.
"There are hundreds. And when they have a king, they work together."
Soren nodded.
"So the hunt… would it be better to retreat?"
Audrey didn't answer immediately.
Instead she asked:
"Do you know how to use any kind of weapon?"
Soren began thinking seriously about his past life.
He had lived in the underworld, but he had never been a particularly violent man. He preferred settling things through conversation.
He used force only when there was no other option.
And in this world, force would have to be used.
He thought further about his past experiences.
When he first started working, he had taken simple, honest jobs—the kind necessary for someone without education who was willing to earn his bread with the sweat of his brow.
With time, when he realized that path would lead him nowhere good, he changed direction.
He began accepting other kinds of work.
Each one darker than the last.
"The axe," he finally said.
Audrey raised her hand.
A green sphere made of energy emerged.
It didn't look like the singularities he had seen before.
This was power.
Greenish and translucent.
Immediately the sphere began moving like thick, living water.
It shifted, reshaped itself—
and suddenly became a translucent axe.
The design was ancient, the kind of axe you might see in a museum. It looked heavy, but its translucent form made it seem almost magical.
"Is this a singularity?" he asked.
"It is," Audrey replied.
She extended it and placed it in his hands.
They immediately dropped slightly under the weight.
But it was manageable.
Soren stared at the green axe, fascinated.
It was crude and outdated compared to the axes he knew, but functional.
He knew he could defend himself with it.
"That type of singularity is somewhat rare. It's called Green Light. You can use it to change its shape. It doesn't have a special power, but you can use it as a tool."
She paused.
"Since it belongs to me, you can't change its form or use it at its full potential. But at least you'll be able to defend yourself while I deal with the rats."
Soren was amazed by the power of the singularity.
It could change shape and mold itself at will.
And it seemed to adapt to the form the user understood.
He didn't know if it had limitations.
He didn't know anything else about it.
But he was certain that if Audrey knew the axes from his world—more modern, more ergonomic, more flexible and aerodynamic—it would probably be able to transform into them.
"Stay here," Audrey said. "Sira and I will go in, kill a few, and bring their bodies back. Wait here and stay alert, because we'll have to run. In and out. Nothing more."
"If there's any problem—if a rat tries to attack you—at least you have something to defend yourself with."
Soren nodded.
But before Audrey turned away, he asked:
"Is this really dangerous? Is it necessary to do this?"
"To risk your life… for what?"
Audrey held his gaze for a moment.
"Because that's what Seekers do."