After Audrey's embrace, the sea of tears falling from his eyes, the wounds on his hands from the last battle, and the void planted inside his chest… Soren could not endure anymore.
Exhaustion dragged him away like a dark tide.
The next day he woke without remembering when he had fallen asleep.
The emptiness in his chest was still there.
But he didn't know why.
The morning out in the open was cold.
The two suns in the sky barely managed to send rays of light through the clouds.
Audrey was already preparing hot potatoes for the road.
"We would have reached the city today… but with Sira evolving, we'll have to walk from here," Audrey said while putting out the last embers of the fire.
Soren pushed himself up from the ground.
The moment he stood, the world seemed to sway.
He placed a hand on his head, confused.
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah…" Soren replied. "Just a little dizzy."
Audrey stared at him for a moment.
"Fine. We'll walk slowly. If you can't keep going, tell me. Understood?"
While speaking, she handed him a pair of hot potatoes.
Soren nodded, taking them and immediately biting into one as if it were an apple, his appetite shameless.
After four hours of walking and talking, they had passed through many interesting places.
They descended through the lower part of the forest, almost as if they were climbing down a mountain. Several times they had to jump across small natural cliffs, using nearby rocks to cross from one side to the other.
At one point along the path they found a gigantic fallen trunk that had been lying there for centuries. Its interior was hollow, covered in faint blue moss that glowed even in the forest's dim light. As they passed by, small squirrel-like creatures with impossibly long tails scattered among the roots.
Further ahead they crossed a clearing where the ground was covered in white flowers the size of a hand. When the wind blew, the flowers released tiny seeds that floated through the air like snow.
Even so, the forest seemed endless.
In other stretches they had to climb trees to reach higher ground and jump across to neighboring hills. From above, Soren caught a glimpse of a dark lake in the distance, so still it looked like a black mirror among the trees.
It was a journey that demanded constant physical effort.
After a while, as he walked, Soren began to feel weak.
He had already eaten the two hot potatoes. Each one was easily the size of a full meal for an adult—they were not small at all. It wasn't even midday yet and he had finished them both.
And still his body felt weak.
At times he began to stagger, his vision blurring.
Audrey noticed the change in Soren's pace.
She glanced back.
He walked silently, trying to keep up. He did it with effort, slowly, as if he refused to admit he was falling behind… or that something was affecting him.
Audrey waited until Soren caught up.
The young man advanced with difficulty, breathing heavily as if each step demanded more effort than the last. When he reached her, he walked past with his eyes fixed on the road and continued forward without even glancing back.
"I don't think you're in any condition to keep going," Audrey said seriously.
Soren didn't stop.
"What are you talking about? Stop slowing us down," he replied stubbornly.
A vein throbbed on Audrey's forehead.
"How dare yo—"
A dull sound of something hitting the ground cut her off.
Audrey turned her head.
Soren was lying on the ground.
After some time, Soren began to feel comfortable in a gentle swaying motion.
A sweet scent of fruit filled his nose. A strange sensation ran through his body; he could feel the softness and warmth of another body carrying him on its back, almost as if he were a child.
He slowly opened his eyes and realized Audrey was carrying him along the path.
She was no longer wearing her white armor with red threads. It seemed she had removed it so it wouldn't hurt Soren while she carried him.
A small smile appeared on Soren's lips.
Another vein appeared on Audrey's forehead.
"You're awake?"
"How long have you been carrying me?" Soren asked with a careless yawn.
The vein on Audrey's forehead grew larger.
"A few hours," she replied coldly. "A few long hours carrying your useless ass."
Soren blinked a couple of times.
"Wow… I didn't know you cared that much."
Audrey kept walking in silence.
"Don't misunderstand," she said finally. "If you die before we reach the city, I'd have to drag your corpse. And that would be even more annoying."
Soren's smile widened slightly.
At that moment, Soren glanced ahead.
His eyes were caught by the sight.
He hadn't noticed his surroundings until then, but the ash forest was gone. Before them stretched a dirt road, and beside it ran a small emerald-colored river.
It seemed they had descended into a lower area, because the river spilled into a rather beautiful waterfall that made the landscape feel almost magical.
Audrey moved to the side of the path. She found the shade of a tree near the waterfall and a small pool where the water was calmer.
Carefully, she placed Soren on the ground.
Another vein appeared on her forehead when she realized the shameless fool didn't even intend to thank her.
Instead, Soren raised his hand and quickly summoned the Potato Child singularity.
Soren leaned over the singularity planted beside him and grabbed several potatoes.
He began devouring them desperately.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four in a row.
Between bites he murmured enthusiastically:
"Delicious… delicious…"
Soren barely chewed and didn't seem to notice that his behavior wasn't normal.
Audrey watched him silently.
She noticed the color returning to his skin as he devoured that absurd amount of food. Slowly, he seemed to recover energy, almost as if his body was working harder with every bite.
Suddenly Soren began to realize how impulsively he had been eating.
He looked at his hands.
They were empty… and covered in hot mashed potato.
He fell silent, staring at them.
The air suddenly changed.
It grew tense.
"The singularity you assimilated last night… was it Level 3?" Audrey asked seriously.
"Yes," Soren replied, looking at his hands again for some reason.
"It was the eye singularity, right?"
Audrey continued calmly.
"A Level 3 singularity can take more from you than you're willing to sacrifice for it. When I analyzed it, I could only see its name and type. The singularity required assimilation before revealing its effect… its curse… and its secret."
She paused briefly.
"I found it interesting. A Level 3 singularity with a curse and a secret is extremely valuable… but also dangerous."
Soren's expression darkened slightly as he looked down.
His hands trembled.
"I don't know what it took from me… but I'm sure it was something I wouldn't have wanted to lose."
Audrey studied him for a few seconds before responding.
"A Level 3 singularity like that cannot be assimilated for free. And companion-type singularities can sometimes be even more complex… and significant."
She paused again.
"A good singularity can take a piece of your soul. But it can also give you something indispensable… even a part of yourself."
Then she tilted her head slightly.
"Remind me… what was the name of that singularity?"
Soren hesitated.
He didn't want to reveal too much.
But he knew Audrey had already seen part of it… and she seemed to understand these things better than he did.
"Kanima… Devourer."
At that instant, a cold mechanical voice echoed inside his mind.
But this time it wasn't only a voice.
A translucent screen appeared before him.
Singularity — Level 3
Type: Companion
Name: Devourer Kanima
Assimilation Requirement: Optional — Assimilated
Blessing:
None
Curse — Voracious Hunger
The user and the Kanima are connected by something deeper than blood: proximity.
When the Kanima is hungry, the user will feel it.
When the user is hungry… the Kanima will feel it.
Both must feed.
Secret
The Kanima is a humanoid creature with a lineage that should not exist in this world.
A descendant of the Void.
Description
This creature can store treasures for the user, as long as they are not living beings.
Being a humanoid creature, it can assimilate and use singularities.
Soren was completely absorbed and impressed by the singularity. He hadn't even seen the Kanima yet and he was already imagining possibilities.
He thought of Sira.
Sira was only Level 2 and she was already incredible. And she was evolving… becoming even stronger.
And now he had a Level 3 companion singularity.
Something with the potential of an evolved Sira.
"A Level 3 companion…" Audrey said, abruptly cutting through his thoughts. "And it's called Devourer Kanima."
She smiled slightly.
"I can't even imagine the kind of monster that must be. Something with a name like that could protect your useless ass from danger."
Soren was thinking exactly the same thing.
At that moment he felt as if he had won the lottery.
He asked Audrey if she wanted to see it. She showed clear interest; the anticipation was visible in her eyes.
Looking up at the sky for a moment, Soren thought that Seekers must live for moments like this… the joy of witnessing incredible and epic things.
Maybe it should be part of the Seeker code, he thought.
Then he focused his attention and summoned the Devourer Kanima.
At that very instant, something began to move from Soren's shadow—just as it had happened with Sira.
A living, dark silhouette slowly emerged from the shadow.
Both of them opened their eyes abruptly.
The creature that appeared was…
A chubby lizard.
It had short legs, the posture and gait of a dog, and a long tail dragging behind it. Its body was green, covered in shiny scales, and its teeth were purple and translucent.
A completely ridiculous shape.
Nothing like what they had expected.
The only truly unsettling thing were its eyes.
Large yellow eyes, vertical.
Filled with intelligence…
And endless hunger.
Audrey covered her mouth.
She couldn't help laughing.
Soren frowned.
"This is the Kanima?" he murmured. "Didn't it say it was a humanoid creature…?"
At that moment, the Kanima opened its mouth.
"Hello."
Soren and Audrey froze completely.
The little lizard looked at them with its enormous yellow eyes, slowly swishing its tail.
Then it tilted its head slightly.
"I'm hungry."
Silence fell over the clearing.
And Soren felt his stomach roar with sudden violence.
Exactly the same hunger.
And in front of him, the Kanima showed a wide smile, revealing its purple translucent teeth in a hungry grin.