Soren didn't respond immediately.
There was a gap of fifty-seven days in his memory—a complete void where he had no recollection of what had happened to this body. He needed time. Or at least, more information.
Waking up in the Ashen Field under those conditions had been disorienting. He didn't even know if, in his past life, he had ever died.
Station Chief Vance stood before him, staring intently. Every second Soren remained silent seemed to sharpen her gaze further—heavy, assessing.
Audrey was about to step in, but Soren spoke first.
"I got lost, Miss Vance."
Audrey frowned slightly, as if she hadn't expected such a simple answer.
"Lost?" The station chief arched a brow, unconvinced. "Survivor reports say that while you were on what was supposed to be a simple reconnaissance vision, a pack of Three-Eyed Wolves appeared. During the chase… you fell off a cliff."
Soren nodded gravely, lowering his head to look at his hands, covered in small cuts and fresh scars.
"I fell off the cliff… but that was only the first of many stumbles in my attempt to survive," he said, his voice steady, as if every word had been carefully measured. "The drop was enormous. I remember hitting the rock edges on the way down. Some time later, I woke up… surrounded by straw, mud, and arranged branches. The first thing I did was look down… but the abyss was too deep. I couldn't see the bottom."
Elara slowly interlaced her fingers on the desk, never taking her eyes off him.
Soren's body trembled faintly at the memory of the fall.
Elara Vance watched in silence, studying every detail of his behavior.
Soren took a slow breath, aware that each word was a thread upon which his credibility hung.
"What happened next?" she asked.
"After that, Miss Vance… I was afraid."
His eyes darkened, almost as if what he described could be seen through them.
"Inside the nest, beside me… there were two massive eggs. Twice my size."
He paused briefly.
"They were streaked with green, brown, and yellow."
He inhaled slowly.
"The fear I felt when I thought about the creatures that had laid those eggs… made my bones tremble."
Both women listened intently.
Soren measured every word.
At times, he deliberately paused, letting the silence fill the room before continuing—especially when he noticed their attention fully caught in his story.
"The first few days… I was practically dead."
He lowered his gaze to his hands.
"Fear consumed me. I tried to climb the cliff, but it was useless. At times I nearly fell… and that's how my hands ended up like this."
He showed the wounds and scars.
"I slipped many times. More than once, I barely avoided falling into the abyss."
Elara Vance didn't look away.
Soren continued.
"After a while… I couldn't tell how much time had passed."
His voice lowered.
"No beast returned to the nest. And little by little… I began to accept my end."
The silence grew heavy.
"But then something stronger than fear appeared."
Soren slowly lifted his gaze.
"Hunger."
Audrey swallowed, imagining the situation for a moment.
The station chief blinked once, still listening closely.
"I could barely move my body from weakness—hunger and thirst," Soren continued. "Every breath felt heavy."
His gaze drifted briefly to the floor.
"But in desperate times… you take desperate measures."
He paused.
"Almost without thinking, my body moved on its own."
Both women remained silent.
"I began to strike the egg in front of me."
Soren frowned slightly, as if still feeling the impact in his hands.
"It was hard. It took a long time just to crack it."
He made a small gesture with his fingers.
"But eventually… I broke it open enough."
His voice lowered.
"And then… a thick, yellow liquid began to spill out."
Elara Vance tilted her head slightly, analyzing every word.
She said nothing.
But her eyes remained fixed on Soren.
"The taste of the egg… felt forbidden," he said quietly.
"I knew I was taking a life. I was only an apprentice… I had never killed anything before."
He paused.
"But at that moment, Miss Vance… hunger didn't care about my feelings."
His eyes dropped for a moment.
"And that's when I understood something very simple: if I didn't feed on that egg, I had no chance of surviving."
He inhaled slowly.
"It tasted like wet earth. Thick… and it burned my throat with every swallow."
Soren glanced back at Audrey.
She was completely silent, eyes wide. Her expression was a mixture of shock, tension… and something close to sympathy.
At that moment, Grim approached.
Audrey flinched slightly when the small body brushed against her legs.
The little Kanima settled playfully and rested its head on Soren's knees.
Soren gently stroked its head.
His eyes were still immersed in the story… but when he looked at Grim, his gaze deepened into something beyond simple affection.
He took a potato from his pouch and offered it.
Grim accepted it eagerly.
With visible patience, Elara Vance steered the conversation back.
"I understand you went through a lot," she said calmly. "But that doesn't explain why that singularity is following you… or how you got out of that cliff."
Soren nodded slowly.
"The liquid from the egg sustained me for ten days," he continued. "It tasted like earth… but it kept me alive."
His voice grew heavier.
"Every day I gnawed at my nails, wondering if the creature that laid those eggs would return."
He lowered his gaze.
"A feeling began to grow inside me. Stronger and stronger."
His fingers tensed slightly.
"I knew something bad was going to happen."
He lifted his eyes again.
"And it didn't take long."
The silence in the room thickened.
"I couldn't tell how much time had passed… when I heard a rumble rising from the bottom of the cliff."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"It was as if something enormous was climbing the rock wall."
He made a small gesture.
"I leaned out of the nest to see what was happening…"
His voice dropped.
"…and what I saw nearly made me fall from fright."
Audrey held her breath.
"It was a giant lizard."
Soren spoke slowly, as if the image still lingered before him.
"Its body was covered in blue-green scales. Each of its limbs was the size of a human body."
He shook his head faintly.
"I couldn't understand how something that large could cling to the cliff wall."
He paused.
"Maybe it was those massive claws… digging into the rock."
His voice lowered.
"It climbed slowly. And from time to time, it flicked its tongue… like a snake."
Audrey unconsciously tightened her fingers against her knees.
"When I saw it… I knew immediately it was the creature that had laid those eggs."
He leaned slightly forward.
"By pure instinct, I began looking for somewhere to hide."
He glanced at his hands.
"But there was nowhere."
His eyes lifted again.
"Except…"
A pause.
"…the egg I had already half-emptied."
The silence in the room became absolute.
"I'm not proud of this," Soren admitted. "But I widened the opening in the shell."
His voice dropped to a near whisper.
"Just enough to fit inside… without breaking it completely."
He looked directly at Elara Vance.
His voice turned darker.
"The creature climbed into the nest… and lay over the eggs."
Soren lowered his gaze.
"I tried not to move. Not even breathe."
He paused.
"The time I spent there… honestly, Miss Vance, I don't even know how long it was. Every second inside that shell was hell."
The station chief exhaled, clearly unconvinced this time.
"Are you saying you were incubated by a beast that was probably level three… or even four?" she asked, raising a brow.
Soren slowly lifted his gaze.
"That's not all, Miss."
He leaned slightly forward.
"Inside the egg… within that thick yellow liquid… there was a singularity."
His voice dropped.
"It was a dull green. A small galaxy spun inside it, barely moving… it couldn't even emit light."
Elara Vance leaned forward slightly.
Audrey's and Elara's eyes widened.
"In that viscous darkness… the only distraction I had was playing with that sphere."
Soren narrowed his eyes, recalling.
"And that's when… I heard a voice."
He gently patted the Kanima's head.
"I assimilated the singularity."
He paused.
"That's where Grim came from."
The little Kanima lifted its head, as if it understood.
"The pain was unbearable," Soren continued. "But by then… I was already living in hell. A little more pain didn't make a difference."
He shrugged slightly.
"Over time, I began to understand this singularity. It's only level one."
He glanced at Elara.
"But I'm certain it was meant to become something far more powerful."
His voice lowered.
"Most likely… by killing the creature inside the egg… the singularity never had time to fully develop."
He stroked Grim's head.
"Grim is what kept my mind from collapsing into madness. As you can see… he's harmless."
The small Kanima wagged its tail.
"Quite affectionate, too. He always looked after me."
Soren raised his gaze slightly.
"He's a companion-type."
Audrey nearly fell out of her chair.
In that moment, she understood something:
Most of what Soren was saying… was a blatant lie.
And yet…
For a moment, she had almost believed it.
Elara Vance, on the other hand, let out a slow breath, as if she could actually picture the entire scene.
Soren continued.
"Time kept passing."
"Every time the giant lizard descended the cliff… I would come out of the egg to breathe."
He lowered his gaze, visibly ashamed.
"I had to do things I'm not proud of."
He cleared his throat.
"My… waste… I threw it through the crack in the shell."
Audrey looked away.
"When I felt the vibrations of the beast returning… I hid again."
Soren closed his eyes briefly.
"Endless days passed like that."
"Eventually, the egg began to rot. The yellow liquid started to decay."
His voice turned rough.
"The last days there… were unbearable."
Then he lifted his gaze.
"Until everything started to shake."
Elara Vance frowned.
"I heard roars. The cries of beasts."
Soren clenched his hands slightly.
"From inside, I could hear wings… gusts of wind, like a massive hawk passing overhead."
He took a deep breath.
"The lizard roared in fury."
Audrey unconsciously held her breath.
The room was completely silent.
"After a few minutes… I heard something fall."
His voice deepened.
"Like a massive rock crashing to the ground."
Soren lowered his head.
"Grim and I curled up inside the egg… trying to endure the fear."
He gently stroked the Kanima.
"After one final roar that nearly shattered my ears… everything began to move."
Elara Vance remained completely still.
Her gaze trembled.
"The egg began to sway."
"But this time… it didn't feel like it was resting on the ground."
He slowly lifted his eyes.
"We were rising… and falling."
"Grim and I were being shaken, as if some flying creature was carrying us in its claws."
A pause.
"And to be honest, Miss Vance… I wasn't wrong."
His voice tightened.
"The shell began to crack."
"Through the fractures… I could see enormous claws around it."
He breathed unevenly.
"I was terrified."
"I knew that was the end."
Elara Vance let out another deep breath.
"Then the egg shattered completely."
Soren looked down.
"And I fell."
"A long fall."
A long pause.
"But the next thing I felt… was cold."
His eyes slowly lifted.
"And moisture."
"I had fallen into a small stream… green, like emerald."
Elara Vance remained completely still.
Audrey listened in total silence.
"I don't know how I survived the fall," Soren continued. "But I did."
He looked at Audrey.
"For a few days, I survived eating roots."
A faint, tired smile appeared.
"And then… like a gift from the heavens… Audrey found me."
Audrey blinked several times, clearly uncomfortable with the sudden attention.
She stiffened.
"She took care of me."
"She fed me."
"She treated my wounds with ointments."
Soren lowered his head.
"And for much of the journey here… she even carried me on her shoulders."
Silence filled the room.
Soren lowered his head completely.
Tears began to fall slowly from his eyes.
Grim pressed his small forehead against Soren's, as if trying to comfort him.
Soren's voice came out as barely a whisper.
"She took care of me, Miss Vance."
He lifted his gaze.
"She's a true hero."
He took a deep breath.
"She taught me the true meaning of being a Seeker."
His eyes shone.
"To survive…"
A pause.
"To survive… even when the whole world is trying to kill you."
Silence stretched across the office.
For several seconds, no one spoke.
Elara Vance continued to stare at him.