Vitmori POV

While Oururu hasn't come back yet, the amount of mana he's sent my way is impressive. Looking at my core, a full three rings are swirling around strongly within me while many lights glimmer deeper within the center of the core.

The foes my beasts encountered don't make sense; sure, they retaliate, but why are they so thankful?

I can't say I'm entirely unfamiliar with the idea of facing someone who can be content with their own death. But I certainly didn't expect to find beings like that in a world that hasn't ended like my own… But now that I think about it, their world has ended. The world of these beings below my mountain has come to a stagnant halt for possibly hundreds of years, utterly devoid of any stimulation.

Will that eventually happen to me? I haven't really considered it, but I'm by no means a human being anymore. I can't age, I can't bleed, and I can't taste or even feel. Then again, I have died already. I shouldn't have expected that I would be the same person I was before all this, let alone be even considered a person at all.

I look around my chamber, and as of right now, I'm entirely alone. Basti and her cubs are down in the Haven, and they plan to spend the night while Jack is still out on his scouting trip for seeds and crops. My three zombie mutants are in a form of stasis in my storage, and Dread appears to be doing some meditation in his training room.

As for Oururu, he hasn't moved after clearing the room with the rats. I'm not entirely sure what he's up to, but what I do know is that I can at least sense where he is now. Whatever that threshold was seemed to be fading away from all around the territory of the being below my mountain.

While I'm not entirely sure what the rat was doing, what I am sure about is that I want it to do that for me since it should only help.

While I don't have any rat corpses in my storage, I do know where I can find some rats. Hopefully, Oururu doesn't mind, but I go ahead and pluck the giant rat from his stomach and set it out before my pedestal.

At this point, I'm glad I can't actually taste or smell since the thing before me is utterly rancid. However, I can't let myself get too distracted as I decided to commit some of my mana to this rat.

First things first, this rat is about the size of a mastiff; I mean this thing is genuinely a rodent of unusual size. I go ahead and condense this down to the size of a small muskrat, trimming away all the rot, pestilence, and decay from her flesh and just tossing it into my burn pile within my storage. Next, I worked on optimizing her as I had with Zasutir, using minute amounts of my mana to rebuild her from her whiskers to her tail.

The finished product appears to be a particularly large fancy rat that could be found in pet stores if it wasn't for her considerable size. She looked like she was sleeping, lying peacefully on the stone with almost silky smooth and glossy-looking chestnut brown fur.

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I'm about to name her, but hold off as I pour in enough mana to restore the original soul of this rat into her refurbished body. I watch as her body shudders before taking in a deep breath.

Rat POV

'I'm not dead…?' She slowly opens her eyes and looks around, her violet gaze glancing around before she notices the core before her. It was young, vibrant, and just radiated warmth. She was entranced, rising to her haunches as she stepped forward on her hind legs. Her hand reaches out as if to touch the young core before realizing how small she is.

Snapping out of her trance, she looks herself over, flexing her hands and rolling her shoulders. That's when she also noticed the band of green fur wrapping around her right upper arm; she went to touch the ring, running her fingers through her fur, which felt so much softer and more luxurious than she could ever remember.

Looking at herself over the next couple minutes, she noticed that everything about her was different, yet she could feel that this was also her original body. She was still herself.

'Are you done admiring yourself?' A voice speaks from within her head, making her squeak with surprise as she looks up at the core, recognizing it to be the source. He sounded amused, maybe even pleased.

"S-sorry about that, I… I wasn't sure if this was real or just a fantasy of death.." She murmured sheepishly, her feet pitter-pattering in place under the focus of the core before her.

'Oh! You can talk! Great, that will make this all soo much easier.' He responded, once more sounding rather pleased by the situation.

"Make… what easier?" She asked almost worriedly.

'Asking this next question.' He clarified for her as she looked up to the core curiously. 'Do you want to live?'

Her ear twitched in surprise as she rested on her haunches. Does she want to live? She's lived for so long, but can she really call that living? "Why do you ask?" She finally decided to say as she clasped her hands together anxiously.

The core seems to take its time to think of an answer, and she can't help but allow herself to sort of relax under the comforting green glow it gives off. After a time, he finally speaks up within her. 'I'm giving you a choice, mainly because you are the oldest living thing I've met so far. You were content with your death and for the end of the suffering of your brood. If you wish to return to your eternal rest, I'll send you back as painlessly as I can manage.'

She was taken aback; this core was so… Considerate. She can tell how much mana was used to make her this way, and she can feel all the little fine details of work that was put into her. Yet he was willing to throw away all of his efforts and mana based on whether or not she wanted to live? She looks at her hands again, flexing her ratty fingers and then looking back up to the comforting glow of the core before her. If it was someone like him, she could see herself truly living another day. "I… I want to live if you'll have me." She said softly as she brought her hands down to her sides and clenched them with her resolve.

She could feel the joy radiate from him as he spoke within her once more. 'Fantastic! I hope you'll be happy here with my team. I suppose I ought to grant you a name now, hm?' The joy she could feel was surprising, and she knew now that she had made the right choice to follow this core. 'Hmm… Alright, I'll name you Frisby; I hope you're able to live well and be happy in my service.'

With that dedication of a name, she felt a wave of mana wash over her and fill her from within.

Vitmori POV

There we go, her mana heart is ignited, and with just a bit more mana, I develop a ring around her heart while I'm at it. It's a good thing her body was so willing to react to my mana, though I ended up breaking one of the three rings to have enough after everything I did to build her up again.

I watch as Frisby shudders under the weight of my mana but then relaxes as one purple eye turns emerald green like my core.

It was at that point that Oururu had finally returned, and upon entering my chamber, I was finally able to appreciate just how much he's grown. 'My goodness, Oururu, you've become huge! If I thought you were big before, you've really become a big guy now. I'm going to have to make your burrow bigger again.

Oururu, despite his size, actually appeared bashful under all my attention, flicking his tongue as he lowered his head in thanks. He moves to sit in the stone sand when he notices Frisby just sitting there before my pedestal. He slithers closer, seemingly recognizing her presence, and flicks his tongue in her general direction.

'Ah yes, sorry to take food from your mouth, but I thought it would be wasteful for this rat to end up just as lunch. Meet Frisby, our newest recruit.' I say, metaphorically gesturing to her.

I expect her to say something, at least, but when I look at her, she's standing totally still, save for a twitch in her ear. 'Frisby? Hello, are you in there?' But it's no use. She had her hands clasped together and seemed to be admiring Oururu, apparently smitten if what I'm sensing is right.