In the claustrophobic depths of Salem’s oldest cemetery, —a man whose soul was as hollow as the graves he robbed—found himself caught between the crushing weight of debt and the literal weight of the earth.

: A colossal, twitching nightmare of fur and hunger that rules the dark.

As the light of his lantern flickers and the scratching sounds grow into a deafening roar, Masson learns the ultimate lesson of the grave: some things are buried for a reason, and the earth always claims its due.

Masson was a scavenger of the dead. While others saw hallowed ground, he saw a marketplace. But the rats in Salem were growing larger, bolder, and more organized. They weren't just eating the remains; they were claiming them.

: Masson realizes too late that in the kingdom of the rats, a man isn't a king or a thief—he is simply a larger serving of meat.

: A network of tunnels carved not by water, but by teeth.

The story follows Masson's descent into a labyrinthine nightmare when he hears of a wealthy merchant buried with priceless treasures. Driven by desperation and a loathing for the "vermin" competing for his prizes, he digs deep, only to tumble into a hidden underworld. Beneath the soil lies a grotesque ecosystem: