Cade stumbled through dry grass, legs screaming with every step. An hour ago, he had been sitting on his couch. Now the sun burned overhead, close enough to cook the air in his lungs.
Heat crushed down on his shoulders. Dust stuck to his tongue. The stink of manure rode the wind. Sweat poured into his eyes and blurred the horizon.
He tripped and caught himself. His head throbbed. Pressure built behind his eyes, tight and unrelenting, like something was trying to split his skull from the inside.
A blue glow flashed in front of him.
It didn't fade.
A translucent screen floated in the air, steady no matter how he moved.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
Host: Cade
Status: Transmigrated
Inheritance: The Founding Titan (Attack Variant)
Current Task: Subjugate the Dothraki. Claim the Khaleesi.
"Founding Titan?" Cade croaked. His throat felt flayed raw. "This is bullshit."
He lifted his hand.
A faint scar glowed in the center of his palm. Heat pulsed under the skin. It hadn't been there before.
The sun beat down harder. Cade forced his legs to keep moving.
Pain hit without warning.
Thwack.
Something punched through his shoulder. His body spun. Air ripped out of his lungs.
He screamed and crashed to the ground.
An arrow jutted from his chest. The shaft trembled. The head had torn straight through his shoulder blade.
Blood flooded his mouth. The dirt burned his cheek.
I'm dying.
Hooves thundered close. The ground shook.
Cade rolled onto his back.
Two riders circled him.
Bronze skin. Bare chests. Painted leather. Long black braids swung against their backs. They watched him the way hunters watched a wounded animal.
One of them laughed and drew another arrow.
"Please," Cade rasped. His hand slipped across his chest. His fingers brushed the glowing scar.
The rider sneered and said something Cade didn't understand. He pulled the bowstring back until it touched his cheek.
The arrow aimed at Cade's throat.
Cade stopped thinking.
Something surged up from deep inside his skull. Hot. Violent. Old.
No.
The bowstring snapped loose.
Cade slammed his bleeding hand into his mouth and bit down.
CRACK.
Steam blasted from his lips.
His teeth crushed bone. Pain flared, then vanished under a force that swallowed everything.
The ground collapsed.
Pressure tore outward from his body. Dust vanished. Heat vanished. Steam roared skyward.
Cade screamed.
The sound deepened. Stretched. Turned into a bellow that shook the plains.
His body ripped apart.
Bones surged outward. Muscle wrapped them in thick slabs. Skin stretched tight, pale and raw, streaked with steam. His spine lengthened. His arms dragged trenches through the dirt as they grew, hands swelling into massive fists.
He rose.
The riders froze.
Their horses screamed and reared. One rider fell. A massive heel crushed down. Man and horse vanished into blood and mud.
The second rider tried to turn.
A giant hand closed around him.
Bones snapped. The scream never finished.
Cade opened his fingers. What remained hit the ground.
Silence followed.
Steam poured off Cade's body in heavy waves. His chest heaved. Each breath thundered.
He looked down.
The plains stretched far below him. Flat.
The bodies at his feet didn't look real.
Inside the giant form, Cade shook.
That was me.
The power stayed. The rage drained out, leaving a hollow ache.
Pain rushed back in.
His shoulder burned. His head pounded. Darkness crept at the edges of his vision.
I almost died.
This wasn't a dream.
The blood was real.
So was the power.
Cade forced his breathing to slow.
In.
Out.
Steam thinned.
Whatever sent him here hadn't cared if he was ready.
He clenched his fists once. Then let them relax.
"Okay," he said. His voice rolled across the plains. "I get it."
He stood still as steam peeled off his skin.
The plains felt open. Too open.
If two riders had found him, more would come.
Cade turned and walked.
Each step shook the ground. Grass flattened. Stones cracked. The sound rolled like distant thunder. He scanned the horizon.
Inside the Titan, he focused on breathing.
One step.
One breath.
Stay alive.
So he walked, a giant moving through a world that no longer fit him.
…
His steps slowed.
Strength drained away. Each step took more effort. His chest burned. His vision blurred. Steam thinned with every breath.
Something was wrong.
Cade tried to move his arms.
Nothing happened.
Thoughts sank. Sound warped. The plains dimmed.
I didn't heal everything.
The arrow wound pulsed. His heart stuttered.
He forced another step.
The Titan didn't move.
Its knees buckled.
The massive body slammed into the earth. The impact shook the plains. Dust erupted. Steam surged once, then faded to a weak hiss.
Inside the nape, Cade felt nothing.
Darkness took him.
Hours later, riders approached.
They stayed wide. Bows drawn. Horses uneasy.
The Titan lay still, half-buried in dirt and crushed grass. No steam rose. No breath moved its chest.
To the Dothraki, it looked like a dead god.