The earth-shaking deliberation of a four-million-ton titan begins not with sudden violence, but with a deep, earth-shaking deep ring that rattles the very marrow of the world.
Astride the black glass brow of the Earth-Core Magma Giant beast, Lin Xiao felt the titan’s huge musculature begin to engage. For three hundred years, this ancient sovereign of the mantle had remained wedged within the narrow throat of the underground canyon, its stony joints hardened by immobility and its molten blood curdled by demonic frost.
Now, with the cursed bone-stake devoured and the blistering fever cooled to a gentle warmth, the great beast was ready to move.
The Giant beast let out a low, ringing rumble of assent that sounded like two land-wide plates grinding in polite agreement. Its massive amber pupils, each the size of a village pavilion, shifted slightly to regard the tiny blue-and-amber slime resting between its brow-horns. The gaze was entirely devoid of malice, filled instead with an ancient, heavy, slow intelligence that had watched mountain ranges rise and crumble into dust.
All right, big fellow, Lin Xiao communicated through the warm channels of their hydro-soul bond. Take it nice and easy. No rush, no sudden jerks. Just slide over into that spacious magma nook to your left. There’s plenty of deep, warm dark rock over there, and you won’t have a draft blowing on your neck. Think of it as moving from the hallway into a private master bedroom.
