Jack's eyes opened to a canvas.
Not the cavern ceiling with its pulsing Aethrium crystals.
The worn fabric of a tent stretched overhead, swaying slightly in a breeze he could hear but not feel.
His body felt wrong. Not injured exactly, but hollow.
Like he'd been emptied out and only partially refilled. Every muscle ached with a deep exhaustion.
'What... what happened?' Jack thought, his mind struggling to piece together fragmented memories. The titan. That voice in his head. The crushing pressure that had felt like his skull was being slowly compressed. Then... nothing. Just darkness.
He tried to sit up and immediately regretted it. Pain lanced through his head, sharp and sudden, like someone had driven an ice pick through his temple. He gasped, one hand flying to his forehead.
