In the far future, humanity has spread out across the stars, and shares a symbiotic relationship with the Thread also known as the Symbiote, which grants them strength, longevity, and other abilities that make life on the colonized worlds possible.

On one terraformed planet, Rylan Yeager, a young high-school student living in the city-state of Artellica, saves the life of another, but suffers injuries that lead to his Symbiote "Awakening" and assuming the life of its host.

Returning to school as an Awakened, the Symbiote faces discrimination and isolation from much of the student body who fear him and others like him. As he slowly comes to terms with his new existence, the Awakened Symbiote also learns of the D to D Battle Royale competition, and the opportunities it presents to his kind.

As time goes by, the Symbiote discovers more about his host, Rylan, and through his interaction with the people and students who knew the teenager before the awakening, he learns that Rylan's accident may not have been an accident, but a suicide.

The novel that eventually became the Pride X ReVamp series, and influenced "Maiden of the Line" and "Andraste", is presented here in its original form. This is where it all began.