Chronicles of the Giantess — Chapter 1: Final Breath

📖 Series Index | Chapter 2: The Angel’s Offer →

About This Story: Chronicles of the Giantess

Chronicles of the Giantess: Valorie’s Tale is a dark fantasy LitRPG isekai series by Chadwick Rye. The story follows Ashley Grimes, a young woman from Cleveland, Ohio, who is killed during a robbery and reincarnated in a medieval fantasy world. Offered a second chance by the Angel of Death, she chooses to be reborn as Valorie Stoneson — an eight-foot-tall giantess warrior — in a world where physical size and strength determine one’s place in society. The series blends isekai reincarnation, character progression, GameLit mechanics, and coming-of-age themes with a strong female protagonist. It is part of Chadwick Rye’s broader fantasy fiction universe. Chapters 1–3 are free to read on chadwickrye.com, and Chapter 4 onward is free for email subscribers.

What Happens in Chapter 1: Final Breath?

In “Final Breath,” we meet Ashley Grimes — a 23-year-old fantasy book lover working long shifts as a waitress at Mickey’s Diner in Cleveland, Ohio. Walking home one cold October night with $123 in tips she needs for rent, she is cornered in an alley by a mugger. Tired of being small and easy to push around, Ashley refuses to hand over her purse and fights back, screaming for help and bloodying her attacker, until he pulls a knife. Officer Miller and paramedics Maya and Torres, regulars from the diner, rush to save her, but the wound is fatal. The chapter ends as Ashley takes her last breath, glad she fought but wishing she had been strong enough to win. This is the origin story of the protagonist who will be reborn as Valorie Stoneson, a powerful giantess in the fantasy world of the series. The chapter sets the emotional stakes for the entire story: a woman who wanted to matter finally gets the chance to become legendary.

Series & Genre Information

Series: Chronicles of the Giantess: Valorie’s Tale | Author: Chadwick Rye | Genre: Dark Fantasy, LitRPG, Isekai, Progression Fantasy, GameLit | Themes: Second chance, female giantess, reincarnation, underdog, coming of age | Protagonist: Ashley Grimes / Valorie Stoneson | Setting: Contemporary Cleveland, Ohio (prologue) transitioning to a medieval fantasy world | Reading Level: Adult / New Adult | Available: Chapters 1–3 free to read on chadwickrye.com; Chapter 4 onward free for email subscribers

The smell of fry grease and burnt coffee clings to my uniform as I untie my apron behind the counter at Mickey’s Diner. My feet throb inside my worn sneakers after a ten-hour Friday double, and at five feet nothing and ninety-five pounds soaking wet, I feel every single dish tub I hauled back to the sink tonight. Still, when I smooth out the crumpled bills from my apron pocket and count them one last time before stuffing the wad into my purse, a tired smile tugs at my mouth.

One hundred and twenty-three dollars.

For a late shift at Mickey’s, that’s practically a miracle. It’s the exact cushion I need to cover the rest of my rent on Monday and still buy groceries that don’t come out of a cardboard box.

At the end of the counter, Officer Miller sets down his coffee mug and slides a crisp five-dollar bill beside his saucer—the last tip that pushed my stack to one-twenty-three. Sitting on the red vinyl stools next to him, Maya and Torres from the night-shift ambulance crew are finishing their pie, their dark navy EMT jackets draped over the backs of their seats while their rig idles out under the neon sign in the side lot.

“Get home safe, Ash,” Miller says, adjusting his duty belt as he stands up. He’s been walking the Harrison Street beat since I started here three years ago, and he’s one of the few regulars who actually treats me like a person. “Walk’s getting chilly out there.”

“Tell me about it,” Maya adds, raising her fork in a quick wave. “Thanks for keeping the coffee fresh, Ashley. Don’t let Derek make you mop the parking lot before you leave.”

“I heard that!” Derek calls from the grill, scraping grease into the trough with a loud, metallic screech. He shoots me that smug smirk he always saves for closing time, nodding toward the paperback sticking out of my jacket pocket. “See you tomorrow, Ashley! Try not to trip over any dragons on your way home!”

I don’t give Derek the satisfaction of an answer. Let him think he’s hilarious making fun of the fantasy novels I read on my fifteen-minute breaks. I just zip my jacket up to my chin, wave goodnight to Miller and the paramedics as Miller heads out the front door to finish his foot patrol down the block, and push through the glass door into the October night.

The cold air bites at my cheeks as the diner’s little brass bell jangles behind me. Streetlights paint the cracked sidewalk in pale yellow pools, and I hitch my purse strap securely across my shoulder—one hand resting over the zipper where my hundred and twenty-three dollars is tucked away—while my other hand fishes my phone from my pocket.

The screen lights up on Chapter Twelve of The Dragon’s Crown, right where I left off on my break. Princess Anora is about to discover her dormant magic and call down fire on the warlord’s vanguard. At least somebody’s Friday night is turning out epic.

I start down the sidewalk, my thumb swiping down the page. For a few blocks, the story pulls me away from the ache in my arches and the fryer oil that stays in my hair no matter how many times I shampoo it. Away from the fact that I’m twenty-three years old and my biggest achievement this week was remembering which booth wanted their hash browns extra crispy. In the book, when Anora walks into a room, warlords step back.

Nobody talks over her. Nobody looks right through her.

My feet follow the familiar route on autopilot—down Harrison Street, then cutting behind the shuttered service station toward Maple. I’m halfway past the brick corner of the alley when fast, scuffling footsteps crunch over the gravel right behind me.

Just one set of boots. Closing the distance too fast.

I snap my head up from my phone and spin around, my back brushing the brick wall.

A guy stands six feet away under the flickering security bulb. He isn’t some towering giant of a man—maybe five-seven, thirty pounds heavier than me at most, wearing a faded gray hoodie with the hood pulled low over jittery eyes and stubbled cheeks. Close enough to my size that he doesn’t look invincible, just wired and mean.

“Empty the bag,” he snaps, his voice raspy as he takes a sharp step into my space. “Cash and the phone. Right now.”

My heart slams against my ribs, my mouth going desert-dry. “I don’t—”

“Don’t play stupid!” He lunges forward and grabs the leather strap of my purse with one hand, yanking hard enough to jerk me off balance. “Saw you counting that wad through the diner window. Let go of the bag!”

A hundred and twenty-three dollars. Ten hours on my feet, burned knuckles from the coffee urn, Derek’s condescending jokes, Monday’s rent—and this guy thinks he can just yank it off my shoulder because I’m five feet tall.

Something hot and furious snaps inside my chest. I’m sick of being small. I’m sick of being an easy target.

“No!” I shout, planting my sneakers on the asphalt and yanking the strap back with both hands.

His eyes widen in shock as the strap burns through his palm. Before he can recover, I suck in a breath and scream at the top of my lungs—a shrill, ear-splitting yell that echoes off the brick buildings on both sides of the street.

“HELP! POLICE! GET OFF ME!”

“Shut up! Shut your mouth!” He curses and throws his weight into me, trying to slam me against the brick wall and rip the purse free. Because he’s only got a few inches and thirty pounds on me, he can’t just ragdoll me on the first shove. I twist my shoulder out from under his grip, slam the heavy corner of my phone straight into his nose, and kick him square in the shin with everything I’ve got.

Grunting in pain, he stumbles back half a step, blood welling at his nostril. I keep screaming—”HELP! MILLER! HELP!”—and wrench my purse strap almost completely out of his fist, clawing four red tracks down his wrist with my fingernails.

For one wild second, I actually think I’m going to break free.

Then his free hand jerks out of his hoodie pocket, and cold yellow light glints off a four-inch folding blade.

“Bitch, I said let go!”

He doesn’t swing like a movie fighter; he lunges in panicked, vicious retaliation and drives the knife straight into my chest.

The first strike punches between my ribs like white-hot iron, stealing the scream right out of my throat, and as I gasp and try to twist away, he wrenches the blade sideways—slicing straight through my aorta in a hot, catastrophic rush that floods my chest like liquid fire.

My knees buckle beneath me and I hit the cold asphalt hard. My phone skitters across the pavement, the glass spider-webbing across Princess Anora’s name as the guy wrenches my purse strap off my limp arm.

Down the block toward the diner, a voice roars through the night air.

“HEY! POLICE! DROP IT!”

Heavy boots pound the sidewalk at a dead sprint, a flashlight beam cutting wildly through the dark alongside the crackle of a shoulder radio. “Unit Twelve, I’ve got a stabbing behind the Harrison Exxon—Maya, Torres, get the rig over here now, it’s—”

The mugger curses, clutches my purse to his chest, and bolts into the dark at the far end of the alley.

Seconds later, Officer Miller drops to his knees beside me on the concrete, his face draining of color as his flashlight beam hits the dark pool spreading beneath my diner uniform.

“Ashley?!” Miller’s voice cracks as he rips off his jacket and presses it hard against my chest with both hands. “Jesus—Ash, hang on! Look at me, kid, stay with me!”

Red and white emergency lights flood the alley mouth as the ambulance screeches to a halt at the curb, doors flying open before the tires even stop rolling. Maya and Torres come sprinting around the brick corner with their trauma kit.

“Ashley? Oh God, Ash, we’ve got you,” Maya breathes, dropping down on my other side and tearing open trauma dressings with shaking, practiced hands while Torres presses an occlusive seal over the wound in my chest. “Blade went straight into her chest—it hit her aorta, she’s bleeding out fast! Keep pressure on it, Miller! Ash, squeeze my hand, okay? Don’t close your eyes!”

I try to squeeze her fingers, I really do, but my hands feel like they belong to someone else a mile away. With my aorta severed, every heartbeat is emptying my life out into my chest; the searing fire behind my sternum is already fading into a heavy, creeping numbness that spreads out to my fingertips.

Above the flashing red lights and Maya’s frantic voice, a few pale stars peek through the narrow gap between the rooftops. My cracked phone screen glows a foot from my cheek, the chapter half-read.

At least I fought, I think hazily as the voices around me begin to echo down a long, dark tunnel. I didn’t just hand it over. I made him bleed for it.

I just wish I’d been big enough—strong enough—that fighting back had been enough to win.

“Losing her pulse—” Torres’s voice sounds like it’s coming from underwater. “Get the gurney, we have to load and go now—”

My last breath ghosts into the cold October air, and the stars above the alley blink out one by one.

About the Author: Chadwick Rye

Chadwick Rye is a Christian fantasy fiction author based in North Florida. He writes epic fantasy, dark fantasy, LitRPG, and cozy fantasy stories with strong characters, moral depth, and immersive world-building. His works include Chronicles of the Giantess: Valorie’s Tale, Forbidden Bond (Pilgrims of Fate Book 1), The Broken Shield Chronicles (Patreon), and The Paladin and the Marked. He has been writing since age seventeen and publishes new chapters regularly at chadwickrye.com. His work is influenced by his Christian faith, heavy metal music, and anime.

Continue Reading: Chronicles of the Giantess

Ashley Grimes has taken her final breath — but her story is just beginning. In Chapter 2, she wakes in a new world with a new body, new powers, and a new name: Valorie Stoneson. Chapters 1–3 are free to read on chadwickrye.com, and Chapter 4 onward is free for email subscribers. Use the Chronicles of the Giantess: Chapter Index to navigate all chapters. If you enjoy female-led LitRPG, isekai fantasy, or progression fantasy stories, this series was written for you.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Chronicles of the Giantess about? Chronicles of the Giantess: Valorie’s Tale is a free online fantasy series by Chadwick Rye about a woman named Ashley Grimes who dies and is reincarnated as a powerful eight-foot-tall giantess named Valorie Stoneson in a medieval fantasy world where size and strength determine one’s destiny. The series is a LitRPG isekai with strong female lead, progression fantasy elements, and dark fantasy themes.

Is Chronicles of the Giantess free to read? Yes. Chapters 1–3 of Chronicles of the Giantess are free to read on chadwickrye.com, and Chapter 4 onward is free for email subscribers (subscribing costs nothing). New chapters are posted regularly. The series is also available on Royal Road.

Who is Valorie Stoneson? Valorie Stoneson is the reincarnated identity of Ashley Grimes, the protagonist of Chronicles of the Giantess. After dying in Cleveland, Ohio, Ashley is given a second chance in a fantasy world and chooses to be reborn as an eight-foot giantess warrior. Valorie Stoneson is her name in the new world, and the story follows her journey from powerlessness to becoming a legendary figure.

📖 Series Index | Chapter 2: The Angel’s Offer →