• I awakened, surprised to see my amulet still glowing. I watched as the sun slowly crept over the vast mountains outlining the horizon. The sky was painted with an aurora of warm red and yellows. It seemed as if the solar energy was reacting to the pendant. I ignored it and tried to push the vision out of my mind. It took me hours until I finally realized I was going in circles. It was like a maze. My amulet was still glowing, but had turned yellow for a split. I looked back at the engraving. Now I could make out the letter “s”. I kept walking around, wondering if I would ever see Julia again. Each step seemed longer and harder than the previous one. My arms were getting wider, softer, and shorter. Is this all a mirage? It didn’t take long for me to realize that I was no longer walking. I was now hovering! My arms had turned into wings. I was half-bird! I started flying across the building, going triple the speed I was going before. An idea struck my head. I found the exit and flew out, onto the clear, glass roof. Perfect! I now had a bird’s-eye-view. I could see Julia tied up in ropes, guarded by a man in dark armor. No time to fly back in and navigate my way through the labyrinth. I dive bombed right in. The sharp edges of the glass tore against my face as blood trickled down onto the man. Strange. It was like they couldn’t even see me. I blew a gust of wind at him. He didn’t even notice. I was about to free Julia with the shards of glass, but a pool of darkness formed below me. Tentacles of darkness reach for me and pulled me in. I used all of my energy to break free. I started to go berserk, kicking and scratching at them. I knew it was useless since they weren’t solid matter. I felt a deep power within me, that felt like it was about to erupt. Light shined out of my eyes and mouth. I started to screech a terrible, ear-shattering, scream that sounded like it came out of a hawk. Now I was at chin-level at the floor, still being pulled in. Wind rushed in front of me, forming some kind of, kind of, orb that charged into me at such a high speed that the air was knocked out of me for a second. I felt much more powerful than I have ever felt. I stopped being pulled in, but now only my nose and up was sticking out of the ground. I was stuck with no way out. Trapped. I struggled with all my might. Nothing happened. What would become of me?