There is one word for Alikus's life: Tragedy.

Ripped away from family, and now ripped apart from friends.

She was still dazed and disoriented.

She opened her eyes despite dreading it.

She was in a white room.

She stood up shakily, glancing around, but no one was in sight.

A door slid open.

A goose came in.

"What is this place? Tell me." Alikus ordered, stepping over to him.

"Please refrain from giving orders around here- oh, wait, you're the one." The goose glanced down at her.

Alikus stared at him. "What is this place."

"The extraction chamber. We collect those with magic and those with no Ecneitnes. Normally, you'd be with a lot of other birds, but you're... Special." He answered.

"Because I'm going to kill the King?" Alikus queried.

"Well, as you likely know, there are two candidates for that." He replied.

"Why am I here?" Alikus asked.

"You see, the Kingdom used to be much larger than this. There's a myth that Ecneitnes doesn't reach any farther than the island. No, it reaches across the planet that the Nightseekers left behind." He answered. "We used to have a way to contact them using a specific power found in the souls of life forms. We had a whole network, but it lost power and now we don't even know if the extended Kingdom is alive."

"I see. And you are here to harvest mine?" Alikus asked. She was frightened, but she needed to get all the information she could.

"We are going to try. But you have something... Different." The goose answered.

"What's different about me?" Alikus asked.

"I can't tell you yet, but we're going to run some tests. Here, put this on your wing." The goose replied, giving her a metal bracelet.

"You wish." Alikus answered, leaping onto the goose and scratching at it with her talons.

The goose grabbed the bracelet, sliding it on her wing and she fell to the ground with a thump.

She awoke. Had she been knocked out? What even happened?

The goose was standing over her, putting the bracelet in a little bag.

"The bracelet simply causes the brain to lose consciousness. It works much better. Continuing on, we don't even know if the rest of the Kingdom is alive or not." The goose informed her.

Alikus stood up, glaring at him.

"After the shadows ravaged us, they destroyed everything. Every bird, every animal, except the ones protected in the barrier. But you and your group survived. How?" The goose asked.

"It wasn't me. I'm not going to tell you. I don't know where Serendipity is, but I won't tell you." Alikus answered.

"So it was Serendipity! I know his name, Alikus. It makes sense. And it explains the prophecy I received recently." The goose replied.

"Excuse me. Someone said my powers were stolen. Is that true?" Alikus asked.

"Somewhat. It was merely sealed away. The prophecy I received is classified information and I can't tell you. But you and the little crow may just be our key to access the rest of the Kingdom." The goose replied. "Serendipity with his fire powers, and you, Alikus..."

Alikus lifted her head, awaiting the answer.

"You are a demon."