The iridescent strands plunged into the adamantine dust pile. Within seconds, the pile’s sheen vanished.

I expected the familiar tug of dimensional travel, a quick trip to the upper levels. Instead, I felt an odd aura forming around me, and time seemed to… slow. A deafening screech, like nails on a chalkboard amplified a thousand times, pierced our eardrums.

“Run!” I yelled, grabbing Bailey’s arm. But it was too late. The massive slug, now looking less like a slug and more like a very angry, very large, very slimy snake, was joined by a horde of smaller versions. We were officially surrounded.

Many of the surrounding slugs began to glow with an eerie, internal light, then abruptly turned a rather unappetizing shade of brown and dropped lifelessly to the cavern floor, followed by a sudden, powerful gust of wind. The gust intensified into a swirling whirlwind that whipped around us.

"What do we do now...?" Bailey’s voice trembled slightly as he nervously waved his gun around, looking for a target amidst the chaos. "Are we supposed to...shoot the wind? 'Cause I don't reckon this gun can do that." Another batch of slugs glowed, then met the same fate as their brethren.

The aura around me started to warm. I instantly grabbed Bailey and shoved him out of the wind’s circle. The moment he was clear, flames erupted from thin air, engulfing me in a fiery tornado.

The aura around me seemed to concentrate around my still-glowing, iridescent hair. My hair felt… strange. Like it had become a part of me, a new, very sensitive, very numerous limb. Senses traveled along the strands, as if they had sprouted their own nervous system.

That’s new… I gotta do something fast! Or Bailey’s toast! Literally! And I’d rather not explain to anyone that my friend was turned into croutons by magical fire.

I thought back to the time my hair transformed into the sea serpent. As I did, as if receiving a direct command from my brain, the iridescent strands twisted and wrapped around my entire body for a split second before the familiar, scaled texture of the serpentine form took over.

My vision snaps into the sea serpent’s body, the cavern floor suddenly a long way down. Fragments of the serpent’s reawakened memories swirl within me. Wrestling control of this colossal form, I prepare to… well, I haven’t quite figured that part out yet. But it definitely involves getting out of this fiery inferno.

This body isn’t exactly designed for land travel, but I manage a swift tail swipe, shattering the fire tornado’s hold. Bailey stares at my iridescent form, jaw hanging open—again.

He’ll get used to it… eventually.

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With another deafening screech, thousands of the small slugs light up like a mobile Christmas display. I scoop up Bailey in my mouth—"swallowed" him, technically—and hold him gently inside, before lumbering deeper into the cavern as fast as this oversized snake can manage.

A massive lightning bolt instantly chases after us, but I press on, unfazed. The gargantuan slug, however, moves with shocking speed, once more blocking our path.

I ram my head into it, slamming it against the cavern wall. The impact shakes the entire cavern. The slug squishes, then rebounds, sending me staggering. It shrieks again, its voice echoing through the tunnels.

I swing my tail, smashing it against the rocks above the slug. Jagged shards rain down, piercing the creature. Many of the smaller slugs are crushed in the rockfall.

Swarms of the remaining slugs swarm over the larger one, glowing and pulsing, channeling various elemental attacks into the broken rocks, shattering them further. They then begin sealing the large slug’s wounds, rapidly healing it.

Talk about a dedicated medical team.

I turn and bolt deeper into the cavern before it can fully recover. A large underground river appears before us, flowing into a partially submerged tunnel.

Looks like Lady Luck’s finally decided to join the party!

Without hesitation, I plunge into the water. The slug pursues us to the riverbank, screeching in frustration, before halting at the water’s edge. In a final, desperate attempt, another massive bolt of lightning streaks after us. It fries many of the smaller creatures in the water. Fortunately, we emerge unscathed.

I swim with surprising ease, keeping my head—and Bailey within—above the surface as much as possible. I don’t stop until we reach solid ground on the other side.

With the echoes of the slug's screech still ringing in our ears, I scramble onto the shore. The moment we’re both on dry land, my sea serpent form dissolves, and my hair returns to its usual long, silver strands.

Bailey and I collapse onto the ground, side by side, Bailey catching his breath. We exchange a look, and a moment later, laughter erupts from both of us, echoing through the cavern.

"By the stars, that was incredible! I didn't think we'd make it through!" Bailey whooped, his face alight. "Never had such a wild day in all my life! That was fantastic!"

“Yeah, for a second there, I thought you were a goner,” I reply, grinning. “Thankfully, everything worked out!”

Bailey immediately peppers me with questions. "What in the world was that?! Did you always know you could do that?! What was that thing?!..."

“All I can tell you is that it was a massive stroke of luck. I have no idea how this… hair of mine works. Trust me, if I knew, I’d tell you,” I assure him.

"You're tellin' me you don't know?!" Bailey sits up, incredulous. “After all that carryin' on, you don't even know how to control it?!"

"Nope!" I said, laughing.

"Well, I'll be…" Bailey chuckles, then flops back down, still grinning.