Flirting with death

The encyclopedia of the magical

As I separated with the others to enter my hotel room, I quickly closed the door and locked it. 

I quickly showered, and then took the dusty book that Milo gave me earlier out of my bag. I coughed as I wiped the dust off the cover. 

The encyclopedia of the magical. Huh. I opened the first page, and I felt a weird sensation travel around my body. 

I feel something pulling me. I tried to resist the force, but I gave up eventually, letting go of the book and letting the force guide me. 

I soon found myself in a white room. Everything around me was white. I looked around and saw a glass door which was shiny. I slowly walked towards it, confused to what was happening. 

I saw a sign next to the door which said, "Welcome to the encyclopedia of the magical" I stared at the sign, unable to comprehend what was happening. 

Wait... What? 

In a daze, I walked over to the door, and put my hand on the steel handle. I slowly pushed open the door. 

A world of magic and wonder was waiting for me on the other side. 

There were creatures of every kind, and mystical gods and goddesses were minding their own business. 

This. This. FANTASTIC!

I squealed, attracting a few curious glances. 

I heard galloping sounds heading my way. I looked to see a centaur which was heading towards me, waving. 

"Welcome to the encyclopedia of the magical!" His voice boomed. "You're..." 

"I'm Valentina Khana," I said, looking at him. 

"Oh! Milo talked about you! I'm Odyssey," He said, smiling at me. "You know Milo?" 

"Well, he visits from time to time," He said. "So... Everything in here is real?" 

"Everything was real. We're now just fragments of what we used to be. We're stuck here."

"Oh..." I muttered. 

"Anyways..." He said, quickly putting on a smile. "Let's get started!!"

He dragged me away quickly, introducing me to many different magical creatures. 

I looked around in wonder at the various creatures and people which only existed in myths. I even befriended some of them. 

"So... Anything you wanna know in particular? I tried showing you everything, but it's barely anything compared to everything that exists within this realm," He said after we returned to the glass door. 

"Well... What about Hadrian Grim?" I asked. His face immediately hardened. "We don't talk about Hadrian Grim."

"Do you know him?" I asked, wanting to know more. He sighed. 

"Let's go," He quickly said, turning away from me and leading me out.

"Wait-" I was about to say more, but I quickly had that dizzy sensation that I was falling, before my feet landed on the floor. I looked around and I realized that I was back in my hotel room.