Ice opened her eyes. She was lying on a soft piece of cloud instead of normal ground. Well, in Sky City there was one good thing. You could lie down anywhere and it was always soft.

Ice was doing fairly well, considering the situation. Actually, she was doing very well. Unfortunately, her wound had not fully closed. It was bleeding a little, but luckily her HP was no longer dropping.

Mike, Hero, and Selin stood in front of her, waiting for their friend to wake up.

Mike began speaking, going through the plan again to make sure everything was clear. "Alright, so we go to this cave, then we have to cross that short water path, and then there is the cave section where that poisonous green cloud is. Your creator?"

Selin nodded and answered quickly and briefly. "Yes."

She was still deeply affected because of her village. No one had survived. She was the only one left of her race.

Hero spoke with determination. "We will take revenge on the cloud. Do not worry."

While the three were talking, no one noticed that Ice slowly opened her eyes. She spoke with a trembling voice. "Hello?"

Everyone fell silent and looked at her.

"Ice!" all three said at the same time.

Mike jumped toward her. "You are okay. You healed yourself, but the wound is regenerating slowly."

In fact, if Mike had taken the sword hit instead of Ice, it would not have been this bad. It had been a critical hit, and the sword had an enchantment. When attacking from behind, it dealt double damage. Mike would have noticed that instantly.

Why did it have to hit Ice? Mike thought.

She looked like she had no strength left at all. Truly none. She lowered her head, closed her eyes, and spoke in short sentences. "Go without me."

She stopped. Nothing more came. She could not continue. She had no strength left. She could not come with them.

But somehow, she had to make it. She was the healer of the group. They needed her.

"Ice, you have to make it. Rest for now and let yourself regenerate, okay?" Hero asked.

"Y yes," she managed to say, then fell silent again.

Did she really have so little energy that she could barely speak? That sword strike must have affected her badly.

Mike had actually received the goblin's sword as a drop. He checked the description and at first found nothing new. Then suddenly he noticed new information at the bottom that he must have overlooked.

"Deals three times the damage in the morning."

It had been morning when Ice was attacked. That meant the sword had dealt five times the damage in total. It was a miracle she had not instantly shattered into pieces.

Mike exhaled and decided not to tell anyone about this horror.

Suddenly Selin spoke, unexpectedly. "Hero is right. We need her. And I know how we can transport her. It should be in my cellar. It should not have burned down. Come, Hero. We are going."

Selin looked at Mike. "You stay with her."

Mike nodded and sat down beside Ice.

Selin and Hero moved forward through the village. Hero looked at the cloud like houses. Well, what was left of them.

At one house, Selin stopped Hero from going further. "Here."

Hero looked at the completely burned cloud house. It was almost entirely gone. Only a few cloud stumps remained. But beneath them, a dark outline could be seen.

"There. The door. Come," Selin said, flying a short distance with her wings.

Hero ran after her. When he arrived, she had already broken open the cellar door leading downward. This was the first place not made of clouds. It was a cellar with stone walls.

"This cellar was a gift from the village to me. It was something special, because it is the only thing in the village not made of our beloved clouds," Selin explained.

Hero only nodded. He was curious what Selin would take out.

Inside a large chest, the only light coming from two torches at the entrance, she pulled out a small cloud.

"This is the legendary item Cloudless. Take it."

Hero put it into his inventory and immediately opened the description.

"Fragment of the Creator. Takes any form."

"Any form? Really?" Hero asked.

Selin nodded. "Yes. Try it."

Hero equipped the small cloud. It fit into one hand. He held it slightly upward and closed his eyes. Suddenly, the cloud glowed bright white and took the desired shape. A grip formed, then a blade.

"It is really true," Hero said, swinging the sword a little before turning it back into its original form. He handed it back to Selin.

"Yes. With this, we can make a flying bed or something like that," Selin said as she climbed back up the ladder they had come down from.

They returned with the item to Ice and Mike. It was quieter there. No one spoke, or wanted to speak, or could speak.

Ice had no energy. Mike did not know what to say. He only felt strangely sorry, even though it was not his fault. Still, headaches had been bothering him for a few minutes.

Suddenly, a system window shot into his vision.

"ERROR!!! Admin powers cannot be taken away!!"

"Huh? Taken away? What?" Mike did not understand what was happening.

More and more of these windows appeared.

"ERROR!!"

They flooded his vision. He jumped up and felt something pulling him. Something wanted him.

His vision cleared. When his eyes were free again, he realized he was somewhere else.

A familiar place.

In front of him stood the massive shadow castle.

It stood there like it had back then, massive, frightening, and powerful. This time, Mike was certain that no matter what was inside, he was ready.

He spoke loudly. "This time, Shadow Land, you made a mistake. I have become stronger and faster, and I have gained combat experience. So show me what you can do."

As if on command, a shadow shot into Mike's vision and rushed toward him. It tried to pierce him, just like it had at the very beginning. But this time, Mike caught the blade with his bare hand. With raw strength, he held the blade firmly. The shadow vanished instantly and did not show itself again.

It seemed to be some kind of defensive mechanism of the castle.

Now only a bridge separated the path into the castle.

Mike looked across the bridge and examined the entrance. It was a gate, the walls black with a faint purple glow. He looked away and then behind him.

The shadows that had suffered endlessly were all staring at him. One by one, they went down on their knees. They submitted.

Mike suddenly received a permanent buff.

"Shadow Master. They have finally completely submitted."

"Shadows available for summoning: 300 out of 450."

"They submit and I can summon shadows. I will try it out," Mike said quietly to himself.

He saw that he had gained a new ability.

"Summon shadows?"

"How many?"

"25."

A black glow descended from above, and suddenly around twenty five shadow creatures formed and stood in front of Mike. They whispered in trembling and vengeful voices.

"What should we do?"

An echo spread through the area.

Mike thought for a moment. "Come. Fight with me in the castle."

The shadows all stood up and began crossing the bridge, step by step. The old wood creaked beneath them, but they continued forward. After about three minutes, they reached the other side.

Now they waited only for Mike.

He took a step onto the bridge.

At last, he was about to enter the castle.

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