The shadows stormed into the castle, and Mike rushed in with them.

Inside the castle, a vast open space awaited him. In truth, there was not much there. There was a staircase with the inscription "1," and above it another staircase with the inscription "2." In the center of the room stood a large black throne.

Mike walked over and tried to sit down, but something blocked him.

"Sit down?"

"Yes."

"Please complete 1 and 2 to become the King of Shadows."

Mike immediately knew what he had to do, even though he had no idea what awaited him. He walked to the staircase marked with the number one and climbed upward.

After what felt like half an eternity, Mike began to doubt that it led anywhere at all. It was only going up. But about five minutes later, light finally appeared. He emerged into a tower.

It was narrow. One mistake and Mike would certainly fall to his death. He pressed himself against the wall and noticed a black sphere floating and glowing nearby.

"Absorb shadow essence?"

"Yes."

"The mark is forming."

Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through Mike's right hand. He looked at it and noticed a sword symbol being carved into his skin. It stopped shortly before completion and did not fully form the blade.

Mike then received a system message.

"You have become half shadow."

"Half shadow?" Mike muttered.

"New ability acquired. Shadow Attack. If an enemy pierces you in any battle, you are completely invulnerable to the first attack."

It was an incredibly useful ability. From now on, Mike would always be invulnerable to the first strike. Still, he knew he had to go back down the endless stairs.

Everything up here was collected, so he made his way downward. Time seemed to pass faster, or maybe it was just him. It did not feel nearly as long as before. After about two minutes, he was already back at the bottom.

Without hesitation, Mike walked toward the other staircase marked with the number two. He looked at it one last time and began climbing.

Once again, it felt like half an eternity, but eventually he reached the second tower. He could not even see the ground below and slammed into the wall again, gripping it tightly. Just like before, a shadow sphere floated in front of him.

"Absorb shadow essence?"

"Yes."

"You have the chance to become a complete shadow. Go to the throne."

Mike immediately rushed back down the stairs. As he moved through the corridor, he thought to himself.

"Become a shadow. I do not know. Maybe I would end up like the shadows in the desert."

Still, the idea of becoming a shadow somehow sounded tempting to Mike.

When he finally reached the bottom, the throne was glowing gold. Mike walked toward it and tried to sit down. This time, nothing blocked him except a message in his vision.

"Become a shadow?"

Mike wanted to close it, but he could not. Now he had to decide.

He took a deep breath and selected "Yes."

Mike's heart raced, and then another message appeared.

"Admin abilities have prevented admin Mike from becoming an eternal shadow."

"You have become the King of Shadows."

It was too much for Mike. He thought for a few seconds and remained seated.

He had truly chosen the wrong option.

The admin powers had saved him.

As he was thinking, a blade formed on his hand. Beneath the blade, words appeared. They were shaky and slightly old fashioned, almost like medieval writing. It read "Shadow."

He was the king now, and with that, the castle belonged to him. At least, that was what Mike assumed. To be honest, it had been easy, at least physically. Mentally, however, it was a challenge because of all the decisions. Mike thought about it and realized that this was exactly the goal.

Despite the wrong decision, Mike felt satisfied. He stood up.

In front of him, a white portal formed. As Mike rose to his feet, several system messages flooded his vision.

"King of Shadows introduction. You can return here at any time and rest. All shadows obey you. The more shadows you command, the stronger you become. Collect all shadows along your path."

With those words, Mike was pulled into the portal.

He knew he was now stronger and faster than everyone else. The only thing that interested him at that moment was whether he could take on that cloud.

Mike opened his eyes. Ice was lying asleep next to him. They were in the exact same place in Sky City. The burning village and the dragon returned to Mike's memory. Strangely enough, he could remember the cloud clearly, but not Ice's injury.

Perfect timing to return from the castle, Mike thought.

In front of him appeared Hero and Selin. Both of them looked happy. Mike still found it strange how real Selin felt, even though she was one hundred percent not a real human. But for now, that did not matter.

"Hey," Mike said.

Selin waved at him. Hero, on the other hand, jumped up and looked out of breath.

"Mike, Mike, Mike, look how cool this is!"

Hero held a small piece of cloud in his hand and lifted it upward. It shot about a thousand meters into the air, and Hero now held a long, large staff in his hands.

"W-what is that?" Mike asked.

Hero grinned and laughed cheerfully. "This is a legendary item. It can transform into anything you imagine."

Hero turned it into a smaller staff and threw it toward Mike. Suddenly, a black flash crossed everyone's vision, and the staff was parried midair.

Hero flinched. "W-what was that? That was weird."

Mike noticed that his new abilities had activated, but he decided not to say anything. "I parried it and well maybe something reflected," he said.

Hero looked at Mike strangely, but his grin did not fade.

Mike quickly changed the subject. "Alright, then let us craft something for Ice. A bed or something like that?"

The group discussed it and searched for a suitable way to move her. In the end, they chose a cage made of clouds that floated perfectly.

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