(Zaikel summoned!)

A mighty and enormous creature appeared behind Mike. It was Zaikel. He did not speak and did not move. He only stared at the Cloud of Joy with absolute focus.

No one spoke. Everyone concentrated. Ice and Hero fought against the smaller clouds, while Mike and Zaikel faced the Cloud of Joy.

The Cloud of Joy smiled faintly, but the grin slowly faded.

Then the dragon attacked. Zaikel swung his claw forward. The air grew heavy. The claw cut through the air, aimed straight at the Cloud of Joy. It narrowly missed, because the cloud jumped up quickly and swung its fist downward in midair, trying to destroy the claw.

Mike reacted instantly. He leapt toward the Cloud of Joy, his sword held in front of his face. The cloud's fist crashed into Mike's sword. For a brief moment Mike could not believe what he was seeing. Then he saw shards.

The sword broke.

The shadow around the blade dissolved. Shards scattered across the ground. The once beautiful golden hilt shattered and fell apart as it hit the floor.

The cloud's fist smashed through the fragments and struck Mike directly in the face. But instead of falling, Mike only spat blood. He looked the Cloud of Joy straight in the eyes, then down at the fragments of his beloved sword.

His footing slipped. Mike fell onto his back.

Zaikel reacted immediately. Once again he tore his claw forward. This time he hit. The Cloud of Joy was dragged with force and slammed hard into the ground.

Zaikel surged forward, beating his massive wings. Suddenly, shadowy vines burst from his back. They pierced straight through the Cloud of Joy and held it in place.

Mike forced himself up and rushed in. He struck again and again at the Cloud of Joy. His blows slammed into the cloud's body. More shadows joined in, attacking from behind.

Then a violent shockwave tore through the city.

This was bad.

A crack formed in the air bubble above them. If it shattered, the entire ocean would crash into the city. The crack widened slightly, then was pulled back and stopped.

They were lucky. It was extremely unstable, but it did not collapse.

The Cloud of Joy tore itself free and grabbed Mike with one hand. It seized him and hurled him away.

Mike crashed through buildings. Houses shattered in his path. Those that were already unstable collapsed instantly.

After several meters, Mike finally stopped. He looked ahead at the destroyed path he had carved through the city. He shook his head and dropped to his knees.

"That was too much."

He did not lose consciousness. He simply could not move. But he had an idea.

He summoned more shadows to support Zaikel in the fight.

Zaikel flew around, swinging his tendrils wildly. The two of them were in the air, colliding with each other repeatedly. The cloud lunged directly at the dragon, its shadowy tendrils slicing through the air and slamming into the cloud. They tore it downward and threw it to the ground. The cloud cracked open slightly but quickly regenerated.

Then it shot back up into the air toward the dragon, striking him multiple times. Severely injured, the dragon crashed to the ground. Just as the cloud was about to finish the dragon off, about 150 shadows shot toward it from behind. They tore it to the ground and continued striking it. Wounded, the cloud unleashed another massive shockwave around itself. The tear in the air bubble above them nearly spanned the entire barrier; the water pressing down was heavy, and it was clear that any second it could collapse.

Mike stood up, staggering slightly. He knew he had to run if he reached Hero, he would be safe. Then everyone heard a loud crack. It happened the water from above rushed in. Ice trembled on her legs from exhaustion, while Hero quickly deployed the bubble, enveloping both him and Ice. Mike, still outside, had no choice but to jump. With his last bit of energy, he leapt forward and landed perfectly inside the bubble, hitting the floor. The water enveloped them, washing them slightly downstream.

Looking outside, they saw the entire city submerged underwater. Zaikel was now a shadow, barely breathing, but it quickly became clear that he needed help. Mike took a deep breath and asked Hero for his sword. Hero handed it to him, and Mike leapt back out. He held his breath and saw how Zaikel had pierced the cloud with his shadowy tendrils. The cloud was about to break free when Mike swung from behind, driving his blade deep into the cloud's head.

The sword was lodged deep inside the head of the Cloud of Joy. Mike pulled it out and thrust it back in with even more power, slicing all the way through. With that, the head of the Cloud of Joy flew off. Its body immediately faded into a thousand white pixels. Mike received no reward, as he had already obtained everything in Sky City.

Mike looked toward Zaikel. He seemed to be happy and closed his eyes. In that moment, Zaikel vanished, exploding into a thousand black pixels. Mike still had a little air left, so he stayed underwater and watched Zaikel disappear. A system message flashed across Mike's vision: (Zaikel has found peace; he thanks you from the bottom of his heart!) Mike grinned; he had finally repaid an old friend.

Mike looked for Ice and Hero. He leapt forward and landed inside the air bubble with Hero and Ice. Both of them smiled at him immediately. "Well done, finally!" Mike smiled back. "Yes, finally!" Hero asked, "Where to now?" Mike spoke, and the joy was clearly audible in his voice: "Straight ahead just straight ahead!"

Hero looked ahead, and as his gaze fell forward, the air bubble flew in that direction. That was how it was steered Mike made sure to remember that. They looked back at the city one last time; it was now completely underwater. They could only hope to come across another city soon. After a while, exactly that happened. Ice spoke up "There!"

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