š Ö“Ö¶Öøš Michaella and Kiri stepped into the small house on Andrea's back and immediately felt a striking change in atmosphere. The room filled with antique furniture gave the impression that time had stopped. The walls were adorned with old paintings depicting magnificent sky scenes, complete with large birds and colorful, dancing clouds.
"This is all so amazing!" Kiri exclaimed, exploring every corner with curiosity. "Imagine if we could find information about places in Erenial!"
Michaella nodded, increasingly intrigued by the letter Kiri was reading. "We need to find more clues. This letter mentions a 'place full of secrets'āwhat could we discover here?"
Inside the house, they found an old table covered with many scattered maps. Kiri unfolded one of the maps, and her eyes sparkled as she saw a familiar depiction. "Michaella! Look! This is a map of the lost city!" She pointed to a symbol indicating ruins hidden deep within the dense forest, far from where they were.
"Let's take a closer look," Michaella replied, moving closer to Kiri. The map showed secret paths, flowing rivers, and various symbols that might indicate valuable locations. They could feel the thrill of adventure beginning to flow within them.
Suddenly, a bright light dazzled from outside, followed by a deep groan from Andrea and a heavy tremor that knocked both of them back. "What was that?!" Kiri shouted, her eyes wide.
"I don't know! We need to find out!" Michaella answered, staying calm even though her heart raced with anxiety. With courage, they stepped toward the door and out onto the balcony. The wind blew fiercely, and they saw Andrea lying over a large river, its waters sparkling like jewels under the sunlight.
They were mesmerized by the sight before themāa massive floating city towering in the sky, surrounded by soft clouds. "Wow, look at that!" Kiri exclaimed, her voice filled with awe. "A floating city! This is incredible!"
"Oh, she's asleep," Michaella said gently as she tried to stroke the front of Andrea's head. Her small hands could barely touch the large, soft skin. "She's so big!" She gazed at Andrea's shining face.
Kiri nodded in agreement, but her gaze was drawn back to the floating city. "What do you think is up there? Maybe there are more adventures waiting for us!"
Michaella and Kiri stepped off Andrea's back, walking along the shimmering metal streets that stretched between the grand buildings of the floating city. The atmosphere around them felt hushed, as if time had stopped. Both felt like explorers discovering a hidden new world, concealed from human eyes.
"Look at all this! All the buildings look so beautiful!" Kiri exclaimed, stepping quickly and gazing at the high ceilings adorned with intricate ornaments. "It seems like this place used to be alive, but now... it feels like no one is here."
"I don't know. Maybe we should be more careful," Michaella replied, though her curiosity continued to push her forward. The calmness of the atmosphere made her feel a little uneasy.
"This is boring! Let's see how loud our voices echo here!" Kiri suddenly shouted, her voice breaking the silence. "HOLA!"
Kiri's voice echoed through the empty streets, bouncing off the tall buildings. However, behind that sound, Michaella felt a strange vibration in the air. "Kiri, don'tā"
But it was too late. In an instant, a mechanical voice echoed, and the hidden lights around the city began to flicker on rapidly. "THREAT ANALYSIS INITIATED. TARGET IDENTIFICATIONā¦"
Kiri looked around in panic. "What's happening?"
From the darkness, a large robot emerged, its metallic surface gleaming as the light touched it. The robot had a futuristic design, with long arms and glowing red eyes. "TARGET IDENTIFIED: HUMAN DUO. STATUS: THREAT. PREPARE DEFENSES!"
"No! Kiri, we have to go!" Michaella shouted, pulling Kiri's hand as they slowly backed away.
But Kiri, curious, stepped closer instead. "But look! It looks cool!"
"This is not the time to play around! We don't know what it can do!" Michaella said, trying to suppress her fear.
Suddenly, the robot moved forward, extending its hand with swift precision. "TARGET IDENTIFIED AS THREAT. PLEASE SURRENDER FOR OBSERVATION!"
With adrenaline coursing through them, Michaella and Kiri ran down the empty, winding streets. Kiri dashed ahead, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "We can sneak away! We have to find a place to hide!"
"Where can we hide? Everything looks so open!" Michaella replied, feeling the tension inside her.
The two girls ran past rows of buildings, trying to find shelter. Ahead of them stood an old structure with a large door that was half-open. "Over there!" Michaella shouted, pointing.
They rushed into the building, locking the door behind them. The sound of the robot's footsteps grew closer, shaking the floor beneath them. "We have to find a way to shut those robots down!" Kiri said, breathing heavily.
Inside the dark room, they discovered a strange device connected to a wall panel. "This might help," Michaella whispered, trying to make sense of the mechanism in front of her. "If we can find a way to access the system, maybe we can disable this defense."
Kiri looked around with shining eyes. "I'll help! Let's give it a try!"
Quickly, they began examining the panel, searching for buttons they could press. The sounds of the robot outside grew louder, making their hearts race. "Hurry, Kiri! We don't have much time!"
***
The two girls hurriedly devised a plan, Michaella's fingers dancing over the panel. "Kiri, look! There's a small screen here!" she exclaimed, pointing at the dimly lit display.
Kiri leaned in, her eyes widening as she saw numbers and symbols shifting across the screen. "What's that? Do you think we can shut down the robots from here?"
"It looks like a control system," Michaella replied, feeling a rush of adrenaline. "But I don't know how it works."
"Wait! At the bottom, there's a symbol similar to those robots! Maybe that's what we can use!" Kiri pointed, her hope igniting.
Michaella quickly pressed the symbol. The screen flickered, and suddenly, an alarm blared, startling both of them. "This isn't what we wanted!" Michaella shouted, feeling the tension rise.
"Try to stop it!" Kiri reminded her, trying to calm herself amid the chaos.
Michaella searched frantically for another button. "There are a few options here. I could try disabling the threat mode!"
With trembling fingers, she pressed the "Disable" button. The screen began counting: "DEACTIVATING DEFENSE ROBOTS. PLEASE WAITā¦"
"Deactivatingā¦ 30%ā¦ 50%ā¦ 70%..." The sound of machinery echoed in the room, following the progress. But when it reached 85%, the screen suddenly flashed and emitted a sharp beep.
"Michaella, something's wrong!" Kiri shouted, feeling the tension creeping up.
Suddenly, the screen emitted a horrifying groan, followed by sparks spraying from the panel. "No! I can't stop it!" Michaella cried out, trying to find a button to halt the process, but it was too late.
In an instant, the screen exploded with a deafening bang, shards of glass and metal scattering through the air. Both were thrown backward, landing on the floor in a wave of panic.
"We need to go! Now!" Kiri yelled, her eyes wide as she took in the chaos around them.
Michaella nodded, her pulse racing. "Let's go! We need to get out of here!"
Quickly, Michaella dashed toward the large window overlooking the outside. She knew they had to act fast. "Oh wind, lend me your strength!" she shouted, calling upon her magic as she raised her hand.
She felt energy swirling around her, but the height of their position disrupted her powers, preventing them from fully flowing. The wind that should have fortified the window felt weak, not as strong as she'd hoped.
As she opened the window, the sound of the robots' steps grew closer, adding urgency to her heart. "Come on, we have to go before they find us!" Kiri yelled, pulling Michaella outside.
With what little courage she had left, Michaella leapt out, using wind magic to propel herself downward, though it felt insufficient.
The two landed perfectly on the pathway, running away from the building that began to tremble under the robot assault. The metallic clanging echoed against the walls, and the robots' footsteps closed in steadily.