Greetings.
I am a man in a suit who has fallen into the world of Minecraft.
Last time, I followed the Eyes of Ender and found a portal room in an underground stronghold.
This time, I am going beyond that room.
The Ender Dragon is waiting on the other side of the portal.
Once I step through the portal, I stop for a moment.
Endermen are roaming the island, and tall black pillars rise farther ahead.
This is not a place where I can watch only the dragon.
Before taking that step, though, there is work to do back in the stronghold.
Opening the End Portal and Entering the Unknown
I place a bed and a chest near the portal room and make this my forward base.
Knowing there is somewhere to return to helps a little.
The silverfish spawner at the far end of the room still needs dealing with first.
With the spawner gone, I can finally stand before the portal frame.
Lava surrounds it, and even looking across the room makes me tense.
I put Eyes of Ender into the empty frame blocks, and the center turns dark and restless.
The End Portal is open!
The eyes I have followed since Episode 76 have finally opened a way forward.
Beyond the portal is an island of End Stone beneath a dark sky.
The Ender Dragon’s health bar appears across the top of the screen.
The fight I came here for has begun.
Breaking All Eleven End Crystals
End Crystals sit at the tops of the pillars and heal the dragon.
I need to destroy those first.
I check my footing and take aim at the pillars one by one.
Some crystals are protected by iron bars.
I get close enough to make an opening and break the crystal inside.
An explosion fills the view. This high above the ground, every move feels risky.
The cage is empty now.
I climb to the tops of pillars that I could only stare up at before, working through them one at a time.
As I move across the island, my eyes slowly grow used to the darkness.
After circling the last pillar, all eleven crystals are gone.
There is no light left to heal the dragon.
Now the real fight begins.
A Hard-Won Victory and the Journey Home
I try the blast from a bed when the dragon comes down toward the center.
Fire spreads, and I nearly get caught in it myself.
It does not deliver the decisive blow I hoped for, so I change how I fight.
The dragon’s breath burns me. I fall into the void and find Endermen chasing me, too.
On a pillar, the dragon even knocks into me.
By the time this battle ends, I have been defeated ten times.
Each time, I wake up at the bed in my forward base with an empty inventory.
I take spare armor from the chest and put my hotbar back together.
With a totem and a pumpkin ready, I step through the portal again.
I cannot recover everything I have dropped, but I cannot leave the battle unfinished.
When the dragon settles in the center, I move in and swing my sword.
I avoid its breath, watch for Endermen, and wait for each chance to strike.
After so many attempts, I finally defeat the Ender Dragon!
An exit portal opens in the middle of the island after the dragon falls.
Above it, a dragon egg appears.
The little dark egg quietly marks the end of a very long fight.
I take a closer look at the egg.
I am leaving it here for now, rather than taking it home this time.
That gives me a reason to come back someday.
Standing at the exit portal, I can finally let my shoulders relax.
Even the distant pillars look different now.
I really came all the way to the End and defeated the dragon.
Through the exit portal, I return to the forward base in the stronghold.
The bed and chest are just where I left them.
Seeing the familiar stone-brick walls makes it feel as if I truly made it back.
It has been a long journey since I first set out to find the End Portal.
Next I want to return to the castle town and tell everyone what happened.
That is all for this time.
Greetings.