The Colossus rose from the lava like a god climbing out of hell.
It was thirty feet tall. Its body was a walking fortress of condensed phantom energy, so dense that the air around it visibly bent, warping the red light of the sky into strange halos. Its armor was made of a solid shell of black energy, seamless and without any visible weakness.
Its head was a flat slab of phantom steel. No face. No helmet. Just a smooth black surface with two horizontal slits burning white-hot. The light from those slits was so intense that Holden's eyes watered when his processor tried to scan them.
In its right hand, it held a greatsword.
The edge glowed orange-white from the heat of the lava, while the air around it shimmered from the sheer amount of energy packed into the blade.
The Colossus planted its feet.
Lava surged around its ankles, drawn toward the energy radiating from its body. The entire dungeon floor trembled as the massive creature took its first step.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
