The spiral staircase finally ended—opening into a massive, subterranean expanse.
Nhal'Zarun. The city beneath the world. What remained of it, anyway.
Crumbling towers leaned sideways, overtaken by pulsing violet roots and mechanical debris. Some buildings floated, suspended by forgotten energy cores. Broken bridges stretched into darkness. Light flickered from strange pylons embedded in the stone, humming quietly with ancient power.
And at the center… a sealed temple gate, covered in metallic glyphs and arcane locks.
Objective: Unlock the Hollow Depths
To open the temple, Kael and Riven needed to power three energy cores, each located in different sections of the fallen city.
But nothing came easy here.
Environmental Puzzle 1: Arcane Battery Conduit
• Wires ran through broken towers and shattered walkways
• They had to redirect magical flow through rotating stone pillars, using weight plates and light bridges
• Riven solved it using arrow-triggered switches
• Kael fought off corrupted sentries while she aligned the current
• Core 1: Powered
Environmental Puzzle 2: Gravity Maze
• Located in a tilted library, its rooms rotated on entry
• They had to navigate through anti-gravity zones and shifting staircases
• Enemies: Floating Memory Wisps that attack your thoughts
• Solved using the Shadowlink passive—blinking between shifting planes
• Core 2: Powered
Environmental Puzzle 3: Echo Core Reactor
• A massive, echoing hall full of mirrors, where sound activated deadly defenses
• They had to move in total silence
• Kael used Shadowstep to bypass traps
• Riven lured corrupted machines into sound traps to disable them
• Core 3: Powered
Temple Gate – Activated
The three cores sent power pulsing into the central gate. It slowly opened, revealing a stairwell choked in smoke and violet light.
Inside:
The Hollow Architect
A fusion of forgotten machine and ancient magic—four arms, each controlling a different elemental power, its core a glowing prism of frozen time.
Boss Fight: The Hollow Architect
• Phase 1: Elemental beams—Kael dodged and closed the gap with Phase Slice
• Phase 2: Illusions—Riven used Fade Counter to tag the real body
• Phase 3: Time Break—room slows down, but Kael's Whisperfang pierces the field
• Final Phase: The Architect collapses, leaving only its core behind
Victory.
Relic Acquired: Core of Silence
The moment Kael lifted the relic, the temple pulsed—and far away, in the center of the world map, the Otherworld Gate shimmered faintly.
Loot:
• Legendary Item:
Riven obtained: Chrono-Weave Mantle
• +30% dodge window in slow-time fields
• Auto-counter if perfect-timed
• Currency Earned: 1,200,000 Aurum
• EXP Earned: 28,000
• Kael: Level 34
• Riven: Level 34