The vortex tightened above, dragging clouds into a whirl of black fire and violet lightning. The colossus leaned forward, its molten chest glowing as though a sun had been trapped within its ribs. Each pulse from its core rattled the land, opening fresh scars in the earth that bled fire upward.
Ren steadied his footing on the fractured stone. Shadows rose around him like spears and shields both, weaving into barriers against the currents of heat. The air shimmered so violently it threatened to rip apart breath itself.
The first surge came. The colossus drew in the storm and released it in a sweeping torrent of fire and wind. Entire ridges disintegrated under the wave, their stone melting into rivers of lava that cascaded through the crater. Ren flung his shadows outward, anchoring them deep into the rock to keep his body from being torn away. The torrent slammed against him, burning through layer after layer of shadow until his skin stung with its heat.
