The Sunken Temple was a breathtaking, terrifying sight. It was a massive, barnacle-encrusted ziggurat of black, volcanic rock, half-submerged in a churning, icy sea. A single, precarious causeway of slick, wet stone was the only path to its entrance.
Hephaestus's forces were already there. A legion of bronze automatons, their eyes glowing with a dull, red light, stood guard on the causeway, their massive spears and shields forming an impenetrable wall.
Nox's army watched from a hidden cove a mile down the coast.
"He is truly going to do it," Serian whispered, her heart pounding.
Nox stood at the edge of the cove, alone. He was wearing his full Infernal Monarch armor, the helm's eyes burning with a cold, purple light. He looked at his companions.
"You all know the plan," he said. "Vexia, you have the timers. Mela, Elisa, you go on her signal. Serian… be ready."
