The Ruined Gatekeeper
Before long, the group arrived at the bottom of the volcano, far beneath where the lava's surface once was. Now, it had been drained to nothing more than a tiny pool that lay at the center of the ground, restrained by some sort of Qi barrier with runic markings around it in a circular shape. Up ahead was what looked like a colossal stone gate with decorations reminiscent of ancient temples, but… there appeared to be a guard in the way.
A guard that was, quite frankly, dead. For now, anyway.
It looked to be an ancient mech of some kind, made out of a mixture of wood and metal. Its frame was quite large, about twice the height of Xuan, and was mostly humanoid in shape. Currently, it lay slumped over beside the gate, but if the group were to approach closer, there was no telling whether or not it would activate.
"Looks like this is it," the old senior said, rubbing the (fake) beard on his chin. "There is but one final challenge ahead of us."