Trine-Keeper of the Firmament

Reason why I love Just = It lets me explore something new or unusual, or like in this case, returning to my early career roots as a game designer.

Inspiration & Reference

This boss concept is designed for Empyreal, and I believe it would fit seamlessly into the area known as The Gate to the Firmament, a location you revisit several times throughout the questline.

The design itself was inspired by something simple: a set of keys in my pocket :) three “heads” and two blades. Maybe not the most original spark, but when shaped into something unique, it brought to life this mechanical guardian.

If you’re looking for visual touchstones, imagine something between the Sentinels from The Matrix (fast, sharp, hyper-focused on their target) and Triglavians race from EVE Online, three minds sharing one body. Layer that with a mechanical-eldritch hybrid aesthetic, and you have the foundation of this boss.

Codex Entry and Encounter

"Trine-Keeper was not meant to guard the Gate. It was meant to be the key. But when the Firmament fractured and its Architects fell, it sealed itself within the chamber—splitting its mind into tri-threaded logic to protect the knowledge it was once built to share."

As you enter the arena, chains rattle. Pipes hiss. Three lens-eyes open. A whisper in machine-code stirs the sentinel with opening dialogues (Tri-Mind Dissonance):

Head One: “You bear no Seal. You carry no Harmonic Thread. Your path halts here, before the Vault of the Mind.”

Head Two: “Untruth. Untruth! Too many signals—none aligned. Strip the pattern!”

Head Three: “It breathes. Does it dream? No—no dreams allowed. Must erase the pulse…”

Weapons

• Titan Drill – Pierces ground plates and delivers quake pulses.

• Blade of Rend – Forged from phase-steel.

• Harmonic Lenses – Emit volatile particle beams from each orb-like “head.”

Abilities

Tri-Beam Focus - The three heads align and charge narrow beams. When they converge on a single target, the beam unleashes devastating focused damage. A red glow signals its charging phase.

Cyclone Slash - One blade-arm spins outward in a wide arc while the core rotates slightly. High melee damage with knockback.

Scatter Pulse - Each head fires a beam in a random direction. Beams may cross paths, forming dangerous intersections. Dodge timing is key. The signal is when heads start to argue with each other.

Shutterquake - Trine-Keeper slams the Titan Drill into the floor, creating shockwave rings.

Combat Mechanics

The boss's behavior is governed by three cognitive cores (heads):

• Sight (target tracking & beam focus)

• Action (movement & melee strikes)

• Judgment (attack pattern logic, drill operation)

• Chaotic Dissonance

At 50% HP, Trine-Keeper enters Phase Shift:

• The three orbs detach and orbit independently.

• Each orb fires weaker but unpredictable Tri-Beams.

• The main body gains partial invulnerability while orbs fly.

Once separated, the heads’ data streams no longer sync. Their voices grow more distinct, revealing fractured personalities. The fight becomes more unpredictable.

Another appealing challenge to me, so after making some time to play the Empyreal demo om Steam, here is my submission, the info about the boss is in the reel, cheers!

Toheun - The Grim Reaper

He used to be responsible for watching over the world of the dead, but the collapse of civilizations drove him insane. He is left to wander the wastelands.

Because he's a reaper, I'm thinking of a quick but fair fight. Until he reaches 50% of his life, he'll be a relatively fast boss, but with predictable attacks. When he reaches 50%, a mist begins to appear around him, where he can camouflage himself, having to watch out for the sound of his blades, indicating that he will appear.

Son of Surtur

Fire elemental, but with mechanical alterations that make his structure more robust and resistant to ranged attacks.

Abilities

Summon enemies: He will summon a series of minions that will attack in melee with great speed and linearity, with shadow and fire damage, causing shadow damage that, when the effect ends, will consume the player's total health bar if hit by one of their blows.

Meteor: Son of Surtur will generate a meteor that will fall in a specific area, dealing area damage and generating burning damage for a total of 8 seconds.

Destructive Flare: Son of Surtur will stand in the center of the stage and begin to launch two large, linear flames from his arms that move in a rotating manner, while his axe will rotate around the boss, defending him from attacks.

the enlightened one

The leader of the guardians, he began as a student of his great master whose name has been lost in time, he was a guardian of the monolith, he never sought to be the best of all, he only wanted to fulfill his duty as a guardian, until one day he simply disappeared, his student, now the enlightened one, decided to fulfill the role of his master, without ceasing to practice the teachings of his master, until one day other guardians arrived to learn his teachings. With the passage of time without anyone saying it out loud or decretting it somewhere, everyone knew that he was the leader of the guardians