Restarting the Colossus

The Ruran III Ruins is located in the western Sodoan City. The low hills covered with sparse, withered grass and hundreds of tomb-like remains constitute the amazing and magnificent relic here.

The Kel-Morian settlers of Luria IV always kept their distance from the ruins of these ancient civilizations, and ancient legends about these ancient cities have been passed down through generations of their ancestors.

Even today, the most insightful elders among the residents of Sodoan still remind their descendants not to disturb the former inhabitants of the ruins.

"It seems there are not only ancient Protoss structures here, but also Xel'Naga ones?" Kerrigan climbed a hill covered in rocks before Augustus, the edge of her buttocks jiggling with each step she took beneath her dark blue Phantom Suit's tight bodysuit.

Sarah Kerrigan waist, from which hung two P-180 pistols, another Z-Series Electromagnetic Rifle, and at least four knife sheaths.

"It's not just the Xel'Naga; life in the universe is as numerous as grains of sand, and their civilizations may have once illuminated the stars." Following behind Kerrigan, Augustus turned his gaze away from her and looked at the ancient complex of buildings nestled among red thorns not far away.

Those are ancient civilization relics even older than the Protoss main building buried underground; they have existed for even longer than the geological layers.

Even if these ancient civilizations were built by unknown civilizations countless ages ago, and even if the relics preserved in the sands are less than one ten-thousandth of their former glory, the astonishing aesthetic proportions and structural habitability exhibited by these ancient civilizations still dwarf the modern buildings in human settlements.

The remaining wall wasn't exactly ornate, but one could still see murals painted with colored pigments and proportionally harmonious lines. This civilization must have also been skilled in sculpture or fine jewelry; the square stone tablets erected in the ruins depicted everything from the past with abstract, incomprehensible lines.

At that location, hundreds of soldiers and engineers dressed in the dark gray or azure uniforms of the Revolutionary Army were using large excavators to clear and excavate the ruins buried in the hard loess of Luria, bringing these buildings that once stood in the bright sunlight back to the light of day.

Soldiers and workers were stacking white alloy boxes containing a large amount of sophisticated archaeological equipment at the request of the Revolutionary Army's accompanying archaeologists. Large excavators and cranes had already piled up several extremely high mounds on the original site of the ruins.

What makes Augustus's Korhal Revolutionary Army unique is that, in addition to recruiting ambitious individuals as new soldiers during the Fleets's movements, they also bring along a large number of scholars and archaeologists. Most of these scholars came from Korhal after its fall, and they joined the excavation and research of extraterrestrial civilization relics at the Marshal's call.

"I seem to see lights from millions of years ago," Augustus said, looking at the buildings. "Perhaps they didn't need the light, who knows?"

The ruins cover an astonishingly vast area; they were once a lost city buried and rediscovered after several geological changes.

"The Protoss discovered the ruins of this civilization and built a stasis facility to seal the Colossus here, but why did they do that?" Kerrigan asked.

"You'd have to ask the Protoss Empire Conclave back then," Augustus shrugged. "Humans can't understand the Protoss's methods."

"If the Confederacy had such a weapon, they definitely wouldn't keep it hidden."

"From a human perspective, building or using Colossus is illegal, a crime equivalent to violating the Dae'uhl Doctrine," Kerrigan said. "These ancient weapons are so terrifying that even the Protoss themselves are deeply reticent about them and unwilling to speak of them."

"The city turned to ashes, the army was evaporated, leaving behind countless black spots of corpses on the ground." Zeratul, the High Priest of the Protoss Dark Templar, appeared between Augustus and Kerrigan as a cloud of black smoke suddenly appeared and dispersed.

"Elder, you must have found the facility to seal the Colossus." Augustus already used to Zeratul's sudden appearance; the timing and speed of his arrival were as unpredictable as his disappearance.

"Zamara, the Preservers who accompanied Executive Tassadar on his expedition, knew the coordinates of the sealing facility here, which is one of the reasons we came here," Zeratul explained.

"Upon arriving here, we were surprised to find that most of the containment facilities remained intact, and even the nuclear warheads of the Kel-Morian humans hadn't destroyed them." His telepathic message struck Augustus's mind.

"We quickly pinpointed the exact coordinates and attempted to awaken the dormant stasis facility. Thanks to the help of the anthropologists, without whom the Protoss' activities on this planet would likely have been perceived as a malicious invasion."

"We have no intention of starting a war with the humans of Kel-Morian, nor do we wish to harm them through forced self-defense measures."

In any case, when the Protoss Fleets appears in the Luria System, the Kel-Morian people there will be plunged into a far greater fear than if they had encountered the Revolutionary Army. They will do everything in their power to prevent the Protoss Fleets from approaching their planet and will futilely seek support from their home planet Moria.

Because the rumors of the Protoss destroying the Sara's Sisters had spread throughout most of the human world, the bad impression they left on humanity was deeply ingrained.

Aside from the Zerg, humans have rarely seen the legendary, terrifying alien Protoss.

"When the Kel-Morian people swing their hammers at Protoss facilities they can't understand, the bounce-back hammers might just hurt them instead." Kerrigan nodded in agreement with Zeratul's words.

"So, when will we be able to see those steel Giant forged from metal?"

"It will be soon." As Zeratul said this, the ground suddenly began to shake about 1,500 yards away from the hill where Augustus was.

The archaeologists and engineers in the area have all been evacuated, and everyone is watching the site closely, clearly having received advance notice from the Protoss.

Amidst the billowing dust, crumbling walls began to rise from the ground, and a colossal building gleaming with golden light gradually emerged before Augustus's eyes amidst a tremendous roar.

It was a classic Protoss- style building with a magnificent vaulted ceiling. The honeycomb-shaped, outwardly curved supporting walls converged at the top to form a dome with a rounded spire. The walls, gleaming with gold, were carved with reliefs of the Arbitrators and the Great Protoss Executors. The Protoss, with their emphasis on the beauty of proportion, used their ingenious architectural skills to create this magnificent facility.

Even though it was only meant to seal a few war machines that were explicitly prohibited by the Conclave, and was essentially a prison, its exquisite structure and beautiful patterns, as well as the artistic achievements it displayed, were enough to impress the engineers of the Revolutionary Army. Moreover, only the Protoss master craftsmen knew the building materials it used.

If this were a man-made building, it would be considered a miracle in the history of human architecture.

The Protoss structure is surrounded by three obelisks inscribed with Protoss script, and numerous Protoss mechanical minions with insect-like limbs are cleaning dust or cutting stone on the exterior of the building.

"Unbelievable," Augustus exclaimed. "The Protoss Empire has simply sealed away such weapons of war on a remote planet so far from Aiur, as if they would never be used again."

"After the Protoss Empire drove a civilization called Kalath back to the Stone Age in a war, creating countless scenes of slaughter and carnage, the Colossus were completely banned by the Conclave. I shouldn't comment on the Conclave's decisions," Zeratul said. "We always overestimate the courage and wisdom of rulers, which is a mistake most of the time."

"The Colossus wasn't built by the Dark Templar of Nerazim; it's a product of the Protoss Empire's Bloody Arbitration Era." He continued, "Its creation was purely for slaughter."

"My people believe that once the Protoss Empire's Fleets discovers the Dark Templar, they will undoubtedly use this weapon to kill all the Nerazim warriors."

"Let's take a closer look. I've never seen a weapon before, only one from legends." Augustus took two steps forward and walked towards the hill toward the rising golden-blue Protoss building.

"It's dangerous there," Kerrigan tried to stop Augustus.

"There are plenty of dangerous places out there. I'm not a baby in a crib." Augustus stubbornly walked toward that place, and Zeratul silently leaped over Kerrigan to follow the Revolutionary Army Marshal. Kerrigan could only shake her head and catch up with them.

Augustus was Zeratul's closest human friend and a link between the Protoss and humans. Neither Zeratul nor Tassadar wanted anything to happen to him.

"Opening it requires an order from the Conclave or an arbitrator." Zeratul walked beside Augustus, his large feet silently treading on the rocky ground of Luria without feeling any discomfort.

"Unfortunately, Tassadar did not receive the approval of the Conclave," Augustus said with a smile. "And if the Conclave of Aiur heard that Tassadar wanted to reinstate the Colossus, the Arbitrators would probably be so angry that they would come over and execute the former executor on the spot."

"They'll find out soon enough," Zeratul said with his uncharacteristic dry humor.

After walking for a few minutes, passing several Revolutionary Army cranes and tanks with yellow camouflage, Augustus bumped into Raynor and Viktor Kaczynski, the second-in-command of the engineering corps.

In the distance, hundreds of Aiur Protoss Templar Knights and Phase Technicians had been warped to the surface at some unknown time, and Tassadar, the commander of the Protoss Expeditionary Force, stood surrounded by Templar Knights.

"You'd better stand with me, Augustus. You know that thing's three-dimensional defense system killed dozens of Kel-Morian miners in the blink of an eye. Who knows what other trouble it might cause." Raynor's words made Augustus nod slightly. This distance was enough for him to catch a glimpse of the Colossus's magnificence.

"This is Protoss defensive structure from centuries ago; even by today's standards, it's incredibly advanced," Viktor said.

"The Protoss won't object to us installing this defensive facility on a mobile fortress or a space station," the Moria- born weapons expert and top engineer said, making a surprising statement.

"I think the Protoss probably won't hand this over to us." Augustus subtly suggested that Viktor put aside his audacious idea. This young man from Kaczynski always had the sudden inspiration to combine Protoss weapons with human ones.

As they were talking, an image with a starlight background suddenly appeared above the Protoss building. A Protoss wearing a magnificent gold and blue Protoss helmet and a crimson Protoss appeared, with the emblem of the Protoss Arbiter tribe, Ara Tribe, on the top of his cloak.

"Warning, traveler of another race, you have entered forbidden territory." The Protoss Arbitrator warned Augustus and the others in the authoritative Khalani.

This was clearly a pre-recorded scene, emitted by the intelligent system of the building housing the Colossus.

"This is a warning. Leave here, or blood will flow like a river."

"It can't recognize you?" Augustus looked at Zeratul beside him, noticing that the other's gleaming eyes had become even more profound.

"The Executors do not have the authority to awaken the Colossus." Zeratul's understanding of the Protoss Empire came from Tassadar: "Even the revered Preservers do not; they are merely recorders and advisors, without any responsibility for political or military command."

"In other words, the owner here is not planning to open the doors to us," Raynor said after hearing Zeratul's words.

"My grandfather told me that at this point you should take a hammer and break down the door," Augustus. "Once inside, then ask the master for permission."

Before the words were finished, a beam of high-heat energy from the Protoss in the sky suddenly descended, slicing through the dome of the building with surgical precision.

This immediately triggered a response from the defense system, whose outer walls, shimmering with blue light, opened like insect wings, revealing countless photon cannons and mobile turrets, some of which had calibers comparable to the Yamato Cannon of the Hyperion.

It is conceivable that once these densely packed laser cannons are activated and begin firing, the land within a radius of several miles will be reduced to scorched earth.

However, before these light cannons could even react, the blue light that their surfaces were flashing with due to being filled with energy immediately dimmed, presumably because Tassadar's phase technicians had cut off the weapon systems' power supply.

Within the elliptical dome neatly sliced by beams of light, the Colossus's head, composed of gleaming gold metal and blue aiming mechanisms, is revealed in the sunlight. Its aesthetically pleasing and warlike metallic structure extends to an unbelievable height, even towering into the clouds.

Augustus could foresee that this terrifying ancient weapon of war would greatly aid the Tassadar and the Revolutionary Army in the upcoming brutal Battle of Aiur.

"One, two, three," Kerrigan counted silently until she paused at the number three.

"Three," Augustus nodded.

That's not enough.

At that moment, a High Templar approached Augustus and Zeratul, bringing with him Tassadar's message: "Another stasis chamber in the Luria System, located on an asteroid, has been destroyed, and the two Colossus within have vanished."

"What? A human from Kel-Morian?" Zeratul exclaimed in surprise.

"If they had the ability, they certainly wouldn't have abandoned the Colossus here." Augustus looked at the High Templar.

"The Khalai phase technicians discovered several Protoss corpses there, recently deceased," the High Templar said. "They were dressed in black armor and red robes, and the script used on them was very similar to ancient script from before the Aeon of Strife."

"The Preservers Zamara suspects that they may very well be ancient Protoss who followed the Xel'Naga away from Aiur countless ages ago."

"I know them," Augustus said calmly with an "oh."

"Robbers, liars, and thieves."

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