The Architect (Pause Ahead)

"One gets away. A thousand stay trapped within. It makes no difference to me...

All of life is a game, and all of us are merely players."

- The Architect after being defeated

"To pass in the dark, never having down freedom. Never to laugh, to learn, to love. Is there a more tragic fate?"

- The Architect after the player beats Nihil

The Architect is the main antagonist of the Indie game Pause Ahead. It is an enigmatic being that keeps subjects trapped within its dungeon and kills them repeatedly. It may or may not be the being that speaks to the player throughout the game.

Appearance
The Architect is a massive, grotesque blue monster with a vaguely humanoid shape. It has no eyes. It has a red "core" on its chest, and some orange growths on its body. The Architect's arms appear to be somewhat skeletal. It is accompanied by a distorted version of the protagonist.

Boss Battle
The Architect spends the entirety of the battle in the background. The Architect uses the copy of the protagonist to attack during all phases. Its first phase has two marked areas on the sides of the platform. It attacks by making spiky plants burst from the ground. This phase is defeated by standing on the marked area while the player's copy is standing on the other. During the second phase, three structures appear from the ground connected to The Architect by blue chains. During this phase, it attacks by shooting fireballs from above that explode into fire pillars. After all pillars are touched by the fire, The Architect enters its final phase, where only the core and chains are visible. It creates fire pillars that it moves around quickly to attack. After surviving long enough, the battle ends, and the protagonist escapes the dungeon.

Quotes
"Are you nervous...? Don't be... The Architect is a real sweetheart."

- The unknown entity before the battle with the Architect