Note: Hi, I'm Isau. I have a question: if Peru wins the World Cup, what would you do? This is a totally serious question.
Seriously though, comment, damn it! I want to read your comments because I get depressed when no one even looks, lol.
Let's continue:
We arrived at the center, and Peridot's voice was heard as we moved through a dark area. Well, dark only on the sides, because in the center there was something breathtaking: practically a million gems combined, forming a perfect circle. The energy they emanated was overwhelming, as if the entire ship trembled under their power.
"Oh my God," Garnet exclaimed, unable to contain herself. Without thinking, she separated into Ruby and Sapphire, as if the magnitude of the aberration overwhelmed her. The sight was too much even for her.
Lapis couldn't bear it and fainted immediately. Amethyst reacted quickly and caught her, but it was clear she was also about to collapse. Pearl held me tightly, gritting her teeth, trying to maintain her composure in the face of something that clearly surpassed any previous training or experience.
Peridot, on the other hand, seemed more prepared. She wasn't as bound by Earth's rules as we were, though she couldn't deny it: a shiver of fear ran through her body at the sight of the concentration of gems and the energy they radiated. "Okay," she murmured, trying to sound confident as she approached the combination.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a tremendous light erupted from the gems.
"SHIT!" Peridot yelled as the giant light enveloped them all, blinding and palpable. You could feel each pulse of that energy vibrating the ship, and even though we were the ones feeling it, every gem's heart seemed to race in unison.
And then, as quickly as it had appeared, the light concentrated back on the geoweapon, leaving a heavy silence in its wake. We were all breathing heavily, our hearts pounding a mile a minute, or in my case, my gem throbbing as if it wanted to burst out of my chest.
"Wait," Pearl said, gesturing for me to stop as I peered out from behind the blindfold. What I saw couldn't be described any other way: it looked like hundreds, maybe thousands, of damned souls were floating inside those gems. Lost souls, dragged from heaven and hell, bound together in a dark pact, as if they were destined for a contract with the devil himself. And the most incredible thing was that, compared to that, everything else I'd ever seen seemed... tame.
My breathing quickened. The sensation of those souls, that concentrated power, and my gem vibrating so intensely reminded me how small I was in the face of something so ancient and powerful. Pearl held me tight, making sure I didn't lose my balance, and although fear was in all of us, there was a strange clarity: we knew we were witnessing something few gems had ever seen in their entire existence.
"Can I do something?" I said with a giggle, the only thing visible on my face as I tried to stay calm amidst all the energy surrounding us.
"Huh?" Peridot said, completely bewildered, blinking as she tried to process what she'd just heard.
"Is your defective human body affecting you?" she added without thinking, as if speaking without a filter could save her from the situation.
All eyes immediately turned to her.
"Eeeees!" squealed Peridot, backing away and hiding behind her chair, as if she had accidentally cast a death spell on herself.
"Not my body," I said, though I couldn't deny that I felt something, "though it does have a part... my gem tells me something. Don't you feel anything?"
"No..." Sapphire replied calmly, rising with her usual elegance, her hands clasped in front of her. Beside her, Ruby was still unconscious, unable to bear the tension of the moment.
"I see souls," I said, my voice firmer this time, trying to make everyone understand the magnitude of what was happening. "Do you know what souls are?"
An absolute silence spread through the ship, heavy and oppressive. We all stood still, as if any movement would shatter a fragile balance between life and something much older and more dangerous.
I shook my head slowly, trying to calm myself. "Just... just leave me alone, okay?" My voice cracked slightly, but I couldn't let fear take control.
"Okay," Sapphire finally said, speaking for everyone, her firm, calm tone easing the heavy air just a little. "Do what you have to do."
I sighed, trying to focus as my gem vibrated more intensely than ever. I could feel the possible futures unfolding before me, paths where everything went wrong, worlds where the planet mercilessly disintegrated us. And yet, one stood out: the one we were living now, the one that allowed us to be together and still intact.
"...That doesn't help," I said, an insult aimed directly at Sapphire, though I couldn't hide the slight tremor in my voice. "Damn it, could you be a little clearer or what?"
She looked at me with her usual calm, without a hint of offense, and just nodded slightly, as if to say she understood the pressure and that there wasn't much she could do to alleviate it.
Pearl hugged me a little tighter, making sure I didn't lose my balance, while the blanket continued to cover my eyes. My pink form expanded slightly, vibrating with the energy I felt around me, and I sensed each soul within those gems responding to my presence. They weren't mere lights; they were concentrated consciousness, memories, and pain, and they were on the verge of somehow recognizing me.
My breathing quickened, and I felt the tension of the entire place envelop me. But somehow, having Pearl by my side, feeling Sapphire and Garnet watching carefully, gave me a sliver of control. I had to focus; something much bigger than just us depended on my actions.
I watched in horror as I was suddenly swallowed. There was no warning, no transition: an absolute void enveloped me, and my physical body fell like a sack of potatoes as my pink form began to expand, transforming completely into what could now be called "buff" Steven, my most powerful and complete form.
"Cool," Amethyst said from the ship, observing the intensity of my transformation, a glimmer of admiration and amusement in her voice.
"Lots of muscle," Sapphire added with an elegant chuckle, contemplating my new physique with her characteristic serenity. Ruby beside her remained rigid, stiffer than a guy in a store queue, completely overwhelmed by the situation.
Pearl did what only a Pearl would do: she rested her head in my lap while stroking my hair, trying to convey calm and connection as I fell into the unknown.
"And that blanket?" Peridot asked, unable to ignore the small teddy bear blanket covering my eyes.
"It's so she can concentrate better," Pearl replied without thinking, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Okay..." Peridot said, confused, as everything around her seemed to fade from my perspective.
In my mind, the void was absolute. There was no floor, no walls, no light to guide me. Only my pink form, expanding and vibrating with an energy that was both mine and someone older, deeper. And then the screams began.
At first, they were faint, broken murmurs that seemed to float in nothingness: "Help...!", "Diamond... are you Diamond?", "Help us!", "My Diamond... we don't like being like this!", "Bitch...!", voices that intertwined, overlapped, reached me from all directions at once.
My gem throbbed fiercely. Every scream, every plea, every trace of fear and despair from those souls made my pink form tremble. I felt like I wasn't just falling, but entering every fragment of pain, every memory trapped within those combined gems. The sensation was intoxicating and terrifying at once: I could feel every tear shed, every silent scream suspended between life and death.
"Help...! Please, someone...!" a piercing cry seemed ripped from the very core of despair. It was impossible to discern its source; the void itself was filled with voices demanding my attention. I felt my heart—or my gem—beat so hard it felt like it would shatter into a thousand pieces.
"Diamond... are you a diamond? Help us!" another voice echoed, this time with a more intense, pleading tone, as if they knew only I could do something. Each word carried centuries of fear and obedience, a mixture of hope and terror that pierced me completely.
"We don't like being like this... help...!" another voice shrieked, almost pleading, and my pink form glowed with each cry, responding without my even trying. My gem vibrated in such a way that I could feel every fragment of pain attached to those voices, and with each heartbeat, I felt as if a piece of me were stretching toward them, wanting to relieve the suffering that had been trapped for centuries.
"Bitch...!" another voice screamed, abrupt and full of contained rage, mingling with the other wails. It was a cry that felt both human and monstrous, laden with resentment, fear, and despair. The void filled with these voices, all clamoring, all wanting something from me that I couldn't explain.
I closed my eyes, even though they were covered by the blanket, and let my pink form absorb every vibration, every cry, every spark of existence trapped in that space. Each soul seemed to connect with me, as if my senses were the only thing capable of giving them form or recognition.
"Help! My Diamond! Please... don't leave us like this!" another voice cried, this time pleading with a clarity that made me shudder. I could feel the desperation mingled with hope; these souls weren't just lost, they were waiting for me to intervene, to respond, to do something no one else could.
My gem throbbed stronger with each passing second. The voices began to combine into a kind of chaotic chorus, some begging, others screaming, some even mocking or hurling insults, but all existing simultaneously in an amalgam that was both terrifying and fascinating. The feeling of power and responsibility mingled with the deepest fear I had ever felt.
"Help! Please, someone...!" "Diamond... don't leave us!" "Bitch...!" The cries never ceased, and I felt completely absorbed by them. Each word was a heartbeat, each plea a tug, and my pink form responded without my having to think: it vibrated, it shone, it expanded, trying to encompass and contain everything.
I fell into the void, but I wasn't alone. Every soul that cried out recognized me, and somehow, I began to recognize them. Their fears, their resentments, their pleas—everything melted into a flow of energy that felt almost tangible. The sensation of falling gradually disappeared, replaced by a kind of constant floating, sustained by the energy that surrounded me and that, somehow, responded to my own gem.
I could perceive their emotions, mixed in a chaos that only a gem could comprehend: fear, regret, fury, despair, but also hope. Hope that someone, finally, would hear them, see them, and acknowledge them. And I, despite the terror, knew that I had to do it, that I had to absorb it all and respond in some way.
It was an abyss of voices, screams, and pleas, a whirlwind of trapped souls intertwined with every beat of my gem. And as I fell, as I floated in that endless void, my pink form shone, intense and powerful, ready to confront all that chaos and bring a modicum of order or relief to that place.
Suddenly, I arrived somewhere else. I floated in absolute emptiness, surrounded by lights that danced everywhere, shining like fragments of memories trapped between eternity and oblivion. Each flash seemed to hold a story, a sigh, a lament that pierced me and made me feel more alive and yet smaller than ever.
A piece of gem slid past me, floating with a presence I couldn't ignore.
"Bitch..." the fragment said in a voice that seemed to emanate from everywhere at once.
I froze, staring at it. My mind struggled to process it as tears streamed from my pink form, glistening in the light of that infinite void. I wiped them away with an almost unrecognizable murmur, but I didn't stop observing every gem around me, every fragment trapped in that space.
"My Diamond!" a unified voice echoed, so clear it made me shudder, filling the entire emptiness with its power and its despair.
"Hello!" I responded quickly, trying to project confidence, even though my heart was pounding a mile a minute.
"No... don't speak. Let me speak," I said, mentally raising my voice above the murmurs swirling around me. I waited a few seconds, watching to see if any gem had questions, but there was no response. Only expectant silence, heavy and expectant.
"Thank God," I murmured, allowing myself a small sigh as my eyes scanned the place. Each gem was there, trapped, like fragments of history and pain, and I could feel it all. Their emotions, their fears, and their frustration mingled within my gem, a torrent almost impossible to bear.
"I know what this is," I began, my voice firm but heavy with emotion. "I know what they did to you, I know how they hurt you... but I need your help. I have to be as direct as possible, because I don't know how long you've been suffering like this. Do you understand?"
"Yes, my diamond," a single voice replied, clear and unified, seemingly rising from the entire place at once.
"Okay," I said, trying to remain calm. "I have an idea, and I hope you'll help me carry it out. The idea is for each of you to do your best to enclose yourselves in a bubble. It's that... or suffer for eternity. What do you think?"
There was a moment of silence, so thick I could feel it in my gem. Then, slowly, the answer came: "Yes, my diamond," they whispered, and the murmurs began to swell in my mind like tidal waves, swells of wails and pleas I couldn't help but feel. They were the same wails that made me shudder, the same ones that, to be honest, I didn't know how Steven Prime had ever endured.
My pink form expanded slightly, vibrating with each sigh, each stifled moan, as the gems' lights seemed to react to my presence. I could feel each shard preparing itself, the energy within each soul searching for a point of stability, a way to contain its own pain and fear.
"Come on... you can do this," I whispered firmly, trying to instill confidence. "It's not easy, I know... but if you do this, you won't be trapped forever. You have to focus on your own energy, your inner light... on what makes you who you are."
There was a moment of hesitation, a small collective tremor, but then I felt them begin to obey. One by one, the gems began to form barriers of light around themselves, bubbles that glowed faintly at first and then grew stronger, more defined, like shields containing centuries of pain and suffering.
My gem throbbed so strongly that I could feel it resonating with their every movement, as if each bubble were its own heartbeat, each light a pulse synchronized with my own. The sensation was intense, terrifying, but also incredibly powerful. I could feel the pain lessening, the despair beginning to subside, and that for the first time in centuries, these souls could have a moment's respite.
"That's it... that's perfect," I whispered, almost to myself, as I watched the cluster's energy respond to my mental command. Each bubble, each contained light, seemed to tell me that they trusted me, that they had chosen to surrender to my guidance.
The void no longer seemed so dark. The feeling of chaos transformed into an unstable but manageable equilibrium, a place where the light of each gem coexisted with mine, resonating and forming a pattern I could feel with every beat of my heart... or rather, of my gem.
Then I felt the entire place change. The void was no longer just darkness; it became both light and dark at the same time, as if both coexisted without conflict. The lights that had once trembled now floated more calmly, and the whispers ceased to be desperate cries, transforming into something different, something I had never heard in there before.
"Thank you, my diamond," came from all sides, not as a shout, but as a collective sigh.
"Forgive us, my diamond," other voices said, laden with guilt, obedience, centuries of imposed mistakes.
"Let's support each other," some murmured, with a gentleness that tightened my chest.
"Our diamond supports us," they repeated, over and over again, like a mantra, as if they had finally found something firm to hold on to.
Each word felt different from the previous laments. They no longer hurt the same. They were still heavy, yes, but there was relief, there was rest. My pink form vibrated with less violence, and for the first time since I had fallen into that place, I could breathe without feeling like I was drowning in someone else's emotions.
I watched with fascination the gem fragment right in front of me, the same one that had called me a bitch before without a second thought. Slowly, its light became more stable, more defined, until a bubble began to form around it. It wasn't abrupt, it was careful, almost timid, as if it were afraid of breaking again.
When the bubble closed completely, I felt something strange inside me. It wasn't exactly happiness, but a small calm, very small, like a corner of silence in the middle of chaos. A piece of me felt... calmer, I suppose that was the right word.
Maybe this is what it felt like to truly help.
Maybe this is what it felt like to carry something that wasn't just pain.
But I didn't have time to think anymore.
Out of nowhere, I felt a brutal tug, as if someone had yanked me without warning. The void distorted, the lights elongated, and my pink form began to dissolve as everything spun around me.
"Shit," I said involuntarily, as I was roughly pulled from that place, dragged back, just like that, to the ship.
And with that, the silence was broken once more.
I took a deep breath as I felt Pearl hug me tightly, as if she were afraid I was going to disappear again. The cold metal of the ship vibrated beneath my hands.
"Give me a chance," I murmured as I placed both palms on the cockpit floor, trying to focus and sort out what was still echoing in my head.
"What are you doing?" Amethyst asked, watching me with a frown, unsure whether to laugh or worry.
"What did you do?" Garnet said, already fused again after Ruby awoke, her voice laden not with fear, but with pure awe.
Garnet stood still, staring straight ahead in utter fascination. Her future vision activated relentlessly as she watched tiny bubbles appear around the cluster. One. Two. Eight. One hundred. One thousand. Each one counted, each possibility confirmed, and for the first time, even she had her mouth slightly open.
The others also watched in silence, unable to tear their gaze away. The cluster, that impossible aberration, was being bubbled little by little, as if it were finally finding order within the chaos.
And then, with an enormous flash that illuminated the entire cabin, a gigantic bubble formed around the entire cluster.
...
...
A heavy silence enveloped the entire ship.
Peridot's hand still trembled on the drill, right where the button to destroy the thing was if anything went wrong. No one said anything. No one moved.
All eyes turned to me.
I still had the blanket covering my eyes, but my head was bowed, as if exhaustion had suddenly overwhelmed me.
"Are you okay?" Perla asked gently, beginning to massage my shoulders to help me relax.
I remained silent. Little by little, I felt the presences fade from my mind. The tormented souls departed, one by one, as if they had finally finished whatever it was they had been doing in there. Thousands of years of suffering... and now, at last, rest.
I shook my head slowly. My breathing stabilized. My eyes returned to normal, though my pink form remained, vibrating with an eerie calm.
"Nothing," I finally said as I carefully sat up. "I just felt like I was damaged... it was something, I don't know."
I stumbled a little, and Pearl was there immediately to catch me.
Lapis, who was still awake, eyes wide open and unable to believe what she was seeing, looked at me, then at the bubbling cluster, and blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
"Damn, Steven... you're crazy."
"Hehe," I replied with a tired chuckle, spitting into my hand and dabbing it on my forehead just in case, as if that would help.
"Was it a success?" Peridot asked, finally taking her hand off the "cluster destruction" button, her fingers still trembling.
"Totally," Pearl replied with a gentle smile, watching me as I leaned back in one of the ship's seats.
Six hours later, the ship was finally settled on solid ground. The landscape around the barn was almost normal, except for a gigantic hole that looked like it had been scooped out of the planet with a cosmic spoon. Even so, no one paid it much attention; after all, they'd been through worse that day.
"Solid ground!" Amethyst exclaimed with pure enthusiasm, throwing herself down to kiss the ground as if she'd just returned from an intergalactic war.
Lapis watched her with a frown, clearly confused, as she used the water she controlled to cover the enormous nearby crater as best she could. "Why are you kissing the ground?" she asked, not quite understanding the habit.
Amethyst sat up slowly, brushing the dust from her face with a carefree smile. "Garnet said there was a real chance of dying," she replied, as if that explained everything.
Silence fell abruptly.
Lapis stared at her, eyes wide, processing that information, but Amethyst wasn't finished.
"Or that the ship would explode," she added calmly, "because Steven was having a weird episode."
That was the breaking point.
Lapis's body visibly tensed, a slight tremor running through her as she turned her head to look at Steven. He was floating above the barn, suspended in the air with obvious effort, concentrating with his arms slightly outstretched, as if trying to maintain an invisible balance. Its pinkish shape remained, though less intense, like a flame that refused to go out.
"Will it be okay?" Pencil asked softly, with a mixture of worry and guilt that she couldn't hide.
Before anyone else could answer, Garnet appeared beside him almost silently and placed a firm, reassuring hand on his shoulder. "He's going to be okay," she said with absolute certainty, the kind that leaves no room for doubt.
Lapis didn't take his eyes off Steven. "He looks... tired. Not like before."
"He is," Garnet admitted. "What he did wasn't small. It wasn't something just anyone could handle."
Amethyst crossed her arms, more serious than usual. "Thousands of gems screaming in your head isn't exactly a walk in the park."
Garnet nodded slowly. "But he's not alone."
At that moment, Pearl was visible near the barn, watching Steven's every move with absolute focus, ready to intervene at the slightest sign that something might go wrong. Her hands were tense, but her posture was firm, as if her mere presence were an anchor.
"Pearl is with him," Garnet continued. "She's always been like this. Always looking out for him, always taking care of him even when he pretends he doesn't need it."
Lapis lowered his head slightly, letting out a heavy sigh. "I've never seen anyone carry so much... and still stand."
"Not many can," Garnet replied. "Steven does it because he believes he must. And because, somehow, he still believes he can save everyone."
The wind gently swept through the area, rustling the grass around the barn, as Steven finally lowered himself a little further, still focused, still holding on.
"So... we just have to trust," Lapis murmured.
"Exactly," Garnet said with a faint smile. "Trust him. And be ready if he needs help."
After several hours in which the silence became almost absolute, only Steven and Pearl remained awake. The barn was enveloped in an eerie tranquility, one that wasn't unsettling, but didn't allow for complete rest either. Pearl was the first to move, carefully rising to the top of the barn, where Steven floated just below, motionless, gazing at the sky as if searching for answers among the stars.
"Steven."
Hearing his name, he slowly opened his eyes. The pink glow in them was still there, reflecting fragments of the diamonds that were now part of him. Seeing her, his expression softened.
"Pearl," he said calmly, floating toward her until they were face to face.
She hesitated for a few seconds before speaking, as if afraid of breaking something fragile.
"Are you... are you okay?"
Steven looked at her intently. He was taller now, his presence felt different, heavier, and at the same time, more vulnerable. His shoulders relaxed slightly.
"Not really, to be perfectly honest."
Pearl held his gaze, and that's when she noticed it clearly. Pink tears streamed down Steven's face, and he didn't try to hide them. There was no shame in them, only exhaustion.
Steven looked up at the sky, as if the words came more easily without looking directly at her.
"You know... I've never felt so much pain. Before, I could bear it; my gem helped, it cushioned many things. But now... now that I have this power, I feel every emotion as if I were naked before them."
He looked at his own hands, trembling slightly.
"With this power, everything is more intense. Sadness, guilt, even affection. It seems I cry over anything, and even though I can stop... I can't stop feeling it. It doesn't go away. I can only control it a little."
He turned his face toward Pearl and found her watching him with an expression that wasn't surprise, but deep understanding.
"You knew, didn't you?"
Pearl nodded slowly.
"Yes. Many times."
He took a breath before continuing, as if each memory weighed years.
"Your mother did the same. She would shut herself away, in her room or somewhere no one could see her. She would cry for the fallen gems, for those she couldn't save, for decisions that haunted her even centuries later. I saw her... and I always tried to help her."
He lowered his gaze slightly.
"But she was stubborn. She believed that carrying everything was her responsibility."
Without another word, Pearl approached and enveloped Steven in a firm, protective embrace. Steven took barely a second to respond, returning the gesture.
"I just want you not to follow in her footsteps."
A soft light began to envelop them. It wasn't harsh or sudden, but warm and comforting. Their silhouettes merged effortlessly, as if this moment had been waiting for them forever.
Rainbow Quartz appeared, suspended in the air, feeling all the shared pain in a single heartbeat. It wasn't pure sadness, but understanding. Every memory, every guilt, and every fear mingled together, but so did the solace. There weren't two separate wills, only a serene presence that accepted what it felt without running from it.
The pink hue lingered for a few seconds before softening. Not because the pain had completely disappeared, but because now he wasn't alone. Now there was someone with whom to share it.
Rainbow Quartz closed her eyes and, without any hurry, began to rise.
"We don't have to carry everything alone."
She flew through the skies with slow, calm movements, letting the wind caress her form as her emotions gradually settled. There was no urgency, no fear. Only rest.
And as the sky stretched endlessly before her, the pains that had weighed her down for so long finally began to loosen their grip.
End of Chapter 61.