"Bismuth, wait!" I yelled as I ran after her, feeling the situation slipping out of my control in a matter of seconds.
The hologram didn't retreat. Rose simply watched her with a serene, almost sad expression, one of her hands still gently stroking Leon, as if she knew this was coming.
Bismuth stepped through the hologram.
Her blow passed right through, shattering the projection into pink light particles that scattered across the room like glittering dust. Bismuth stopped dead, gasping, her fists clenched and her body tense.
"What...?" she murmured, turning sharply.
The light particles began to gather again, reforming the hologram image before her. Rose reappeared, unharmed, with that same weary smile that needed no words to say it all.
Bismuth took a step back.
"No... you're not real," she said, gritting her teeth. "This is a damn joke."
Pearl stepped forward, her voice trembling but firm.
"Bismuth... you're safe. A lot has happened. So much."
I remained silent, watching. I knew this wasn't my time to speak, but to be ready. Ready to intervene if necessary, ready to bubble, ready to protect everyone if the situation exploded.
Bismuth took a deep breath, looking at her own hands, her body, touching her chest where her gem glowed.
"I was locked away," she finally said, her anger barely contained. "For years. Alone. Thinking. Waiting."
Rose's hologram looked at her with profound sadness.
"I know," she said gently. "And I'm sorry."
Bismuth let out a bitter laugh.
"That doesn't fix everything," she replied, though her stance was no longer one of attack.
I clenched my fists, feeling the weight of the moment. This wasn't going to be resolved today, or tomorrow. But at least, for the first time in a long time, Bismuth was here. Alive. Free.
And that, while frightening, also meant a new opportunity.
"Listen carefully," Pearl said, her voice calm but firm, as her eyes fixed on Bismuth. The gem, still somewhat stiff, looked at her with a raised eyebrow, trying to read in her expression something that would reassure her or tell her if there was danger.
"I just want you to know... Rose Quartz no longer exists," Pearl continued, letting her words hang in the silence of the place.
"Huh?" Bismuth opened her eyes in disbelief, as if she couldn't process what she had just heard. Her fists clenched slightly, and the tips of her hair stood on end almost imperceptibly.
"Listen, it's not easy to say, but it's the truth," Pearl explained, taking a step forward and lowering her gaze slightly, as if gathering her thoughts before speaking. "When you were locked away... many things changed. The world you knew is no longer the same. Many gems you and I knew, many... were corrupted."
Bismuth frowned. "Corrupted... how?" Her voice held a sharp edge of disbelief and concern. She crossed her arms, observing Pearl's every move, absorbing each word as if trying to piece together a puzzle she didn't know how to solve.
"Some were driven by fear, by ambition, by the desperation of what they were experiencing," Pearl continued calmly, choosing her words carefully. "I don't want you to take this as an excuse... only as an explanation. Those gems are no longer the ones you knew. Many of them... disappeared. Others... simply no longer have the same clarity they once did. Now, only a few remain who still hold the memory of what we were."
Bismuth remained silent, her intense gaze fixed on Pearl, trying to discern the truth behind each sentence. Her eyes scanned the room, searching for clues, as if the surroundings also spoke of the history she hadn't lived through.
"Currently," Pearl said, taking a deep breath, "you and Garnet are the only gems left of those we knew together. Three more besides, who weren't involved in what happened... but their number and their essence changed over time. Everything else... was lost or corrupted."
Bismuth frowned even more, trying to process the information. Her fists relaxed slightly, but the tension in her posture didn't disappear. The gem was assessing, connecting the dots between what she remembered and what Pearl was explaining to her.
"And... Steven," Pearl continued, the name flowing naturally, "is Rose Quartz's son. I don't need to tell you more about him, only that... he's here, and he's part of everything that happened while you were locked away. His presence and his life are... a bridge between what was and what is now."
Bismuth nodded slowly, though she said nothing. Her mind raced, processing the information, imagining the world she had left behind, and understanding that so much of what she knew was gone. Her eyes scanned Pearl, searching for any sign of deceit or hesitation, but found only sincerity.
"I want you to understand," Pearl continued, her voice a little softer, "that what happened wasn't anyone's fault in particular. No one could have prevented it. I just want you to know... that the world changed, that many gems were lost, and that you are one of the few who can still... choose how to move forward. You have a chance you didn't have before."
Bismuth remained silent, swallowing hard. Her gaze dropped to her hands, observing every detail of her body and shape, as if the story now held tangible weight. She analyzed every word, every pause, every gesture of Pearl's. Everything she heard began to slowly settle in her mind: Rose was gone, many gems had been corrupted, Garnet and she were almost the last, and Steven... was a human connected to all of this somehow.
"So... everything I remember, everything I left behind... no longer exists as I knew it," Bismuth finally murmured, barely audible, but heavy with reflection and a touch of sadness.
"That's right," Pearl confirmed, moving a little closer and placing her hand on Bismuth's in a supportive gesture. "But you're here. And as long as you are, there's still something we can protect and do right. No one can take that away from you."
Bismuth looked up, and for the first time in the conversation, an expression of calm mingled with her usual distrust. She analyzed Pearl, then Steven, who was silently watching her, and finally the place around them. Her mind was still processing, but now with a guiding thread: to understand what happened, to learn from it, and to decide how to act.
Silence settled again for a few seconds, but this time it wasn't awkward. It was a silence of contemplation and analysis. Bismuth didn't need to speak, only to look and understand. Pearl, satisfied with her explanation, stayed by her side, watching as the gem absorbed every detail, every word, and every nuance of the story that had been lost to time.
Finally, Bismuth broke the silence, though only with a whisper: "I don't understand everything... but I understand enough."
Pearl smiled gently. "That's all you need for now. The rest... you'll discover."
Steven simply watched from the corner, silent, as the tension between Bismuth and Pearl began to slowly dissipate. His eyes scanned Bismuth's every gesture, every reaction she had to Pearl's words, trying to understand how the weapons smith was processing all the information she hadn't known for centuries. It was strange to watch from the outside, without intervening, but something inside him told him he shouldn't; that this was a conversation Bismuth needed to have to piece together, even if only a fragment, the picture of what had happened while she was imprisoned.
Bismuth, for her part, said nothing, but her eyes analyzed everything. She observed Pearl's body language, listened to every nuance of her voice, every pause. Every explanation about the corrupted gems, about the losses they had suffered, about how only she and Garnet remained of the gems they had known, and about Steven, Rose Quartz's son, was absorbed by her mind in absolute silence. She didn't ask questions, she didn't interrupt; He was just processing, as if trying to reconstruct the years he lost in an instant.
Steven felt a weight in his chest, a mixture of relief and nervousness. He knew the situation was delicate. If Bismuth were to lose her mind, he neither wanted to nor could risk locking her up again. He had watched her grow, felt her strength and determination, and knew that now more than ever she needed the freedom to decide her own path. He remained there, still, letting Pearl speak, letting Bismuth analyze, understand, and perhaps forgive, without intervening.
End of Chapter 67.