Prologue – The Fall of the Seven
Long before men built kingdoms or dragons soared through clouds, the world was ruled by the Seven Jewels of Creation. Each gem held a piece of the gods' power — light, life, water, fire, earth, wind, and shadow.
When the gods departed, they left the jewels in mortal hands to keep the balance.
But power tempts all.
One gem — the Black Diamond, jewel of shadow — turned against its kin. It drank the souls of those who touched it, whispering promises of eternity and dominion. The other six united to seal it beneath the mountains of the north. The world forgot… but shadows remember.
Chapter One – The Girl from Embervale
Arielle Thorn had never believed in legends.
She was a miner's daughter, seventeen years old, living in Embervale — a soot-blackened village built on the edge of a bottomless pit called the Maw.
Every night, the wind from the abyss carried strange whispers. Old miners said it was the earth mourning for something it had buried.
Arielle didn't care about myths — she cared about her mother's sickness, about the endless hunger that gnawed at her people. When she was sent to mine deeper into the forbidden tunnels to find rare obsidian to sell, she didn't hesitate.
That was the night she heard it — a heartbeat echoing through stone.
Chapter Two – The Heart of Shadows
Her pickaxe struck something that wasn't rock. The air trembled.
She brushed away dust and uncovered a black gem, smooth as glass, pulsing with faint violet light.
The moment her fingers touched it, the world went silent.
"I have waited," a voice whispered inside her head.
"You are the one."
Arielle screamed and dropped it, but the diamond floated — hovering in front of her eyes like it was alive. Then it sank into her palm, leaving behind a mark — a diamond-shaped brand, black and faintly glowing.
When she returned to the surface, the miners saw the mark and recoiled. They called her cursed. Within a day, the village priest demanded her exile.
But that night, a group of soldiers arrived — the King's hunters.
They weren't there to help her.
They were there to capture her.
Chapter Three – The Hunter and the Thief
She ran through the burning streets, her mother's pendant clutched tight in her hand. Arrows hissed past her. Just as a blade grazed her neck, a hand grabbed her and pulled her into a hidden passage.
"Keep quiet if you want to live," a young man hissed.
He was lean, sharp-eyed, dressed in black leathers — a thief named Kael Draven, wanted in three kingdoms. He had been watching her since she entered the mines.
He told her the truth:
The King had long been searching for the Black Diamond. Anyone who carried its mark was hunted, for the diamond could control life and death — and whoever wielded it could rule the world.
Kael didn't trust her, and she didn't trust him — but together, they escaped Embervale before dawn.
Chapter Four – The Prophecy of the Diamond
They traveled for days through the wastelands of Aerath, hunted by soldiers and shadow beasts that seemed drawn to Arielle's mark.
In a ruined temple, they met an old seer named Eldrin, who revealed the prophecy written on the walls in silver flame:
"When the Last Black Diamond awakens,
The world shall bleed in twilight.
One soul shall bind the dark or break the dawn."
Arielle's hand burned as he spoke. The mark pulsed faster.
The seer bowed to her — in fear, not reverence.
"You are the vessel," he said. "The diamond's soul lives in you now. And it will not be silent forever."
Chapter Five – The Forest of Echoes
Kael guided her to the Forest of Echoes, a place where sound and memory intertwined. Every step whispered voices from the past — laughter, screams, prayers.
There, Arielle dreamed of a woman in black armor — eyes glowing violet — standing upon a battlefield of ash.
When she woke, her hands glowed with the same light. She could move shadows. With a gesture, she bent the darkness to hide them from enemies.
Kael was terrified, but also awed. "You're changing," he murmured.
"So is the world," she replied.
Chapter Six – The Warlock of Veyra
They reached the cliffs of Veyra, where a warlock named Serath dwelled — once a guardian of the jewels. He taught Arielle to control the diamond's energy before it consumed her.
He told her the truth: the diamond wasn't evil — it was incomplete. The gods had shattered it to contain its power. She bore only the last shard — the last Black Diamond.
But the King of Astralis, King Orien, had gathered the other six jewels to forge the Crown of Eternity — an artifact that would make him a god.
Only the diamond could stop him.
Chapter Seven – The Betrayal
Arielle, Kael, and Serath traveled to the capital to steal the Crown. Along the way, Arielle began hearing the diamond's whispers again.
"They will betray you, little light."
On the night they reached the palace, Kael vanished. When Arielle found him, he was kneeling before King Orien.
He had betrayed her.
He had been promised freedom and riches — but the King lied. The moment he took the crown, the jewels screamed, and a shadow burst from Arielle's hand, devouring half the court.
Kael watched in horror as the girl he betrayed became something else — her eyes burning violet, her hair turning black as smoke.
Chapter Eight – The Awakening
When Arielle woke, she stood among ruins.
Everyone was dead.
The Black Diamond had consumed them.
Serath lay dying. "You are not lost yet," he whispered. "The diamond is part of you — but it does not define you. Choose who you are, Arielle."
Tears streaked her soot-stained face.
She turned her power inward — and for a moment, she saw the truth.
The diamond wasn't a weapon.
It was a prison.
Inside it lay the soul of a fallen god — Umbra, the god of shadows — waiting to be reborn.
Chapter Nine – The Last War
King Orien survived, corrupted by the power of the other jewels.
He raised an army of crystal knights and marched across the realm.
The sky bled red, the rivers turned black.
Arielle stood atop the mountain of Veyra, her body half consumed by the diamond's glow. Kael, broken by guilt, returned to her side. "I can't undo what I did," he said, "but I can die trying to fix it."
Together, they led the last of the free cities into battle.
Lightning split the sky as Arielle faced the King.
Their powers clashed — six jewels of light against one of darkness.
But when the light struck her, the diamond within her heart shattered — and in that moment, Umbra awoke.
Chapter Ten – The Last Black Diamond
The world trembled.
Umbra rose from within her, a god reborn — towering, radiant with shadowfire. Yet he did not destroy her. He bowed.
"You freed me."
He offered her a choice: merge with him and become immortal, or destroy the last fragment of his power — and with it, herself.
Arielle smiled faintly. "No one should hold this much power."
She kissed Kael's forehead, whispered, "Forgive me," and plunged the diamond into her chest. Light and shadow exploded across the sky, swallowing everything.
Epilogue – The Dawn After Darkness
A hundred years later, travelers crossing the ruins of Astralis tell stories of a black flower that blooms once each century — petals dark as night, glowing faintly violet.
They call it Arielle's Tear.
And in the deepest cave of Embervale, buried beneath the stone, lies a faint heartbeat — waiting.
For legends never die. They only sleep… until the world forgets again.