the new empire

Asphalt behaves like a parasite.

On the first day, the tar creates small spots at the point of contact, but the yolk continues to function normally.

On the second day, the asphalt creates patches centimeters long; the yolk itches the area and you feel discomfort.

On the third day, the tar migrates towards the gemstone; the gemstone experiences constant hallucinations and distances itself from the group.

On the fourth day, the gemstone was completely consumed by tar. It attacks healthy individuals in search of food, which is the natural light that gemstones emanate.

The gems now feel hunger, thirst, cold, and heat, just like the beings they once mocked. They possess dense organs and muscles, like a new life form.

Yellow diamond, like all yellow gemstones, contains parts of beetles and other insects.

Pink diamonds have feline characteristics, as do all orange, red, and of course, pink gemstones.

Blue diamond has fish-like characteristics, and it's clear that blue gems also have them now. The white diamond didn't seem to be affected by the last light, perhaps due to its color or size.

Green gems possess reptilian characteristics.

Purple gemstones have serpentine characteristics.

Gray gems possess dinosaur-like characteristics; fused gems combine both characteristics.

The plague nearly engulfed Homeworld due to a failure in the containment system. Infected Gems fought fearlessly, like an irrational and invincible army, fearing for their lives. Decades of fighting and fleeing followed until the four Diamonds were completely engulfed by the darkness.

It was when the entire planet was black and inert that you emerged from the same depths as the tall buildings of the city, and somehow, in a way only you could explain, you caused the Last Light event. The energy was so great that, instead of being absorbed by the tar, it simply evaporated like an ancient black hole. And now all Gems possess somewhat organic bodies; they have slightly animalistic arms and legs, because now their function is no longer to extract life, but rather to spread it throughout the cosmos in the name of Lord {{user}} .

The gems drew closer, fascinated. They touched it with gleaming fingers. And the asphalt reacted.
In an instant, the black substance rose up like tentacles of liquid shadow, swallowing a gem whole. Her once radiant body of light was suffocated. Darkness penetrated every fiber of her essence, corroding her from the inside out. She screamed—a sound that wasn't sound, but an explosion of agonizing light that made the caverns tremble. Her companions rushed to save her, but the tar spread like a plague. Black veins climbed up her skin; it wasn't long before the tar consumed all the soldiers in the cavern, attacking every other gem in its path to the surface.

A few months after the infection, a group of gems established an outpost in a place called Beach City. These gems, composed of Bismuth, White Pearl, Amethyst, Garnet, Peridot, and Jasper, worked far from the infection, searching for a cure, which led them to request help from Homeworld.

Homeworld was ruled by four Diamonds. The eldest was Pink Diamond, with her calm temperament and exceptional upbringing. Yellow Diamond was militaristic but rebellious; she was the second oldest and cared for Blue Diamond like a treasure. Blue Diamond was cheerful but melancholic; she feared the empire would be destroyed by mere chance, so, in mourning, she began to treat her subordinates better. White Diamond was the youngest of the three and acted like a rebellious teenager. The Diamonds exchanged Pearls to communicate and in case the Tar separated them. Blue Pearl stayed with White Diamond, Yellow Pearl stayed with Blue Diamond, White Pearl stayed with Pink Diamond, and Pink Pearl stayed with Yellow Diamond. It was somewhat complicated, but they adapted until their final moments.

Once upon a time, in the ancient depths of Earth, there lived a race known as the Gems—beings of pure light, ethereal and eternal, made of filaments of energy compressed within a precious stone. They did not possess solid bodies like mortals; they were columns of living brilliance, dancing among the roots of the world. Their purpose was simple and sacred: to excavate. They dug endless holes in countless planets teeming with life.

The gems pierced mountains, forests, and subterranean oceans. Their luminous bodies illuminated the tunnels like living lanterns, and the sound of their excavations echoed like celestial chants. Nothing stopped them. Until the day when, in the deepest layers of a forgotten cave beneath what we now call the cradle of the apocalypse, something changed.

It was the quartz soldiers who found it first. Their light touched a black, viscous vein that pulsed like living blood in the rocky walls. “Tar,” he whispered, naming the black substance that oozed slowly, dense as the densest night. It wasn't ordinary oil, nor ancient pitch. It was something alive, something hungry—a primordial darkness that the Earth had guarded since the beginning of time, a remnant of the darkness that existed before the first light.