Kael had never felt so awake.
His body thrummed with dark power as he stared down at the beach where only moments ago, a Diamond scout had stood. Now, nothing remained but a pile of pale dust slowly being reclaimed by the tide.
He hadn't meant to destroy it.
But the moment it recognized his Gem heritage—Black Obsidian—Kael saw fear in its eyes. And something ancient within him had responded. Not with fear. With dominance.
Now, the shadows that obeyed his will slithered across the sand like living oil, coiling around his ankles, loyal.
Kael stared at his reflection in the tidepool. His eyes had returned to normal, the glowing cracks in his skin faded. He looked like himself again.
But he didn't feel like himself.
Back in the Crystal Temple, Steven paced the main hall, phone in hand, mid-call with Connie.
"Yeah… he activated it," he said softly. "No, not just that. He summoned. I saw it. He controlled shadows. Not like a weapon. Like… like they listened to him."
Connie's voice crackled through the line. "That sounds more like… Sung Jin-Woo."
Steven frowned. "Who?"
Connie responded quickly. "It's from a manhwa I've been reading. 'Solo Leveling.' The guy becomes a Shadow Monarch, commands armies. Sounds like Kael's powers are doing the same thing. But that kind of power always comes with a cost."
Steven sighed. "Yeah. I'm worried."
"I'll be on the next warp to Beach City," Connie promised. "Don't let him go off alone again."
Kael stood in the basement of the temple — Pearl had called it the Gem Archives — a series of ancient crystal data terminals and relics long left untouched. His shadow curled beneath his feet like a throne.
Holograms flickered around him: faded projections of shattered Kindergarten sites, secret gem experiments, and hidden files with classified symbols.
Then… he found it.
Subject: Obsidian-001. Codename: Black Obsidian. Status: Missing. Classification: Ultra-Forbidden.
A file opened with a deep hum, revealing a visual log. A Diamond — Blue, by the look of her — stood next to a massive, obsidian-colored Gem, humanoid but featureless, emanating tendrils of black mist.
"He doesn't speak," Blue Diamond said to the camera. "But he obeys. The darkness listens to him. We believe he is a prototype conduit — not just a soldier, but a monarch of the void. This power is unstable."
Another log played.
"We attempted to split Obsidian's core into fragments and seal it within biological hosts. The only success… Earth-based."
The screen went dark. Kael stepped back, his heart pounding.
"I'm… a host?"
"No," a voice echoed behind him. "You're the last piece."
Kael turned to see Garnet standing there, eyes hidden behind her visor. She stepped into the light, her expression unreadable.
"You are not your father," she said calmly. "But his legacy is inside you. And the Gem inside you — it didn't fuse. It grew."
Kael's voice came out rough. "So what does that make me?"
Garnet tilted her head. "A singularity."
Elsewhere, in the void of space, a transmission echoed through Gem channels long thought dead.
"Subject Obsidian confirmed active. Earth system. Initiate purification protocol."
Across the stars, something stirred.
A Watcher — an ancient construct built by the Diamonds — opened its eye.
Kael's training began the next morning.
Steven guided him through meditation, focus, and control. But Kael's power wasn't peaceful. It moved with hunger — like a tide breaking free of a dam. When he called it, the ground darkened. When he resisted, the shadows whimpered like beasts denied a master.
"I don't think I'm supposed to suppress it," Kael muttered, sweat beading on his forehead. "It wants to be used."
Steven nodded. "Then maybe you need to find a way to channel it. Shape it. Like armor. Or a familiar."
Kael closed his eyes and focused. The ground trembled.
From his shadow, something emerged — not human, not Gem. A knight-shaped figure formed from darkness and smoke, eyes glowing blue.
It knelt before him.
Steven stepped back. "Kael… that's a summon."
"I didn't even try," Kael whispered. "It just… obeyed."
"Name it," Steven said. "Give it a purpose."
Kael looked into the creature's hollow eyes. "Shade."
The shadow-being dipped its head again, then melted into the ground.
Kael exhaled. For once, he didn't feel afraid.
That night, a rift opened above Beach City.
The Watcher had arrived.
The sky crackled with cold light, and an obsidian construct descended like a meteor into the cliffs near the Kindergartens.
Kael and Steven reached the site first. Garnet and Pearl followed, weapons at the ready.
The Watcher stood ten feet tall — its body sleek and inlaid with Diamond glyphs, its single eye rotating with eerie precision. It turned toward Kael and spoke.
"Obsidian protocol active. Subject is aberrant. Termination required."
Pearl's eyes widened. "It's automated. Programmed to destroy rogue hybrids."
Kael's fists clenched. "Then it's here for me."
The Watcher fired a beam of pale energy.
Kael moved instinctively — but not away.
Through.
He vanished into shadow and reappeared behind the machine, hand extended.
"Shade."
A dozen dark soldiers emerged from his shadow, attacking the construct in perfect synchrony.
Garnet rushed forward with her gauntlets, joining the fray. Pearl danced between attacks like light on water. Steven threw up shields to defend civilians fleeing from nearby.
Kael's summons distracted the Watcher long enough for him to charge energy in his palm.
A blade of shadow erupted in his hand — sleek, curved, humming with Void energy.
With a single strike, he carved through the Watcher's armor, exposing its core.
"End it, Kael!" Steven shouted.
Kael leapt — shadow trailing behind him like a comet — and drove his blade through the core.
The Watcher shrieked, then imploded in a burst of violet energy.
Silence followed.
Kael landed in the dust, breathing hard, the darkness still humming beneath his skin.
Garnet stepped forward. "That was Diamond tech. Designed to purge Gems like you."
Steven joined her. "If they're sending machines, the Diamonds might know you're alive. And they'll come themselves next time."
Kael looked toward the horizon, where the stars gleamed coldly.
"Then I need to be ready."