Whispers of Metal: The Forge of the One Mage

Well I have a new chapter I hope you enjoy it, originally this chapter was going to be longer but I didn't have time to do it, so I divided it into two parts although it is still long for the chapters I usually write, you know I tried to make a couple of jokes in this chapter but some words didn't have a direct translation into English so the mc might say things that don't make sense. Well that's all leave comments and power stones.

I headed toward the source of the noise. To be honest, I wasn't surprised by what I found, considering this was Beach City. Garnet was being yelled at by a dark-skinned man wearing a pizzeria apron. Next to him, a young woman with brown skin watched with an embarrassed expression, as if she didn't know where to hide. Garnet, as usual, kept her stoic face, though when she saw me, her eyes lingered briefly on mine with a hint of confusion. Or at least, that's what I thought, given her subtle gestures — if I could read anything through those exaggerated glasses she wore.

Everything became clear when Nora arrived, bursting into the scene with her usual energy.

"Garnet! Are you hurt?" she asked, her tone clearly concerned. 

"I'm fine," Garnet replied laconically. Nora sighed in relief, just as the rest of the Gems arrived, running.

"Hi, Nora," greeted the brown-skinned girl standing next to the man. Nora, always friendly, responded with a smile. 

"Hi, Kiki!" She was about to start a conversation, but Amethyst's laugh interrupted.

"Hahaha! This place is a total wreck!" said the small purple Gem as she looked around at the damage. She held her hand up to Nora. "High five, friend!" 

But Pearl, always the sensible one, quickly reprimanded her. "There's nothing to celebrate, Amethyst," she said sternly, crossing her arms and looking at the scene disapprovingly.

At that moment, I walked over. "Hi, Nora, Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl," I greeted casually. Amethyst looked at me with a grin. 

"What's up, doc?" she replied in her typical playful tone, while Garnet greeted me with a slight nod. Pearl, as usual, ignored me at first but then threw a quick glance in my direction, assessing me from head to toe. Even though she said nothing, I could tell she'd noticed my physical changes and was somehow bothered by them.

"You noticed, huh?" I thought to myself. Nora, on the other hand, wasn't nearly as discreet.

"H-hi," she said softly, a slight blush coloring her cheeks as she examined me closely. I felt a little uncomfortable, which, oddly enough, seemed to annoy Pearl even more, as she started grinding her teeth. I couldn't help but let out a little chuckle at her reaction. 

"Heh," was all I said, just before the Gems resumed their conversation.

"You threw the pufferfish back into the ocean again!" exclaimed Pearl, pointing accusingly at Amethyst. 

"Tattletale," Amethyst replied in an annoyed tone, crossing her arms and turning her back on her. Garnet, unfazed, ignored the situation and simply said, "Let's regroup at the temple." And without warning, they leaped into the sky, disappearing within seconds. 

Wow, it's clear they haven't quite learned to live together well, even after knowing each other for millennia. "Women… even if they're aliens, who can understand them?" I thought to myself.

"Hey, where do you all think you're going?!" shouted the man from the pizzeria, visibly furious. "What about my sign?" he continued, his tone growing louder. Then he turned to Nora, who immediately tensed up.

"Nora," the man said with an authoritative stance, placing his hands on his waist. "What's wrong with your friends? One of them destroys my sign, and then they all fly off like it's some kind of circus act. They don't even offer to help!" he complained, raising his voice even more. I could see Nora becoming more uncomfortable by the second, and for some reason, her discomfort started to affect me too.

"But, Mr. Pizza…" Nora began, only to be interrupted by a girl identical to Kiki who appeared on the scene.

"Dad, stop yelling," said the newcomer in a tired tone, as if she was used to dealing with her father's outbursts. 

The man, visibly irritated, responded sarcastically, "Oh, did I interrupt your beauty sleep?"

The girl simply yawned before responding, completely unbothered, "I don't need a nap to look beautiful." 

What started as a simple complaint quickly escalated into a more heated argument. People can be so annoying… although I would also be angry in that situation.

---

"You're a good girl, Nora! Why do you hang out with those… animals?" snapped the man, referring to the Gems. His words echoed in the air, full of annoyance. I could see Nora clenching her fists; her frustration and anger were palpable, but she didn't directly lash out at him.

"They're not animals!" Nora shot back, taking a step forward, raising her voice for the first time. "They're the Crystal Gems! They protect humanity!" She was about to continue, but the man cut her off sharply.

"ENOUGH! Nora, tell your friends they are OFFICIALLY banned for life from my pizzeria!" the man yelled.

That seemed excessive to me — and a little silly, given that the Gems don't even need food. "Hey, don't you think you're overreacting a bit?" I said in my incredibly calm voice, causing both Nora and the man to look at me. Nora had a hopeful expression, while the man looked annoyed, though not too much (still, why did Nora seem hopeful?).

"If it's just the sign, I can fix it," I offered, snapping my fingers, and a silver light enveloped the shop. Within seconds, the light faded, leaving the sign looking brand new, even freshly painted.

The man looked on in astonishment, unable to process what had just happened. The two brown-skinned girls were also stunned. One of them, the quieter one, took out her phone to record, but by the time she tried, it was already done.

Nora gave me a grateful look, but the man, although visibly impressed, held his ground. "I appreciate the gesture, young man, but you're not the one who should be compensating for the damages," he said seriously.

"He's stubborn. I can respect that," I thought to myself.

"Wait, what?! Kofi, that's not fair! It was an accident!" Nora exclaimed, clearly frustrated.

I placed a hand on her shoulder and said calmly, "Well, I tried." The man sighed, frustrated, and went back into the pizzeria, putting up the "CLOSED" sign on the door.

"What a shame; I wanted pizza," I muttered under my breath, almost to myself, but Nora heard me.

"I'm sorry about that," Nora said, looking a bit sad.

"Come on, don't make that face. It wasn't your fault, and besides, I doubt fish pizzas are that good."

Nora smiled, somewhat relieved, and started to relax a little.

...

We walked together to her house, but the silence between us was heavy. It didn't bother me, but Nora seemed restless, like she wanted to say something but couldn't find the words. Finally, I decided to break the ice.

"If you have something to say, just go for it," I suggested as we walked along the beach. She paused for a moment, took a deep breath, and finally spoke.

"Well… you look different," she said, inspecting me from head to toe. She kept getting closer, until I could only say, "Hey, personal space."

But that didn't stop her from observing me, though she did take a small step back. "Okay, okay, sorry, but seriously, you do look different. Your skin seems paler than usual, and your hair looks darker," she said, though her apology didn't sound all that sincere.

"Yeah, it's a long story that boils down to: I messed around with my powers and ended up like this," I replied, gesturing to myself. I wasn't trying to dodge or simplify what happened, but I really wasn't about to explain everything I did to Nora. It's not that I don't trust her; I just don't think a lecture on biology and transhumanism would be good right now.

"Heh, I didn't take you for someone who'd mess around with his powers," she commented as we approached her house.

"Well, you can't be serious all the time, right? I have to have some fun once in a while," I replied, shrugging. She looked at me, raising an exaggerated eyebrow.

"Uh-huh, sure. That doesn't sound very convincing coming from Mr. Serious-and-Mysterious," she replied in a playful tone.

"Ouch! Such little faith you have in me!" I said, putting a hand over my chest as if I were hurt, exaggerating my tone dramatically.

She opened the door to her house, and we saw the Gems discussing the Gem monster from earlier. What followed was a piercing look from Pearl, who looked visibly displeased.

"Yeah, get mad all you want," I thought, but kept it to myself.

From here, the conversation followed the canon almost exactly, with just a few minor exceptions. First, Nora didn't seem as uncomfortable as in that episode. Pearl was annoyed while talking, but it was because of me. She turned her head, looked at me with anger, and then, with difficulty, set it aside and focused on what Nora was saying, who was already finishing up.

"…if they're going to live with you, they should see how fun, smart, and mysterious you all are," said Nora with conviction.

At that, Pearl lifted her head with… pride? Yes, pride, and looked at me with an air of "superiority." That woman doesn't know how to hide it, so I decided to play a little cruel trick on her. I created an illusion that only she could see: a young Greg dancing with a very cheerful Rose. The illusion was in my eyes and cut off just when the two were about to kiss.

"Ha, her confused expression is pure gold," I thought to myself.

"Ha! Mysterious," scoffed Garnet, to which Nora replied.

Nora thought for a moment until an idea popped into her head. "I know, let's throw a little beach party, right in front of the temple, just us and them," she said, sounding a bit excited.

"I don't know, Nora," said Amethyst, sounding a little indifferent.

"Don't worry; I'll take care of everything," said Nora, and I shot her a look, letting her know I'd help with this.

...

It didn't take us long to set everything up — a table, a few chairs, a medium sound system, and a grill. God, the smell of the meat is tempting me.

At some point, Nora had changed clothes. Now she was wearing shorts and a pink sleeveless shirt with yellow trim and a five-pointed star in the center. It looked like workout or gym wear, if you ask me.

I just rearranged the matter that made up my clothes; now I was wearing a white shirt and gray pants — nothing fancy.

The Gems arrived again and greeted us.

"Hi, Nora. Everything's ready for your little party," said Pearl with a somewhat maternal tone.

"Just one more thing," said Nora, holding up a book with the title: *Foine Summer Special*, showing a beach and a girl in shorts on the cover.

"What's that for?" Amethyst asked as the three Gems looked at the book.

"They're ideas for your new outfits," said Nora.

"What's wrong with what we're wearing now?" Pearl asked, her expression changing.

"Nothing! I just thought you'd look better in something more casual," Nora said innocently.

Then, from a distance, I heard, "Is this the right address?" in the voice of an elderly woman.

"Well, Nora, it was a pleasure to help, but I think the guests are already arriving, and I don't want to be a bother," I said calmly.

"No, you don't have to leave. Stay," Nora said, to which I responded with a thumbs-up. This seemed to make her happy. Hearing Nora's words made Pearl tense up, and now she wasn't in a good mood.

Then the guests started to arrive.

"Whoa, they're here! Go change," Nora told the Gems as she went to greet the guests.