Whispers of Metal: The Forge of the One Mage

Well, new chapter, this is from Garnet's perspective, you know, leave power stones and comment, seriously comment on this chapter to see if you liked this

Garnet hadn't been having goods days lately. The once clear and orderly visions of the future had turned into chaos. Each time she tried to see beyond a few days, all she got were disjointed fragments, distorted images that left her with a sense of unease she couldn't shake. It made no sense.

The first time she tried to look into the future, she saw an image that deeply unsettled her. A red giant, as red as blood, with four arms covered in an armor made of bone. The armor looked so organic it seemed like an extension of his own skin, with sharp, dark scales protruding from it. His face was hidden beneath a white mask adorned with a kind of crown on his forehead, from which three eyes as bright as platinum glowed. His long, dark hair was an abyss, with flickers of gems and skulls appearing like shooting stars in the eternal night. Around him, thousands of smaller creatures gathered, each one also armored in bone. Every creature was different, from small insects to colossi the size of mountains, yet none matched the size of the giant. She could barely hold onto the vision for a few seconds before her gem began to ache, as if it were about to shatter.

A silver fire surrounded the being and his army, and Garnet felt that the monster was watching her, as though it had noticed her presence through the vision. But before she could react, the image vanished. The fear, however, lingered. A being capable of interacting with her through a mere vision… was something unnatural, terrifying.

In the second vision, the scene changed drastically. Garnet saw an immense machine, so vast it swallowed the horizon and beyond. The metallic structure stretched as far as she could see, with cables and tubes protruding from its body, connecting to the very reality of the vision, as if the mechanical being and the world were one entity. This machine had only one eye, a cold and logical orb that burned like molten lava. Garnet felt a chilling cold looking at it, mixed with a suffocating heat, as if she were on the edge of a star.

Thousands of arms and mechanisms emerged from its body, destroying and rebuilding themselves in an endless cycle of self-improvement. Alongside this colossal entity, other machines moved: humanoid metal figures, war automatons, structures in constant transformation, all mirroring the changes of their master.

Although the being seemed aware of her presence, it paid her no attention. It merely continued, absorbed in its task of ceaseless self-perfection.

The third vision was contradictory and disturbing. In it, Garnet beheld a platinum star surrounded by ebony wings, each covered with hundreds of thousands of eyes that moved and shifted places constantly. Beneath those wings, dark tentacles like pitch twisted in an eternal movement.

The light radiating from the star was pure, almost captivating, but its core seemed corrupted, embodying both good and evil in a single being. Around it, winged humans floated in a halo of reverence: those farthest away had only one pair of wings, while those closer displayed increasingly inhuman features, with multiple pairs of wings and transformed bodies.

The star appeared aware of her presence, yet was indifferent, as if Garnet were nothing more than an insignificant speck. Garnet felt a mix of devotion and repulsion seeing that image. It was like a twisted version that vaguely reminded her of someone familiar.

The fourth vision was the most bewildering. This time, the being that appeared was a human: the same guy Nora used to spend time with. But something in him had changed irrevocably. He wore a black suit with platinum details, and his chest bore ever-changing insignias, symbols Garnet couldn't understand. He sat on a white throne adorned with circuits and silver symbols. However, the most disturbing part was that, though his body was present and clear, his face remained hidden. No matter how much she tried to focus, she saw only a platinum flame where his face should be.

This man seemed to have absorbed traits from the previous three beings: his dark, long hair gleamed with gems like tiny stars; his left arm was entirely mechanical, black metal crossed with platinum circuits; and from his back emerged multiple pairs of black wings, adorned with eyes that opened and closed, observing from the throne.

Beside her, billions of figures stood aligned in formation: humans in silver armor, with cold and precise gazes, almost like machines, yet retaining a spark of humanity in their eyes. Some seemed to blink, as if they were not yet fully part of the army, mere echoes of an uncertain future. However, among them, one figure stood out: a young woman with dark skin in enhanced armor, covered in runes and insignias that emitted a dim light.

Next to the man, there was another throne of the same size, wrapped in a familiar but distant color. On it sat a feminine figure that Garnet could not clearly perceive, as if she were cloaked in a veil that obscured her. Though she felt the answer to her questions nearby, the image eluded her.

The pressure of millions of eyes fixed on her intensified. Despite the pain and discomfort, Garnet could not look away. The being spoke, and its voice echoed in her mind, like a chorus of millions of voices pronouncing incomprehensible words in unison, more intent than language. Her body shuddered, and the vision threatened to break her from within.

"L̵̡̨̩̔͂̀̏ë̵̢̗̝́̐̍͊͑ṫ̷̡̟̯̍͘͘'̷̼͑͆̇s̸̞̜̼̍̐̒ ṕ̶̠̓͠l̸̜̏͗̽a̷̘͒̅ÿ̴̖̰́̎̈́ ẅ̵̱̖́́̇i̴̪̇̎͂t̶̤͊̀h̷̙̀o̸̡͌̔͘u̵̦͌̒̈́ṯ̸̏̓͠ c̵̥̾͒̀h̵̑͋̐͜ė̶͙̋̐a̷̢̎͋̔t̵̳͌́͗i̵̦̿̏̇ń̶͇̓g̶̡͗̕,̶͌͋͝ ̛͍̈́͘d̷͍̐͂̽ö̸̻́͝͝ń̵̳̅'̶̩͛̋͘ẗ̷͇́ y̷̨̏̇̋o̴̡͒̑͋u̶̾̎̔͜?̸͍̅͌̋"

The voice, or perhaps the whisper, resonated in her mind, an echo that seemed as ancient as the universe itself. Garnet could no longer bear it; the vision abruptly faded, leaving her kneeling, trembling, and breathless.

Those visions plagued her mind, but when she saw this last one, now that she tried to glimpse the future, she only saw variations of those beings, yet they, as if mocking her, did not pay attention, as if they were mere illusions, mere echoes left only as a warning.

But even against what her instincts told her, she had to know the answer at all costs, and there only seemed to be one being that would answer her questions.

"It's time for us to have a chat" she said to the void.