"Bismuth, wait!" I shouted as I ran after her, feeling the situation slip out of my control in a matter of seconds.
The hologram didn't back down. Rose simply watched her with a serene, almost sad expression, while one of her hands continued to gently stroke Lion, as if she knew this was bound to happen.
Bismuth phase-shifted right through the hologram.
Her punch passed straight through, shattering the projection into particles of pink light that scattered across the room like shimmering dust. Bismuth came to a dead stop, panting, her fists clenched and her body tense.
"What...?" she muttered, spinning around sharply.
The particles of light began to gather once more, reforming the hologram's image in front of her. Rose reappeared, completely intact, wearing that same tired smile that needed no words to say everything.
Bismuth took a step back.
"No... you're not real," she said, gritting her teeth. "This is a damn joke."
Pearl stepped forward, her voice trembling yet firm.
"Bismuth... you're safe. A lot has happened. So much."
I stayed silent, watching closely. I knew this wasn't my moment to speak, but to be ready. Ready to step in if necessary, ready to bubble her, ready to protect everyone if the situation blew up.
Bismuth took a deep breath, looking at her hands, her body, touching her chest where her Gem glowed.
"I was trapped," she finally said with contained rage. "For years. Alone. Thinking. Waiting."
Rose's hologram looked at her with profound sadness.
"I know," she said softly. "And I'm sorry."
Bismuth let out a bitter laugh.
"That doesn't fix everything," she replied, though her posture was no longer hostile.
I clenched my fists, feeling the weight of the moment. This wasn't going to be resolved today, nor tomorrow. But at least, for the first time in a long while, Bismuth was here. Alive. Free.
And that, even if it was terrifying, also meant a new opportunity.
"Listen to me carefully," Pearl said, her voice calm yet resolute, her eyes locked on Bismuth. The Gem, still somewhat stiff, stared back at her with a raised eyebrow, trying to read her expression for anything that might reassure her or indicate whether there was danger.
"I just want you to know... Rose Quartz no longer exists," Pearl continued, letting her words hang in the silence of the room.
"Huh?" Bismuth widened her eyes in disbelief, as if unable to process what she had just heard. Her fists tightened slightly, and the tips of her hair bristled almost imperceptibly.
"Listen, it isn't easy to explain, but it's the truth," Pearl clarified, taking a step forward and casting her gaze down slightly, as if gathering her thoughts before speaking. "When you were bubbled... many things changed. The world you knew is no longer the same. Many Gems you and I knew... many... became corrupted."
Bismuth furrowed her brow. "Corrupted... how?" Her voice carried a sharp edge of disbelief and concern. She crossed her arms, observing every gesture from Pearl, absorbing every word as if trying to piece together a puzzle she didn't know how to assemble.
"Some gave in to their fear, to their ambition, to the sheer despair of what they were going through," Pearl continued calmly, measuring every word. "I don't want you to take this as an excuse... merely as an explanation. Those Gems ceased to be who you knew. Many of them... disappeared. Others... simply no longer possess the clarity they once had. Now only a few remain who still hold the memory of what we used to be."
Bismuth remained silent, her intense gaze fixed on Pearl, trying to discern the truth behind every sentence. Her eyes scanned the room, searching for clues, as if the surrounding environment itself spoke of the history she hadn't lived through.
"Currently," Pearl said, taking a deep breath, "only you and Garnet remain of the Gems we knew together. Three others aside from us weren't involved in what happened... but their number and their core essence changed over time. Everything else... was lost or corrupted."
Bismuth frowned even deeper, striving to process the information. Her fists relaxed slightly, but the tension in her stance didn't disappear. She was evaluating, connecting the dots between what she remembered and what Pearl was explaining to her.
"And... Steven," Pearl continued, his name flowing naturally, "is Rose Quartz's son. I don't need to tell you more about him, other than... he is here, and he is part of everything that happened while you were bubbled. His presence and his life are... a bridge between what was and what is now."
Bismuth nodded slowly, though she said nothing. Her mind was working at full speed, processing the information, imagining the world she had left behind, and realizing that most of what she knew was gone. Her eyes swept over Pearl, looking for any sign of a lie or hesitation, but she found only sincerity.
"I want you to understand," Pearl continued, her voice softening slightly, "that what happened wasn't anyone's fault in particular. No one could have prevented it. I just want you to know... that the world changed, that many Gems were lost, and that you are one of the very few who can still... choose how to go on. You have a chance now that you didn't have before."
Bismuth stood in silence, swallowing hard. Her gaze drifted down to her hands, taking in every detail of her body and her form, as if history was now placing a tangible weight on her shoulders. She analyzed every word, every pause, every gesture from Pearl. Everything she heard was beginning to settle slowly in her mind: Rose was gone, many Gems were corrupted, Garnet and she were almost the last ones left, and Steven... was a human connected to all of this somehow.
"So... everything I remember, everything I left behind... no longer exists as I knew it," Bismuth finally whispered, barely audible, yet laden with reflection and a touch of sadness.
"That's right," Pearl confirmed, stepping a bit closer and placing her hand over Bismuth's in a supportive gesture. "But you are here. And as long as you're here, there is still something left that we can protect and do right by. No one can take that away from you."
Bismuth looked up, and for the first time during the conversation, an expression of calm mingled with her usual distrust. She analyzed Pearl, then Steven, who was watching her in silence, and finally the room around them. Her mind kept processing, but now with a guiding thread: to understand what happened, learn from it, and decide how to act.
Silence settled over the room once more for a few seconds, but this time it wasn't uncomfortable. It was a silence of contemplation and analysis. Bismuth didn't need to speak—only to observe and understand. Pearl, satisfied with her explanation, remained by her side, watching as the blacksmith absorbed every detail, every word, and every nuance of the history that had been lost to time.
Finally, Bismuth broke the silence, though only in a whisper: "I don't understand everything... but I understand enough."
Pearl smiled softly. "That's all you need for now. The rest... you'll discover as you go."
Steven simply watched from the corner in silence as the tension between Bismuth and Pearl began to dissipate step by step. His eyes followed Bismuth's every gesture, every reaction she had upon hearing Pearl's words, trying to comprehend how the weaponsmith was processing centuries' worth of missing history. It was strange watching it from the outside without intervening, but something inside him told him he shouldn't; this was a conversation Bismuth needed to have to rebuild, even if only a fragment, the picture of what had transpired while she was bubbled.
Bismuth, for her part, said nothing, but her eyes analyzed everything. She observed Pearl's body language, listening to every nuance in her voice, every pause. Every explanation about the corrupted Gems, about the losses they had suffered, about how only she and Garnet remained of the Gems they once knew, and about Steven—the son of Rose Quartz—was absorbed by her mind in absolute silence. She didn't ask questions; she didn't interrupt. She simply processed it all, as if trying to reconstruct the years she had lost in a single instant.
Steven felt a heavy weight in his chest, a mix of relief and nerves. He knew the situation was delicate. If Bismuth ever lost her composure, he didn't want to—and couldn't—risk bubbling her again. He had seen her grow, had felt her strength and determination, and he knew that now more than ever she needed the freedom to decide her own path. He stayed there, still, letting Pearl talk, letting Bismuth analyze, understand, and perhaps forgive, without any interference.
End of Chapter 67.