Goddess of the Diamond

*Light*

I reach for glimpses of the future, but everything remains shrouded in mist. Perched at the fountain’s edge, I watch the humans wander below, their lives a tapestry of motion and color.

The scene is beautiful, alive with possibility. All I can do is ache for a life like theirs.

A gentle smile lingers on my lips as I study each passing soul. My gaze drifts across the water and settles on a family. Their future glimmers with fortune—a new heir soon to arrive. Who will this child become? He radiates promise, even from afar.

“Checking on the humans, I see,” a soft voice said.

I glanced over my shoulder, a quiet smile forming, before returning my attention to the bustling world below.

“You know you shouldn’t use your blood like that,” the soft voice said. “It worries me it would cause you harm.”

The person sat next to me.

He gazed at the fountains, then gently took a strand of my hair, pressing it to his lips in a tender kiss.

“Won’t you say something?” the soft voice whispered in my ear.

A soft giggle escaped me as I turned to face him. He is breathtaking, the one I love, sitting right beside me.

My partner. My husband.

“I won’t get hurt,” I said as I leaned and kissed him on the lips, “Not when you’re with me.”

His hands drift, caressing my face.

“How could I let my love get hurt?” he said as he kissed me back, “I would let nothing happen to you… ever.”

That forever never arrived. He was torn from my life as swiftly as a fleeting insect vanishes into the night.

All I could do was watch, helpless as every person I cherished was taken from me, one by one. Paralyzed, voiceless, I witnessed him whisper his final I love you.

Tears streamed down my cheeks in torrents. I turned away, sobbing, as I watched the love of my life lose his head before my eyes.

I can hardly fathom that I once longed to be human. All I found were illusions and empty promises. How foolish I had been.

Tossed and battered, my strength faded until darkness claimed me.

Was this my end? Would I die here, a creature meant to bring light to a world drowning in endless shadow?

A blinding light seared my vision. Where had I been taken?

Opening my eyes, I tried to move but couldn’t. Was I alive?

Nothing around me was familiar. I tried to speak, but no sound escaped. Only then did I realize I was naked, bound, and gagged with something tight and unyielding.

I felt like a trapped animal, helpless and exposed. Memories of witnessing others enslaved and tortured flashed through my mind. Was I destined for the same fate?

I fought against my restraints, but it was hopeless. A figure in a white robe approached—strikingly handsome, with flowing blond hair and eyes as blue as the sea. He leaned in, his smile sending a chill through me. That smile promised nothing good.

He produced a needle, leaning in closer. Fear surged through me. What was he planning? Was this how I would die?

He laughed, his hand tightening around my neck. I thrashed, sobbed, tried to scream, but my cries vanished into silence. Why was I so powerless?

At last, the needle pierced my skin, unleashing a burning agony that devoured me from within.

I screamed, the pain overwhelming, nerves aflame. No one should endure such torment. As consciousness slipped away, his whispered words echoed in my mind.

“Welcome, Goddess of the Diamond.”

That was the beginning of my endless agony. Time lost all meaning in this place. Each day brought a new torment. My emotions, my vision, my sanity—all stripped away.

I became a hollow shell, dying a little more with every breath.

I was now a stranger to myself.

Torture became my daily routine. The same man would arrive, leading me to new horrors. He demanded something from me, but I never understood what he truly sought.

When I stayed silent, he whipped me, burned me, injected me with poisons. He locked me away, letting his men torment me until they tired.

I could not cry or scream for help. I had long since accepted that rescue would never come.

One day, I believed I was being given a reprieve. I was wrong. The blond man took me away, the journey long and sightless. Locked in a dark box, the only sound was the car’s engine. I dared to hope for freedom, or perhaps, at last, an end.

Instead, I was thrown onto filthy earth, the stench of urine and blood thick in the air.

Memories of my beloved haunt me. Not a day passes without thoughts of him, my people, my family. I ache for all I have lost.

It felt unbearably unfair.

Why was I the only one left? What set me apart from those who perished? Was it my power?

The man in the white robe never told me. The only time he would speak was when he asked me questions. Questions that I had declined to answer, earning a painful punishment.

I shuffled across the cold ground, thoughts consumed by death. My reflection, once beautiful, was now lost to time. Days, months, years blurred together. I no longer recognized myself, nor did I care.

I closed my eyes and let my body go limp. I had suffered enough. All I wished for was sleep without waking. Was there truly no one left to save me?

***

A jolt of pain tore me from oblivion. I groaned, screamed, and realized I was hanging upside down. What was happening to me?

The sensation of being sliced open sent my mind reeling. Dizziness washed over me.

“Don’t let her fall asleep!” I heard the same man say.

What were they doing now?

As time crawled on, a strange calmness settled over me.

I gasped for air, pain splintering through my back. I tried to turn my head, but my body barely obeyed. Each breath trembled. Blood loss left me weak and broken.

A fist yanked my hair, and tears I thought were long gone spilled down my face.

“Now time to get up,” the man in the white robe said.

Two other men picked me up and carried me. I tried lifting my head to see where I was going. To my surprise, I saw a big, long tube. Was I going to be put inside there?

Panic seized me, raw and uncontrollable.

The room was a nightmare, stagnant, musky air and greenish water waiting below. Was I about to be dissected?

I thrashed with what little strength remained, each desperate kick draining me further.

“Get her in!” the man yelled.

I fought with every ounce of will left in me. Why was I so powerless?

At last, their grip loosened, and I kicked free, stumbling toward escape. But my body betrayed me; I collapsed before reaching the door.

What was happening to me?

My limbs refused to obey, leaving me trapped in my own skin.

“Don’t think you can escape,” the man said as he got closer. “You will never escape from my hands.”

I shot him a glare filled with all the hatred I could summon. His slap stunned me, though I should have grown numb to such cruelty by now. Why did it still hurt?

“Look bitch. You are under my rules, Ok?” the man said as he gripped my chin tightly. “You die in my hands when I tell you. Your whole being will only belong to me, remember that.”

He hurled me aside and drove his foot into my ribs.

I clenched my teeth, loathing my own existence. Why was I condemned to this torment? Could the gods truly be so merciless as to let one of their own wither away?

“Pick her and throw her inside,” the man ordered.

Resigned, I stopped resisting and let them drag me to the massive tub.

The air reeked of toxins.

They released me, and I plunged into the water. It closed over me, choking out my breath. My lungs burned as I clawed for air, hands scrabbling at my throat.

I pounded weakly on the glass, senses slipping away.

Was this my goodbye? Was this the last glimpse I’d have of this merciless world? Who I, as the Goddess of the Diamond, had sworn to bring light and love?