Darkness...there is nothing else. There is just a black void...yet he is not alone. A whimper can be heard. The human swims through the darkness toward the sound. He finds a young woman, unable to stop the tears from rolling down her face. He did not think, for some reason, he knew what he had to do. He floated behind her and hugged her close, sharing the warmth of his body with her. She seems to stop crying, but holds close to him, in desperate need of him. He slowly nods… promising to never let go. The darkness seems comforting now, like a blanket that keeps them close together.

….He awakens. Once his eyesight adjusts, he sees Rose, crying on...what appears to be a stump where his right hand used to be. He thought he would feel pain, but surprisingly...he felt nothing. His open eyes catch Rose's attention and she tells the others to come and see that he is okay. Rose explains that he fell directly in the river in the ravine during the battle once the beast snaked into his body and Rose accidentally cut off his hand. They brought him back to their home and attempted to heal him. Rose said her tears had healing abilities, which sounded farfetched, but his wound was not bleeding, but was now just a useless stump. Rose rambled off apologies, but he just shushed her and accepted her apology. Despite the loss of his favorite hand, he seemed content.

The gem bearers promised to let him stay until he felt he could do things on his own again. It was definitely difficult trying to do things with only one arm, but he wouldn't give up. Every night though, his dreams would bring him back to that dark void, where he silently spent time with the girl. At night he would ask her name, but when he woke up the next morning, he could never remember it. He wanted to talk to the gem about it, but feared they would try to take her away. So he went to the library for information, not realising he was being followed. He searched through many books, trying to figure out what the girl in the shadows was. Each of the girls he met had gems, so he believed that there may be a similar case with this girl. He still remembers her in her beast form...her mind was broken, corrupted and unable to do anything but act on a animal instinct, yet in his body, she was safe.

Before he could search any farther though, Garnet revealed herself. He wanted to explain himself, but Garnet just put a hand up, pulled out a chair, and started helping him. It seems there may be more than meets the eye when it comes to her, but that was a question for another day. He tried to remember as much as he can, the beast looking like ash, the smoke and fire. He then thought maybe volcanos would be a link, and he would find himself to be right. There is a particular gemstone that grows in volcanos. He spoke the name slowly, "Obsidian" and felt his body convulse, and feel himself slowly pass out once again.

Garnet panicked and went to take him to the gems. As they tried to figure out what happened to him, his mind was currently in the void again. "Your name...it's Obsidian...I like it." He smiled happily at her, and she felt her eyes water as a smile grew on her face. "Me?...My name is…" Suddenly a light flashes and he wakes up. The gems look at him in astonishment, unable to believe their eyes. He didn't know what was so surprising as he gently scratched his head...but realised the arm he was using was his right arm. He looked to see that obsidian replaced where his right hand once was. He carefully flexed his knew fingers, and saw that they moved as if they were there ever since he was a baby. Despite obsidian being so sharp though, it was smooth and warm, and felt like it could pass off as a regular body part. The gems smiled at him, but were worried about Obsidian existing in his body. He assured them, that everything would be fine, he knew there bond together would make them better than ever, and a better person too.

He soon packed his belongings as he began to leave. He enjoyed his times with the gems but he knew he had more of the world to explore now. With Obsidian with him, he felt ready to take on the whole world. He looked at Beach City one more time, with a shout he yelled "My name is Maxwell Ignitus! And I am the person who shapes my own path in life!" Max smiled wide before running off, ready to explore and truly carve a name into history about who he is.