A pathetic little beam of pink light splashed against my chest. It felt like someone blowing warm air on me.
The Gem's voice, cold and commanding, finally returned to my head. "Her will is broken. Her magic is useless. You asked what's next? This is next."
"These are your new limbs. Your will, given form. Now… restrain the little hero. Show her what real power looks like."
"Restrain her, got it," I murmured. It was as easy as flexing a muscle I never knew I had. The shadow-tendrils shot forward with a slick, slithering sound.
Two of them wrapped around her arms, pinning them to her sides. Two more coiled around her legs, locking them in place. She thrashed around, but it was useless. A fifth, thinner tentacle snaked up her chest and pushed past her quivering lips, gagging her.
Her eyes, wide with pure terror, streamed with helpless tears. Her wand clattered to the ground, its light dead.
"Can't have you calling for help, can we?" I said to myself. Then I asked the rock, "Alright, what's the next step to break her?"
The Gem's voice sounded pleased, like a cat watching a mouse in a trap. "To break her is to shatter her very identity. Her sense of justice, her purity… it all has to be unmade and then rebuilt in your image."
"Her power is focused in a magical core over her heart. Remove the pendant and let me press myself against it. Let my darkness overwrite her light."
"Nah," I thought, a cruel smirk spreading across my face. "If we're going to do this, I'll do it myself." I walked over to where she was pinned. "Let's use these things to make her a little more… cooperative."
A low hum of approval vibrated in my mind.
From one of the tentacles, a tiny, needle-sharp point extended and pricked her arm. Miki let out a muffled squeak. A dark fluid pulsed into her. Her frantic struggling stopped almost instantly. Her body went slack.
A deep, unnatural blush spread across her cheeks, and a low moan escaped from around the gag. Her eyes glazed over, a weird mix of terror and a new, drugged pleasure her mind couldn't handle.
The Gem's voice was triumphant. "The drug is working. Her body now craves what her mind hates. She's ready."
Miki was totally limp, a faint, rhythmic moan vibrating in her throat. The little hero was completely at my mercy. I knelt over her and ripped the front of her frilly costume open. Right over her heart, a faint pink light pulsed, her magical core.
"So bright and pure," I sneered. I grabbed her shoulders. "You want fame, right, Miki? Stick with me, and I'll make you more famous than you ever dreamed. You'll be reborn as Dark Princess."
Her tear-filled eyes widened at the mention of her deepest desire, a flicker of ambition cutting through the drugged haze.
"Time to finish this," I growled, pressing the cold, black gemstone against the warm, pulsing light of her core.
The contact was explosive. Miki screamed, a raw sound of agony and ecstasy as the Gem's darkness flooded into her.
A shockwave of black-and-pink energy erupted from her chest. The bright pink of her costume bled into a dusky, bruised purple. The white frills turned a dirty grey. The heart emblem on her chest cracked down the middle, a dark, oily energy seeping out. The innocent aura around her was snuffed out, replaced by a swirling, shadowy energy that clung to her.
The tentacles slid away from her skin and retracted back into my body, like they were never there.
Slowly, she sat up. The fear and tears were gone. She looked at her new dark outfit, then at her wand, which was now a twisted black rod topped with a cracked, obsidian heart.
A slow, sensual smile spread across her lips. Her eyes, now a deep, smoldering amethyst, locked onto mine. There was no innocence left in them, only ambition and a dark, hungry power.
She got to her feet, brushing the gravel from her new skirt.
"Master..." Her voice was no longer a high-pitched chirp. It was lower, huskier, laced with a seductive confidence that sent a chill down my spine. "Your power is exquisite. I've never felt anything so liberating. My name… It's Dark Heart Princess now, right?"
I couldn't help but smirk. It hadn't turned her into a mindless puppet. It just made her more honest, more real.
"So," I said, leaning in and patting her head. "So, let's get to know each other. Tell me more about yourself. Your new powers… and your desires, Miki."
Dark Heart Princess leaned into my touch, a soft, pleased hum in her throat. "You didn't break me. You set me free, Master. I was so busy pretending to be pure and selfless. Lying to everyone, even myself. But not anymore."
She took my hand from her head and kissed my knuckles.
"My desires are the same," she continued. "I want the world to scream my name. But not for some goody-two-shoes hero. Heroes are forgotten. But a beautiful, powerful, infamous princess? They write legends about women like that."
She picked up her new, thorny wand. A small, dark heart of shadow materialized in her palm, swirling and writhing before she playfully crushed it in her fist.
"My powers are more focused. Before, I had 'Heartful Shine,' a uselessly bright light. Now..." She pointed the wand at a small potted plant on the roof. "Heartbreak Bloom."
A thin ray of violet light hit the plant. Instantly, the healthy green leaves withered, turning black and crumbling to dust.
"I no longer project hope," she said, looking back at me, her expression a perfect blend of a loyal servant and a cunning predator. "I drain it. I can make people feel despair, jealousy, regret… all the wonderfully honest emotions they try to hide."
"I can make them weak, just like I was. And all this power is yours to command, Master. What is your first order for your Dark Heart Princess?"
"You know," I mused, an idea sparking in my head. "With that kind of power to manipulate people… you'd be a hell of an idol." I pinched her cheek. "I might know a place where your talent can really shine."
Her eyes lit up with a manic, ambitious fire. "An idol agency? For me? Master, you truly understand me! Imagine it! I'd walk into a room of hopeful newbies, and all their confidence would just wither away. I would be a star. A dark star."
She practically shivered with delight. "I will do whatever you command. But Master?" she asked, gesturing to her dark, revealing costume. "What about this? Can I change back? It would be much easier to get into an agency as a normal schoolgirl."
"Can she change back?" I asked the Gem in my head.
"Yes," its voice replied, short and to the point. "The darkness is part of her now. She can hide it."
"You can transform back," I told her. "Go home, live your normal life. It's better that way."
Miki nodded obediently. "As you command, Master."
A swirling vortex of dark shadows enveloped her, and the twisted costume seemed to melt back into her skin. In her place stood Miki Aoyama, dressed in a simple high school uniform.
"Well," I said, holding out my phone, feeling a little awkward. "Give me your number so I can contact you. Don't laugh, but… it's been a while since I got a girl's number."
Miki gave a small, genuine smile, this one less predatory and more… fond. "I would never laugh, Master. It's an honor."
She took the phone and tapped in her number, saving it as "Dark Heart Princess 🖤".
"Call me whenever you need me. For anything." she said, her voice a soft promise. "I'll be waiting." She gave me a deep, formal bow. "Goodnight, Master."
She turned and disappeared down the stairs. I was left alone on the roof. The gem on my chest was a cold, solid weight.
The voice of the Black Gem echoed in my head. "The first one is yours. Her loyalty is absolute. But she is just the beginning."
"This city is teeming with her kind, each one a beacon of light waiting to be extinguished and remade. Go home. Rest. I will find you another target soon."