The Tripartite Evolution of Humanity and the Gem Society
In a breathtaking, lonely world millions of years in the future, six consecutive meteor impacts obliterated all terrestrial animal life. According to ancient lore, human beings drowned in the ocean and divided into three evolutionary branches over geological epochs: their Flesh evolved into the molluscan marine race Admirabilis; their Bone fused with deep underground minerals to form 28 humanoid crystalline Gems; and their Soul ascended into the celestial void, becoming the ethereal, ghostly Lunarians.
The 28 immortal gems live in an austere glass monastery atop the grassy shore, overseen by their paternal Buddhist guardian, Master Kongo (Sensei). The gems are androgynous, composed of microscopic microorganisms called inclusions that regenerate their bodies whenever they are glued back together. However, every few days, sunspots open in the sky and ornate lotus ships descend carrying Lunarians armed with bows and arrows. The Lunarians hunt the gems relentlessly, grinding their shattered bodies into ornaments, decorative weapons, and floor dust on the Moon.
Phosphophyllite and the Poisoned Exile of Cinnabar
Our protagonist, Phosphophyllite ("Phos"), is the youngest gem at 300 years of age. Boasting a Mohs hardness scale rating of merely 3.5, Phos is exceedingly brittle, clumsy, and useless in battle—easily shattering into fragments from minor impacts.
To give Phos a safe purpose, Master Kongo tasks them with creating an encyclopedia of natural history. During their research, Phos meets Cinnabar (Shinsha), an intelligent gem possessing a low hardness of 2 who involuntarily secretes toxic, corrosive silver mercury. To protect their fellow gems from contamination, Cinnabar volunteers for solitary night patrol on the lonely cliffs, longing for the Lunarians to take them away. Heartbroken by Cinnabar's isolation, Phos promises to find Cinnabar a fun, meaningful job that only Cinnabar can do.
The Ship of Theseus: Agate Legs, Antarcticite, and Gold Arms
Phos's journey is a haunting meditation on the philosophical paradox of the "Ship of Theseus": if you replace every piece of an entity, does it remain the same person?
Swallowed into the ocean by the giant snail queen Ventricosus, Phos's legs dissolve. In replacement, Ventricosus gifts Phos legs crafted from agate and marine shell. The new limbs grant Phos blinding supersonic speed, but the loss of their original legs erases substantial childhood memories stored in the inclusions.
During the freezing winter season, while the other gems hibernate, Phos stays awake alongside the solitary winter specialist, Antarcticite ("Antarc"). When drifting ice floes whisper to Phos, Phos falls into the freezing sea and loses both arms. Antarc rushes to find replacement materials, attaching a liquid gold-and-platinum alloy.
Suddenly, an elite winter Lunarian unit ambushes them. Phos becomes trapped in the heavy, expanding golden cage. Before Phos's eyes, the Lunarians shatter Antarcticite into shards. As Antarc is hauled into the sky toward the moon, they place a single finger to their lips—whispering a silent farewell so Master Kongo won't be left alone.
The psychological trauma permanently shatters Phos's innocence. Manifesting the golden alloy as shifting, lethal liquid blades, Phos's hair turns short, their eyes lose their playful light, and they develop chronic insomnia and PTSD.
Lapis Lazuli's Head and the Truth of Master Kongo
Later, Phos is decapitated during a surprise raid. In desperate surgery, the gems attach the severed head of the genius strategist Lapis Lazuli to Phos's body. Awakening years later, Phos inherits Lapis's razor-sharp analytical intellect.
Observing strange interactions between Master Kongo and the Lunarians, Phos realizes that the Lunarians recognize Kongo and bow before him. Phos stages their own deliberate abduction to the Moon, discovering that Master Kongo is actually an ancient artificial human prayer machine! The Lunarians are suffering souls unable to pass into nothingness because Kongo has malfunctioned and ceased praying for them. Torn between devotion to their teacher and the horrific truth of their existence, Phos's tragic descent into a revolutionary savior begins.