DIABLO: AMOR AETERNUS

ACT I

In All Things Light and Dark

"In all things there are two sides: motion and stillness,
emptiness and fullness, light and dark.

Alone, each side is incomplete, but together, they form the
totality of existence. Only through embracing the
oneness of all things can true wisdom be obtained."

– The Book of Cain (pg. 51)

Prologue: Wisdom Lost

Malthael had supposed there would be silence in death. A cessation of the drone that had followed him since the Worldstone's destruction. Relief from the endless cacophony of human emotions.

As the souls exploded from his body and picked apart his being, the world lightened. His rage faded, replaced by a pervasive numbness. Pandemonium Fortress washed away; in its place was an ivory hall, infinite in dimensions. The voices grew into a throbbing chorus that pierced his mind. He screamed; the din absorbed it, and he realized he was one of many doing the same.

Lost, amongst the essences he had reaped and then failed to contain.

"Leave me," he howled. "Hell-driven voices. There was to be peace."

Chalad'ar. Wisdom. Where has it gone? Light, unending light. I never asked for this. Too many, too much. The eternal balance, occluded.

He tried to walk, but his corporal form had dissolved. With it slid away the linearity of time. He saw the Nephalem driving their blades into his chest. Swirling souls in the Black Soulstone. Tyrael, his brother, fear evident in his eyes as he hung from the tip of Malthael's shotel.

Tyrael. My brothers and sisters. Could you not hear the sound, too, even those who followed me? Did I ever ask? Did you ever notice?

Flashing memories. The transforming caverns of Pandemonium. Overwhelming feelings, from an exponentially increasing number of humans. The Worldstone, shattering. Whispering. Nephalem voices, breaking the glass surface of Chalad'ar.

Lighter times. Chalad'ar, when it still spoke to him. The endless stream of wisdom as he bathed in the Pools.

Simpler times. Angels. Demons. Heaven. Hell.

Solitude.

Silence.

A glimmering beacon drew him in. He felt the light inside him. Warm, pleasant, a glorious song that resonated his soul. An archway, forged from crystal, towering. The closer it came, the more threads of his being drifted away. Memories. Feelings.

One drive, remaining.

I am, I was, Wisdom. Do you bring that knowledge here, to me?

The archway did not answer.

Where would I find it?

Elsewhere, a lingering hum. Promises. Tangibility. Life.

The archway promised Nothingness. A new beginning from an end. He was not ready, though the nature of his incomplete work was a distant blur, remnants of a life he had lived for millennia.

He knew, simply, that he had failed. And he must try again.

His soul turned, forgetting where it had walked before, and took a step towards the voices. The light faded, sensation returned. As he ran, boots echoed on cold marble, and the infinite chamber fell into darkness.

Show me, he thought. Whatever you are. Show me wisdom.