The Black Soulstone (Quest)

For the titular artifact, see Black Soulstone.

The Black Soulstone is the eighth quest of Act II of Diablo III.

Transcript

Core

• Zoltun Kulle: My archives are at the northern tip of the Desolate Sands. There we will find my body and the Black Soulstone. Here is the entrance to my archives. Let me activate the portal.

• Zoltun Kulle: I had to build all of this for my research and my experiments. The Black Soulstone was a complicated creation. I sacrificed much to make it.

• Leah: Looks like I got here just in time. Emperor Hakan? What are you doing here?

• Emperor Hakan II: Good, everyone’s together. I came to tell you that I have found Belial, and I’m ready to lead you to him.

• Class
  • Necromancer: Really?

• Zoltun Kulle: All well and good, but first I will be made whole.

• Leah: We’re ready to do our part. Just you remember yours.

• Zoltun Kulle: Beyond these portals lie two relics that were once powered by my blood. Take the vials you recovered and use htem to activate the relics.

• Leah: I will stay here and prepare the ritual. Be careful!

• Zoltun Kulle: Angels are no better than demons. Did you know that they once voted on whether or not to eliminate all of mankind? Only one vote saved us from extinction.

• Class
  • Necromancer: Tyrael...

• Zoltun Kulle: Yes. Whatever else he may be, he is the Aspect of Justice...and there is no justice in murder.

• Zoltun Kulle: I could have helped all men become nephalem and ushered in a golden age! But my Horadric brothers could not accept man’s true destiny.

• Zoltun Kulle: We all agree that the end times are upon us, but do you truly believe that Belial and Azmodan could have engineered these events?

• Follower
  • Templar: This must be the shadow portal. Let us be done with this.

• Zoltun Kulle: The Horadrim did all this to lock my body away. They must have been very angry with me.

• Class
  • Necromancer: If they could not kill you, what else could they do?

• Zoltun Kulle: They were never very imaginative.

• Zoltun Kulle: You do not trust me. I understand. But we are more alike than you know. We have both tasted what it is to be nephalem. Join with me, and we can become the masters of this world.

• Class
  • Necromancer: You have misjudged me. Do not do it again.

• Class
  • Necromancer: I have the body.

• Leah: Then let me begin the ritual...but I’m warning you, Kulle, you’d better not cross us!

• Zoltun Kulle: You are surrounded by deceit, young one. I am the least of your concerns.

• Zoltun Kulle: Concentrate, Leah!

• Zoltun Kulle: Soon now. Just a bit longer. Just a moment...Almost...Yes! My blood...thunders within me! This fetid air fills my ravaged lungs...I am alive again!

• Leah: You’re welcome.

• Class
  • Necromancer: And the soulstone?

• Zoltun Kulle: Very well. The bargain stands. Quickly, to my sanctum!

• Zoltun Kulle: At long last, I can complete my life’s work. All will tremble at my power!

• Zoltun Kulle: What is this?

• Zoltun Kulle: How has this happened? The souls of the dead Lords of Hell have been absorbed into the stone! Abandon your quest, nephalem. Your allies seek only to control you. With the power I offer, you and I could rule over all creation.

• Class
  • Necromancer: No. Give me the stone, or face me as your enemy.

• Class
  • Necromancer: Is it true, then? The slain Lords of Hell are within this stone?

• Adria: Twenty years ago, during the Darkening of Tristram, Cain told me of Zoltun Kulle’s profane soulstone.

• Leah: That’s why you left me...You went to mark the demons’ souls, so that they could be drawn into Kulle’s vessel!

• Adria: Yes, my daughter. I have sacrificed everything for this...

• Class
  • Necromancer: This soulstone is a weak vessel. It may not be able to contain Belial and Azmodan as well as the others.

• Adria: Then I will shatter it, and the Lords of Hell...will be no more.

Townsfolk Dialogue (Archives of Zoltun Kulle)

• Class
  • Necromancer: You said you know where he is.

• Emperor Hakan II: Yes, but we must be very careful. He has noticed your actions, and he grows nervous. You focus on the soulstone. We can confront Belial afterward.

• Leah: Even after everything we’ve come to know about Zoltun Kulle, I never imagined anything like this. Maybe Adria is right about the Black Soulstone.

• Zoltun Kulle: You doubted me? How disappointing.

Townsfolk Dialogue (Hidden Camp)

• Class
  • Necromancer: Your daughter’s skill at magic has far surpassed your own.

• Adria: The power was always within her. Now she’s learning to control it.

• Class
  • Necromancer: Was she born with it?

• Adria: I do not know where her power comes from. I spent a lifetime studying the ways of magic. It did not come so easily to me.

• Leah: I’m not sure what I expected it would be like to have my mother back...but it wasn’t this. She’s different than what I imagined… I can see the toll her mission has exacted from her, just as it had with my uncle.

• Class
  • Necromancer: Why did you settle in Tristram?

• Haedrig Eamon: You know, I’ve asked myself that. It was Mira’s idea. I wonder if she saw something and knew that I needed to be there to help you. Did she know what was going to happen all along?

• Class
  • Necromancer: A worthy question, but it changes nothing. Her journey has ended, and yours continues.

• Haedrig Eamon: You may be right. I’ve work to do.

• Myriam: I don’t like what Zoltun Kulle is going to do to you. I told you he couldn’t be trusted.

• Class
  • Necromancer: Why won’t you tell me what happens?

• Myriam: I changed the future to save someone once. I ended up causing the deaths of three others. I’ve told you all I can — I promise you.

• Class
  • Necromancer: Have you ever tried to change the future?

• Myriam: There was a girl who had been toying with dark magic. When I saw demon possession in her future, she begged for my help. Since she was already tainted, simply stopping her dabbling with magic would not be enough. So I crafted her a protective charm. Unfortunately, the demon was already loosed from Hell. When it couldn’t possess her, it spitefully chose her father. The possessed father killed the girl’s mother and sister. When the demon showed the man what he had done, he took his own life. Last I heard, the girl had been committed to an asylum. Such sadness.

• Enchantress: I have thought more on what I am missing.

• Class
  • Necromancer: Oh?

• Enchantress: Our progress seems to clarify things for me… It is difficult to explain.

• Class
  • Necromancer: The magic will take time to dissipate.

• Enchantress: Yes. The spell that sent me to this time was bound to the Prophet. Now he is missing, and some parts of me are missing as well — lost to the ages.

• Class
  • Necromancer: You could try to conjure them back.

• Enchantress: Yes, but it will take a while. My skill is not so great as the Prophet’s was.

• Covetous Shen: I think I was wrong about the jewel I seek. It is not in this land either. What a pity.

• Class
  • Necromancer: Why not take a rest from your search?

• Covetous Shen: Because...it has killed thousands, and because I am the only one who can hold it without harm.

• Class
  • Necromancer: Because you are not who you seem...

• Covetous Shen: No. Because it has already taken everything from me that matters. But enough of that! I have gone too long without spiced beef and spicier wine!

• Covetous Shen: Do you think I could take a close look at that Black Soulstone? It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before.

• Class
  • Necromancer: It is no mere ornament.

• Covetous Shen: You think too little of me. The object of my search is as dangerous as anything. My expertise may be of some use to you. I am, after all, quite well versed in the knowledge of jewels and stones.

• Adria: While I was in Tristram, Deckard Cain told me of a black soulstone crafted by a renegade Horadrim. I didn’t think anything of it at the time, but later I realized its true significance. I knew the essences of the five slain Lords of Hell still existed in our world, so I spent the last twenty years locating and preparing them to be drawn into the stone when it was finished.

• Class
  • Necromancer: Finished?

• Adria: Kulle was interrupted during his first attempt. Now that the soulstone is finally complete, the Lords of Hell have been trapped within it.

• Adria: Know this: I have given everything, even my own blood — my own daughter — so that I could hunt Belial and Azmodan. Do not question my dedication. I have given more than any, and I will give more before the end comes.

• Adria: Controlling the Black Soulstone will be perilous.

• Class
  • Necromancer: This was your plan. You can handle it, can’t you?

• Adria: It won’t be me who will use it. Only Leah, under my guidance, can wield it. Her power is far greater than mine, and it will ensure our success.

Townsfolk Dialogue (Caldeum Bazaar)

• Villager: I don’t know why everyone is so happy around here. The emperor still has us under his boot.

• Villager 2: But we have food and water, and no one will kill you in your sleep. Even you must admit it is better now.

• Villager: I admit nothing. As long as that little tyrant is running things, this place is doomed.

• Villager: I was so accustomed to being lied to...

• Villager 2: I know what you mean. I haven’t gotten into a fight in at least a day...maybe two.

• Villager 3: It almost feels...normal around here.

• Noblewoman: When the emperor discovers that you’ve shut me out here with this rabble, you’ll be lucky if he only takes your head!

• Noblewoman: I must face facts. The emperor isn’t going to open the gates again, is he? The poor boy’s gone mad.

• Iron Wolf Swordsman: It pains me so, my lady. I had great hopes for him.

• Noblewoman: What should I do? I am trapped here.

• Iron Wolf Swordsman: So am I, my lady. So am I.

• Villager: I heard that the emperor is being held captive by his own guards. Could it be true?

• Villager: No new refugees have come here for days now. Maybe things are getting better out there.

• Villager: Why can’t the people see that the tyranny is finally coming to an end?

• Alcarnus Refugee: I still can’t shake the feeling that something terrible is about to happen.

• Refugee: The Imperial Guard have overplayed their hand. The forces of justice thwart them at every turn.

• Noblewoman: Sand and strife. I need to get away from it. Perhaps I’ll move to Tristram. I hear it’s peaceful and green there.

• Sadeir the Innkeeper: Going to the Desolate Sands, eh? Now there’s a place filled with laughs.

Quest Log

• Part 1
  • Barbarian: Somewhere beneath this desert are Zoltun Kulle's archives and, more importantly, the Black Soulstone. It will be good to get out of the sun. Even after all this time, I still miss the snows of the northern lands.
  • Crusader: Zoltun Kulle's archives and the Black Soulstone lie somewhere beneath this desert. Hopefully it's a bit less sweltering underground.
  • Demon Hunter: Zoltun Kulle tells me his archives lie to the north of these wasted lands. I must admit I’m growing tired of running errands for a dead man. At least I will not have to suffer his companionship much longer.
  • Monk: Kulle tells me that soon we will arrive at his archives and that with his blood we can retrieve his body and restore him to life. Then he will give me the Black Soulstone, and I will find Belial.
  • Wizard: Somewhere beneath this desert are Zoltun Kulle's archives. Though he talks much, Kulle has been unwilling to teach me anything. Perhaps I will learn something from seeing these archives of his.

• Part 2
  • Barbarian: Kulle had not explained where his body was sealed away. Now he says it is in another place, the Realm of Shadow, but we need his blood to activate the locks upon it. All these hoops I must jump through, to what end?
  • Crusader: With Kulle's blood, I can undo the locks that seal away the Realm of Shadow where his body is held. I am distracted by these archives. So much knowledge resides in this place! The key to cleansing the Zakarum faith may be here. I will have to return here once all this madness is done.
  • Demon Hunter: Zoltun Kulle created his archives for one primary purpose: to make the Black Soulstone. Now they are a prison for his discarded body. Once I find it, we will restore him to life so that he may finish his work. I just hope everything goes as planned.
  • Monk: Magic courses through these halls. I have never seen anything like it. To think that one man was able to build all of this, that it stands even until today. Kulle is truly powerful and, I fear, truly mad.
  • Necromancer: The further we go, the more I’m convinced that this is a dangerous plan. Leah is uneasy as well. Should anything go wrong, I will be ready.
  • Wizard: I must admit I have never seen anything as impressive as Kulle's archives; even the great Yshari Sanctum pales in comparison. The size of them defies all imagination, and the very air feels suffused with Kulle's dark magic.

• Part 3
  • Barbarian: Beyond the open portal in the Terminus is the Realm of Shadow, as Kulle calls it. I do not fear it, but I wonder about a place that makes Zoltun Kulle himself uneasy.
  • Crusader: Beyond the open portal in the Terminus lies the Realm of Shadow. Kulle is uneasy about it, witch means that it must be a very interesting place.
  • Demon Hunter: Zoltun Kulle’s behavior is becoming more and more suspicious with his little chats... He must be planning something. My next order of business is to retrieve his body from the Realm of Shadow. I know the shadows well... and I’ll be watching for any tricks that may hide within them.
  • Monk: My sacred texts speak of worlds that lie beside this one, some of them unpleasant. The Realm of Shadow is such a place, but I must enter it. The corpse of Zoltun Kulle is within.
  • Necromancer: Kulle’s behavior is increasingly strange. If he doesn’t contain himself soon, I may be forced to use his wretched body for skeleton parts once I retrieve it from the Realm of Shadow.
  • Wizard: Kulle's blood has opened the portal that leads to the Realm of Shadow, where his body was hidden. I have read of mages accessing these places before, slipping beneath the fabric of reality. But nothing I have read suggested how it might be done; I learned only that it is an endeavor fraught with unimaginable danger. I suppose I should be afraid, but instead I find myself eager to see what lies beyond the portal.

• Part 4
  • Barbarian: We have Kulle's head, and we have his body. Leah knows the ritual to restore him. I pray our trust is not misplaced. If it is, we will have a powerful enemy and be no closer to the Black Soulstone or Belial.
  • Crusader: We have everything we require to resurrect Kulle, and Leah knows the ritual. I only hope we get our hands on the Black Soulstone before Kulle betrays us.
  • Demon Hunter: I have now collected all of Zoltun Kulle’s missing parts...except his sense of decency, I suppose. Perhaps he never had one of those. It is time for Leah to cast the spell to restore him. Whatever happens, this is the only way I can get the Black Soulstone. I’ll have to remember that.
  • Monk: I have Kulle’s body. At last, Leah will be able to cast the spell to restore him, and I will not have to suffer his ceaseless chatter much longer. I wonder if Kulle intends to fulfil his end of the bargain. If he does not, he will learn that he was wrong to underestimate me.
  • Necromancer: I begin to see what has gone awry in Kulle’s mind. He can see that the angels and demons are two sides of the same battle — opposites in every way, but an equal threat to humanity. But he has no sense of the Balance, or his place in it.
  • Wizard: I finally have Kulle's body, and Leah stands ready to cast the spell that will recreate him. Though Kulle has been an insufferable traveling companion, there can be no doubt that he is powerful—perhaps more powerful than I. But he is the key to the Black Soulstone, so we have little choice but to do as he wishes. For now.

• Part 5
  • Barbarian: I would say that Zoltun Kulle walks once again, but it seems that walking is not enough for the mage. He floats through the air instead. Now that he is whole, I can see the madness in his eyes. We have bargained with a dangerous man, but the Black Soulstone will soon be ours.
  • Crusader: Kulle is restored. Now we face the question: will he betray us immediately, or after he's helped us recover the Black Soulstone?
  • Demon Hunter: We have done as we promised. Leah has made Kulle’s body whole, and he lives again, just as he did centuries ago. He has retreated to his sanctum to prepare the Black Soulstone, but will he relinquish it after everything it has cost him? If he does not, I must be ready to wrest it from him.
  • Monk: We have raised Kulle to life. He has promised to give me the Black Soulstone, but I do not trust him or his words. He uses them as easily as I breath. If he means to betray me, I will have to show him that he is not the only one who is powerful.
  • Necromancer: Kulle’s body was never meant to be reformed. I do not know what spells Adria taught Leah, but her magic is foreign to me. Kulle himself has become bolder, as though he can no longer disguise his ambitions. For all his brilliance, he suffers from an overabundance of ambition.
  • Wizard: Kulle is made flesh once again. He will give the Black Soulstone to us, and then we shall turn our attention to Belial. Kulle has not lied yet, but I am filled with misgivings. I can only hope that the Black Soulstone proves to be everything we believe it is. Otherwise, we have gone on a fool's errand.

• Part 6
  • Barbarian: Kulle is dead, and the Black Soulstone is ours. We are ready to face Belial. The child has found him just in time. We may be on the front foot now, but we cannot waste our advantage.
  • Crusader: Well, Kulle was not back among the living for very long. He is dead, though I would not be surprised to run into him again sometime. More importantly, we have the Black Soulstone and are ready to face Belial.
  • Demon Hunter: I have slain Zoltun Kulle. With the power of the Black Soulstone, he hoped to surpass the demons and angels alike. He cared nothing for the fate of humanity, thinking only of himself. I will use the stone to trap the soul of Belial and Azmodan. Should I fall on my journey, another will take my place. It is as simple as that. And yet, it is strange that Adria said nothing about the other Lords of Hell being inside the Soulstone. I hope she is not harboring any more secrets.
  • Monk: Kulle is dead, silent at last. With his final words, he tried to convince me to join him and rule creation. That is not my road. I seek only to protect this world and the balance. He was too dangerous to be allowed to live. Now I have the Black Soulstone, and soon Belial will be trapped within it just as his brothers are.
  • Monk: Kulle is dead, silent at last. With his final words, he tried to convince me to join him and rule creation. That is not my road. I seek only to protect this world and the balance. He was too dangerous to be allowed to live. Now I have the Black Soulstone, and soon Belial will be trapped within it just as his brothers are.
  • Necromancer: Kulle’s betrayal was inevitable, but Adria’s manipulation of the Black Soulstone came as a surprise for all of us. She’d better not be keeping other secrets.
  • Wizard: Kulle's betrayal was no surprise, but the fact that the Black Soulstone contains the souls of the slain Lords of Hell was unexpected, to say the least. Why did Adria not tell us of this? She has many secrets. Indeed, secrets and lies are all around me. But now that we have the Black Soulstone, it will not be long before Belial joins the other demons within it.