Prologue: DIO's World

It was a warm, arid night in Cairo, Egypt. The year was 1988, and a new power had awoken; one that would forever alter the universe that it resided in.

"THE WORLD!" DIO shouted, as his Stand,「THE WORLD」dutifully appeared in front of him, ready to do its users bidding. "Stop time!"

With a deafening boom like that of a cannon, all the color and motion drained from the world around him as his opponent, Jotaro Kujo, ground to a halt before his very eyes: just a few yards out of his Stand's range. DIO smirked, realizing he was now in the perfect position to finally end the roadblocks the Joestar bloodline had set in his way for one hundred years. He could hardly contain his excitement. He was a new man, no, a god. The god of this world. He had defeated the Stardust Crusaders one by one: Avdol, Iggy, Kakyoin, Joseph, Polnareff, and now, only Kujo, the last of the Joestars, stood in his way. It was too much to contain, and though there was no one other than his final enemy who could hear it, he took a deep breath.

"WRYYYYYYYY!" DIO cried in victory, as the clock in his mind began to tick. "One second has passed."

He took a step towards the now frozen in mid-leap Jotaro. I know he can see and hear me.

"Two seconds have passed."

Another step. When will he make his move?

"Three seconds have passed."

He was just about to enter his range. If Jotaro makes a move, it will be right now.

"Four seconds- " he was cut off as the arms of Jotaro's「STAR PLATINUM」appeared in front of him, rearing back in an attack stance. However, DIO had anticipated the attack, and easily blocked each punch with the fists of 「THE WORLD」. One last punch made contact, however, and as the fists of the two powerful Stands collided, DIO's Stand fingers shattered in a spray of blood. He winced and cried out, in more of shock than in pain, for his newfound power dulled all pain, but it left a perfect window for Jotaro to strike. 「STAR PLATINUM」's fists quickly rushed in, and though he tried his best to defend himself from the attack, DIO was struck once in the jaw, knocking him a few feet back and into the air. He quickly caught himself, hovering above his opponent.

"Five seconds have passed," he smirked again, as he continued to slowly float backwards, not attempting to right himself. "Six seconds have passed."

His hand wound had completely healed, and as he watched, shock washed over Jotaro as the boy realized that DIO's time stop had not ended, but was instead continuing.

"Seven seconds have passed!" DIO shouted as he hefted his healed wound for Jotaro to see. "I still feel the power! I can keep the time stop up!"

Jotaro curled his lip, but in his eyes, DIO saw his fear.

"And by the way, Jotaro," DIO chuckled to himself, floating towards Jotaro slowly. "You shouldn't be able to move any longer. You gambled away your two seconds, but you miscalculated. This is a truly magnificent feeling!"

As Jotaro stood, now frozen solid in the time stop, DIO floated up higher, laughing at the top of his lungs.

"Eight seconds have passed!" DIO noted, raising a finger. "One hundred years ago, I attained immortality, but I never felt as absolutely wonderful as I do now!"

With a sickening sound, DIO dug the finger into his right temple, twisting it around again and again as blood and viscera sprayed from the wound. He laughed maniacally again.

"Joestar blood suits me so well! This is the greatest high!"

DIO danced around Jotaro tauntingly, laughing all the while, but he began to feel a familiar tugging sensation.

"Nine seconds have passed! I've stopped time for nine seconds!" he boasted. "But it seems that nine seconds is my current limit."

I must make the most of the time I have left.

DIO unleashed his Stand's rush attack on the defenseless Jotaro, landing multiple hits and feeling Jotaro's collarbone, left arm, and several ribs crack under his fists. As began its natural course again, Jotaro was thrown backwards through as sign and into the air.

"Now, I will unleash all of my Stand's power!" DIO cried, flying after the now airborne Jotaro. "You said something about being pissed off, but your fury can achieve no more that that!"

DIO rocketed towards Jotaro, feinting a punch towards his head. When he raised「STAR PLATINUM」to counter, DIO replaced the punch with a flurry of kicks to his chest.

"MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA!" DIO cried as he pummelled Jotaro yet again, throwing him downwards and onto a nearby bridge. DIO slowly descended towards his enemy, spreading his arms wide in victory. "And now, without a pause, my final attack! The last and final time I will need to stop time! In nine seconds, I will end all of this!"

Jotaro, as terribly injured as he might have been, attempted to rise to his feet from his prone position, but it was already too late.

"THE WORLD!" DIO cried, as the sands of time froze and time itself ground to a halt yet again. He slowly landed on the bridge, staring into Jotaro's face just a few dozen or so feet away and couldn't help but chuckle. Suddenly, he took to the skies again, searching for something he had seen earlier.

"One second has passed."

"Two seconds have passed."

"Three seconds have passed."

"Four seconds have passed."

"Five seconds have passed."

"Six seconds have passed."

Ah, yes. Here it is. Perfect…

"Seven seconds have passed."

A shadow began to engulf the frozen Jotaro as DIO descended from the skies with the instrument that would play a key role in his final attack.

"ROAD ROLLER!"

With a tremendous crash, DIO slammed a 22 ton road roller down onto Jotaro. He met some resistance as Jotaro finally used his two seconds to move inside the time stop, pummeling the construction vehicle with a rush attack from below. In response, DIO brought out his own Stand, rush attacking from above. The countless "ORAS" and "MUDAS" drowned out the sound of the punches, until Jotaro neared the end of his time.

"It's too late!" cried DIO. "You cannot escape! Eight seconds have passed! I'll smash you flat!"

With one final punch from「THE WORLD」, the road roller slammed down flush with the pavement, engulfing Jotaro. There was nothing left but silence.

"Nine seconds have passed," DIO observed, finally becoming calm as he stared down at the wreckage below him. "I did it. This proves that no one can surpass DIO!"

DIO began to cackle once more.

"Puny humans! I shall rule you all! Bow before my knowledge and might!"

DIO raised his arms in victory, consulting his mental clock.

"Ten seconds have passed." He laughed again. "Now my ability to stop time has reached ten seconds. And, when I find Jotaro's body and drink his blood, it will grow even more exponentially. If there is any blood left to take, that is."

With that, DIO raised his foot to lower himself from the top of the road roller to the bridge, but something was wrong. He couldn't move. He, DIO, was trapped in a time stop.

"DIO!"

It couldn't be. That was the voice of Jotaro. But he was dead: crushed flat!

"It's been eleven seconds. I guess that's your limit now."

It WAS Jotaro! But how was he alive?! DIO was just barely able to turn his head, where he could see Jotaro standing atop the road roller behind him. HOW?

"I stopped time at the nine seconds mark," Jotaro explained, slowly approaching DIO. "That's how I escaped."

DIO began to sweat. This couldn't be happening!

"And now, it won't even take a second for me to finish you!" Jotaro growled, still growing ever closer. "How does it feel, DIO, having someone approach from behind while you can't move a muscle?"

Suddenly, he felt Jotaro's hand on his shoulder.

"For you, I feel no pity."

DIO's legs were swept out from under him as Jotaro's「STAR PLATINUM」kicked them out. As time began to move again, DIO fell from the road roller and onto the hard pavement below. Blood oozed from his knees, and he found it impossible to rise to his feet or to even hardly move at all. He lost his composure as his breathing began to become ragged and he began to sweat even more intensely, and Jotaro took a deliberate and cautious step down from the road roller.

"I don't even feel the slightest bit of compassion for you. I haven't an ounce of pity," Jotaro said as he pointed to DIO menacingly. "However, just finishing you off right now would leave a bad taste in my mouth. The moment you've healed, I'll throw「STAR PLATINUM」at you. So bring it on!"

He's… he's mocking me! But, Jotaro, you may have come this far, but you are still only human.

DIO couldn't help but laugh again as he began to struggle to gain his footing, blood still pouring from his leg wounds.

You think like a human, who has so little time left to live. You think about things leaving a bad taste in your mouth, or living life with no regrets. That kind of thinking will be your demise! I, DIO, have no such thoughts. Within my mind is but one thing: to be victorious and rule! How I do it-!

DIO twisted one of his injured legs to the side, firing a jet of blood towards Jotaro.

-does not matter!

The blood struck Jotaro straight in the eyes, covering his brow and nose and forcing him to shut his eyes.

"How do you like being blinded by blood?" DIO cried in anger, lashing out with a kick at Jotaro. "I've won! Die!"

With one last, desperate "ORA," Jotaro let go a wild punch from his Stand, and by mere chance, the two attacks collided. The two Stands stood at a standstill for what seemed like hours, until suddenly, a long crack formed in「THE WORLD」's shin. The crack quickly began to spread up the Stand's body, and in turn, DIO's body.

"Wh- whaaaaaaaaaat!?" he cried in pain and anger. "Impossible! I- I'm DIO! I! AM! DIOOOOOOO!"

With an explosion, half of DIO's body vaporized, and he fell backwards, his light evaporating into blue flames.