"This is it." Joji exhaled slowly, his hand slowly holding out the piece of shredded cloth from his father's jacket. "You guys know where you're supposed to go, right?"

"Yeah. I'm not ready, but we can't afford to wait any longer." Yuina sighed, holding her marker tightly in between her fingers. "We're going to make sure Yoshikage and Alandria never hurt anyone ever again!"

"Like hell I'm going to just stand aside and let them do whatever the fuck they want." Minato said, gritting his teeth. "I'll get a few damn good hits in for my sister."

"I would be losing my mind right now if it weren't for my Stand's ability." Yamato sighed, shrugging as he steeled his resolve. "Whatever, then. Let's do this."

"This is for Morioh, but, this is also for Jovanni." November clenched his fist, his voice both quiet and fierce somehow. "We're going to make him damn proud of us."

"If it wasn't for Jovanni, I'm damn sure I wouldn't be the man I am today. This is for him, for everyone Yoshikage has killed, and for my family." Thomas pulled The Commanded out from its holster, aiming it at the sky. "Let's make these motherfuckers know what payback feels like."

"We should go ahead and get this show on the road, then." Joji stated, his Philosopher King manifesting as his violet aura surrounded the shredded cloth, which had suddenly started to float away from the group. "Let's go!"

Adrenaline had pumped through Joji's veins as he and his friends split up into their designated teams of three, his sights now set on the shredded cloth in front of him, all of his focus centering onto his main goal.

However, he had felt an absence once Yuina had dispatched from the group, though he had made an effort to try and bury his worries for her. If he could not do so, there would be absolutely no way that he would be able to focus. He could not neglect the truth, either; she was his baby sister. If anything happened to her, he knew that all hell would break loose.

November and Minato had not said a single word to him or each other since they had detached. Maybe they had been as anxious as he was, or maybe they knew that they could not lie to themselves about their current situation. It was very possible that they would not be alive by the end of the battle. That was the reality that they had been facing.

Their running had led them into a thick forest, which Joji only had fearful memories of. He had died near this place once already, so it was quite possible that fate had other plans for him. At least, that was what he had thought.

Sunlight could barely penetrate through the trees as the three Stand users had started to slow down, noticing that the shredded piece of Jomei's jacket had started to slow down as well.

"I think we're here." November murmured as they turned a large patch of tall grass, feeling a slight bit of the weight on their hearts lift once they could see an unconscious Jomei laying against a tree on his side, his face bruised and his clothes torn. "He's still breathing. We're not too late."

"We can get him somewhere safe and kick Yoshikage's ass after that, then." Minato said, slowly and cautiously stepping forward as his Manawar materialized. "We just gotta be careful."

"Thank you, God, if you're out there." Joji whispered, choking back tears as he had approached his sleeping father – though, he had suddenly stopped in his tracks. He looked upward, the tree branches above him creaking as if a weight had been placed upon them. "Huh? What the hell is that sound?"

It had felt as if an eternity had passed as the creaking sound had perpetuated throughout the empty forest air, though all of them felt their heart rates spike as they saw a man, with what appeared to be a feline Stand's body wrapped around him, land on the forest floor.

"That's the piece of shit we're looking for. I should have known this wouldn't be so simple." November said, Humiliation phasing into existence. "Stand aside, Yoshikage Kagerou. We're here for that man you're holding hostage."

"And I'm here to make sure none of you get in my way." Yoshikage Kagerou smirked, folding his arms as utter confidence oozed out from his voice. "You brought children here. I thought that you saw yourself as a good man."

"Cut the shit." Joji stated bluntly, the fear in his mind sinking into the depths as he clenched his fists tightly. "My name is Joji Kujo and I'm here for my father. If you hand him over, I'll make sure nto to break all of your bones for killing all of those innocent people."

"I merely did what was best for me. Isn't that what life is all about?" Yoshikage Kagerou grinned, his dark violent aura spilling around his tall and lean frame. "Make no mistake, boy. If you came here to challenge me, you must be ready and willing to kill. Luckily, for me, that is second nature."

"You're not wrong, but you still killed so many people like they were animals, without even blinking a goddamn eye!" Minato shouted, baring his teeth. "I don't know what I even expected, but you're nothing but a damn joke!"

"I do what must be done." Yoshikage Kagerou shrugged, his gaze shifting towards November. "And you're somehow still alive. That's fine. It just means that killing you will be a little more personal than usual."

"Shut your mouth and fight!" Minato cried out, concrete shooting out from his Manawar's open palm. It had been aimed towards Yoshikage's head. "We'll take you out! Right here, right now!"

Yoshikage Kagerou grunted as the wave of concrete barely missed him, the end of the concrete embedding itself in the tree behind him. His Killer Queen extended its hand upward, pulling itself and its user onto the wide block of concrete.

"Come then, and try with all of your might to strike me down! But, let me warn you!" Yoshikage Kagerou yelled, his dark violet aura practically overflowing. "Because of your insolence, I will make sure to rid this world of everyone you loved! You dared to strike down Yoshikage Kagerou, the one above all of humanity!"


Yuina, Yamato, and Thomas had arrived in front of the rocky structure that had been known as a Wall-Eye. Yuina had been shaking in her boots, though the other two seemed completely unfazed by the pressure surrounding the area.

"Get the hell out here!" Thomas shouted without a moment's hesitation, not paying any mind as Yuina flinched from the sudden yell. "Unless you're actually scared of us?!"

The three felt the silence slowly lift from the area, watching in awe as Alandria Megumi climbed out from the side of the Wall-eye, her eyes analyzing the humans standing in front of her humble abode.

"What do you desire, and why have you come here?" Alandria asked, her hot pink aura slipping over her while she shot her gaze towards Yuina and Yamato. "I know of you two children, but this man is a stranger to me. Why have you come?"

"How do you know who we are?" Yamato asked, his Stand not yet taking effect as he had been too far away from the ghostly woman. "We've never even met before."

"Wall-Eyes are placed all throughout Morioh, are they not? They feed me information when I reside with them, they aid me." Alandria stated, running her hand along the smooth stone. "You have both been assisting Joji Kujo, as has Minato Nijimura. I know of your abilities, so there is no need for me to worry about a battle. So, I will ask again; why have you come here?"

"W-we came here to stop you!" Yuina shouted and stammered in an attempt to swallow the utter terror that had been rattling her bones. "You and that Yoshikage guy are hurting innocent people, they've done nothing to you!"

"You've managed to figure out that Yoshikage and I are working together? Impressive." Alandria smirked in amusement, her Art of Anesthesia phasing by her side. "Do you truly believe you can kill what is already dead, though, child?"

"I don't know, so let's find out!" Thomas drew out his revolver before Alandria could even possibly register what he had said or even his movements, the burly man pulling the trigger of the revolver six times. "How's that for a goddamn try?"

Alandria felt each bullet pass through her guts, causing an indescribable – yet, familiar – pain to wrack her slender frame. She felt rage cloud her heart and her mind as the bullets rerouted to Thomas's revolver. She could feel her wounds slowly closing up as she had started to shake violently.

"Insolent human, I am going to make you wish that you had never been born!" Alandria screeched, her Art of Anesthesia's tendrils shooting towards Thomas. "You will all suffer the same horrible fate, by my hands!"

"Shit, hit the ground!" Thomas shouted, diving onto the dirt as the tendril had just barely passed over his head, the two teenagers quickly following his lead. "This is it!"

"Stand still!" Minato yelled as his Manawar shot pieces of concrete at Killer Queen, which had managed to deflect every chunk of the rock that rocketed towards it. "Can someone give me a hand here?!"

"DORA!" Joji shouted in unison with Philosopher King, its fists easily breaking through the concrete. "Get down here and fight, you rotten piece of shit!"

November charged as a quarter of the concrete slab collapsed, attempting to land a solid punch as Yoshikage Kagerou fell, only to miss as the man jumped off the side of the slab of his own volition.

"Humiliation!" November cried, his monstrous Stand's fist crunching against Yoshikage Kagerou's nose, though the now cringing man had managed to push himself away from his opponents. "We have first blood. Is your confidence wavering yet, Yoshikage?"

"This battle is far from over." Yoshikage Kagerou wiped the fresh blood from his nose, his large grin returning to his face as he spoke. "Let me tell you something, to make this fight a little more interesting. I've placed a time bomb in this forest, and when it goes… well, you know what has happened before. How does that make you feel?"

"I don't think he's bluffing, even though it scares the shit out of me." Joji scowled, paranoia suddenly settling into the back of his mind. "We've seen what he can do to a single building with his power. If he can really use power of that magnitude, we're in trouble."

"I'll also tell you that it's at a time limit of ten minutes, but don't get too worried. The time may speed up or slow down depending on how I'm feeling." Yoshikage Kagerou explained, turning towards November. "This is my ability, Another One Bites the Dust. I'm sure you're familiar with it."

"We'll just have to put you down like the dog you are in ten minutes, then! Bring it on!" Minato shouted, though he watched in confusion as Yoshikage Kagerou chuckled, the remains of the concrete slab above them quickly collapsing. "Oh shit!"

Concrete chunks had started to pelt Minato, forcing him to throw himself to the forest floor as his Stand shielded him from the onslaught. November had followed suit, covering his head as he did so. Joji, however, immediately charged towards Kagerou as he screamed at the top of his lungs.

Yoshikage Kagerou's eyes widened in surprise as the young man rushed at him, his fist only narrowing missing as he moved backward quickly, sweat dripping down his face as he avoided every incoming blow, but just barely.

"You're just like your clown of a father, boy!" Yoshikage Kagerou clenched his teeth, the comparison between the two was almost too much for him. He had wanted to tear him apart, just as badly as his father. "You're both headstrong and self-righteous. Stay the hell out of my business, or die!"

"The moment you stole someone's life away from them, you made it my business." Joji shook his head, not daring to look back to check on his friends; he knew anything could create an opening for his opponent to strike. "But, thank you for the compliment about my dad. I don't think what my words are going to be as kind when I return the favor, though."

"What impudence." Yoshikage Kagerou sighed, his breathing steadily rising as irritation flooded into his voice. "Well, let me tell you a secret, then. Would you like to know where the bomb I planted is?"

"Don't play games with me." Joji stated bluntly, a sort of tranquil fury taking control of his mind. "You aren't going to distract me with your bullshit. I'm just going to beat the shit out of you until you disable it."

"You're stubborn, you don't need to make this any harder than it has to be. So shut up and listen. I think you are going to love this." Yoshikage Kagerou started to chuckle, his emerald eyes filled with excitement. "I planted the bomb on your father."

Joji had felt the world come to a sudden, abrupt stop as his mind processed what he had just been told. His father was the bomb. Kagerou had to be bluffing, his reasoning told him it was merely a trick to blind him with fury. However, the rest of Joji did not take even a moment to listen to what reason had to say.

"You're going to regret that, you freak." Joji murmured, sprinting towards Yoshikage Kagerou as a steady flow of hate filled the inside of his chest. "I won't let anyone get in my way! You're mine!"

"Killer Queen!" Yoshikage Kagerou shouted as his feline Stand came to his aid, holding up its arms in an X formation to defend itself from the incoming flood of fists. "Don't let this dirty bastard lay a single finger on me!"

Yoshikage Kagerou felt a dull pain smash against his abdomen, feeling as if hundreds of pounds of brick had been launched into his chest cavity. He could barely comprehend his surroundings before one final blow launched him further away from Joji, who had immediately dashed towards him.

"Joji, don't charge in without a damn plan! Control yourself!" Minato yelled, attempting to run after his comrade, though he had stopped once November had clutched the side of his arm tightly. "Huh? Why are you stopping me? He's gonna need our help!"

"This is Joji's fight right now, Minato. I completely understand how he feels, even if there is still some sort of hope left." November said understandingly, slowly removing his hand from the teenage boy's arm. "We just need to stay close and watch carefully. Don't intervene unless you have to, because you might end up confusing him."

Minato sighed and stepped away from the battle, watching his comrade land another solid blood on the cold blooded murderer's chin. He could not help but feel worried and fearful for his friend, but, most of all, he had felt an overwhelming sense of pride. He had changed so much since he had first met him, and he was proving it here.

"DORA!" Joji's fist crunched against Yoshikage Kagerou's nose, his knuckles bloodied as he panted, his footsteps growing heavier with every step he took towards his opponent. "I hate motherfuckers like you. You think life is all about what you want, but you never stop and think, that maybe you're not all that. It just doesn't happen. That's the problem with people like you, you use the helpless as hostages. I already wanted to you pay for your crimes, but now, I just want to break you."

"You pretentious fucker! Don't underestimate me!" Yoshikage Kagerou angrily spat, lunging towards Joji as his body twitched and ached from the pain that had been wrought upon his body. "I, Yoshikage Kagerou, will be victorious! I cannot lose!"

Without warning, Yoshikage Kagerou's body instantly crashed into the forest floor, his fingers wriggling as they had so desperately tried to grasp Joji's shoe – but his efforts were all for nothing. He could barely move a centimeter, much less an inch.

"What the hell did you do to my body?!" Yoshikage Kagerou grunted, trying to force himself off the ground, only for his face to smack down into the dirt. "Damn it! Is this your ability, Joji Kujo?!"

"I think so." Joji stepped back slightly, only to ensure that his enemy would be unable to touch him. "It didn't take effect until you came near me, so this ability must have a pretty short range, then…"

"I think Joji has Yoshikage beaten." November said, taking a few steps forward so he could obtain a better look of the situation. "He keeps trying to get back up, the stupid bastard. No matter what he does, he won't be able to win unless he manages to turn Joji into a bomb."

"I just hope Joji doesn't let his anger make him fucking lose it." Minato said, concerned. "When someone Joji cares about gets hurt or fucked with, it's like he becomes a totally different person. It scares the shit out of me."

"Disable the bomb and I'll undo my Philosopher King's ability." Joji stated coldly, his harsh expression unmoving. "I've figured something out, too. You've been avoiding direct confrontation because you know your blasts won't be enough. You put too much power into Bites the Dust, your ability works by disbursing certain amounts of power onto different objects. Am I right?"

"Damn it all! I can't be beaten, I can't!" Yoshikage Kagerou cried, his aura spiking as he clawed at the earth beneath him. "This is not the way things are supposed to end!"

"Either you disable your bomb and live, I kill you and undo it anyway, or we all die together. Pick one, you piece of rat shit." Joji said bluntly, shoving his hands into his pockets. "The clock is ticking, Yoshikage."

"B-bites the Dust… disable." Yoshikage Kagerou mumbled almost solemnly, the feeling of utter defeat overtaking him as he watched Jomei Kujo slowly wake from his deep sleep. "I'm going to kill each and every one of you. I swear it."

"You're going to spend the rest of your worthless life giving back to society, instead of stealing." Joji said, his voice slowly becoming lighter. "So, lie there, and think about what you've done while you suffer like the dog you are."


At approximately the same time the battle against Yoshikage Kagerou had started to unfold, the struggle against Alandria Megumi had only intensified. No one had landed any hits on another as tendrils shot across the landscape, the three Stand users could only dodge and attempt to find a way around the writhing mass of tentacles.

"This is getting damn annoying!" Thomas yelled as he fired his revolver, the glowing green bullet only grazing the side of Alandria's head, leaving her unfazed. "Goddamn it! One of you, think of something!"

"I'm on it!" Yuina pressed her marker onto the ground as she yelled, quickly sketching what appeared to be a fairly muscular man, though the end of his left arm appeared to be an enormous cannon. "Let's see if this will work!"

The muscular drawing fired an enormous cannonball towards Alandria, who had attempted to block the attack with half of her Stand's tendrils. However, the blow had managed to force them apart, and then slammed against the side of her body. She screamed in pain, her body skidding across the solid earth.

"Hurry!" Thomas shouted as he and Yamato darted towards the dazed Alandria, his revolver pointed straight at her skull. "We can't let her set up her defenses again!"

Yamato had stopped once he had managed to move within five meters of her body, one of Art of Anesthesia's tendrils suddenly slipping around his neck, his hands grasping at it desperately as its grips slowly tightened.

"You were fated to lose this battle from the start, you fool!" Alandria laughed, staring into Thomas's eyes with her own lavender orbs, her hot pink aura erupting around her. "Nothing is stopping me from choking this boy to death. If nothing else, I want to do it so badly, but I can see your trigger finger shaking from terror. Even the girl can't do a thing to harm me. You have lost, utterly and completely. Now, lay down your weapon and accept your deaths. It is the only salvation you pigs have in this life."

"You shouldn't assume so quickly that I'm helpless." Yamato said, the silver button on his uniform shining. "You're within my range, Alandria. I guess we won this battle after all, so you can release me from your grip now."

"What are you talking about?" Alandria asked, blinking in confusion as she stared at the button on Yamato's uniform. She felt a sudden nausea bite into her senses, her Stand's tendrils loosening as she felt sweat drip down her spine. "W-what did you do to me?!"

Raw fear had taken over all of her senses, her hands pulling at her hair as she backed away from Yamato, who had merely taken a step back as her hot pink aura only grew. She had felt so primal and so humiliated, thinking that she had been infected with a disease of some kind.

Suddenly, Art of Anesthesia's head appeared to open like the dripping maw of a ravenous beast – and a flood of murky darkness poured out from it, seeping all across the landscape and even into the lush forest.

The world for the Stand users had suddenly grown dark, the shadows spreading from Art of Anesthesia's maw smothering them as they felt their consciousness fade away, leaving them barely any time to react or counterattack against this strange ability.


November felt his eyelids force themselves open after the rush of darkness had washed over his body. It took him a few moments to register the dull ache in his bones, his hands quivering as he forced himself onto his feet; but, he was by no means ready for what had been laid out before him.

It was his first home. It was the only house he would ever dare to call his home, as he recognized it from when he had still been with his wife. He could not even afford to speak her name, as he knew even the slightest thought could force him to his knees.

He walked forward, running his hand against the smooth wooden door, feeling the temptation to force it open slowly rise. Maybe if he opened the door he would see her again. Maybe everything would be how it was meant to be. Maybe.

But, he also knew better. His wife was dead, as badly as he wanted to reject that reality. He knew he would have to accept the truth sooner or later. His hand moved away from the wooden door, his legs carrying his body around the house instead, as if he were a machine. But he knew what was back there. He wanted to avoid this at all costs, so why did he keep moving?

November froze as hot bile rose from his guts and into his throat, his face a sickly pale as he cringed. He watched his wife's corpse float in their pool facedown, forcing him to his knees. He felt pain crack inside of them once they had met with the pavement below, as he knew that this was the truth. She was dead, and there was never a way to fix the past.

This was his reality.


Thomas awoke to the sound of distant gunfire and helicopters as they flew away, far into the clouds above him. He ran his hands into his pockets, his trusty revolver nowhere to be found. This would make things a hell of a lot harder on him, he was sure.

He pried his muscular frame off of the floor of the jungle, his blue eyes staring into the darkness of the thick forest. It smelt like death, as if dozens of corpses had been strewn about the land. This was a death trap, he knew that all too well.

Thomas stood still for a few moments and shut his eyes, attempting to listen for anything that might have been watching out for him. Military and survival tactics felt as if they were second nature to him. He was absolutely willing to kill to protect himself, if need be.

Thomas did not bother to drag his feet as he forced himself deeper into the jungle, the distant gunfire soon falling silent. He pressed his back behind a nearby tree, his blue eyes analyzing his surroundings – absolute silence.

His nose twitched as the stench of blooded slipped into his nostrils, sweat dripping down the side of his face as he managed to spot fresh blood coating the earth. His ears twitched as well, slowly peeking out from his temporary hideout to try and view what exactly had been happening.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Thomas screamed, seething rage pulsing through his bones as he saw a small body bag laid next to what appeared to be a wooden altar, a grown woman's body nailed to it though her slender frame had been covered by shadows. "Alice… ALICE!"

Thomas could feel saliva shooting out from his mouth as he screamed, begging God to allow him to take revenge on whoever had done this – he knew he would do whatever it would take to avenge them. But, he could feel himself slipping further into the void.


Yuina forced her eyelids open, her head feeling as if it was going to explode. Her legs felt unsteady, her eyesight fuddled as she attempted to focus on what was in front of her – except, she could only see four steel walls surrounding her.

She would have asked herself "where am I?" out loud if it were possible, but she could feel a cloth already wet from saliva tied around her mouth. She felt her heart beat harder, attempting to force herself to move – but she couldn't. Her feet had somehow been held down to the floor, her wrists bound as well.

Had she been kidnapped, or even worse, murdered? The presence of this place felt completely otherworldly to her, so maybe this was purgatory. Maybe this was her own personal hell, and she had done something terrible to deserve something as terrible as this.

Yuina flinched, a squeaking noise infiltrating her ear drums which nearly made her heart jump out from her chest. The creaking persisted, however, digging into her ears as her eyes shifted from left to right in an attempt to find the direct source.

She blinked, leaning forward slightly as the sound continued to bore itself into her ears. She felt fresh tears roll down her cheeks as she managed to see what had been hanging in front of her – it had been her brother's featureless corpse, directly facing her as it dangled from the ceiling.
Her muffled screams could not be heard through her bindings, her tears staining her cheeks as she struggled to break free. Her efforts were worthless, and she knew this deep down, but something inside of her kept pushing her to snap out of what had been holding her back.

She wondered just how much longer she could continue without someone by her side.


Yamato sat quietly in his room, his knees shaking as unfamiliar shadows traversed his room. Was this another nightmare? It felt incredibly real, and he ran his hands down his shirt to realize that his Stand was nowhere to be found.

He was all alone with his thoughts, which was the most terrifying thing to him. He hated being alone, but he hated to think about why he did even more. No one was there to save him or shield him if some sort of monster or murderer had decided to come after him, and there would be nowhere to run and hide.

Worthless. Pathetic. Weakling. Loser.

He believed that he was all of these things and more, but there had been absolutely no reasoning behind this. He had never lost anyone in a tragic accident, or anything. He had never known his father, and his mother was always working away from home which had left him alone with his fears almost constantly.

His Stand, Lech, was the only reason he was able to ignore them at all. It was as if it put his emotions into a deep sleep, and he was unable to act on what he truly wanted; it was both a blessing and a curse to have. He could trade his fear for apathy. Really, who wouldn't want to do that? It would make life so much easier.

Yamato clutched his head tightly, unable to cry as the sheer terror coursing through his body paralyzed him. It had been like this for years, and as far as he had known, it would remain this way unless he kept his Stand close to him even if it made him feel inhuman.


Minato awoke only to see that he was sitting on a leather couch, the walls a bright white as the sun broke through the windows. He had known this place so many years ago; this was his father's house, there was no mistaking it.

But the house was dead silent. He could see the shape of his father's shoes in the dust that layered the floor, which was just further indication that he had disappeared and he would not be returning. He turned his head to see his sister's white dress draped across the rocking chair.

The silence was killing him, and he knew in his heart that he may end up utterly alone. Maybe that was why he tried to play it off like he was always in a happy go lucky mood, or why he was always rushing to protect the innocent. He wanted to feel important to someone.

Maybe that was why he had trusted Joji so much that he had placed his life in his hands. Even after he had attempted to murder him, he allowed him to continue living because he knew it was just a mistake. Admittedly, he felt jealous; why couldn't he have a golden heart like the one his friend was given at birth?

Life is unfair, that is why. He knew that better than most people, but he had wished that maybe, if there were a god out there, they would give him something to be proud of. Maybe they already had, and he had to just spend his life in search for that.

But, what kind of life would that even be? It would be a life of mediocrity and never knowing, as he would never know which direction to go if he had never been told. He sighed, closing his eyes as he attempted to slip away from this reality.

He just hoped that this was not all there was to life.


Joji stood in the middle of a sea of darkness, his half-violet and half-dark blue eyes scanning the area before him. The only sound he could hear was what he could tell was white noise in the distance, his body still in the vast nothingness.

"What the hell is going on?" Joji murmured to himself, attempting to take a step forward even though it had appeared he had not moved an inch. "Where am I? Is this hell? I had that Yoshikage Kagerou fucker right in front of me, damn it!"

He fell silent for a few moments, running his hands through his pompadour as he pressed his fingers to his temples. He had to think. Think, think, think! He needed an idea on what he needed to do to get out of here.

"How am I supposed to get the fuck out of here when I'm fucking scared shitless?!" Joji screamed, his Stand not coming to his aid when he had attempted to force it out of his soul. "Come on, think, Joji! This has to be a dream!"

Joji felt sweat cling to his skin, hopelessness stabbing at every corner of his heart as the thought of being stuck in this everlasting hell tormented his brain. This could not be the end for him, but he could feel a strange, comforting feeling wash over him as he spoke quietly.

"I hope dad is okay." Joji murmured, the image of his father's unconscious body stuck in his mind, but that soon turned to the rest of his friends. "They're probably fighting Alandria right now, and I can't even do a damn thing about it. Some friend I am, huh?"

Silence fell once more, the teenage boy straightening his back as he stared upward. Nothingness had reigned here, wherever here was. He was sure this must have been the work of some sort of enemy Stand, but he felt as if something was missing.

"It's trying to scare me, that's the entire point of this ability. It wants me to fuck off and never come back, because, maybe, Alandria herself is scared of me." Joji told himself, a strange thought occurring in his mind suddenly. "Me. Me, me, me. What the hell is with me, anyway? I don't even know who I am."

He felt his resolve rise out from his heart, his fists clenching as his light violet aura coated his body. He saw what appeared to be the figure of his Stand slip out from behind him, its body covered in a bright light as he continued to speak to himself.

"What I am… right now, it doesn't matter." Joji said. "I am who I am, I wasn't anybody before I became Joji Kujo. I'm a new person, I'm not what the past has made me out to be. Isn't that right, Philosopher King?"

Philosopher King's body soon became visible, though its appearance had some changes to it. It was still at its same height and build, though. Its eyes were a piercing bright blue, an enormous tail spreading out through its back, stretching out several feet. All of its armor had fallen, revealing its now bright pink skin. It had a large green emblem on its chest which resembled a heart, and it had wires stretching out from its shoulders and embedding themselves in its wrists. All around its body seemed to be kanji, indicating several different sound effects, which had stained the entirety of its large and muscular frame.

"DORA!" Philosopher King screamed, its knuckles pounding against the darkness as what appeared to be a bright light shine from them, the rapid blows unending as it cried out in absolute, unending fury. "DORARARARARARARARARARARA!"

Shing!

The kanji for 'shine' flashed onto the darkness as light broke through the nothingness, the newly born Stand breaking through completely. Joji stared in awe before he shut his eyes, re-opening them to see that he had been standing near the Wall-Eyes.

He looked over to see that all of his friends had been laid out across the cold earth, fog surrounding them as he turned towards the Wall-Eyes, seeing that the darkness that had been emitting from Art of Anesthesia's gaping maw had started to slip back inside of it.

"So, that's what was going on." Joji said, his newly upgraded Philosopher King standing by his side as he looked away from the Stand, only to see a shocked Yoshikage Kagerou and an exhausted Alandria Megumi. "You should have killed me when you had the chance. You better hope that you didn't lay a single fucking hand on my friends, you bastards."

"He's right." Yoshikage Kagerou wiped sweat from his brow, scowling as he turned to Alandria. "What was your idea in the first place?! We could have killed him, but you wanted to torture them!"

"I'm not as thirsty for death as you might be. These pigs deserved to suffer for bringing more suffering my way." Alandria argued, turning to see Yoshikage before she grasped his hand. "We have no time to argue, though. It's time."

Yoshikage Kagerou could barely speak as his heart fluttered with elation, his fingers locking with the ghostly woman. He turned to Joji and grinned widely, chuckling before breaking out into laughter, tears of joy running down his face as an intense, bright light covered the both of them.

"What the fuck?!" Joji shouted, attempting to rush towards them before a massive gust of wind flew from their glowing bodies, pushing him back a few feet. He held his arm above his forehead, trying to look deeper into what exactly was unfolding. "Is this a Stand ability?! I can't even tell what's going on!"

In a mixture of light and wind, their two frames had started to mix together as their now singular body lifted up into the air. The body stretched out, their features obviously changing as they stood above the ground, the glow eventually fading.

The figure stood at six feet and six inches tall, their body feminine and lean. Their eyes had a grey iris, being rather cat-like in shape, which also had thick eye liner around them. Their nose was also somewhat stubby. Their face had high cheekbones, their torso and shoulders broad, which managed to match with their muscular arms. Their hands appeared to be rather soft, with painted crimson fingernails extending from them. Their hips appeared to be rather feminine and wide as well.

Their hair was a smoky brown color, tied into a wide ponytail that hung low. They also had long bangs on each side of their head. This new being wore a black crop top with a thin dark blue blazer, their sleeves dangling at the end of their hands like a robe, and the back of the blazer stretched down to their knees like a cape.

There appeared to be intricate, curvy green patterns moving throughout the sleeves, the mid-back, and the shoulders which appeared to form a gate. They also wore light pink dress pants which covered a majority of their lower half, though their shins were visible. Finally, they wore a pair of crimson shoes.

They looked towards Joji Kujo, the world shaking beneath them as their feet slowly made contact with the world beneath them. They sighed, a white aura erupting around their lean frame, their face almost expressionless as their lips parted.

"It is time."


Name: Joji Kujo
Age: 16
Stand: Philosopher King (Act 3)
Stand statistics

Destructive Power: A
Speed: A
Durability: B
Precision: A
Range: D
Development Potential: A