If only Dio would have talked less, then maybe he could triumph. But no, he had to stretch his speech until the last second! Concentrated on his own words, he miscounted a precious second. The fist of The World drilled into Kakyoin's abdomen, but instead of hanging still in the air, Kakyoin flew back. Yes, Dio struck exactly when the time-stopping wore off.
Kakyoin flew a decent distance before hitting a water tower, getting stuck in the hole he created. It hurt. Everything hurt. His abdomen hurt as blood was spilling out of it, his back hurt as it pressed the hard broken steel of the water tower, his chest hurt as he took heavy breaths in. He was shaking, lying in the cold water splashing underneath him, mixing up with his blood. But at least, now he knew.
Kakyoin knew how Dio managed to cut through Hierophant Green in less than a moment. Time. He could stop time. It sounded like a paradox, but... Dio just proved it to be real. All Kakyoin knew, he had to warn the others about it. Joseph was there, he was near, but... Kakyoin couldn't push a sound out of his mouth, except for pained wheezes and groans. But he had to warn him. He had to do anything useful before dying.
He felt he was going to die. His insides were ready to spill out, everything hurt, and he was sure that everything in his body was broken. His sight... It was slowly slipping away from him. His vision was blurred. Sight was the first thing people lose as they are dying, that's what he read. But he still managed to catch a glimpse of something that could warn Joseph Joestar about Dio's stand. A clock tower.
Gathering all the strength he had left, Kakyoin summoned Hierophant Green. He knew it would take all of his energy, but he didn't care. You don't need energy going to the better world, right? He used it for his last Emerald Splash, which came out of Hierophant Green together with a splash of blood from his mouth. The emeralds were aimed at the clock tower, and despite Kakyoin barely being able to see it, he hit exactly where he meant to. A small smirk cracked on his blood-covered lips. Yes, he did it. He did something useful eventually. He just hoped that Joseph will understand the message.
Now all Kakyoin had left to do was count the time until his death. Thoughts that didn't come across his mind throughout the journey took their time to appear now. How were his parents? Were they worried? They didn't even know that he was in Cairo right now, and that soon his heartbeat would stop. What was going on in school? Did anybody wonder where he and Jotaro had disappeared to? Did anybody try to contact them? Look for them? How was Ms. Kujo doing? Was she still holding on? Did she ever think how was their journey going? Kakyoin hoped that Jotaro will beat Dio in time. Ms. Kujo was a rare type of person, a precious one, he could say, people like her deserve to live.
All of Kakyoin's thoughts were cut short as he realized that the incredible pain went weaker, and that he couldn't see his surroundings at all now. He could barely hear what was happening around him now, and his muscles went limp. He let his eyes close, as he no longer had the power to keep them open. Gradually, his thoughts got quiet, since he was too exhausted to think as well, and eventually, he felt like collapsing into complete black. He felt so light...