DISCLAIMER: I do not own JoJo's bizarre adventure or Rising of the shield hero
"Golden Ratio."
DIO and Raphtalia felt the entire universe was affected by Spiral's words.
"You came all the way to another universe to torment my mother again. The sad part is that she knew you'd come."
Spiral's bandana was gone, revealing spiky golden hair. Her green eyes appeared fierce and bright. Her entire aura became golden, glowing so bright, it appeared as a miniature sun.
"I have no idea who you are talking about."
Spiral's boiling anger could be felt by everyone present before she dashed in front of DIO and punched his face. DIO's head exploded violently.
"DIO!"
Raphtalia attacked the new 'Golden' Spiral, but the mercenary kneed her, breaking bones she didn't know she had.
"Stay out of this!"
Golden Spiral hit Raphtalia of the picture and she glared at DIO's body. His brain matter was still intact enough to reconstitute.
"How are ya not dead?" Spiral asked genuinely curious.
"Did you believe destroying my brain would end me? As long as my cerebellum survives, death is impossible!"
Random Narrator
The cerebellum is a part of the brain that controls motor functions like movement. It is at the back of the head behind the end of the spinal cord. It is crucial to a vampire as, without it, the body can not repair itself, leaving a vampire to eventually die. However, it is small enough to survive most attacks.
"I got time, let's test that theory," Golden Spiral stretched her limbs and cracked her knuckles.
DIO glanced at Raphtalia who struggled to breathe on the ground. His eyes told her to stay down, not out of confidence in his own abilities, but worry for her, but she seemed to ignore him. New plan! If Spiral wanted DIO, she will get DIO.
"Very well, I welcome the challenge, however, a battle here would be unfitting for your defeat. A grandiose battle above would provide a large audience."
"Pompous blonde bastard! You want an audience, fine!"
Spiral gave in to DIO's manipulation, smiling at the idea of humiliating DIO in front of the castle town.
Spiral backflipped tens of metres high and made her aura so dense, her feet could stand on it.
"Come up here, bitch!"
DIO honestly was not certain how he was supposed to seemingly fly. He had just spoken hastily for Raphtalia's sake.
"What ya waiting for!" Golden Spiral grew impatient while DIO thought of something.
"This angle is no good," DIO improvised, jumping onto the wall of a tall building.
"Muda!" DIO used [The World] to kick off the building, launching him at high speeds forward.
"Fucking tease!" Golden Spiral chased after him, sprinting mid-air.
As she chased after him, DIO noticed she was moving slower than before her transformation.
"Her movements are heavy, almost as if she is carrying a large weight. But the way her every muscle moves implies her body itself is heavier."
DIO discerned, bouncing off more buildings to keep up his trajectory. He could see Spiral's growing frustration, and soon that frustration skyrocketed aggressively. At the soles of her feet, her aura burst and propelled her, allowing her to get into DIO's range.
*TEMPUS EST MEUM*
Sadly, Spiral found herself back where she was before bursting her aura, almost like she travelled back in time.
"ASSHOLE!" She screamed at DIO, before propelling herself greater than before, appearing right on top of DIO faster.
*TEMPUS EST MEUM*
And just like that, he was gone. Spiral looked around to find him, but there was no trace of him. She almost went crazy, but images of DIO dying at her hands brought a form of comfort to her mind.
"You know, I really enjoy killing fuckers like you. Honestly, it's almost a weird fetish."
*TEMPUS EST MEUM*
"I did not need to hear that," DIO suddenly appeared before Spiral and said flat out, his voice lacking any tone.
"Nope!" Spiral held out her palm to face DIO, the golden glow of her tattoos intensified, but then became green near-instantaneously. The green energy was shot forward as a shockwave. [The World] appeared to shield it from DIO, but the force was so much, that it fazed through the stand, hitting the user directly.
"D-Did she? She convert some new energy to the green that represented the kinetic energy of her punches without a spiral!"
DIO was too confused to feel the pain of his body becoming mush while being sent through twelve different buildings. His final destination left a huge crater, his destroyed body at the bottom. Spiral used a giant aura burst to reach him, standing twenty metres above him.
"Nowhere to run, DIO!"
Golden Spiral faced her palm downwards, golden energy became red, the colour that, earlier, represented heat.
"Ya don't know how it feels. Fire around you, burning like thousands of sharp ass needles poking and poking until they penetrate your skin or not being able to turn my head because I was nearly decapitated! But you don't care, do you!?" Spiral angrily shouted, wanting DIO to admit his evil nature.
"I can tell you are someone who has acquired great knowledge and mastery in the mystic arts but never had to use anything other than strength to win. Even in arguments, you resort to insults and violence. And you enjoy that feeling of being correct, of being totally justified in your approach to life, because deep down, you know how much you have wasted your life."
Spiral's body began shaking, she was taken back to when she was younger. Her older sister always judged her for wanting to follow in their father's footsteps of mercenary work, which led her to feel very self-conscious about her convictions. And every time her sister would bring it up, a brawl would break out.
"What do brains matter, when your father dies in front of you? The only thing that would have saved him is power! And that's all I need to kill you!"
Spiral amped her power to the max and fired a blast of heat that energized the air around it, causing small bright explosions to go off in a spiral pattern around it.
"Red Ribbon Beam!"
DIO smirked, that was the exact reaction he was hoping for.
"[The World]! IMPEDE THE FLOW OF THE UNIVERSE!"
DIO activated his stand's legendary ability just as the blast was a few metres away from Golden Spiral. Time's rhythmic tick became slower and distorted, until there was no tick at all, leaving the entire universe to wait patiently to function again. DIO sighed.
"Heat is merely the energy within a given object's molecules. Objects with high energy are naturally hotter. Something is cold when there is little energy between the molecules. Heat can be transferred by mere contact, and the speed of transfer depends on the objects involved."
During their flight over here, DIO searched for the small liquor store Spiral had mentioned. With only a few seconds, DIO relied on his stand's incredible speed to get him as much alcohol as possible.
"I pray my tolerance is enough."
After no time had passed, Spiral noticed something was off, it looked as if her blast was shrinking, but her mind was too focused on her target. But she had no choice but to notice when two beams shot through her Red Ribbon Beam.
"SPACE RIPPER STINGY EYES!"
The two beams hit her head, too weak to hurt. She looked down to see that the area was unaffected like her attack never touched it. Even DIO was unscathed...all five of them?
"Feeling all right, personally, I feel perfect," DIO said, his regeneration working quickly.
"The fuck did you do!?"
"Use that mind of yours to deduce that, or is the alcohol too much?"
"Shut the fuck up, I down crates like water!"
Random Narrator
Spiral's words were no bluff, a normal human would have been hospitalized by this much liquor. Spiral took the time to consider what had happened while her mind was dazed. Concluding that DIO used stopped time to consume large quantities of liquor and expel it from his eyes. The heat from the blast transferred to the alcohol, draining her attack. Most of the liquid likely evaporated into the air, explaining her drowsiness.
"Red Ribbon Beam is as hot as the sun! How much did you drink!?"
"Enough."
Spiral wanted to scream, truly. DIO was like an immortal cockroach. Was there really no way to kill him? Was he really immortal? No, he has weaknesses, and she needs to exploit them.
"You said I should use my brain, fine!"
Spiral outstretched both palms and golden energy turned to white. Multiple beams of light rained down on DIO.
"Light? She seems confused. The sun is what she is looking for."
DIO was not yet fast enough to dodge light, but he did not need to. Heat burns, obviously. Electricity shocks, obviously. Light just...you know. So this was not going to hurt, at all. All he had to do was close his eyes.
"WRYYY!"
DIO felt the light burn through him like Hamon, but how?
"You really did lose your memory. Vampires are weak to ultraviolet light, specifically. Normal light doesn't hurt you, but crank up the wavelength and burn," Spiral explained smugly.
DIO was in pain and anger, but mostly at himself. He witnessed Spiral could manipulate the magnitude and intensity of the energy she converts just as she did with sonic energy earlier. He should have considered this a possibility, he should have known about the UV. It was his armour that made him too comfortable regarding his biggest weakness.
*TEMPUS EST MEUM*
"Muda!"
DIO punched Spiral. She tried attacking back, but the alcohol was still affecting her. DIO used her as a punching bag, not allowing her to use any energy.
"MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA!"
Spiral felt no pain but the continuous punches and kicks woke her up from her drunken state. With a clearer mind, she burst her aura to get DIO away. She held out her palm, intending to fire a beam of light, but DIO reacted quickly and fired SRSE. Spiral changed her choice, firing a wave of sound that erased SRSE. DIO was taken aback by this with no time to react.
"[Theー"
DIO was hit by the waves of sound, they hit him on a molecular level, attempting to tear him apart.
"Never, never! I will never die!"
He resisted it and instead of being destroyed, he vanished in static.
*sigh*
Even though he didn't die, Spiral knew DIO could never escape the other dimension. She stepped down to the ground, finally victorious.
"NO!"
Raphtalia cried out, having dragged herself there in the hopes of helping DIO. Spiral saw how distraught she was to find him gone, it was a sad sight. She felt terrible for some reason now.
"You!"
Raphtalia turned her sadness to rage and got ready to attack.
"I really don't want to kill you."
Spiral's words were genuine, but Raphtalia didn't listen, ignoring her broken bones and attacking Spiral. The Golden being stood still and tanked everything Raphtalia threw at her without so much as blinking.
"Why are you so mad over a murderer."
"That's rich from you!" Raphtalia swung her sword at Spiral's neck.
"There is a reason I came to kill him," Spiral caught Pluck and gripped the blade tightly, "that fucker killed my father!"
"DIO was not like that!" Raphtalia pulled on her sword to no avail.
"DIO is pure evil, he's just playing nice to trick ya. He ain't nothin' but a psychopathic monster."
"That monster took care of me!"
Tears flowed from Raphtalia's eyes like a waterfall. She had finally found a new place to call home, and a family to love her. She failed to protect him and now he was gone forever.
"Fine, then you'll die along with him!" Spiral broke Pluck in half with her hand.
She flew up into the atmosphere and lifted her arms over her head. Small red particles formed a ball over her head. This ball grew bigger and bigger. Air swirled around it, rubble was picked up by the strong wind, creating a disk of fast-moving debris around the red ball.
"Time to learn how it feels to burn! This'll wipe this place off the map!"
Raphtalia watched as the ball grew large enough to cast a shadow upon the castle town. The sheer size of it strained Spiral's arms. She threw the sphere of heat down with all of her might. The attack fell to the earth slowly, instilling a feeling of impending doom upon everyone present in the castle town. Raphtalia felt the dread everywhere around her, her ears heard the sounds of terror. Her mind went insane from all the noise, so she laid down her ears to block it out. She got into an offensive stance, a very uncomfortable stance, holding what was left of her sword, Pluck. The sword DIO had given her, a sword made from light metal that he personally designed. He said it represented her strong will; her fierce, yet compassionate nature. But most of all, her open heart. Open heart...an open heart? What does that mean? She never thought of it much, but now, with no options, she looked for anything she could do.
"There's...nothing."
She fell to her knees, distraught. There was nothing she could do against Spiral, even if she stopped the death ball.
"That one's for you, Raphtalia."
Raphtalia heard the voice of Senshi, the weird rock girl that she has come to know as a sister. The fighter that will overcome any challenge with an excited smile, no matter what. And it would seem, no matter the distance between them, no matter the differences between them, that Senshi always has her sister's back.
"Thank you, Senshi."
Raphtalia stood up and opened her ears, absorbing all the sorrow and desperation and taking a deep breath.
"And thank you, DIO."
Raphtalia ripped off her waistcoat and cape she wore; her blouse stuck to her body due to being drenched in sweat and blood, her abs were visible from underneath it, as well as a bloody mark on the back of her left shoulder. She picked up the other half of her sword and wielded it, gripping it hard despite the sharpness cutting her palm.
*LEVEL UP: 72*
She took on a new stance, a defensive one, and it fit her perfectly. She dug her feet into the ground, all the while breathing methodically.
"For being with me."
A faint purple vine wrapped around her. Time itself seemed to literally stop as she walked, then ran, and finally sprinted before jumping high in the air, meeting head-on with the ball of pure heat.
CRESCENT HEAVEN
She combined two of her techniques, reverse-gripping both pieces and holding one in front of her face and the other behind her back. Despite her lack of true proficiency with swords, she did this instinctually, her body using all it knew to overcome certain death. She pushed against the weight with everything she had.
"No bloody way is she pushing it back!?" Spiral watched on in Golden form.
Little did Spiral know, Raphtalia had help. Two shadowy figures faintly assisted, one possessed dragon wings and a torn jacket wrapped around their waist; the other was more muscular with a hat on. Green and blue energy illuminated both respectively. All three had a faintly glowing star on their left shoulders. With them, Raphtalia held it back and was on the verge of deflecting it.
"No, you don't!"
Spiral was forced to add more power to it, tripling its size and density. The two sides roughly equalized, but the deciding factor came in the form of none other than the vampiric lord himself, DIO!"
"MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA!"
The energy ball was forced to return to where it came from, and Spiral, who had put far too much power into the ball, had no time to react as it collided with her. She contemplated resorting to outputting more energy than it at once, something that would surely tear her body apart.
"Wait!"
Spiral created sonic vibrations with her new Golden power, directing them to hit her. She used this to faze out of reality and teleport away.
"Hahahahahaha!" She laughed.
"What is so amusing?" DIO asked while holding her shoulder.
"..." She nervously smiled at him, and he smiled back before she found herself facing her death ball.
"FUCK!"
Spiral punched the ball at a horizontal angle with more power than a modern nuclear bomb.
*BOOM!*
A bright explosion followed, mainly focused in one direction oddly enough. Raphtalia and DIO hovered mid-air and observed this. Raphtalia fell back exhausted, but instead of falling to the earth, she drifted aimlessly.
"Feeling Deja Vu?" DIO asked with a playful smile.
"DIO!" Raphtalia used what DIO had taught her in the dreamscape to reach him and hug him.
"I...missed you too."
"How!?"
DIO recalled his trip to an alternate frequency of reality.
"[The World]!"
The stand was summoned, too late to do anything. DIO was not even aware of his stand appearance or of anything around him. It was so confusing to be an alternate perception of space, no way any eyes could simply 'adjust' to the foreign combinations of light waves. His molecules were vibrating so strangely, he could feel them. He was lucky to be alive, if he weren't a vampire, he would lack the bodily control to keep his body somewhat together or survive the process, physically and mentally.
"My mind is lost...there is nothing tangible here...I can make no sense of anything...Damnit! I must think of something to keep my senses active, otherwise, my mind will shut down!"
DIO thought of various things, basic everyday sounds, colours, sensations, and shapes. His mind built off of those and constructed memories. Memories of everyone he has met. Memories of everything he has experienced, mostly pain and confusion. As these memories played over and over in DIO's mind, he became lost in them.
"It feels so long ago when I arrived. It is almost not real, an entire lifetime forgotten, and yet, I cannot escape it. Or rather, it is not an issue of escaping my past life, but of avoiding it. After all, I have never confronted my past. Does that matter? The past is only given meaning by the results in the present."
DIO thought of who he once was, of what he once did. He even thought of his name, it was not Dio, it was DIO, and that is because of his past. He may have nothing in this new world, this new life, but if there is one thing he will always have, it is himself.
"How can I deny myself? My past predates my present. If I am to move forward, I must accept it."
DIO became resolute, he needed to get out of there, but how? DIO thought about this, deciding to evaluate his situation first.
"My molecules are vibrating at an odd frequency, thus my body is now in a different level of reality. I would have been ripped apart, but my vampiric body allowed me to keep my molecules intact. Perhaps...I could adjust the frequency. If I fail, I will lose stability and be erased instantly. Must I take the risk?"
DIO hesitated, how would he be sure where he would end up, he had never done this before! But as doubt crept into his mind, he was reminded of who he was. DIO felt his body tell him something as if it were sentient, the star! The Joestar birthmark. DIO could be sliced in half, torn to shreds, or crushed, but never was there a scar left once he regenerated. But the birthmark of the Joestars stayed there, unchanged. A reminder of whose body he had stolen. DIO was always ashamed of what he did, but in this moment, all he could feel was pride.
"Jonathan, how could I ever forget you? We are more than mere brothers brought together by fate. We are soulmates, destined to uplift one another. My brain and your brawn, the greatest of all living things!"
"[The World]!"
DIO smiled recalling that, it felt amazing.
"All it took was reconnecting with myself," DIO looked at his hand saying that.
"I'm glad. I was not sure what I would tell Senshi," Raphtalia said relieved.
"You were amazing, I never had any doubt in my mind," DIO smiled, proud that Raphtalia learned the power of relying on others.
"I'm not sure what happened, I just felt connected to strange energy!"
"This might have helped," a purple vine materialized around DIO's arm. Raphtalia gasped: DIO has another stand!
"I suppose its ability is deeper than mere clairvoyance. I have never been able to properly summon it, but when I felt our bond, it appeared automatically."
"I did feel something on my back."
"I believe it allows us to connect our souls and minds. When I created the shadows images of JoJo and Senshi, it would seem power from the true JoJo and Senshi was put into them."
"I knew it. Even now, we can always rely on them!"
"Indeed, their help was enough to overpower Spiral."
"So we've won?"
"Yes, but I must say, Spiral's power was breathtaking. Using the golden ratio granted her the power to utilize the power of the soul."
"Golden ratio?"
"It is a mathematical difference between values. It holds a mystical significance to nature and life in general. It is not magic in a traditional sense, more of an older form of mysticism."
"I thought she needed to draw spirals to do that?"
"I theorize her tattoos served that purpose. They had only emanated light when the ratio was used."
"Hmm," Raphtalia contemplated the information, "do you know her mother?"
DIO remained silent and sighed.
"I believe I have figured it outー"
Before DIO could continue time-stop had run out, leaving the two to fall to the ground.
"I see how JoJo felt."
DIO and Raphtalia safely landed, ready to continue their conversation.
"As I was saー"
A beam of light interrupted DIO. It pierced through him and he stumbled back holding his chest.
"Thought I died, eh!?"
Spiral re-entered the scene with blood oozing from her body and an arm that was nothing but a bloody slab of meat with bones protruding at every break. Her body uncontrollably switched between her golden and normal forms. Raphtalia stepped forward with a determined look.
"I was afraid so. I am glad, now you can surrender peacefully."
"Surrender!? You are delusional, Raphtalia!"
The swordswoman dual-wielded Pluck, ready to end this.
"Your sword appears to be damaged," DIO stated in a suggestive manner.
"Can you fix it?" Raphtalia found his tone confusing.
"Repeat my words: my bone is steel, my will is sharp, should I fall, another shall take your heart."
Raphtalia repeated DIO's words and the two halves of Pluck levitated out of her hands. They rejoined in a flash of white light that died down to reveal a new meter-long sword.
*WEAPON PERK UNLOCKED: REGENERATIVE ADAPTABILITY*
The new sword was a long silver katana with a wooden hilt wrapped with red cloth, instead of a straight double-edged blade. Raphtalia's eyes had a burning fire that made her glow.
"Then you will have to surrender forcibly!"
Spiral and Raphtalia stood face-to-face. Raphtalia towered over Spiral with both stature and confidence, but the Zelddei looked up defiantly. This encounter would be different from before, now, Raphtalia had understood herself and embraced the comfort of others, but Spiral had lost sight of herself and rejected new perspectives. It would only take one punch from Spiral to destroy the castle town, but she hesitated.
"You can't beat me."
"I don't have to, nor do I want to and neither do you."
"You don't know a damn thing about me!"
"I know you are smart, strong, and beautiful."
Spiral clenched her remaining fist and scowled angrily, but a faint blush was on her face.
"Don't play with me! DIO has to die!"
Spiral dashed forward with a powerful fist, her power still flickering. Raphtalia didn't flinch but took a deep breath, time seemingly stopped in her mind. Raphtalia closed her eyes, she would not need them. A thin white aura surrounded her and she fluidly moved past Spiral.
"!"
Spiral was frustrated Raphtalia dodged so easily, and turned around aggressively, launching a barrage of kicks. Raphtalia dodged gracefully.
"I can feel the beat of her heart. It is so fast and so disturbed."
Raphtalia's senses were enhanced by her focus. In her mind, it was only her and Spiral, the beats of their hearts resonating loudly. She could feel any attack before it came.
"!"
Spiral's heartbeat slowed instantly, its beat completely different, Spiral had reverted to base for a split second. Raphtalia opened her eyes, the world around her was dark and distant, but her opponent was clear. Raphtalia altered her grip on her sword and the entire world became coloured again and back in focus.
*SWOOSH!*
She swung her sword beautifully. This sword fit her fluid style nicely.
*CLANG!*
The two collided, time slowing down immensely for those two. Pluck collided with Spiral's golden bracelet.
*CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!*
Raphtalia took advantage of Spiral's fluctuating power, striking during openings with precision.
"How? How do you do that?"
They broke another clash, meeting again with a kick from Spiral and an upward slash from Raphtalia.
"I fight for what's right."
"But you help DIO!?"
They broke the clash once more. Spiral raised her fist and before she moved it, Raphtalia lifted her blade in defence.
"Problem with predicting in a fight is that you commit too early."
Spiral opened her fist and green energy was launched from her open palm. Raphtalia seemed unfazed and threw her sword, letting it spin in the air while sliding under the blast and kicking Spiral.
"What!? She knew that wasn't my intention. How is she reading my moves?"
Spiral burst her aura while it flickered golden, launching Raphtalia back. The tanuki landed perfectly and flipped into the air, grabbed her sword and came down with a strong slash. Spiral brought her arm up, but her guard broke immediately and she fell to one knee. Raphtalia flash-kicked her into standing.
"DIO is the first person who ever helped me."
Spiral held back her golden form and she remained in base longer than usual. Raphtalia used this time to prepare a powerful attack, crouching and holding her blade at her side. A red wind surrounded her body. Spiral capitalized and dashed forward in golden form, punching Raphtalia out of her stance. She added an electric effect to her punch that stunned the swordswoman, then jumped forward with her knee booming strong vibrations. This tore apart Raphtalia's skin and clothes.
"To use you! Just like he did to me mother!"
Spiral spat blood from her mouth, her fist glowing brightly for her next punch.
"Please, don't do it," Raphtalia fell to a seated position, her clothing torn and her long hair flowing freely, totally obscuring her face, she reached out with a bloody hand.
"DIO has changed."
"That doesn't erase the past!" Spiral aimed her fist downward.
"!"
Spiral's fist stopped its journey halfway, Raphtalia practically teleporting next to Spiral and grabbing her glowing forearm.
"No one needs to die."
Spiral ignored the being who could have attacked her, but chose not to.
"I agree," DIO joined in, holding Spiral's arm with [The World] helping him. They used all their might to hold back the golden fist, pulling it back as Spiral pushed it.
"Oi!"
A rock flew across the air and hit Spiral's forehead.
"Huh!?"
DIONA stood bravely, throwing rocks at Spiral.
"Raphtalia! DIO! Her power is geometry!"
"Fuck. Off!" Spiral shouted, on the verge of victory.
Raphtalia used more strength than before, motivated by the act of bravery.
"Ah!" the demi-human put in most of the power, a red wind surrounding her as she pulled the fist back. DIONA ran up to Raphtalia and climbed her back.
"Remember, she draws spirals to convert energy, her tattoos are the same! The ratio between the line is what gives her power, you have to break the shape!"
DIO was amazed by this random girl's deduction. He already figured it out himself, but that required first-hand experience and information. Raphtalia did less pulling and instead gripped down on Spiral's arm.
"DIONA, this is going to sting, okay?"
"HuーAh!"
Raphtalia's katana cut DIONA's hand, being moved by a faint purple vine. The sword now with a blue tip was thrust forward onto Spiral's skin, exactly where Raphtalia had applied pressure.
"Heaven...Splitter!"
The sword acted as a needle, piercing skin enough to ruin the dragon tattoo.
"Dammit! It took me months to get the numbers right!"
Spiral's golden aura completely vanished and Raphtalia high axe kicked her nose.
"MUDA!"
[The World] punched her diaphragm. Spiral choked and fell on her back, defeated.
"Infinite energy, powerful. Requires quite the body to utilize such power, and in your condition, it would have been better to not use it at all frankly."
Spiral breathed heavily and could barely feel her limbs.
"Mom, please don't let sis gloat."
DIO walked over to Spiral like a model on the runway.
"A Zelddei shall look excellent on my body count."
"DIO!"
"Hm?"
"No," Raphtalia placed her hand on the murderous psychopath's shoulder.
"Her arm is broken and she has plenty more injuries, she is no longer a threat."
"Are you certain of this, Raphtalia?"
"Yes, I realize that I was not fighting true to myself. For example, I HATE killing. I HATE blood."
"I see, if that is how you feel, I will support your decision," DIO said while clenching his fists behind his back.
"Hard pass," Spiral said in a monotone, looking up to the sky with dead eyes.
"Honestly, I have lost my memory, I do not know your father."
"He was one of the best mercenaries in the world. When my father removed the flesh bud you implanted in my mother, it killed him. I have waited my whole life to avenge him!"
"I am truly sorry for your loss, but I am not the same man I once was."
"You think that means shit to me? We both know amnesia won't stop you from being the same old DIO. You weren't evil because of circumstance, you were evil because you are evil!" Spiral glanced at Raphtalia, "And no amount of compassion will change that."
DIO didn't feel like replying to that, so he didn't.
"Dio Brando."
DIO immediately ordered [The World] to flick her forehead and knock her out. He turned to Raphtalia, wondering what she thought of him now.
"DIO, you know I do not believe her. To me, people are not destined to be anything. We all have control over our future, no matter what anyone says."
"I appreciate that. Now, let us return to Rishia. I shall carry Spiral," DIO turned around to see Spiral missing and a light fog where she was. He turned back to Raphtalia who had a wide-eyed expression.
"She can't get far, and in any case, the Wave is near its end."
Raphtalia nodded and tried to walk, but fell down instantly.
"I can't feel anything."
[The World] picked up Raphtalia just as a tentacle wrapped around DIO's leg.
"?"
"Grandfather, it is a pleasure to meet YOU!"
DIONA said with her back facing DIO, the Joestar birthmark clearly visible.
"Good grief."