Stand: Beyond Imagination: Wasting Time

As dusk gradually fell, Dawn was talking with Giorno aboard the speedboat bound for Rome.

The others were resting in the secret room on the turtle's back.

"Giorno, you've noticed that something's wrong with Bucciarati's body too, haven't you?"

Giorno froze at the question, then quickly understood. "Ever since he was injured in the tower last time, something about Bucciarati's body has been off."

"A nail pierced his palm, but there was no blood. He even seemed to feel no pain. It's strange."

Giorno looked worried.

Dawn gazed at the distant shore lights, barely visible in the gloom, and spoke slowly. "Bucciarati is no longer alive."

"What?!"

Giorno sprang to his feet. His body swayed with the speedboat on the sea, and his face was full of disbelief.

"Your Golden Experience filled Bucciarati's body with vigorous life, allowing his soul to remain in it temporarily. If nothing unexpected happens, he won't be able to hold on much longer."

Dawn continued, "Seven days after a person dies, their body will be covered in livor mortis. If the weather is hot, it'll start to decompose even sooner."

Giorno instinctively looked toward the turtle's back, worry showing on his face.

They hadn't even defeated Diavolo, and their team leader was already going to die.

"Mr. Dawn, do you mean Bucciarati's body... is slowly rotting, and will eventually become... a corpse that can move?"

Dawn nodded and said quietly, "Actually, once his body has decomposed to a certain point, Bucciarati's soul will leave. I don't know where it'll go."

Giorno gritted his teeth, slowly sat down, and lowered his head.

He felt immense sorrow at the thought of losing someone who shared his ideals.

"If I'd gone in to save him sooner, Bucciarati wouldn't have ended up like this. It's all my fault..."

"No, it has nothing to do with you."

Dawn stared solemnly at Giorno, his words firm, with a hint of barely perceptible temptation.

"Bucciarati's fate was written long ago, in secret. No one can change it. That's destiny."

"Destiny?"

Giorno's guilt faded, and his gaze focused again.

"Does destiny really exist? If everyone's fate is already decided, what's the point of making an effort?"

"Giorno, control your emotions."

"Sorry, Mr. Dawn."

Dawn lit a cigarette and offered it to him, but Giorno shook his head and declined again.

"Giorno, anyone who resists fate is doomed to a bad end. But... it's not absolute."

Dawn took a deep drag and slowly exhaled.

Giorno perked up at his words and waited intently for him to continue.

"My Stand has infinite possibilities. If it can evolve, perhaps it'll have a chance to break fate."

"The Insect Arrow is the key."

After Dawn finished speaking, the hour struck. A multitude of scrolling words appeared overhead, in every color, giving off an indescribably mysterious feeling.

Giorno stared blankly at the words and murmured, "Mr. Dawn, I've always wondered about your Stand... What exactly is it?"

[Beyond Imagination]

Dawn answered seriously.

But Giorno shook his head and asked again, "I know that, but what's its specific name?"

"That is its name."

Dawn watched the words shifting overhead, raised his hand, and snapped his fingers lightly in the air.

Snap!

The words froze in place, radiating a captivating purple glow.

[Stand: Beyond Imagination: Wasting Time]

[When this ability is activated, the user will experience a dream lasting a thousand autumns and cease to feel the passage of time. Until the ability ends, no attack can harm the user.]

[Note: The more times this ability is used, the less the user will be noticed, until the world forgets them.]

How to put it? It was an invincible ability, but not quite so invincible.

Abandon Emperor Engine and lock in Wasting Time.

Dawn made his choice with a thought.

He stubbed out his cigarette and adjusted his posture.

[Stand: Beyond Imagination: Wasting Time] activated!

After just one second, Dawn felt his mind grow hazy. He reflexively stopped using the ability and looked toward the shore lights.

The lights that had been scattered in the distance were gone. In their place was the brightly lit city of Rome.

They'd reached shore!

Hearing the commotion, Giorno turned around.

"Mr. Dawn, after you snapped your fingers, your body suddenly started to fade. We couldn't touch you at all.

"I don't know what happened, but... we've reached shore.

"Rome is right ahead."

The speedboat slowly pulled in to shore, but no one got off right away.

"Rome is the capital of Italy. There may be Passione Organization members lying in wait here. Everyone, be careful."

Dawn warned them, unsure whether to tell them what was going to happen next.

But when he thought of how fate was everywhere in JOJO, and how his actions might provoke an even stronger backlash, Dawn let the thought go and decided to let things unfold on their own.

Before they had the power to break fate, every effort was like a castle in the air, liable to collapse at the slightest touch.

Otherwise, Diavolo would have died in Cloud Dragon's belly on Sardinia instead of hiding away like a fugitive.

Everyone nodded and warily surveyed the shore. Soon, they noticed something was wrong.

On a stone staircase not far away, two drunks were struggling with each other.

"Hey... I've had a bit too much to drink and need to use the bathroom. Hurry up and take me there!"

One drunk was trying to go down the stairs, while the other held him around the upper body and dragged him up.

They struggled against each other. Suddenly, the drunk pulling the other one upstairs felt his grip grow lighter. He turned around in confusion, then his eyes widened.

"How am I supposed to use the bathroom like this?"

The drunk, whose lower body had separated from his upper body, asked in confusion.

His lower body, covered in mold, lay at the top of the stairs. The other drunk held his upper body in his arms.

"Ah! Get away from me!"

The surviving drunk screamed and leaped down the stairs. As he fell, mold gradually spread over his body. He hit the ground and broke into an indescribable mass of flesh and blood.

"It's a Stand attack! There's an enemy!"

Mista's gaze sharpened. He drew his revolver as fast as lightning and aimed at the spot where the drunk had died, searching for any possible enemy.

"Mista, don't act rashly."

Dawn was also looking for Ghiaccio and Secco, but he couldn't find them.

Narancia immediately summoned Aerosmith to carefully scout the area on shore.

"Bucciarati, all the civilians on shore are dead! They've all been infected with some kind of mold."

Narancia gritted his teeth, fear rising inside him. His voice faltered.

"Roughly—roughly speaking, the enemy's range may cover the entire town."

"Should we retreat for now?"

Giorno immediately refused. "No. We haven't figured out how the enemy attacks yet. Acting rashly could have serious consequences."

Narancia didn't care. He recalled Aerosmith, then turned and leaped off the speedboat.

"Ah! My body!"

Mold instantly covered Narancia as he fell. The turtle in his hands was covered in it too, leaving him too frightened to move.

"Mr. Dawn, please save me!"

Dawn raised a hand to stop Mista from going to his aid, then called out to Narancia. "Narancia, don't move recklessly. This Stand's attack is unusual. It targets anything at a lower elevation."

"We'll find a way to pull Narancia back up, then find the user and take him out."