Stand: Beyond Imagination: Wasting Time

The sky gradually darkened. On the speedboat heading to Rome, Dawn was talking with Giorno.

As for the others, they were resting in the secret room on the turtle's back.

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

Giorno was stunned for a moment, then quickly reacted and said solemnly, "Ever since he was injured in the tower last time, Bucciarati's body has been acting strangely."

"A nail pierced his palm, yet no blood flowed out, and he even lacked the sensation of pain. This is too strange."

Giorno appeared quite worried.

Dawn looked towards the faintly visible lights of the shore in the distance and slowly said, "Bucciarati is actually no longer alive."

"What?!"

Giorno suddenly stood up, his body swaying with the speedboat on the sea, his face full of disbelief.

"Bucciarati's body was granted vigorous life force by your Golden Experience, which allowed his soul to temporarily reside within it. If nothing unexpected happens, it won't hold on for much longer."

Dawn continued, "Seven days after a person dies, lividity appears on the corpse. If the weather is hot, it will begin to rot even faster."

Giorno subconsciously looked towards the turtle's back, his expression showing concern.

They hadn't even defeated Diavolo yet, and the team's captain was about to die.

"Mr. Dawn, are you saying that Bucciarati's body... is slowly decaying and will eventually become a... moving corpse!"

Dawn nodded and said faintly, "In fact, once the body decays to a certain extent, Bucciarati's soul will depart. As for where it will go, I don't know."

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

He felt immense reluctance to part with this comrade who had recognized his ideals.

"If I had gone in to rescue him earlier, Bucciarati wouldn't have ended up like this. It's all my fault..."

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

Dawn gazed seriously at Giorno, his words full of affirmation and a subtle, almost imperceptible, temptation.

"Bucciarati's fate was already sealed in the dark. No one can change it. This is destiny."

"Destiny?"

Giorno put away his guilt, his gaze regaining its focus.

"Does destiny truly exist? If all our fates are already predetermined, what's the point of striving?"

"Giorno, control your emotions."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Dawn."

Dawn lit a cigarette and offered it to Giorno, who shook his head and refused.

"Giorno, anyone who resists destiny ultimately meets a bad end, but... it's not absolute."

Dawn took a deep drag from his cigarette and slowly exhaled.

Hearing this, Giorno's spirits lifted, and he waited attentively for Dawn to continue.

"My Stand has infinite possibilities. If it can evolve, it might possess the chance to break free from destiny."

"The Insect Arrow is the key."

As Dawn finished speaking, the hour struck. Large scrolling texts began to appear overhead, colorful and indescribably mysterious.

Giorno stared at the texts, lost in thought, murmuring, "Mr. Dawn, I've always had a question about your Stand. What exactly is it?"

"Beyond Imagination."

Dawn answered earnestly.

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

"This is its name."

Dawn looked at the constantly changing text above and raised his hand, snapping his fingers lightly in the air.

Snap!

The text froze, emitting a captivating purple glow.

[Stand: Beyond Imagination - Wasting Time]
[When this ability is activated, within the 'Great Dream of a Thousand Autumns', the user will no longer feel the flow of time. Before the ability ends, any attacks will be unable to harm the user.]
[Note! The more this ability is used, the lower its presence becomes, until it is forgotten by the world.]

How to put it, it's an invincible ability, yet not entirely invincible.

Abandoning Emperor Engine, solidifying Wasting Time.

Dawn made a decision in his mind.

He stubbed out his cigarette and adjusted his sitting posture.

[Stand: Beyond Imagination - Wasting Time] activated!

In just a second, Dawn felt his mind go hazy and instinctively withdrew from using the ability, looking towards the lights of the shore.

The scattered lights had vanished, replaced by the sight of a brightly lit Rome.

We've docked!

Giorno heard the commotion and looked back.

"Mr. Dawn, after you snapped your fingers, your body suddenly became ethereal. We couldn't touch you at all.

I don't know what happened, but... we've docked.

Rome is up ahead."

The speedboat slowly docked, but everyone didn't get off immediately.

"Rome is the capital of Italy. There's a high chance of Passion members ambushing us here, everyone be careful."

Dawn spoke up, hesitating whether to inform everyone about the upcoming plot developments.

However, thinking about the omnipresent fate in JOJO, he realized such an action might provoke a stronger backlash. Dawn resigned himself to the situation and chose to let things unfold naturally.

Without the power to break fate, all efforts were like a castle in the air, collapsing at the slightest touch.

Otherwise, Diavolo would have died in Sardinia inside Cloud Dragon, not hiding and skulking.

Everyone nodded, warily surveying the situation on shore, and quickly noticed something was wrong.

On the stone stairs not far away, two drunks were grappling.

"Hey~ I've had a bit too much to drink and need the restroom, hurry up and take me!"

One drunk wanted to go down the stairs, while the other grabbed his upper body and pulled him up.

As they struggled, the drunk being pulled upstairs suddenly felt his hands go light. He looked back in confusion, his eyes widening immediately.

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

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

His lower half was covered in mold and lay at the foot of the stairs, while his upper half was held in the other drunk's arms.

"Ah! Get away from me!"

The surviving drunk screamed and jumped down the stairs. However, during his fall, his body was gradually covered in mold, and he landed as an indescribable mass of flesh and blood.

"It's a Stand attack, we have an enemy!"

Mista's eyes narrowed. He drew his revolver like lightning and aimed it at the spot where the drunks had died, searching for any hidden enemies.

"Mista, don't act rashly."

Dawn was also searching for Ghiaccio and Secco, but found nothing.

Narancia immediately summoned Aerosmith to conduct a detailed reconnaissance of the situation on shore.

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

Narancia gritted his teeth, a sense of fear rising within him, his voice trembling slightly.

"Roughly, roughly estimating, the enemy's range could cover the entire town."

"Should we retreat for now?"

Giorno immediately refused, "No, we haven't figured out the enemy's attack method yet. Acting rashly could lead to serious consequences."

Narancia didn't care. He put away Aerosmith and leaped towards the speedboat.

"Ah! My body!"

Narancia's falling body was instantly covered in mold, as was the turtle in his hand. He was so terrified he couldn't move.

"Mr. Dawn, please save me!"

Dawn raised his hand to stop Mista from rushing to rescue him and said to Narancia, "Narancia, don't move rashly. This Stand's attack is unique; it targets those in lower positions."

"Let's find a way to pull Narancia up, then find the user and eliminate him."