[Stand: Beyond Imagination: Upgrade]

"Turn over a new leaf and start afresh."

Dawn gently patted Hewitt on the back and helped him up.

Rohan Kishibe pressed his lips together. In the end, he simply put away his pen and said nothing.

The three of them left the dungeon.

When Dio saw Hewitt walking toward him, he showed little wariness.

As far as he knew, everyone the Boss had counseled came to recognize their mistakes from the bottom of their hearts.

Even if that person later became a vampire, their convictions would remain unshaken. They could even rely on those convictions to suppress their bloodlust for a short time.

Dio found Rohan Kishibe, and the two returned to the stone house to discuss their next move.

Dawn went back to his room to rest.

Hewitt followed, offering to help clean the room, but Dawn waved him off. Looking dejected, Hewitt had no choice but to find Rohan Kishibe and ask him for a place to stay.

Dawn returned to his room, closed the door, and sprawled out on the bed, feeling utterly relaxed.

It had been a perilous battle. He had been on edge the entire time, especially when Dio had aged and he'd had to face Made in Heaven alone.

To be honest, Hewitt had made quite an intimidating first impression. The only human among a group of vampires, with the power to decide whether they lived or died—he'd clearly been no ordinary person.

He could steal lifespans and had an immortal body. If Dawn hadn't thought to break the hourglass and let the sand pour out, Hewitt would have been hard to deal with.

"I haven't drawn today's ability yet. Let's see how my luck is."

Dawn sat up and focused.

[Stand: Beyond Imagination]

Activate!

Brilliant Chinese characters appeared. Dawn raised his arm with practiced ease and snapped his fingers with a short, crisp click.

Snap!

The characters froze in place. A captivating purple glow filled the room, illuminating Dawn's curious face.

Purple.

Dawn's heart leaped. He sat up straight, rubbed his eyes, and looked carefully.

[Stand: Beyond Imagination: Upgrade]

[When this ability is activated, it consumes the user's mental energy to temporarily upgrade a target Stand. The degree of enhancement depends on the target's potential. Cannot be used on the user.]

"Upgrade? The World can stop time for nine seconds. I wonder how long it could stop time after an upgrade."

Dawn pondered.

"Or maybe this ability is just a little Insect Arrow. Oh well, I'll try it when I get the chance."

Dawn used his fixed ability to lock in [Stand: Beyond Imagination: Upgrade], then lay back down and soon fell into a deep sleep.

After a brief rest, everyone gathered again.

"Our next goal is to find the Arrow fragments. Joestar, tell us what you know."

Joestar nodded and summoned his Stand, Purple Hermit.

"During our last operation, I accidentally smashed a camera with Purple Hermit and learned about the Arrow."

Joestar pulled out a smartphone and immediately sent Purple Hermit into it.

The phone screen flickered before piecing together a dim photograph.

It showed a figure with his back to the group, wearing a black beret and a cropped jacket. His clothes gave him the air of an Italian gangster.

The figure held a revolver with an astonishingly large caliber. It was less a handgun than a hand cannon.

Dawn stroked his chin. The more he looked at the man, the more familiar he seemed.

"Is that... Mista?"

Dawn asked in surprise. Diavolo, in his mind, agreed.

"It is Mista, but his clothes are a different color, and the gun's caliber is a little larger."

"Dawn, do you know this person?"

Joestar looked surprised. Seeing this, Rohan Kishibe quickly changed the subject.

He didn't want too many people to know that Dawn had come from another world.

"All right, Joestar. Tell us what you found."

Joestar rubbed the back of his head, then pointed at the photo. "This man definitely has information about the Arrow. Purple Hermit is never wrong. We just don't know where he is right now."

"That's easy."

Dawn snapped his fingers and activated [Stand: Beyond Imagination: Upgrade].

Target: Purple Hermit.

The upgrade took hold without a hitch. Dawn felt a small amount of his mental energy drain away, leaving him a little out of sorts.

At the same time, Purple Hermit underwent a dramatic change.

Fine purple arcs of electricity crackled around it, accompanied by a series of sharp pops in the air.

A gale swept through the room. The others struggled to keep their balance, startled, while Dio turned to look at Dawn.

Dawn smiled back, signaling for him to stay calm.

Purple Hermit seemed to come alive. It detached itself from Joestar and writhed in midair, growing thicker and bulkier.

"Purple Hermit?!"

Joestar stared at it in shock, as if he were seeing his Stand for the first time.

Purple Hermit's body, like that of a reticulated python, was unnerving to behold. But it didn't go berserk or try to attack. Instead, it continued its investigation.

This time, a world map appeared on the phone. A green dot marked their location, while a flashing red dot appeared over Italy.

"So that's where he is?"

Dio stepped closer and gave Dawn a searching glance, seeing more than he let on.

Dawn had quite a few abilities: Time Erasure, Cloud Dragon, and now the power to enhance other Stand Users' Stands.

Incredible.

Whenever Dio thought they had reached an impasse, Dawn managed to surprise him.

"There's no mistaking it. Italy is our next destination."

Dawn lit a cigarette, nudged Hewitt away when he leaned in, and closed his eyes to rest.

The upgrade had been remarkably effective. Purple Hermit had gone from a rope-like Stand to a giant serpent, and its ability had received an unprecedented boost.

Before, Joestar had to smash a camera to get a single photo. Now, a mere touch let Purple Hermit pinpoint someone anywhere in the world.

All in all, the mental energy it consumed was well worth the boost. If Dawn used it on Dio, he couldn't imagine how powerful Stand: The World might become.

"We don't have time to waste. Kars could find us at any moment. We leave now."

Despite his words, Rohan Kishibe was at a loss.

Italy lay across the sea, and with everyone wanted as fugitives, they'd be surrounded the moment they stepped outside—never mind trying to board a plane.

If they were unlucky enough to run into Kars, they could be wiped out.

Kars's immortality was nothing like Hewitt's, which depended on a Stand to cheat death. Kars was truly immortal.

He could transform himself in countless ways, adapting to attacks and his surroundings in an instant. He could even maintain his body's vital functions in outer space.

"Don't worry. Cloud Dragon has regained much of its size. We can ride it to Italy."

Dawn exhaled a cloud of smoke. He was eager to meet the Mista from this parallel world.

He just didn't know whether he'd get to meet Bucciarati and the others.