Death Rewind

"See you next time."

A second before Mista pulled the trigger, Dawn's heart lurched. He felt an overwhelming terror drawing near.

With no time to react properly, Dawn focused his mind and activated his ability a second before Mista could.

[Stand · Beyond Imagination · Wasting Time]

Bang!!!

A gunshot rang out!!

Dawn's consciousness wavered. It felt as if ages had passed and the stars had shifted in their courses, making him want to vomit.

When he deactivated his ability again, the familiar sight before him left Dawn baffled.

High in the sky, Cloud Dragon.

Joestar gazed into the distance, then turned back to address everyone, his tone somewhat relaxed.

"We're almost there. The target is about ten kilometers ahead."

Dawn instinctively looked in that direction. Italy's low-rise buildings came into view, with people moving among them like ants.

"Was that... time reversal? Did my ability fail?"

Dawn watched everyone's reactions again and soon confirmed that Wasting Time hadn't failed.

Everyone here except Dawn had lost their memories.

As far as they were concerned, they hadn't met Mista yet, much less fought him.

The invincible effect of [Stand · Beyond Imagination · Wasting Time] had cut Dawn off from his surroundings, but it had also made him immune to this reversal.

"Reversing time. How interesting. Requiem certainly lives up to its name. But what did Mista mean by what he said at the end?"

"Bearing the consequences... That doesn't sound good."

Dawn's thoughts ran wild. Mista had said they would die on the way to find what they were looking for. Could that be another one of Requiem's abilities?

Joestar opened his mouth to speak. The next moment, Dawn realized what was coming and blurted out, "Joestar, your next words are..."

"Purple Hermit never makes a mistake."

Joestar stumbled and forcibly swallowed the words that were about to come out.

At the sound of Dawn's voice, everyone looked at him.

"Friends, we've run into a little problem."

Dawn gave everyone a rough account of what had happened, emphasizing the possibility that Mista's ability involved causality.

Of course, keeping Diavolo in the dark was a necessary part of the plan.

"This is hard to believe, but I trust you, Dawn."

Dio folded his arms, looking quite composed.

"Father's judgment has never been wrong, including when he discovered my weakness."

Hewitt supported Dawn without question.

"In that case, let's stick to the original plan for now and see what changes."

They continued on. Before long, Joestar cried out in surprise.

"The target's moving rapidly. It's heading farther away from us."

Joestar furrowed his brows, his expression growing more and more animated until it settled into bewilderment.

"The target took one minute to reach South America, stayed there for over ten seconds, then crossed to the Arctic Circle in an instant."

Dio rolled his eyes.

"Old man, you've gone senile. Let me see."

Dio took the phone and soon fell silent.

"Dawn, this Mista's Stand seems pretty powerful. In the blink of an eye, he's already made it to outer space."

Dawn stared at him in confusion and instinctively glanced up at the sky.

Seeing that he couldn't explain it, Dio showed everyone the phone screen.

A small red dot was zipping all over the globe, appearing now and then at some point in outer space.

"Sex Pistols Requiem's ability seems to be interfering with Purple Hermit's search."

Dawn handed the phone to Joestar. Ordinary Stands really stood no chance against Requiem.

Joestar gave an awkward smile as he took the phone. Not long ago, he'd said Purple Hermit never made a mistake.

He hadn't expected it to happen so soon...

"If the other side was also sent back, they should still be in the human livestock district. Let's go look for them."

Dawn guided Cloud Dragon down. No one objected; they had no better option.

The human livestock district.

As soon as Dawn and the others appeared, they felt someone watching them from the shadows.

"Hey, don't these guys look like the Punisher squad from back then?"

"Weird clothes, and some of them are completely covered up. I'd bet they are!"

"Let's go, quick! Tell Lord Vampire. Maybe we can get this week's survival tax waived."

Dawn and the others hurried to the place they'd been before, but all they found was the sun-dried remains of a vampire on the ground.

"The other party has already left. Maybe we can ask the people here. All it'll take is a small reward."

Joestar took out two pieces of black bread and clacked them together with a couple of thumps.

This was a hot commodity. Money in the human livestock district could be stolen, but once you ate food, it was gone.

"Let's try."

Dawn took the bread and began looking for someone to ask. The people nearby swallowed nervously, but not one of them dared approach.

"Um... I might be able to help you."

A short boy came over, wrapped from head to toe without a patch of skin showing. He gave Dawn a shy smile.

Dawn eyed him suspiciously.

The boy was small. Dawn tilted his head slightly to get a better look, and sure enough, a fishing rod was strapped to his back.

Remembering what Mista had said earlier, Dawn's gaze turned wary as he stared straight at the boy.

"Pesci?"

The boy froze, his mind going blank.

Dawn understood.

"Say thank you."

Pesci still hadn't figured out what was going on and was about to ask when Diavolo, inside Dawn's mind, panicked and sprang out first.

"King Crimson!"

Time Erasure activated. Space shattered, and everything began moving along its original course.

King Crimson walked behind Radish Pesci with practiced ease and raised his hand like a blade, murderous red light gleaming in his eyes.

"Pesci, even in a parallel world, you still haven't grown at all..."

"Time, resume."

Radish Pesci came to with a start. The incredibly familiar sensation made his heart tremble.

"Boss, are you nearby?"

King Crimson didn't answer. The instant Time Erasure ended, its hand came down, nearly splitting Pesci's upper body in two.

"AAAAAAH!!!"

Pesci fell with a scream, glaring at Dawn with venomous hatred.

He didn't understand how he'd been exposed. He'd only wanted to gather some information, but instead, he'd been attacked out of nowhere.

"Cough... Boss, why are you with these people?!"

Pesci coughed up blood and stared at King Crimson in confusion and fear.

"Pesci, my loyal subordinate, I've been with Dawn the whole time."

King Crimson finished speaking and was about to strike again, but Pesci flung out his fishing line, hooked a human livestock, and swung away.

Pesci sank his teeth into the person's neck and gulped down fresh blood. His severe wounds visibly began to heal.

"Boss—no, you talk too much. You're not the Boss."

Pesci got to his feet, gripping the fishing rod tightly in both hands. His eyes instinctively swept over several concealed spots.

"Idiot. In your next fight, watch where you look. Don't reveal our companions' positions."

Prosciutto stepped out of a house in a suit, chiding him with a weary air.

"Yes, Big Brother."

Pesci nodded obediently, a cruel smile curling at the corners of his mouth.

"I don't care who you are. If you've become Stand Users but haven't joined us, there's only one road left for you: death."