Slave to Fate

April 5, 1999, 5:59 PM.

The public bench closest to the station exit in the plaza in front of Morioh train station.

Rohan Kishibe, holding an ink-stained paintbrush in his hand and a sketchbook on his lap, sat upright on what seemed like an ordinary bench.

His gaze as he looked at the drawing paper was full of focus, and beneath that focus lay a hidden passion for art.

At that moment, several passing fans were chattering and pestering the great cartoonist.

Rohan Kishibe no sign of impatience.

While responding gently to the greetings from the young fans, he focused intently on sketching on the paper.

At the same time, he was silently counting in his mind:

"59 points, 05, 06, 07, 08"

"We've arrived at 5:59:09 PM."

The man from the future had given him detailed instructions:

He will unexpectedly encounter Diavolo at 17:59:09, and then successfully activate the Heaven's Door at 17:59:50.

Not a second off, and not a second off.

Indeed, just as the "prophecy" had foretold:

At this very moment, at 17:59:09...

A middle-aged foreigner with pink hair appeared before Rohan Kishibe as if by destiny.

That's Diavolo, the villain in this story.

Rohan Kishibe felt a surge of indescribable excitement welling up inside him, but he didn't show it on the surface.

He continued to calmly complete his painting, while also dismissing the overly enthusiastic little fans.

Soon, the passing fans disappeared into the distance, watched by Rohan Kishibe.

Rohan Kishibe still ignored Diavolo, his head bowed in serious concentration as he worked intently on the painting that was nearing completion.

Finally, the painting was completed.

Rohan Kishibe breathed a sigh of relief, put down his paintbrush, and then looked up at Diavolo and said:

"Sir, you seem to have been observing me for almost half a minute."

Are you interested in my paintings?

"If that's the case, I'd like to have someone taste it."

As he spoke, he gently picked up the painting, the ink still wet, as if anticipating Diavolo's reply.

"Hmm"

Diavolo hesitated.

He is currently busy meeting with Yoshikage Kira, and his vigilance is clearly at its highest.

So, harboring suspicions about Rohan Kishibe, he subtly began to probe.

And so, after a series of tests...

Diavolo finally dispelled his doubts and believed that the other party was just an artist who happened to be sketching and creating art there.

"Okay. Thanks."

"I was just wondering what you were drawing."

He continued to play the role of an art enthusiast, perfunctorily agreeing to Rohan Kishibe's request.

"Then I would be grateful if you could review and appreciate it."

Rohan Kishibe calmly handed over the sketchbook, his expression revealing a hint of excitement beneath his composed demeanor.

Diavolo gently took the sketchbook and pretended to look at it:

"It is indeed a painting that can catch the eye."

This wasn't entirely a perfunctory remark.

Although the painting appears simple in structure and like a casual doodle at first glance, a closer look reveals clean and clear lines and rich and detailed elements.

It may seem like just a few strokes, but the simple pattern is vividly depicted with the most delicate brushstrokes.

Only.

Diavolo still couldn't figure out what the pattern depicted in the painting was.

The person was clearly sketching at the station entrance, but the subject of their drawing wasn't the bustling scene of people coming and going at the station, but rather...

A snake.

A snake with its head and tail connected.

It's like a loop with no beginning and no end.

"This should be a painting."

Diavolo hesitated, unsure how to respond.

"This is a mystical symbol that has been passed down from ancient times."

"I believe you will be interested in it too."

Rohan Kishibe, smiling, introduced Diavolo:

And its name is—

"The Ouroboros."

In the port warehouse of Naples, where an explosion has just occurred.

Ouroboros

Another lost memory resurfaced in my mind.

It turns out that he had already seen the "Ouroboros" in Rohan Kishibe's paintings before he even awakened his ultimate ability.

An indescribable fear surged through Diavolo, and he completely collapsed:

"Rohan Kishibe."

"So I had already completely failed back then?!"

He was screaming hysterically in a frenzy.

Li Qing, on the other hand, smiled with relief.

Indeed, Rohan Kishibe was the key to solving all of this.

Since arriving in Morioh, Li Qing has been preoccupied with a series of unsettling questions:

That is, why would he, who had never been to Morioh before, have a teammate he had never met in Morioh?

How was Rohan Kishibe able to obtain information about him in advance?

How did Rohan Kishibe defeat Diavolo, who could foresee the future, and capture this overly cautious fellow in one fell swoop?

These questions have remained unanswered.

However, after learning that Diavolo's ultimate ability is "time travel".

Li Qing vaguely guessed the answer:

He must have gone back to the past too!

If he were to return to the past, he would definitely contact Rohan Kishibe.

And this eccentric cartoonist will surely believe his words and become his companion.

Because these are both the future and the past that has already happened.

The past cannot be changed, but the future will surely arrive as fate has ordained.

So, after the previous plane crash.

The first thing Li Qing did was to look for her phone everywhere, hoping to contact Rohan Kishibe directly by phone.

The phone was found, but no one answered the initial call.

This is actually quite normal:

Because of the time difference, it should be around 1 a. m. in Rohan Kishibe's area right now.

This great cartoonist might be sleeping or focused on creating, so it's not surprising that he didn't answer the phone.

Just as Li Qing arrived at the warehouse entrance and was lying in wait, intending to continue bombarding the famous cartoonist with phone calls...

Diavolo had already arrived on his motorcycle.

But Li Qing Sin did not panic because of Diavolo's sudden arrival.

This, in turn, gave him a huge sense of reassurance:

Diavolo had already arrived before the call even went through.

What does that mean?

This means that Li Qing has a 100% chance of winning this battle.

Otherwise, if he loses this battle

He would then have no way to contact Rohan Kishibe, Rohan Kishibe would not be able to become his teammate without ever having met him.

The past, which has already happened, is absolutely unchangeable, so Rohan Kishibe will definitely be his teammate, and he will definitely be able to contact Rohan Kishibe smoothly.

"I will definitely win."

This isn't setting a flag.

Because Li Qing had already understood the script in advance:

"Everything has been written."

"The future is the past that has already happened, and the past can never be changed."

"So we are actually just repeating the cycle of time."

"And in this unchangeable time loop, I am destined to win, and you are destined to lose!"

Li Qing paused slightly before speaking in a deep voice:

"Diavolo, still don't understand?"

Think about it carefully.

Who really defeated you?

Diavolo felt a jolt, as if he had suddenly fallen into an endless abyss:

Yes, so who exactly defeated him?

Is it Li Qing?

Or perhaps Rohan Kishibe?

No, none of those are true.

Rohan Kishibe was able to bypass the Epitaph and catch Diavolo because Li Qing Sin had told him the exact time to strike.

The reason Li Qing was able to tell Rohan Kishibe the exact time to strike was because Rohan Kishibe had given him this information in the past.

This is just the simplest example:

It proves that time is a cycle.

I don't know where the beginning is or where the end is.

Li Qing and Rohan Kishibe were actually just unknowingly following the predetermined trajectory of time's cycle.

Therefore, what truly defeated Diavolo was:

It's fate.

"It was fate that was predetermined!"

Diavolo broke down, despaired, and went mad.

It turns out he wasn't fighting an equal enemy at all.

His enemies are God, fate, the whole world, and the script that was written long ago.

In that instant, a bolt of lightning exploded in Diavolo's mind.

A long-forgotten memory suddenly surfaced in my mind.

That memory isn't actually that long ago.

If we consider the current time, it was only about 2 hours ago.

Back then, in the dark alleys of Naples, a sculptor told him with his life:

"It's fate."

"We are all just slaves to fate."

"."

"No, no!"

"I'm not reconciled!!"

Diavolo roared hysterically:

"I clearly have the power to overcome fate."

"I don't want to die, I don't want to lose to this ridiculous fate!"

"Yes, I have Ouroboros!"

He watched his body gradually fade into nothingness and roared incoherently:

"I am invincible in my ethereal state."

"And once the etherealization is completely complete, I can travel back to the past through the river of time, yes, back to the past!"

"I want to keep traveling back and forth between the past and the past of the past—"

"I can have enough time in the past to live forever on a journey through time, and never come back!"

Diavolo completely lost the courage to face Li Qing.

Or rather, he no longer dared to face that despairing fate.

He even wanted to hide away in the past, in the infinite time that was built up hour by hour, to "spend his old age in peace".

Still resisting fate?

"It seems you still don't understand at all, Diavolo."

"No matter what you do, it's useless—because you've already lost."

"Just now, after that huge explosion, you have already provoked an extremely dangerous entity."

Li Qing sighed helplessly.

Then, he held out his hand and pointed Diavolo in a direction:

"Take a look for yourself."

"It's time to bring back some forgotten memories."

"Wh-what?"

Diavolo's madness abruptly stopped.

Filled with an indescribable fear, he looked in the direction Li Qing was pointing.

The first thing that catches the eye is a scene of ruins and some lingering flames.

The powerful explosion had shattered one side of the warehouse wall, allowing the view outside to penetrate unobstructed.

Therefore, Diavolo could clearly see at this moment:

Outside the warehouse, a familiar car was parked.

Inside that car sat a familiar young man.

Diavolo saw the boy with striking pink hair.

Through the blazing firelight, the pink-haired boy also saw him.