Chapter 1: Insect cries × Killer Queen × A severed hand
When Joey opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was a bizarre pink face.
Its owner had upright, catlike ears and pink skin, with vertical white pupils in pink eyes. No matter how he looked at it, this was no ordinary person.
But Joey was not surprised.
After all, he had spent years existing as a soul alongside this strange figure's master.
Joey knew the strange figure's name and abilities inside out.
A Stand!
Killer Queen!
Add in its master, Yoshikage Kira-the man whose soul Joey had spent years devouring-and everything became clear.
Years ago, after falling asleep, Joey had felt a tug at his soul and heard a pleasant, piercing cry. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in soul form.
He could not explain exactly what being in soul form meant, but he knew that unless he killed the other soul sharing his body, permanent death awaited him.
And so he and that soul attacked each other almost simultaneously.
But unlike Joey, who lunged forward, his opponent rapidly summoned another figure beside him.
A figure with pink skin, solid muscles, and a championship belt around his waist.
The moment Joey saw the pink figure and the face of the man behind him, whose black-and-white hair resembled a melon-rind cap, he recognized his opponent even as he lunged.
Yoshikage Kira!
A character from one of his favorite anime, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, and the main villain of its fourth part: Yoshikage Kira, the office worker who longed for a quiet life yet always liked to "keep a hand," and his Stand, Killer Queen.
The instant Joey realized who he was facing, panic filled his heart.
As an ordinary person, he was no match for a Stand User.
But he no longer had time to think it through.
His lunge did not stop. He even clearly saw Killer Queen raise a hand toward his own. Joey knew perfectly well that, given Killer Queen's ability, the outcome would be decided the instant they touched.
And the loser would definitely be him!
His mind raced, but it was no use.
Yet just as despair filled his heart, Killer Queen suddenly flickered and vanished from his path! Joey slammed into Yoshikage Kira behind the Stand, who looked equally stunned.
A moment later, Joey sensed how weak Yoshikage Kira was beneath him.
He reached a conclusion in an instant: with his soul intact, his strength and solidity far surpassed those of Yoshikage Kira, who had split off part of his soul to manifest his Stand.
Under these circumstances, Joey could feel power being continuously drawn from the pinned Yoshikage Kira and poured into his own soul.
A short while later, the insect cries that had filled this entire unknown space since his arrival abruptly stopped. His eyelids suddenly felt heavy, and he slowly slipped into unconsciousness.
Before he passed out, he caught another glimpse of Killer Queen. This time, however, the Stand was standing on a patch of grass, facing off against a hungry wolf.
The next time Joey opened his eyes, the scene had changed. The wolf, Killer Queen, and the grass were all gone. All he saw was a crude house and his own hands busily preparing a meal.
Still groggy, Joey slipped into unconsciousness again.
As time flowed on, Joey awoke several times like this, but each time he saw only a brief glimpse before sinking back into sleep.
Still, those brief moments of awareness allowed him to figure out his current condition.
His soul was continuously absorbing Yoshikage Kira's soul power. There was even another source of soul power where his soul resided, which he was absorbing alongside Kira's. Joey guessed that it belonged to the original owner of the body he now occupied.
But this soul was far weaker than either his own or Yoshikage Kira's.
Unlike Joey, who remained unconscious, Yoshikage Kira's soul continued controlling the body and going about his business even as Joey drained his power, as though he had no idea his soul was gradually heading toward oblivion.
This devouring process lasted roughly five years. Finally, today, Joey opened his eyes and discovered that he had fully adapted to his current body. He understood then that he had completely consumed Yoshikage Kira's soul.
From this moment onward, this unknown world would no longer have a Yoshikage Kira. There would only be Joey!
Unexpectedly, however, Killer Queen had not vanished with Yoshikage Kira's soul. Instead, he remained, inherited by Joey after he devoured Kira's soul.
Unfortunately, devouring Yoshikage Kira's soul had not given Joey his memories.
That meant he had no idea whether Yoshikage Kira, like him, had appeared in this body after hearing that piercing cry.
Nor did he know how much information Yoshikage Kira had gathered about this world over the past few years.
Still, those few occasions when he had watched with a clear mind had given Joey a general understanding of his surroundings.
This seemed to be a rather primitive, remote mountain village. During his brief awakenings, he had seen no technological devices. Both the village where Yoshikage Kira lived and the belongings in his home had a distinctly primitive feel.
There were also many inexplicable bits of knowledge and images in Joey's mind.
Most concerned this world's language, basic wilderness survival skills, and the area around the village. There were even memories of some of the villagers.
Joey guessed that this information, knowledge, and experience had all been left behind by the soul of the body's original owner.
But he could not understand why information from that soul had been passed on, while everything from Yoshikage Kira's soul had vanished without a trace.
Joey shook his head. None of that mattered to him right now.
Now that he was awake, the first thing he needed to establish was what situation he faced.
For instance, the pale, slender severed hand of a woman lying on the table before him.
What a beautiful severed hand it was!
Its delicate fingers had turned deathly pale from blood loss, but that very pallor, paired with the droplets of water Yoshikage Kira had sprinkled over it, made it look as fresh, tender, and lovely as newly peeled scallion whites.
Joey swallowed, then reached out and touched the cold severed hand.
It felt icy, its skin somewhat withered. Perhaps its owner had been dead too long; it did not feel very pleasant to the touch. It hardly seemed worthy of him.
At that thought, Joey abruptly shuddered and hurled away the severed hand, which he had almost brought against his face.
With a series of dull thuds, the hand rolled across the floor several times before coming to a stop.
Joey's face went a little pale.
Before he could think it through, however, a pounding at the door interrupted him. He quickly glanced at the severed hand and ordered Killer Queen to touch it and activate his ability.
After Killer Queen touched the severed hand with his index finger and pressed down his thumb, the deathly pale hand silently vanished in a burst of flame.
This was one of Killer Queen's abilities, or rather, one way to use his first bomb.
Seeing Killer Queen demonstrate his ability put Joey somewhat at ease. At least the Stand's powers were still intact, giving him some means of protecting himself.
"Yoshikage Kira, I know you're home! Open the door! If you don't, don't blame us for barging in!" Before Joey could approach the door, a man's furious shout rang out from outside.
My new book is out! Please add it to your collection, recommend it, and keep reading...? Pretty please~
I'm setting a one-point fan-value requirement. Otherwise, people keep posting links to read it elsewhere... Honestly, I'm speechless.
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