I woke up having forgotten everything about the recent battle with Mercury, the arrow I received afterward, and my job. The only thing that filled my mind was an inexplicable sense of relief; I was still breathing, which meant I was alive. I had no desire to get up from the cold floor, with the mat that had stuck to me—it felt as though this place had become my home during the time I was unconscious.
Struggling to my feet, I sat leaning against the cold wall of the bathroom, too weak to stand. Slowly looking around, I saw dried blood where I had been lying before. I, too, was covered in my own dried blood. Did everything go successfully? Had the arrow fulfilled its purpose? I risked my life for it, hoping my hopes weren't in vain.
"So cold..." I shivered softly, curling up to try and retain some of my body's warmth. I longed to be in my bed, so close yet unreachable. Too weak, I thought I'd sleep a bit longer... just a few minutes...
× Some Time Later ×
"Haah!" Waking up with a deep gasp, as if from a nightmare, I staggered to my feet, feeling as if my body wasn't my own, as if it was under anesthesia.
Making my way into the bathroom with the thought of washing all the blood off me, I turned on the water and just stood under it, enjoying the sensation of water flowing over my body, cleansing it. Nothing troubled or oppressed me; this was true relaxation and a sense of life.
I spent about twenty minutes under the shower, finally washing all traces of blood and dirt from me. Stepping out of the shower with still a weak body, I reached for a towel when I accidentally knocked a shampoo bottle, which immediately started falling toward the tile. My heart stopped, anticipating the loud noise that would strike me like a hammer, but it didn't come. Instead, the shampoo bottle was held by a thread, preventing it from falling. Not immediately grasping what this trick was with my foggy consciousness, I just watched it. Looking at my left hand, from which a strange sensation emanated, I saw a thread coming out of my finger. Now I understood what the arrow did, what this stand was, and to whom it belonged. Trying to control my thread, I carefully put the bottle back in its place. I was obviously pleased with the result; it was worth what I had gone through.
Drawing the thread back into my finger, I changed into clean clothes and sat on my bed in the bedroom. It was deep night outside, and silence was only broken by the hum of distant cars. It felt as if the recent incident had never happened; after all, this world was more or less accustomed to such superpower clashes.
Distracted for a moment, it was time to test some theories about the acquired stand and more - "Stone Free!" Calling out this name, he appeared before me, Jolyne Cujoh's stand from the sixth part. Slightly glowing blue, the stand looked at me through its glasses, waiting for instructions.
"You're not just about threads, are you?" I asked into the void, smiling excitedly - "Sticky Fingers!" Calling the name of another stand, a zipper appeared on my arm, allowing me to unzip it, thus confirming my theory.
"Yes! I haven't replaced the stand's ability; I've just added a new one! This way, I can acquire more and more abilities, ultimately reaching a Requiem or Heaven stand! I will become a god!" The joy and relief of now having a clearer purpose in this world filled my mind despite my previous fatigue. I had a dream that I would fulfill at any cost, even if it meant killing many people - "I need a Heaven-level stand to reset the universe! No villains, no heroes, the new world will have no place for this chaos! I will create paradise!"