The winter afternoon sun lazily spilled across the living room's old couch, its warm glow practically begging for a nap.
Dio, brows furrowed, was trying his best to dive headfirst into the dense, hardcover book on his lap—a beast of a quantum physics tome.
It was a treasure Lock had dug up from a used bookstore in Metropolis.
Rumor had it the author was a Martian?
Dio totally bought it, because the symbols and equations in front of him might as well have been Martian hieroglyphs.
It was like he was a caveman trying to scoop dumplings with a slotted spoon.
Time crawled by as he slogged through the mind-numbing derivations, trying to stay focused…
"Yah—! Muda! Da! Da!"
A squeaky, stubborn little voice, paired with a persistent tug at his pant leg, yanked Dio right out of the physics labyrinth.
He glanced down to see a chubby, milk-scented bundle—
One-year-old Sarafiel, relentlessly clawing at his pants, trying to climb up.
The kid's head was a fluffy mess of soft black curls, and his angelic little face was tilted up, those pure, innocent black eyes brimming with a desperate need for a hug.
His mouth kept babbling some incoherent "muda" nonsense.
Yup…
Drool was about to drip onto Dio's pants.
"Sarafiel, quiet down."
Dio tapped the kid's forehead lightly with the book's spine, trying to nudge him away. "I'm reading. It's an important book."
His tone dripped with obvious irritation. Thanks to Sarafiel, he'd have to start back at square one in the ocean of knowledge.
Pushed away, Sarafiel's little mouth quivered, his long lashes fluttering as his big eyes welled up with tears, ready to spill.
"Tch…"
Dio clicked his tongue, a spark of annoyance flaring in his chest.
Clark, that big oaf, had vanished to who-knows-where lately, and Sarafiel was being extra clingy today, like some unshakable—
Third Stand.
His rare, peaceful winter break was going down the drain.
Ugh…
If only there was some automated nanny to keep Sarafiel quiet.
Then he could fully dive into the sea of knowledge—
Wait.
A nanny?
A bold, almost ridiculous idea leaped into Dio's mind like a frog zapped by lightning.
His genius brain cooked up a plan so wild it could shake the world.
With a flash of thought—
Silently, a towering, golden-armored Stand appeared beside the couch like a loyal sentinel, its crimson eyes coldly scanning the room.
A moment later…
Dio forced his focus back to the book's complex equations, splitting off a sliver of his mind to control the Stand like a puppeteer:
He had it pick up the colorful blocks scattered on the rug.
Start simple. Create a little magic to grab Sarafiel's attention.
The World's hands slowly started stacking the blocks.
But maybe out of habit, or maybe because his subconscious wanted to wrap this up fast, Dio instinctively tapped into his most familiar, most powerful ability—
Buzz!
Time's gears screeched to a halt for one second!
The world froze in a grayscale silence.
In that split second, where not even nerve signals could travel, Dio's divided focus guided The World to precisely suspend the blocks in midair, forming a wobbly, visually striking tower in its hands!
Time resumed.
Color and sound flooded back.
And Sarafiel…
He stared, dumbfounded, at the blocks that were in his tiny hands one second and floating in a tower the next. The curiosity on his little face—
"WAAAAH!!!"
A wail loud enough to wake the dead erupted, like he'd been wronged by the universe.
He pointed at the floating blocks, crying his heart out.
To a kid his age, with his simple understanding:
Toys flying on their own? That meant they were—
Broken!
Young Dio clearly didn't get how a baby's mind worked.
The ear-piercing wail stabbed into Dio's focused brain like a needle, nearly making him chuck the book across the room.
Stupid little brother! So ungrateful!
He growled inwardly, maneuvering The World to clumsily set the blocks back down to calm him.
But multitasking wasn't easy. The World's massive, armored fingers moved stiffly, accidentally brushing the top of the tower.
Crash!
The block tower collapsed, scattering across the floor.
"WAAAAH!!!!"
Not only did the crying not stop, but the dramatic collapse made it even louder, full of accusation.
"…"
"Trouble."
Dio tsked again, his temples throbbing.
He took a deep breath, fighting the urge to yeet the kid out the window, and split off another shaky thread of focus to control his Stand.
This time, he carefully had it pick up a brightly colored, thick-edged board book—
The Dishonest Dragon.
"Quiet, Sarafiel," Dio said, his voice dripping with half-hearted gentleness. "Listen to a bedtime story, then go nap."
But…
As The World's fingers flicked, they turned into a blurry golden streak.
Flip flip flip flip flip!
An invisible hand flipped through the pages at a dizzying speed!
It was like he was trying to "quantum speed-read" a hundred-page picture book to Sarafiel in minutes!
Sniff…
A faint but distinct burnt smell hit the air!
The edges of the pages started smoking!
Dio, still reading, raised an eyebrow.
What's that smell?
Why's my hand feeling… hot?
What's going on?
Wait—?!
Alarm bells screamed in Dio's head!
But he was a split-second too late!
Poof!
A small orange-red flame actually sparked up from the page's edge!
The flickering firelight reflected in Dio's suddenly shrinking pupils!
He jolted upright, his powerful focus snapping to take full control of The World.
Snap!
The next second, The World's fingers pinched out the flame.
It happened so fast that Sarafiel only saw the pages flapping wildly before smoking. His crying choked off, and he stared at the smoldering book, his little face a mix of confusion and fear.
Dio sighed, feeling his blood pressure spike alongside The World's finger temperature.
Parenting—especially with a Stand—was a hellish mental gauntlet!
The mental strain was like solving ten nine-ring puzzles blindfolded.
Was multitasking really…
Impossible?!
Dio gritted his teeth, glaring at the singed book and his stunned little brother, his expression as fierce as if he'd just found out the local diner's sausage came with extra filling.
He wasn't about to let this beat him!