Among the mountains, on a verdant peak.
Thousands of bluestone steps, carved into the mountain, ascended, with vermillion torii gates stacked one upon another, stretching from the foot of the mountain to the mists. The deeply carved Mountain God patterns on the wooden pillars glowed with a warm luster, burnished by incense.
Upon entering the shrine, one first approached the water purification pavilion, gently placing the ladle with its mouth facing inward, without a hint of disorder.
Next to it stood a sign detailing the rules for worship: upon reaching the main hall, one must straighten clothes and cap, bow three times, then clap twice.
The first clap honored the Mountain God for protecting the forests, the second invited the deity to hear one's prayers. Afterwards, one lightly rang the copper bell hanging from the eaves, and once its clear tone faded, one could press hands together and silently offer their thoughts.
Outside the hall, a shimenawa as thick as a bowl was suspended, with white gohei dangling from it, swaying gently in the wind. Worshippers always took three steps around it, to show respect and not disturb the divine presence.
This shrine was replete with Japanese style, dedicating its worship to only one deity—the great Mountain God.
On the mountain stood a statue of the Mountain God, over ten meters tall and lifelike. He wore a magnificent robe, held a staff symbolizing power, and his face was solemn and dignified, as if he was looking down upon all creation.
Before the Mountain God's statue, various offerings and sacrifices were laid out, including fruits, fresh flowers, and fine wine—expressions of people's reverence and gratitude towards the Mountain God.
At the foot of the mountain lay a small village, filled with luxurious mansions. Its residents were all famous and powerful magnates.
In the past, this place was managed by a peculiar-looking Mountain God's Messenger. It was said that the people here would receive the Mountain God's blessing; as long as they scrupulously followed etiquette and rules, they were destined for a happy life.
If they did not adhere to etiquette, they would receive appropriate punishment. Everything was due to the Mountain God's power, and the Mountain God's Messenger symbolized the Mountain God's will.
Now, the Mountain God's Messenger had been obliterated by Kira Yoshikage, and as the superior power, the Mountain God naturally could not stand idly by.
His subordinate being killed was one aspect that angered him; another was that his prestige absolutely had to be upheld. The dignity of a god could not be insulted.
Therefore, Kishibe Rohan came. He came to seek the Mountain God's help.
Guided by an old man in worn shrine robes, whose eyes were hollow like a doll's, Kishibe Rohan stepped into this forbidden place.
The old man was another Mountain God's Messenger, responsible for serving the Mountain God and managing the shrine. His expression was stiff and cold, as if a mask had been welded to his face.
He walked with perfectly even steps, extremely precise, his clothes spotless without a single wrinkle. In every aspect of outward etiquette, he achieved absolute perfection.
Kishibe Rohan, observing his rigid, machine-like movements, mused inwardly, 'As expected of a Mountain God's Messenger, his etiquette is impeccable.'
The aged Messenger led him to the main hall of the shrine.
Inside the main hall of the shrine, the light was dim, with only a few eternal lamps flickering faintly.
There was no idol in the hall, or rather, the so-called idol outside was not an idol at all, but merely a product of people anthropomorphizing the deity.
Here, there was only a colossal, rough black rock, covered in natural cracks. This was the true idol, for a deity is inherently natural, and the Mountain God should not be in human form.
Before the rock lay several offering plates, long since dried and blackened, filled with various rare offerings, a stark contrast to the plates' rough simplicity.
Rohan could clearly sense a vast, ancient, almost numb will slumbering within the rock.
He was not a consciousness in the human sense, but rather a spirit of nature, adhering to ancient covenants and the laws of the earth's veins, an existence transcending Stands, perhaps even on par with fate.
"How… magnificent this power is… Praise be to you, great Mountain God!" Rohan murmured, his eyes glittering with the same excitement a common man shows upon seeing a great beauty, and he worshipped without hesitation.
And the black rock began to tremble, a great consciousness gradually ascending. Kishibe Rohan felt it; he was being watched.
'No, that's not watching, that's a deeper form of observation.'
Buzz—!!!
An unimaginably vast consciousness surged directly into Kishibe Rohan's mind. He saw it, he saw an immeasurably boundless land, a land so immense it was beyond imagination.
It was hundreds of thousands of times larger than all of Japan!
And after this land twisted, mountains rose, the sky collapsed and the earth sank, winds surged and clouds gathered, countless lakes and oceans appeared from nowhere, falling into the mountains, eventually converging into a colossal eye.
Peaks soaring into the clouds were His eyebrows, deep mountain ravines were His pores, and the boundless oceans became His pupils.
This was the Mountain God.
This Mountain God was not an individual, but a collection of deities within the mountains. He was not a Mountain God in the true sense; in some ways, this entity should be a God of the Earth, and this mountain was merely a place of worship for this entity.
He wasn't even on Earth; that stone was merely a mental projection of His immense power, solidified into a physical form.
Were it not for the constraints of fate's power on Earth, His power could only be released through the projection represented by that stone. His might would not be limited to a regional deity; this was a god who commanded causality, time, life and death, and truth and falsehood.
'You are very good.'
This sentence appeared directly in Kishibe Rohan's mind. Rohan grunted, a trace of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth, and his will vibrated. The next moment, he returned to reality.
But instead of anger, he smiled, feeling extremely pleased.
The deity had not attacked him; it was merely that the inherent power of His voice was more than his mortal mind could bear.
"Thank you for your praise, great Mountain God."
He once again solemnly worshipped the deity, meticulously following the rules to express his reverence.
Meanwhile, the Mountain God's Messenger beside him had, at some point, produced a scepter, which he presented to Kishibe Rohan with both hands.
"Respected Mr. Rohan, the Mountain God believes you are worthy to become His chosen one, to walk among men and enact the Mountain God's will."
"This is my honor, praise be to the great Mountain God."
Kishibe Rohan knew perfectly well what this 'chosen one' business was all about.
This was merely giving him an identity and some power so he could help Him get revenge and spread His faith. It was a pure exchange, a relationship based on mutual benefit.
But he still accepted the scepter. After all, why refuse power that was offered? In any case, he intended to eliminate both Kira Yoshikage and Jotaro, so their goals aligned.
The moment he accepted the scepter, a terrifying ability surged into his body. Heaven's Door appeared, this time as a humanoid entity.
Initially, it was a child, just like in the original work, but it wasn't drawn by Kishibe Rohan; it grew naturally, emerging in a twisted manner from Kishibe Rohan's neck.
It started as a head, then continued to grow as Kishibe Rohan trembled and spewed blood, like a small tree, but a fleshy, blood-colored one, constantly gushing blood from its roots.
And after growing, the small tree twisted and formed a baby-like body, adorned in golden attire.
Heaven's Door was officially born.
And it didn't stop there. The scepter erupted in a fierce golden light, which transformed into a towering pillar of light. A terrifying power emanated from the stone, directly injecting into the light pillar.
Kishibe Rohan and Heaven's Door began another metamorphosis.
This terrifying energy fluctuation and golden pillar of light were impossible to ignore, visible even from distant Tokyo!
The American soldiers guarding Kishibe Rohan outside the mountain, and those he had brainwashed, were plunged into terror. They didn't know what was happening, but due to Kishibe Rohan's orders, they dared not act rashly.
The process lasted a full fifteen minutes before gradually subsiding.
The pillar of light dissipated, and silence returned to the shrine. Kishibe Rohan stood in place, slowly lowering his arms.
He appeared largely unchanged, but the aura emanating from him had completely transformed—a deep, weighty, unshakeable, yet subtly ferocious pressure, like the earth itself, enveloped him.
With a slight flick of his fingertip, countless lines appeared out of thin air in the next instant, forming a sheet of paper covered with densely packed text. Then, each character began to dance and climb.
Eventually, they transformed into thousands of tiny golden figures, each a miniature Heaven's Door. They laughed, danced, and rejoiced, finally converging into an adult-sized Heaven's Door.
An indescribable fear emanated from this bizarre scene, yet neither Kishibe Rohan nor the divine messenger found anything amiss; on the contrary, both were beaming with joy.
"It worked… Haha… Hahahaha!"
Rohan looked at his hands, unable to help but laugh softly, his laughter gradually growing louder, finally turning into unbridled, wild laughter! Yet his movements remained strangely precise, adhering to all forms of etiquette.
Now, Heaven's Door could be used on himself!
"This is… the power of a god! Although it's only a very small part, it's enough! Enough for me to complete the 'cleansing'!"
The scepter he received didn't fully transform him into a 'chosen one' in the usual sense, but rather successfully established a 'connection' with him, making him a conduit and temporary vessel. He could now, to a limited extent, invoke the vast natural power of the Mountain God, which covered the entire mountain range's earth veins!
Unlike the so-called Mountain God's Messengers, who were merely servants driven by the Mountain God and could at most unleash minor abilities by borrowing His power, he had truly obtained the Mountain God's power.
Combined with his own Heaven's Door, its range of influence and the nature of its abilities had undergone a qualitative leap!
He could not only modify individual cognition as before, but now he could even, on a small scale and slowly, influence an entire area's 'collective subconscious' and 'environmental perception'! This was no longer simple hypnosis, but a nascent form of reality rewriting!
He could even, through human mental consciousness, reverse-modify human flesh and interfere with the physical plane of reality.
Moreover, this power was superior to Stand power. Unless it was a Stand evolved by the Arrow, he could almost immunize himself against normal Stand abilities, and they could not resist the influence of his power.
Of course, this was provided he was within these mountains. Outside this mountainous area, he would be outside the Mountain God's territory. While his ability would still have offensive power, it would still be affected by Stand abilities.