"Checking your privacy without permission was wrong of me."
"As compensation, I inscribed a setting that nullifies your cost."
Rohan Kishibe faced his Assassin and raised a hand in acknowledgment.
"Stands truly are mysterious. They possess the power to alter reality—yet demand no expensive price."
Amber studied her own hand as pages flipped across her skin, then spoke softly.
[Each use of this ability will not alter age]
That was the "setting" Rohan had written onto her using Heaven's Door.
Normally, every activation of her power—whether time stop or temporal rewind—shaved two years off her lifespan.
As a Servant, she'd been summoned at roughly twenty years old. Without Rohan's intervention, she could only use her abilities ten times before the cost proved fatal.
Ten might sound generous—but in actual combat, those charges would vanish in seconds.
Now, everything had changed. With Heaven's Door's influence, she could deploy her powers without restraint.
Amber's greatest strength wasn't combat. Her true value lay in support—capabilities that far exceeded personal offense.
She could grant others the freedom to move within frozen time.
Even when rewinding events, she could preserve an ally's memories from before the reset.
Knowing this, Rohan understood he'd drawn an extraordinary ace.
And only moments ago, a battle conducted entirely within stopped time had occurred somewhere in the city.
He didn't know which Servants had clashed—but the freeze alone had exceeded ten minutes.
The thought left him stunned.
Even Jotaro Kujo could sustain time stop for only two seconds.
Ten-plus minutes was terrifying beyond measure.
Though the fluctuating mana had subsided—implying a victor had emerged—the identities of the combatants remained unknown.
But contemplating that duration sent a chill down Rohan's spine.
Without resistance to time stop, anyone caught would be slaughtered one-sidedly. No alternatives.
In ten minutes, a Stand user could kill someone dozens of different ways.
Which was precisely why Amber's appearance brought him relief.
At least now, Rohan Kishibe had a fighting chance.
'Heaven's Door still works on Servants. The ideal solution is to find whoever's responsible and strip them of that long-duration freeze.'
'But that will be extremely difficult.'
"Assassin—how many people can you grant movement within frozen time?"
"One person counts as one activation. Without the cost, it's actually effortless."
"But factoring in duration, with our combined mana... three people can move for roughly thirty minutes."
"Four people, about fifteen minutes. Five—maybe just under five."
Rohan ticked off names on his fingers.
Jotaro Kujo. Josuke Higashikata. Koichi Hirose. Okuyasu Nijimura.
Including himself—exactly five.
At full capacity, they could operate within stopped time for approximately five minutes.
Enough to end most battles.
'Speaking of which... what kind of Servant does Josuke have?'
The thought struck him belatedly. Right—Josuke had a Servant too.
That earlier chaos had driven the annoying bastard completely from his mind.
"Better give him a call."
...
"What the hell happened here?"
"Terrorists?"
"No... Stand users?"
The intersection where Sakuya and Homura had clashed was already drawing a crowd.
Cratered asphalt. Walls riddled with bullet scars. The scene looked horrific.
"..."
Leaning on his cane out of habit, Accelerator lingered at the fringes, studying the destruction. Something felt off.
This was clearly evidence of a Servant battle—yet he'd sensed no mana fluctuations whatsoever.
If not for the shouting that drew him here, he might never have noticed.
Stealth abilities? Spatial manipulation?
Possibilities churned through his mind.
A smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth.
This war was proving more interesting than expected.
Swaggering as always, Accelerator strolled into the night.
...
"Are you alright?"
Miyu stared at Homura, drenched in blood, worry etched across her face.
She'd blinked once—and her Servant had returned like this?
"I'm fine. Just got careless."
"Didn't expect to run into someone with the same abilities as me—and superior mastery."
Recalling Sakuya's precision with temporal manipulation, Homura knew she'd been outclassed.
At least their mutual ability to cancel each other's freezes had let her escape. Otherwise, retreating might not have been possible.
"?"
Miyu froze at her Servant's words.
From that phrasing... Archer had already fought another Servant?
How was that possible?
"I'll explain later. First, let's find somewhere to stay."
Sensing Miyu's confusion, Homura began channeling mana to mend her wounds as she replied.
'I need a different approach.'
This wasn't a fight she could win alone anymore.
Her time stop would be neutralized by that Servant—meaning her only reliable tools were guns and explosives.
Pathetically inadequate for a Servant.
Sure, there'd be a one-or-two-second window between activation and cancellation... but she couldn't depend on it like before.
Her best option was finding a suitable ally. That might improve her odds.
Trading information could secure one—but...
In a war where friend and foe remained undefined, how could she locate a Master-Servant pair both helpful and willing to cooperate?
...
"Uh... technically it worked, but something's definitely off, right?"
Subaru Natsuki slumped to the ground, eyelid twitching as he watched the figure emerge from the ritual circle.
Using the Four-Star Ball as a catalyst to summon Son Goku.
That had been the plan.
And yes—he'd succeeded in summoning him...
Just not quite as expected.
"Huh? Where is this?!"
The martial arts gi. The Nyoibo strapped to his back. Subaru immediately identified which era this "protagonist" hailed from.
Summoned under the Lancer class was the not-yet-grown Kid Goku.
"Goku—have you competed in the Tenkaichi Budokai?"
"Yup!"
"Ever fought a martial artist with three eyes?"
"Nope!"
"So... you haven't faced Tien Shinhan yet..."
"What about an assassin named Tao Pai Pai?"
"Hm?"
"You know the Red Ribbon Army, right?"
"Oh! Those bad guys!"
"Alright. Got it."
'Fine. Even if he's not Majin Buu-era Goku... early Red Ribbon saga Goku should still be plenty strong.'
Subaru covered his face but didn't complain further.
At Goku's current level—never mind destroying planets—he should be more than capable of handling the competition here.
Rising to his feet, Subaru's thoughts drifted elsewhere.
Apparently, some Servants in this war could stop time...
He glanced at Kid Goku, who was peering around in bewilderment, and began to strategize.