"Josuke?"
Jotaro Kujo stared at the empty space before him, his mind momentarily struggling to process the visual evidence of his surroundings.
Hadn't he just been in the middle of a serious discussion about the war with Josuke, Rohan, and the others?
How could they have simply vanished in the blink of an eye?
"Old man, where did Josuke and Rohan go?"
Jotaro turned his head slightly, addressing the elderly Joseph Joestar who stood beside him.
"Huh?"
"Weren't they just standing right there?"
Joseph looked equally bewildered, his expression frozen in a look of confused recollection. He seemed to be searching for the missing memories, but eventually, he gave up on the effort.
"Hmm."
"No... something is definitely wrong here."
Jotaro knelt down, examining the floor. There were distinct footprints in the dust, their size and placement confirming his suspicion.
He was certain that Josuke and the others had been in this room only a heartbeat ago.
Not just Josuke, but Rohan, Koichi, and Okuyasu as well.
And yet, it was as if a page had been torn out of his memory. They were gone, and he had no impression of how they had departed.
It was as if they had never existed at all.
"The Holy Grail War..."
"Or could this be the work of a Stand attack?"
The memories of his earlier conversation with Josuke and Rohan were still there, but everything about the current moment felt fundamentally distorted.
"HEY!!"
"JOTARO!! LOOK!! OUTSIDE!!"
"TH-TH-THERE'S A GHOST OUT THERE!!!"
Joseph's panicked shout forced Jotaro to stand up and spin toward the window.
Floating just outside the balcony glass was the ethereal soul of a young girl.
"Are you Jotaro-san?"
The girl spoke his name with a sense of urgent familiarity. She seemed to know exactly who he was, despite Jotaro having no memory of ever meeting her.
"And who might you be?"
Jotaro didn't sense any malice from the spirit. He watched as she phased through the glass and drifted into the room.
"My name is Konno Yuuki."
"You can just call me Yuuki. I'm one of the participants in this Dragon Ball War."
"Jotaro-san, we have very little time. I know you have countless questions, but please, let me relay the necessary information first."
"The enemy will be following the scent of my soul. He'll be here any second."
The girl's voice was filled with a desperate, frantic intensity. Jotaro began to analyze the data hidden within her words.
An enemy?
Was it the same person who had caused Josuke and the others to vanish?
The war was supposed to have only just begun. Why did it feel like a lifetime of events had already transpired?
If this was truly an enemy who had targeted the group, then why was he, Jotaro, still standing here?
Even if he wasn't a "Participant," neither were Koichi or Okuyasu.
There was no logical reason for him to have been spared the same fate.
"I know this is going to sound absolutely preposterous, but I need you to trust me."
The girl's tone was so sincere and open that Jotaro didn't interject. He simply stood there, listening with a cold, analytical focus.
"The truth is..."
Yuuki let out a breath of relief when she realized Jotaro wasn't going to drive her away.
Attempting to coordinate with someone stubborn or closed-minded would have been a catastrophe.
'Master of Berserker... you're the only one who can do this now.'
'(Tell Jotaro Kujo everything that has happened. Tell him about DIO's [World Over Heaven].) '
'He is the only hope we have of defeating that monster!'
The Master named Subaru Natsuki had shared those commands with her.
He had apparently retained his memories of the previous "Timeline," and he had been the one to coordinate their final gambit.
He had utilized Rohan Kishibe's Stand ability to establish a long-range "Telepathic" link with her during their final stand at the hospital.
'The plan might encounter setbacks, but your role is the one constant.'
'Is it really okay to place so much trust in me?'
'I don't have a choice. I can't think of any other way to win against DIO. With [World Over Heaven], we might not even get another chance to try.'
'So we're betting everything on Jotaro Kujo!'
'I'm betting that he's the one destined to defeat DIO!'
Even at the threshold of a terminal defeat, Subaru hadn't wavered. He had simply entrusted the future to the spirit of a girl most of them barely knew.
'Heh. If it's Jotaro-san, he'll find a way.'
'Destined nemesis? It sounds like something out of a pulp novel, but even I, Rohan Kishibe, believe that such a thing might actually exist.'
'Master of Archer... would you be willing to lend us your support? We need you to buy enough time for the Master of Berserker to reach the Morioh Grand Hotel.'
'No problem.'
That was the "Private Alliance" the Masters and Servants had formed in the moments before the reset.
Every remaining participant had been willing to sacrifice their lives and their souls just to ensure Yuuki reached Jotaro.
It didn't matter who fell. As long as she reached this room and Homura triggered the reset...
Everything would be possible again.
It had been a terrifying moment when Amber was targeted first by DIO. Everyone had feared the plan would collapse right there.
But Homura Akemi had been their ultimate safety net.
Even as her allies were systematically eliminated, she had waited for the perfect moment to trigger her Noble Phantasm.
She hadn't used her rewind earlier because her ability was too "Grave."
It would pull time back to the moment of her initial summoning, creating a massive wave of variables that she couldn't hope to control.
But in a situation where the entire world had already fallen to a god, such a drastic reset was their only remaining weapon.
She had acted as bait, using her own "Surrender" to ensure that DIO's hands were occupied and he couldn't touch the ground to negate the activation.
It was the final act of defiance from a girl who had spent a lifetime fighting against fate.
And now, everything they had sacrificed had been distilled into the words Yuuki spoke to the man who was neither an Archer nor a Berserker.
Jotaro Kujo.
***
"Yare yare daze..."
"So he can [Overwrite] the Truth itself?"
"DIO has truly managed to grasp a terrifying level of power."
Jotaro adjusted his cap, his voice low and heavy as he looked toward the horizon where he could sense DIO's divine arrival.
He vaguely recalled the events of eleven years ago. After defeating the vampire in Cairo, he had discovered a notebook containing the secrets of "Heaven."
Now, witnessing the reality of that transformation, he understood why DIO had been so obsessed with achieving it.
It was indeed a Stand ability that existed on a different plane.
A power capable of reconfiguring the very laws of the universe.
But fortunately, he still possessed the strength and the opportunity to stop him.
Even after ascending to Heaven, even after this qualitative evolution, DIO's fundamental nature remained unchanged.
As a Servant, he was still tethered to the marks of his physical death in his previous life.
He was still bound by the laws of his own destiny!
Jotaro had gathered enough "Information" from Yuuki to understand the opening.
As long as he could deliver a precise, physical strike to DIO, the vampire's form would fracture.
The initial punch he had landed upon DIO's arrival in this timeline had practically shattered half of the monster's frame.
If it hadn't been for the absolute power of [The World Over Heaven] resetting the damage, DIO would have likely perished right then and there.
"Every other Master and Servant failed to stop you..."
"In that case... it's going to be just like eleven years ago in Cairo."
"I shall be your judge!"
"DIO!"
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]