The street below was empty.
No cars.
No people.
Only fog.
Jovian stepped outside.
Vital Mirage followed.
The cold air felt heavier than normal.
Lucien appeared moments later.
"You saw it too?"
Jovian nodded.
"I wasn't dreaming."
Then…
Footsteps.
Slow.
Calm.
Deliberate.
A figure emerged from the fog.
White coat.
White gloves.
White shoes.
Even the hair was white.
His face remained hidden beneath the shadow of a wide hat.
He stopped nearly twenty meters away.
He didn't attack.
He simply looked at them.
Vital Mirage immediately took a fighting stance.
Midnight Sontana appeared beside Lucien.
Neither Stand moved.
Neither user blinked.
"…Who are you?"
No answer.
Instead…
The man slowly raised one hand.
A black playing card appeared between his fingers.
He flicked it.
The card flew toward Jovian.
Vital Mirage caught it effortlessly.
The instant it touched its hand…
The card vanished.
So did the man.
Silence.
Lucien searched every rooftop.
"…He's gone."
Impossible.
There had been no sound.
No movement.
Nothing.
Jovian opened his hand.
Something remained.
A small symbol.
Burned into his palm.
A crown.
Back at the hideout…
Alaric examined the mark.
"I've never seen this before."
Iggy sniffed Jovian's hand.
His ears folded back immediately.
He growled.
Not at Jovian.
At the symbol.
Lucien looked uneasy.
"Whatever this is…"
"…it's not a Stand ability."
Jovian stared silently at the mark.
For the first time in years…
Vital Mirage looked uncertain.