The world had no sound.
Only light.
Only the impossible image of Kars rising—perfect, white, unreal.
And beneath him…
everyone was kneeling.
Except one.
Leo.
Standing among the rubble, eyes locked.
His Stand floated behind him, wrapped in drifting shadows and narrative threads.
A living book.
A weapon that had not yet been fully read.
[Critical condition: target fully evolved. Absorption status: enabled only through direct combat.]
—Move, Leo ordered, without looking at the others.
Joseph barely heard him.
—What are you going to—?
Leo was already moving.
⚔ First Wave — Knowledge vs Instinct
Kars twisted in midair and extended his arm.
A blade of bone stretched from his elbow like a spear.
Leo dodged at the last second.
He used Santana's muscular elasticity—at limited capacity—to fold his torso at an impossible angle.
—I already have one of your pieces, he murmured.
The blade tore through his coat but didn't touch skin.
Leo used the motion to circle around Kars.
From behind, he activated a hybrid technique:
[Skill used: Sonic Hamon (Base Zeppeli + 42% adaptation).]
A pulse rang out like a crystal note.
The sound made Kars's bone wings tremble, momentarily throwing off his aerial balance.
Leo seized the moment.
He leapt.
And stabbed a spear formed by his Stand—constructed from fragments of the Caesar Archive + thermal energy traces from ACDC.
[Mixed attack: Hamon pressure + channeled thermal manipulation.]
The spear struck Kars in the back.
A red shockwave surrounded him.
It caused no visible damage.
But Kars descended to the ground.
By choice.
—Interesting, he said. You carry parts of many…
But you are none of them.
—I don't need to be you.
I just need to write your ending.
💥 Second Wave — Narrative Adaptation
Kars counterattacked.
He transformed his arm into a mass of razor-edged flying insects.
Launched them like living blades.
Leo activated Fictional Line Trap, a technique generated by his Stand—usable only in zones where written history existed (the ruins, the symbols).
[Trap activated: FIZ (Fictional Instability Zone)]
Space trembled.
The insects passed through Leo…
but did not hit him.
For 1.3 seconds, Leo was not narrated physically.
Kars frowned.
—An impossible technique. Only someone who knows the script could do that.
Leo dashed forward.
His feet slid across compressed energy.
[Ability activated: Vector Movement (inspired by Stroheim + custom biomechanical upgrade).]
Leo struck Kars in the chest with a burst of low-frequency Hamon.
Not to harm.
To tag.
[Structural marker applied. Narrative pattern locked. Absorption ready.]
Kars took two steps back.
For the first time…
he assessed him.
☠ The Silent Blow — Absorption
Leo whispered a phrase only his Stand could hear.
—Now.
The Stand summoned its forbidden ability: Selective Ending.
[Narrative consumption activated: absorption channel open.]
[Condition fulfilled: symbolic structural damage + fixed narrative point.]
A white, invisible line of energy slashed through Kars from the base of his spine to the back of his neck.
It wasn't a physical cut.
It was a cut in his role within the story.
For 0.8 seconds, Kars lost coherence.
[Absorption initiated: 11%... 19%... 24%...]
Leo bled from his nose.
His body trembled.
The energy overwhelmed him.
[Narrative load exceeds primary core.]
[Forced containment in external narrative module.]
—Almost…!
Kars screamed.
A burst of solar energy swept through the field.
Joseph was thrown against a wall.
Caesar screamed Lisa Lisa's name.
And Leo… fell.
But he rose again.
[Absorption stabilized: 36%. Biological functions and structural memory of Kars (perfect form) now available.]
Kars breathed—for the first time.
—You're not a human.
Leo spat blood.
Smiled.
—No.
I'm your worst nightmare.