Stands Within [Stories of Kawali Series 1]

Chapter 3: Darkheart

Derick shot 3 bullets at Keith, all of them purposely missing. Just as Keith looked back, the bullets ricocheted off the back wall and right into him, immense pain coursing in the places where he was hit. He ran in as Derick shot another bullet, this time aimed straight for the head, only for it to be deflected by a flick of the black hand Keith once saw. A black left hand appeared as he got close, and after swiping away the hand which Derick had his Stand in, forcing him to call it back, Keith's Stand showed its full self.

It was a humanoid Stand, meaning it was in the shape of a human. Every part of its body, its legs, its head, was all black, except for its eyes, which were yellow. A black flame burnt within it, making a flame particle come out from within.

It smacked Derick right in the face, causing him to lose his balance and stumble backwards, nearing the front wall, near the teacher's table. The unknown Stand prepared its fists, and Keith said, "This must be the embodiment of my depression. So much in fact, its so powerful, managing to make a person fall with a punch using only a fraction of the user's full power. Or is it because I hit his weak spot?"

It then barraged Derick. In the first few hits of the barrage, Keith shouted,

"ATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATAAAAAAAA!!" like a machine gun firing at the speed of 600 bullets per minute. Within 10 seconds, his Stand winded up a powerful punch, and he shouted, "ATAAAAAAA!!" as the Stand's fist went down straight into Derick, breaking the back wall of another class and sending him flying into it. He looked and saw his friends from another class, both classrooms looking the same, only with different students. "Pardon the intrusion," he said, "I had to deal with someone from your class."

Keith thought of fixing the hole he made, when all of a sudden, his Stand turned into dark ropes connecting the pieces of the broken wall and placed them together. It looked good as new, and Gladwin, who was one of the spectators watching at the back, said, "That's a very good Stand. What's its name?"

Keith thought for a moment, and said, "This Stand represents the heart of dark I have inside myself. I think I'll call it... Darkheart." The darkness from his Stand circled him as it spoke,
"You have chosen the name well. Be warned, Stand users are attracted to one another. Make sure you're ready at all times if you want to survive this new reality."

The darkness then dissipated, and Meagan said, "What was that thing just now? Wah, the thing just spoke!"

"It told me," Keith said, "that we have to be ready at all times if we want to survive this new reality. There's going to be people who use this new ability for the worse, and we need to be aware of them."