Silent Stardust of the Moon

Chapter 11: The Strength in the freighter

Within the darkness of his home, Dio stood before a mirror. The candles glowed brightly in the room, but even they could break through the seemingly never ending blackness. Dio stood in front of the mirror and was in deep thought. He had thought about this particular topic before but he felt as if he had only got part of the answer. He turns to one of his faithful servants and asked her about the question in mind. "Enyaba. There's something I like to ask you. What does it mean to live?"

Enyaba, an old woman wearing robes and having large, puffy white hair, says to him, "Is to obtain all that one desires. If you were to distill life into its essence, that is what it would be. A lust for riches, a desire for fame, food, love and lovers. That is one's goal." She chuckled. Love. Hahaha! What a foolish thing. Dio could barely comprehend the word of it. Still...it didn't mean he hadn't had desires back then. There was one who he had desired, who he had craved for. Who he lusted for. She was a strong-headed woman who seemed to have a will of iron, but that only made her more irresistible. He wanted her. He wanted her all to himself for eternity, and he could break her for eternity. But alas, she had escaped his grasp. "But one must always fight to get what one wants. Isn't that correct, Enyaba?" Dio said. True. He did fight to gain her. And what a fight it was. He fought and nearly won, but she still slipped away. 

"Indeed." She said, continuing to chuckle.

"And if the battle is lost and one fails to obtain what one desires most, the result is frustration, pain and a sense of failure." Dio says as he starts to walk aimlessly. "One carries the wound into the future. Into the next fearful battle," He rested his hand near the Joestar mark. "I believe conquering that fear once and for all is what it means to live. The one who stands at the pinnacle is the one who has no fear. Do you understand, Enyaba?"

"I was the one who told you about the existence of your Stand and how to use it. Also you have an immortal body." Enyaba reminds him. "Is there anything you could possibly fear?" She asks him. However, she finds the idea laughable. Her lord and master is the most powerful and feared man in the world, what could possibly he be fearful of? "Perhaps, old woman." He said. That caught Enyaba off-guard. But she maintained her composure and asked him, "What burdens you my lord?"

"The Joestar bloodline."

This time Enyaba couldn't keep face and nearly growled at the name. "Hmm?! 'Joestar', they worry you?! Those worms are mere trash. Your enemies are no match for your Stand."

"Yes. But I must believe its destiny when the lives of those worms are so thoroughly entangled with mine. It is a fate that has been written for us all from the very beginning. Let me be clear; It is not the Joestars that I fear, but fact that I can never underestimate their bloodline. In order to obliterate all fear, I have decided that I must remove the Joestars from the cogs of fate."

"You want to go and eliminate them yourself simply because you feel that they cannot be underestimated?" Enyaba asked.

"Yes."

"Foolishness! You should never engage in such trivial matters, they are beneath someone of your stature! I have sent seven Stand users to command; The Empress, The Wheel of Fortune, The Hanged Man, Temperance, The Emperor and The Devil, all of them on the move and ready to strike whenever you call! Thanks to these allies, you need not take any action yourself, Lord Dio." Enyaba said as she cackle like the wicked witch that she was. The seventh user was already in progress of his attack. Back on the ocean, the Joestar group and the of sailors that followed were taken by complete surprised when they were greeted by a large freighter, that came out of nowhere.

"A freighter."

"I didn't see it at all."

Jotaro was staring intensely at the large boat before them. He couldn't help but feel uneasy. There was something about this he didn't like about this whole situation. Joseph notices his grandson's uneasy and said, "Jotaro, something's bothering you isn't it? Are you worried there might be another Stand user on this freighter? It's not ideal, but we can handle it."