As they reached the end of the long staircase, the walls that constrained it gave place to a free space. Diavolo and Doppio found themselves on a long path in the open. Above them, the night sky was starless and black as a bible, giving extra attention to the large full moon that hovered over the scenery.
"This place..."
Doppio walked to a balcony, only to see the entirety of the place they found themselves: it was a large castle of strange yet beautiful architecture, similar to a gothic style yet somewhat more mysterious. The place they stood was a bridge on the roofs of the castle, leading to a small tower that appeared to lead to somewhere else higher up, although it was impossible to see it from their location.
"Wherever we are... its surely no ordinary place."
Diavolo kept admiring the expertly cut grey stones that most of the structure consisted of, decorated with intricate patterns of red and edges of black. Bright torches illuminated the path they were going through, shining an abnormally bright light for a regular flame.
They went ahead while admiring the place. They haven't had much time or patience to take a good look at that strange place while completing their trials, but now they did, and the towering structure that surrounded them was at the same time marvelous and intimidating. The walls were a sight to behold, yet felt like a prison; the towers majestically oppressing them with their feint looming shadow cast upon by the bright moonlight.
In the middle of the way, Doppio stopped, leaning over the balcony, watching down into the darkness.
"What's wrong, Doppio?"
"Oh, it's..."
He stared intently into the abyss beyond the boundaries of the castle, with an uncomfortable expression.
"It's..."
"Don't worry, Doppio. Whatever it is, you can say it."
He looked at Diavolo from the corner of his eyes, before turning his sight again to his front.
"It's just that... we've been through so much. We've fought and learned and... I got to finally know you. It was strange for me all this time, I never really knew how I had your contact, or why you trusted me, and now... now I got to know and understand not only the past you..."
He turned his head towards Diavolo.
"...but the new you. I got to fight alongside you and see the changes in yourself... and I guess in myself as well."
"But there's more than that, isn't there?"
"I mean... after all that has happened, after all we faced, can we even be sure that what we were promised was true? What actually lies at the end of our journey? Will we achieve what we always desired, or be let down by more false expectations, fueled by misguided hope? I guess... I guess I'm talking too much, ain't I..."
Diavolo leaned his back on the balcony and took a deep breath.
"You know, I always wanted to be able to control my future. As far as I remember, I had the desire to mold it in my own hands. In the end, it all came down to a fear of what would happen, a sense of paranoia that made me want to destroy my past to ensure my future."
He turned his head to Doppio.
"I know what you are feeling, I understand your fear, and I too had it. But now... at the end of all this, I learned to not fear my fate, but to look forward and face it if I need to. That is what I suggest to you, Doppio."
"I guess... you are right, Boss."
They both walked away from the railings and followed through the path.
They reached the short tower and started to walk up the spiral stairs, silent and on the edge, yet strangely solemn at the same time, on a bizarre mix of antagonistic feelings. They arrived at the top to see the start of another path, before a large double door, primarily black but decorated with carvings in yellow, green, orange, white and blue.
"This is it..."
Doppio was staring at the door, too afraid to go back or forward. Diavolo had the same sentiment. What was behind the door? What would happen to them? Were all the promises true after all? Too many questions crossed his mind, but in the end, he knew very well there was only one way to answer them. Diavolo put his hand on Doppio's shoulder, gathering all his courage and resolve. Doppio turned his head back to face him.
"This is it, Doppio. All that happened, all we went through, it all has come to this. So let's go, without fear."
"Ye... Yes, Boss."
They approached the large door and each put a hand on each side. Facing each other, they nodded, before pushing it open.
Upon opening, it revealed a large round courtyard, surrounded by a black metal spiked fence of gothic style. In the middle of the courtyard, there were six people. Five of them had grey cloaks covering their bodies, with hoods obscuring their faces; they stood in a crescent moon shape, surrounding the sixth one, standing in the exact middle of the courtyard, wearing a black cloak with yellow and red decorated edges.
Behind them, there was a narrow bridge leading to a tall white tower. At the bottom of the tower, by the end of the bridge, a strange red vortex spun in a fluid motion, between two pillars.
They approached the cloaked people, and before getting too close, a deep cavernous voice seemed to echo through the whole castle and its surroundings.
"You have finished all the six trials. We commend you."
One by one, the people in grey cloaks started to take off their hoods, revealing their faces: first Drie, then Ruche, Ganz, Soshiki and Jade. They started to clap enthusiastically, except for Jade, who was trying his best not to look Diavolo or Doppio eye to eye and clapped more slowly. After a moment of respectful and silent cheering, the one wearing the black cloak rose his hand up and the others immediately stopped.
"You have achieved something many have attempted, but few completed. In the face of all of our challenges, you stood strong and persevered. Now you have reached the end of your trials, and so you deserve answers."
His eyes started to glow red as he finished his sentence. Over his robe now hovered a thin veil of dark mist.
"Nameless, this means that you..."
"Ah yes. I do not believe we have been properly introduced."
He stepped forward, and the others around him kneeled and bowed in respect.
"My original name has been forgotten long ago, but ever since I have been known as..."
"The Blind King."
Both Doppio and Diavolo felt intimidated by his presence, yet they did not bow, preferring silent respect. Diavolo felt the need to say something.
"Nam- Blind King... you said you were going to answer our questions?"
The Blind King nodded in agreement.
"Absolutely. Ask whatever you like, Diavolo."
"If that is the case, I want to know it all. Everything."
"Very well. I shall explain to you everything that has led us to this moment."
The moon turned red and the crimson light reflected on the clouds and the castle. The white tower on the horizon was now tinted red, as the Blind King began to talk.
"Many eras ago, I was the King of a great nation. My influence was great, yet not omnipresent. One day, we had discovered a strange golden mineral with supernatural properties. We used it to create special artifacts in the shape of daggers, and with it, we discovered the existence of stands. It was also when I acquired my own stand, Nightmare King."
"With me and my troops now possessing stands, my power grew exponentially, and soon I had complete control over not only my own kingdom but had now expanded it by annexing neighboring nations, fallen by the hands of our unbeatable army. We set our eyes towards more and more nations, and set our plan for our empire. By my side, I had my trusted counselor and beloved brother, Angelus."
For a moment, Diavolo glanced at Doppio, who payed attention to the Blind King's words and didn't notice him.
"One day, we heard the word of a possible uprising, led by one of my generals and a recruit to the army. We quickly mobilized two teams: one to get information on their plans, and the other to eliminate them. Despite our best efforts, the elimination squad had little success, only being able to eliminate the rogue general and another member of their group, but not stopping them completely. It was when the information team managed to get ahold of their plans: they had discovered another artifact, one bound to a legend that claimed it to have greater power than the other stand giving artifacts."
"Me and Angelus decided to deal with them ourselves before they could reach this artifact. When they were about to acquire it, we faced them. It was a long battle, but when there were only 3 of them left, and after losing my eyesight to an injury and having Angelus die, I managed to get ahold of the artifact, and stabbed my own stand with it. It was then that I achieved the ultimate evolution of my stand,"
"Nightmare King Requiem."
Diavolo and Doppio seemed shocked upon hearing that.
"You... you...!"
"You acquired the Requiem!"
"That is right. Nightmare King Requiem, with abilities beyond anyone's wildest dreams. With my ultimate power, I managed to kill two more traitors, but the last one, the rogue recruit, managed to escape. I had lost much in that fight, but had achieved immeasurable power, with which I was able to complete my plans and build my empire. It was then that I was given the title of The Blind King."
"Years had passed and my empire grew exponentially, but one day, he returned. Being able to somehow fool me, the last remaining traitor was able to get ahold of the ultimate artifact and harvest its power for itself: Golden Age Requiem."
The name made Diavolo flinch, before falling to his knees while screaming in terror.
"AAHH... AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!"
"Boss?! BOSS! What is going on."
"Yes, Diavolo, Golden Age Requiem, much like Gold Experience Requiem, was the one to bring upon my doom. With its ability, it trapped me within my mind. Because of my Nightmare King Requiem, my mind was unable to die, and existed on its own as an ethereal presence, inhabiting the space between universes, the intraverse."
Diavolo had stopped screaming but felt too overwhelmed to speak. Doppio, however, realized something.
"Wait... does that mean...!"
"Yes, Vinegar Doppio, this place, this castle, we are all inside my mind. As my braindead body died and rotted away, I was kept alive by my stand, unable to do anything..."
"...that is... until I discovered something else."
"For you see, as my beloved brother sacrificed himself for me, it was exactly when my stand was stabbed by the artifact, but at the same time as Angelus's own stand, Red. The result was a union of our stands, and an evolution of his own stand, now under my control, Scarlet."
"Scarlet has the ability to travel through the intraverse, beyond my mind, and even into other universes. And it was during one of these incursions that I discovered something fascinating: there were others like me."
"Other like me, others thrown into other kinds of unending punishments. All of them, without exceptions, by the hands...
"...of a Golden Requiem."
"It was when I discovered my curse, something that would haunt not only me, but all the versions of myself in any given universe. All would suffer different versions of the same fate. So I decided to do something about it."
Diavolo had recomposed himself, although still shaking.
"So you mean to say... that you are the one that has brought me here?"
"Yes, Diavolo."
"This can't be... before I got here, I remember being visited by... Gold Experience Requiem. It told me it was giving me a chance of redemption. Why was that?"
"Your destiny was... a bit more difficult to overcome than the rest. Different from the others, your punishment involved infinite amounts of deaths occurring in various universes. In order to get you to the intraverse and then in my mind, I needed Gold Experience Requiem to get you there. To do that, I used one of my Requiem's ability, manipulation."
"Manipulation...?"
"That is correct. By using the infinite range of Scarlet to access your original universe, I took over the mind of Gold Experience Requiem, the stand of Giorno Giovanna, and used it to trick him into releasing you from shifting between universes, finally being able to bring you to me."
"That is... that is too much information for so little time..."
"But there is more. Many others like you have gotten here, tried and failed my trials. The only ones that succeeded were the ones you fought. The others..."
A scarlet light shone over the abyss beneath the platform they stood in, revealing piles and piles of bones and skulls, littering the ground by the castle floor.
"Boss... are those...?"
"Those who failed their trials, Vinegar Doppio, yes.
"Oh my god..."
"I can answer any other answers you desire, still."
Stopping to think a little better, Diavolo came to a realization.
"Wait a moment... why did you need me? And whatever the reason, why the trials? Why risk the life of someone that might be useful to you, if that is even the case?"
"As I had said, my body is long gone, but my mind lives on. In this situation, I am unable to walk in any universe, as I am unable to leave my own mind. That is..."
"...unless I have a vessel."
Diavolo looked at him with apprehension in his eyes.
"So you need me... as a body?"
"Not exactly. A vessel of mine still has control of their body and mind, differently than someone that is being mind-controlled. Except my mind will also exist alongside theirs and my powers will enhance their own. This is why I planned the trials, to find and choose those strong enough to become part of my army and my vessel."
"But why would you want to walk the world again? Hasn't it been years? What is there to do if all you knew is long gone?"
"What is there to do? Simple: I want to reconquer our empires."
Diavolo's eyes widened and shone.
"...go on."
"All these years, making trials for those like me, choosing only the best, my ultimate vessel, so I could finally walk the world again, with an army and a body. Together, we would be able to defeat the Golden Requiems and reclaim our empires, and then expand it, an empire shared between universes."
"So now, Diavolo, now I have explained to you my motivations, my desire to reconquer what is ours by right, and so I will tell you my true intent:"
"Join me, Diavolo, my strongest champion, lead this army with me, and together we will defeat the curse of the Golden Requiems that have rained dread upon all of our lives. Accept my offer, and you shall become the king of all kings."
Doppio was surprised by the Blind King's words, and turned to Diavolo to see if he could understand what was going on.
"Boss, is this... Boss?"
But Diavolo was lost for words, intensely staring at nothingness, frozen still.
"I... I..."
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All trials completed
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Blind King's Offer: Not Yet Answered
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Stand User: Diavolo
Stand Name:「King Crimson」
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Stand User: Vinegar Doppio
Stand Name:「Knight Watch」
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