What has become of my mind?
***
The stone hall was illuminated by the orange tint of the dawn and the faint light of the dancing flames that burned on the torches on the wall. The place was large and tall, with many stone pillars holding the building together. A dark red velvet carpet extended all the way from the tall dark wood door on one side to a throne on the other. It was a throne made of stone, decorated with pieces of gold and velvet cushions, making the royal seat comfortable for the man who sat upon it.
His body was slender, yet with visibly strong muscles. His face was clean and beardless, and his eyes has a red iris. His long black hair fell upon his back and hand, as he sat on his throne with his head resting upon his right hand. His legs covered with plain black pants and shoes stood crossed in front of him, and their dark color accentuated the red tattoo on his bare chest, in the shape of a crescent moon. The man looked impatient, meditating by himself.
Suddenly, the tall door at the opposite end of the room opened, and from it came a man. He looked younger than the man on the throne, although his face and body structure looked similar. His hair was red and he wore a dark red cloak that covered his entire torso. He had black pants and shoes. His semblance was of worry as his heavy footsteps echoed through the hall. The man on the throne raised his hand as he began to speak.
"My dearest brother and counselour, you have returned at last. What news do you bring me, Angelus?"
Angelus, the young man, approached him with a hurry, handing the man a bloody golden insignia slightly bigger than a coin.
"My brother and King, I bring you bad news. The last of the execution squad has been killed by the traitors. The information squad has just delivered me this news. They have managed to find out where the traitors are heading."
He had heard of a group of traitors that had emerged inside the ranks of his mighty army recently. An army that had been given unbeatable powers through the unknown abilities of an ancient golden artifact. Two groups had been sent towards the traitors, one to investigate their trials and the other to stop them and their plans before they went too far. After all, one of the heads of the traitor team was once one of his most revered generals, along with a newcomer to his army.
But at last, the squad that he sent to eliminate them had little success against the traitors, being able to eliminate the rogue general, but not the newcomer and some of his allies. The stories told of an artifact even more powerful than the one the King's army possessed, one that remained hidden for all this time, guarded by an unknown guardian, and that was where the traitors were going. Angelus explained his King and brother about the artifact and the threat it posed if even one of the traitors put their hands on it.
"I see... And tell me, brother, how far are they from reaching the artifact?"
"As I have been informed, they are getting closer. If we are to solve this situation, we must send another group away right now."
"I beg to differ, my dear brother..."
The man got up from his throne, with a serious and determined look.
"These traitors have gone too far already, and I fear that no matter how many squads we send towards them, they will persist. Their stands are strong, but their will is stronger. I reckon, dear brother, that we have no more choice."
He disappeared, and reappeared behind his brother, putting both hands on his shoulders.
"Fetch me my cloak, Angelus."
The young man extended his hand towards a black cloak that rested on one of the arms of the throne. A red small and slender being without a face manifested near him, and the cloak reappeared in his hand before he handed it to his brother.
"We must do it ourselves. Their stands are strong, but our stands are stronger; their will is great, but ours is greater. We will defeat these traitors once and for all, and make it clear to all of our kingdom that we are not going to fall by the hands of subordinates and traitors. We will prevail and our kingdom will continue to grow."
He was determined to defeat these traitors and harness the power of the artifact for himself,
for this man was Animo Arbiter,
King of the great kingdom of Concordia.
"Let us go, Angelus. We finish this today."
And he was going to cement his rulership as absolute, no matter the cost.
***
Animo and Angelus arrived at the entrance of the ruins of an ancient temple. It was made from a once bright yellow stone whose shine had already faded away but whose mystique appearance was kept intact. They wore black cloaks with long hoods that concealed their faces in darkness. As they approached the arches of the gateway, they could hear voices coming from inside.
"Be careful, King. We might know about the abilities of some of them, but their leader's stand is still unknown to us."
"Have the informants not told us about his ability? Why is that?"
"It is unknown to them as observers. His ability seems to be something that cannot be noticed by an outsider's perspective."
"I see... then we must be careful. They do not know our stands, so we have an advantage over them."
They went further into the ruins of the temple, following the voices that echoed along the halls, getting louder by the minute. They eventually arrived at a corner that led to a doorway, and the voices were now loud and discernable.
"It is no doubt that he is the sage..."
"What about the artifact? Do you think the stories are true?"
"I assure you, traitors of the king, that this is the artifact that has been spoken of in legends."
"We must have a way to assure it, Lucius! We can't just trust him! What if he was sent by the King?"
The otherwise dark hallway got shined upon by the sunlight that came from the next room, that seemed to lack a roof. Silent, Angelus peeked through the wall to see what was happening. He turned back to Animo and told him what he saw, whispering.
"It is them, brother, the traitors. There is also the sage that was mentioned by the legend. We can't be sure of what generation he is, but it does not matter now."
"What about the legend? Does it hold truth?"
"He conceals something in cloth, but I cannot see what it is."
"What about their positions?"
"We can hide behind some fallen pillars near this entrance, they are turned back to us. We just need the sage to not see us. The artifact is behind him, so he is going to turn any minute now, be ready."
As the old sage turned to grab the artifact covered in cloth, Animo and Angelus quickly and silently slithered into the room and hid behind a large fallen stone pillar. In the room stood 4 other people: the sage had a long robe that covered the entirety of his body, with skeletal hands and facial expression, the latter covered with a long white beard that contrasted its balding head; and there were 2 young men and a young woman.
The young woman had long orange hair and wore a green cape that covered both of its shoulders, descending by the left side of its body, and over bandage-like blue cloth that tightly covered the rest of her body, with the exception of a dress that was split in the middle.
"Felixa Epulari, soon to become a general, but not anymore. Why did such a prodigal member of my army choose this path?"
One of the young men wore simple pieces of dark blue light metal armor, including shoulder, knee and shin pads, along with a piece of armor that covered the top of its torso, exposing its belly. Its legs were mostly covered with simple orange cloth pants, and in its head, it wore a bronze helmet with blue highlights.
"Peritu Scopum, my finest marksman. It will be a shame to lose you, but we cannot tolerate traitors.
The last one had flowing medium length blonde hair. It wore a dark green cape over robes that hanged over its right shoulder and went all the way down to its waist, where a pair of yellow and green pants began, stopping at its naked feet. Its exposed chest revealed a star tattoo near its shoulder, pointing downwards.
"...and you... Lucius Lator, the one behind this foolish rebellion. You were smart enough to keep your abilities concealed, but I will not fall by your treacherous hands."
The sage turned back with the hidden artifact in hands. He took out the cloth and set it aside, finally revealing the artifact: a golden knife with intricate carvings along its blade, with a black leather handle and short silver guard. Its blade reflected the light of the sundown that shone upon the roofless room.
"This is it... the artifact. The Dias Irae, finger of God."
The sage said, rising the artifact high up above his head. The three young ones looked at it in awe. Peritu was the first to speak.
"The old man was right... this must be it!"
Then Felixa.
"Incredible... but will it work?"
And finally Lucius, who looked at it with a shine in his eyes and a serene expression.
"There is only one way we can find out."
From afar, still hidden, Animo and Angelus heard the conversation and peeked through their hideouts to see a glimpse of the artifact. Animo felt amazed by it and his mind was quickly overrun with all the great achievements he could make with such power in his hands. He looked at Angelus and nodded, and his brother nodded back.
The sage kneeled down and offered the Dias Irae to Lucius, but he had a question he needed answering.
"You have given us direction to find the clues and arrive in this temple, sage. What for? Why is it that you offer this to us, knowing our intent of betrayal against the King and kingdom?"
Without raising his head, the sage answered.
"My family has guarded the Dias Irae for centuries. We have hidden it away from many kings and their greedy ambitions, and have succeeded all of this time. But now... the King has too much power, enough that he will find this sacred shrine eventually, and get ahold of the Dias Irae. I cannot let that happen. He cannot have such power and roam free, or the world as we know it would feel his wrath. I have vowed to protect this artifact and not use it for myself, and I will respect this vow. Take it, noble savior, betrayer of evil and bringer of light, take it and make it sure that the King's claws shall never grasp the power this artifact holds."
Lucius closed his eyes in acceptance and reached for the artifact.
"Than I accept your offer, sage."
However, as he was about to touch the artifact, it suddenly disappeared. The sage, Peritu, and Felixa were perplexed, and Lucius's previously serene expression morphed into one of desperation and anguish.
"WERE IS IT?! WHAT HAPPENED"
"I believe you are looking for this."
Animo walked towards them, Angelus on his right side, as his stand Red handing him the artifact. On his left side, there was his own stand, Nightmare King.
"Thank you, old man, for giving me all of this information about the artifact. With this in my control, I shall reign supreme!"
The looks in everyone's faces were of shock, anger, and fear, with the exception of the King and his counselor.
"No way..."
"After all this..."
The sage clumsily stumbled towards Animo, reaching his hand trying to grab the artifact.
"No! You cannot have it! You cannot handle its power!"
The sage's voice was immediately silenced as Nightmare King's arm impaled his chest. The sage fell down in a pool of his own blood, lifeless.
"Foolish of you to oppose my will, old man. Your artifact, the Dias Irae, its mine!"
With anger on his face, Lucius ran at him, summoning his stand by his side. It had a humanoid appearance, wearing armor with swift golden stripe plates overlayed a rough white armor. It's golden armor covered its upper chest down to half the torso, including shoulder pads, hips, and groin; gauntlets that cover from the hands to the elbows, greaves that cover from the feet to the knees, and a mask on the helmet that covers the entire face without holes and culminated as crown on the top of the head.
"Golden Age!"
As it was about to hit Animo, he disappeared from Lucius' sight. Lucius immediately turned his head back and shouted.
"Felixa! Peritu!"
Animo instantly reappeared in another place a few meters away from Lucius, holding the artifact, when it suddenly fell from his hand. As he looked at his hand, he saw a large hole, from which derived no pain. Felixa was approaching him, and by his side was a humanoid being, its body entirely tied with pink and green bandages, with the exception of the hands with sharp fingers and the head, which was covered with a pink and blue helmet without eyes and a simple mouth.
"Holes In Happiness!"
She dashed to grab the falling artifact, as Animo turned to his brother.
"Angelus!"
Red dashed at the artifact with incredible speed, grabbing it as it instantly reappeared in the hands of Angelus. At that moment, an arrow came right at him, and its tip, shaped like a red heart morphed into a claw and grabbed the arrow, before flying into the air, backward and in a strange pattern, until it came back to Peritu, who held a silver war bow of strange design filled with contours.
"Aces High!"
The arrow came back to his hand before breaking, as he got ahold of the artifact and ran to Lucius.
"Come on, Luci! Grab this!"
As he got close to grasping the artifact mid-air, the sage's body was hurled at Lucius, making him fall to the ground. Teleporting to arrive faster, Animo approached the Dias Irae at a rapid pace. Before he could touch it, Lucius summoned Golden Age, who quickly punched the artifact far away into the sky, making it fly many meters and fall away from the temple.
"Angelus, come here!"
Angered but not yet defeated, Animo asked for his brother's assistance. Animo kneeled, making a platform with his hand for Angelus to step on, and propelling him up high. With Angelus in the air, Animo teleported under him and propelled him again, before Angelus made the same movement as he had done, as Animo teleported above him, making Angelus help him with his jump. High up in the sky above the temple, Animo could see the golden shine of the Dias Irae, fallen on the ground on the edge of a river, almost falling.
"There it is! Let's get it, Angelus!"
He fell down to the ground, teleporting under Angelus to cushion his fall, he quickly helped Angelus to get over the walls onto the temple's roof and teleported himself towards him, running at the direction of the artifact.
Lucius pushed the sage's corpse away from him and got up. He turned to Felixa and Peritu, with fearful eyes.
"We can't let him have the artifact! Let's go now!"
And so they ran towards the entrance of the room, quickly maneuvering through the hallways of the temple until they reached the entrance. They saw Animo and Angelus, quickly approaching the artifact. They ran after them, with Lucius ahead.
"Peritu, delay them!"
Peritu kneeled down, summoning his bow stand Aces High, and with a swift movement, grabbed an arrow from the quiver on his back, with an arrowhead shaped like a Clubs playing card suit, and shot it a few meters in front of Animo and Angelus. The latter noticed the movementation coming from behind them and quickly warned the King.
"Brother, watch out!"
He and Animo and held their left arms in front of their faces and stopped running, as the arrow hit the ground and exploded in tiny pieces of shrapnel.
"Peritu's stand Aces High's second arrow explodes after contact. Thankfully, the informants were correct about this one. This means the next one..."
"It doesn't matter, Angelus! They are approaching the Dias Irae! Let's go!"
By this point, the King and his counselor were farther from the artifact than their enemies, both groups coming from different directions, and desperately running to grab it. Considering the advantage of both of her enemies' stands, Felixa jumped towards the ground while attempting to grab the artifact. Animo was teleporting closer, when she summoned Holes in Happiness, who hit the ground and made a hole, in which fell the artifact, going down into the river and taken away by the rapid water flow.
Angered by that, Animo teleported near her and Nightmare King punched the torso of Holes in Happiness, making Felixa fall back injured before the King continued running by the riverside while trying to not lose sight of the artifact. Angelus was right beside him, as his stand attempted to grasp the artifact, but he was always a few inches away.
Lucius helped Felixa up, and seeing her injuries were not life-threatening, both of them and Peritu began to run after the King. Peritu shot another arrow, this one with the head shaped like a Spade suit, and it flew into the air, making its strange guided trajectory that followed the artifact. While Angelus attempted to grab the artifact, Red's hand was hit by the arrow, which pierced it with ease and left a large painful injury. Angelus pulled away his bloodied hand, trying to stop the bleeding while still running.
"Fuck! The piercing arrow! This means...!"
Animo, enraged by that situation and determined to get the artifact as soon as possible, began to sprint towards it, attempting to jump into the water, to grab it, when another heart-shaped arrow transformed into a claw and grabbed his foot, making him fall to the ground and pulling him backward. He attempted to teleport away from it, but it continued to reach him every time. At this moment, the hand of Golden Age hit Animo in the face, as Lucius had reached and surpassed him. He jumped into the water and grabbed the artifact, before using his stand to kick onto the surface bellow, making him jump high and land by the riverside.
Furious, Animo smashed the arrow that held him with Nightmare King, and teleported as fast as he could, immediately reaching Lucius. Their stands faced each other, exchanging punches, but Nightmare King proved to be stronger, knocking Lucius out and making the artifact fall to the ground. As Animo was dashing towards the Dias Irae and about to get it, another Clubs arrow hit the ground right in front of him, exploding instantly. The resulting shrapnel hit Animo in the face.
"Ugh... AAAAAAHHHHH!"
He held his bloody face with both hands, trying to clean it. But despite his best effort, he was still unable to unclog the blood that covered his eyes.
Or so he thought.
"Angelus... were are you?! Where is it... where is the Dias Irae! WHERE IS THE LIGHT?!"
In reality, no matter how much he tried, the explosion had permanently affected his vision. He began to blindly flail his arms around, trying to find the artifact without success.
Lucius calmly walked towards the artifact and got ahold of it.
"You will never achieve this much power. Your reign is over, King. Peritu, get him!"
Peritu nodded, before shooting a Spade arrow, going directly towards Animo's chest. He tried to blindly teleport around, but the arrow kept changing trajectory, and would inevitably reach its target, which got closer and closer.
"ANIMO!"
Angelus ran towards his brother and jumped in front of him at the last second. As he himself in front of his brother, the arrow pierced his chest, going through his heart and being stopped by Red's hand, which held the arrow and prevented it from going any further. As the arrow faded away, Angelus collapsed onto him, and Animo felt the blood of his brother tainting his chest.
"Angelus... Angelus! What happened, Angelus?! WHAT HAPPENED, BROTHER?! ANGELUS?!!"
He embraced his dying brother, unsure of what to do. Angelus turned his head towards him and reached his hand at the group of traitors, who had reunited.
"Brother... this is our chance..."
A faint glimpse of Red's arm glided on the air towards them.
"NO! WHERE IS IT?!"
Angelus gathered all the strength left in his body and put the Dias Irae into Animo's hand.
"Now... it is up to..."
His words were cut short as his conscience faded away. Angelus Arbiter was dead.
"No... brother..."
In the air above them, Nightmare King held Red on its arms, near its chest, now holding the Dias Irae.
"I will make this count... I promise you."
Lucius and his allies looked at Animo, and their faces were drained of hope. Lucius, desperate, shouted at Peritu.
"SHOOT ANOTHER ARROW, GRAB THAT THING NOW!"
Peritu complied, shooting the arrow at Animo.
"I promise you..."
But there was nothing more to do. Nightmare King drove the blade of Dias Irae into both its own chest and a fading Red, piercing them both at the same time. A bright light came from Animo, temporarily blinding Lucius and his allies.
At last, the light faded, and they began to slowly regain their vision, only to see Animo standing, Angelus' corpse lying by his feet, with his stand holding a broken arrow and with a new appearance, its head shaped like a crown.
"No... this can't be!"
Animo began to approach them, silently and slowly.
"Guys, we should get away from him... NOW!"
"Wait, Lucius! He is still blind, remember! We just need to-"
A strange spider-like arm appeared from the back of Animo's stand and went straight towards Peritu's forehead.
"PERITU!"
The young man immediately fell on his knees, alive, yet immobile. Animo was getting closer to him.
"Peritu, get up! He's gonna kill you!"
But the young man did not move. As Animo got near him, a swift blow to the neck decapitated Peritu Scopum. Felixa was horrified.
"PERITU! NOOO!!"
Another tentacle reached for her head, and much like her friend, she fell to the ground, on her hands and knees, with a shocked expression and breathing heavily. Animo got closer to her.
"FELIXA, FIGHT BACK!"
Without even stopping, Animo passed by her, as his stand's arm impaled her chest from behind. With a hole through her chest, Felixa Epulari layed dead on the ground, over a pool of her own blood.
Animo was slowly approaching Lucius, who was getting visibly kore tense by the second. At one moment he stopped, facing Lucius with his blind eyes and lack of expression. Desperate, Lucius decided on a last resort.
"GOLDEN AGE!"
The environment around them turned to gold and morphed into abstract shapes that only slightly resembled what they used to be a second before.
"I didn't expect to need this... but this is my ability. in this world, time will not flow, and we will not be able to harm one another immediately."
Animo did not seem to take much interest in what happened around him.
"So this is it, the information my spies failed to deliver me. I must say I am not impressed, but I will await your explanation."
"Look around you, King."
His vision had come back at that very moment, and in the golden tint, Animo saw past visions of him and his brother, various happy moments.
"You and your brother seemed close... and your kingdom grew strong, but what about now?"
The images turned into his generals, being killed one by one, finally culminating in the death of Angelus on his arms.
"These are the everlasting imprint of your failure, King. You might have attained this power, but at what cost? Your strongest generals dead, your army in ruins, you are blind and your counselor and brother bled out on your arms. You have nothing more to fight for, King."
Suddenly, the golden landscape was taken by a black mist, that seemed to taint it all around, making the whole surrounding black.
"Where you see failure, Lucius Lator, I see sacrifice. I might have lost my generals, and you might have killed my dear brother, but I gained something much more important than any of that."
He stopped for a moment, his eyes turning completely red, before they became white.
"An ability that scales its power based on guilt and defeated nature? Not bad, traitor, but you will need much more than that now."
Lucius became pale.
"How... how do you know my ability."
"I will put it simply: we are inside your mind, and I have access to its entirety. Your ability might have been useful before, but now, it has become entirely pointless against me. I have acquired the ultimate power, the ability to destroy anyone despite any power."
"This can't be!"
"Behold, Lucius Lator! This is Nightmare King Requiem! I know all the secrets of your mind now, and you have nothing that can defeat it!"
"How... is this the power of the Dias Irae?!"
"Correct, traitor. Now, look around you. Your last chance for fighting against me has crumbled, as I cannot be let down now, due to my unbeatable ability. You cannot kill me, Lucius, and I will find you eventually, no matter where you go. I will offer you a chance to die now and not suffer for the rest of your miserable life."
"NEVER!"
"Just think about this logically, traitor! Your allies are all dead, and you are powerless against me! I hold the only artifact able to stop Nightmare King Requiem and you cannot possibly touch it now. Give up before your life turns into a living hell."
Lucius summoned Golden Age and ran towards Animo, tears streaming down his eyes.
"I might have to experience hell, I might not have any allies, but I will not bow down to you! GOLDEN AGE!"
As Golden Age hit Animo, the landscape went back to normal, and his vision disappeared once again. Lucius quickly jumped into the river, disappearing from Animo's senses. He sat down.
"Angelus... this is for you. From now on, our kingdom will grow, much farther than ever before. I promise you I will make my Empire in your memory."
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
Stand User: Animo Arbiter
Stand Name:「Nightmare King Requiem」
_____________________________________________
Stand User: Angelus Arbiter (Deceased)
Stand Name:「Red」
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
Stand User: Lucius Lator
Stand Name:「Golden Age」
_____________________________________________
Stand User: Felixa Epulari (Deceased)
Stand Name:「Holes In Happiness」
_____________________________________________
Stand User: Peritu Scopum (Deceased)
Stand Name:「Aces High」
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
Many years had passed since that day, and Animo's words became reality. With his new power and unquestionable authority, he was able to expand his army and conquer neighboring kingdoms, forging his empire.
His cruelty and lack of emotions had become notorious, and those who were brought in front of him dared not refer to him by his name. Eventually, his name was forgotten even by himself, and in its place came the title he would become infamous for to the rest of his life:
The Blind King
He sat on his throne all day, permanently holding the golden dagger artifact that had become a symbol of his absolute power over his empire.
Although he had forgotten his own name, the Blind King could never forget about Angelus Arbiter, his former brother and catalyst of his empire. He had many counselors throughout the years, but none were as trusted or dear to him as his deceased brother ever was. But one of them was a close second.
By the age of 85, the Blind King had his 7th counselor as a man named Proditor, for whom he had a surprising affection, being one of the few people that experienced the King's momentary lapses of emotions, and the only living person the King ever considered his friend. Like many other counselors before him, the Blind King had used his ability to look through his mind in detail, day after day from the very first time they had met each other, and he saw nothing out of ordinary in that man. After years of being so cautious, he eventually came to trust this man to the point he felt no more need to do it.
One night, the two men were talking. As usual, the Blind King had asked for his personal guard to leave the room, as he did not suspect his counselor and did not require their services at those moments. They spoke to each other for hours, sharing stories and laughing.
"Ha ha ha, oh my King, you sure had great moments in your glorious life."
"You are too kind, my counselor, too kind indeed. You might not be as dear to me as my dear brother, heavens have him, but rest assured that I care for you almost as much."
"Your benevolence is remarkable, my King. But... I've been meaning to ask... what exactly happened to your brother? Of course, I heard the legends, but those lack a bit of detail if I have to be honest. I hope this isn't too personal of a question to your majesty, but would you care to explain to me what happened."
The Blind King sat silent for a moment, contemplating the possibility.
"Alright. I trust you enough to hear the reality. My dear old brother was killed by traitors, is the fact. He had a similar ability to me, and with his last efforts, he was able to save my life and grant me my absolute powers. Every stone, every arch, every single person in this kingdom, they are in the glory of my dear brother Angelus."
"I dare not ask details about your ability, King, but I must respect your deceased brother. I hope his dreams had become a reality with the rise of your glorious reign."
"Yes, yes. I am sure Angelus would be proud, wherever he is... Now, if I may, I want to change the subject, as this is bringing bad memories forward, and they make me feel the weight of my old age and tiredness all at once."
"Then you should rest, King. Your greatness deserves this luxury."
"Perhaps you are right, my friend. A quick nap would do me good."
He closed his eyes and drifted into sleep. Until suddenly his eyes opened wide. He heard a strange sound and his usually blind eyes felt the presence of a bright light.
"Proditor, what just happened? What was that?!"
But the councilor did not respond.
"PRODITOR, ANSWER ME NOW, WHAT JUST HAPPENED?"
He closed his fist and realized something.
He no longer held the Dias Irae.
Suddenly, his vision came back. He was in a completely black void. When he realized, Proditor began to walk towards him.
"Proditor... what is the meaning of this?"
"For long years, I had to endure you."
"Proditor, you are not making any sense, explain this all at once!"
"You dare call me by this fabricated name, Blind King. But I will refresh your memory."
The old man began to reverse his aging until he was young again.
"No... it can't be... you are...!"
"That is correct, King. It is me, Lucius."
"But... I have checked your mind multiple times over! There was no way I would not see this!"
"A new ally I could trust was all I needed. Brain Damage... the impressive ability to suppress and create memories inside one's mind... and the key for my disguise!"
"You... YOU DIRTY TRAITOR! I TRUSTED YOU, VERMIN! I WILL KILL YOU! I WILL KILL YOU FOR DARING TO MENTION MY BROTHER! NIGHTMARE KING REQUIEM!"
As Nightmare King Requiem advanced at Lucius, a barrier stopped its punch.
"WHAT?!"
Lucius smiled softly, revealing the Dias Irae in his hand.
"I said we were in your mind... but the fact is that you are the only one inside it right now."
His stand appeared behind him. Its appearance was much similar to its previous form, but its armor had much softer edges and its crown was much higher. It had a long white cape over its shoulders and a star on its chest with an image of the Dias Irae over it.
"For you see... you are trapped inside your mind, unable to do anything."
"Trapped inside... my mind?!"
"Yes, and the very barrier that holds you inside is powered by your own hopes of escaping. The higher the hope, the more impenetrable the barrier becomes."
"Then... then I just need to wait until I lose hope?!"
"Not quite, Blind King... even the perspective of escaping alive is a sort of hope, even if it derives from hopelessness."
"No way..."
"As long as you are alive, you cannot escape your own mind. Your body will eventually die, but due to your Nightmare King Requiem, your mind will live on. I cannot be sure of what happens after that, but I know that without a body to inhabit, you cannot escape your mind without risking your erasure from existence."
"THIS IS MY REVENGE, MY LAST EFFORT! GOLDEN AGE REQUIEM!"
"Bu- but what about the Empire?! They will suspect you!"
"Of me? Your only friend? Face reality, Blind King, you have no successor and I'm the closest thing to that. The people will accept me. It is my time to correct your wrong, and it is your time to step down, from throne and life."
Lucius turned back and walked away, aging back to his current appearance.
"COME BACK HERE, LUCIUS! LUCIUS! COME BACK HERE, YOU COWARD! LUCIUUUUUUUUUSSS!!!!!"
***
And so the Blind King's reign ended. He was still able to watch what unfolded with his braindead body from an outsider's perspective. Despite the empire's best efforts, they were not able to keep the body alive forever, and it eventually faded away. He watched it powerless within his black void of a mind. As the years passed, he lost the grasp on his own identity and appearance, until he was nothing but a skeleton within a black cloud and red eyes.
After many years, oblivious to the world he had left, he began to think about his prison and discovered that his powers within his own mind were almost limitless. He began to build a structure for himself, a castle beyond his wildest dreams built with precision and finesse. Upon completion, it had become a place suitable for a king, maybe even a god. However, he felt increasingly more lonely, and that gave him more time to harness his hatred for his condition.
That is, until he saw a man, falling endlessly in a void. The man was not there in his presence, and yet he felt his essence somehow. It was then that the Blind King discovered another ability, that had been hidden all of this time. As he reached for the falling man, a red stand appeared before him, and brought the man towards him: Scarlet, last remain of Angelus' stand Red, integrated with his own and given a Requiem.
He helped the man get up and they began to talk. The Blind King found out about his situation and realized how close to his own life it was. Years went by as he spoke to the man, until he realized that he could use the man's body to escape his prison. Lucius was supposed to be dead by now, and his Requiem's ability no longer held him there, although he had no body to return to. Yet. He decided to put the man on a trial, to test his abilities, but much to his demise, the man was too weak and perished.
Many years passed, and many more came. He set the structure to test them, to find out if they would be strong enough to carry his mind into the real world, and most failed miserably. Millenia had passed, and in the end, there were only 5.
But now, there were 6...
***
The crimson moonlight shone upon the courtyard. The 5 robed people stood around a man, on his knees and devastated: Diavolo, survivor of the trials and next champion. The Blind King approached him from behind, putting his skeletal hands on his shoulder.
"Doppio..."
"It is alright now, Diavolo. You have become one of us. We will do great things together, reconquer our empires and lay hell upon those who set this curse upon our lives."
Diavolo had a somber expression, looking at the ground beneath him. The other approached him from the side, putting their hands on his shoulder as well.
"Welcome, Diavolo..."
"...to the Council of Kings."
***
Vinegar Doppio arrived in a strange city, filled with people he did not know. He hid on an alley and sat down, cleaning the tears off his face.
"Diavolo... Blind King... I'll find you both. No matter how long it takes... I promise."
He rose up to his feet and drifted away into the darkness of the alleyway, disappearing from sight.
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Stand User: Lucius Lator (Deceased of old age)
Stand Name:「Golden Age Requiem」
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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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Stand User: The Blind King
Stand Name:「Nightmare King Requiem」
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In the Court of the Blind King
The End
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