Chapter Text
So a story starts like this, in every possible branches of the universe:
Once upon a time, once upon a time,
Once upon a time,
There was a boy named God.
-
Jotaro kills a God.
It's almost anticlimactic, how it ends.
DIO lies limp on the streets of Egypt, his majestic gold-and-silver Stand slowly melting into the air; their starlit eyes burning into nothingness and beyond as their owner convulses on the dirty asphalt beside their silent figure.
Jotaro feels nothing.
There's no victorious glee, no broken sympathy, not even a sigh of relief as the bane of his existence breaks apart in front of his eyes- there's only a small sense of responsibility and a bit of tiredness left in his battle scarred mind, a small piece of ember left in the burnt out pile of ash that makes him trudge his way across the street to witness a death of a God.
Jotaro kneels beside him, the ends of his coat pooling in the blood seeping from the body.
He briefly considers snapping his neck via star platinum, but after a second of thinking he decides that he needs to suffer more for the sake of everyone.
So he simply observes,
Waiting.
DIO laughs.
It's broken and fragile, grin slightly crooked in pain, but It's one of absolute victory, one of absolute madness.
"I will reach the heavens, Joestar." He declares, voice raspy but unwavering. "Whatever you do, whatever you try- you cannot stop me."
"And why is that, pray tell."
DIO smiles. His entire lower torso is gone, his voice turning into raspy gasps, but he manages a small laugh as he reaches a hand up in the air, pointing towards the sky with burning passion.
"Because the world always ends; it will never go further. You are stuck in endless loop with future nonexistent- Your efforts are useless, Jotaro."
"Not even a god-" a small cough. "-Not even a god has the power to alter the fate of the universe."
The World Over Heaven fizzles, shudders, struggles, screams; gold and silver melting in the air, unable to move.
(DIO continues to smile.)
"The state where you never fear the future. The state where you have control over everything. The state where everything happened in the past. I will always reach the heavens, and you cannot stop it."
His arm falls to the side, the sky falling away from his grasp, his laughter fading into nothing but a puff of air.
And It's over.
Just like that.
-
The boy was born in a terrible household.
His mother is the one who names him Dio , short but daring, smiling to herself as the small child with eyes brighter than a set of rubies laugh at the call of his name.
She was a brilliant woman with beauty unfaltering, but cruel fate had cursed her the worst of existence; she fell ill in the after all she went through, her weak and fragile body not being able take the abuse she was taking from her husband.
(She was gone before the boy even learned to say proper sentences- the only keepsake of his memory of the loving mother dissolving into dirty copper coins in the hands of the barkeep.)
His father, a terrible human being and an alcoholic, does what most alcoholic scums do- absolute destruction of a family.
He's a scum of the earth that does not have any purpose in life but to drown himself in the void of intoxication; his laziness preventing him from providing for the family, throwing them deeper down the abyss of poverty. What's left of the tiny amount of money burns away faster than a split bottle of alcohol, leaving the small boy in nothing but the clothes on his back.
Now, if one was a normal child there would have been two futures ahead for this boy: he would have ended up as a broken human being, entirely worthless than a lapdog of a rich noble woman, drowning his life in intoxication of alcohol.
Or, for a much better option- he would have died in a ditch.
But he doesn't.
(He refuses to.)
So the boy runs into the shadow of the alleyways, escaping one evil to run into another: the depths of Ogre Street, a perfect place for the small child to learn and prosper.
He learns how easily people can be manipulated, how easily they are tricked into thinking that there were willing to listen.
He learns how to charm, he learns how to lie, he learns how to smile with the faux nativity of a child.
He learns how to rule, how to deceive, how to survive-
How to control.
He claws his way up until there's nowhere else to rise- he glows like the sun in the darkest alley of London, tugging at the strings of people rotting in the shadows.
He thrives, he controls, he rules above unapposable.
(He withers, he rots, he breaks apart unsalvageable.)
He's twelve years old when he pours liquid death into a bottle of gin, watching the monster wither into nothing with a crooked sense of glee.
He's twelve years old when he sets foot out of the extravagant carriage, staring into the eyes of the man who he would call his brother for the rest of his days; broken red burning into pure blue as the boy laughs, oblivious.
"I'm Jonathan Joestar!"
The small boy smiles and offers a hand, his sapphire eyes sparkling in childish anticipation.
"What's your name?"
"My name is Dio Brando." He smiles back.
(His smile is absolutely fake, only years of living under a faked mask managing to make it look genuine; a mask of childish naivety covering the crooked mess underneath.)
"It's a pleasure to meet you."
He's only twelve years old when he destroys the world.
-
Jotaro watches the gold and silver stand fizzle into the air, watches Dio's ethereal golden eyes dull into a sheen of rusted bronze; lifeless and empty.
It's over.
The streets are eerily quiet once more, heavy with the heat of the night; the atmosphere calm and comforting like as if nothing ever happened in the first place.
Star Platinum Over Heaven quietly observes, forged into something more than a simple stand; eyes glowing like a eternal star as he observes, observes.
Jotaro- no, The New God of The Universe does not hesistate- he stands up, dusts his pants, and looks up to his newly minted stand.
(He's still a child. A child, small and scared against every possible moment that had happened between Star Platinum and the end of The World; unprotected and unarmed against the death and destruction that was pelted ruthlessly ever since he pulled the Star card from the deck of tarots.
He's too terrified to feel anymore.
He doesn't want this. He doesn't want to be a god, left alone in a shrine elevated upon corpses. He does not want to be praised with any heroic deeds, does not want the fate of the universe on his shoulders.
He just wants to go home.)
"Let's go back." He breathes, broken and bloody and tired, tired.
And life goes on.
-
So the story goes on like this, in every possible branches of the universe:
The boy grows up to be a manipulative monster, one determined to drain power and money from the clueless family that accepted him with open arms, determined to rule supreme over his newfound brother. He convinces everyone that he is superior, making Jonathan a unrecognizable figure of a failed sibling; a mere shadow lingering behind his glorious brother.
He steals everything- glory, fame, reputation- determined to leave him with a broken shell and nothing more.
But Jonathan Joestar persists, refusing to yield, finally lashing out when push comes to shove; he decks him in the face screaming in anger and desperateness.
(Dio loses, of course. No-one can fight against a Joestar in a battle of pure strength.
He learns that some people- a rare, small amount, but some- refuse to break over stress.)
So he changes his plans, one of deception shifting into one of pure, compressed malice; he pours liquid death into the food of the very person who saved his life, the very person he called father his entire life.
The plan fails miserably.
(The expression of betrayal on Jonathan's face is both cathartic and terrifying. )
So he runs, runs, runs away with the stone mask in hand; the stone mask fits perfectly into his crooked smile, blessing him with power enough to destroy everything in his sight.
He destroys and destroys until there is nothing left to destroy but himself, destroys and destroys until his brother pulls the madness to a stop- choosing to burn their life away in the happiest moment of his life.
So they burn together, head cradled in his arms, only two souls spared in the end.
But there are many things that Jonathan Joestar does not get to know.
He does not get to know that Dio's kindness burned away when he was just a child; heart broken beyond repair even before he understood words.
He does not get to know that Dio will steal his body and torment many, many souls- he does not get to know that his bloodline always will be cursed with his presence, fated for a constant battle.
He does not get to know that the world will end in his very own hands; a head upon a stolen throne, a broken god blessing a priest with a pure man's hand.
(He does not get to know that he threw his life away for nothing.)
-
-Jotaro falls, head split in two.
He tried everything, he thinks bitterly.
He can do nothing but watch Jolyne's expression shift from fear and confusion into that of absolute horror; a guttural "NO!" escaping her as she claws the air in an attempt to catch the most powerful man on earth from his fall.
Time accelerates - the skies and the stars and the moon and the sun all blending into a soft blanket of glistening, beautiful gold - making his death quicker than anything anyone ever could imagine.
And It's over.
Just like that.
-
Empolio watches the world end.
The ones he loved are all dead, replaced by meaningless replicas.
It's not beautiful as Pucci once proclaimed.
It's not terrifying as Weather once insisted.
It's just,
It's just.
Sad.
-
When Jotaro wakes, there's nothing more to spare.
It's only him and his stand left in the shadow of the universe that once existed; the end of all worlds, a terminus of time.
(A fucking void.)
It's over , Jotaro mutters, cradling his head between his knees. It's over. It's over. It's over-
-I failed.
You did , Star Platinum agrees.
There are no remorse nor glee in his voice- only an echoing affirmation.
You failed miserably.
He looks up to the stellar eyes of God himself, hair black as the void flowing down his shoulders as he watches his master, observing, observing.
Waiting.
I can try again , Jotaro thinks. I should try again.
I can do better this time. Save everyone.
Save the entire universe-
"-Even a god cannot change the fate of the universe." , Star Platinum repeats DIO's words, head tilting to the side as he cuts off his words.
Over Heaven is a stand created for one soul only, He continues.
You could alter fates of one's who were born, but you cannot alter the fate of the Universe.
You can always try and dig new ditches on the stream, but the fact that they would one day reach the sea cannot be altered.
You cannot see the end of DIO, whatever you choose to redo.
Then what should I do? Jotaro asks.
What can I do ?
It takes an eternity, a fraction of a second, but in the end there's an answer.
There's nothing you can do but to destroy this Universe. Star Platinum concludes, cold and calculating.
Destroy everything that is left of this cycle, destroy everything until there is nothing left to spare.
Destroy everything, including yourself.
A blink.
Write a story that didn't exist before.
Write a story that shouldn't have existed before.
"Would it make a difference?" Asks Jotaro, voice barely over a whisper.
"Would it make, however miniscule it may be, a dent in the fate of that universe?"
Yes, Star replies. It will.
(Only an echoing affirmation.)
...Then I'm going for it.
So,
-
Jotaro Kujo sits in the dark cell once more, alone and empty, surrounded by nothing but nothing;
He looks up to the silent figure standing before him and whispers 'Evil Spirit' before bringing a gun to his head.
And just for once, just for once,
Star Platinum does not catch the bullet.
And It's over.
Just like that.
-
「Star Platinum Over Heaven」-!
-
So a story goes like this, in a single, seemingly unnoticeable branch of the universe:
Once upon a time, Once upon a time-
Once upon a time, there was a boy named god.
The boy was born in a terrible household.
His mother is the one who names him Dio, short but daring, smiling to herself as the small child with eyes brighter than a set of rubies laugh at the call of his name.
She was a brilliant woman with beauty unfaltering, but cruel fate had cursed her the worst way of existence; she fell ill in the after all she went through, her weak and fragile body not being able take the abuse she was taking from her husband.
But she survived.
A miracle, they say- the neighbors were more than surprised when sickly Maria Brando suddenly got out of her bed and started to work for her family, her small son trailing behind her like a shadow.
It changes seemingly nothing, but the boy is ever thankful to whatever entity that let her live; It does not lessen the utmost disaster that is his father, but he learns how to love and love back, quietly sobbing in the warmth of his mother's embrace as she whispers comfort into his ears.
She succumbs to the same illness years later, but it's quiet different- Maria takes her last breath surrounded by the people she loved and cared for, her small son holding her hand until last of the warmth leaves her body, choking back tears with the consolation of his new brother.
So the story goes on like this, in a single, seemingly forgettable branch of the universe:
The boy grows up to be a man.
-
The ship burns.
The fire burns, burns, burns until the dark curls of acrid woodsmoke bleeds into every inch of the small chamber, until the blinding heat licks against his skin and burns his lungs, drying his tears into a painful trail of burning salt on his cheeks.
His vision is filled with bright black and scarlet- the wisps of smoke slowly merging into a dark cloud of destruction, aiding the fire as it licks its way towards the small, untouched compartment with the fierceness of the rolling tides.
Jonathan lays limp against his arms- his sapphire eyes are unfocused and dulled, even the angered flicker of the orange flames bouncing off his irises failing to give them an illusion of liveliness.
Blood pools on his lap, the stench of rotten iron creeping in with the bite of ash and dust; but Dio is too tired to care anymore.
"Dio." Jonathan gasps, quietly struggling to form words with his damaged windpipe. "Dio, I-"
A weak smile.
"Dio, I'm- I'm terribly, terribly sorry."
Too late for that, too late for that; It's too late for an apology and too early for forgiveness, but Dio finds himself nodding- a sign of acknowledgement, of acceptance.
It's enough for the both of them.
"Don't you dare die." Dio wheezes, half laughing and half choking in the thick smokey air. "Don't you dare. You made me climb onto your loveboat and left me to roll as an ultimate third wheel. I won't let you die until you repay me somehow."
Jonathan laughs, soft smile settling on his lips as he stares into his eyes.
(Broken blue burning into pure red.)
"Could you promise me something?" Jonathan asks, after a long beat of silence.
It's not a conscious sentence, not anymore- his eyes have already glazed over, but his pre mortem delirium struggles to hold what Jonathan Joestar stands for, struggles to breathe one last sentence for the sake of his ill fated brother.
Dio nods anyway.
"Please-" Jonathan smiles, bright and glowing as always.
"...Please take care of everyone."
There's a shrill ping of a piston dislodging, and in mere seconds the air explodes with an deafening roar; the wood crumbles like dust under his feet as he's ripped away from Jonathan, dropping dead into the dark waters below.
The ocean is cold, unforgivingly so; waves of ice slowly numbs his skin, swallowing the heat in a heartbeat and coaxing him into a suffocating blanket of nothingness. It drags him down, lower and lower; the comforting blue mixing into a quiet shade of the all absorbing black.
It'll be over, if you give up. Something whispers in the back of his mind, worn out and tired. Nothing will matter anymore. Only-
Fuck off , Dio screams back- anger and sadness and everything in between barely contained in the bubbles of air that forces their way out into the water.
Please let me be.
He fights, limbs flailing as he battles the death grip of the vortex- he struggles against his burning lungs until his limbs simultaneously give up at once.
His body is immediately swept away by the waves at full force, throwing his body like a rag doll in the wind; he slips in and out of consciousness until something knocks him harshly against a large wooden figure afloat at the surface.
Someone - Wait, good lord, it's Erina -screams his name from above, desperate shout muffled in the waves as she reaches a hand to blindly grab at his body.
He watches her hand grab at his lapel, wedding band shining solemn blue in the glow of the waves; there's a muffled scream and a strong tug, and with unbelievable force he's pulled up into the cool warmth of the air.
It takes a long time before he regains the ability to breathe, salt burning in his throat as he throws out seemingly endless amount of water forced in his system- Erina watches in slight horror and worry as he chokes out the last of the seawater, slumping against the side with adrenalin leaving his body completely.
"Erina, I-"
The embrace is unexpected- Erina throws herself into him nearly full force, knocking the air out of his lungs; she wraps an arm around his neck, the bundled child carefully set aside her lap.
"You bloody idiot!" Erina sobs, tears beading on the edge of her eyes as she shakes his shoulder in a mix of anger and relief. "I thought you died. I thought I lost-!"
I thought I lost everyone, goes the unfinished sentence.
I thought I would be left alone forever.
To be honest, I thought so too.
"It's okay." Dio murmurs into her embrace.
"It's all over. There's nothing left to do."
(They do not talk about Jonathan.)
(They both know enough.)
So they watch the ship burn from afar, broken and bloody and tired, tired; Erina sits on the middle of the absurdly large coffin, her arm tightly wrapped around the unnamed child, shielding her away from the freezing water- Dio leans against the edge, waves sloshing behind him as he slowly drifts into a dreamless sleep.
The ship named destiny sinks into the deep sea, leaving three souls behind and nothing more.
And it's over.
Just like that.