A World of Lies
The city was gone.
Everything—the execution platform, the buildings, the streets—all swallowed by a shifting, endless desert.
Akira felt the heat pressing down on him, sweat forming on his forehead almost instantly. The air shimmered, making it impossible to tell what was real and what was an illusion.
His heart pounded. He turned, scanning the dunes, searching for his teammates—
They were there. Hiroshi, Daisuke, Yuki, and Mei stood a few feet away, but something was wrong.
They looked distant. Unfocused.
"Hey!" Akira shouted. "Stay together!"
No response.
They weren't ignoring him.
They couldn't hear him.
Akira clenched his fists. This was Cetz's power.
This wasn't a simple illusion.
This was a prison.
---
The Phantom's Game
A laugh echoed across the dunes.
A familiar, mocking voice.
"Welcome to my world, Akira."
Akira turned sharply, his sharp gaze locking onto a figure standing on top of a distant sand dune.
Cetz.
His long coat billowed in the desert wind, his golden chains gleaming under the scorching sun.
His smirk was the same as always—the smirk of a man who had already won.
"You should've stayed in hiding," Cetz continued, his voice unnaturally clear despite the distance. "Did you really think you could sneak into my trap and walk away?"
Akira's jaw tightened. "Where's Nao?"
Cetz tilted his head. "Oh, she's here. In fact..."
He snapped his fingers.
From behind him, a new figure emerged.
Akira's breath caught.
Nao Mizushima.
But—something was wrong.
Her eyes were dull, her posture rigid. She stood like a puppet waiting for commands.
A creeping dread spread through Akira's chest.
Cetz was controlling her.
---
The Desert of Endless Enemies
The ground shook.
The sand dunes rippled, shifting like a living organism.
Figures **rose from the sand—**dozens, no, hundreds of shadowy warriors. Their faces were blank, their bodies formed from pure illusion, yet their weapons gleamed real.
Hiroshi tensed, gripping his katana. "What the hell—?!"
Daisuke took a step back, his hands clenched into fists. "Are they real?"
Akira narrowed his eyes. It didn't matter.
If they could kill, they were real enough.
"Form up!" he ordered. "If we fight separately, we're dead!"
Cetz snapped his fingers again.
The sand warriors charged.
---
A Battle Against Shadows
Hiroshi vanished in a blur, appearing in the midst of the enemy horde. His katana flashed, cutting down three enemies in a single stroke. Their bodies collapsed into sand—
Only to reform instantly.
"Damn it!" Hiroshi growled, flipping back just as another warrior swung a massive spear at him.
Daisuke moved at blinding speed, his Gale Phantom creating sharp bursts of wind as he dodged and counterattacked. He struck one enemy in the chest, sending them flying back—
But more rose from the dunes.
Yuki leapt into the air, flinging kunai in every direction. Each one hit its mark, piercing the enemies straight through the head—
Yet they kept moving.
Mei slashed through the warriors with Razor Symphony, her Stand's blades cutting through them like paper. But no matter how many they cut down—more appeared.
"They're not stopping!" Mei shouted.
Cetz laughed from his vantage point. "That's the thing about illusions, Akira."
He spread his arms.
"As long as I say they're real—they are."
---
Akira's Counterattack
Akira gritted his teeth. They couldn't keep fighting forever.
There had to be a way out.
Think, Akira.
Illusions followed rules.
They weren't just random chaos—they had structure.
And if Cetz's illusions were powerful enough to be real, then that meant—
There had to be a source.
Akira's sharp eyes scanned the battlefield. Among the moving dunes and endless warriors, there was one thing that never moved.
A single unmoving shadow in the distance.
Akira's eyes narrowed.
"There."
He pointed. "Everyone, focus all attacks on that spot!"
Hiroshi didn't hesitate. He vanished in a burst of speed, appearing directly above the shadow.
His katana flashed down.
The moment it connected—
The world cracked.
---
Breaking the Illusion
The desert shattered.
The heat vanished.
The sand dissolved, revealing pavement beneath their feet.
The city had returned.
They were back.
Cetz was gone.
Akira's breath was heavy, but he barely had time to process their victory—
Because on the execution platform—
Nao Mizushima still knelt.
Her body was trembling.
Her hands clutched her head.
And then—
She stood.
Her movements were stiff, unnatural.
She slowly lifted her gaze—
And Akira's heart sank.
Her eyes were completely blank.
---
A Puppet Against Her Will
A slow clap echoed through the square.
Akira turned sharply—
A new enemy had stepped forward.
A man dressed in all black, his presence like a void in reality itself.
Takashi "Void" Nakamura.
His Stand, Abyss Waltz, flickered around him—a shifting mass of darkness.
He smirked.
"You handled Cetz well," he said, his voice eerily calm. "But now…"
He gestured to Nao.
"Let's see how you handle fighting someone you care about."
Nao lunged.
Her Stand, Crimson Reverie, activated instantly—the very air filled with blood-red whips of liquid steel, striking toward Akira with deadly precision.
Akira barely dodged, the razor-sharp tendrils slicing through the ground where he had stood.
His stomach twisted.
Nao was fighting against her will.
He gritted his teeth.
This battle wasn't just about survival.
It was about saving her.
---