Stand

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The next morning, I waited for mother and father to wake up before asking them over to my crib. "Doing something weird again, son?" Mother asked, sitting in a chair.

"Kinda," I nodded. "I'm going to produce a golden arrow from my hammerspace and stab myself with it, which will grant me a potentially-amazing power."

"What?!" She stood. "No, you're not going to stab yourself with anything! What if you die?!"

"I won't die," I shook my head. 'Probably. '

"How does this arrow give you a potentially-amazing power , and how did you obtain it?" Father asked calmly, though his eyes were narrow with concentration.

"Sometimes my blessing just... gives me things? Like, I've got four swords, a card that will summon a friend from another universe, and the arrow. As for how, it says there's some kind of virus that you need a strong willpower to survive, which will awaken the metaphysical manifestation of your fighting spirit in the form of what's called a Stand," I explained. "Which, thanks to the sixth awakening, I can do with incredible ease."

"And why do you have to stab yourself with it? Why can't you just nick a finger?" Mother asked, calming down.

"The arrow might as well have a will of its own, which takes control of your body and forces you to fully embed it in yourself," I answered. "Which is why I want you both to stay back unless you want to pick it up and shove it through your throat."

"What?!" Mother screeched.

' Ah, I shouldn't have put it that way... ' I thought with a wry smile. "Don't worry, I can fully heal in about ten minutes thanks to my blessing, which will get rid of the sickness and whatever damage I cause to myself."

"I will do it first," Aedon said, reaching out a hand.

"You can't seriously be entertaining this idea," Rel grabbed her husband by his collar and yelled into his ear. "This could kill you, and then what would we do? The kingdom would be without a king, and we would be without you!"

"Alistair is confident this won't kill him, and you have healing magic," Aedon said. "Besides, I doubt some puny arrow can kill me. I've been shot before, and I survived."

"But you could stab yourself in the throat, or the eye, then what would I do?" Rel demanded.

"I'd wear an eyepatch. I think it'd make me look pretty cool," Aedon said calmly. "I have my affinities in both of my eyes, anyways, so what's the harm?"

"What can these Stands even do?" Mother looked at me.

"There's two that appear as huge men who can punch really fast and really strong, and can stop time for a short duration, allowing the Stands and their users to move around, and stuff, while it's stopped," I described Star Platinum and The World.

"That would be pretty helpful during an assassination attempt," Aedon cocked his head to the side.

Mother simply sighed. "Fine, but I have to do it, as well!"

"Are you both sure about that?" I asked. "The virus is supposed to hurt a lot..."

"That makes us even more sure," father said. "Besides, we know you're just going to do it the moment you get the chance, like eating those fruits."

"F-fine," I held my hand above his and brought out the <Stand Arrow>. As soon as it settled into his palm, he shoved it into his stomach. Hard. The arrow dug deep, but was only allowed to go so far, as mother yanked it from him and placed her hand over the wound to heal it, on to bring the arrow up into her own armpit. Blood sprayed from both of the wounds, as both of my parents started to writhe in pain, but mother still managed to channel her mana through her nature and water gates to create healing mana. Slowly, the wounds started to close, but the virus still captured their bodies in a cycle of agony as it went through every cell.

Their willpower was strong, though, incredibly so. One could not maintain the title of King or Queen without a strong will, and be as successful as they were. They easily held back the pain long enough for it to completely cycle through, and by that time, their wounds were healed.

I released a breath I didn't know I was holding as the calmed down, relaxing in their chairs. Mother held up her hand, looking at it strangely, while father stared at the wall behind my crib. I instinctively knew they were looking at their stands, but I couldn't sense anything where they were looking. Not even through mana, or in the mana realm. "Are you both okay?" I asked worriedly.

"Yes, son," Aedon said, still looking at the same spot on the wall. "Is that a Stand?" He pointed at it.

"That's the cool thing about Stands," I started to get excited. "Not only do they have powers that can sometimes deny reality itself, but they can only be seen by other Stand users, meaning you can see each others, but I cannot see either."

"Curious..." Mother muttered. "Mine looks like one of those long-tongued lizards from the wild lands... Can you tell me what it does?"

"Every Stand is unique to its user, representing their fighting spirit and their personality in some capacity. I can tell you what yours does, probably, but only once I can see it," I said.

"I'll admit, that hurt a hell of a lot more than any other time I've been shot..." Aedon pursed his lips. "Still, if you believe you can handle it, then we will assist you. Where is the arrow?"

"Right here," Mother held it up. "At least I'm not trying to stab myself, anymore..." She looked at me. "Are you absolutely certain you want this? That was one of the most painful experiences of my life."

"Yes," I nodded. ' I want to be able to protect you guys. I couldn't save my friends and family in my past life, but I can now. Any amount of pain is worth it to see you both, and Ravelus, live. '

"Alright..." mother pursed her lips and held out the arrow. I didn't hesitate in grabbing it.

Immediately, my body moved on its own as I stabbed it up into my neck, falling back onto my butt. Incomprehensible pain began coursing through my veins as the arrow forced its way further up into my skull. I could feel as my parents were attempting to pull it out without harming me, but it was too slick with blood. I was only just able to send it into my inventory, and by then it had reached my brain. I fell back and started convulsing. Mother put two hands on my head, channeling healing mana into my wound and water mana into my will, allowing me some control of my body. Enough control to see the system notifications flowing by.

[Viral Infection Detected!]

[<Healthy Body> Perk Disabled by Subconscious!]

[Attempting to Integrate Skill <Closer >. Accept?]

{ Yes } -|- { No }

Unable to muster a coherent thought, I reached out and tapped yes with my hand, causing the pain to suddenly disappear. Well, except for the hole in my throat, but that was quickly closing. Both due to my natural healing factor, and mother's assistance. It was closed in only a couple minutes, during which time it was hard to breathe, and my head hurt, but I was otherwise okay. I did spend a minute retching and coughing up blood, however. Still, it was worth it. I could see the yellow-green chameleon sitting on mother's shoulder, and the black spider clinging to the wall above my crib, an ouroboros snake burning on its abdomen, like the symbol of a black widow.

"W-wow, that really did hurt..." I said, looking down at the pool of blood in my crib. "Damn, that made a mess."

"No cussing!" Mother chided me. "...But, yes, it hurt a lot."

"Come here, and let's get changed; then we can see what these Stands do," Aedon said, helping me out of the crib with shaky arms. Mother nodded and whistled, calling Ilyor and Pyarron into the room. The two of them panicked when they saw the blood, but father waved them off, pointing to me. The two newcomers both had a look of recognition before getting to work, cleaning the scene while me and my parents bathed and changed into our daytime clothes.

The crib area was clean by the time we got back, but the mattress itself was stained. This reminded me that I really needed an actual bed - and a bedroom, for that matter. But, that could wait. For now, I looked towards mother's chameleon and used <Observe >.

[Rewrite]

Namesake: Rewrite - Darling Thieves

Type: Long-Ranged Stand

Power: None

Speed: C-A

Range: B

Persistence: B

Precision: A

Potential: D

<Read >

Rewrite latches onto a target and shoves its tongue into their ear, allowing its user to hear thoughts and feel what they do.

<Write >

Rewrite implants a false memory, which the user generates.

<Rewrite >

Rewrite alters or creates a new memory in place of an already-existing one.

"Mother, your Stand can relay the thoughts and feelings of a target by shoving its tongue in their ear. You can then create memories, and rewrite existing ones," I said, glancing at her. "Oh, and it's called Rewrite."

Mother cackled. "I'll finally be able to hear what that bitch Ir is planning!"

"Don't violate people's privacy over a cat fight," father chided her, getting a glare.

"Racist," she accused, upturning her nose. "Besides, that bitch has it coming!" She devolved into cackling again.

Aedon could only sigh. "What about mine?" He asked. I looked at the spider and used <Observe >.

[Time Weaver]

Namesake: Time - Pink Floyd

Type: Range-Irrelevant Stand

Power: None

Speed: C-A

Range: A

Persistence: C

Precision: B

Potential: D

<Relative Way>

Time Weaver bends the strings of time for a target or targets, altering their speed relative to the universal timeline.

<Find the Time>

Time Weaver alters the flow of time in an area or areas, making them slower or faster relative to the universal timeline.

<Iron Bell>

Time Weaver ceases the flow of time for all but it and its user, for a short time.

"Father, yours is called Time Weaver, and it can manipulate time for a target, within an area, or for the entire universe, for a few moments. Like those I mentioned earlier, but more versatile at the cost of less time," I looked at Aedon.

He hummed. "Useful indeed. And these don't use mana?" He asked.

I shrugged, looking around for where my Stand could be. "We won't know until we try…" Not seeing my stand, I focused my will and called out its name. "<Closer >!"

Suddenly, my vision became darker., and I could see a dot where my eyes converged. It shifted when I looked around, sticking to each surface. "What is this…"

"Are those spectacles?" Mother questioned. I looked at her, and realized I was indeed wearing glasses, but they were sunglasses. Exactly the type I had worn in my previous life - simple, and not too dark.

"Sunglasses," I said, taking them off and holding them out. "Tinted glass, to shade the eyes from the sun, like a sun hat."

"That's an interesting idea," mother commented with a focused look on her face. "Perhaps you can bring some ideas over here via your blessing," she said. The three of us had decided to keep my rebirth a secret, for the time being. So, for now, everything I 'invented' was either my own creation, or knowledge granted by my blessing. Even to the Hek'Netir. I nodded and used <Observe > on the sunglasses.

[Closer]

Namesake: Closer - Ne-Yo

Type: Range-Irrelevant Stand

Power: A

Speed: C-A

Range: A

Persistence: B

Precision: A

Potential: C

<Closer >

Shorten the distance between two positions, regardless of distance and position.

<Pull Away>

Expand the distance between two positions, regardless of distance and position.

I smiled and put on the sunglasses, looking first a few centimeters in front of me, then a few centimeters in front of mother. 'Blinking', somehow, I then saw two sets of green arrows, pointing towards each other from either dot. Following my instincts, I took a step forward, and the world around me seemed to contort for an instant before my foot landed, right in front of mother. I was off-balance, though, so I wrapped my arms around her side to steady myself.

"It seems I can manipulate the distance between two positions," I said, watching as the dots and arrows faded out of existence. "Condense or expand space. Didn't use mana, either."

"Quite the trio, we are," mother ruffled my hair. "Maybe when your brother reaches his sixth awakening, he can get a Stand, too!"

"I do wonder what his would be," father hummed in thought. "Mine probably stems from my micromanaging of time, which I inherited from my father. Yours, Rel, from your ability to read and manipulate people. Where does yours come from, Alistair?"

"Judging by its namesake, the need to be close to people," I answered.

"I guess that's one more thing we can all practice," mother said, kneeling to hug me. "You were right, this was a good thing. For now, however, you should run on down to your workshop; it's almost time for you to go back down to the merchant square!"

"I have some paperwork to do, then the civilian hearings," father smiled. "Fortunately, I got through the bulk of it, these past few weeks, so we may be able to take a reprieve after Ravelus's birthday."

"Ahh~, that's be nice," mother cooed. "Well, I'm off! See you boys before dinner!"

I bowed to my father and followed after mother, heading to the staircase, ready to face the day.