Terra Nuova

A century after Capitolo 2...

I still remember that day as vividly as possible. It started simple, with not much worry beyond a few pulls at my core that told me that 'today is going to be interesting'. I didn't think much of it, after all by 'interesting' it could have been a small surprise from Hannah, or even an unplanned sparring session with Giorno. Maybe even a visit from Funny which would have seen us whine about our own jobs but… it soon proved to not be the case.

"DIO JOESTAR!"

The humongous being beckoned loudly and angrily, a grin appearing on my face.

"Invader! Prepare to be repelled from this world!"

The proclamation wasn't delivered with the same mirthfulness of my expression. No, I meant it all and I could remember it too perfectly. The scene itself was monumental, unforgettable. The fire scorching the roads' asphalt, the cracks allowing burning lava to course through some of the streets and the noises of fighting unfolding within the premises of the area, within the city, the region, the continent and the whole world… all of that repeated on the Moon and other nearby celestial orbs.

But here on Earth, this is where the real fight was handled. Where the big bad guy decided to try and 'decimate' us. I was stunned, I really was. Never would I have predicted this happening. I had known for a while that Kate's situation wasn't unusual. Not when I learned that there were others like her. People that shared similar appearances to her, that bore powers akin to her, but just a few matched with her unique potential. I was baffled when I met some, all of that unfolding just a few hours earlier.

I had a whole lot of lore to unpack in my mind. A war that had gone through unnoticed for centuries, even prior to my existence- one that was responsible for orphaning Kate and others like her. A Prime, her people- a Crest, her duty. Crests of Orders, twelve to be precise. These were Avatars of Elements, both physical and mind-related. All of them driven to a single cause- to destroy Chaos.

Chaos, the Empire born from the ashes of their homeplanet, the harbinger of destruction and despair. An Emperor…

I was feeling vibes akin to Dragon Ball and Star Wars here and there. Which was ironic considering how Kate had some parallels with Goku or even Superman. The three had been sent out of their planets before they were destroyed, both lived simple lives early on with Earthlings, and then they became guardians of the very planet that welcomed them to a good existence.

And yet… I also could tell this transcended normal relations with these series. No, this one was different. The moment he beckoned, the moment this Emperor emerged with his gargantuan size… I could feel it. My instinct saw the beast for what it was: a true opponent to me.

Two divine entities that weren't born into power, one that stole the power of Chaos to gain control over his people and others in a search for absolute power, while I was the one that strayed away from that fate, becoming something greater by working to unleash my full potential.

It was intense. The World against The Chaos. The Good against the Evil. The battle wasn't one on one. Not when the stakes were too high for me to allow pride to let me stand alone in this brawl. The Crests were there too, each had the power to overwhelm the Emperor in single departments of magic, with Chaos being able to mimic some of that power, but was unable to fully replicate its intensity. Hours went by, people were wounded, people were killed, but damage was done back with the same intensity.

And then, as the fight intensified to greater heights, as the Emperor perceived defeat looming over him and prepared to shatter the world just like he did with the Primes' homeworld… a beam of light struck him. Powerful, dense… and driven with power he had no defense against. Light burned into him, turning the once mighty opponent in an empty husk as Chaos broke before Order and balance was ultimately… restored.

…

Three centuries after Capitolo 2...

"What do you think of this story?"

That tale happened just two centuries ago and… right now, I was staring at one of the pretty things that came out from that peace. Sitting right beside me as we watched the fire burning in the fireplace, a little girl smiled giddily at my narration. Waving her legs, a fluffy tail protruding from her backside now twirling excitedly as her cyan-colored gaze flickered happily. She had inherited Kate's white fur, except her hair, eyes and the black stripes here and there within the fur were definitely from her father, Bengala. I still can't believe such an oaf could end up being a good husband and father and… I guess I have to give more credit to Kate for straightening him up.

Still, the girl had a half-sleeved short gray jacket with a white shirt with gray-blue words saying 'Bind by Light', a small black skirt and finally a pair of red sport shoes. On her lap, the little Prime had a familiar sword from her family that had been wrapped up to hide its appearance from those that might try to get it from her. She was about to reach the midpoint of being a teenager, but she was still a child to me. My little niece for a fact.

Hikari Aryoko, Kate Aryoko's daughter and heiress to the very power her mother was known to possess, had just hit fourteen and she was at the right age to start the very journey teens from families like her embarked: knighthood. The pilgrimage of training meant to give her insight on her future, to become stronger and find the right vocation within the guardians of the Primes. In a way, the Knights were related to the Hamon Users force I had created centuries earlier, the very organization that now acted as a viable force of good in most places within the newly expanded Earth.

To think that some 'deities' saw fit to resize Earth and allow a whole new continent to be created for their favored people. Not like this was a bad idea due to the new resources being brought and the new technological leaps a proper bond between humanity and Primekind brought but… there were still some instances where I was angry at those entities. Mostly when it came to what they wanted from Kate once and now with Hikari once she was old enough to take on that 'duty'.

I had been one of the few people that had actually opposed their scheme, refusing to let them crown Kate as the Queen of their revived Queendom. Not when she was the furthest thing from a proper ruler. It wasn't a matter of faith in that regard, but of just acceptance that she wasn't an administrator. She was a fighter, a teacher and a simple woman. Not Queen-material with how disastrous things were at the beginning.

In a way, I had to thank a certain Wisdom Crest for her idea to take over as a regent and handle that but… regardless of the many times Ambar did a good job in pissing me off by prank-calling me and how I actually respected her as a good leader, I couldn't just ignore that she had a right to just back off from the position after two whole centuries of limitations. Being a good and brilliant candidate doesn't mean you will always have the willpower to handle centuries and centuries of paperwork, handling diplomatic affairs, crises, silly antics from some foreign leaders and more.

So… it was unpleasant to imagine that the little girl that I first held when she was born, that I entertained her with magical stories of my past when she was a little toddler together with other children between my family and those from the Crests', and the one that stood so mature and so ready to become a powerful warrior would soon also have to give up so much of her freedom to become a queen.

"It was so good, Uncle! You were there and fought beside mom's side and… and then you beat the Emperor!"

"That was mostly your mother, sweetie," I argued, patting her head and carefully avoiding teasing her cat-like ears. Not when I knew how tense those tended to be at times. "Now, I believe you aren't here to just entertain some stories. Not with how giddy you look- ready to jump your old uncle Dio?"

"You're not that old, Uncle," She argued truthfully, reminding me why I was the happiest when she visited. "Which is why I want to challenge you as part of my pilgrimage."

"I'm not a Crest, sweetie," I reminded her, and that only made her smile with more eagerness.

"I know. But that's not the point… I want you to be my teacher. When it comes to… you know, ruling over the Queendom."

My smile lost some happiness at that reminder, but the girl suddenly excused that point.

"I-It's not like I want to go for that soon but… I don't want to be unprepared. That's as much as I can give."

"You could say no to that," I argued, and Hikari huffed at my point.

"But that wouldn't be correct. You, Mama, Papa and even Shin-nii always told me that I should never look away from a duty that, if not taken, can hurt others. It's like normal training to become a warrior, except this one is a bit pushed on me… but still my responsibility, and one that I accept."

You're too young to make that call.

I wanted to tell her that, but I could tell she wasn't even going to listen to it.

"If I beat you in a fight-"

"I'll teach you Hamon," I reasoned with my guess, only for the girl to grin and then continue.

"You'll stop treating me like a little girl!"

I fake gasped at that demand, feeling even more compelled to win now.

"And now you made this spar the hardest, sweetie. I hope you will not mind if you get defeated."

She giggled. "Nope. I just want you to treat me like a proper warrior, like the Hamon Fighters that challenge you."

To become a Master rank within the order. And Hikari didn't have much knowledge of hamon to make up for the difficult battle up ahead. And while part of me wanted to dissuade her from going this deep, to entangle herself in that political mess… I knew I had to give her some faith.

Who would have known that centuries of peace would have left me willing to discourage family from achieving their own goals?

I stood up from my chair, the girl mimicking my action. "Then I guess we should get going. I don't want Hannah to miss out on why our cute little niece is pouting over a defeat against me, Dio."

She snorted. "She will be even more surprised when Uncle Dio is going to get his butt kicked."

Chuckling, we both marched towards the nearby training room, one that I had created near my office just for this kind of occasion. I might not be happy about what was about to come for her future, having built a future for these new generations to live a life without stress and sorrow… but unable to pull away those with the heaviest of burdens. Still, I know this burden will be heavily matched by a young girl with a big heart and a most righteous soul. Just like with Giorno becoming greater than me, I shall let Hikari become greater than her own parents.

For this was the beauty of life, and I couldn't deny it, no matter how upsetting it felt to me.