JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Horizons

Act 1: The Awakening

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Kurokawa City - 9:30 PM

The city never truly slept. Beneath the neon glow of billboards and the distant hum of traffic, Kurokawa's underbelly thrived-dark alleyways where information was currency, and power dictated survival.

A small bar nestled between two old brick buildings remained open past midnight, its cracked neon sign flickering: SHINOBI LOUNGE.

Inside, the air was thick with smoke, the dim lighting barely illuminating the scattered patrons hunched over their drinks. At a corner booth, four figures sat, engaged in hushed conversation.

Akira Takahashi, Hiroshi Tanaka, Daisuke Mori, and Kenji Sakamoto.

A worn map lay between them, stained with coffee rings and hastily scribbled notes.

"The Stand Arrow..." Akira muttered, tracing a finger along a red circle drawn over an abandoned cathedral on the outskirts of town. "It's real. And someone's already looking for it."

Kenji leaned back, arms crossed. "Then we get to it first."

Hiroshi exhaled sharply. "We don't even know who 'they' are."

Daisuke adjusted his sunglasses. "Does it matter? If they're after the Arrow, we know one thing for sure-they're dangerous."

Before anyone could respond-

CLINK.

The sound of a glass being set down a few tables away.

Their conversation stopped.

The bar had gone eerily silent. The low murmur of voices had disappeared. The bartender, who had been wiping down the counter, was now standing completely still-like a mannequin frozen mid-motion.

Akira's eyes slowly lifted from the map.

Across the room, two men now sat at a table near the entrance. They hadn't been there moments ago.

One of them, a man with silver eyes and dark clothes, held a wine glass loosely between his fingers. He was relaxed, yet there was something unnerving about the way he tilted his head slightly, studying them.

The other figure, seated beside him, had a calm but calculating expression. He set a small hourglass on the table, its black sand trickling downward.

Cetz and Minh.

Cetz smiled faintly. "It's funny, isn't it? We were just talking about you."

Akira's pulse quickened. "Who the hell are you?"

Minh reached for his hourglass, tapping the glass with one finger. "The people who get what they want."

Kenji narrowed his eyes. "That supposed to scare us?"

Cetz sighed, almost disappointed. "No. But this should."

Suddenly-

The entire bar melted away.

The walls distorted, shifting like liquid. The neon sign outside flickered violently before vanishing altogether. The bartender and patrons disintegrated into static, their forms breaking apart into nothingness.

Hiroshi shot to his feet, hand instinctively reaching for his blade. "What the-?!"

Akira's mind raced. This wasn't some cheap trick-this was a Stand ability.

He clenched his fists. "Echo Chamber."

A faint ripple pulsed outward from him, distorting the air-sound waves attempting to disrupt whatever illusion was being cast. But nothing changed.

Cetz tapped the side of his temple. "You're clever. But illusions aren't just about what you see." His silver eyes gleamed. "They're about what you believe."

Daisuke gritted his teeth. "Damn it, what's real?!"

Minh, still seated, calmly turned the hourglass over.

Time itself flickered.

For a split second-Akira saw something.

Not the bar. Not the illusion.

But the cathedral. The cracked marble floors. The dust-covered altar. The Stand Arrow, glinting beneath layers of rubble.

Then-

Everything snapped back. They were in the bar again. The neon lights hummed. The bartender was wiping down a glass.

Minh stood up, dusting off his coat. "We'll be taking the Arrow."

Cetz smirked. "See you soon."

And just like that, they were gone.

Leaving behind only the faint sound of ticking sand.

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To Be Continued...