You call this a projection?

Different from the impression most people have, the DIO of the Part 3 era of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure—at least by the time of his final meeting with Father Pucci—had a goal that was, from beginning to end, to attain Heaven, not to ”Over Heaven.”

Of course, this [Heaven] is not the literal Heaven in Christian mythology where people go after death. Rather, it is related to the spirit; it is a [Heaven] that serves as a place of spiritual sanctuary. Simply put, it is spiritual evolution.

Since a Stand is an image composed of a Stand user’s mental energy, once the user’s spirit evolves, the Stand naturally gains a new evolution. This is—[Made in Heaven].

As long as one follows the method summarized by DIO, any person and any Stand can evolve into [Made in Heaven], which causes the entire universe to accelerate infinitely and ultimately reboot.

This information, which wouldn’t be gradually revealed until Part 6 of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, was now being spoken ahead of time by Shirou Emiya at the very start of Part 3.

”As you guessed, Mr. Joestar, I am a prophet.”

After dropping this bombshell, Shirou Emiya restated his fake identity: ”It is precisely because I prophesied what kind of impact DIO’s Stand would have on humanity, and even the entire universe, after its evolution.

That is why I have come here under the guidance of fate to make contact with Jotaro and you, Mr. Joestar.

Because the moment I met Jotaro, the image of ’stardust crossing the sky and shattering the world’ flashed before my eyes.”

Without a doubt, whether it was DIO’s goal or Shirou’s prophecy, it brought nothing but shock to Joseph and the others. This wasn’t a metaphor. For Joseph, this sort of thing was all too familiar.

During his childhood, his Granny Erina and Grandpa Speedwagon would always tell him stories of how his biological grandfather, Jonathan Joestar, defeated the DIO who ”discarded his humanity.” When he grew up, he not only encountered a bunch of vampires created by the Stone Mask, but also the Pillar Men who stood above them, and Kars, who intended to use the Red Stone of Aja to complete his transformation into the Ultimate Lifeform.

Therefore, Joseph would never doubt whether there were methods in this world to make humanity evolve. Nor would he doubt the motive of someone wanting to stop DIO after learning of his goals.

As for whether Shirou Emiya was a spy sent by DIO... Joseph might have doubted that before. But if a spy sent by DIO were to leak such massive secrets, Joseph would have to question DIO’s IQ.

After all, prior to this, they didn’t even know what DIO intended to do.

However, despite these thoughts, there was still one point Joseph needed to confirm.

”Alright, I believe your story. However...!”

His muscles tensed again as he prepared for a potential battle. Joseph made a welcoming gesture on the surface, which conveniently placed him and Avdol in front of Holy Kujo to shield her.

He then followed up: ”Just to be safe, can you tell us your Stand’s ability?

Of course, we will also tell you ours... though I suspect with your skills as a prophet, you likely already know what our Stand abilities are.”

Yes, this was the final thing Joseph needed to confirm. In a battle between Stand users, what is the most troublesome thing? It is none other than testing for the enemy’s ability.

Especially for Stands that require specific conditions to trigger—without those conditions, they are essentially ”blank slates.” Once an enemy knows the ability, while it might not mean it’s ”game over,” it’s pretty close.

If Shirou Emiya truly had no ulterior motives, he naturally wouldn’t keep his Stand ability a secret. And from the perspective of comrades getting to know each other, Joseph’s request wasn’t actually unreasonable.

Yet, as shrewd as Joseph was, he seemed to have overlooked one possibility—the possibility that Shirou Emiya might not have a Stand at all!

Of course, this preconceived notion was something Shirou had guided him toward intentionally. Thus, regarding how to handle this, Shirou had long ago thought of a countermeasure.

”Understood. If I hadn’t seen the character of you and your group through my prophecy, Mr. Joestar, I probably wouldn’t be able to be this transparent,” Shirou said. ”However, my Stand ability is somewhat special. I need to borrow some props to truly manifest it.”

’It’s finally here!’

Whether he could become a Stand user, whether he could possess a Stand—it all rested on this moment!

But the more critical it became, the more he felt... perhaps it was because his heart in reality had already stopped beating, or perhaps he was simply used to such big scenes and could adapt quickly. Even though his heart was racing with excitement, Shirou Emiya showed nothing on the surface. With a look of total composure, he turned to the other man.

”Avdol, may I borrow the Tarot cards in your hand?”

”...”

Avdol instinctively looked at Joseph. After receiving a subtle nod of approval, he pulled a deck of Tarot cards from his robes and handed them over with a smile. ”No problem. To be honest, as a fellow diviner, I am quite eager to see your techniques.”

In the timeline of Part 3, Stand abilities hadn’t yet become as bizarre as they would later be. Joseph, having only recently become a Stand user himself, naturally didn’t think giving Shirou a deck of cards was a big deal. Even if Shirou intended to launch a sneak attack as Avdol approached—if one assumed [Magician’s Red] was weak in close combat just because it manipulated fire, its ”B” in Power and Speed (which allowed it to briefly clash with the melee specialist [Silver Chariot]) would definitely give such a person a nasty surprise.

Fortunately, Shirou’s goal from start to finish was simply Avdol’s Tarot cards.

And now...

”—Trace on!!”

Taking the deck, Shirou made a motion as if to draw a card. Under the infusion of magical energy and the incantation, he seemed to feel something. Concentrating all his prana into it, he forcefully pulled and flipped that feeling—that Stand—outward.

”This is my Stand—

Representing the Tarot card of [The Magician]—[Magician’s Red]!!”