Hunter x Hunter: From Obtaining the World to Beyond Heaven

After careful observation, Dia confirmed that the [Arrow Fragment] had disappeared into the [World]'s body, and even he could no longer retrieve it.

So... was it that fragment that caused the world to evolve?

Looking at the world, which appeared unchanged, Dia felt that the possibility was quite low.

He didn't sense that the "world" had gained any new abilities; it still only had the ability to stop time.

Was that an enhancement of his time-stopping ability? Dia thought back to how, in that split personality-like state, he had managed to stop time for an unprecedented five seconds!

But is it really possible to jump from a one-second time stop to five seconds in one go? Dia instinctively doubted this possibility.

'Give it a try!'

Diya acted decisively and activated his ability:

'The World!'

'Time, stop!'

Chapter 48 Ability Rampage × Double-Edged Sword

"...Time begins to flow again..."

Diya slowly retracted the [World], her brows furrowed.

He just tried it, and the ability to stop time has indeed been enhanced, but it's still far from lasting 5 seconds.

First, the stop time has been extended from one second to nearly two seconds, doubling in length. Moreover, according to actual tests, the cooldown time of the time stop has been shortened from one minute to 45 seconds.

but……

Is this the effect of an arrow?

Dia clearly remembered that the effect of the [Insect Arrow] was to evolve the Stand.

The ability to stop time is itself a primal ability of the [world], isn't it?

Moreover, while the time-stop ability has been enhanced, under normal circumstances, as long as Dia practices diligently, the time-stop ability of [The World] itself will gradually strengthen, right?

In other words, rather than saying that the "world" evolved because of the "arrow fragments," it would be more accurate to say that the "arrow fragments" simply accelerated the "world's" training process.

Diya had a vague suspicion that, to achieve the terrifying effect of the "Requiem" in the comics, mere fragments of the arrow were far from sufficient.

A complete [Insect Arrow] is required to achieve that effect.

Before that, the [Arrow Fragment] could only save his Stand from tedious training... right?

Dia frowned, quietly recalling the feeling of activating time stop just now.

It seems... there's something different...

Once the cooldown was over, Dia activated time stop again.

This time, he quietly felt the feedback from the substitute.

The next moment, as time stopped and the instant it was lifted, Diya felt a slight sense of unease!

A strange thought suddenly arose in his mind—

It seems, perhaps, that it can continue?

Once the time stop reaches its limit, it no longer seems like it's a foregone conclusion that it can't continue!

Dia was thrilled by the conjecture, but this was followed by a strong sense of unease from his intuition.

It's like if, as some conjecture suggests, time continues after it reaches its limit, what negative consequences might result?

Diya recalled the sudden, personality-switching feeling he had just experienced. He hesitated for a moment, wondering if he really wanted to try it.

What if it turns into the same situation again?

The next moment, he became determined again—he would give it a try!

The Stand has undergone incomprehensible changes. If we don't figure it out, are we just going to wait for it to reveal its secrets later?

After resting for a while and waiting for the cooldown to end, Dia activated her ability again and began the experiment:

"The World!"

"1 second passed... 2 seconds passed..."

"Now!"

Diya's eyes narrowed, forcibly suppressing the urge to stop it.

Just like a diver who has exhausted his last breath of oxygen underwater but still stubbornly refuses to surface for air, the first feeling he gets from such an action is extreme pain.

It was as if every cell in the body was yearning to stop the activation of its power.

but.

It really has continued!

That time-stop limit, which was originally impossible to operate, has indeed been broken!

Before the ecstasy could even surge into Dia's heart, a strong and familiar frenzy erupted from Dia's body once again!

Sensing the eerie emotion that seemed to be taking over her mind once again, Dia instinctively stopped activating her time-stop ability.

"Huh...ha..."

Heavy breathing filled the air.

Dia sweated profusely and collapsed to the ground, completely exhausted. It was his first attempt to forcibly prolong the time stop, and he had no idea how long he had lasted.

It could be a second, or it could be a fraction of a second; under the sudden onslaught of madness, he completely lost his sense of time.

and……

Diya gritted her teeth, forcing herself not to laugh out loud.

Yes, he was overjoyed, his mind was controlled by a strange feeling of "I am invincible", and he couldn't help but want to make a strange "wryyy" sound.

Dia was almost certain that if he relaxed his control over his behavior and mind at this moment, that strange emotion would take over his brain and make him do things that were completely inconsistent with his normal personality.

For example, extending the time stop for five seconds without any burden...

Dia recalled that familiar "wryyy" sound, which was exactly the same as DIO's.

He reached out and covered his chest, a terrible thought forming in his mind.

The head of DIO that transported him to this world likely not only gave him the invincible "world," but also left some fragments that shouldn't exist deep within his soul!

It's probably not some mystical fragment like DIO's soul; it's more like an accidental mark left behind, without any independent consciousness.

But it will undoubtedly affect his way of thinking when it erupts, making him act like he has a split personality, doing crazy but meaningless things.

That won't do. What if DIO suddenly shows up and takes over halfway through the fight...?

Just as Dia was feeling troubled by the possibility that DIO's mark might be hidden deep within her soul.

The world suddenly appeared in front of her, and Dia met those scarlet eyes directly.

next moment.

He actually felt that emotion starting to subside!

Is the world helping me suppress those emotions?

Dia felt the emotions in his mind gradually subside, and he slowly regained his calm thinking.

"call--"

He breathed a sigh of relief and briefly summarized the current situation. First of all, the ability to stop time had been enhanced, which was a good thing.

The "new ability" that can forcibly extend the duration of time stop, but which carries the risk of being controlled by DIO's emotions, is temporarily called by Dia by the name "Time Stop Rampage".

As the name suggests, a temporary split personality allows one to go berserk in exchange for a temporarily stronger time stop.

However, to his surprise, the World could suppress that consciousness!

He even intuitively felt that if the "world" grew to the level of DIO's "world" in the original work, or even beyond, then it would be possible to completely eliminate that consciousness.

Therefore, obtaining [Arrow Fragments] to accelerate the growth of the Stand is something that [must be done], not something that [can be done or not].

So in the end, although this [Arrow Fragment] did not transform into something even more miraculous, bringing him [Requiem], it still brought great benefits to Dia.

Just as the gifts of fate have a price tag, Dia was not particularly surprised that DIO might still have some will left in his consciousness, but rather felt troubled by it.

To obtain such power without any cost is a luxury in itself.

"call--"

Dia let out a long sigh of relief. [Time Stop Rampage] was a trump card, but also a double-edged sword.

Although the will buried deep in his consciousness does not seem to emerge on its own now, if he tries to extend the time stop using [Time Stop Rampage], he will face the threat of getting lost.

Fortunately, the [World] provides a safety net, ensuring that his consciousness won't be completely lost.

Wait, if the time stop time can be extended, what about the cooldown time?

Dia suddenly felt like courting death again...

Chapter 49 Mumu Ze's Request × Deal

Inside the room, after resting for a while and clearing her mind of emotional influence, Dia tried out her earlier conjecture.

As expected, just like with time stop, if he wanted, he could briefly assume DIO's will and forcibly restart time stop during the cooldown period.

This realization, along with the pain of forcibly activating time stop, prevented him from mustering the will to activate time stop for quite some time.

But unlike before, this time the [world] did nothing, and that consciousness naturally faded away.

Dia conjectures that this is related to the degree to which the time-stop limit is broken. In other words, the cost of delaying the time-stop is actually greater than the cost of forcibly restarting the time-stop during the cooldown period.

It's also possible that he didn't activate his abilities consecutively in short intervals.

In other words, at the cost of a temporary extended cooldown time, time stop can be forcibly activated again within the cooldown period!

This also means that this ability to break limitations can only be used once at most in a battle.