---
The Flames Begin to Crack
The battlefield trembled.
Akira Takahashi stood at the center, his Stand Echo Chamber pulsating with waves of sonic energy. The air vibrated. The flames—began to distort.
Ayaka Fujiwara's Hellfire Waltz, once an unstoppable inferno, flickered unnaturally.
"What…?" she murmured, narrowing her eyes.
The flames wavered not because of lack of fuel.
But because of frequency interference.
---
The Science of Fire vs. Sound
Akira wasn't a brute-force fighter.
He was a tactician.
And fire, no matter how powerful, had a flaw.
It relied on oxygen flow.
And sound waves—could disrupt that flow.
By altering the surrounding air pressure, Echo Chamber was destabilizing Ayaka's control.
The rhythm of her fire was breaking.
Ayaka gritted her teeth.
"You're clever," she admitted.
Then she smiled.
"But cleverness won't save you."
She raised her hand—
And Hellfire Waltz changed again.
---
The Phoenix Reborn
The flames stopped flickering.
Instead, they collapsed inward—condensing, compressing.
And then—
They rose.
A massive, burning figure emerged from the inferno.
Not a humanoid Stand.
But a phoenix of pure fire.
It spread its wings, sending blazing embers into the air.
A second form of Hellfire Waltz.
Phase Two.
---
A War of Strategies
Hiroshi, still catching his breath, grimaced.
Ayaka wasn't just strong.
She was a fighter who adapted mid-battle.
The more you tried to counter her—the more she evolved.
And now—
She had created a living inferno.
The phoenix screeched. The air itself caught fire.
Akira felt his heartbeat accelerate.
His plan had worked—but not in the way he expected.
Now, instead of disrupting fire, he had given it shape.
---
Daisuke vs. Reika: A Battle for Control
Meanwhile, Daisuke Mori was still regaining movement.
The shockwave from Akira's attack had loosened Reika Hoshino's Strings of Fate.
But not broken them.
Reika watched calmly.
"You resist well, Daisuke," she mused. "But how long can you keep fighting… when your own Stand betrays you?"
She raised a finger—
And the strings tightened again.
Daisuke gritted his teeth.
His own body—moving against his will.
Reika wasn't just a puppeteer.
She was a psychological manipulator.
The more he struggled—the stronger her hold became.
---
Akira's Last Gamble
Akira assessed the battlefield.
Ayaka's phoenix—too powerful for a direct sound wave.
Reika—controlling Daisuke like a marionette.
He had one shot.
One chance to turn everything.
He activated Echo Chamber.
Not at Ayaka.
Not at Reika.
But at—
Daisuke.
A soundwave pulsed through his body.
For an instant, everything froze.
Then—
The strings shattered.
Daisuke was free.
---
The Turning Point
Reika stumbled back.
"That's… not possible."
Daisuke turned toward her.
A slow, deliberate movement.
His eyes—cold. Focused.
Gale Phantom materialized.
And for the first time in the fight—
Daisuke was moving on his own terms.
Reika bit her lip.
"Looks like I'll have to get serious."
She raised her hands—
And the battlefield shifted again.
---
The Hidden Layer of Strings
The moment Reika lifted her hands, a shimmering network of nearly invisible strings crisscrossed the battlefield.
They had always been there—layered, hidden, waiting.
Daisuke's freedom was an illusion.
"You thought breaking the first layer would be enough?" Reika said softly. "You're still dancing in my web."
Daisuke tried to move—but his limbs tensed.
The second layer of Strings of Fate activated—this time, connected directly to the battlefield.
If the first layer controlled the opponent—
The second layer controlled the environment.
---
A Symphony of Traps
In an instant, Daisuke's footing was gone.
The strings twisted the ground beneath him—forcing his stance off-balance.
At the same time, sharpened wires shot forward from unseen angles—aiming for his throat, his wrists, his legs.
This was the true Strings of Fate.
It wasn't just puppetry.
It was an inescapable battlefield.
"Checkmate," Reika whispered.
The strings lunged.
---
The Speed of the Phantom
Daisuke vanished.
A blur of movement—faster than the eye could track.
A whirlwind.
Gale Phantom wasn't just about agility.
It was about controlling momentum.
Daisuke used the very strings meant to trap him—
To propel himself forward.
Reika's eyes widened.
Impossible.
Daisuke twisted in mid-air, his Stand materializing behind him.
Gale Phantom exhaled—a burst of concentrated wind slicing through the web of strings.
The trap—shattered.
Daisuke landed behind Reika.
Silent.
Deadly.
She turned—
And Gale Phantom struck.
---
Sound vs. Fire: The Final Frequency
At the same time, Akira made his final move.
The Phoenix Form of Hellfire Waltz was a being of raw combustion.
A creature of sound-based flames.
Which meant—
It could be matched.
Akira didn't aim to destroy it.
He aimed to resonate with it.
Echo Chamber unleashed a final, calculated soundwave—
Not to disrupt.
Not to extinguish.
But to harmonize.
Fire roared.
Sound pierced.
The battlefield was consumed in an explosion of synchronized forces.
And as the dust settled—
Only one remained standing.
---