Should he kill him?
Takatsuki did not personally touch the two Discs, but released his new Stand to retrieve them.
Even equipped with a character card that has a Stand, it would not hinder the use of his own Stand.
Looking at Pucci, who had fallen like a vegetative person and was completely unconscious, Takatsuki decided to consider his disposal later, and instead looked at the Stand Disc belonging to White Snake in his hand.
Should he insert it directly into his brain and use it?
Takatsuki looked at the Disc, conflicted. A person could hold multiple Stands at the same time, but multiple Stands would cause a great burden on the user. If he couldn't bear it, the Disc would be ejected.
White Snake was a very terrifying Stand, especially for Takatsuki. He was not afraid of physical attacks or even death, but he was completely unable to resist mental abilities. Even with the immortality of the Dog Talisman, he could still be sealed and controlled.
If he was even controlled into taking out the Dog Talisman himself, then it would be over.
So Takatsuki chose the most despicable and insidious way to ambush Pucci.
Let's try equipping it...
After only a few seconds of hesitation, Takatsuki made a decision. White Snake's ability was very useful. As a mental-type Stand, it could make up for Takatsuki's current shortcomings.
"Equip me with White Snake's Disc..."
Takatsuki gave the command to his Stand, but to his surprise, this Stand, which had low stats and unknown abilities until now, did not obey Takatsuki's command. Instead, it raised its left arm.
Takatsuki saw something resembling an optical drive pop out from its left arm.
Placing the White Snake Disc into it, Takatsuki watched as the White Snake Disc disappeared into the body of this nameless Stand.
"White Snake!!!!!!"
A mechanical voice came from within it, and Takatsuki found that a White Snake avatar had appeared on the Stand's left arm.
"????"
Wait a minute!? Could it be!?
Takatsuki instantly thought of the possible abilities of his Stand, but he still needed to test it, and right now, the most suitable place for testing was...
The Ossuary.
This was where Pucci and Dio met, and for Pucci, it was also the beginning of his dream.
Pucci's hiding place for the Discs was in a corner beneath the ossuary, and Takatsuki easily got his hands on them.
Looking at the stack of familiar, yet useless, Stands in his hand, Takatsuki raised an eyebrow: "I knew it, there wouldn't be any powerful Stands here."
If there were powerful ones, they would definitely be given to Dio to fight them.
Letting his Stand pick up these Discs, Takatsuki began his first attempt to test his Stand in this underground area, and the targets of the test were these Discs in his hand and the vegetative Pucci on the ground...
3 hours later...
"It is possible to obtain the special abilities of a Stand by inserting a Disc, but not the Stand's panel attributes. However, panel attributes can be improved by completely digesting the Disc, but abilities cannot be obtained."
This was the conclusion Takatsuki drew after experimenting with the Discs, and both of the above methods were irreversible.
Takatsuki did not absorb the abilities from those Discs; he merely transformed them into pure power to enhance his Stand's attributes. Because there weren't many usable Discs, he wasn't sure what the upper limit of abilities his Stand could equip was.
However, he found that after his Stand absorbed a Disc, it did not completely replicate the original ability, but rather transformed it into a similar ability.
White Snake's ability was originally to dissolve the mind, not only creating Discs but also creating illusions that cause mental breakdown.
But with Takatsuki, only the abilities to extract Discs and create blank Discs remained.
Without other samples, Takatsuki couldn't obtain more data, but he already had a better plan.
"In that case, its growth potential is unbelievably exaggerated. If it devours The World Over Heaven, will it also gain the ability to rewrite reality?"
Takatsuki didn't know, but he was very much looking forward to it. The abilities that others needed to painstakingly cultivate, he could obtain step by step, just like a Heaven's Stairway.
"Then your name! Shall be! Heaven's Stairway!!"
In the end, Takatsuki did not kill Pucci. It wasn't because of saintliness, but simply because there was no need; after all, he was not a bloodthirsty person.
He had Heaven's Stairway create a blank, false memory and implant it into Pucci's brain.
This false memory was not extensive, merely instructing him to be a good person, respect his parents, and be a good priest, and nothing more.
Returning to the hotel alone, it was already night, but Takatsuki was so excited he couldn't sleep.
After all, a Stand with such abilities was truly exciting. He even wondered if he should mass-produce Stand users to extract their Discs and strengthen his Heaven's Stairway.
But he quickly calmed down. Although he pursued power, he was not someone who would use any means necessary.
Otherwise, what difference would there be between him and people like Dio?
Thump thump...
While Takatsuki was reflecting, there was a knock on the hotel room door.
"Takatsuki, are you asleep?"
It was Mei's voice.
"Mei?"
He secretly peeked through the peephole with his Stand and indeed it was Mei, but it was so late?
"Is something wrong?"
In the end, Takatsuki opened the door. After all, Mei coming over so late must mean something was up.
"That... it's about Kiana... she's already asleep, but about what happened in Egypt earlier..."
Mei pursed her lips, her hands clasped tightly in front of her chest, her heart far from calm.
"Come in first."
Takatsuki's room was a single room, and Takatsuki searched around but couldn't find a chair, so he could only let Mei sit on his bed.
"Although I don't know what you've been thinking, since you've come to ask, I won't hide it from you. However, Kiana cannot know about this matter yet, Mei, can you keep this secret?"
"Kiana can't know?"
Mei nodded. After all, she had come alone, avoiding Kiana, precisely because Kiana seemed to have no memory of it, and she didn't want Kiana to worry.
"This matter begins with the Second Eruption. Oh, the one in Changkong City was the Third. The Herrscher born during the Second Eruption was the Herrscher of the Void, Sirin."
Takatsuki recounted a story known to many who understood Honkai, and also revealed many little-known secrets within that story.
Although he could have deceived Raiden Mei with lies, or simply brushed her off, Takatsuki chose the most direct, most foolish, but also most sincere method, revealing this unknown history without any concealment.