Light Legend 2; The Goddess Of Time And Eternalism Hill

In the Celestial Dawn, which rested above the Harmonious Delta and the Spectral Dusk, -- the latter of which has the Twin Crystal City of Crysteria, the Central City of the Dawn -- the greatest and most important landmark in the entire land that wasn't one of the Four Corners rested in the dead center of the supercontinent... In the crystallized area that served as the Crystal City of the Dawn, Crysteria. That specific landmark was the prized Clock Tower, known as Eternalism Hill. All time was connected from this specific clock tower, and it had a certain level of natural dominion over the other two, despite how each of them shared the power to control all time. What made Eternalism Hill different was... Something that only the Hikarigami and those who appointed them knew; something from this world's antiquity, at this point.

No matter what it was, the only thing that actually did matter at the Present was the fact that its mistress, the Time Goddess who bore the Gear Of Time within her, was returning to her Throne within it. She hadn't been there ever since receiving the Gear Of Time however long ago that was, as so much time had passed from that moment that it was actually nearly incalculable. It did not feel like that much time passed to the Hikarigami and anything else that would not feel nor be influenced by its effects, but the natural adaptations happened accordingly whether anyone realized it or not. Even the most severely outrageous 'Timeskips' were but an instant to the Hikarigami.

Hence why even though she had complete control over time, she herself was considered 'Timeless'.

Tempora's return to Eternalism Hill bearing New Energy would end up spreading the New Energy among the Veritas via the Clock Towers. The variable sized disembodied cogs that floated either aimlessly or in stasis outside of the Clock Tower, and even those which were lodged into the structure and ground in their various ways, started to flow in synchronicity and in harmony, as opposed to how they seemed to be moving independently previously. So many different 'Timelines' were being maintained at a time that each and every different gear in Eternalism Hill represented another timeline and its speed. Therefore, each of them moving in time before they came to their respective 'End Of Time' would suddenly become part of the 'Main Timeline' simultaneously, and each one would gear itself toward convergence with the 'Temporal Singularity' that was now the shared 'Target' and 'Destination' for them all now that Tempora returned.

As the 'Old Energy' began to cycle more quickly through the Veritas with the influx of the 'New Energy', Tempora was able to come upon the final 'God Card', which just so happened to also be a 'Temporal' card, as well. It signified finality at its most base value, which was what made it potent in her hands as it came to designating a 'Time' for others.


The sensation of coming to an end would fill the Veritas, as all of the Timelines were coming to a close in order to come to a Singularity. All Tempora had to do now was wait for all of this to move along in its own time. Patience was very often the name of the game when it came to temporal beings and affiliated concepts. Yet, it did not seem like Tempora was concerned about how long the passage of time would be, as if she knew it would be soon enough where she could wait for it.

With everything in the old Era of the Veritas being brought to a close in this manner, the Distribution System of the Veritas was activated by the use of the Forbidden Cards. Now, the automated Dealer System that was developed alongside the Argus Card System in order to thoroughly recycle energy could be put to its proper use, since all things were coming to a point of being finite. Which meant that it could be ordered in a certain way as to influence the outcome by use of the full measures of the Argus Card System.

This let loose the Joker algorithm, which was technically seen as the master of the Cards. Therefore, on its own, it would begin to calculate an outcome that would synchronize the Argus Card System with the algorithms of other realms which were adjacent or intersecting at the time. The Joker, who had the Deck and was the Dealer, was the one that was in charge of the Distribution System, but as the Joker's personality was, it liked to play as well.

Which led to the Joker beginning the Distribution System simply for the sake of enjoyment.

Tempora the Time Goddess remained stationary for a time, letting the natural occurrences from the coming of the end of the Age and the dawn of the new Era to fall into place as they would, but it seemed like so much energetic activity based around the Argus Card System started up its own natural processes, the main one being the Distribution System, known as 'The Joker'. "... It Seems I Have Activated The Joker..." the Time Goddess uttered to herself."... Very Well. This Can Prove Beneficial. As Long As I Follow Its Algorithm And Play This Game, The Argus Card System Will Be Set In Place At The Beginning Of The New Time Of The Veritas, Instead Of Remaining Predominantly Dormant, As It Was In The Passing Time." The Argus Card System was one of the most important mechanics of the Veritas, so the time of its activity as an autonomous mechanism would open up the once closed systems of the Veritas and trigger many other potential events.

"It Seems As Though I Have The Advantage Here," she noted, since the Joker had used its first turn to activate the System formally rather than to flow along with what was already in motion. "It Probably Made That Move As A Means Of Preserving The Record, For The Sake Of The Account." Knowing this, Tempora had to make the best of her move after the Joker in order to maintain her advantage over it.


According to her calculations, this move would allow her to monitor the Joker's activities, even if it decided to do some sort of trickery, as it was known to do. It was too early to determine the outcome of what it would do, as well as whether or not it had even planned for anything as of yet, and therefore the future could not be looked into. She was playing this cautiously, as this was a matter of strategy. She had to first see what the Joker would do next and lure out some possible outcomes. It was far too early to pinpoint a definitive timeline. Such is why patience is a virtue.

Being the Distribution System itself, Joker was capable of retrieving Cards which were being transferred to the 'Discard' at anytime before they actually got there without having to go there, itself, and in addition to being able to introduce the 'New Energy' from 'New Cards' into the system at will, intercepting the 'Old Energy' before it was voided proved to make the AI more resourceful with the energies that came and went.

All of that to say, there was a 'Card' heading to the 'Discard' because it had previously been 'Used' in the Veritas, and was now only 'Residual' energy that was going to be recycled. Clearly, the 'Distributor' should have executive control over the recycling of energy and all such other resources, but could also at any time utilize what was to going to the 'Discard' for itself before the energy was completely discarded.

The final remnants of the 'Residual' energy from the initial use of the 'Card' would then be used for the AI, and it would call out the Card.


With that same energy, Joker unleashed a furious assault on Tempora's 'Doppelganger', even though it had been burrowed underground in order to be kept out of the general bounds and reach of the Joker. Being a one of the overarching systems of the Argus Card System and the Veritas, its capacity was not limited to what was just generally recognized as 'in bounds', and could therefore bypass most limiters, especially if nonspecific. Therefore, even if the 'Doppelganger' was not in the physical underground, though this is how the 'Command' reads in its accuracy, it could still be reached in whatever fashion in which it could 'Burrow', including many theoretical or metaphysical senses.

None of those things mattered to a system as sophisticated as this.

The onslaught didn't even happen visibly as so much as it happened strictly logically, adapting to whatever logic was suitable and assailing the target in whatever forms that could be assumed based on the given information and also the natural variables involved.

"... Quite Formidable," Tempora complimented the system, which seemed to be functioning at a superior level, even though it was truly only just getting warmed up. "... I Would Daresay I Have Quite The Challenge Ahead Of Me..." Even her eyes could not see a definite outcome as of yet. Though, that was to be expected of two beings who transcended time using an equally powerful system.


She was somewhat at a disadvantage having drawn the residual energy of her own card that she just played, but she knew a way that she could make it serviceable, if for nothing else but to give her a bit of time, which she could have a lot of leeway with depending on how much time she could buy for herself.

The Doppelganger that was being Blitzed by the Joker would end up mirroring the Joker, thus occupying it indefinitely as they engaged in equalized combat. This, coupled with the addition of the New Energy from playing the Card a second time, allowed the Doppelganger's capacity to increase with its original Command, which was to 'Burrow'. Now, instead of only it burrowing, as per Command, it would also bring the Joker into burrowing with it... But through what, one might ask?

Through time itself.

As the Joker continued to engage in combat with the Doppelganger, seeking to destroy something that was not only equal to it, but a mirror to it, it would grant 'Indefinite' time to Tempora... Which, honestly, could mean a lot or a little, since it relied on varying factors which determined if it was 'Indefinite' or not. So, though time was technically 'Infinite' right now, certain 'Triggers' and 'Mechanics' could cause that time within such parameters to increase or decrease.

Still, even getting one 'Indefinite' was a dealbreaker for a Temporal Deity that was skilled, since the fact that it was acquired at all technically meant that anything done within that period of time was more 'Infinite' than with the standard or general set 'Variables'. So, Tempora continued to have the Doppelganger to Burrow along with Joker and Guide it through an 'Indefinite' time, where Tempora herself would prepare herself and whatever else she needed at that time.

Desperate, but ever resourceful, the Joker was able to collect a very special card made 'Forbidden' for 'Trinity', who made this specific card. Even so, the Distribution System had the potential to use any card that was in cycle. Granted, there were many times where this is overridden, especially in regard to the Creator, who could decide the parameters of the Distribution System as well as if it could use the 'Forbidden' cards for others or not... But in this instance, there was no 'Restriction' upon using cards that were 'Forbidden' for someone else, and therefore 'Forbidden' to everyone who wasn't the one to which said were bidden.

Thus...


Such a card was able to be utilized for its intended purpose outside of its intended use, adapted to the specificity of the situation and manner in which it came about. Therefore, by the nature of the 'Guard Of The Castle', which protected the most important thing, the Joker was capable of rather quickly escaping the 'Indefinite' -Period- of time without letting too much escape. The 'Doppelganger', would be left in the 'Indefinite' timespace by itself, as the 'Guard Of The Castle' could be used to 'Block' it from continuing.

This brought the Joker back to the base playing field, which was back in the regular timeframe of Eternalism Hill. That was the end of its 'Turn', however.

"... Interesting..." noted the rather analytical Tempora, who wasn't aware that the Joker could willfully use someone else's Cards. There was no real reason why it shouldn't have been able to except for possession rights, but those did not seem to apply in this instance. So, Tempora wondered...


"If The Card System Can Borrow Power From My Sister..." Tempora concluded, summoning the strength from Trinity, "... Then I Should Be Able To, As Well." She concentrated the power from the Spirit Cards that belonged to Trinity and used one that had been placed within the Argus Card System before it was discarded. At that point, from a period of time when she was not using 'Master Fuu', he would appear in that instance for the sake of Tempora, who would then send him after the Joker for her. "... Master Fuu...!" Tempora shouted quietly, "... Buy Me Some More Time..."

Tempora's sudden use of a 'Forbidden' -Assist- caught the Joker off guard just as much as it using one on her. This served as an additional disadvantage along with the fact that the next card that it drew was actually not very useful for its situation against Tempora, which was a downside that was always possible, since not every card, no matter how beneficial, was going to be useful. The Joker had been unfortunate enough to have fallen victim to one of these circumstances, and therefore had to make do with what he got.


Something sure was going to happen, though it probably was not going to be relevant or even useful to the Joker at all. Sometimes, leftover cards weren't meant to be reused, as it became more wasteful than useful. The Joker had to cover its tracks now so that Tempora would not gain an advantage from this turn.

"... There!" Tempora cried, her voice echoing across time, "The Joker Is Vulnerable Here." She would delve into time to take advantage of the single moment and cause a time flux to constantly cause the two of them to remain proportionally equidistant from each other in terms of their metaphysical fixations, meaning that from this point on, by all such natural laws which were in play after the event which allowed them to happen, Tempora could continually ensure herself in a superior position at all times. In order to further take advantage of this opening with the Joker, she would also 'Draw' her next card.


This card would allow her to perpetually cause the very temporal flux that she would create to also siphon the metaphysical superposition of power wherever it was and place it proportionally equidistant from that which it was drained, keeping them forever in balance, yet only in favor of one side. That would keep the Joker from getting close and from getting stronger, but... If it got a lucky card, the entire plan could fall apart. That was always a risk of the Argus Card System... Naturally.

Tempora may have gotten the upper hand on Joker due to a bad Draw, but that could still be dealt with by drawing the power of a different card, and this time, the drawing would be direct and not residual, meaning Joker had more control over what it could do.


Having the power to now make a selection based on what was still registered in the system and not based off of what energy was being replaced by new energy, Joker would 'Pick' a Spell Card, using that as the basis for its next technique.

The card that was picked was called 'Breoleio', which translated to 'Mouth Illusion'. With Tempora's power being one that was proportionate to the Joker's, if it was interrupted by an illusory signal from the Joker, it could potentially only read that energy and not the Joker's. Therefore, Joker spoke nonsensical words that erected an equally nonsensical illusory energy which would intercept the Power Vacuum and cause it to draw its strength from the illusion, making its proportions only capable of application toward said illusion and not the Joker who hid behind the illusion.

Joker would be given an opportunity to bypass the Power Vacuum because of this, and hidden by the illusion, it would be able to move outside of Tempora's senses, since her focus should have remained upon the illusion.

Regardless of the Joker's illusory technique, Tempora could feel the fluctuations in the wavelengths on her own independently of the Power Vacuum that was established. "... It Is More Clever And Resourceful Than I Gave It Credit For..." Tempora had to admit. "... Though, I Suppose This Is To Be Expected Of One Of The Argus Card System's Most Sophisticated AI..." Now, it came down to a matter of locating the Joker wherever it had escaped to. It was clear that Tempora was going to need to up her game if she was going to outwit the Joker.

"... There Are Only Spell Cards That Are Still Actively In Play," she said rather generally, as she could sense the energy of the Spells that were Active. "... That Does Not Give Me Much To Work With, Especially Since The Joker Has Already Used One Of Those Spells..." But, something she had to be aware of was the fact that the Joker did not outwit her by power, but through cunning. She may well have been more powerful than the Joker, but if she could not measure up to its technique, then her power meant next to nothing unless it came down to a bout of strength.

She was going to have to get creative with what was left.


Instead of targeting the Joker, who was now moving ambiguously, she would target the method of travel that it was using, which was transitional. It was in no definite identifiable space, but it was a fact that wherever it was, it had to transition there from where it once had been. It would be by this very method of transportation that Tempora would strike it, which should have been a vulnerable point.

During the Joker's transition from one place to the next, the manner of its travel would become volatile to it, the currents charged with a dangerous hazard that would both damage it and also inflict it with poison, further harming it even after the attack was done. Beyond the fact that the electrical currents were toxic, they were also explosive due to the nature of the spell, and exposure to them would cause a great deal of explosions to occur for as long as the Joker insisted on continuing its transition. This meant that the Joker should have suffered severe and continuous damage from both the explosions and the poison as long as it was in transition and not within a set or defined location.

Such an attack on the Joker did significant damage to it for a period of time as it calculating its next judgment, now as an act of salvaging itself.


In order to best salvage itself, it needed to first prevent itself from being struck consecutively and also damaged continually afterward. Though it seemed rather dire and hopeless for one, it was actually quite easily remedied if given the proper opportunity and with the proper capabilities. By drawing power from a 'Healing Card', then using the power of the 'Forbidden Card' that caused what was affected to become the reverse of what it was, the once hazardous exploding bolts of lightning constantly going off and striking the Joker would instead have healing properties, giving Joker more vitality with every strike.

As though to maximize the time and space that created an opportunity and not greedily try to continuously consume infinite energy that was completely unnecessary after it was completely healed, Joker finished its ambiguous 'Transition' about and this time appeared before Tempora after it was fully restored.

"... The Versatility That This AI Has Is Remarkable," Tempora had to admit after facing the thing straight-on, which no one really did. She was a Goddess -- and a very powerful one, at that -- so for the AI of the Argus Card System to be able to match and outdo her in any instance was already noteworthy. She actually did struggle facing it, but was always able to see the light.

"... I See Why The Argus Card System Is Such A High Restriction," Tempora said with humility. "It Is A Higher Restriction Than Even Myself, And So It Has Greater Potential To Trump Me As It Is, Plus It Also Naturally Had A Greater Range Of Control Than I Do, Given The Parameters Of My Existence..." All such information may have been factual, but part of the perks of a Game, especially a Card Game, was the sheer capacity for 'Chance'. So very much of it came down to 'Chance' so very often, it was an actual 'Law' embedded in the very 'Nature' of the 'Game'. With both an algorithm and an AI using such things to their greatest potential, it was definitely something difficult to overcome.

Even so...

"... The Timelines Are Getting Closer Together," Tempora foresaw in the near future, "They Are Closing In Now As The Energy In The Argus Card System Dwindles." They were only playing with a few remaining cards, and once there were no more, that would be the end. "... Out Of All Possible Outcomes, I Can See The One That I Will Most Definitely Prevail Over You." As the very Spirit of a well-established tactical genius, Tempora was able to calculate things in the past that would come together in the future, all whilst sustaining them in the present. A very basic ability, yes, but useful as a fundamental of the universe.

So, she would Draw the next Card from the energy in the Veritas, using it to potentially ascertain her victory over the AI.


This Spell Card would give Tempora the direct command over the evolution of Joker, meaning that she also could potentially slow or even stop its evolution, and also accelerate her own. She could do this without the use of a Spell Card, but it just so happened that this specific Spell Card was still in the system, and was just very useful for this situation, especially over the rest of the Cards that were left. With this done, the Joker would no longer be able to adapt to any situation, and its greatest asset beyond the fantastical nature of the possibility of whichever card was utilized was made useless.

In addition to this, Tempora could also accelerate the evolution of anything else outside of herself, meaning that she could cause everything around the Joker to progressively become more well-adapted whilst forcing the AI to remain stagnant, never becoming better or growing along with the evolving elements surrounding it. The obsolescence would void it out, thus ending it where it was before it could continue.

When it came down to it, given the remaining cards and their order, the Joker had decidedly lost.


It may have been the end of the algorithm, but it was only the beginning for the system. The Joker, as per its own Command, would isolate its own mind so that Tempora would not be able to influence it. This would trap itself in its mind, but also protect it. At that point, there was nothing that the AI could do, and so it dispersed itself once it was fully cornered.

It would establish another algorithm elsewhere, as now, the Argus Card System had been formally reinstated in the Veritas System.

The end had finally come. The penultimate card belonged to Tempora, who would be the harbinger.


She felt the Joker remove itself from Eternalism Hill, leaving Tempora all alone. "... That Should Do It..." she'd mutter to herself, her part being finished for the moment, "... Now I Just Have To Wait For The Others To Come Here..." The extent of her power, with help of the Argus Card System, was now flowing in harmony with the energy of the Veritas, and was also keeping the rest of the energy of the Veritas in time. The time of the Old Energy would come to an end here with her, and only the new, synchronized energy would remain, starting life on a better path after the convergence of the other, lesser paths in this temporal singularity.

And the Time Goddess took her place in the Veritas where she was supposed to be.

As all time was restored properly once Tempora recalibrated both herself and the Distribution System, her father, who told her that he would meet her at her home in Eternalism Hill with her mother, would appear with her just shortly after she realigned all time, as if being put temporally where he was truly supposed to be after existing in a 'Time Displacement' for however long that lasted. They would appear to be transparent initially, but eventually fill into their color, which wasn't much different from the clarity of their transparency.

"Good Work, My Child," said Teus, commending his daughter for her work, "You Have Jump Started The Distribution System And Also Realigned All Time. This Is Most Wonderful, Daughter." Not only was it one less thing that he had to do, but also it meant that there was time for the three of them to spend some quality time together as a family before they really needed to return to their duties. "With The New Energy In And The Distribution System Handling The Cycling And Recycling Of That Energy, Our Presence Will Be Rather Minimally Necessary, And Our Influence Will Remain Automatically Through The System." He pat her on the shoulder, drawing his daughter and his wife close to him. "Well, Family, Let Us Begin With Our Relaxing Quality Time Together! Cheers!"

"Please, Allow Me!" insisted the Light Goddess, who was feeling loving toward her family now that the time had come for them to rest. "You Know I Never Get To Do Anything At All," she mentioned. "It Would Make Me Happy If I Could Take Care Of Something For Us, Too!" Rita stroked the cheeks of Tempora and Teus, lovingly, drifting away from the two of them and into the depths of the dimensions of Eternalism Hill.