Two Times, One Sword (Closed)

[Tone 6th]

"Wow you really stuck it him." Mei cheered.
"Yeah well it wasn't to hard." Ayako smirked.

The two wandered around wing until they came to a dead end with five doors, two on the left side of the hall, two on the right, and one heading them all on the back wall. "What do you think these are?" Ayako said quietly. She cautiously moved to the first door on the left, and slowly turned the knob. At the first crack of the door an overwhelming feeling of the blood lust poured into the hallway "Ayako I don't think-" "Shh!" she cut off Mei. She quickly opened the door, but her face fell flat as she stared into a pitch black void. Her eyes searched for something to focus on anything to get rid of this bad feeling she had in her stomach. "Get out." a small whisper echoed through the darkness.

​

A single eye popped out of the darkness and stared at Ayako, then to Mei... it could see Mei.

"GET OUT OF MY ROOM!" a huge hand shot out of the shadows, and grabbed the entirety of Ayako's head. "GET OUT!" a shrill voice screeched. Ayako's struggled and stabbed with her tail into the darkness, trying to stab at her attackers body, but to no avail. *Boom!* A sharp gust of wind shot through Ayako's head sending her flying into the wall behind her. The door slammed shut as the poor girl fell to the floor *Whump*.

The door beside her burst open "What the fuck is going on out here!" it was a girl.
​

​

She looked down at Ayako and raised an eyebrow "Who the hell are you?" She looked her up and down "Are you a new golem from father?" her voice fell flat.

The door at the head of the hallway opened slowly and a tall woman carrying a sword walked out, then look at the two.
​

​

"She's a new addition to our team. Yang informed me that she was coming, but it would appear she's early." her voice has husky, and she looked older. "Welcome to the team Ayako." she offered her hand.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


"Again Yori! Focus on the energy flowing from your core, through your arm, and into your sword. Imagine that energy shooting from your sword as a flame, you can do this I know you can." Yoko pushed.

Yori was in the training yard, two partially chard bamboo dummies stood before him.​

 

[foodforpigs]

Yori focused his attention back onto his black sword. His frustration was apparent as his right hand's grip grew tighter around the hilt of his sword, while his left hovered over the blade, helpless to assist the other. He shifted in his stance several times to find his core. None of his movements felt natural. It wasn't what PaxStyle had demanded of him either. He was supposed to be PaxStyle, a living embodiment that dealt quick, merciless death. Too much rigor from working in the police force made him stale to the art of fighting; it had become a job only, used as a measure to protect citizens in his district.

He reset his posture to neutral, rolling his shoulders and popping his neck. He took a long look at the bamboo dummies, and then back at his sword, carefully thinking over his present situation. It was in his power to do this, but for some reason he couldn't do it now. Why was that? During the fight against his android sister, he had used the power of flame to deflect razor metal discs and turn metal into slag as he punched through it with his fist. With the help of Amaratsu and other outside forces, he breached a barrier of Time. So why now did it seem so difficult to do such a seemingly trivial thing?

It was trivial. Was that really it? Is that why I'm not willing to do it? Yori paused again. It was difficult to think without any barriers to his self-perception, and to keep his barriers down in order to realize the truth. He was like his sister in a way, who had shown him battle as a chance to showcase his skills. While he didn't savor combat the way that Ayako did, Yori always sought to impress himself. It was part of why he pushed through his battle with Gin and Ayako; they were worthy challenges that demanded the fullness of his abilities.

"This was a side I didn't want you to see." he said openly. Yori knew that Yoko could look at his thoughts clearly as flame in the dead of night, because the feeling told him so as his thoughts projected outwards. "It is the vanity that stains the purity of my intent to protect the innocent, to see myself as a live action hero, like in all the great" Movies. "legends."

 

[Tone 6th]

Yoko sighed "Everyone has their short comings I suppose." she rubbed her forehead. She floated over to one of the wood dummies, and seemingly melded with it. The dummy shook violently then stopped. "HISSSSS!" the dummy turned to show a wicked twisted face. "Sssso you like being the hero huh?" a wood blade formed in the dummy's hand.

"Yoko?" Yori raised an eye brow.

She hissed again "Set me ablaze or I will run to Jiro's room and kill him." her tone was deadly serious. She began slowly walking towards the door, the entire time her gaze was focused on the samurai.

Yori chuckled at the fact a wood dummy was challenging him. He dashed at the wood foe and came down with a vertical slash. *Thunk* The wood sword met with his black blade, yet it did not split. "Worthlesssss fool I told you only your flame can defeat me." she landed a hard hit to his ribs.

 

[foodforpigs]

Yori kicked off the wooden dummy torso, landing with his hands and quickly somersaulting backwards to open the distance between himself and the wooden dummy.

It's true that I enjoy being the hero, but I am more than just my flaws. My will remains unbroken.

Yori slashed the air in front of him as a display of skill and as an intimidation tactic, accelerating the motion until his arms were moving faster than a human eye could perceive and covering nearly all the area directly in front of him and to his sides, stopping on a dime in a combat ready stance. The wooden dummy appeared unfazed, its stance unchanged from its original hostile intent.

"It'll be more than flame that defeats you." Yori said. "I must prove my skill as a warrior chosen by Amaratsu."

He switched between his proficient and non-proficient hand. The possessed wooden dummy charged just the same, not hesitating like a human might against such a hotshot display. Swords clashed rarely, because Yori was seeking to dodge them only, moving and rolling around the wooden golem as a show of speed and predictive capability. One strike, however, knocked the sword out of Yori's hand. As the wooden dummy swung down on him, Yori punched a hole right into the dummy's torso, his hand superheated like before in his fight against his sister.

"Improved firearms."

Instantly his right arm burst into flames, incinerating the dummy from the inside out.

 

[Tone 6th]

Yoko floated to Yori's side "Well done Yori, but occasions will come where you won't always be the hero. You need to learn how to channel energy from your core, otherwise you will die." she stared at the pile of ash that was the dummy. "There are creatures out there that won't be impressed be your sword alone, and Jrio won't be able to help you." she gave him the cold hard truth. "That's enough for today, you did really well." she smiled.

"You've come a long way Yori!" Jiro called from just outside the ring. "The narrow minded man I met a few days ago as disappeared." he chuckled.

"And you look much better for a man I scrapped off the ground a day ago." he retorted.

The samurai met in the middle of the ring and Jiro handed Yori a backpack "We leave in one hour, pack what you need. Feel free to take anything from the kitchen or the armory. This won't be an easy journey, Gin will no doubt try and stop us at every turn." he looked Yori in the eye. "Meet me at the front door when time is up." he turned and headed back inside.

 

[foodforpigs]

Yori headed first towards the kitchen. He started taking ingredients for things that he thought he could cook moderately well under Yoko's guidance, asking for her suggestions on what would make for great rations. She asked what kind of rations they had in the future. Yori replied that it was all rations, of tasteless and dry food colored wafers. Easily enough they both stockpiled a suitable list of items. It would run out in about a week or so, given that produce didn't have that long of a lifetime. To Yori, all the food items still looked alien to him, though he trusted that the combination of these things were still good. Yoko was an amazing chef and teacher, though Yori was only beginning to learn a skill that wasn't just centered around combat.

Next, he went to the armory, dedicating the rest of his time digging around for useful components or tools that could be used. All he could find was a pile of rope, which was always nice to have. He then perused the weapons rack. They looked rather worn. He asked Yoko if Jiro was the one that had used all these. Yoko said no. They were relics of her family, all slain in battle.

 

[Tone 6th]

The hour had passed and Yori found Jrio waiting near the door. "I trust you found what you were looking for." he spotted the rope and rations Yori had on him. "Of course." he smiled. "Then we're off." Jiro opened the door and the two stepped outside.

Just as the two were outside the house Jiro pulled four slips of paper, with protective symbols on them, from his gi. "Hup!" he threw them into the air each shot to a corner of the house. A huge glass like barrier erected itself straight out of the ground. "Glass?" Yori raised an eyebrow. "Not everything is as it appears. Come on I have to say good bye to the village." Jiro chuckled.

Agot Village
​

The sweet sent of home made riceballs wafted past the two samurai as the entered a small bright village. The laughter of children echoed off the hills. "What is this place?" Yori said dumbfounded. "This is my home, Agot Village." Jiro spreaed his arms.
​

​

"It's beautiful." Yori whispered.
"It has yet to be touched by the evil of Gin thanks to my family." Jiro began walking down the hill to the village. Vibrant vegetation surrounded the small path, stunning white flowers bloomed on the side of the path. Birds flew from the trees chirping to attract mates. This village sparked something inside Yori.

"Jiro!" a few kids ran to the swordsman once he entered the village.
"Hello everyone, how are you?" Jiro gave a smile and crouched down to them.
"Jiro we heard an explosion are you ok?" a small girl asked.
"Oh it was nothing, just trying out a new technique I guess I need to keep practising." he gave a small laugh.
"A technique for defeat gin?" a boy swung his arm like a sword.
"The very same." Jrio smiled.
The three laughed, then the boy noticed Yori "GOLEM!" he cried out. "Jiro theres a golem behind you!" he pointed.
"Calm yourself this man is a friend sent here by the Goddess herself to help me defeat Gin." he motioned to Yori.
"I am Yori it's a pleasure to meet you all." he gave a small bow.

The children slowly gravitated to the metal swordsman.
"So you're a good guy then?" the little girl asked eyeing him.
"As good as they come." he smiled. It felt a bit strange talking to children.
"So what did Yori take from you?" the boy asked.
"Well" he looked at Jiro, "he didn't exactly steal anything from me. Like Jiro said I'm here to help."

"Ok run along Yori and I have to go see Mrs. Hisoka." a nervous look appeared on his face.
"Ooo I wouldn't she isn't in a good mood." the little boy shuttered.
"Thanks for the warning." his nerves tightened.

The two continued on their way. "So what do you think of this place Yori? Anything like this back in your time?"​

 

[foodforpigs]

"It's not like anything back home." Yori answered quickly. He folded his hands together soon after and winked apologetically. "That isn't to say there's anything wrong with this place. It's just, very different, is all. Try to imagine the structural complexity of an anthill, and its countless workers. Now try to imagine that image spanning from deep underneath the earth's surface to the very top of the sky." It is a revered as living god because of its complexity that were like nerves, a KAMI. "That is where I'm from. It's called a megalopolis, a jungle of buildings. There are no 'small places' like this in my time."

"The other thing is that, well, 'golems' are pretty common, though they are really just people with artificial parts that are designed to augment themselves. I'm an exception, of course, being directly engineered from flesh and metal. Amaratsu's Mark which gives me the power over fire is a close analogy, though in my time its all tech based. If someone loses a limb, our science can implant a new one that looks and feels like the original. If someone wants to change the way they look, they have a catalog, a book from which to purchase things, to browse and choose from - hair, eyes, skin color, you name it. A person can look completely unrecognizable after an operation if they so chose. It's not limited to appearance though, and that's not even including the weapons a person can implant in themselves. In my time, it's possible to purchase knowledge and abilities directly. If a warrior agreed to an operation, a scientist could copy his brain patterns when it comes to fighting and implant those patterns in the mind of another person. They would know and fight the same style; no training, no strings attached. Though it's rare, and extremely expensive. You would have to see it to believe it. To see nobody around here with at least an artificial limb is quite awe-inspiring, actually. With all those augments, it can be difficult to know who you are. Some even go 'cyber-psycho'; they do become like a real golem, a monster of destruction."

"I have a question though, since I haven't seen one already. Do you have other people to uphold local community law in this time? I was called an officer of the law." Yori pointed at his police badge. "I know you'd probably have your role in protecting people, but who runs this place in particular?"

 

[Tone 6th]

Jiro had a hard time wrapping his mind around the idea of someone wanting to have artificial parts. "Why would anyone want to lose part of their spirit?" he whispered. "Here if anyone looses a limb it's considered a great lose, as part of who they are is also taken away from them. Your time confuses me." he said out loud. "However, I do understand what this 'megalopolis" you speak of is. It seems like its a lot like one of the capital cities, huge with people everywhere." he explained.

The two stopped at large house just near the center of the village "As for keeping the law well we have an old lady and her sons for that." Jiro chuckled. He invited Yori into the home, which looked a lot like the first floor of Jiro's home.

"Mrs. Hisoka!" Jiro called out.
"Yes yes just a second!" an old worn voice called back.

The slow shuffling of feet could be heard coming down the hall, then after a few minuets an older woman emerged.

​

"Ah Jiro you're looking well." she greeted.
"As are you Mrs. Hisoka." Jrio gave a great bow

Her eyes shifted over to Yori "And who's this eye sore." she sneered.
"This is Yori he's helping me find something." he laughed nervously.
"Hmmm? What did you loose? Come to think of it there has been a lot of noise coming from atop that hill lately." she glared at the swordsman.
There was a long silence from Jrio, then he spoke "The Goddess Stone has been stolen... by Gin."
"The we are all doomed and it is your fault. With that stone he finally has everything he needs to conquer this plain as well as the others." she said bluntly.
"Thats why we're going to stop him before he can put his plan into action." he quickly explained.

Her eyes moved to Yori "And what do you have to with all this?"​

 

[foodforpigs]

"Permission to speak freely." Yori answered.

Mrs. Hisoka just stared at Yori with blank indifference and mild annoyance. Her scowl was her only response. Yori scowled back. This woman could've been his police chief in his time. Same condescending, blunt tones, and simple disregard for formal procedure when the 'shit hit the fan'.

"I'm here as an outsider, a rogue official of the law whose outside of his local jurisdiction. I entered combat with Gin while Jiro was in the process of sealing the stone underneath the lake's surface."
"You're a meddler, then." Mrs. Hisoka said with a stinging venom. "A ronin that doesn't know when to keep his sword out of matters that don't concern him."
Yori presented the mark of Amaratsu more clearly to her. "I was sent here by a force other than my own."
"That mark!" she exclaimed.
"I was chosen to help retrieve the stone, and I'll set it through, by the honor that is my life."

 

[Tone 6th]

"So you've been chosen by the godess herself." She sighed then looked to Jiro. "Very well the my sons and I will keep order here, but you promis that you'll take Gin down and end his reign." She looked right in his eyes.

"Of course." Jiro nodded. "Come Yori it's time to go." The two turned to the door and left. "Well that went smoothly." Jiro breathed a sigh of relief.
-------------------

A wide valley spread before the swordsmen as the left the village. *Woosh!* A sweep of wind pushed against the two *Boom!* A clap of thunder tore through the men. The sky was heavy with storm clouds and a certain tension gripped the air. Jiro quickly tossed a green sphere into the village entrance "Protect!" Jiro shouted. A green barrier of honeycombs shot up around the entrance "There they should be safe now."

"So what where to?" Yori asked.

"I'm not sure, you tell me future man. What's the fastest way to Hiroshima? Tell me the next town or city on our rout from here." Jiro folded his arms. *Boom!* Another clap of thunder.

 

[foodforpigs]

"You -- really have no idea how far into the future I am, do you?" Yori frowned. "Maps of this era of Japan no longer exist in my time. They're gone, decayed, dust. There are references to ancient Hiroshima as a place, but the most we know about it is from the writings of those describing Hiroshima indirectly. Times really have changed in the span between the start of our lifetimes. There might be more complete records out there in the future, but none that I've seen."

Yori felt the gravity of his words press down on him. The man he was talking to was the history. It implicated that everything Jiro loved would be lost in time, turning to dust because of the countless cycles of life that passed between them. There was also the common knowledge of everyone in his time that modern Hiro--

Don't be discouraged! Yoko chirped. I know where it is; let me show you, okay?
No, wait! Yori pleaded.

"ACCESSING --" Yori said mechanically, buzzing. "ACCESSING -- NEW INFORMATION. CONFIRMED."

A bright flash of light entered into Yori's view. His metal artificial eye was spinning slowly in his socket as he blinked, his face strained. He saw beautiful trees and the mighty castle towering above. Tears flowed as Yori's memory filled in the rest. The bombing of 'modern age' Hiroshima, during World War II. Yoko could now see it, the complete and full terror. It was but a stepping stone to the future era, and the devastation that followed.

"I know where it is." Yori said glumly. The price had been great for Yoko. He didn't realize tears were rolling lightly down his face. The more she bonded their memories together, the more she would know what nobody in the past should ever know, of a time when the sun would cease blessing the land of the rising sun. "I need to think now about our new path. It's a simply connected graph, so I can use mental brute force to optimize travel distance."

 

[Tone 6th]

"All those people gone... our homeland destroyed." Yoko began crying. "I can hear the faint cry of the future. So many wronged souls." tears streamed down her face. "What caused this? Who will be the one responsible for taking those lives?" her heart dropped. "I'm sorry Yori I shouldn't have tampered with you." her voice was small. "If you need me just call... I can't be here right now." she faded away.

"Great then what is the first city, huh?" Jiro looked at Yori crying "Oh my Yori what's wrong? If I've offended you with my demeanor I apologize." he stepped back.

"No it's nothing, just a little home sick." he whipped tears from his eyes and pointed. "If we continue south we should hit Tokyo by sunrise tomorrow if we continue through the night."

*BOOM!* Thunder struck again.

"Well we better get going, the storm will hit soon." Jiro started in the direction for Toyko.
----------------------------------------------------------

A few hours had past and the valley was now behind them. A lush forest sprung up around them with Jiro leading the way. *Plip plop plip* Rain drops dusted the canopy of the forest "We should set up camp for the night. This storm is going to be a wicked one." he drew his sword. "Hmph!" Jiro stabbed the ground raising a flat slab of rock a few feet out of the ground. "Now for the walls." He two huge gashed into the ground near the base, two rock walls shot up creating a sort of rock tent. "There we go, I'll gather wood for a fire. Make yourself at home." he turned to the woods and left.

Yori sat inside the cold shelter and watched the rain fall. "Yori?" Yoko finally spoke up. "The future you have... is there any good in it, or is there no point in stopping Gin? He wants a horrible future and from what I saw that's what happened." Yoko still had tears in her eyes. It was strange to see her cry, she was such a strong person.

 

[foodforpigs]

There was no easy answer to Yoko's question. Yori remained silent, pondering over his life as an officer of the law. He chose to protect that sliver of good, but there was too much evil left unaccounted for. Globalization ended the wars between countries, but not between corporations that struggled against each other for the remainder of the Earth's valuable resources. The human population persisted by virtue of technology. Yori had asked what a spirit was, and found it to be like the will to live, the drive that goes beyond mechanical motion. The planet itself acted against them with monstrous monsoons and earthquakes. Fissures sometimes broke out in the underground, threatening an area with volcanic activity.

"Let me show you something." whispered Yori. He closed his eyes and thought about one of his strongest memories, when he was sent to help build a perimeter against an incoming great flood projected to hit a community and threatened to flood the underground. Yoko could feel the rush and urgency within him as he raced across the lighted dense streets like a battlefield, and the yells of commands through his intercom of what was required to do next. Many of the details were cloudy, but it was with the magnificence of a great ritual to ward evil. Yori guided people safely into shelters, carrying those who themselves ran out of strength in warning and saving others from harm. Yoko could see the insignias of what Yori commented briefly as other companies, of shogunates that were not his own, banding towards the common goal of protecting the people, and of banners she could only guess were of other nations entirely. She could also see the end result from a memory of Yori looking at several monitors to how the city itself started to move and morph like a living god, modular and adaptable, as entire blocks shifted upon platforms to other areas. Most of the flood water violently crashed against force-fields, and fell harmlessly into crevasses, and instead of wreaking devastation, became waterfalls flowing into the earth with steam at the edges. The beauty of that part of the city was amplified then, of its grandness and its light. She could hear the triumphant cheers of the civilians and his corporate rivals ring true in Yori's own ears. People still gave a damn about what happened to each other. Humanity had paid a terrible and great cost in learning the lessons of war; that war should never be waged. They simply couldn't afford another, not after World War III.

 

[Tone 6th]

Yoko felt a warm feeling sweep over her "Thank you Yori, I'm sorry I doubted our mission." she walked out into the rain. "It's funny I can still fell the rain on my skin, yet it falls right through me." she sighed. "So Yori lets continue our game of questions." this was along running game between the two. "I believe its my turn..... what happened to your sisters body that night after the battle?" she smirked. "Did she have some kind of device on her to return her to the future?" she chuckled. "... Or did you bury her?" her smile faded.

Jiro returned with a pile of wood and noticed Yori was having a conversation "Please don't mind me." he waved. He placed the wood in the center and started a small fire. He unrolled a cushioned mat and laid down on it, turning his back to Yori.

Yoko looked back to Yori.

 

[foodforpigs]

"Given the circumstances, I gave my sister a proper burial deep into the ground of an unmarked grave. We don't usually bury our dead in the future. There's simply not enough Earth to spare in the cities, and going into the Badlands is always a terrible idea. We are usually cremated, our flesh returning to ash and metal returning to liquid slag to be reformed." Yori was frowning too. "There is no known device to travel through time. My sister only followed the trail left by me when I was pulled to this era by an outside power. It hurt to see her so corrupted. I might've stayed with her if I had known just how far much she'd change; maybe then I could've kept her on the golden path. She was more than just a golem, and didn't deserve to be smelted down like one."

"Brothers aren't supposed to smother their sisters. They have to accept that they have to make their own decisions. I made mine, and well." She lifted her transparent arm to stare at it mournfully. "Here I am."
"You probably still think it's strange that she could be my sister, though, don't you?"
"Strange." Yoko muttered.
"She helped raise me and come to terms with being half-machine under John Paxton, our father, play with me when other children wouldn't. She was once the voice of reason and guidance, of diligence and duty, a perfect role model. She also used to sing."
"Sing?" Her tone implied that she wasn't ready to believe any of this.
"Yes, though nobody knew her songs but me. Lullabies, original ones too." She was also the one that convinced Paxton that other books and movies that weren't combat/mission oriented wouldn't be harmful to Yori's development as a young child. "She sung of a world that would stop screaming. We've both seen that world now in the past, and now..." Tears choked his throat.

 

[Tone 6th]

Yoko placed a hand on Yori's shoulder, and oddly enough he could feel it there. "I'm sure she's in a better place. She might have committed some wicked acts, but from what you told me it seems like she has a good heart." she smiled.

"Thank you." he grabbed her hand. Yori took a deep breath in and stared into the fire.

"Okay so now it's your turn to ask me something." she attempted to distract him from his depressing thoughts.

 

[foodforpigs]

"Tell me more about the Goddess Stone. What does it do, exactly?"

He already knew that it was of great significance, and that Gin went all out to get it, but he felt he stilled needed to know what exactly he was dealing with. His heart was heavy already with memories of his past, which was now adrift in the distant future.

 

[Tone 6th]

Yoko smile "I love telling this legend." she walked over to the fire. She took the smoke and drew eight figures "It all began with seven deities, and the high goddess. One day the High Goddess Amaterasu, the original incarnation of the one you met, decided it was time to give life to a new realm. A realm where beings could live of their own free will. 'It will very interesting to see what these beings will do with their freedom.' she thought to her self. Amaterasu called upon her deities to offer something into this new world." Yoko took the some and formed it into eight different shapes.

"Sarutahiko Okami delivered the Shard Stone giving us the rocks beneath our feet."

"Konohanasakuya, the blossom princess, delivered the Sprite Stone sprouting the trees, and giving us animals."

"Suijin delivered the Aquwis Stone bring the great waves of the ocean."

"Kisshōten delivered the Husk Stone giving humans a shape."

"Tsukiyomi delivered the Zae Stone gracing humans with a heart."

"Amatsu- Mikaboshi delivered the Padnose Stone delving the world into chaos."

"Fukurokuju delivered the Lumus Stone giving contrast and bringing order."

"At the center of it all was the controller, the Goddess Stone. Amaterasu engraved freedom into the hearts of humans. "

​

"With these stones it's said that the wielder can transcend space and time, able to go to which ever world or time they choose or even make a new one. The trick is figuring out how to do so, and Gin has been looking for the solution to that problem for a very long time." she whipped away the smoke and looked at Yori. "If he figures out how to use the stone to their full potential... Yori I promise I'll give you all I have in order to win against Gin...we'll win." she looked him dead in the eye.​

 

[foodforpigs]

"So Gin doesn't know how to use the stones to their full potential." Yori repeated. "Well, at least that's a start." He smiled a tiny bit. "Are the rest of the stones in his possession as well, or are there some still out of his reach? Is there anything we could do to further disrupt his progress in controlling the stone during our journey to Hiroshima?"

Yori thought about the stone as the central control node of a web network. As far as data networks went, there was always a backdoor or some weakness of the network to be exploited.

"It might be difficult to explain, but we have an analogue in our time; we call similar, though less powerful pieces of control 'nodes'. No matter how powerful a node is, however, there's always a way to neutralize it or some sort of control system in place to prevent unintended users from accessing it. If that is bypassed, there are usually secret nodes to help regain control of it."

He sighed. It really was hard to explain all this to Yoko. "I guess in the language of now, which is this time, are artifacts that can at least suppress the power of the Goddess Stone? I know it's a very tall order to ask."