"I, Arthur, and Leiu were 'sent' to Riarravar for a purpose. At first, we were clueless so we searched for an answer. I had never met them before that event and the two of them only met once prior to that time. We've lost most of our powers and became weak, mortals…"

The Joker, sitting opposite of Lucy, recounted the events of what happened in full details. The listener, Lucy, opened her ears wide and quietly listened to the eccentric man.

"Why did you lose your powers?"

"Well, we didn't 'lose' our powers, per say. We couldn't access them because they didn't exist."

To better explain the past circumstances, he laid out multiple cards in front of her, each with a different symbol and color and upon a closer look, each card indicated an attribute.

"Let's take an easy example… you've been to Earth, right?"

She nodded her hand in confirmation.

"So you're familiar with electricity and how it works, more or less."

Lucy repeated the same actions without talking.

"Let's say you take an object which requires electricity to function to a past before electricity was discovered… do you think it'll still work?"

"Obviously, it won't work."-Lucy

"Bingo! It will not for there is no electricity in that period of time. However, were you to take Benjamin Franklin to a past prior to when he discovered electricity, will he be able to reproduce the same results?"

"…"-Lucy

"The answer is yes and no. It all depends on the resources and the time he was sent in. Many variables played part in his discoveries and if you remove them, there's a strong chance he won't be able to repeat his feats. It was the same with us, as back then, the natural laws had yet to be born."

Confused, Lucy asked:

"I thought if you're sent back in time, you'll still keep your powers and skills."

In response, the Joker laughed and replied:

"That is true but I never said we were sent back in time."

He paused for a split second before resuming:

"Technically, we were sent back in times. However, it was not 'us' but our memories. 'Copies' of us were created while adding one variable which was our memories from the future."

Feeling even more overwhelmed, Lucy tilted her head, not quite understanding his words.

"It is complicated and perhaps even ludicrous. After all, 'creating' living beings is nothing but an absurd thing to say but that's the only way I can explain it. Anyway, skills and spells we acquired in this present weren't accessible, however, for both Leiu and Arthur, re-developing their main powers was a hard but not an impossible thing to achieve. Dark Magic is based on using emotions as a catalyst and then materializing in the form of Dark Mana to either attack or defend. As for Leiu, his powers were vastly different and much more frightening and, unlike his brother, he could manipulate the darkness. It may seem similar to Arthur's Dark Magic but it's definitely not."

The Joker pointed at a slightly dark corner of the room while explaining:

"While Arthur can create Darkness, Leiu can 'access' it, meaning that he's the darkness. Of course, to use it without the help of the System is difficult but he's freakishly perceptive so he managed to control it after much effort."

"Then, what about you?"-Lucy

"Hahahaha I did lose part of my strength but it wasn't that big of a deal. I don't rely on the elemental laws, my powers are wholly reliant on my cards and cards alone. I do have a few powerful artifacts but those are just part of my collection, I mostly never use them. My body was greatly weakened but when I was 'created', my cards appeared with me."

He spread his hand on the table and magically spawned two cups of tea while saying:

"Magic is about tricking the mind then the heart… anyway, it's going to be a long story so let me rejuvenate my dry throat."

The Trickster gulped the cup in one go then took a deep breath before continuing with his story:

"As I was saying, we found clues and ended up meeting a detestable woman who was actually the queen of a rising kingdom."

A frown appeared on Lucy's face. She didn't know who exactly the Joker was referring to but she soon got her answer.

"It was Claudia, Arthur's ex-wife."

A chilling aura emanated from the previously calm Lucy though it was retracted after a few seconds. To calm herself, she gulped the cup of tea and gazed at the expressionless man before her.

"It was nothing but a fortunate coincidence for that woman, whose soul got picked by the parasites. Eventually, she was turned into one and joined their ranks. After a few skirmishes, we three decided to raid said kingdom and get rid of the parasites in hope of discovering a way out of that place or a clue to why we were 'sent' there."

***********

In just a couple of minutes, both Arthur and Claudia exchanged a few hundred punches and kicks. Although he was much better at fighting than her, he was still at a disadvantage due to her superior physical strength.

When he lands a punch on her abdomen, she would reciprocate, causing both of them to be pushed a few steps. It was a fight to the death between two mad dogs.

Arthur showed no mercy or hesitation, he hit the face, chest, limbs, whenever there's an opening, he'll aim for it. It was the same thing for his ex-wife, who became much more ferocious and even a bit emotional.

"Do you even know why all of this started?!"

As she whipped him with her long tail and sent him crashing into a nearby wall, she hysterically continued:

"Do you know why I resorted to such cruel means? You think it was only for money?!"

Arthur wiped the blood off his lips and raised his hand, unleashing large waves made of black flames. The black flames clashed with Claudia's dragonic flames, which scorched the ground and spread to all corners of the throne room.

Long chains made of Dark Magic appeared in Arthur's hands, he ignored Claudia's rambling and swung them down.

After swiftly dodging the first strike, Claudia used her sturdy body to the other chains coming from her right. She tried grabbing them but caught nothing but air as they dispersed the moment she tried touching them.

A wall of darkness rose from under her feet, elevating her and destabilizing her body thus rendering her unable to dodge or block countless Dark Spears which hit her all at the same time.

Her figure was sent flying like a kite, only stopping when she was met with a fragile wall which turned into rubble the moment she made contact with it.

Perhaps from anger or the raging emotions, Claudia's pupils shone with a savage red light which increased her strength and healed some of her new wounds.

"You did this to me! You were the one who started it all!"

She struggled to get up while saying:

"We were a happy couple at first but that was only my imagination. You robbed me of my innocence and pretended to be in love with me and all for what? Just to get the support of my family? Then… what about me? Have you ever thought of how I felt?"

"What you claim I have done to you doesn't even hold a candle to what you did to me. Inhumanly torturing me for months, only a sick and obsessed bastard like you would do that."

Contrary to her, Arthur was calm and composed, choosing not be controlled or overwhelmed by the emotions he was feeling right now. If he loses himself to the anger and rage, it would only complicate things not only for him but for The Joker and Leiu.

This is his personal matter and he should finish once and for all, no need for pointless talking or thinking about the past.

"Then tell me… did you ever have feelings toward me? Have you ever considered me your wife?"

She chuckled and added:

"I only saw you once or twice a month and whenever you were home, you never as much as greeted me. You treated me as if I didn't exist. While you were busy managing that company of yours, I was suffering! I had to quietly endure the mocking of the others and hear them talk behind my back."

She gazed at the man covered in black flames, snickered and spoke again:

"When you heard about the rumors and media saying that your wife was a slut, did you even do anything to stop them from spreading? Did you ever try to suppress them? You had enough power to do whatever you wanted yet you did nothing! Absolutely nothing! You watched from the sidelines while your wife was mocked and cursed!"