47 Stand

Riku stood dumbfounded for but as single second before he shook his head to regain his focus. Likewise, Shizu looked utterly lost as Themis's words rang through the air like a death knell. They had no idea what they just got themselves into, but they certainly wouldn't just stand there looking like idiots.

"Opening case..."

Mumbling to himself, the former assassin gave Shizu a nod before they both stared at the papers in front of them. It was a neat stack, one that was very much reminiscent of the papers they just submitted a few moments prior. Looking back up, Themis was staring at them silently as if judging their worthiness in his eyes. Likewise, looking at the other gods by the jury stand, they were all sporting a clean look of neutrality as they silently watched. Even Nyx herself held a blank expression despite her body language. He was guessing that she was worried for them, but was probably unable to help due to the rule of noninterference.

"Uh... How do you think we should do this?" Shizu asked him from her podium.

Riku turned his attention back to the papers as he picked them up. Straightening them out by hand, he could already tell that they had to do something with these things. He hadn't read them yet, but Themis telling them to present an opening case meant that the papers were all that they needed to pass this trial.

Clearly, they had to act like lawyers if they wanted to get through this.

"Start reading," he advised her. He then turned to Themis and asked, "Are we timed during this trial?"

Themis simply grunted, "You both have an hour to prove yourselves."

"A-An hour?" Shizu couldn't help but gasp in surprise and horror. "With this much papers to go through?"

"And hour is all you two will need," the God of Order scoffed. "In addition, there is no guarantee that both of you will pass. You may choose to sabotage your opponent, and there will be no consequence."

Shizu's eyes widened at the insinuation, and Riku could only click his tongue as he dove right into reading the pages. Still, his mind whirred at Themis's statement. From that alone, he surmised that Shizu was supposed to be his opponent in this trial. Then again, he also stated through insinuation that they could both pass if they proved satisfactory.

The problem now was how in the world were they supposed to do that...

Shaking his head, the former assassin kept reading, hoping that he'd find some answers on the papers they were given. Likewise, Shizu did the same in front of him. He didn't know what was written on her papers or if they even had different copies in the first place, but he could only hope that she was good enough to follow his lead once he knew what they were supposed to do.

And of course, the moment he finished reading the first half of the papers in about ten minutes flat, he had a clue on what he was supposed to do.

"Your Honor, may I call the Goddess of Chaos, Nyx, to the stand!"

With his arms stretched out, Riku pointed at his own goddess, his voice booming with authority as the latter clearly looked shocked at the sudden attention being called onto her. Meanwhile, the others were visibly surprised at his sudden move. Even the other gods save for Themis stared at him like he had suddenly grown a second head.

"Riku?" Shizu confusedly asked. "What are you..."

"Keep reading," he tersely replied, his gaze still trained on his goddess as he spoke. "You'll know what to do when you're done."

At his words, Shizu could only nod before diving right back into her own papers. In terms of the god in question, however, it was clear that Nyx had no idea what was happening.

/What are you doing, my Champion?/ Nyx blandly asked him, her steady tone hiding the obvious anxiety bubbling within. /Big Brother Themis is squinting at me.../

'I'm doing what he's is telling us to do,' Riku mentally replied even as his expression remained unmoving.

/He wants my own Champion to interrogate me?/ she whined. /What a dirty trial this is.../

'It won't be as bad as you think,' he reassured her. 'Trust me on this. You'll come out clean if things go as I think they'll do.'

It was a rather underhanded trial, all things considered. Based on what he read, there was a small chance that Nyx might be barred from entering the Dicastery again if he didn't play things right. Funny enough, the papers were a copy of what supposedly happened to have his goddess banned from entering Themis's Realm eons ago. There were also a few statements that stated her defense and the prosecution's response. Obviously, the defense was sorely lacking, which meant that he was probably supposed to enact the defense all over again and try to fix what had happened back then.

That... also meant that Shizu was probably playing as the prosecution, and he could only hope that she'd go easy on him without risking her own passing of the trial.

/Fine then,/ she mentally sighed. /You owe me a plate of sushi after this though.../

Riku simply nodded at her before turning back to Themis. The God of Order gave him a neutral looked before he banged his gavel. At the sound of wood hitting wood, another podium appeared in the middle of the courtroom, one that was facing the judge this time as it sat right in the middle of Riku and Shizu's respective podiums.

"Very well," Themis acknowledged with. "Nyx, to the stand, if you please."

On the jury's stand, Nyx visibly sighed as she stood up, her hood obscuring her face as she nodded. Disappearing in a mist of dark chaotic tendrils, she promptly reappeared on the newly-erected witness stand, shrugging as she leaned into the wooden stand looking completely bored to hide her true feelings.