55 Friendly Reminder

{SHIZU POV}

{REALM: THE DICASTERY}

{DEPTH 10}

Disappearing into motes of golden light, Shizu was more than ready to move on with all of this fighting. Her hands were still shaking from all of the fighting and throwing cards that she did earlier. And while she knew she was improving rapidly, she really didn't like the feeling that brewed within her chest during that whole time. It was... weird. It wasn't exactly unpleasant, but it wasn't really fun either? The fluttering feeling in her heart when she thought Riku was just about to kill her, then the numbing satisfaction of somehow managing to hit him even if she wasn't really expecting it...

It was unnatural for her, to say the least.

"Well well... We finally meet face to face once again."

Shizu blinked as she heard a voice that she wasn't expecting to hear in person at all. In fact, she was expecting to show up right beside Riku or wherever else they were supposed to go to next. Instead, she found herself outside once again right in front of the courthouse. And in addition, her patron god was standing right in front of her, his ever present smile feeling a tad more menacing than she remembered it to be.

"Oh, don't think like that, my Champion," Tyche cooed at her. "I've always been like this."

Immediately, the fortune teller shrank back into herself. Unlike Nyx where she had a feeling she and her Champion had an agreement about personal space, Tyche wasn't like that at all. Sure, Shizu asked him to stop reading her mind, but she couldn't really tell if he was keeping to his word or he's using his own power to see fate to just predict what she was thinking at any moment in time. It was disconcerting, knowing that she couldn't ever hide anything from someone.

"C-Can you please stop that?" she weakly asked.

"I'm not doing anything, my Champion," the god casually chuckled, his eyes almost never opening as his perpetual smile remained on his face. "Perhaps you should just focus more on why I called you here."

Shizu froze at that. Even if she wanted to say that she didn't do anything wrong to warrant such a talk, she knew she didn't do exactly as Tyche wanted her during that fight. He wanted her to win. He wanted her to teach Nyx a lesson, so to speak. Humble her, in his own words.

Well, she didn't. While she gave it her all, she was more focused on learning and making sure that they actually both managed to pass the trial without much effort. She had a feeling she could've beat Riku if she caught him off guard, but she just wasn't like that as a person.

"Yes, you disobeyed me, but that's fine, my Champion," Tyche chuckled, his tone a tad lower than when she first heard him. "These things happen, and I know that you're not really a fighter at heart. At least, not yet."

"H-Huh?" she blinked in confusion. "W-why would you..."

At her trailing words, her patron god simply smiled at her, as if waiting for her to come to her own conclusions. Well, what was she supposed to think of such an insinuation? She knew for a fact she wasn't a fighter, and she was pretty sure she would never enjoy hurting anyone no matter how strong or good she got at fighting... But then...

"All I'm saying is that the future is never set in stone," Tyche seemingly reminded her as he placed a hand on her head and ruffled her hair. "Some things can still change. Enemies can turn into friends, and allies can always turn at a drop of a hat."

Her heart sank at such words. She just knew that he was telling her to betray her new friend once the time for it came. And it wasn't that she could just defy her god without a care in the world. While she had some freedom in her actions, she was still beholden to him for her current life, no matter how much she didn't really want it back.

"Right..." she weakly nodded, her back hunching even further as she appeared submissive to the god. "I'll keep that in mind."

"It's just a friendly reminder, is all," he smiled. "Something to keep in mind."

Feeling his hand leave her head, she did her best not to appear weak as she looked up to him. Once more, golden motes of life enveloped her, probably to whisk her away to her actual destination this time. Still, the moment she felt a sense of satisfaction emanating from the god, she knew that she had failed in keeping her composure. He had wanted her intimidated, and she could only concede that he had succeeded in doing exactly that.

"Off you go then, my Champion," he waved her off with his ever present smile. "Just do you best, and you'll be fine."

Shizu simply nodded, hoping that she could finally get away from the god that made her feel like a mere plaything. She knew she was playing a part in this game, but what it was, she didn't know. Tyche was clearly scheming something, but would it even help her if she knew? He was the literal God of Fate. What was she to do against him? Against the man that was quite literally only lending her his power so that she could even stand a chance at being in this fantastical place?

***

{TYCHE POV}

Watching his Champion disappear, Tyche could only hum in satisfaction at yet another job well done. A simple nudge to the right direction was all it was needed to change outcomes, after all. And while Shizu didn't know what her part to play was yet, she was already shaping up to be an excellent piece on the board to ensure that balance was going to be retained in the universe.

"Don't disappoint me, my Champion," he whispered to no one in particular. "Your fate is still yours to command."