96 Planetarium

{REALM: THE SEA OF STARS}

{DEPTH 20}

One more Depth came and went, and eventually, they finally arrived at the bottommost Depth of the current Realm.

"Oh, we're here," Nyx excitedly hummed as she spread her arms out wide as if to greet the scenery. "Welcome to Big Brother Astra's planetarium."

Riku raised a brow as he turned to look at what his patron goddess was talking about. Unsurprisingly, the sight that greeted them was as grand and mystical like any of the other sights that came before it. It was shaped like a marble dome, but unlike in the Dicastery where everything was made of marble, the planetarium actually almost looked modern with the gleam of metal roofs and glass balconies hanging over the sides of the building. It was floating in the middle of the sea as well, almost making it look more like a satellite amidst the stars that hovered both above and below it.

"That's really cool..." Shizu absently remarked as her lips parted in awe. "I've seen planetarium's before, but nothing this big."

"Of course. While Big Brother Astra's as lazy as one could get, he still takes his work seriously if need be," Nyx smugly declared. "He also doesn't bully me, so that's a plus on my book."

He let out a soft whistle as their boat slowly drifted closer and closer to the planetarium. It was both foreboding and awe-inspiring to look at for some reason as its sheer size dwarfed even the Dicastery back in the first Realm, and that was already the biggest building he had ever seen in his life counting the tallest skyscrapers in New York or Dubai. This one dwarfed them all, and it wasn't only through height, but through width as well.

"Let's get docked then," Nyx eagerly remarked. "I'm kind of excited what kind of challenge we have to face here to be honest."

Riku simply nodded in wait as he felt their boat slowly drift to one of the many massive docks that surrounded the planetarium. He had no idea if the others ahead of them were already there with them since he couldn't see their boats, but he could only assume that the place was so big that even if they were all there, their ships would be docked on one side of the planetarium, making it impossible to see them.

"Ooh... I kind of miss getting into this place from the outside," Nyx casually hummed as they disembarked. "Not too bad, no?"

"Not bad at all," Shizu excitedly chuckled.

"Isn't it just expected of a godly place to be godly in terms of scale and beauty though?" Riku couldn't help but joke aloud. "This is normal for you. Right, Nyx?"

The goddess smugly nodded. "Obviously. All the Realms are beautiful in their own way, to be honest. Some of them are just more beautiful than others."

"Then you're saying that yours is better?" he challenged.

"Of course, it is. I made it, after all," the goddess firmly nodded, a brief second passing before her smugness disappeared in favor of showing her usual meek nature. "Though, that's also subjective... I know Big Brother Brahma has statues all over the place in his Realm, and Big Sis Kali's just the best vacation spot..."

"Oh, I can't wait to see them all them," Shizu cheerfully stated, her tone clearly forced as she did her best to cheer Nyx up. "Anyway, let's get inside now. I'm sure you can't wait to see your brother again."

At that, Nyx perked up as she nodded. "That's assuming he's here. Last we saw him, he was with his Champion, correct?"

The former assassin hummed at that. That was true, and he distinctly remembered leaving them behind as they ran away from them. If the god of the Realm wasn't present, then how would they do the challenge to leave the place? How would that even work then?

"Eh, he'll have something in mind, I'm sure," Nyx casually shrugged. "Let's just go in and see what's waiting for us."

Silently, Riku stepped right behind Nyx as he and Shizu followed their resident goddess into the massive planetarium. Passing through what was surprisingly a set of simple double doors, what greeted them was.... a rather mundane lounge. Complete with a set of couches, a counter, and even a guest book, the promised beauty and grandeur that Nyx was hyping up to them for a while now was nowhere to be seen.

"This... isn't what I expected," Shizu confusedly remarked. "It's like we're just in a hotel or something."

"Yeah, even I can't help but take note of that," Riku chuckled. "I expected something grander, to be honest."

"That's because we're not really in the planetarium itself yet," Nyx quickly defended. "Just follow me and see for yourself."

With a huff, Nyx beckoned them to follow as she reached what looked like a rather mundane elevator door. Pressing on the button, the door opened, revealing a surprisingly normal elevator. They then stepped inside, and what followed was a set of mundane elevator music that Nyx actually hummed to while they waited for their ride to reach its destination.

"I'm getting kind of nervous now for some reason," Shizu awkwardly chuckled, her hand hovering over her deck of cards as the elevator's soft mechanical hum filled the air. "Like something isn't right."

"That's probably because it isn't," Riku casually remarked. "We're in the territory of a literal god. Surely, this isn't all that we can expect to see from here."

"Of course, it isn't," Nyx scoffed. "Seriously, after everything you two have seen, do you really want to doubt me now?"

"Well, in our defense, your word isn't really that reliable sometimes," Riku bravely stated with a joking tune.

"Hey, at least I'm still mostly reliable," the goddess huffed up. "But yeah, I get your point... But it's different this time!"

Shizu and Riku both shared a glance at one another before letting off a joint chuckle. They couldn't refute Nyx on her words, at least. That counted for something.