99 Hint

{RIKU POV}

"I have an answer."

Nyx's declaration almost made Riku want to chuckle at how innocently and excitedly she said it out loud. It almost sounded like she just got the answer to a hard question on an exam, something that was probably much closer to the truth that the goddess would like to admit.

"Oh? Care to share then?" he asked her as he and Shizu turned to face the goddess once more. Thankfully, they were just about to circle back around to where they came from, so they arrived just in time to see Nyx float back up to their level.

Nyx smugly scoffed as she daintily covered her mouth with her hand. "Apparently, Big Brother Astra wants you to find his office."

Riku blinked. That sounded... far too simple.

"His office? But aren't we in outer space right now?" Shizu asked. "Or at least, some kind of approximation of it?"

"Shizu, I would've thought you'd have stopped thinking about things logically in terms of physics while you're in the Deep Blue," the goddess arrogantly chuckled. "But yes, his office is somewhere in this vast expanse of a planetarium."

Shizu remained silent as that piece of information sank in. Likewise, Riku immediately set his sights out away from the direction of the door they just came in. The sheer scale of the universe in front of them was honestly a daunting task to navigate through. Unlike the Sea of Stars themselves which only just felt like they were merely going through space, there were currently literal galaxies lazily floating past them like they were nothing. To an untrained eye, every star cluster looked the same, and sadly, he was pretty sure that both him and Shizu had no idea how to even begin trying to find this so called office.

"And I assume that you won't be helping us?" he casually asked despite already knowing the answer.

"That's correct," Nyx nodded. "That's just how it is, you know."

"We know, Nyx," Shizu weakly chuckled, her gaze also looking out to the task at hand. "Well, I don't know about you, Riku, but I have no idea where to begin."

"I could say the same, Shizu," Riku chuckled back. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt for you to give us a hint, Nyx?"

At that, the goddess once more radiated an aura of smugness as she puffed up her chest. "As a matter of fact, I am allowed to give you hints," she proudly stated. "And speaking of, maybe you should ask Big Brother Tyche about a hint of your own, Shizu?"

The fortune teller let out a gasp of realization before quickly closing her eyes, presumably to shoot her patron deity a question about the challenge at hand. Likewise, Riku met Nyx's gaze, the two of them immediately switching to mental speak at the drop of a hat.

'You're not telling us something, Nyx,' he accused.

/I'm actually being forthcoming this time,/ Nyx defended herself with a smug smirk. /And if you must know, I still haven't forgiven you two for pulling that Overclocking stunt a few Depths back./

Riku inwardly groaned at that. He thought they were already done with this conversation. 'For the last time, we did what we had to do. Besides, if it wasn't allowed, you and your siblings could've easily just made sure that it wouldn't happen in the first place.'

/And again, I have no idea why they even allowed it to be doable in the first place,/ his goddess sighed. /But still, I don't want you two doing it ever again./

'Unless it's an emergency,' he finished the thought for her. 'You can at least concede that much.'

Nyx rolled her eyes at him. /Yes... I do. Just remember that doing it repeatedly will significantly destabilize your power. The connection between man and god is already fragile as it is./

He simply scoffed at her before letting the subject drop on its own. Now wasn't the time to talk about the past, after all.

/Anyway, as for the hint you want, I'm only allowed to use a maximum of nine words, so let me think of something that would actually make sense,/ Nyx nonchalantly stated with a wave of her hand. /Just give me a second, my Champion. Maybe try and see if Shizu would give you the hint Big Brother Tyche told her./

Blinking, Riku felt his connection with Nyx wane as she inwardly focused on thinking. Left to wait, he turned his attention to Shizu who had just finished talking with her patron deity.

"Anything to share on your end, Shizu?" he asked.

"I would, but honestly, I don't even know if it makes sense," Shizu frowned. "I'm still struggling to wrap my head around what I just heard..."

"Maybe two heads working on it would be better than one then," he helpfully added.

The fortune teller hummed to herself, her frown turning deeper before she let out a sigh of resignation. "It was something about being the center of the universe... whatever that meant."

"Doesn't that mean that it's in the center of the planetarium?" Riku postulated.

"It is, but also not?" she confusedly stated. "The hint states that 'all is revealed at the center of the universe.' Kind of straightforward, but also vague and deceptively deep."

"Doesn't sound like it, but I'll take your word for it," Riku shrugged.

"No, seriously. Tyche said it a way that just reeked of there being more to his words," Shizu frowned as she defended herself. "He didn't say much else after that other than to watch where I was going."

Riku perked up at that. "Now that actually sounds like a hint."

"Clearly, there's more to it if he was being that obvious," she scoffed. "At least you believe me now."

"Sometimes, there's no point digging for something that doesn't exist, Shizu," he retorted with a knowing smile. "I'll trust your word for it, Shizu."

The fortune teller faintly blushed as a soft smile adorned her face. "Thank you."

Riku simply gave her a nod. That was one hint they now had. All he had to do now was wait for Nyx's next nine words.