1 Prologue

{REALM: ???}

{DEPTH ???}

"Is this all you have for me, coward?!" his opponent taunted. "You have no right to be here if you're that weak!"

Riku brandished his trusty knife in a reverse grip, a tool meant for his new life now being used to tap into the old as he held it up to shield his face from the cold. Blood was leaking out of his skin, his wounds starting to pile up as the fight became more and more unfavorable with each passing second.

'I can't keep this up,' Riku thought to himself as he stared blankly at his opponent. 'I might have the speed, but his armor is too thick... and the ice too jagged to get a hold on...'

In hindsight, it was an unfavorable fight from the start. His opponent wielded an axe and a shield, both of them currently covered in thick ice as the brute that held them laughed and jeered at him. He had no experience fighting an opponent with powers over ice like this. Then again, he had never really fought anyone with fantasy powers like this until he found himself stuck in what was supposedly the home of the gods. He was simply a humble sushi chef trying to turn over a new leaf before all of this; a former assassin doing his best to live out a life away from all of the messy murders and political intrigue that came with being a hired killer.

/Why are you even thinking about this stuff right now, Riku? You should be focusing on beating this guy!/

The former assassin blinked away the feminine voice invading his thoughts. Not that he didn't like hearing her sultry voice in his ears, but her chaotic nature really didn't lend to her being a good thinker anyway.

/Hey, I can come up with good plans too,/ the voice whined, clearly pouting wherever she was right now. /It's not my fault that my aspect affects me more often than not./

"Are you distracted, Champion of Nyx?!"

Riku was about to retort when his attention was pulled back into the fight in front of him. With a shout, his opponent raised his axe up high, ice forming all around him as he grinned at the power he was using.

"The ice of the gods are with me!" the man cried out, his enjoyment of the fight seeping into his words. "As the Champion of Bellona, I will destroy any that will allow him to take his rightful place!"

The former assassin clicked his tongue as shards of ice materialized from thin air, their pointed edges all aimed towards him as they flew straight towards him in an attempt to kill him.

/Use your Trump already!/ his goddess urged him. /My power won't kill you, alright?!/

'But it's more than likely to backfire, on top of it only being available to be used once per Depth,' Riku mentally sighed. 'Still, I guess I have no choice...'

With a blink of an eye, the former assassin allowed his patron goddess's power to flow through him. The broken system Nyx allowed him to wield was highly unpredictable, but they were very much powerful if they gave him the right tools for the job.

[BOONS OF CHAOS: CHAOTIC SYSTEM TRUMP ACTIVATED]

[CHAOTIC REROLL COMMENCED]

As Nyx's automated words echoed in his head, a nervous energy began seeping into Riku as he did his best to dodge his enemy's attacks. Ice rained down on him from all directions, cuts and bruises starting to pile up as he waited for her goddess's trump card to actually give him something useful.

/Trust the process, Riku,/ Nyx, his goddess, reassured her. Though the slight shake in her tone really didn't do her any favors. /I know the power of Chaos can be a bit hard to deal with at times, but it has never failed me before./

Riku couldn't help but scoff at those words. Of course the goddess that had complete control over Chaos wouldn't be screwed over by her own power. Unlike her, he was a regular human being, one that didn't even want to be in this stupid game fighting for an admittedly beautiful yet utterly clumsy goddess.

"Fight back!" his opponent taunted him as he swung his axe wildly at him. "Fight back, Champion of Nyx!"

The former assassin had no choice but to grit his teeth against the biting cold of his opponents ice. Still, that didn't mean that he was defenseless. He still managed to cut and block against the constant barrage of attacks, his trusty knife glowing with the dark power of Chaos as it held against the unnatural ice trying to kill him.

[ROLL SUCCESSFUL]

Still, he couldn't help but feel relieved as his trump card finally finished doing its thing. Backing away from his opponent, Riku mentally skimmed through the one-use power that he got this time.

[CHAOS DUNK: ALLOWS THE CHAMPION TO JUMP HIGHER AND DEAL MORE DAMAGE THE HIGHER UP YOUR ATTACKS COME FROM. VALID FOR THIS DEPTH ONLY]

...

...

/Hey, that's not that bad, right?/

Nyx's words of reassurance did little to fight back his annoyance even as the power his system gave him flew right into his knife, the glow of Chaos growing brighter as its midnight light threatened to blind even its own wielder.

"So you're finally beckoning for your Goddess to aid you," Riku's opponent taunted him once more, his arms spread out wide as if asking anyone to try and hit him. "Not that it would make a difference. What use is the power of heretical Chaos against the power of Bellona?!"

Riku held his words as he reassessed the situation. While the temporary Boon he got wasn't ideal, it wasn't completely useless. Yes, he could win this if he played this smart...

Still, against opponents that had powers that made sense and were truly powerful, why did he have to end up with something that was equally powerful, but utterly unpredictable? In fact, how in the world did he end up being in this fantastical world fighting for a goddess's right to become the next leader of her pantheon in the first place?