14 First Fight

Watching from below, Riku couldn't help but feel bad for his patron goddess as she silently moved herself away from the front. Her siblings were bickering about her, and while some of the gods defended her, the way they did it almost sounded like she was a toddler among them despite being a fully-fledged goddess.

"Can we please just move on?" Luna sighed as she cut into the conversation. "I'm sure our Champions are already getting tired of hearing us bickering."

"Indeed, Luna," Themis agreed. "Now, with introductions out of the way, let the Game of the Gods begin!" He then turned to Astra and said, "Astra, get ready to scatter our Champions."

Wordlessly, Astra's hand began glowing as miniature stars circled around him. Likewise, a swirl of lights began to circle around Riku and the rest of his fellow Champions. As an experiment, he tried walking forward, only for his leg to get stuck behind some invisible barrier holding him in place.

On that, Riku actually tensed up. They were being scattered? To where? Didn't Themis just say that they had to make their way down the Deep Blue from where they were now? Or perhaps this was to prevent him and his fellow Champions from just lunging at each other at the first moment they could do so...

"Aren't you forgetting something, Elder Brother?" Tyche faintly smiled with amusement, his hand raised as if protesting something. "Seeing as our Champions here don't know each other, we should let them introduce themselves first, right?"

"They'll probably all know each other eventually," Mimir casually spoke aloud from behind a book that she was reading. "We've wasted enough time as it is."

"Mimir is right, my brothers and sisters!" Brahma exclaimed with his boisterous voice. "Let our Champions meet on the road to victory!"

"On that, I actually agree," Shiva smirked, his arms crossed in front of him. "Besides, what better way is there to know your enemies than on the field of battle?!"

"Very well, I shall be waiting for you all in The Dicastery proper!" Themis bellowed with resounding echo. "Pass my challenge, and you shall be let through!"

And with that, Riku felt himself being whisked away, the world around him slowly disappearing as Astra casually exerted his power of space. Feeling himself floating away, the former assassin shielded himself from the bright light surrounding him, only to open them once more the moment he felt his feet touching the ground once more.

{REALM: THE DICASTERY}

{DEPTH 1}

"Well, that was rather rude," he scoffed to himself as he dusted off some of the stardust that clung to him. "Still, that went better than expected."

Alone once more, the former assassin quickly readied himself for any potential encounter. Looking around, it would seem that he was whisked away to yet another part of the first Depth. The architecture and the environments still held the same golden hue and marble as before, and it also looked like he was utterly all alone without even Nyx to keep him company.

Well, it wasn't like she was allowed to help him fight anyway. She made for great eye candy, information, and entertainment, but other than that, she had nothing else of value for him-

/Watch out!/

Riku's eyes widened as Nyx's voice suddenly made itself heard inside his head. And just as her warning registered in his mind, he spotted what looked to be a very regal golden lion trying to lunge at him.

Clicking his tongue, the former assassin rolled away, unsheathing his knife as he prepared himself to fight.

'This is going to be very unorthodox...' he mentally noted as he put his body into a fighting stance, his knife held in a reverse grip as crouched low on the ground. 'I've fought guard dogs before, but this is a whole different level of animal...'

/Big Brother Themis's Lion Guards can use light attacks, by the way,/ Nyx told him through his thoughts. /Better-/

Shaking his head, Riku ignored the distraction of Nyx's advice as he focused on the fight in front of him. The Lion Guard was growling angrily at him, the sheen of its golden armor making it clear that he wouldn't be able to kill it with a thousand cuts. The joints would obviously be better targets, but getting near it would probably be a challenge.

"Let me work, Nyx," he verbally told her, knowing that she'd probably hear him from wherever she currently was.

/I was just trying to help.../

His eyes narrowed, he rolled away from yet another lunge as the lion tried its best to swipe at him with its claws. It then quickly switched direction, its eyes glaring angrily at him as it made yet another attempt at lunging at him. This time, however, Riku was ready.

"RROOOAGHGH!!!"

The lion screamed in pain as Riku deftly swept himself to the side, his knife slicing through the golden armor like butter as he cut through the lion's mid section. It was... surprising, to say the least.

'My knife just cut through metal,' he curiously noted.

/I told you my power's useful,/ Nyx smugly chimed in.

Ignoring his patron goddess yet again, Riku pressed the advantage and aimed his knife right at the lion's chest while it was still confused. Like his prior attack, his knife cut through the armor like it was nothing, his weapon burying itself deep into the creature's chest. He then swept down and to the side, disemboweling the lion with but a single movement before jumping away and flicking the motes of light that clung against his knife.

/Woah... You're really good./

"I could've done better," he scoffed to himself as he turned around to look at his word. The lion was already disintegrating into wisps of golden light, leaving nothing but a memory as even its armor disappeared before his eyes. "If I knew my knife was this sharp, I could've gone for the kill before it even got a chance to try another attack."

/Still, that's good for your first fight against Themis's lions,/ Nyx complimented him. /I can already tell you'll get through this Game without a problem./