54 Judgment

With his weapon unreliable and time wholly being against him, Riku decided on doing the one thing he never thought he would ever do to his own weapon.

"You might have your tricks, but I have more."

With a soft smirk, Riku lunged his right arm right at Shizu's face, his knife aimed right at her as if he was truly aiming to kill her. His partner was clearly surprised, but the green glow on his knife quickly clued him in that she was about to do the same trick she did to him again. This time, however, he was ready.

Opening his fist, he let go of his knife, allowing it to soar away from him while letting his open palm strike right into Shizu's cheek. His fellow Champion was far from ready, and she quickly doubled over in pain as she fell to the ground without so much as an inkling of resistance.

"A-AHH!!"

She screamed in pain as she cradled her cheek, tears coming out of her eyes while Riku simply stood over her victorious. He felt some pity for how she looked now, but he supposed it was a lesson she deserved to know now than later down the line. It would be impossible for her to not be hurt, and being hit in the face was an experience that any combatant should at least experience so that they would know how not to react to it, which is what Shizu was poorly reacting to.

"It would seem that the Trail by Justice has officially ended," Themis declared with a bang of his gavel. "Justice has been properly presented in its purest form, and I have seen more than enough to pass judgement."

Around them, the audience's cheers went silent, allowing Shizu's stifled cries to be the only thing echoing across the courtroom as she slowly picked herself back up. Cradling her hurting cheek, she gave Riku a squint even as she accepted the hand he extended out to her to help her stand up. At the same time, he raised his other hand up, catching his flying knife as it returned to him via his power.

"Are you alright?" he asked, a faint smirk forming on his face at his own handiwork as he sheathed his weapon.

"T-That hurt..." Shizu pouted, her eyes teary as she did her best to stop herself from crying. "D-Did you really have to hit me that hard?"

"It's a lesson you'll have to learn anyway," he coolly shrugged. "Getting hit hurts, but you have to keep moving in spite of the pain."

His fellow Champion's pout only became deeper, but she still nodded at the lesson being given to her. At least she wasn't one to keep a grudge. Or at least, that was what Riku thought of her.

"You two have shown a remarkable understanding of what justice truly is," Themis began, taking control of the scene once more with his sheer authority. "Only a few select Champions chose to undergo the Trial by Justice, and even fewer realized what exactly said trial was actually for. Justice is not about what is right or wrong. Yes, it is an aspect of it, but true justice is dictated by those that has power. Thus, it is important that those who are just can also defend their morality, enabling them to properly dispense justice whenever it is needed."

Riku simply listened, his expression unmoving even as he silently agreed to Themis's words. Likewise, Shizu was visibly nodding with the god's every word, her hand still cradling her hurting cheek as she stood beside him.

"While you're performance was clearly staged, you two still performed admirably. And on that, I deem you two worthy of passing through my Realm," Themis continued with a bang of his gavel. "You two are free to leave. Quickly."

"Well, that was rather anticlimactic," Astra remarked as he stood up from his seat. "It's been fun, but I think I should actually get back to my Realm."

"Likewise, I'd like to speak to my Champion," Kali hummed from her seat.

"Really?! I shall be staying here until my Champion arrives!" Brahma declared. "He should be coming in any second now!"

And just like that, it almost felt like nothing even happened as the courtroom descended into hushed whispers and occasional banter once more. Allowing himself to look around, Riku spotted the two leaving gods disappearing into stardust and blue water respectively while Brahma simply sat down with his arms crossed over his bare chest. Meanwhile, Nyx was still standing behind her podium, clearly both amazement and upset for some reason as she pouted at them.

"You... I'm so glad you two managed to pass," Nyx congratulated them with a pout. "But somehow, why do I feel like I got forgotten back there?"

"It doesn't matter," Riku quickly told her. "What matters is that we got through relatively unscathed."

"Y-Yeah..." Shizu weakly hummed, her attention clearly divided as she averted her gaze at them. "I'll probably-"

"Champions of Nyx and Tyche, begone!"

With the sound of a banging gavel, both Riku and Shizu once again got disappeared from the court before they could even continue talking. He didn't know where they were now, but by the time the golden glow enshrouding them disappeared, the first thing he saw was one of the many blue portals that they jumped through to go down the Deep Blue. This was different, however, with how larger and more... glowy it was for some reason. It exuded more power than all of the portals they had ever gone down to, and it almost felt final. Like there was no going back...

Well, all he had to do now was wait for Shizu and-

/My Champion, I suggest you jump in now,/ Nyx suddenly told him from wherever she was at the moment. /Big Brother Tyche told me that Shizu will be with us shortly after you enter the next Realm./

Riku raised a brow at that information, but he simply shrugged before jumping right in. If Shizu's patron god wanted something from her, then who was he to protest?

Jumping through the portal, the same telltale sensation of falling through water engulfed him before he finally found himself in what was supposedly the next Realm in his journey. Looking around, all he could see was black as far as the eye could see with a closed door right in front of him. Even more, he was alone.

Where was Shizu?