106 Stacking

A bit of time has passed, and the barrier that kept them safe and fallen some time ago. Without much thought, Riku used his new whip to his advantage, using his newfound speed to create a faux barrier that was both smaller but more mobile as they made their way to what they hoped was the center of the planetarium. Shizu was constantly buffing him now as well, having increased both his speed and stamina through her power while also doing her best to thin out the shooting stars still occasionally trying to kill them.

"I can't believe this is actually working, by the way," Shizu awkwardly laughed as he occasionally threw out some cards at the few stars that got past his defenses. "I knew that my cards were strong, but I didn't know they could also stack."

"It was just common sense," Riku scoffed, his knife arm moving and snaking around in a blur without so much as a second thought. "They're performance enhancers. It might not be a linear increase, but it's still a major improvement than just using a single card."

Shizu simply shrugged with a soft smile before applying another stack of [The Chariot] on him, further increasing his speed and this his defensive capabilities. It was something that he suggested right before the barrier fell and they were trying to look for options. Because obviously, they weren't going to survive without more help, and while her usual speed buff was already leagues ahead of allowing him to move at lightning fast speeds, it wasn't going to be enough to fend off a literal bullet hell of stars gunning for them. Thus, he told her to do it again. And surprisingly, it worked.

"I'll probably start using it on myself too," Shizu absently remarked as she arranged her cards in her hand. "And thanks for stopping me from using [Diviner] so quickly. I probably would've collapsed by now if I did use it earlier."

"We can't afford you going catatonic on us again while in the middle of a rain of bullets," Riku smirked. "If we can afford you using your Trump unless it's absolutely necessary, then we'll go for it."

Shizu flashed him a genuine smile. "Thank you, Riku."

Giving her a nod, Riku turned his attention back to the task at hand. With Shizu's help, he was able to keep up the whip defense relatively indefinitely, and they were making decent progress in terms of their journey find the mythical office that supposedly existed in this place. Not that they were even finding anything remotely close to the hints they've already gotten, and Nyx still hasn't contacted him yet with a new hint. Honestly, he was starting to think that his goddess wasn't planning on giving him anything.

In fact, maybe he should check on her.

'Nyx, are you there?'

A few brief seconds of relative silence followed his call for her. Then a full minute. Then eventually, the sound of what was obviously someone just waking up greeted his mind.

/Mhmm.... My Champion?/ Nyx blearily asked. /Why'd you wake me up? Are you two done yet?/

Riku narrowed his eyes both figuratively and literally as his hunch was proven correct. Clearly, Nyx had been doing literally nothing while him and Shizu were fighting for their lives in this galaxy-filled confusion-inducing maze. Then again, why was he even surprised?

'I should've known...' he sighed in disappointment, both at Nyx and at himself. 'I'm guessing you don't have a new hint ready for us then.'

/A hint... Hint?/ Nyx asked her in confusion before a sudden clarity and panic colored her tone. /Oh right! So that's what I was forgetting.../

He couldn't help but chuckle at that. Well, at least it wasn't completely done out of annoyance or malice. Nyx just forgot and took a nap, something that she was proven to be prone to doing in the first place.

/Uhmm... Do you really need it now though?/ she weakly asked. /I might have something, but it'll be... vague as you put it./

The former assassin almost stalled in his steps in thought. Did he really want another vague hint if he wanted it that badly? Also, hat he already got as a hint was already vague enough as it is. If Nyx was telling him that what he was going to give was vague, then how obtuse and nonsensical could it be?

'Just... Try to refine it some more then,' he told her. 'We're not going anywhere anyway.'

In the end, he just decided to let her stew on it some more. It wasn't like they were in that much of a hurry anyway, and there weren't any Champions showing up just yet that could ruin their day if they ever got caught off-guard.

/I'll try to think of something else then,/ Nyx hummed. /Also... Uhm... Sorry for forgetting.../

'It's alright. You didn't mean to do it,' Riku genuinely stated. 'Just be better next time.'

And with that, their connection was cut, leaving him alone with his thoughts once more as he concentrated on his defense. So far, nothing was getting past him now with all of the speed buffs Shizu gave him, and he wasn't expecting anything barring an attack from another Champion to change that anytime soon.

Though, knowing their luck, he might've just jinxed them to another fight or something. Unless....

"Shizu, do you see something odd around us?"

"Uhh... Nothing really?" she curiously replied. "Why?"

"No reason," he shrugged.

Well, that was out then. He was hoping that he just missed something and that-

"haaa...."

He quickly stopped in his tracks as he heard a faint shout coming at them, his barrier still fully in place even as his feet stopped moving. Behind him, Shizu hit his back, her immediate confusion evident in her voice.

"Why'd you stop?"

"I thought I heard something," he explained.

For a brief minute, nothing happened as they both waited for something to happen. The supposed scream didn't repeat itself, and only the stars have kept up with their assault. Huh... He supposed that it was nothing then as-

*BOOOMM!*