20 The Players

{TYCHE POV}

{REALM: ???}

{DEPTH ???}

"Well, my little sister is certainly happy about the extra help."

Within the comfort of his own Realm, Tyche, the God of Fate, casually spun his heels as he watched what was happening from his own strings of fate. After having gone their separate ways, the gods of the Deep Blue all went back to their own respective Realms. At least, for the time being as they were all allowed to accompany their chosen Champions on their journey. Some immediately went and did that already as was the case for the twins Solis and Luna, Mimir, Brahma, Ragnarok, and most recently, Nyx. The others, like him, were all biding their time, talking to their Champion remotely and giving them a bit of a rundown on how things should work.

Then again, he hadn't really done that with his Champion yet. An adorable little thing, that Shizu...

"A young woman playing at reading fate with her own hands," he chuckled to himself as he sat on his stool. "Mortals truly are an interesting bunch..."

It was a novel thing to see playing cards being used to divine that which he had control over. Humanity had done a lot of different things to try and look into their own futures. From reading the stars to somehow pulling something out of nothing from literal lines of sand, it was amusing to see how far they would justify their actions if it meant somehow being able to say that what they were telling was the truth.

That was, until he saw a poor innocent soul floating around the Ocean from which he plucked her from. His Champion was a destitute woman eager to make a living off of her passion for card reading. It had taken her far, but one bad prediction to an irate thug got her killed because she told the truth. She told the man that he would die during his underground dealings that day, and he got so mad that he shot her to death. Of course, that didn't stop her reading from coming true as the man then promptly died after being shot in the exact same spot in the head where he shot Shizu.

Truly, the God of Fate was a feeling a bit cheeky with that particular case.

"I don't mind you making friends, my Champion," Tyche cooed to himself as he watched his Champion talk with Nyx's aberrant Champion. "Just make sure that you know who you're truly fighting for..."

Not that Nyx was a contender to win in the first place anyway. Him and the rest of their siblings all pegged their littlest sister to come dead last in this little game of theirs. As the Goddess of Chaos that didn't even have full control of her own aspect, the youngest of them all was simply too incompetent to even field a proper attempt at winning the Game and taking over the God Father's role. That didn't mean that they didn't love her, of course. Nyx was still their little sister, but that didn't mean that they'd keep babying her forever.

No, if there was anyone that deserved to inherit the power the God Father left them, it would be Themis, the eldest of most responsible one of them all.

"And I'm sure the others would agree," he chuckled to himself. "There's simply no other that is deserving..."

Smiling to himself, Tyche leaned into his seat and continued watching. Surely, with him and the others in his camp, they'd win this for Themis without too much fuss.

***

{RAGNAROK POV}

{REALM: THE DICASTERY}

{DEPTH ???}

"This is where we're supposed to be going, yes?"

"I unfortunately cannot answer that, my Champion. I'm just here to follow your lead."

Ragnarok let off an airy smile even as her Champion gave her the deepest scowl she had ever received in the eons she had existed as a goddess. While she wasn't the youngest of them all with that title going to the ever adorable Nyx, she was still the second youngest, which meant that she too experienced some of the flak of being the most inexperienced deity in the Deep Blue for some time. She could still remember Shiva bullying her for some time with his constant challenges back then, most of which she simply smiled and waved away with her cheerful act in an attempt to not cause too much trouble. Kali, being the eldest of the goddesses, did her best to shield her from the worst of their brothers, especially from Brahma's incessant creation pranks, but that really didn't amount to much when the woman herself participated in some of the bullying.

That was, of course, until the God Father introduced Nyx as their newest and final sibling. From then, all of the attention from her elder siblings, both positive and negative, all came down on the poor girl. Even Ragnarok herself couldn't help but join in the fun, thinking that it was her right with being an elder in a relationship for once. But then she remembered that she too was in the same boat not too long ago. From there, she did her best to be there for Nyx, even if all it amounted to was her simply being present in her life and asking the girl if she was alright.

"You'll restore my voice if I win this, right?"

Her Champion's question took Ragnarok out of her reverie. With a cheery smile, she stated, "Of course, I will. That is your wish, so I'll do my best to fulfill it once we win."

Her Champion simply nodded, clearly still not used to using the voice that the goddess lent to her for the course of the game. It was just a shame that her Champion refused to sing out of principle despite it being her livelihood back when she was still alive. It would surely be a spectacle, if only to throw a wrench on her siblings that were planning on winning the game.

Oh, Ragnarok was sure that there were factions forming between her fellow siblings. Hell, she was a member of one of them. However, what the rest didn't know wouldn't hurt them. She would simply smile and keep up appearances, watching and waiting for the players of this game to make their move...

Only then would she start her own schemes; ones that none of her elder siblings would expect from what they considered as the kindest of them all.