3 Her Champion

{NYX POV}

"Well, that went better than I thought it would."

Nyx raised a brow as she watched the man named Riku casually slice through the man's neck without so much as making a fuss of it. In the same ease that he cut through fish, he worked with surgical precision as he killed the man. It was almost like she was watching a professional killer at work, and it was more than enough for her to see that he had what she needed for a champion should she choose him.

"Then again, my siblings all agreed to pick out dead souls instead of actual living people to be our champions," Nyx absently thought to herself. "Maybe I should find an actual soul out there..."

Her mind made up, she moved to swipe away the vision her Chaotic Mirror gave her. Only, she didn't... Why?

Nyx blinked as she stared at the man currently cleaning up his bloody restaurant. On his holster was the knife that was previously being used to prepare the best sushi she had ever seen in her life. Granted, she could always just steal it for herself if she wanted to, but that wouldn't be too proper of her as a god. No, she wanted to taste his food properly.

"That food though..."

Somehow, her attention went from the man's fighting skills to his amazing food in but a single second. While it was expected of someone whose aspect was over Chaos, even Nyx herself knew that her attention span needed work.

Still, perhaps this was to her favor?

"I kind of want to get him as my champion now..." she absently thought aloud. "Maybe..."

Her chaotic nature getting the better of her, Nyx reached out through her Chaotic Mirror, her godlike power pulsing as a portal plucked Riku away from his proper place and dropped him right in front of her. For a brief moment, she stared at the newly-displaced soul in front of her, her brows furrowing as she tried her best to remember what she was doing.

"What am I doing again?"

Alas, her chaotic nature has turned on her yet again. It didn't stop her from subconsciously plucking her chosen champion away from his restaurant, however.

{RIKU POV}

Riku had no idea where he was. At one moment he was mopping up some of the blood still staining his restaurant floor, then the next moment he was in an empty void with nothing to even help him orient himself. He hadn't been hit by that random corporate hitman though, so he shouldn't be poisoned if that was what he was experiencing. He couldn't feel anything as well, so possibly a paralytic?

He couldn't help but mentally click his tongue. Had he been so out of the game that he had been dosed without him even knowing it?

'This is bad...' he inwardly thought to himself. 'Then again, what kind of corporation would go to this lengths to remove competition?'

It was highly suspicious. Even some of his more insanely paranoid targets back in the day didn't resort to daylight assassination. On top of it being sloppy, it just reeked of desperation. Or was there something he was missing here?

But just before Riku could think on his situation further, his eyes blinked as a bright light assaulted his sights. It made it impossible to see, but he quickly prepared himself to assess his current location. One by one, his sense came back to him. First his sensation of touch, then came sound, smell... The salty air... The sound of waves... He was out out at sea.

"Oh, it actually worked... It feels weird being out here though..."

A voice... Feminine... Sounded young... Perhaps in her early twenties. It sounded melodic, and yet... fleeting for some reason.

"Being outside sucks... But I guess that's just the way things will work for this stupid game."

The woman was audibly talking to herself. Then again, he still didn't know where he was at the moment. She was probably the one responsible for his current predicament. Was she the one in charge then? Or maybe she was just another mook by the corporation that wanted to kill him.

Either way, he would have his answers.

"I guess I better get started- Hey!"

Rolling into a sprint, Riku let his long-dead instincts dictate his actions. He might not have a weapon, but his arms were quick to move as he wrapped them around the woman's neck and squeezed.

"Where the hell am I?" he questioned with a forceful tone, his arms straining as he did his best to choke the woman out. "Who do you work for?"

"Huh? Is that any way to talk to a Goddess?"

Riku frowned at the response he got. How was she still able to speak so casually?

"And what in the world are you even doing?" she casually asked, her tone tinged with amusement and genuine curiosity. "That won't work on me, you know."

Glowering at the woman, the former assassin tried to tighten his choke hold on her. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to work as she just stood there smiling at him.

'What the hell is this woman?!'

Changing tactics, Riku jerked his entire body to the side, hoping to try and take down the mysterious woman that whisked him away. Only, that too didn't work. In fact, it almost felt like he was tugging against a solid pillar instead of what looked to be a normal young woman.

"Are you done yet?" she asked with a chuckle. "While this is kind of fun, we're kind of pressed for time at the moment."

His frown deepening, Riku had no choice but to let go. With his actions doing basically nothing anyway, he had no other choice than to see what this woman wanted with him. Was she a corporate entity? Perhaps a foreign government superweapon? If so, why would they even bother with an early retiree like him?

"What... What are you?"

Smiling at him, the woman simply brushed herself off before giving him a smug smirk that just oozed of confidence. "I'm a goddess."