Nina Clive's emerald eyes narrowed, her initial amusement dissolving into a lethal sharpness. The delicate threads of her magic, which had moments ago been poised to strike, now coiled back, not in retreat, but in renewed caution. An unknown adversary who knew her sensei's secret residence was not to be trifled with. Her gaze pierced through the shadows, trying to decipher the figure before her, but Riku remained an enigma.
"Looks like you're quite knowledgeable, Mr. Stranger."
The voice was like finely spun silk, smooth and resonant, yet carrying an undeniable undercurrent of authority. It emanated not from Nina, but from the doorway to the study, where a new figure now stood. Her blonde hair cascaded like a moonlit waterfall, framing a face of ethereal beauty and ancient wisdom. Her eyes, a deeper shade of emerald than Nina's, held the weight of centuries. This was the real deal. This was Think Nirvalen.
Riku merely smiled, a subtle shift of his hidden lips beneath the hood. "Let's just say I'm a ghost. If you want, you can give me a nickname too. And I'll also volunteer that I'm not your enemy."
Even as the words left his mouth, he felt the familiar, almost imperceptible surge of magic as Think deployed her analysis spells. He braced himself, knowing precisely what they would reveal.
The fact that he was a ghost was a lie, a fabrication for the sake of the game. The rest, however, was the unvarnished truth.
Think's eyes, momentarily closed in concentration, snapped open. A flicker of something unreadable passed through them – not anger, but a profound, almost disconcerting contemplation. She turned to Nina, her gaze conveying a silent command. Nina, understanding the gravity of the moment, bowed her head and slipped out of the room, leaving Riku and Think alone.
The silence that followed was heavy, charged with unspoken questions. Think took a step further into the room, her presence radiating an immense, ancient power. She chose a chair opposite Riku, settling into it with an innate grace.
"Your circumstances must be quite pressing to invite yourself into another's home, I presume?" she asked, her voice calm, devoid of hostility, yet laced with an inability to grasp his purpose. It was a statement, an inquiry, and a challenge all in one.
Riku leaned back in his chair, a relaxed, almost insolent posture that belied the tension of the situation. "Of course. I was very bored. So I thought I would play a game with you." He chided, his tone light, almost playful, completely at odds with the solemnity of the situation.
Think's perfectly sculpted eyebrows arched. "…Come again?"
"The chips we shall bet are information," Riku elaborated, his voice dropping slightly, imbued with a newfound gravitas. "If you win, I shall provide mine, and if you lose, I shall receive yours. And since you're so beautiful, I'll go easy on you."
Think remained utterly still, her expression unreadable, her ancient mind undoubtedly processing his bizarre proposition. Riku could feel her wariness, a subtle tension in the air. He smirked to himself; that was fine. Her cautious nature was part of his calculation.
Before she could voice her concerns, he smoothly articulated them for her. "Chips without collateral—like unverified information—don't make much of a wager, you say?"
Think's gaze sharpened, a flicker of surprise in her eyes. "Yes, I suppose I do." Her voice was a silken whisper, betraying nothing.
Riku knew she was treading lightly, fearing he might have read her mind. He allowed himself another internal smirk. Of course she was. A keen thinker, especially one facing an unknown opponent of potentially immense power, would always consider the worst possible scenario first.
In this case, an adversary from a race far superior to her own. But Think was also too clever to humbly withdraw. Three possibilities still coexisted in her mind: that he was of a higher, a lower, or the same race. Given this, he thought, she'll definitely accept the game.
This time, riku has come here to collect some information about a specific dwarf.
He'll also let her win sometimes to make sure she won't be offended.
However, unlike how it happened in the movie, this time riku will surely win.
Since this time he has the knowledge of earth, the math formulas, physics etc. combined with his wit, he's unstoppable.
"Then let me offer you one on the house," Riku said, leaning forward slightly, his voice dropping to a near-confidential tone. "I shall prove to you that the game's stakes, regardless of veracity, hinge on information you cannot afford to ignore."
He paused, letting the words hang in the air, allowing the sheer audacity of his claim to settle. Then, he delivered the punchline, the hook that would secure her participation.
"'Áka Si Anse was discovered by Dwarves …What would you say to that?"
" ?!"
The elegant facade of Think Nirvalen fractured. Her eyes widened, a soundless gasp escaping her lips. Riku couldn't sense it, but he knew she must have instantly, instinctively, deployed her magic to check for a lie. It was futile. The information was true, undeniably so. A truth she, the conceptual originator and rite compiler of Áka Si Anse, would have never, could have never, allowed to be publicly known.
"...Are you convinced?" Riku pressed, his voice soft, almost taunting. "It is not a matter of whether the information is valid. As the conceptual originator and rite compiler of Áka Si Anse, surely you have the pull to verify the fine points yourself—am I correct?"
The Elf feigned composure, her expression settling back into a practiced mask, but her thoughts, Riku saw, were a panicked, chaotic whirl. In her eyes, not privy to this shocking detail, the 'ghost' before her must have appeared positively omniscient. Yes, regardless of his true identity – human, god, or something entirely beyond comprehension – rash moves against him would clearly be ill advised.
"..." Though undetectable to a human, the Elf must have been employing multiple layers of spells, complex analytical rites, to check everything he was saying—but it was futile. There was no falsehood to find. The information had indeed been leaked. Indeed, by none other than Riku himself, in the original story. The irony was not lost on him.
Think finally exhaled, a slow, deliberate breath. Her emerald eyes, though still wary, now held a new, dangerous spark. "…Very well. Whoever you are, I see I shall have to deal with you."
Riku's genuine, unsettling smile spread wider.