"No! I refuse for things to end like this!"
Shizu's eyes burned with both fear and determination as she stood up against the icicles raining down on them. Then, with reckless abandon, she threw her entire deck of cards up into the air like a crazed madwoman. If fate refused to give her the card she wanted, then she would just have to cheat and make fate her own!
/My Champion, I highly advise against what you're planning on doing,/ Tyche suddenly chimed in, his voice uncharacteristically serious. /You will genuinely die if you continue on what you're about to do. You know this. I specifically warned you-/
'Then what other choice do I have?!' Shizu cut the god off.
/Just jump off ship and run,/ her god told her, his patience clearly being tested despite the soft tone he was using on her. /I'll be there momentarily with a ship of our own-/
"Absolutely not!" she shouted out loud. "I'll do this whether you like it or not, Tyche!"
Ignoring the her patron god's protests, Shizu focused on the god-given power she had as the floating cards around her froze into place. The telltale glow of fate's hand began wrapping around them, her mind straining as she quickly scanned through any and all cards that she was about to evoke. It was going to be painful, even worse than using [Diviner], she was sure, but she still had to try.
"[Fate's Edi-] UGHH!"
Immediately, a sharp pain flashed through her head as she fell down on her knees. Her cards remained floating all around her, a faint green glow keeping them suspended in place as she exerted her power far beyond what she was supposed to do. Even now, she remembered Tyche telling her that there was a reason that she was only locked into evoking a single card's power. That going beyond the limit would be too much for her mortal shell to handle in the same way that [Diviner] was only capped to her seeing ten seconds into any and all possible futures. The power of the gods was simply too much for both her mind and body to handle...
But still, she had to keep going!
"S-Shizu?!" Nyx suddenly screamed at her, genuine panic now in her voice. It would seem that the goddess only now realized what she was about to do. "What in the world are you doing?!"
"I'm... I'm defying fate..." Shizu ground out, a grim determination coloring her voice. "I refuse to give up now... I refuse to be a tool for the gods!"
/Oh, my Champion... That's not what's going on at all.../
Tyche's regretful tone didn't stop her from standing back up as she looked at the cards floating around her. The icicles were still raining down on them, but the sheer power her cards were exuding were keep them at bay for now. However, a vast majority of them had already fallen onto the rising waters beneath, what's left being a scant few of what was originally available to her.
No matter. That would at least make it easier on her.
"F-Fate's...[Fate's Edict]!"
An aura of raw power began wafting over Shizu as she felt a trickle of blood running down her nostrils. It wasn't too painful yet, so she still had a chance to keep things going.
"[The Hermit: Upright Position! Strength: Inverse Position!]"
Two cards showed up right above her, their power flowing through her as a massive dome shimmered into existence centering around her. Strings of raw fate encased the her and the ship, preventing any and all future attacks from hitting the general area. Then, the effect of Strength echoed all around her as she aimed the resulting shockwave right at the direction of the still falling icicles aimed right at her dome. With but a single push, the fog cleared, revealing a rather grim sight of ice and spires in the immediate area around them. Already, it was an impressive feat for her to still be standing, but she wasn't done yet.
"T-[The Chariot: Upright Position! The Magician: Upright Position!]"
Two more cards appeared above her, their power washing over her as she felt the speed of the Chariot and the maneuverability of the Magician become known to her. It was... It should be more than enough for her to venture out into the sea of ice and stop things at the source. Or at least, she hoped it would... help...
"Shizu!"
The fortune teller felt a massive jolt shock her awake as she opened her eyes to sensation of wetness all over her body. She had fallen on the still-submerged deck, her cards littered all around her as she weakly picked herself back up.
"Did... Did I just pass out?"
"You did," Nyx chided her, the goddess's tone taking on the more serious one that she had heard from her whenever things got bad enough for it. "You've invoked more power than your mortal body could handle. I hope you know the price of doing such a thing, Champion of Tyche."
"I-I do, but at least I have the power to end things now. Or at least I hope so," Shizu defiantly stated, her eyes burning with courage as she stared right into Nyx's eyes. "I know what I'm doing, Nyx. I promise I won't do it again."
"You're making a promise to a God, Shizu," Nyx stated, a hint of worry seeping through the cracks of her seriousness. "The consequences of going beyond mortality..."
"I'll live, Nyx," Shizu reassured the goddess with a soft smile. "Just keep the ship afloat. I'll be back once I've dealt with the problem."
Not giving her goddess friend a chance to reply, Shizu leapt into the air and jumped from spire to spire, using the Magician and Chariot's power to move her forward. Absently, she down to see a faint green light glowing through her shirt. Beneath, a faint crack had emerged on her chest, the power of Tyche now seeping out of her as it refused to remain contained in such a small vessel.
"I was already dead anyway... Might as well make the most of it."
She weakly chuckled to herself at her own insanity. Tyche was clear that going beyond what she was capable of would get her killed. It was only unfortunate that she had to ask if she could invoke more than one card by just scattering the deck around her the moment she got her powers, or else she wouldn't have gotten the idea for it in the first place.