Steam curled through the bathroom, so quiet that the faint sound of droplets falling from the faucet onto the water's surface could be heard.
Our bathtub is this small?
Xi Nian could not help having that thought, feeling unable to stretch out his limbs in the tub.
Diana chuckled outside. "You really have grown up. Looks like we need to get you a bigger bathtub."
Xi Nian realized he seemed to have been underestimated again and could not help muttering, "Stop treating me like a child. I'm sixteen now, at least. Under Washington State law, I'm already old enough to legally marry."
"Yes, it's been sixteen years already. Time has passed so quickly," Diana said softly.
Xi Nian fell silent, doing his best to clear his mind.
Diana reminisced, "I suddenly remembered when I was little—my teacher, who was also my aunt."
"Teacher?"
It was the first time he had heard Diana talk about her childhood, and Xi Nian could not help widening his eyes.
"Yes, my teacher. She and my mother both lived in a place called Themyscira."
Diana continued, "There was a barrier left behind by Zeus, king of the gods. It had remained isolated from the world for a thousand years, and we Amazons lived on Themyscira."
Calm and ordinary.
Diana spoke as if she were recounting something utterly commonplace.
Xi Nian had not expected to hear those earth-shattering secrets left behind by the ancient Greek gods in such an unserious setting at home.
Diana went on, "I was originally a princess of the Amazons, always carefully protected by my mother and teacher. Until one day, a fighter plane crashed into the waters near Themyscira. I left Themyscira and came to the outside world—this world here. At the time, humanity was in the midst of World War I."
"Later, I discovered that Ares, the god of war, was behind humanity's great war. So I took part in that brutal conflict, that catastrophe for humanity."
After that.
Diana told him not only about her origins and background, but also of her experiences entering the world under the name Wonder Woman during World War I, and how she had ultimately chosen to remain in the human world.
From initially yearning for humanity to becoming utterly disappointed in them.
As a Demigod, she had hidden herself as an ordinary person and lived in human cities for nearly a century.
Without leaving out a single detail, Diana spoke naturally, as though she were simply teaching family members common knowledge.
Those myths and legends beyond humanity's reach had now become casual family conversation in the night.
Wonder Woman?
A princess of a people?
Zeus's daughter?
Xi Nian stared blankly, never expecting Diana's identity and origins to run so deep.
If Zeus were still alive, wouldn't he strike me with lightning?
Xi Nian could not help thinking.
After recounting her identity, background, and experiences in the human world, Diana said with a slightly complicated look in her eyes, "I believe you understand now. The woman in that old photo from World War I that you saw this morning really was me. As for my identity, I had actually intended to tell you after you turned eighteen. I did not mean to deceive you."
"I know." Xi Nian let out a soft breath and said, "You've always protected me. You never let supernatural things harm me. You've done that for sixteen years."
Diana fell silent, then asked, "You're not angry or afraid of this?"
"Why would I be angry? Why would I be afraid?"
Xi Nian shook his head and smiled. "Even if you suddenly told me I was actually a demon or something, and that you were going to eat me, I'd willingly accept it. Besides, you're actually the descendant of a legendary god!"
"I've lived with a beautiful goddess, a superhero, for so long. What do I have to be angry or afraid about?" Xi Nian got a little carried away as he gestured wildly, sending water splashing everywhere.
"What goddess? What superhero? Calm down." Diana rapped Xi Nian on the head and chided him.
"Yes, yes, yes." Xi Nian covered his head with a slight wince. Then, both he and Diana broke into knowing smiles.
The tense atmosphere and barrier between them completely melted away at that moment. In its place was a harmony and understanding born of always thinking of each other.
Diana suddenly said, "By the way, tell me everything about you wearing my battle armor and running outside to fight monsters."
"Please spare me, I was just about to tell you!"
Xi Nian raised a hand in surrender and gathered his thoughts. "Actually, about a week ago, I accidentally awakened some kind of superpower."
Xi Nian hid nothing from Diana and truthfully reported everything he knew about his abilities.
After hearing Xi Nian's account, Diana furrowed her brows, a flash of understanding appearing in her eyes. "So that's it. You triggered this ability while having dinner with me."
"Yes." Xi Nian smiled wryly. "Even I didn't expect that a used cup alone could serve as a medium to trigger it."
Wisdom glimmered in Diana's eyes as she said in even greater surprise, "This superpower seems to follow some law of causality. But it can even control the powers of a god's bloodline..."
Diana thought of the Wishing Stone she had encountered before. Only holy artifacts left behind by the gods possessed such extraordinary effects.
Yet although Xi Nian's ability had a time limit, it had no side effects whatsoever and required no price to be paid!
Diana thought of many things at once. Her beautiful eyes brightened slightly as she murmured to herself, "I said I would give you the chance to choose what path you wanted to take in the future. I never expected you would truly have the qualifications to make such a choice."
"What are you talking about... what qualifications?" Xi Nian asked in confusion.
"Nothing. I was just thinking about the superpower you awakened."
Diana did not explain further. Instead, she raised a question. "I was thinking. Just by exchanging cups, you could gain all of my abilities for four hours."
"And yet, right now, you haven't triggered the Lord of Kin ability."
"That is true." Xi Nian nodded. "Is there a problem with that?"
"What I'm thinking is..." Diana took a deep breath and pondered seriously. "If we added more mediums, or changed to different mediums, would there be other changes..."
Xi Nian felt that Diana's idea was dangerous.
Still, he truly had not considered that.
Could it be?
Could the manifestation of the Lord of Kin ability really change in duration or other aspects depending on the medium?
Before you continue