Zeus and the Oracle

The sea breeze of Themyscira, carrying the fresh scent of grass and trees, swept across the bluestone training grounds.

Diana changed into a linen battle skirt, holding a wooden sword for training, and engaged in a fierce fight with three Amazonians warriors.

Her movements were incredibly sharp, the sound of her wooden sword cutting through the air incessant.

Her gaze remained keen, yet a subtle hint of distraction flickered deep within her eyes.

Her fighting style exuded a deliberate sense of frustration.

After more than ten rounds, Diana had skillfully disarmed two of her opponents by flicking away their wooden swords. However, in parrying the last one, she failed to hold back her strength and snapped the remaining wooden sword.

The warrior whose sword was broken seemed startled by Diana's imposing presence and retreated two steps, falling onto the ground.

The other two quickly helped the slightly stunned warrior to her feet. With concerned expressions, they looked at the slightly breathless Diana, said nothing more, bowed silently, and left one by one.

Diana stood stunned for a moment, sheathed her sword, and remained still, fine beads of sweat appearing on her forehead, her chest rising and falling slightly.

She was no longer the green girl who had stood in this training ground hundreds of years ago.

If she hadn't restrained herself from using her Divine Power, few on Themyscira could have sparred with her.

She raised her eyes to gaze at the boundless sea in the distance. The sea breeze lifted her long black hair, but the confusion deep in her eyes had not diminished in the slightest.

This was already her third day on Themyscira.

After hastily leaving Boston, she had thrown herself back into the land that had nurtured her. During the day, she either sparred with her kin in the training grounds, pushing her stamina to its limit, or sat alone on the cliff edge, lost in thought, staring at the sea.

"Diana."

A gentle yet authoritative voice came from behind her.

Queen Hippolyta, wearing a similar linen gown, approached slowly, her gaze filled with concern.

She had witnessed her daughter's unease these past few days and understood that Diana was not simply homesick or tired.

Diana turned around, nodded slightly in greeting, and put away her wooden sword, her voice calm.

"Mother."

Hippolyta walked to her side, and they looked out at the sea together.

"You spent so long in human society, I thought you had adapted to life there, perhaps even found your own place..."

Diana's thoughts became slightly disorganized. The Divine Bracelet on her wrist felt cool, helping her to calm her mind.

"It's not about human society."

Diana's voice was a little hoarse.

"I've encountered a problem I've never faced before, and I don't know how to make a choice."

"A problem?"

Hippolyta pressed.

"Is the Justice League in crisis, or has someone harmed you?"

Diana shook her head, avoiding her mother's probing gaze.

"Mother, I'm fine. I just need some time to think alone and relax."

Hippolyta looked at Diana's profile and sighed helplessly.

She understood her daughter well and knew that Diana was no longer just her daughter, but the Wonder Woman who needed to stand on her own in certain aspects.

"Whatever you can't figure out, you can tell me. I just want you to be happy, not like this."

The Queen's words were full of maternal love. Diana felt a warmth in her heart and stepped forward to embrace her mother gently.

"I understand, Mother. I've made you worry."

Hippolyta patted her back and turned to leave. Before she departed, she couldn't help but glance back, her eyes still filled with worry.

Only after her mother's figure disappeared from sight did Diana return to the edge of the cliff. Just as she was about to calm her mind, the Divine Power within her suddenly stirred violently.

A strange weakness washed over her. She staggered and clutched the stone sculpture of a bonfire beside her, her face turning pale.

Her Divine Power stemmed from her adherence to "justice," bound to her innate divine nature of righteousness.

"Should I be so harsh on a child who cannot choose?"

Just as Diana was sinking deeper into self-doubt, the Guardian Bracelet on her wrist suddenly emitted a rapid buzzing sound, its light flaring intensely.

This was a warning of an external invasion!

"Who?"

Diana snapped back to attention instantly and turned sharply. Under the shade of the trees not far away, a familiar figure slowly emerged.

It was a man clad in black armor, engraved with ferocious thorny patterns, gleaming with a cold metallic luster.

In the blink of an eye, the armor on the man's body vanished without a sound, leaving behind only a blond man in a gray suit.

"This outfit is much more comfortable."

The man stretched, tucking one hand behind his lower back and extending the other, rubbing his upward-curving golden mustache between his index finger and thumb.

Diana recognized the man instantly, but she hadn't expected him to dare appear directly on Amazonian territory!

"Ares! How dare you break your promise and set foot in the mortal realm again!"

Diana threw the Lasso of Truth from her waist, binding the Vulcan Sword she had left by the tree before entering the training grounds and pulling it back.

It wasn't until she held the Vulcan Sword that Diana's shock subsided slightly.

She had clearly forced Ares to swear an oath never to interfere with the mortal world, so why would he suddenly do something that violated a divine oath?

Ares lowered the arm he had been using to stroke his beard and let out a scoff.

"Break my promise? I never break my promises. It's Zeus's command!"

"Zeus's command?"

Diana frowned, her heart filled with doubt.

"Why would he send you? Although there is discord in the mortal world now, it doesn't require divine intervention."

Suddenly, Diana remembered that Shane had killed the mortal body of the goddess of discord.

"Is it because of the goddess of discord? Her divine body is destroyed, but she hasn't completely fallen. Do you want to use this to provoke war?"

"Goddess of discord?"

Ares waved his hand, watching his half-sister, who was treating him like a formidable enemy, with amusement.

"Eris is still asleep and not fully revived. Besides, she isn't worth Zeus specifically sending me."

As he spoke, Ares took a light step forward. The sea breeze, which had carried the scent of grass and a hint of salt, instantly ceased.

"The Golden Apple that Eris lost not only carried the divine power and magic of the gods but also a portion of the power of discord that Zeus himself bestowed back then."

"Yet a mortal not only occupied the Golden Apple's divine power and magic without permission but also, by some unknown method, firmly locked away that small portion of the power of discord—this is blasphemy against the gods!"

Upon hearing this, Diana instinctively wanted to retort.

It wasn't the first time divine artifacts had been left in the mortal realm. However, with just a thought from Zeus, the power carried within the artifact could return to the Divine Realm at any time.

How did Shane manage to do it...

"Even so, Zeus shouldn't have sent you to interfere with human society!"

"Interfere?"

Ares acted as if he had heard a joke.

"The gods never break their oaths. We have no intention of interfering with the mortal world; we merely intend to reclaim what belongs to the gods and, incidentally, punish the mortal who blasphemed against them."

He slowly extended his right hand, and a string of golden runes appeared on his palm. As the runes flowed, they exuded a sacred and majestic aura.

"And such matters can be handled entirely within the Divine Realm."

Initially, Diana didn't recognize the runes. She was only a demigoddess and had grown up on Themyscira, so she wasn't very familiar with many common divine matters.

But the moment the golden runes suddenly flew out, wrapping around Diana like chains.

The pressure from her bloodline immediately made Diana realize the truth of the runes.

"Zeus's Oracle?!"

Diana wanted to slash them with her sword but found that the divine power within her was being suppressed by the Oracle, making it impossible to mobilize.

Immediately after, the Lasso of Truth at her waist suddenly flew out on its own. Under the Oracle's control, it tightly bound her, and the Vulcan Sword clattered to the ground.

"No!"

Diana struggled with all her might, but it was futile.

Ares walked forward, grabbed her arm, and a black halo emanated from him.

As the light dissipated, the two figures disappeared together from the edge of the cliff, leaving only the Vulcan Sword on the ground and a parchment that slowly drifted down in the air with the renewed sea breeze.