"Thea, these people… we have to save them, right, Captain?" Professor Martin Stein, righteous to the core, spoke up before Rip Hunter could answer.
Having spent nearly seventy years under the banner of freedom and democracy, Stein could not stomach the sight of ordinary people being brainwashed into slaves. His lips trembled with outrage as he turned to Rip for support—Come on, you said we were here to save the world! You're not seriously planning to walk away, are you?
Rip Hunter, with his neatly trimmed mustache, had no desire to interfere. All he wanted was to get his wife and son aboard the Waverider and leave this world behind. What happened afterward wasn't his concern.
But Stein's expectant eyes left him little room to dodge. This was the pain of a so-called "neutral" man pretending to stand with the righteous—just as Thea had once been morally forced onto the team, now Rip found himself unable to find a reason to refuse.
"...Of course. That's exactly what I meant," Rip muttered, slapping on a fake look of conviction.
"Thea, do you have a plan?" Stein pressed, now that the group had reached a moral consensus and all eyes turned to their main powerhouse.
A plan? Hardly. These citizens had their very minds rewritten—every belief, every ideal erased by divine power. Even if they were saved, they'd need to rebuild their entire view of life and the world from scratch.
"I… well…" Thea was still searching for a polite way to suggest retreat when a voice echoed in her mind.
"Thea, we can't retreat. These humans need our help!"
It was Arthas—the unicorn's voice—her embodiment of purity and justice, speaking with absurd conviction.
Thea sighed inwardly. Seriously? They were in fusion mode—if their thoughts weren't aligned, she literally couldn't move her body.
"Big sis, we can't win, okay? That god isn't bluffing. And we're not even from this world!"
"He's not as strong as you think. His divine power is nearly exhausted. If you merge with me completely, we can overwhelm him. I am a divine creature—I still hold a trace of godly power. Add that to our magic, and together we'll outmatch him."
Arthas always found an excuse to bring up "deep fusion." And Thea—power-hungry as she'd recently become—always found herself tempted.
Should I give up my human restraint? she wondered. On one hand, I'd gain divine experience… on the other, I'd just have to put up with a bit of cheesy heroic dialogue. Seems like an easy choice.
"Can I cancel the fusion anytime I want?" Thea asked cautiously. The idea of being stuck in a permanent "holy crusader" mindset terrified her.
"Of course. I am you—or rather, part of you. We are one. You can accept or refuse at will."
"Fine then. How do we do this?" she said, finally making up her mind. Let's show this world what true justice looks like.
The next second, a silver helmet materialized in her hands—smooth, gleaming, with a single radiant horn protruding from the center.
She stared at it, dumbfounded. Wait… am I really supposed to wear this? And why does it look like the Lich King's crown in unicorn cosplay mode?
"Are you sure this won't mess me up?"
"Less talking, more doing! That god's already rallying his troops."
Thea exhaled deeply. Fine. Let's just hope this doesn't get too embarrassing.
"Bzzzz—"
The moment she put on the helmet, the world fell silent. Countless emotions flooded her mind—
warmth of family, the embrace of a lover, the laughter of children, the serene peace of the elderly.
A surge of purity welled from her soul.
"I can do this! No matter what thorns lie ahead, I'll cut them down! I am… Sylthas!"
Thea's voice fused with Arthas's, and the faint spark of divinity awakened within her. It was small—barely a flicker—but even the faintest divinity made all the difference.
"Evil god! You trample on the will of mankind! Today, I shall judge you!"
Bathed in golden radiance, Sylthas stood in midair, pointing at Horus like a blazing sun. Her voice wasn't loud, yet every being within ten thousand miles could hear her perfectly.
Naturally, the Legends team fell within that range—and exchanged dumbfounded looks.
"This makes no scientific sense," Stein muttered, stunned. "How can I hear her from this far away?"
Still, he couldn't help but feel relieved. Even without Thea's earlier answer, her current actions spoke volumes. She's a doer, not a talker, he thought with satisfaction. A true ally of justice.
His scientific mind immediately kicked in, though, and he began mentally searching through acoustic and electromagnetic theories for a way to explain her "regional broadcast."
Nearby, Sara Lance—fully recovered—watched the display screen with a complicated expression. This Thea was nothing like the one she'd known. The woman on screen radiated such divine authority that not even Ra's al Ghul or Damien Darhk could match her for a single round.
But while they watched in awe, the "goddess" herself was internally yelling.
"Shut up! Stop talking! Hey—get back here!"
Inside the shared consciousness, Thea and Arthas were chasing each other around like children. After some struggle, Thea finally seized partial control of her body again.
She couldn't suppress the chuunibyou theatrics entirely—but fine, she didn't need speeches. Fists would do the talking.
She couldn't restore those brainwashed humans' original selves—but she could overwrite the rewrite.
Using the trace of divinity within her as the core and channeling her vast magical reserves, Thea began to connect with the deepest part of her bloodline—the legendary resting place of King Arthur, the holy realm of Celtic myth, the sacred heart of the ancient druids—
Avalon.
The mythical island of eternal bliss, the bridge between life and the hereafter, existing between reality and dream.
Of course, pulling the entire Avalon into this dimension was impossible. Even Zeus would need half the Olympian council to do that.
This world was stubbornly resistant to divine magic; even Horus had nearly torn himself apart forcing his way in. At best, Thea could only summon a projection—a spiritual echo of Avalon itself.
And that was enough. Avalon's essence was illusion and ideal, perfectly suited for projection.
Thea extended a glowing hand toward a nearby lake and began to reshape the ley lines beneath it.