This was Thea's second time setting foot on the Amazons' grand plaza. Unlike the lively festival the night before, today the square carried a solemn, almost oppressive air. It was vast—nearly the size of four football fields—its blue-stone surface laid so perfectly smooth it felt like walking on glass.
No need to ask whose handiwork that was. Definitely the gods—those bored, overpowered construction workers of mythology. The local populace treated battle as glory and labor as disgrace; they wouldn't bother fixing a fallen jar of oil, let alone paving this. Considering they had no machinery or tools more advanced than a sword, there was no way they'd built this on their own. Divine intervention, obviously.
There was no podium, no anthem, no ceremonial procession. Just two contestants. As soon as Thea entered, she spotted the towering, iron-built woman waiting across the arena—her dark-skinned challenger. The woman stood ramrod straight, muscles like forged steel, eyes closed, nostrils flaring faintly; even from a distance Thea could tell she was trembling from nerves.
Thea, by contrast, felt utterly calm. She didn't care about this so-called "divine name" match. Spotting Queen Hippolyta at the center, she approached politely. "Your Majesty."
"Did you rest well? I hope Diana didn't disturb your sleep," the queen greeted warmly, radiant as ever. She chatted a few pleasantries before gesturing to the stern woman beside her. "This is my sister, Diana's mentor—Antiope."
Ah, Wonder Woman's teacher. Thea studied the sharp-eyed, disciplined warrior and inclined her head. "An honor to meet you."
Antiope frowned slightly. "Miss Thea… do you have any combat training?"
It was a fair question. Since awakening her magical bloodline, Thea's body had taken on a deceptive elegance—toned but not bulky. Next to these Amazons with their armor-plate abs and sculpted limbs, she looked more like someone who did yoga.
That question was awkward. During her first days here, she'd observed the Amazons' combat drills—no secrecy, no pretense, just endless sparring. Their technique was refined, yes, but ancient—rigidly old-school. Centuries of immortality had made them masters of their craft, yet slaves to habit.
Meanwhile, the outside world had spent thousands of years evolving its martial systems. Generations of mortals, short-lived but endlessly innovative, had refined combat into art and science. Knowledge compounded faster than muscle ever could.
By comparison, the Amazons had advanced maybe two hundred years in four thousand.
So yes, Thea was confident. Without magic or tech, bare-handed, she could probably take down five to seven of them at once. If she unleashed her full arsenal and restored her mana reserves—well, casualties would just be a matter of math.
But telling Antiope that would be… impolite. So she smiled. "I trained a bit back home." How much? "You'll see soon enough."
Hippolyta introduced three middle-aged women in priestly robes next—temple attendants, apparently. One of them, stern-faced, gave Thea only a curt nod before looking away.
The other two were warmer, including the same woman who'd "informed" her of the match that morning. Through Hippolyta's introduction, Thea learned that these three priestesses oversaw the daily worship of all twelve Olympian gods—because divine miracles had grown rare and the temple staff had been downsized.
Thea almost burst out laughing. "Cutbacks in heaven, huh?" Twelve gods, three attendants—someone clearly believed in efficiency reform. No need to guess who: Hippolyta. She'd militarized the priesthood, turning most clerics into soldiers under her direct command. Of course the remaining few resented her.
Thea had zero interest in this eternal tug-of-war between crown and altar. Monarchs versus priests—it was the same tired drama Europe had replayed for a thousand years.
After exchanging obligatory pleasantries with these "village-level leaders," she drifted aside to wait. She wanted to sit, but seeing everyone else standing stiffly under the blazing sun, she swallowed the idea.
Amazons were a semi-military society; their coordination was impressive. Within minutes, over a thousand warriors had assembled, forming perfect rings around the arena.
"How many of them are there?" Thea wondered. Counting one by one would take forever. She quietly activated Horus's Eye, scanning the crowd. Instantly—one thousand, five hundred and fifty.
Most felt only a faint chill as her sight brushed over them, noticing nothing strange. Only Diana's eyes widened. She'd sensed it—the divine nature in Thea's gaze. Different from her own power, but unmistakably divine.
Is she… another child of the gods? Diana's thoughts tangled.
Then Hippolyta's voice rang out: "The Divine Name Challenge begins!"
Thea almost snorted. "Challenge" was a stretch. She hadn't agreed to any of this willingly; she'd been roped in because the other woman staked everything on it. Still, the "village council" had signed off, so "challenge" it was.
There should have been an introduction—background, merits, reasons for the duel—but the Amazons knew nothing about Thea's past and refused to take her word for it. They couldn't exactly lasso her for a truth check, not before a sacred contest. So they just skipped the formality altogether.
Hippolyta raised a hand for silence, briefly recounting Artemis's divine history. The Amazons listened reverently; Thea zoned out, nodding absently.
Finally, after some theatrical hesitation, the priestesses conferred. The same honey-tongued elder from that morning stepped forward and declared loudly, "Artemis is the Goddess of the Hunt. Her oracle decrees that the first trial shall be—the javelin throw!"
A collective gasp rippled through the crowd.
Right. Thea stood at one-seventy centimeters, slender by Amazon standards, looking practically delicate next to her opponent—a woman nearly one-eighty, her biceps as thick as Thea's thighs. Just standing there, she radiated brute strength.
Yeah. This matchup screamed unfair.