Thea didn't wait for Niobe's reaction. She simply lifted her longbow and touched it lightly to the Amazon's shoulder — dissolving their spoken contract.
The genuine kindness in that gesture shattered Niobe's composure. She dropped to her knees and wept openly. Steve, who didn't understand Greek, had no idea what was happening. He just stared, bewildered.
After crying for a while, Niobe realized this wasn't the moment for emotional release. She pressed her forehead to the ground in a full prostration — standard Amazon ritual. Thea let her finish. Watching Niobe depart in tears, Thea felt a faint sting of sadness. They wouldn't see each other again for over a century… assuming Hippolyta allowed her back on the island at all.
And then another worry popped up — who would she get to feed the elk now? That job had potential!
But before she could think further, Niobe ran back, holding a beautifully carved jade box.
"Artemis," Niobe said solemnly, "this is a treasure of our lost Amazon tribe. Long ago, we abandoned the Greek gods and sought refuge with the deities of Egypt. Only two thousand years ago did we return to Themyscira… but we can no longer awaken the magic within this. Perhaps you are its true master."
She pushed the box into Thea's hands, nodded deeply, and dashed away like the wind.
"What in the world…?"
Thea examined the jade container. Perfectly sealed. Square, polished, impossible to probe even with spirit-sight.
"Probably a custom-made magic lockbox."
She opened it. Inside lay a palm-sized circular talisman, cracked as though it had once been crushed with great force. Its material was neither gold nor silver, suspended on a gleaming metal chain.
A pendant?
Thea lifted it — and froze.
The front bore the carving of a rising throne.
The back, a winged goddess in seated posture.
In an instant, Thea slammed it back into the box.
She recognized it immediately.
This was the image of Isis — one of the most powerful Egyptian deities, famed for her overwhelming sorcery, the goddess who allegedly knew the true names of countless gods. Except for Ra himself, she could command nearly any divine being.
And Thea?
A chosen of the Greek pantheon. A model student of Team Zeus.
This was… awkward.
Even worse — Isis was Horus' mother.
Thea liked to lie to herself, insisting Horus could "live another two hundred years," but the way those sacred eagles pursued vengeance made it clear nothing was hidden. If even the birds knew their master had been killed, how could Horus' own mother not know?
This wasn't a trap from Niobe.
Just that even with a brief glance, the talisman's function became obvious — it was practically idiot-proof. Anyone with sufficient mental strength could put it on and instantly channel the lingering magic to allow Isis to descend. In ancient times, that might have meant a full manifestation. In this era, where gods survived on mystical welfare? Maybe a projection. Maybe more.
But Thea wasn't about to take that chance.
What if the goddess barreled into the material world seeking revenge for her son? Maybe she and Diana together could take Isis down… but then what? After killing the son, the daughter-in-law, and then the mother, was the next boss fight Osiris himself?
Become eternal enemies of the entire Egyptian pantheon?
Sure, she could possibly collect a full set of Horus' Eyes, but at what catastrophic cost?
No wonder Niobe's tribe couldn't use it. This island was Zeus' anti-magic dead zone. Without someone of his level, everything was suppressed. Even Diana — Zeus' literal daughter — got nerfed here. An artifact from a rival pantheon surviving two thousand years with only a few cracks was already impressive.
But what was Thea supposed to do?
The talisman was stuffed with massive magic.
Giving it back to Niobe felt wrong.
Using it herself? Absolutely not.
Fortunately, every major god in modern times was already dead; otherwise, leaving the island with this thing would've been like setting off a divine alarm.
After much agonizing, Thea concluded there was only one crude option:
Drain it.
Use dark magic — high-level energy extraction — slowly siphoning the talisman's power into herself.
But her magical skill was nowhere near high enough yet.
So the idea went onto the shelf.
"Artemis! Will you still help me?"
Diana burst into the room, breathless.
She stood there clad in blazing crimson armor, silver bracers gleaming on her arms, the fake Godkiller sword at her hip, the Lasso of Truth coiled beside it. On her back shone the divine shield. At her feet — Hermes' winged sandals.
One dazzling piece of god-tier gear after another.
Thea's eyes practically sparkled.
So unfair! She'd waited six months for this moment.
Without hesitation, she declared, "Diana, I will help you. This must be the mission the gods sent me here to fulfill!"
"Mission," in this case, was a story Thea had crafted. She couldn't mention future events; she needed Diana to have a reason for her later disappearance. Better to dump everything on the gods — whatever Diana imagined afterward could always be blamed on divine will.
"Let's go!"
With their resolve aligned, Diana was thrilled. She grabbed Thea and bolted for the exit.
Thea took two steps — then suddenly remembered Steve — and hurried back to drag him along.
Diana frowned, confused why they needed to bring this "man."
Thea explained that the outside world discriminated against women, and having a man around solved a lot of problems.
"Discrimination?"
Diana exploded instantly.
She grabbed Steve before Thea could stop her.
"You have women warriors in your world?"
Steve shook his head immediately.
"You have women generals?"
He thought hard. Didn't recall any. Shook his head again.
"How could this be?"
The question was too broad; even a professor wouldn't know how to answer. Steve could only shake his head helplessly.
"So women have no status at all? But the books never said anything about this…"
This time, she wasn't asking Steve — she turned to the one she believed was wise: Thea.
"Well, it's not that they have no status. Several countries do have female leaders…"
Diana's eyes brightened — until Thea added,
"…but they hold no real power. And those books you read? They were all written by men. Women still don't have publishing rights."
That left Diana dizzy.
She glared murderously at the only "man" in the room.
If not for her inherently kind nature, she would've skewered him full of transparent holes with the Godkiller sword.