Chapter 31: Ares
The sea breeze carried the fresh scent of grass and trees across the bluestone training ground of Themyscira.
Diana Prince, clad in a linen battle skirt and wielding a wooden training sword, engaged in fierce combat with three Amazon warriors.
Her movements were lightning-fast, the wooden sword whistling through the air with each strike.
Her gaze remained sharp, yet a subtle, almost imperceptible daze lingered deep within her eyes.
Her techniques carried an undercurrent of deliberate, frustrated aggression.
After a dozen exchanges, Diana skillfully disarmed two of her opponents, sending their wooden swords flying. The third warrior's sword, however, shattered under Diana's unchecked force during a parry.
Startled by Diana's overwhelming power, the warrior with the broken sword stumbled backward and collapsed to the ground.
The other two quickly helped the stunned warrior to her feet. The trio exchanged concerned glances at Diana, who stood slightly breathless, before silently saluting and departing.
Diana stood still for a moment, lowering her sword. Fine beads of sweat glistened on her forehead as her chest rose and fell rhythmically.
The Diana of today was a far cry from the naive girl who had stood on the training grounds centuries ago.
If she hadn't restrained herself from using her divine power, few on Themyscira could have served as worthy sparring partners.
She gazed out at the boundless sea, the sea breeze whipping her long black hair around her face, but the deep-seated confusion in her eyes remained undiminished.
This was her third day back on Themyscira.
After her hasty departure from Boston, she had plunged back into the land that nurtured her. During the day, she either sparred with her fellow Amazons on the training grounds, pushing her physical limits to exhaustion, or sat alone on the cliff's edge, staring blankly at the sea.
"Diana."
A gentle yet authoritative voice came from behind her.
Queen Hippolyta, wearing a similar linen gown, approached slowly, her eyes filled with concern. She had observed her daughter's restlessness these past few days and already understood that Diana's unease stemmed from more than mere homesickness or fatigue.
Diana turned, gave a slight nod of respect, sheathed her wooden sword, and spoke in a flat tone.
"Mother."
Hippolyta walked to her side, joining her in gazing out at the sea.
"After spending so long in the human world, I thought you had long since adapted to their ways, perhaps even found a place to call home..."
Diana's thoughts were slightly scattered. A faint coolness from the divine bracelets on her wrists helped steady her mind.
"It's not a problem with human society," Diana said, her voice a little hoarse. "I've encountered a dilemma I've never faced before, and I don't know what to choose."
"A dilemma? Has the Justice League encountered a 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 alone to think and relax."
Hippolyta studied Diana's profile and sighed helplessly. She understood her daughter well, knowing that Diana was no longer just her daughter but Wonder Woman, who needed to stand alone in certain realms.
"Whatever you're struggling with, you can tell me. I only want you to be happy, not like this."
The Queen's words were filled with maternal love. Diana's heart warmed, and she stepped forward to give her mother a gentle hug.
"I understand, Mother. I'm sorry for making you worry."
Hippolyta patted Diana's back and turned to leave, glancing back one last time with lingering concern in her eyes.
As her mother's figure disappeared from sight, Diana returned to the cliff's edge. Just as she was about to calm her thoughts, her divine power suddenly began to surge violently within her.
An inexplicable weakness flooded her limbs; she staggered, bracing against a stone brazier, face turning pale.
Her divine power stemmed from her adherence to justice, bound to her innate divine nature of righteousness. "Should I not have been so harsh on a child who had no choice?"
Just as Diana's self-doubt grew stronger, the divine bracelets on her wrist suddenly emitted a series of urgent hums, their glow intensifying sharply.
This was a warning of foreign enemy invasion.
"Who's there?!"
Diana instantly snapped back to attention, whirling around. Beneath the shadows of the nearby trees, a familiar figure slowly emerged.
It was a man clad in black battle armor, its surface etched with menacing thorn patterns that gleamed with a cold, metallic luster.
In the blink of an eye, the armor vanished without a sound, leaving behind a blond man in a gray suit.
"Ah, this suit is much more comfortable."
The man stretched, tucking one hand behind his back while using his thumb and forefinger to stroke his upturned golden mustache.
Diana recognized the newcomer instantly, but she never expected him to dare set foot on Amazonian territory.
"Ares! How dare you break your oath and return to the mortal realm!"
Diana whipped out the Lasso of Truth from her waist, ensnaring the Godkiller Sword she had left beneath a tree before entering the training grounds. The sword flew back to her hand.
Only when she grasped the Godkiller Sword did Diana's terror begin to subside.
She had forced Ares to swear an eternal oath never to interfere in human affairs. Why would he suddenly violate such a sacred vow?
Ares lowered the hand he had been stroking his mustache with and let out a derisive laugh.
"Break my oath? I never break my oaths. This is by Zeus's command."
"Zeus's command?" Diana frowned, her mind racing with questions. "Why would he send you here? Though conflict plagues the mortal realm, it requires no divine intervention."
Suddenly, Diana remembered Luka's slaying of the Goddess of Discord's mortal avatar.
"Is this about the Goddess of Discord? Though her avatar was destroyed, she hasn't truly perished. Are you trying to ignite war through her?"
"The Goddess of Discord?" Ares waved his hand dismissively, his eyes gleaming with amusement as he regarded his half-sister, who stood before him like a warrior preparing for battle.
"Eris is still dormant, not fully resurrected. Besides, she's not worth Zeus sending me personally."
As Ares spoke, he took a deliberate step forward. The sea breeze, which had carried the fresh scent of vegetation and a hint of brine, abruptly ceased.
"The Golden Apple Eris lost not only contained divine power and magic, but also a portion of the authority over discord that Zeus himself bestowed upon her."
"Yet a mortal has not only seized the Apple's divine power and magic for himself, but has also somehow managed to permanently lock away that fragment of the authority over discord. This is sacrilege against the gods!"
Diana instinctively wanted to refute him.
Divine artifacts had occasionally been left in the mortal realm before, but Zeus could always recall the authority they carried to the God Realm with a mere thought.
How had Luka managed to...
"Even so, Zeus has no right to send you to interfere in human society!"
"Interfere?" Ares chuckled as if he'd heard a joke.
"The gods never break their oaths. We have no intention of interfering in the mortal realm. We merely seek to reclaim what belongs to the gods and, incidentally, punish the mortal who dared to blaspheme against us."
He slowly extended his right hand, and a string of golden runes materialized in his palm, their swirling patterns radiating a sacred and majestic aura.
"And such matters can be resolved entirely within the God Realm."
Diana initially didn't recognize the runes. As a demigod raised on Themyscira, she lacked comprehensive knowledge of divine lore.
But the moment the golden runes shot forth like chains, coiling around her, the primal pressure of her divine lineage revealed their true nature.
"Zeus's divine decree?!"
Diana tried to slash through the runes with her sword, but found her divine power suppressed by the decree, rendering her unable to summon even a trace of it.
Then, the Lasso of Truth at her waist suddenly flew out on its own, manipulated by the decree to bind her tightly. The Godkiller Sword clattered to the ground.
"No!"
Diana struggled fiercely, but her efforts were futile.
Ares stepped forward, seizing her arm as a dark aura enveloped them both.
When the light faded, their figures had vanished from the cliff's edge, leaving only the sword on the ground and a parchment scroll, carried by the returning sea breeze, drifting slowly downward.