The sudden reversal almost made Malrick stumble. He stared at Diana, unsure whether to laugh or be exasperated. "How could I be Ares?" he said incredulously. "If I were Ares, why would I save you? Wouldn't I stand aside and watch you and those soldiers tear each other apart?"
Diana blinked and, relieved, smiled awkwardly. "You're right, Malrick, how could you be Ares? I should apologize." She did not consider that Ares might pose as a savior to infiltrate Paradise Island. The naive part of her accepted his denial immediately.
Even Antiope, standing nearby, loosened her grip on her sword. Malrick noticed and sighed inwardly at the Amazons' trusting nature. The world beyond their shores had made him wary in ways they could not imagine.
"Then let's go defeat Ares together, Malrick!" Diana declared, her fighting spirit reborn. She rose, clenched her fist, and fixed him with determined eyes.
"Are you planning to sneak out? Isn't General Antiope watching you?" Malrick asked, nodding toward the warrior.
Diana hesitated. A few seconds later she gritted her teeth and said, "We'll knock her out."
Antiope rolled her eyes and turned away. "Go on then, Diana. I'll try to persuade the Queen." Her voice was quiet, muffled by the tension. Antiope had trained Diana in secret since childhood, teaching her swordplay when Hippolyta forbade it. She cared for the girl like a niece and knew the burden of destiny that sat on her shoulders. The return of Ares made that destiny urgent.
"Really?" Diana practically squealed with joy. If even Antiope agreed, there was nothing left to stop her. She tugged on Malrick's sleeve, eager to seize the Godkiller sword. Malrick had not expected Antiope to permit her to go; the Amazons' certainty that Ares had returned, drawn from the intruding fleet and reports of a world war, struck him as hasty. Still, the story moved forward: this was how fate had laid its pieces.
Malrick glanced at Tony inside the Mark Armor. Tony still slept, exhausted from working through the night to finish the armor. Since Tony was out cold, lingering a little longer posed no problem. He gently pulled Diana back.
"What's wrong?" she asked, confused.
"I know more about Ares than you think," Malrick said. "He is disguised as a lord in London, steering factions and pushing the gas plot forward."
Diana's hand tightened on his sleeve. "Then we must hurry and stop him! Come on, let's steal the Godkiller sword now!"
"No," Malrick answered. "The Godkiller alone is useless against a god. To kill a deity you either need power that surpasses his, or another god."
Diana's face faltered. "Where would we find a second god? Zeus has been gone for millennia."
Malrick looked at her steadily. "You, Diana. You carry Zeus's blood. You are his daughter, a demigod."
Diana blinked in surprise. "But Mother said I was formed from clay and then given life by Zeus."
Malrick smiled. "Stories told to children sometimes hide the truth. Zeus's gift was more than breath; it is heritage. You will learn the rest as you meet the human world."
Diana frowned, taking in his words. She stared at her arm, and then clenched her small fist with resolve. "If I can be the one to stand against Ares, then let's go now."
She sprang to her feet, sword and shield already in hand, pulling at Malrick toward the cliff where the portal might be opened. He let her move, watching the eagerness in her face, remembering the tales she had lived by as a child.
Just as they prepared to leave the island, Malrick drew her back again. "There is an easier way than sailing to London," he murmured.
His hand traced a slow circle in the air. Sparks of golden light slid into existence, obedient to the motion of his fingers. They multiplied, arranging themselves into a ring that hummed with power. A portal took shape, a shimmering doorway that opened a corridor through space itself.
Malrick's Mystic Art made use of spatial rules that shared curious parallels across worlds. The portal cracked open into another place entirely: a London office, neat, book-lined, and warmly lit. A middle-aged man, bearded and well dressed, sat at a desk. He started, then stood abruptly as Diana and the Amazons filled his view.
"You—child of Zeus and Hippolyta," he said without surprise. He did not flee or panic; he knew the portal's purpose the moment it appeared. His composure betrayed a confidence born of power and knowledge.
Diana's gaze hardened. "You are Ares," Malrick said calmly to the others.
Diana drew herself up, shield lifted and sword raised. "Ares, your plot to overthrow the world and drown it in slaughter ends now. I am Diana Prince, daughter of Hippolyta of Paradise Island. In the name of a better world, I will end you."
Antiope, shaken, blew her horn in alarm, and the Amazons bristled with readiness. But the man regarded them with a patient, almost amused curiosity. He crossed the room and stepped through the portal as if entering a familiar theater.
"This is Paradise Island, the refuge of the Amazons?" he said, amusement mixing with genuine surprise. He laughed then, a sound that echoed oddly in the cramped office. He had not been this entertained in centuries.
"I did not expect to be sent here so promptly." His face broke into a broad smile. "Diana, perhaps I should call you sister."
His mirth faded, replaced by a chilling earnestness. He folded his hands as if pondering the world. "Tell me, Diana, why do you protect these humans? They are treacherous, petty, cruel, and forever bent on war. Before their reign this world was wild and whole, sky and sea untarnished. Yet the birth of mankind brought defilement—fires, blood, ruin."
He stepped closer, eyes bright with an invitation. "Join me instead. With my hand, we could cleanse this earth. We could reclaim the pristine world that once was. Together we could end humanity's ruin and remake beauty from ash."
His words rolled outward, honeyed but cold. The cliff air felt thinner, as if he had drawn a new atmosphere around them. Diana's sword felt heavier in her grip.
Malrick met Ares's gaze without flinching. The consequences of that meeting would ripple far beyond the island. Whatever choice Diana made now would define the path she walked among gods and men.
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