Chapter 39: Arrival at Themyscira, Identity
"I remember now." Diana suddenly opened her bright eyes, giving Xi Nian a strange reminder. "Be ready!"
"Ready? Ready for what?"
Xi Nian turned his head and looked at his aunt. The white one-shoulder gown she had been wearing had already transformed into her crimson battle armor. A shield and silver sword were strapped to her back, and the crown on her forehead along with the bracelets on her wrists gleamed brilliantly in the sunlight.
"Auntie, you…" Xi Nian began in shock, but quickly stopped.
The tourists around them on the deck were still chatting and sightseeing, not a single one looking in their direction. It was as if Diana and Xi Nian no longer existed in the same space.
"Don't worry, they can't see us," Diana reassured him. Then she reached out and lifted Xi Nian into her arms. Her right hand gripped the golden lasso and raised it high, her body crouching slightly as if preparing to spring forward.
Realizing what she intended, Xi Nian shouted, "Wait! I'm not mentally prepared yet!"
But before he could finish, Diana leapt decisively, soaring dozens of meters ahead of the cruise ship.
Just as they were about to fall toward the sea, she swung the glowing rope forward. The lasso caught onto the crest of a towering wave, and with its pull, she launched them further, flying across the ocean's surface.
It looked as though they were sprinting across the sea itself, leaving a trail of spray and ripples behind.
"Look! What's that?"
Tourists on the deck pointed toward the ocean. They could only see a long, white streak across the waves, mistaking it for some giant fish as it vanished into the distant Aegean Sea.
…
Diana was like a fighter jet skimming the surface of the sea. In her arms, Xi Nian quickly pulled out a pair of wind goggles and put them on, finally able to keep his eyes open against the fierce gusts.
The yacht was soon left far behind, swallowed by the horizon. Only Diana and Xi Nian remained, darting across the vast waters.
He couldn't tell if they had flown ten kilometers or a hundred.
Until—
With a faint pop, Diana carried Xi Nian through an invisible barrier.
Xi Nian's eyes widened. The endless dark-blue sea suddenly shifted into clear, shallower turquoise waters.
Beyond towering reefs that stood like soldiers guarding the sea, vast and majestic islands rose in the distance. At the heart of them all was a massive island, its golden beaches glimmering like scattered sands of time. Rugged mountains rose within, crowned by countless white temples and sanctuaries in the style of ancient Greece.
A massive waterfall thundered down from the mountaintop, a rainbow halo shining through its mist.
Xi Nian didn't need his aunt to explain. He knew at a glance.
This was the land left behind by the old Olympian gods, cut off from the human world. The paradise of legend.
Themyscira.
…
On the outer shore of Themyscira's beach.
A group of fierce women warriors stood ready, clad in leather and bronze armor of Greek design, gripping bows, spears, and swords. Their eyes fixed sharply on the fast-approaching disturbance streaking across the waves. Shields were raised, bows drawn, blades gleaming in the sun.
At the front, a bronze-skinned general sat atop a mighty black horse. Her muscles were hard and defined, her aura sharp and commanding, her silver longsword ready to strike.
Just as the Amazons prepared to attack the intruders, the general suddenly froze, her whole body trembling. Then she shouted, "Everyone, lower your weapons!"
"General?" "But—!"
Though confused, the warriors obeyed, lowering their bows and spears.
In the next instant, the two figures crossed the waves and landed upon the golden sands.
When the Amazons saw the woman clad in royal armor, wearing the crown of their people, their eyes widened in shock. Then, as one, they dropped to a knee, striking a fist against their chests in reverence.
"Your Highness!"
"Princess Diana, is that you?" The general dismounted from her horse, her entire body trembling with disbelief.
Diana gently set Xi Nian down, her own face filled with joy as she hurried forward. "Yes, Antiope, aunt. I've returned."
The two embraced tightly.
Xi Nian smiled, sensibly stepping aside, unwilling to intrude on their reunion.
Antiope's stern face softened into a rare smile. She patted Diana's back, her voice trembling with emotion. "Good, good! You're finally back! Your mother, all of Themyscira—we've waited so long for this day!"
"Mother… she's well?" Diana asked softly.
"She is, though she's missed you terribly," Antiope replied with a laugh. "Come, let's return to the palace. Let your mother and the others see you!"
"Antiope, wait." Diana shook her head.
By then, all the Amazons had turned their sharp gazes toward Xi Nian.
"A human?"
Their eyes hardened with hostility.
"Princess Diana," Antiope said coldly, her expression once again stern. "You know outsiders are forbidden here. Especially… a human male."
She looked at Xi Nian. "Who are you?"
"I… I am…" Xi Nian hesitated. Facing the fierce general and so many intimidating warriors, he didn't know how to answer.
The most appropriate title would be Diana's… adopted son?
But he had always instinctively rejected that label. From childhood, he had called her "Auntie," and she had never objected.
Yet now, without claiming to be family, there was no way the Amazons would accept him.
As Xi Nian wavered, Diana stepped forward.
Without explanation, her beautiful face calm, she reached up and removed the silver crown from her head—the symbol of her royal status.
"Princess Diana, what are you doing?!" Antiope exclaimed, shocked.
Ignoring her, Diana smiled faintly. Before the astonished eyes of the Amazons, she placed the crown gently on Xi Nian's head.
Xi Nian blinked in confusion, not yet understanding what it meant.
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