The days of being a spiritual mentor in Meiman.

Chapter 4430 Prelude to Darkness (XV)

The Queen also recounted Diana's past experiences to Ron and Barry. While other details could be omitted, the key point was that Diana had always deeply loved Steve, and his departure was too sudden. For a long time, Diana couldn't accept it, and even now, no one knows if she has truly let go.

For immortal beings, the choice is simple: not to accept it. Allowing themselves to wallow in grief for centuries is perfectly normal. Even though Steve has been dead for a long time, it feels like only yesterday to Diana. Therefore, if Steve were to be resurrected, Diana's loss of control is entirely predictable.

After learning about Diana's romantic history from the Amazon Queen, Ron realized this was the worst-case scenario.

Family members and lovers are not quite the same. Everyone has imagined their elders leaving them, because even if they don't want to admit it, birth, aging, illness, and death are the natural order of life. The departure of a loved one is something to be prepared for.

But lovers are different. Everyone dreams of growing old together with their beloved, even unto death. That's why a sudden separation when love is at its peak seems especially tragic.

Although Ron also lost his wife and daughter, by then they had already passed the honeymoon phase, built stable families, and preferred to see each other as inseparable family. Dr. Stone and Eleanor were similar; their lives had settled into a peaceful and warm routine.

But Diana and Steve were different. They were deeply in love when they parted, and the times were turbulent with frequent wars. They were often separated, and their love, hate, and passion were intertwined with the complexities of family, country, and the world, making their separation all the more poignant and unforgettable.

Faced with the resurrection of a loved one and a long-awaited reunion, it's hard to imagine anyone being able to withstand such an emotional impact.

Ron dared not think about it any further. He said to the Queen, "Do you know where Diana might have gone?"

“Of course it’s the Justice League,” the Queen said. “I was going to call you anyway, but if it weren’t for the President…”

Ron understood the Queen's concerns. She was not only Diana's mother, but also the Queen of the Amazons. The Amazons were a small country, no match for a behemoth like the United States. And the United States was at a critical juncture; questioning the President and the Justice League at this time was hardly a good choice.

“She didn’t go back to our place,” Ron said clearly. He knew Batman would never allow her to do such a thing, so not only would she not go back, she would hide far away. But where would she hide?

The Queen thought for a moment, then said, "No, the key is not where she wants to go, but where she can achieve her plans."

"What do you mean?"

“She wants to resurrect Steve. I mean, probably not in the way you're talking about, not what she wants. She doesn't even think that the Steve who crawls out of the grave is the real Steve. She just wants to use this shell to resurrect the real Steve.”

Although it was a bit convoluted, Ron understood it. He said, "That's why Diana stole the Mother Box. Because the Mother Box is the only thing that seems to have truly resurrected someone."

“That’s right. So, she needs to find a place where the Mother Box can resurrect others before she can complete her plan.” The Queen thought for a moment and said, “That thing has been in our hands for so long, and no one has figured it out at all. If she knows how to resurrect, she must have learned it from you.”

Ron was well aware of this, as Victor was a perfect example. However, he wasn't entirely clear on the specific principles behind resurrection, so he decided to contact Victor to ask.

Before he could call Victor, Victor had already flown over. He was clearly exhausted; panting, he landed and said to Ron, "Diana wants to use the Mother Box to resurrect others. Hurry, stop her..."

"How did you know?" Ron asked.

“I could see it,” Victor said. “The Mother Box was sentient. I saw Diana holding the Mother Box and walking toward a man…”

"Where's the background? Can you see where the background is?" Rong En hurriedly asked.

Victor thought for a moment, then said, "It looked like there was a fire."

Barry quickly stepped forward and asked, "What are the conditions for the Mother Box to revive someone? What operations are required?"

“Thermal energy, you need very strong thermal energy,” Victor said. “Although there are more than one condition, this is the most important. Without it, you simply cannot start it up.”

The Amazon queen, however, had a look of sudden realization on her face, and then said, "The Temple of Vulcan!"

Everyone looked at her, and the Amazonian queen said, "The temple of Vulcan has the hottest forge on all of Mount Olympus. Every strike of Vulcan can trigger a volcanic eruption powerful enough to destroy the entire Earth. That much heat should be enough, right?"

“Let’s go to the Temple of the Fire God,” Rong En said immediately.

The Amazonian queen dared not delay and quickly opened the door for them. The group headed towards Mount Olympus, but their landing point was still some distance from the Temple of Vulcan. Upon entering, Victor became somewhat breathless.

“The Mother Box has been activated,” he said. “The power is fully activated. But Diana doesn’t know how to control it and might be swallowed up. Quick, get there!”

The Amazonian queen, disregarding everything else, quickly summoned the winged horses. The group rushed to the temple of Vulcan, only to find that the entire temple was radiating a golden light.

Ron was about to rush in when Victor quickly stopped him, saying, "No, none of you go in. Once the power gets out of control, you'll be completely defenseless. I'll go in myself. If the power disappears before I come out, I'll go find Batman."

Although Rong En was somewhat worried, he didn't dare to rush in recklessly. If he interfered with the energy flow and it really exploded, it would be a real problem. So he said, "Be very careful."

Victor nodded and flew towards the interior of the Temple of Vulcan. With the eruption of Mother Box energy, the entire Temple of Vulcan seemed to freeze in time. The fire and heat vanished, replaced by a vast expanse of golden space.

Victor continued walking. Finally, he saw the man lying on the ground. The man appeared to be unconscious, but Diana was nowhere to be seen.

He recalled the images inside the Mother Box and continued walking in the direction Diana had gone. Soon, he saw the body of an Amazonian warrior. Then two, three…

At least a dozen corpses were laid out on the ground in the golden space. Further on, Victor saw Diana clutching the Mother Box.

Her expression was sorrowful, even revealing a hint of despair. Victor stood before her and asked, "Diana, are you alright?"

Diana acted as if she hadn't heard him. Victor looked around and then said, "You don't want to resurrect Steve, but your sisters who died in the war, right?"

Diana didn't answer, but Victor just kept saying to himself, "Resurrection is impossible."

“Your father did it.” Diana suddenly looked up at him.

"He didn't do it."

Diana looked up at Victor, who shook his head and said, "I am now just a Mother Box with Victor Stone's consciousness. The real Victor Stone is dead."

Diana closed her eyes tightly.

She pushed herself up slowly with one hand on the ground and said, “Steve is a hero. His sacrifice was his own choice. I will respect him, and he would go mad if anything happened to me while I was trying to resurrect him, after all, he died for me. But the war between Atlantis and the Amazons is meaningless. My sisters should not die so dishonorably. I am the princess of the Amazons, and I have a responsibility to them. If my sacrifice can bring them back to life, I must do it.”

“No war is meaningful,” Victor said. “From the perspective of the victims, glory is the least important thing. They didn’t sacrifice themselves for that, but because since the war had already started, someone had to stand up to defend their homeland, and sacrifice was their choice. Precisely because you are a princess, you have a responsibility to them, and you must not act impulsively like this. It will only harm yourself and the entire Amazon.”

Diana seemed to be beyond grief, standing there like a lost soul. Victor tried to comfort her, but suddenly, the cube Diana was holding shone brightly, and the entire golden space began to tremble. At the same time, ripples appeared throughout the entire space of Mount Olympus.

“Oh no,” said the Amazon queen, “we must get out of here, or Zeus will not let us off the hook.”

“Zeus?!” Barry seemed to have been pushed to his limit. He said, “He was a coward when fighting Steppenwolf, and now he wants to show off in front of us? If he thinks the Justice League is easy to mess with, then he should think about what happened to Steppenwolf!”

Hal and Ron quickly pulled him away. However, despite this, none of them showed any sign of leaving; Barry was right. Even Steppenwolf was easily killed by Batman, so why would they be afraid of Zeus?
The two Justice League members are currently in the Temple of Vulcan, their fates unknown. If they're alright, all is well; but if something has happened to them, Zeus should be thinking about how to explain things to Batman.

Hera, the queen of the gods, arrived first, and her expression was far from pleasant when she saw the Amazon queen. But she was clearly more concerned about what had happened. Before she could speak, a bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, and Zeus had obviously noticed the situation as well.

"What exactly happened?" Hera asked.

“The Mother Box,” the Amazonian queen answered succinctly, but Hera’s expression instantly changed. “That thing isn’t…”

Before he could finish speaking, the entire Temple of Vulcan suddenly exploded. Golden light engulfed half of Mount Olympus, and even Zeus was so shocked that he stood up from his throne.

After the light faded, Victor and Diana were both lying on the ground. Victor, who had briefly lost consciousness, looked at his chest in disbelief. What had just happened?
As the space trembled, the cube in Diana's hand seemed to have eyes, chasing straight towards him and slamming into his chest with a loud bang. Then, the cube disappeared, and she burst into a burst of intense light, destroying the entire Temple of Vulcan.

Victor swallowed hard: Could he have absorbed the Mother Box as well?

Incredibly, it seemed to be true. He had never felt so full of energy, and the cube that Diana had been holding had vanished.

But then an even more horrifying scene unfolded: the Amazon warrior's corpse on the ground began to move slowly.

They seemed a little confused, looking around as they got up, unsure of where they were. Soon, someone spotted Diana, who had been blown away, and cried out, "Your Highness! Your Highness!"

Victor immediately realized he was in deep trouble. Regardless, the Mother Box belonged to the Amazons. He couldn't explain his fusion with it, and resurrection was a forbidden power that couldn't be known to outsiders.

The Amazons are one thing, after all, they still live on Earth and share its fate, so they have some reservations. But what if these gods find out…

Victor gritted his teeth, his mind racing. He had to get Diana and the warriors back to the Amazon before the gods arrived. As long as they were gone, there would be no way to prove it.

The thought had barely crossed his mind when a golden light suddenly shot out from his chest, landing in mid-air and forming a portal. The scene on the other side of the portal was none other than the Amazon.

Victor was stunned, but also felt like he'd been granted a reprieve. He quickly directed the female warriors to run into the portal, then threw the unconscious Diana in as well, not forgetting Steve, of course. They could sort out their own problems.

Having taken care of everything, he closed the portal. Finally, before Zeus arrived, everything was restored to normal.

Before Zeus and Hera could speak, Hal's mind raced at the sight. Seeing that Diana and Steve were nowhere to be seen, he knew there was no way to prove it, so he preemptively struck:

"You bunch of bastards! You actually tried to lure the Justice League into your trap! We were almost blown up! If you don't give us an explanation, I'm not letting this go!"

I fell while skiing again. Everyone, please remember that it's best not to ski in temperatures above freezing, as the snow will be completely icy...