The days of being a spiritual mentor in Meiman.

Chapter 4431 Dark Prelude (Sixteen)

Inside the Batcave, Bruce stared at the monitor screen. On the screen, Diana had successfully returned to the Amazon and awoke from her coma, surrounded by a group of female warriors.

When Diana woke up, she was still somewhat dazed. She instinctively looked behind her. There was a golden portal there, clearly not the one opened by the Amazon Queen; it belonged to another, unfamiliar force.

He leaned back, secured himself to the chair back, spun the chair around, and said to Schiller beside him, "It's a success."

Schiller, who was studying several documents, said without looking up, "That's good. With a sonic boom channel, efficiency will be much higher. How is Diana?"

“She’s fine,” Bruce said. “We have her to thank for this.”

Are you going to tell her the truth?

"Let's wait until this is over."

Bruce saw on the monitor screen that Diana slowly walked towards Steve. She knelt down in front of him, seemingly wanting to touch his face, but at that moment, Steve's eyelids twitched.

Diana seemed startled and immediately withdrew her hand. When those deep blue eyes opened, Diana froze for a long time. Although the monitoring equipment was on her, Bruce could still tell that she was crying, just like on Christmas Eve.

The day before Christmas Eve, the Justice League members were all preparing for Christmas, except for Diana, who seemed rather downcast. Bruce noticed this, so when Diana sat alone at the bar enjoying a drink, he sat down next to her.

“You don’t usually celebrate Christmas, do you?” Bruce asked.

“I didn’t have it when I was in the Amazon, but I’ve been in the Metropolis for so many years now, so I occasionally join in the fun.” Diana smiled, but it was a very faint smile.

“I don’t really like Christmas either.” Bruce picked up his glass, took a sip of his drink, and said, “My closest relatives all passed away in winter, and this season doesn’t leave me with any good memories.”

"Will you miss them?" Diana asked, looking at him.

“Occasionally.” Bruce placed his hands on the table, a look of reminiscence on his face, and then said, “I don’t usually go out around Christmas, when the streets and malls are full of happy families. Seeing them, I sometimes think, if my life weren’t like this, would it be like theirs?”

“I often think about this question too,” Diana said. “When fate changes at a certain point, does everything become completely different?”

"Are you upset about this?" Bruce looked at him and said, "People always romanticize the path they haven't taken."

"But that's about actively going through it, not passively accepting it. All the things we passively accept are regrets. I'm not someone who likes to dwell on the past, but even recently, I've been having sleepless nights, tossing and turning."

"For whom? For yourself?"

“I guess so,” Diana said. “The Amazons don’t gather together at Christmas, but when I see humans gathering together, I feel homesick and think of my sisters.”

"Why don't you go back and see them? Even if they don't celebrate Christmas, they'd probably be happy to see you, wouldn't they?"

Diana took a sip of her drink, lowered her head, and said softly, "I just attended the funerals of several of my sisters. They were all heroes who died in the war against Atlantis. Although the Amazons consider dying in battle an honor, if the war itself has no meaning, I don't know what is so praiseworthy about their sacrifices."

“You’ve been changed too much by human society,” Bruce said bluntly. “You can’t be like a real Amazon, fearless for your beliefs. You start to think about the meaning of everything, especially war. Such contradictions are always painful.”

“You’re right,” Diana said. “I’ve been here for so long that I’ve become a completely modern person. The Amazon exists to give the souls of women who have suffered torment and persecution a chance to take revenge on the world. But the pain of injury and death makes them suffer even more, and I can’t stand by and watch.”

"I know you feel sorry for those fallen soldiers. But after all, the dead cannot be brought back to life, and you can only accept it with your grief."

At that moment, Diana suddenly bit her lip. She rarely showed such an expression; her resolve had softened, replaced by a hint of hesitation and vulnerability. She kept stroking the wine glass in her hand and said, "Can the dead truly never be brought back to life?"

"what?"

“I watched the footage of the battle against Steppenwolves,” Diana said. “Hal was already dead then, but he came back to life, right?”

Bruce didn't answer immediately, but Diana kept her eyes fixed on him. After a long while, Bruce sighed and said, "Resurrection isn't a good thing. Everything has a price, it's just a matter of time."

“How will we know if we don’t try?” Diana said. “Hal is a member of the Justice League, and he has sacrificed a lot to fight Steppenwolf, but so have my sisters. Whether fighting against Atlantis or against the Parademon army, they have never backed down and have always fought bravely. Why can’t we do it?”

Bruce drank his drink in silence, clearly disapproving. Diana turned her head away, as if she had nothing to say. Then Bruce continued, "I know that the Amazons have never suffered such heavy casualties in all these years, and those who died were your sisters who grew up with you. You can't accept it right now. But resurrection isn't that simple. Diana, don't do anything foolish, okay?"

Diana seemed drunk. She slammed her glass down with a clang and mumbled, "Victor resurrected Hal because they were comrades-in-arms. But my sisters are not only my comrades-in-arms, they are my siblings. Since there is hope, why can't I try?"

“I disagree,” Bruce declared, “and don’t even think about manipulating Victor by any other means; he won’t listen to you.”

After saying that, he turned and left the bar. Diana slumped over the bar, downing one drink after another. Finally, she couldn't even stand up straight and staggered back to her room, collapsing onto her bed.

The next morning, Diana felt a pang of regret. She shouldn't have said that to Bruce; the tone sounded too accusatory. Yet, on the other hand, she couldn't control herself.

As Bruce said, this was the worst casualty event in the Amazon in many years. On the day of the funeral, although everyone spoke of glory and blessings, everyone was heartbroken.

Amazons have long lifespans, and many of Diana's sisters had been with her since birth. They taught her knowledge and martial arts, grew up alongside her, and were inseparable from her from a young age; she never imagined she would be separated from them.

But everything happened so suddenly. Those once familiar faces turned into cold corpses. Diana could do nothing about their deaths. After recovering somewhat from her devastation, Diana desperately wanted to do something for them.

However, offering solace to the departed at the funeral could not soothe Diana's grief. She longed for a more powerful way to undo the regret, and she involuntarily thought of the resurrected Howl.

Diana originally planned to discuss it with Bruce after the Christmas Eve party, but Bruce noticed that something was wrong with her and found out about her plans in advance.

Diana hadn't expected Bruce to be so resistant; he'd probably already informed Victor. Diana closed her eyes, feeling utterly agitated. She sat on the edge of the bed for a long time, then finally picked up her phone and called Schiller.

"Hello? Schiller, are you in the Metropolis? Yes, I'd like to meet you. Okay, I'll wait for you."

Diana sat at a table in the café, watching Schiller walk in, and waved to him. Schiller walked to her seat, adjusted his scarf, and sat down.

"What's wrong, ma'am? Why didn't you go to Mars to prepare for the Christmas Eve dinner with them?"

“I don’t care about that,” Diana said. “Besides, the Amazons don’t celebrate Christmas; it’s a pagan holiday.”

"What's bothering you?" Schiller ordered his coffee, handed the menu to the waiter, and asked Diana.

Diana opened her mouth, but then hesitated to speak. She knew that Schiller and Bruce were of one mind, and he would definitely side with Batman. She worried that Schiller would tell Bruce about it.

But then he thought, Bruce already knows about this. If he went to Schiller again, he wouldn't get any advice, so be it. Even if he did get some information, Schiller probably wouldn't tell Batman, since the person who gave the advice would also be held responsible if something went wrong. Schiller would probably be eager to distance himself from it.

Composing herself, Diana began, "It's like this, many of my sisters sacrificed their lives in the war..."

Diana sipped her coffee and calmly recounted the events. Worried that Schiller might not understand, she added, "The Amazons have never suffered such heavy casualties since I was born. I've never been separated from so many sisters at once; I simply can't accept it, so I just wanted to do as much as I could for them..."

“I completely understand, madam.” Schiller took a sip of his scalding coffee, sighed softly, and said, “It’s just that Batman can’t agree to this. Firstly, these are turbulent times, and we’re already overwhelmed with manpower and plans everywhere. Any mishap would have far-reaching consequences. To ensure the success of the main plan, Batman certainly doesn’t want any unnecessary complications.”

"Also, as you know, Batman also lost a son. How do you know he hasn't researched resurrection-related technologies all these years? If it were really that easy, he wouldn't be so resistant, given his abilities. There's probably some secret we don't know about, and he can't say it directly, which is why he's stopping you."

Hearing this, Diana frowned. She was also a little apprehensive, but ultimately, her sadness overcame her uncertainty. She said, "But there was no Victor before. Victor was resurrected, and Hal was resurrected too. This isn't as difficult as I imagined. Besides, I just want to try. Even if I don't succeed, at least I'll have tried my best."

Schiller nodded again and said, "So you invited me here because you want me to persuade Batman?"

“Not really,” Diana said. “It would be best if you could persuade him. But I also know that once he’s made up his mind, it’s hard to change it. So if there’s any other way…”

Schiller took another sip of coffee and said, "Madam, what you're saying is a bit puzzling. What can I do?"

“Aren’t you the best at creating cards out of thin air?” Diana said. “I’m still under the curse of the Pharaoh. If Bruce doesn’t agree, then we’ll get around him. You definitely have a way.”

“That makes me even stranger,” Schiller said, looking at him. “If you’re going to bypass Bruce, coming to me is taking a roundabout way.”

"What do you mean?" Diana asked, puzzled.