"Why are you staring at me like this?" asked Diana with a slight frown. "This seems rude."
"It's because I'm intrigued."
"By what?"
"Your existence," replied Edward.
"What does that mean?"
"Forget me for asking such a personal question, but is Zeus your father?"
Edward knew Diana had two origins: one was she was the daughter of Zeus and Queen Hippolyta, and the other was she was crafted from clay and blessed with divine power.
"That's correct, but is something wrong with that?" she was also intrigued.
"I've met Gods before and their children. Their divine nature makes reproduction completely different from humans, but there are still some rules. From my experience, four fates await a child born from a God and a human.
"First, they would die in the wound. Secondly, they will turn out into ordinary humans with no abilities. Such a phenomenon is extremely rare but does happen. Thirdly, they would turn into this abominations-like creature whose very existence seemed vile and repulsive. Lastly, they will inherit powers from their godly parents [Authority]."
"I should belong to the third category, but why do you say my existence is an anomaly?"
"Yes, you are, but I noticed a few anomalies from you as a Demi-God. You do not have Zeus's lightning powers."
"That should not be enough for me to be considered an anomaly?" asked Diana.
"You're correct. Although I haven't seen a Demi-God without their parent's authority, it could be argued that you made up for this lack of powers with your overwhelming speed, strength, and invulnerability.
"The other anomaly is that you cannot absorb the power of faith, which is fundamental for the existence of any divine being. I can sense the divine power coursing through your veins, which is so pure."
"Is that a bad thing?"
"No, on the contrary. Without the restriction of faith, you have unlimited potential—potential that even the gods would envy. However, I could not help but wonder whether your creation was intentional or accidental?"
"What are you trying to imply?"
"Nothing," Edward shook his head. "Knowing Zeus, I doubt he's capable of engineering such a brilliant idea. So, you're probably an accident—no, not an accident, a miracle of the universe. You have inherited all the advantages of the gods without their weakness."
Edward's eyes twinkled as he realized how unique Wonder Woman was. If he ever had to walk the Path of Godhood, he would imitate her situation and combine it with his knowledge of the Elder Gods in his world, who also do not rely too much on faith.
"You truly have no regard or respect for the Gods?" she asked with a frown.
"Oh, I apologize about that. I know I should respect someone else's culture and ideologies, especially in their home."
Diana looked at him. She could tell his apology for saying these words to her, but the words themselves; she knew this man truly disdained the gods for some reason. However, she decided not to ask.
"I accept your apology."
"Thank you," replied Edward with a smile. "Look at me. You came to for something, but I went on a tangent before you could speak. What can I help you with?"
"I wanted to ask about how the World of Men was. Are there many Mages like you? Have they developed to such a level?"
Edward could see the curiosity and longing in her eyes. "I'm afraid you will be disappointed if that's how you see the outside world."
"Oh, why is that?"
"I'm from a different dimension where magic is everywhere, but in this place, magic is a rare thing practiced by a few."
"Is that so?" she muttered. "Wait, if you're from a different dimension, how do you know about my father? Have you been to Olympus?"
"No, but he exists in my dimension. Well, a version of himself," lied Edward without any change in expression or remorse.
"That seems complicated. Do you not know anything about the world of men?"
"Well, let me think." He secretly cast a spell to detect life in the nearest place to this island and read the people's minds.
"It's 1912? That means World War 1 will begin in 2 years?"
"World War?" asked Diana.
"Yes, they are about to fight the largest war in history."
"You said 1? As in, there will be a second one?" hurriedly asked Diana.
"Yes, but that won't happen for another two decades."
"How do you know such information?"
"As a dimensional traveler, I do not experience time linearly."
Diana calmed down, thinking to herself. If the outside world was about to enter an era of chaos, she felt it was her duty to do something. However, she knew her mother would not easily allow her to leave the island. She looked at Edward and asked:
"Can you tell me about your travel?"
"Sure, why not."
In the next few hours, he talked about many of the things he saw and experienced, and Diana listened fervently.
"I did not expect the world to be vast and wonderful," uttered Diana, not hiding her longing.
"It is, and I'm sure you will have a chance to experience it. But now, it's late, and you should leave."
"You're right," nodded Diana as she saw the sun was about to rise through the window.
"Thank you for talking to me," she exclaimed before flying away. He looked at her, flying away before closing his eyes and continuing his meditation. Alas, not even thirty minutes later, he heard the sound of crashing around him before sensing something binding him.
Edward calmly opened his eyes to see himself surrounded by many Amazonians with a robe tied.
"Your majesty, I thought we had an understanding."
"We did, but before we can continue any form of relationship, we need to know whether you're trustworthy," replied Queen Hippolyta, holding the end of the rope.
'This should be the Lasso of Truth,' he analyzed internally.
"Tell me who you are and your purpose in coming to our island."
The lasso glowed golden, but nothing else happened. Edward calmly looked at it.
"Whan an interesting Divine Artifact," he commented calmly. "I could easily replicate its ability to force people to tell the truth, but its indestructible nature is worth studying."
"It's not working," yelped an Amazonian.
"How is that possible?" muttered Hippolyta before activating the lasso again. "Tell me your origin."
"Don't waste your time," said Edward. "In the hands of a truly powerful creature, this weapon might work on me, but not in your hands."
He looked at the queen.
"I see. The gods have disappeared, and you want my help with your island's protective barrier."
As soon as he finished, the rope fell on the ground as he had sealed the divine power inside.
"If you want my help, we can talk normally. There is no need for all this useless work."
Now that he knew something had happened to the Olympic Pantheon, he did not need to be overtly careful when dealing with the Amazonian. Plus, he could use the time his ship was being fixed to gain some benefit, like scanning Wonder Woman's Life Code and studying their other divine artifact.
"Who are you?" asked the queen, raising the highest level of alert in her mind.
"Like I said, I only crashed here by accident," replied Edward. "And as you can see, if I wanted to harm you, no one could do anything about it—even your daughter."
The rooms became quiet for a few seconds.
"Now, if you don't mind, please leave my room. I will give you a few days to calm down, and we can talk properly. I hope you have the right attitude by then."
He waved his hand, and all the Amazonians were teleported outside. Then, the room repaired itself to the previous state, and Edward continued his meditation.