Returning to Apollo's temple, the group fell silent, the news they had just received was too shocking, and everyone needed time to digest.
They had speculated that the behind-the-scenes manipulator must have the ability to control others' minds, compelling people to act and then erasing their memories.
But it wasn't until Hera revealed one of Hecate's three forms, the aspect of the Mother, that they realized things were not that simple. It wasn't about manipulation; it was about directly changing a person's personality.
That is, Hecate didn't need to control anyone; she just needed to "rebirth" a person to get the loyal servant she wanted, someone sincerely devoted to her and willing to do her bidding.
This was much more terrifying than manipulation.
A person controlled by another would inevitably reveal flaws, even if they could access all memories. There would be subtle differences in behavior and speech, especially when they needed to act—flaws that would be more obvious. Even Professor X wouldn't dare say that controlling someone and having them move around their close ones would go completely undetected.
But in the case of Hecate's reconstruction, the person would still essentially be the same. Their memories, habits, ways of acting, and personality itself would not change, making it very hard to detect any issues through their outward behavior.
In other words, unless one had the Mind Reading Technique, and even then it might not be effective, because no matter how much you read, you can only access normal memories. Personality is abstract, and concrete mind reading can't solve that.
Dick had a splitting headache, but Jason confidently said, "I think this ability is not entirely flawless. Think about it, if it's a form of rebirth, it needs time. Although it might not take a full 10 months, it can't be as simple as psychic mind control—there must be some limitations."
"You're right," Dick nodded and said, "If she could reshape someone instantly, she would have already conquered the cosmos by now."
"But the question is, if there's something wrong with Diana, then how did she rebirth Ares and Poseidon? They weren't in contact for very long, otherwise, they would have caught Hermes' attention."
After pondering for a moment, Dick said, "I guess this kind of rebirthing isn't about actually placing a person inside a belly, probably, it's a metaphor for something more abstract."
At this moment, Raven spoke up, "To rebirth the spirit, you don't necessarily need to involve the physical body. Everything might be happening on a spiritual level, not manifesting outwardly, much like pregnancy occurs within the mother's body."
Dick seemed to understand, "So, Diana might have only been in contact with Ares and Poseidon for a moment, but she already captured them on a spiritual level and rebirthed their minds, making them believe that it's worth sacrificing everything for Hecate."
"I think I know why Hera was so heartbroken," Aisha sighed, "Mother knows best. Hera might have noticed something off with Ares, but she couldn't find any evidence, so she could only watch helplessly as he walked towards his death."
"There's another problem," Jason suddenly spoke up, "If contact is enough to capture, then why not Zeus and Hera? Controlling the King of Gods and the Queen of Gods directly would have been more convenient, wouldn't it?"
"Perhaps a medium is needed," Raven said. "Even though it's a spiritual capture, a physical medium might be necessary on the material level. Ares and Poseidon had a good relationship with Diana, making it easier for the medium to reach them. However, Zeus and Hera are just acquaintances with Diana, and any rash contact might give the game away."
Jason nodded, feeling the reasoning made sense. You naturally tend to deceive those who trust you, and it would not be easy to approach someone you are not close with without causing suspicion. To place a medium with abnormal behavior would increase the risk, and there's no need for that.
"Earlier, Hera mentioned that the Mother is just one of Hecate's aspects; the Maiden and the Crone are the others. Could all three be in Diana?"
Aisha's question hit the key point. Although Hecate was traditionally a triad, it might not be the same now. If the three aspects had separated, then they'd be dealing not with one but three behind-the-scenes manipulators.
Even if Diana was indeed one of them, just subduing her would not be enough; there were two other aspects hiding somewhere. A hasty attack on Diana might only drive the remaining two deeper into hiding, causing larger problems.
"My head is killing me," Dick rubbed his temples, "Let's talk about something less heavy. Do you think the Justice League would notice anything amiss? What countermeasures might they have?"
After pondering seriously, Jason said, "If Diana really is the one with the problem, I think it's impossible that they haven't noticed anything. Don't forget, who is the most likely to be undetectable in such supposed personality reconstructions?"
Dick and Aisha both paused, then suddenly understood.
Logically, Heavenly Suppress in spiritual manipulation should be effective against mind power users, because a single reading could reveal the manipulation. But Hecate's manipulation was latent, and even if the mind power user turned the subject's Psychic_Battlefield upside down, they would still believe the person to be true to their nature.
But Psychoanalysis Method is different.
Psychoanalysis Method is not just simple mind reading. It doesn't read a person's current thoughts; it analyzes their personality.
Empathizers can feel emotions, but Psychoanalysis Method is a rational analysis based on those emotions. Using professional knowledge to interpret the empathized emotions, it assesses a person's personality. It represents not superpowers but professional skills.
Although it may seem similar to a superpower, it fundamentally differs from the Mind Reading Technique. It is stable, reliable, and produces consistent results, like other modern scientific theories. It doesn't become ineffective or inaccurate due to any changes in either the subject or the practitioner.
That means once someone masters this method, they can use it anytime, under any circumstances. It's not a matter of working today and failing tomorrow, or being valid for one person but failing for another.
The strength of Professor X lies in the fact that he has both superpowers and analysis skills—complementary and fulfilling, making him the standard for all psychic ability users.
Lilith, however, lacked professional analysis skills. She could read memories and thoughts but hardly analyze a personality to decide if someone is acting normally or not.
Therefore, the only known person to have perfected this skill—the true nemesis to such called personality reconstruction—is Shiller, who targets the falsehood in personality.
If so, Dick and the others could assume that Professor Shearer might have already detected the issue with Diana and was prepared. Then, their earlier deduction that the Justice League might have released the firstborn was correct; they had been preparing all along.
Following this line of thought, why were they here?
Indeed, it seemed they had followed the clues here, but their journey had been too smooth, without any interference—a single-threaded search that made them wonder if someone had guided them here.
What did the person guiding them intend for them to do?
The group discussed this question, and Dick first proposed a conservative hypothesis, "Suppose that only Professor Shearer noticed the issue with Diana, but he could only feel it without any evidence. Then our task in coming here is to find the evidence."
"You think, the Justice League has just been established and already has to start catching a mole. It truly undermines morale. Without solid evidence, even with Professor Shearer's endorsement, it would be hard to convince others. So, I guess one of our tasks is to find proof among the gods to confirm that Diana really conspired."
Aisha nodded in agreement, "I also think so because since Shiller's firstborn was able to kill Ares, it doesn't make sense that he couldn't kill Poseidon. Why was Poseidon released?"
Everyone there was intelligent; Jason immediately said, "Because Poseidon needs to truly commit a crime to complete the evidence chain, meaning Diana controlled or incited Poseidon, making him defy the Divine King's will to descend to Earth and injure Aquaman of Atlantis."
"If Poseidon and Ares had both died, it would be a case of attempted crime, and even if evidence of Diana potentially controlling the two was found, since they hadn't actually done anything, the fault wouldn't fall on Diana."
"Looks like that's it, but I think there's more. Diana is now on Mercury, which is close to the sun, and we followed the clues near the sun, entered the Teleportation Portal. Don't you think that's too coincidental?" added Dick.
Jason thought out loud, "The sun is definitely key. If the Justice League really has a plan to combat the Hecate-controlled Diana, then finding evidence to convict her is the first step, containing her based on the evidence is the second, and the third step is to truly confront her. Does the Justice League want to leverage the power of the sun against Hecate?"
"It's not out of the realm of possibility," said Raven. "Didn't Hera say so? Hecate is the Goddess of night and witchcraft, and in mysticism, she should be naturally countered by the sun."
"But it's not that simple, children," Apollo emerged from the back of the temple and added, "I can't oppose Hecate, neither can Helios, and that star known as the sun, I'm afraid, can't harm the goddess."
Everyone looked at him as Apollo came and sat beside them, "If your task here is to find a way to end Hecate, then perhaps, you are looking for the Langinius Spear."
"The Langinius Spear, what's that?"
"The name originates from the mythological tale in the Bible when a warrior pierced Jesus' side with his spear as Jesus was nailed to the Cross. The blood ran down the spear onto his hands, and he was thus converted, becoming a Saint called Saint Longinus."
"And in reality?"
"In reality, it's the alias of a powerful weapon stored in the Bright Domain," Apollo's eyes shimmered with an enigmatic light as he spoke, "The weapon's true name should come from its creator, and I prefer to call it—the Sunrise Gun."