The gods watched from above. Some didn't understand what Thea and the First Born were doing—warrior-type deities like Ares and Dionysus couldn't make sense of it.
Others understood perfectly. Hera and Eris, goddess of discord, both skilled in mental and spiritual magic, could feel the torrent of emotions battering the First Born's consciousness.
Hera felt conflicted about her son being brainwashed. Still, better that than fighting him directly.
Diana, who knew Thea best, could only watch with mounting anxiety. Battles in the mental realm were incredibly dangerous, and all she could do was worry for her lover.
Most of the gods remained optimistic as they spectated. The First Born was clearly losing while Thea held the upper hand—anyone could see that.
Cassandra, commander of the First Born's army, watched helplessly. Limited by her mortal constraints, she could do nothing but fret.
As she wavered in uncertainty, a faint, almost imperceptible voice drifted into her ear. After a moment's hesitation, she made her decision.
"First Born, remember your past! Your vengeance remains unfinished! Remember being exiled at birth, remember six thousand years of unbroken resolve!"
"Remember your mission! Remember how fate wronged you! Remember—"
Cassandra's voice rang out, loud enough to echo across the entire battlefield.
The First Born, growing increasingly confused, finally managed to suppress the erosion of compassion with the help of her Words of Power.
However, Cassandra's intervention came at a terrible price. Words of Power had their limits, and the massive reservoir of emotional energy that had been building suddenly detonated.
The First Born ranked among the strongest of the Old Gods, surpassed only by the three brothers—Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon. Thea stood as one of the New Gods' finest. The gods, including Diana, had maintained their positions as observers partly because divine combat traditionally occurred one-on-one. That was the rule.
But more importantly, they lacked the power to intervene. Without reaching the level of Zeus or Highfather, joining such a battle would be suicide.
Cassandra understood this truth perfectly. Yet she also burned with a desire for vengeance against the gods. Without the First Born's help, she could accomplish nothing.
If the enemy turned him against her, it would mean total disaster. So when she received that hidden warning, even knowing the cost, she charged into the battle between gods.
She bore the full brunt of both the First Born's fierce resistance and Thea's relentless assault. A mere demigod couldn't withstand the combined strike of two true gods who'd been building power.
*"BOOM—!"* Blood sprayed in a violent gush. Unlike normal people who cough blood from their mouths, Cassandra's throat exploded outward. The violent emotional energy detonated directly in her windpipe, obliterating her vocal cords, trachea, and throat completely.
Her innate gift for Words of Power was destroyed in an instant. Her neck became a mangled mess of flesh as she collapsed to the ground, her fate uncertain.
The two true gods fared little better. The First Born barely retained his sense of self, escaping brainwashing, but looked utterly exhausted. His normally bronze-dark skin had turned paper-white. When the emotions exploded, he and Cassandra both coughed up blood simultaneously. His hand gripping the greatsword trembled uncontrollably.
Blood trickled from the corner of Thea's mouth as well. The backlash of emotions hit her hard, though her mental resistance far exceeded the First Born's. Being the attacker, she'd sustained less damage.
Her gaze swept across the battlefield and locked onto an apparently empty spot. Her silver-fire whip lashed out, and a figure stumbled into view from the flames—wearing ragged clothes, holding a staff, with bird talons where feet should be.
The conversion attempt had ultimately failed. Thea's expression darkened as she glared at the newcomer. "Hermes, you sneaky bastard!"
Dropping his false benevolence, Hermes regarded both Cassandra and the First Born with cold indifference, his lips curling into a contemptuous smirk.
His eyes raked over Thea appraisingly. "Your strength is truly remarkable—able to suppress Zeus's eldest son. Quite the impressive display. But how much power do you have left now?" He stroked his staff and drew out an impossibly thin blade from within.
Thea wiped the blood from her mouth. "The First Born did drain much of my divine power, but I have allies. What do you have?"
Diana materialized at her side, the warrior goddess regarding Hermes with cold eyes—this wretch who'd deceived her before.
"Tell us where Zola and her child are, and we might spare your life," Diana demanded, twin swords in hand.
Hermes's silent laughter dripped with contempt. Thea found his arrogance nauseating. Fighting back her revulsion, she erected a time-stop barrier, preparing to capture this loudmouth pest alongside Diana.
But something unexpected happened. Hermes transformed into a streak of light and instantly escaped beyond her barrier's range.
What? That speed rivaled Barry's. Thea frowned—Hermes had never been this fast before. Between the Twilight of the Gods and the rise of the Speed Force, a deity whose domain was speed should be languishing in a retirement home like Ares, not suddenly displaying such velocity.
"Surprised? This is only half my peak speed," Hermes said with a sinister smile, clearly anticipating their confusion. He pointed toward the gods on the mountaintop.
"For the sake of brotherhood, I'll warn you—Lord Hades's army will soon crush Olympus. Choose your sides wisely!"
He pulled a jet-black whistle from his robes. An ominous soundwave washed over the First Born's army, and every spectral creature went berserk, charging the Amazon defenses like maniacs.
As Thea and Diana watched in fury, Hermes teleported away with the First Born. He didn't even glance at Cassandra lying in her pool of blood.
Nearly a hundred thousand spectral soldiers attacked indiscriminately. The First Born's werewolf followers and all Amazons fell within their assault range.
Chaos consumed the battlefield. The gods reeled from the news of Hades's impending arrival. Antiope fought desperately at the frontlines, but warriors still fell injured around her.
"I'm fine. Go help them." Thea wouldn't hold Diana back. This low-intensity combat wouldn't threaten her, and fighting alongside her people would help Diana further embrace the meaning of protection. As for Thea herself, her body ached all over—she had little fight left in her right now.
Teleporting back to the mountaintop, the gods seemed to realize they'd let a single sentence scare them senseless. They began clearing the spectral army.
The Lanterns helped Thea calm her mental realm and shared the burden of that compassion.
With the gods' assistance, the Amazon lines quickly stabilized. Javelins, crossbow bolts, and countless enchanted weapons joined the battle. The spectral creatures fell like wheat before the scythe, dissolving into foul-smelling black ash.