Chapter 559: One Hundred Years of Solitude
The Amazonian's Challenge
Under the bright lights, Diana, wearing the new armor, walked into the living room. After turning around, she asked with a bright smile,
"How does it look?"
Luke gave her a thumbs-up. "It looks excellent."
This set of armor embraced an ancient warrior style. The skirt reached past her knees, adorned with gold and red stripes. An inverted triangle, the Amazonian totem, was printed on the chest. The shoulder pads, semi-spherical, covered her upper arms. The overall color scheme was dark, with no skin exposed. To enhance protection, Luke even designed an energy mask for the neck and mouth area.
The armor's defense was outstanding, with virtually no weak points except the eyes.
Diana looked at herself in the mirror several times. The more she looked, the less satisfied she became.
"No, it's too ugly."
Ugly?
Luke was immediately displeased. "What's ugly about it? The style, the lines, the colors—they perfectly match your appearance and temperament. It's practically custom-made. It's not ugly at all."
Diana tugged at the skirt's hem.
"I don't mean ugly; I mean conservative. Don't you think the skirt is too long? And the chest..." She looked down. "In short, it's too conservative."
Luke was stunned.
Are you kidding me? When designing it, you were the one who asked for it to be more conservative, and now you complain that it doesn't show enough skin!
Sometimes, he genuinely couldn't understand women. Everything was agreed upon, and then suddenly, they changed their minds.
"I should try the other set!"
Diana left, and Luke instantly lost interest. The other armor set was a complex assembly with nine components: faceplate, shoulder pads, chest plate, inner armor, abdominal plate, shorts, long battle skirt, and a belt. Fully assembled, it was also completely covered.
A Change of Heart
In the bedroom, Diana walked up to the mirror, seriously studying the slightly bulky figure wearing a dark-gold faceplate. After a moment's hesitation, she removed the faceplate, revealing her flushed face.
She then pulled off the shoulder pads, exposing her delicate collarbone. She took off the chest plate and abdominal plate, revealing her curvaceous body. Taking a deep breath, she fought her nervousness, removed the belt, then immediately put it back on. Reaching this point was her limit.
Her stay at the villa was meant to be a test—for Luke and for herself. The result, however, was unexpected. After more than twenty days together, he hadn't made a single inappropriate move, treating her purely as a friend.
This left her both relieved and frustrated, even making her doubt her own charm.
Diana was different from ordinary girls. She grew up on Themyscira, spending thousands of years there, interacting only with Amazonian warriors. Her understanding of marriage, love, and mortality was completely blurred. Only after entering the human world did she begin to comprehend these things.
Due to her immortality, she could never fully grasp the traditions of the human world until the moment Steve died, when she understood the meaning of life and the value of passing time.
Some things can wait; some things cannot.
The bedroom door opened. Diana cautiously walked into the living room. At first glance, Luke's mouth dropped open; he was completely stunned.
Under the bright lights, wearing only a form-fitting inner layer, a red battle skirt, and a dark-gold belt, she looked like Aphrodite from ancient Greek legends, radiating a breathtaking beauty.
Luke had never imagined armor could be worn like this. After a while, he mumbled,
"It's cold. You should probably put on a coat."
Diana had been very nervous, but hearing this, she couldn't help but chuckle.
"You didn't design a coat."
Luke was speechless. He looked again, his eyes filling with admiration.
"If you went to the battlefield looking like this, every man would drop his weapon and surrender."
"What about you?"
Diana took a few steps closer, asking softly, "Are you willing to put down your weapon?"
Luke offered an awkward smile.
"We're comrades-in-arms. It wouldn't be right to put down my weapon."
The implication was clear. Diana understood but did not retreat. Instead, she asked a question.
"Do you know my age?"
Before he could answer, she provided the number. "Five thousand, three hundred and forty-one years old."
"Excluding my time on Themyscira, I have lived in the human world for nearly a century. I may have even seen your grandfather when he was a child."
Luke was speechless.
"Because of the Gods, I will never die. I will live for thousands, maybe even tens of thousands of years. When you are old, gray-haired, and frail, I will still look exactly as I do now."
"Immortality is not as beautiful as one might imagine. It is more like a curse."
Luke's heart trembled. He seemed to finally understand.
Diana sat on the sofa, her eyes profound. "When I left Themyscira, my mother warned me that once I left, I could never truly go back. I didn't understand her meaning at first, but now I do."
"Time is static on Themyscira. There is no birth, aging, sickness, or death—no sad partings. Friends remain the same even after a thousand years. The human world is different. Time flows very fast. A friend you meet yesterday looks different tomorrow. Some people you don't see for a few years, and when you meet again, they are separated by life and death."
"Time is ruthless. If you don't cherish it, it will cast you aside."
That last sentence was a harsh lesson for Luke, plunging him into deep thought.
Although he had achieved Earth Immortal status, he was not truly immortal. As time passed, his body would eventually age, and his soul would wither. When he became an old man with thinning hair and incontinence, Diana would still look the same.
Recalling the scene that might happen in the future, Luke shuddered. He suddenly stood up, picked her up, and headed toward the bedroom.
"What are you doing?"
"Cherishing time."
"What about Linda?"
"I don't care anymore."
For the next two weeks, Luke did not go to the office. He stayed with Diana, traveling to major cities, enjoying different cultures, and leaving their mark in various places.
Luke taught her various modern knowledge, and Diana recounted the legends of the Gods and stories of ancient civilizations.
Their feelings for each other deepened. Sometimes, a single glance was enough to convey their meaning.
This was a connection Luke had never felt with other girls. Diana spoke of being an ancient soul, but Luke was no less so. He had lived for over thirty years in his previous life, wandered the Green Flame world for countless years after death, and then experienced twenty springs since his rebirth. The total time was not much less than hers.
Some connections require the sedimentation of time. Without sufficient experience, common ground cannot be found.
In a certain luxuriously decorated bedroom, an untimely ringtone interrupted the couple tumbling on the bed. As the suppressed panting ceased, Luke threw off the covers and checked his communicator.
"What is it?"
Ava's projection appeared. "Young Master, Barry Allen asked me to check when you plan to build the base."
"Did you buy the land?"
"Yes, the agreement was signed last night. It's north of Lake Michigan, near Indiana. The terrain is secluded and very suitable for building a base."
"Tell Barry he can start. I'll be over this afternoon."
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