DOTM (Moved)

"Where is this place? We're not still in the Sea of Calm, are we?"

Ethan scanned his surroundings. The area had a primitive feel, untouched by modern civilization. Standing on the beach, he looked to either side, endless stretches of sand and cliffs. This looked like an island. Behind them lay the vast, endless blue sea, reinforcing the illusion that they hadn't left the Sea of Calm but had simply landed on a random island.

"I have no idea where we are," Ethan admitted.

There were no signs of modern industry, and the environment suggested either a world with an ancient backdrop or an isolated, undeveloped location. But which one? Was this a world from a movie, a novel, a cartoon, or even a legend? The possibilities were endless. With so little information, there was no way to tell.

"We could walk inland," Arthur suggested. "This might not be an island at all. We could just be on the coast."

Ethan nodded. The limited view from the beach, blocked by cliffs and terrain, gave the immediate impression of an island, a habit born from their time in the Sea of Calm.

"Or," Ethan added, glancing toward the cliffs ahead, "we might meet the locals and get some answers."

As if on cue, a small head peeked over the edge of a nearby cliff. It was a young girl, staring at them curiously from a distance.

"Look," Ethan said with a slight grin, "we'll find out where we are soon enough. At least we can confirm there are humans in this world."

Arthur, however, latched onto another part of Ethan's comment. "Wait—there are worlds without humans?"

"Of course," Ethan replied casually. "Humans aren't the only intelligent life in the multiverse. Don't goblins exist in your world?"

"I mean a world with no humans at all," Arthur clarified.

Ethan understood then. "That's not surprising either. Some worlds aren't suitable for human survival, so naturally, there wouldn't be any humans. In other cases, humans might have been wiped out after losing to other species in competition for resources."

There were countless examples of such scenarios, but Ethan refrained from listing them all. He offered just a couple of possibilities instead.

"Hello!" Ethan called out to the little girl, waving his hand.

He decided to try speaking English first to determine if this world was Earth.

The girl hesitated for a moment but then waved back, seemingly reassured by Ethan and Arthur's youthful and friendly demeanor. Her initial shyness faded as she stood up fully, revealing herself atop the cliff. Moments later, she darted down a gentle slope and ran straight toward them, stopping just a few steps away.

"Who are you? Where are you from?" she asked, her voice full of curiosity. Her wide, innocent eyes studied the two strangers with unabashed interest.

"A simple islander?" Ethan thought, sizing her up. His first impression was that she came from a small, isolated village where life was straightforward and unsophisticated.

"Little girl, Where is this place?" Ethan asked with a friendly tone.

"This is Paradise Island!" she replied cheerfully. Then, without missing a beat, she shot back with her own question: "But why didn't you answer my question? Where are you from? Who are you?"

"Paradise Island?" Arthur repeated, the name holding no significance for him. He did, however, confirm that they were indeed on an island and that this girl was a resident.

For Ethan, however, the name triggered immediate recognitionband concern. If this was the Paradise Island he was thinking of, trouble might be on the horizon.

"Arthur, be careful," Ethan said quietly, his tone suddenly serious.

No sooner had the words left his mouth than the sharp whistle of an arrow split the air. Before either of them could react, the arrow embedded itself in the sand between them and the girl.

"Diana!" a furious voice roared from a distance.

Several tall, armored women on horseback appeared at the edge of the beach, bows drawn and arrows aimed at the two men. The one at the front, clearly their leader, radiated authority as she glared at the young girl.

"Come back here! Stay away from those strangers!" she shouted angrily.

Ethan instinctively raised his hands in a gesture of surrender and motioned for Arthur to step back, increasing the distance between them and the girl.

"We're just asking for directions! We mean no harm!" Ethan called out, addressing the leader.

Her ornate clothing and commanding presence left no doubt in Ethan's mind this was Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons. And the little girl was Diana, the future Wonder Woman.

Ethan had no intention of clashing with the Amazons. What worried him even more was whether this was the comic book version of their world or the movie version.

If it was the movie version, things wouldn't be too bad. While the Amazons were strong, they weren't ridiculously overpowered. The average Amazon warrior seemed to operate at a peak human level, with no extraordinary abilities.

As the queen, Hippolyta didn't display any superhuman strength or unique powers in the movies. Diana was the exception, her godly lineage granting her abilities far beyond the others. But for now, she was just an innocent child.

In moments, the Amazons had surrounded Ethan and Arthur, cutting off any escape except into the open sea. Dozens of arrows were trained on them, but despite the tension, Ethan and Arthur remained calm.

Their composure only made Hippolyta more cautious.

"Who are you?" she demanded.

Because Ethan had quickly distanced himself from Diana and clearly signaled that they meant no harm, Hippolyta refrained from ordering her warriors to shoot or restrain them immediately.

Still, she couldn't shake the feeling that she might regret not taking action right away.

"We're just two travelers who got lost," Ethan said evenly. "We only want to know where we are."

Ethan wasn't lying. He and Arthur truly were just travelers who wanted to know where they had ended up. They had no intention of lingering on this island.

Hippolyta, however, wasn't so quick to believe him.

Where were they? Paradise Island. A sanctuary created by the gods, hidden from the world and isolated by divine barriers. How could anyone possibly get lost and end up here by accident? This wasn't some random market one could wander into on a whim.

"Stranger," Hippolyta said coldly, "if you don't tell the truth, don't blame us for using… stronger methods."

Stronger methods? Ethan's eyelids twitched. He immediately thought of Wonder Woman's iconic weapon: the Lasso of Truth.

"I am telling the truth," he insisted.

"Then tell me," another Amazon interjected, her tone sharp, "how exactly did the two of you get lost in the endless sea and arrive at this island? You both look far too clean to have swum here."

This woman's presence was markedly different from Hippolyta's. She wore leather armor and exuded a rugged, battle-hardened aura, lacking the softer femininity of the queen.

"Well, uh…" Ethan glanced down at his clean, well-fitted clothing and then at Arthur, who looked so polished he could easily walk into a royal banquet. With a helpless shrug, Ethan said, "Actually, I'm a magician."

"…." Hippolyta's expression didn't change, but it was clear she didn't believe him.

"…." The other woman, Antiope, also stared at him, unimpressed.

"Ah, really? Like the ones in the books?" Only Diana, still a child, seemed to believe him, her eyes lighting up with curiosity.

Neither Hippolyta nor Antiope shared her enthusiasm. In fact, they began to suspect Ethan was mocking them with such an outlandish explanation.

"Capture them and bring them back for interrogation!" Hippolyta ordered decisively.

Ethan sighed. The situation was escalating exactly as he'd feared. He turned to Arthur and muttered, "Don't kill anyone. If things get out of hand, just focus on escaping."

Arthur nodded, immediately understanding. These women didn't seem inherently evil, and Ethan clearly didn't want to antagonize them unnecessarily. At the same time, Arthur realized that Ethan likely had some knowledge of this world.

"That's fine," Arthur said casually, "I can walk on water if I have to. But what about you?"

"Don't worry about me!" Ethan shot Arthur a pointed look that clearly said, Don't ask unnecessary questions right now.

Arthur rolled his eyes but said nothing.

As for the Amazon warriors closing in from all directions, neither of them appeared overly concerned.

"Of course," Ethan said with a faint smile, "we might not even need to go that far."

Noticing that the Amazons had refrained from using weapons or arrows, Ethan decided to stick to non-lethal measures. With a smooth motion, he waved his left hand behind him, and the Book of Inheritance flew out of its cover, hovering above his palm.

The white magic stone embedded in the book's cover flared with dazzling light, forming a protective white sphere around Ethan and Arthur.

But he didn't stop there. As Ethan steadily increased the magic's output, the shield expanded outward, forcing the advancing Amazons to retreat step by step.

"See? I told you—I'm a magician," Ethan said evenly, his voice calm but firm. "We ended up here because something went wrong with the teleportation spell. We're just passing through. That's all."

The appearance of the magic shield made both Hippolyta and Antiope's expressions shift. It was clear that things had just become far more complicated.

Diana, however, clapped her hands excitedly, her eyes wide with wonder as she gazed at the glowing shield. "It's real magic! So you really are a magician!"

To Diana, the existence of magic and magicians wasn't something to doubt. Her only question had been whether Ethan truly was one. Now that he had proven it, his earlier words were automatically taken as truth.

But Hippolyta wasn't so easily convinced. Her mind raced with questions: Why had a magician appeared on Paradise Island? How had he bypassed the divine barriers? And most importantly, what was his purpose?