The cavern breathed with ancient power.

  Deep beneath Themyscira, the Doom's Doorway loomed like a buried scar in the world. It was not a door in any mortal sense, but a colossal slab of obsidian-black stone embedded into the cavern wall, wide enough to swallow a fortress gate and tall enough to dwarf giants. Ancient sealing runes covered its surface in concentric patterns, etched so deeply that they seemed grown rather than carved.

  Cracks webbed across the slab.

  From those fractures leaked a dull, sickly glow. Heat rolled out in slow waves, carrying with it the stench of ash, blood, and something far older than any mortal civilization. Every so often, a low, distant sound echoed from beyond the stone, like a thousand voices whispering at once.

  Divine flame torches burned along the cavern walls, illuminating the cavern.

  Diana, Harley, Maureen, and a group of Amazon warriors stood gathered before the seal.

  Hippolyta stepped closer with a grim expression.

  She reached out, placing her palm just short of the stone. The heat made the air shimmer between her skin and the Doorway.

  "The seal is failing," she said quietly. "Ares must've tried to break it."

  She traced the air along one fracture, following it downward.

  "If it shatters completely," she continued, "Tartarus will rupture. Monsters, demons, corrupted gods... Things even the we erased from history will spill into this world all at once."

  Several of the nearby warriors tightened their grips on their spears.

  Diana stepped forward. "You think he can do it?"

  Hippolyta looked at her daughter, worry flickering together in her eyes. "Only Zeus' authority can destroy it completely. That truth has never changed. And John is chosen by twelve gods, if anyone can do it... It's him."

  Before anyone could answer, the air shifted.

  The cavern was filled with the sound of thunder.

  A streak of white-blue lightning tore through the open space and slammed into the stone floor before the Doorway. The impact cracked the ground outward in a controlled ring, sparks racing along the rock before fading harmlessly into the air.

  John stood where the lightning had struck.

  Residual electricity crawled over his shoulders and arms. The oppressive heat bleeding from the Doorway recoiled slightly, as if recognizing something it could not ignore.

  Harley and Maureen crossed the distance in a blur and hugged John tightly. He hugged them back. They stood there for a moment without a word, glad that no one was hurt.

  "You two alright?" He asked.

  "Yep! Kicked some villain butt and toe and punched Di, so I'm dandy," Harley replied, still hugging.

  "I got the easy part. I simply used ice rain and a hailstorm," Maureen replied.

  "So, did ya kick that Ares' butt?" Harley asked, looking up.

  "Oh, yeah. That retard tried to kill me with Divine lightning... Haha. You should've looked his face when I vaporized him," John said, pulling himself back a little.

  "Did he pissed his pants?" Harley asked with a large grin.

  John replied. "I don't know. But I'm pretty sure he tore some nerves in his brain in rage when he realized how fucked he was."

  Around them, the Amazon warriors watched in silence.

  For the first time since the creation of Themyscira, a man stood on the sacred island itself, past all outer wards and ancient prohibitions. Aphrodite's Law, woven into the land since the creation of the island, should have rejected him. And according to the law, the Amazons would lose their immortality if a man stepped on the island.

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  But nothing happened.

  Instead, the air thrummed faintly, as if acknowledging a higher authority. Several warriors felt it instinctively, a pressure behind the eyes and a pull in the chest. The unmistakable spark of Zeus lived within him.

  Some Amazons frowned. Others bowed their heads. A few simply stared, uncertain what tradition meant anymore.

  Hippolyta stepped forward. "Ares is gone..."

  "More like vaporized," John replied as he shifted his attention to the Doom's Doorway. He instantly felt the insane amount of malice. 'Fucking shit! That's some shit load of demonic energy.'

  He walked closer, stopping just short of the cracked stone. Lightning flickered faintly in his eyes as he studied the runes.

  "These seals are layered," he continued. "Divine law, ancient magic, sacrificial bindings. Interesting."

  Maureen joined him at his side. Frost crept unconsciously along the ground near her boots as she felt the pressure emanating from beyond the slab. "Can you destroy it?"

  John was silent for a moment as he used his wisdom to find a solution. He read the runes and created multiple new runes, capable of sealing the door. Then he noticed something strange.

  After examining it for a few more minutes...

  "Fuck!" John cursed as he rubbed the back of his neck and sat down on a nearby slab of rock. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and then looked at everyone. "I guess, Zeus never explained the reality behind this door... So, allow me to explain what this thing actually is..."

  Everyone noticed the shift in his expression and they knew it was bad news.

  "This isn't just a gateway," he began. "And it isn't just a prison either."

  The cavern felt quieter as he spoke.

  "What you call Doom's Doorway is a junction point. A structural seam in reality where several fundamental forces intersect. Life, death, judgment, decay, and rebirth all pass through this place in one way or another. Tartarus is not simply a dungeon beneath the world. It is part of a larger system."

  Diana frowned slightly. "A system for what?"

  "For balance," John replied. "When mortals die, their souls do not just disappear. They travel. They are processed. Some are judged, some are punished, some are purified, and some are eventually returned to the cycle of life through forces older than the Olympians themselves."

  Maureen's eyes widened as realization crept in. "You mean… this is connected to death itself."

  John nodded. "Exactly. Doom's Doorway is one of the locks that keep the underworld where it belongs while still allowing the flow of souls to move correctly. Think of it like a valve in a massive machine. It regulates pressure and directs traffic."

  Harley blinked. "Okay. That sounds way more important than a spooky demon door."

  "It is," John said evenly. "If I destroy it completely, I do not just stop demons from coming through. I also sever one of the primary routes that souls use to reach their final destination."

  Hippolyta sighed. "Soul apocalypse."

  "Yep. They would pile up," John answered. "Souls would linger in the mortal world with nowhere to go. Ghosts would become common. Some souls would try to anchor themselves back into bodies, even broken ones. You would see mass hauntings, possessions, and the dead refusing to stay dead."

  Harley made a face. "Ghosts and zombie apocalypse!!!" She hates ghosts. But zombies are different. There were times when she dreamt of slaughtering through a horde of zombies with a chainsaw and flamethrower. But zombies with ghosts? Hell no!

  "That would be the mild version," John said.

  He stood and walked closer to the Doorway again, gesturing toward the cracked runes.

  "There is something worse," he continued. "This Door does not just keep Tartarus closed. It also defines boundaries. Between life and death. Between existence and nonexistence. Between concept and void."

  Diana felt a chill that had nothing to do with Maureen's power. "If it is destroyed… Everything will..."

  "The lock breaks," John finished. "And what lies beyond Tartarus is not just monsters or fallen gods. There are entities that do not belong to any cycle. Things that were never meant to exist within our reality at all. They do not conquer worlds. They unmake them by erasing the rules that allow reality to function."

  The whispering behind the stone seemed louder now, as if in agreement.

  "That'd be bad for our honeymoon," Harley mumbled.

  Maureen swallowed. "So destroying the Door could collapse the entire system."

  "Yes," John said quietly. "Not instantly. But inevitably."

  Hippolyta closed her eyes for a moment, centuries of responsibility pressing down on her shoulders. "So, this is the reason Zeus entrusted us to guard it."

  "Yes," John replied. "He entrusted it to the strongest warriors who carry the divine power and are connected to the gods. And with all the enchantments and divine laws, this island is the most secure place. But over time, things changed, power faded, Zeus' influence weakened, and... Here we are."

  Harley crossed her arms. "So what are our options, Johnny?"

  "We cannot destroy it," he said. "But we can fix it."

  He blinked up and placed a hand against the air before the slab. Runes responded, shifting slightly.

  "I'll fix the crack and apply multiple layers of new seals without altering the original ones, and then I'll feed it with enough divine energy to make the seals last for at least a century," John said as he started to apply the new seals.

  Bright yellow magic seals appeared around the slab.

  John looked back at Hippolyta. "It'll take a massive amount of divine energy and at least a month to set everything up. Till then, make sure no one disturbs me and protect Kahndaq. Waller and those government rats might try to create a conflict if they learn I am not there. So, announce a friendly treaty between Kahndaq and Themyscira and our marriage..." He winked at her. "That should be enough to stop them from doing anything stupid. They love to play politics... Let's give them politics."

  ----