Family System: Chapter 59

After they restored the chamber to its original state, Vex and Diana headed to the shore.

Diana took a deep breath and blew into the conch with all her might.

Crack!

Staring at the broken pieces in her hand, Diana looked stunned.

“It’s probably fragile from age,” Vex reassured her. He cast a Light of Restoration, and the conch was quickly restored.

Diana gave him a grateful look, and this time, she carefully blew into the conch.

Hoooo…

Hoooo…

The low hum, like a distant call from the deep ocean, traveled far and wide.

Diana kept blowing for nearly half an hour, her impressive lung capacity catching Vex’s attention.

Finally, she stopped. “Think that’s enough?” she asked uncertainly.

“We’ll know if we wait a bit,” Vex replied.

Diana nodded, curiously studying him. “I’m curious—why did you choose Earth?” she asked. “Earth isn’t exactly high-ranking in the universe, right?”

Vex didn’t hide his intentions, answering honestly. “Our star race’s mission is to expand our people as much as possible.”

“There are a few extraordinary beings on Earth… they’re the reason I came.”

“For instance…” he added, “you.”

Vex looked at Diana with intense eyes. She held his gaze without a hint of shyness, meeting him eye to eye.

After several long seconds, Diana was the first to look away.

Because of the goodwill she already felt toward him, his boldness didn’t offend her. Instead, she found it… intriguing.

“Well, on Earth, that kind of behavior is usually associated with Aquaman,” Diana joked.

“Earth is fascinating, with over two hundred different nations on one planet,” Vex replied, amused. “And in some of those countries, polygamy is the norm.”

Diana gave him an unreadable smile and didn’t continue the topic.

She seemed… neither opposed nor particularly for it?

---

Vex took the hint and switched topics. “Queen Hippolyta mentioned you’ve lived among humans for quite some time?”

“Almost seventy years now,” Diana said, gazing out over the ocean. “And you? How long have you been traveling the universe?”

“Hmm… in terms of age, we don’t have lifespans in the traditional sense,” Vex said, vaguely. “But if we were to go by human years, I’d be around twenty.”

No way was he telling her he was only in his twenties—what if she wasn’t a fan of younger guys?

As for lifespan, the Dog Talisman provided immortality, so the concept of natural death didn’t apply to him.

Diana glanced at him again, her gaze complex.

“Then… how does your race handle the death of a partner?” she asked.

“We almost never outlive our partners,” Vex replied confidently. “It’s either life together or death together.”

With the power of the Dog Talisman, he could share immortality with many others if he wished.

Diana looked pleasantly surprised. So… as long as she married him, she’d also live forever?

Her eyes sparkled with curiosity. “If your kind are all immortal, then you must have a long history and know a lot of powerful beings in the universe.”

“Hm… I know most of them,” Vex replied humbly.

Whether they recognized him, though—that was another question.

“Then, do you know the god Zeus?”

Diana was born to Hippolyta and Zeus, but she had never met Zeus, and Hippolyta refused to talk about him.

—A typical deadbeat dad, gone after a fling—why bring him up?

Vex’s face showed clear disdain, which Diana caught instantly.

“What, does Zeus have a bad reputation in the universe?” Diana pressed, curious.

Vex let out a cold laugh. “Hah, well, at least among my people, he doesn’t.”

“Yes, we Starborn may have many partners, but each one is loved with equal dedication.”

“But Zeus? He’s more like a roaming stud, leaving a mess behind him, using up these poor girls, then just walking away!”

“Worst of all, when these women bear his children, he won’t even acknowledge them!”

“Frankly, he’s the universe’s greatest deadbeat! A cosmic Aquaman! A disgrace!”

With every word Vex spoke, Diana’s face grew darker.

After all… that was her father he was talking about.

But Vex had noticed this and kept going.

Because…

He was betting on it.

Betting that Diana, who had been loyal to her principles and had never fallen in love again in seventy years, took love very seriously.

So…

He wagered that despising “Zeus the deadbeat” wouldn’t anger her but might even…

Diana suddenly laughed.

She looked at Vex again, her gaze a lot more serious, as if she were seeing him in a new light.

“Before, I thought you were another player yourself,” Diana admitted. “But it seems I was wrong.”

Vex simply smiled, feeling victorious on the inside.

He had guessed correctly.

Otherwise, changing her impression of him after that first encounter would have been incredibly difficult.

“Will you tell me your story?” Diana asked, her curiosity piqued.

And when a woman becomes curious about you, it’s the beginning of her falling.

Vex’s gaze turned reflective as if he’d unlocked a floodgate of memories.

“We star folk are like dandelions, scattered across the universe. Right now, I’m the only one in this galaxy.”

“I drifted across several galaxies before finally landing on Earth.”

“Truth be told…” he added, looking directly into her eyes, “one of the things that drew me here was your presence.”

Vex’s gaze was intense, almost like a confession.

Diana quickly looked away, visibly flustered.

“So… how do you and your people keep in touch?” she asked, deflecting.

Vex kindly shifted his gaze and opened his “Golden Gate.”

“This shared storage space connects our people, holding things like intel,” he explained, then revealed his Phoenix Force.

“This fragment of power is a trophy from one of my elders, who defeated a being capable of crossing dimensions.”

Diana gazed at the Phoenix Force, feeling the raw destruction emanating from it.

And it was just a fragment?

Whoever Vex’s elder had defeated must have been an incomprehensibly powerful enemy.

In an instant, an image of a mysterious, ancient, and powerful star race began to form in her mind.

This only made Vex more alluring, intensifying her desire to know him better…

Just then, Vex turned toward the sea.

“They’re here.”

Diana glanced in the same direction, her brow raising a moment later. She looked at Vex in awe.

After all these years…

It was rare to meet a man whose strength she genuinely respected.

Moments later,

A figure emerged from the sea.

Vex’s face suddenly turned odd.

Because…

The person had long, fiery red hair, clad in fish-scale armor, with curves to die for.

It was Mera.