"Even monsters bow before what they cannot comprehend."
---
The seas churned with a quiet fury.
Deep beneath the black waters, armies gathered and in the halls of Atlantis, Orm stood before a grand assembly of armored soldiers of Atlantis, Xebel and Fishermen. The ocean floor trembled faintly, as though aware of what was about to begin.
Orm's voice was smooth and sharp as coral.
"The surface poisons us. Plastics choke our currents. Oil burns our reefs. They think us myths — shadows. But now, we rise. The kingdoms of Atlantis will usher in the end of the surface-born."
He turned to King Nereus, ruler of Xebel, Mera's father.
"You have seen it with your own eyes. Their weapons, their arrogance. The ocean itself cries for vengeance."
Nereus hesitated. The image of King's indomitable presence lingered on his mind.
"And what of the surface's champion? The one they call… King?"
Orm's tone hardened. "A pretender. A man of dust and delusion. When the tide of Atlantis rises, not even he can stand against the depths."
He gestured toward a vast tactical display. Fleets of bio-mechanical leviathans, battle sharks and war-crabs assembling across the mid-ocean trenches.
"Prepare your armies, King Nereus. We strike soon. The surface will drown. But first we must bring the Brine on our side."
The chamber thundered with the sound of tridents slamming against marble, echoing through the abyss like war drums.
But beneath the rallying roar, something ancient stirred. The water itself trembled.
It was not a current. Not a quake.
It was the heartbeat of something greater.
Descent into Darkness
Far from the gathering storm, a small vessel crept toward the Mariana Trench.
Arthur Curry gripped the wheel, his trident resting beside him. Mera adjusted the sonar display while King stood silently at the bow, arms crossed, eyes fixed on the deep. The night sky above was scattered with stars — the only light before the descent.
Arthur exhaled.
"Down there's the deepest pit on Earth. Pressure strong enough to crush titanium. No one's ever come back from it."
"Then it's a good place to look." Said King.
Mera laughed. "You sound too calm for someone about to dive into the planet's heart."
King turned to her, his expression unreadable.
"Calm comes when you stop fearing depth."
Without another word, he stepped off the deck.
The water didn't splash. It bent around him like glass.
Arthur and Mera followed.
The descent began.
The Trench
Darkness. Endless.
No sound but their breathing and the faint hum of forgotten lights.
Then... shadows moved.
Dozens of eyeless faces started in the black, dark and feral, circling them. The Trench creatures. Ancient, monstrous descendants of Atlanteans long corrupted by isolation and hunger. Their shrieks vibrated through the water like daggers scraping glass.
Mera gripped her hydro spear. Arthur's trident hummed faintly.
"They've found us," Arthur muttered. "Stay close—"
King raised a hand.
"No need."
He took one step forward — the soundless motion rippled through the ocean like thunder. Then it came — the deep, resonant thrum of the King Engine, it's roar made more imposing in the depths of the sea as the water distorted the thumps into -
DOOM—DOOM—DOOM—DOOM.
It wasn't a sound that could be heard. It was felt — a vibration through the bones of existence, like the heartbeat of the Earth itself.
The Trench screamed and then, silence.
They froze mid-lunge, every creature trembling violently, their instincts awakening ancient terror buried since the dawn of life. The water around them shimmered as they parted, clearing a vast path downward.
Arthur whispered, awestruck.
"They're… afraid of you."
King's eyes are neutral.
"Everything alive knows when the apex has arrived."
The three descended through the parted horde, untouched, unchallenged. The creatures bowing and clawing the seabed in trembling submission as they passed.
Mera glanced around, her voice barely audible.
"They could've torn apart an army… but they kneel before you."
"Even monsters remember what it means to survive."
The Hidden World
They breached the final layer of darkness and then the sea opened into light.
Before them lay a world within the world. A hidden biome of colossal coral towers, waterfalls of luminescent plankton, and ancient ruins coated in pearl.
At its heart, atop vast ridges of stone flew creatures long lost to the world.
Arthur's breath caught. "This… this is it. The hidden world."
King nodded once. "Your path leads here, Arthur Curry. Take it."
Mera turned toward King. "You knew all along."
"I know what must be done. The war above, the rage below, they'll break each other unless balance is restored. And balance requires a true king."
Arthur stepped forward, his reflection trembling on the ocean floor. "And if I fail?"
King's gaze pierced through him.
"Then the Homo Magi of the seas will die and I'll bury the remains myself."
Arthur nodded, eyes burning with resolve. "Then I won't fail."
King's hand rested briefly on his shoulder. A rare gesture of faith.
"Good. Because for the first time, the ocean fears what it's about to meet."
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