Chapter Ten: Escape!

Beneath the Bermuda Triangle, above the sunken kingdom of Atlantis, two figures were locked in a fierce battle. The eruption of tremendous power drew the attention of every Atlantean to the conflict raging overhead.

Meanwhile, within the royal palace of Atlantis, a scout hurriedly reported to the high priest, “High Priest, the king is currently fighting a human from the surface.”

“A human from the surface? In the deep sea? Very well, I understand. You may go,” the high priest replied. After the scout departed, the aged, blue-skinned priest turned to General Saltu at his side. “It appears his child has returned.”

“He? Do you mean that traitor?” Saltu asked.

The high priest nodded gravely.

—

Arthur and Namor were entangled in a battle so evenly matched that neither could gain the upper hand. Blow after blow, kick after kick, the stalemate persisted. Yet, gradually, Arthur began to lose ground.

He realized the man before him possessed abilities much like his own—resilient to blows, capable of tremendous speed and force underwater—though not quite as strong. Still, Arthur’s condition was poor, and his opponent wielded a weapon perfectly suited to his hand. Namor’s combat skill far surpassed his own, and this was Namor’s territory. Worse, more and more soldiers were gathering around, eyes fixed on Arthur like hungry wolves. The situation was growing dire. He needed to find a way to escape.

Feigning a weakness, Arthur lured Namor in and was sent flying by a strike from Namor’s trident. Seizing the momentum, Arthur turned and fled at his utmost speed.

Seeing his foe in flight, Namor immediately gave chase. “After him! Don’t let him escape!” Countless Atlantean soldiers surged forward in pursuit.

Arthur pushed himself faster and faster, quickly leaving most of them behind. Still, he dared not let down his guard, darting in the direction of the mysterious force that was calling to him.

Suddenly, the sound of pursuit grew louder. Glancing back, Arthur saw Namor leading a vast host of soldiers, all astride various sea creatures, each beast adorned with saddles and reins.

“Damn, they have mounts—how is this fair?”

Arthur pushed himself to his limits, racing desperately ahead, but his pursuers closed in relentlessly. The next moment, he heard the sound of energy water cannons firing behind him. Beams of water shot toward him, forcing Arthur to twist and dodge with every ounce of agility he possessed.

In his flight, Arthur was struck by one of the water blasts. The impact sent him reeling, but he gritted his teeth and pressed forward.

Never had Arthur been so thoroughly battered and humiliated. Was this truly to be the end for him? The pull of the mysterious force ahead grew ever stronger—it seemed so close. Yet the pursuers were nearly upon him. That’s when inspiration struck.

He stopped abruptly, whirled to face the oncoming soldiers, and spread his arms wide, unleashing waves of psychic sonar.

Suddenly, the sea creatures bearing the Atlanteans went berserk, whirling to attack one another. The ranks of soldiers fell into chaos.

Seizing the moment, Arthur turned and shot forward, finally reaching the source of the call—a vast, bottomless trench. That mysterious power emanated from its depths.

Should he venture down? Arthur hesitated. At that instant, a massive water cannon blast struck him from behind—Namor had arrived.

The energy sent Arthur hurtling forward, and a barrage of water cannons followed. Dozens of Atlantean troops formed a fan and unleashed volley after volley upon him.

“Ah… ah…” Arthur’s cries echoed through the onslaught as the blasts battered him mercilessly, driving his body deeper and deeper toward the trench. The soldiers continued firing until he disappeared beyond their range.

Namor watched, expressionless, as Arthur was blasted into the seemingly endless abyss.

A soldier nearby asked, “Shall we pursue, Your Majesty?”

Another smacked him. “Are you mad? That’s the forbidden domain of the Sea God—no one dares enter!”

Namor raised his hand. “There’s no need. No one who enters the Sea God’s Forbidden Abyss has ever returned. Let’s go.”

The surrounding soldiers raised their tridents and cheered, “Long live the king! Long live the king!”

—

Back at his palace, Namor had scarcely settled in when he was announced, “High Priest requests an audience, Your Majesty!”

“Let him in,” Namor replied, handing his armor to an attendant and taking his seat upon the golden throne.

The aged high priest hobbled in on his cane, trembling slightly. “Your Majesty, I hear a surface-dwelling human intruded just now?”

“Yes, a young man, not yet twenty by the look of him. He was incredibly strong—his abilities rivaled mine, and he moved through the water as if born to it.”

The high priest probed gently, “Then, is he that man’s descendant?”

“Undoubtedly! Apart from the traitor’s bastard, no other Atlantean blood could have survived in the outside world!” Namor’s anger was palpable.

“To think, after all our efforts to hunt them down, a child with royal blood survived,” the high priest sighed. “By rights, he is your brother!”

“That traitor was executed in secret long ago. His bastard is no son of Atlantis and will never be acknowledged as such!” Namor’s disdain for Arthur—a hybrid of Atlantean and human—was undisguised.

Namor’s mother, once the grand princess of Atlantis, had fallen in love with a human and borne Namor. With his human skin, Namor had always been scorned by his peers, his childhood marked by humiliation he would never forget.

Arthur was the son of Namor’s mother’s brother and a woman from Wakanda. Atlantis and Wakanda’s Black Panther were bitter enemies, and the fact that Arthur’s father had secretly consorted with a Wakandan woman enraged the former king. Arthur’s father was exiled to the Bottomless Abyss, and Arthur’s pregnant mother was hunted down and, it was said, executed. None had expected Arthur to survive in secret.

“It’s over,” Namor declared. “I’ve cast that bastard into the Bottomless Abyss. I want no more talk of this.”

“As you wish, Your Majesty,” the high priest replied. He knew the full story—this was a stain on the royal house of Atlantis, a secret known to few. Arthur’s existence would be concealed at all costs.

—

Not far from the kingdom of Atlantis lay a massive chasm known as the Bottomless Abyss, or the Sea God’s Forbidden Domain. Legend held that here was where Poseidon fell, and that the great rift was carved in his battle against a cosmic demon.

When Arthur was struck down into the abyss, he quickly lost consciousness, his body tumbling freely for what seemed an eternity before finally coming to rest atop a massive stone at the chasm’s floor.

Beneath the stone glowed fiery magma, heating the seawater to near boiling. By fortune, Arthur had landed on the rock rather than plunging into the molten depths. He lay there like a corpse, yet invisible currents of blue energy converged upon his body…