Chapter Eleven: The Trident of the Sea God

At the bottom of the bottomless abyss, Arthur lay motionless atop a massive boulder, unmoving for a full week. He had actually awakened long ago, but upon discovering that the energy of this place far surpassed any other seabed, Arthur resolved to sink into quiet absorption, drawing in the power to repair his body.

After seven days of restoration, not only had Arthur’s physique reached its peak, but he sensed his mental strength had finally broken through. He could now hear sounds emanating from objects much farther away, and his mastery over water had grown stronger; no longer limited to a mere minute, his abilities were now fit for combat.

Arthur had intended to continue cultivating, but the mysterious force summoning him grew ever more intense, affecting his very mind. Reluctantly, he ceased his practice.

Rising to his feet, Arthur surveyed his surroundings. Below the boulder lay a sea of fiery magma, so hot that no living creature could survive nearby. Yet Arthur felt no heat at all—proof his physical endurance had grown immense.

The canyon walls were formed of black rock, and across from him, an enormous mountain towered, distant yet clearly visible, testifying to the colossal scale of the abyss. On the mountainside opposite, a huge pitch-black cave gaped open, and it was from this cave that the mysterious summoning force emanated.

Arthur did not hesitate. He swam toward the cave, determined to uncover the source of the summons, no matter what awaited him.

As he drew nearer, the size of the cave became ever more apparent—its entrance rose several thousand meters high, its formation a mystery. The cave was deep and shrouded in darkness; even Arthur’s keen sight could not penetrate its depths.

Inside, Arthur swam for a long time. The cave was empty, but as he advanced, it steadily narrowed, forming a funnel shape. At last, he arrived at its end, where he beheld a striking sight: a gigantic statue, hundreds of meters tall, with the head of a horse, the body of a serpent, and eight tentacled limbs like an octopus—a depiction of Poseidon’s celestial steed.

The sense of summoning came from beneath the statue. Arthur approached, and finally saw what had beckoned him: a pitch-black weapon, embedded in the rock, surrounded by a web of cracks radiating outward.

What was this? Arthur felt the weapon’s powerful summons, like sound waves pulsing through his being. The moment he grasped the weapon, the summoning ceased, and it began to tremble violently in his grip.

The trembling intensified, buzzing with energy. Gritting his teeth, Arthur pulled the weapon free—it was a trident. A fierce vibration coursed through it, and then, before his eyes, the black stone shell on the trident’s surface flaked away, revealing golden metal beneath.

Arthur gazed in rapture at the trident, as if admiring a work of art. The dark-golden metal was etched with runes, ancient and mysterious. The trident fell still, quiet in his hand, not cold but faintly warm to the touch.

Just then, the entire cave began to shake violently. The cracks where the trident had been embedded widened, and the statue above, with its horse head and serpent body, was suddenly covered in fissures. Massive boulders began to crash down. Sensing danger, Arthur sped toward the cave’s entrance.

He found his speed had doubled, and as he accelerated, the trident sent a gentle surge of warmth up his arm—clearly, enhancing speed was one of its auxiliary powers. What a treasure!

At the very instant Arthur burst out of the cave, it collapsed completely, countless boulders plunging into the boiling magma below, sending up billowing smoke that blotted out the sky. The entire abyss trembled and quaked.

Even the people of the nearby Kingdom of Atlantis felt the earth shake violently. Within the palace, Namor sensed the tremors. An earthquake? No—Atlantis had never experienced earthquakes. What was happening? Could it be connected to the bottomless abyss?

Within the abyss, the earth quaked, boulders fell, and a golden figure streaked upward at great speed.

“Roar… roar…” Arthur heard monstrous cries echoing from above. He increased his pace, shooting upward. From the dark stone walls of the canyon, enormous figures emerged from their caves.

They were massive sea monsters—some resembling crabs, others octopuses, some like lizards, all with bizarre forms. Each creature was huge, like a small mountain, awakened from slumber by the violent tremors.

Arthur dodged their attacks with lightning speed. He had just evaded the pincers of a giant crab when a massive, tooth-filled maw lunged for him—a hideous giant anglerfish, merged seamlessly with the stone wall. Had Arthur’s reflexes and explosive speed not improved so greatly, he would have been devoured.

As Arthur reeled from the close call, a tentacle suddenly shot out from a crack in the wall and ensnared him, its speed so great that even he failed to react. Squeezed by immense force, Arthur was bound tightly, unable to break free no matter how he struggled.

From the fissure emerged the creature—a dark-red giant octopus, explaining its ability to slip through narrow cracks. The octopus opened its massive, tooth-lined mouth, pushing Arthur toward it. Just as he was about to be swallowed, the octopus abruptly froze, unmoving.

Its tentacles slowly released Arthur, who leapt atop its head. The giant octopus carried him upward.

Arthur had used his mental powers to control the octopus. His mental strength was now far greater than before, and with the golden trident, he felt his psychic waves were amplified, much like the trident he’d seen in the Aquaman movie back on Earth.

Arthur gripped the trident with both hands, sending waves of psychic energy out like radar. Every giant creature that approached fell under his control. Soon, a giant octopus bore a diminutive human upward, followed by a procession of massive beasts. More and more creatures joined their ranks.

As the swarm grew, Arthur’s control reached its limits. He was not yet able to command thousands as the Aquaman in the film did; even the hundred or so now under his sway taxed him greatly.

At last, the giant octopus carried Arthur out of the abyss entirely, making him the first person in a century to survive and escape the bottomless chasm.

Arthur stood atop the octopus’s head, a host of giant creatures trailing behind, gazing expressionlessly toward the distant castle of Atlantis.

“Atlantis, I have returned!”