Mera was speechless.
She truly had nothing to say.
Lothar's words formed a perfectly logical chain, not mere conjecture.
To be honest, when she studied Atlantean history in the palace as a child, Mera had often wondered. She wondered why the First King of Atlantis, wielding the Golden Trident, a divine artifact capable of subduing the seven seas, had suddenly vanished without a trace.
The vast Atlantean Empire consequently splintered into seven underwater kingdoms, watching each other with suspicion.
From ancient times until now, aside from the Trench Kingdom, which had devolved into a race of beasts, the remaining six kingdoms had all contemplated unifying the underwater world to restore Atlantis's former glory, but had to abandon these ambitions due to insufficient power.
Yet, if Mera traced back the timeline following Lothar's logic, she was horrified to discover that the complete degeneration of the Trench Kingdom's population into beasts occurred shortly after the disappearance of the First Atlantean King...
A chill ran down Mera's spine.
It was terrifying to consider.
That was the lives of an entire nation!
An entire nation!
Just for the sake of the so-called divine Trident, the First Atlantean King actually conspired with his mount to obliterate the sentience of all Trench inhabitants?!!
And even went so far as to alter the Trench Kingdom's environment, turning this race into a perpetual exile for the other six kingdoms of the sea?!!!
Mera suddenly felt breathless.
No, this is impossible... The history she had learned since childhood told her that the First Atlantean King was a saint. He possessed exceptional diplomatic skills, uniting various factions to bring about the birth of Atlantis and witness its glory.
This was what Mera had learned from her history textbooks since childhood. The slogan, "Dedicated to the rise of Atlantis since childhood," had been passed down through generations and still existed in Atlantean history textbooks.
However, as she grew older and her knowledge expanded, certain undeniable facts began to challenge the ingrained perceptions she had formed since childhood.
For example, the First Atlantean King, revered as a "Sacred Fish," had apparently implicitly agreed that the lives of Atlantean citizens were less valuable than those of neighboring ambassadors.
What's more astonishing is that the Second Atlantean King, who immediately succeeded him, through a series of "flashy maneuvers," directly caused the vast Atlantis to fall apart.
What's laughable is that the Second Atlantean King is actually referred to as "the Child of Atlantis" in the historical records of the underwater world.
Mera knew the underwater world was not as simple as the human world, but now, by working backward through Lothar's reasoning, these legends...
"Lady Mera, your understanding might actually be mistaken."
"Based on the available data, the First Atlantean King as you know him might be different from the true First Atlantean King."
Mera, whose worldview was severely shaken, was met by Woz, who presented facts and data.
"This is information Woz just deciphered, hidden within a certain laboratory."
"It states that the true First Atlantean King was a genuine, magnificent ruler."
"He rose from obscurity, stumbling along the way, yet always firmly believing in his people's ultimate victory, and finally, after standing at the pinnacle of the Atlantean race, he single-handedly founded Atlantis, a brand new nation."
"He led the Atlantean people in resisting invasions from terrifying cosmic entities, and he reconnected the broken spine of the Atlantean people."
"He was the undisputed king of your underwater world, a born leader, an unparalleled guide for your world."
"According to the data in this laboratory, the humans on the surface at that time called that true First Atlantean leader the Sacred King."
The robotic cat Woz presented the newly deciphered information before Mera, leaving her stunned.
Mera: ????
Two First Kings???
"To be precise, the true First King had no intention of becoming king himself," Woz pushed up its glasses, continuing to use this opportunity to overturn Mera's worldview. "The data shows that the true First King, after founding Atlantis, merely considered himself a leader. And that false First King was initially just a companion by this leader's side."
"In the Atlantean year 2233, Darkseid's forces from Apokolips descended upon Earth, attempting to conquer it with their might."
"The true First King, uniting with humanity, the Amazons, and the gods led by Zeus, jointly defeated the alien invaders from Apokolips led by Darkseid. However, it was precisely because of this earth-shattering war that the true First King was severely wounded."
"And that companion who had always been by his side, that false First King, from then on began his journey to seize power."
A drama of Atlantean palace intrigue, set in ancient times, slowly unfolded before Mera with the data provided by Woz.
"How is that possible..." Mera murmured, those pieces of information, she was certain, were not in the palace history books she had studied since childhood.
But the source of Woz's data... if she were to go back and check, she should indeed be able to find them.
For instance, the true First King, as Woz called him, in his later years after being severely wounded, couldn't even issue commands beyond the Atlantean capital; everything about him had been usurped by the companion who once knew him best.
Mera had privately heard her father, Nereus, lament this before, though Nereus referred to the true king as "the leader." If not for the true First King still having a group of followers loyal to his faith and ideals, Atlantis might not even exist today.
"Impossible, if that were the case, there wouldn't be any trace of that true king in the history books."
Mera continuously shook her head, forcing herself not to accept the facts Woz had revealed. She never would have imagined that merely searching for a Golden Trident would lead to the disclosure of so much "inside information."
"That's because the existence of that true king is the foundation upon which the original Atlantis was established; he's an indispensable figure. If you don't believe me, recall more carefully: aren't the history books you studied as a child and the formalized information you received all trying their best to downplay that true king? And even widely proclaiming the true king's odd behavior in his later years? Are they all advocating for merits and demerits cancelling each other out?"
Mera was momentarily speechless...
"So, the one who sacrificed the entire Trench race to become beasts wasn't actually the true king who unified the seven seas?"
Lothar narrowed his eyes, following Woz's line of thought.
"Yes, Your Highness Lothar, Woz discovered something amiss while organizing the database. There's an information repository Woz couldn't brute-force. After a long period of simulated learning, Woz has successfully cracked part of the data, which details what truly happened after Atlantis was established."
"From the data, the Golden Trident should have been taken into the Trench Kingdom by the false First King."
"Because he was a false king, unable to properly use the Golden Trident's power, he was ambushed by a successor who wanted to seize power, which led to his defeat and flight to the Trench Kingdom."
Woz spoke earnestly, while Lothar and Mera listened intently. The miserable writer Montgomery on the side wanted to cry but had no tears; he felt that after hearing all this, he was very likely to be silenced...
"Lothar, can you take me to the Trench Kingdom?" Mera, still disbelieving, was silent for a moment, then looked up and asked. She wanted to see for herself, to verify everything Woz and Lothar had speculated.
"Just lead the way."
Lothar wrapped an arm around Mera's waist, instantly blasting through Montgomery's flimsy roof and flying into the distance.
...
Gotham, The Batcave.
Diana, having left Themyscira with the Mother Box, appeared before Bruce Wayne with a serious expression.
"Bruce, we're in big trouble."
——————————
Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over to my Patreon ——— patreon(.)com/PrimalDemon [remove the parentheses ( )]
There are 50+ advance chapters available for you to read!