"Queen Atlanna!" Mera exclaimed with joy.
She took a few quick steps forward, jogging to embrace a stunned Atlanna.
"You're really here!"
Atlanna hesitated, "You, are you here for me?"
Mera nodded, "Yes, not just us, but your son and Vulko have also come."
"Then… where are they?" Atlanna asked, a little agitated.
Mera faltered. How would she know? She could only turn to Dane, casting a pleading look.
Dane immediately understood: "Wait a moment."
With that, he sensed the surrounding Water area.
Suddenly, he raised his palm, and a splash of Water erupted from the center of the sea. Two people flew out from it, landing on the beach.
Atlanna's expression was grave; she had just felt an extremely powerful divine energy fluctuation from Dane.
And this intensity even surpassed that of trident of neptune, which she had seen in the deep-sea cave!
Even if this man wasn't a god, he was a demigod, similar to Achilles! she thought to herself.
But the moment she saw Arthur, a feeling of blood being thicker than water suddenly welled up in her heart.
She no longer cared about anything else and quickly ran to Arthur's side.
Although he had a full beard, Atlanna recognized him as her child at a glance.
"Arthur, my child..." She pulled Arthur's head into her embrace.
Hearing this voice, Arthur instantly sobered up, then raised his head and met Atlanna's eyes.
Thomas often used their old photos to reminisce about her, so Arthur recognized his mother at once, and a warm feeling, that of filial affection, suddenly surged in his chest.
He stammered, "You, you are..."
Atlanna just nodded and pulled him back into her embrace.
Arthur felt a bit awkward but also a bit warm; he hadn't felt maternal love in a long time.
At this moment, Vulko also woke up, dazed, and when he looked to the side, he instantly shivered, like drinking an ice-cold cola on a hot summer day.
Then he immediately half-crouched and knelt on one knee before Atlanna.
"Your Majesty!"
Atlanna finally saw him and said gently, "I haven't been Queen for a long time, Vulko; please get up."
Vulko said in a deep voice, "A Queen is always a Queen!"
Atlanna was very comforted; it seemed she hadn't been a complete failure after all, and still had some loyal subordinates.
After a long while, she finally began to ask, "Why are you all here?"
Arthur then slapped his forehead and quickly pulled Dane over.
"Mom, let me introduce you; this is the Boss of the Justice League, Shazam!"
Dane glanced at him, thinking, 'Well, what he said... isn't wrong.'
Atlanna looked at Dane, and her expression became serious again.
"May I ask, which deity are you?"
Atlanna could feel the divine power on Dane but couldn't ascertain his specific divine office, though she guessed he must be one of the Olympian Gods.
However, she guessed wrong.
Dane shook his head, "I am not any Greek god you know; I merely possess their divine power. You can consider me a demigod."
Atlanna hesitated to speak; she was a bit worried that Dane was after the trident, but didn't know how she would stop him if that were true.
Even though Dane said he was just a demigod, Atlanna knew that even with trident of neptune, she might not be able to defeat him. She felt some apprehension.
After so many years as Queen, Atlanna was no longer the innocent girl who only pursued true love; it was hard to say whether she would still be fond of Thomas now.
Dane seemed to have noticed something, or perhaps not, but he quickly dispelled Atlanna's worries.
"Arthur, this is where the trident is. Without further ado, go and get it now!"
Now Atlanna knew their purpose for coming and quickly dismissed the wild thoughts in her mind.
"You're here for the trident? That's great! I've been trying for years, but that monster always stops me."
"Monster?" Arthur looked at her with a puzzled expression.
Atlanna nodded, her face grim. "Karasen, it's the Undersea beast that guards the trident. Only a true King can pass its test and obtain the trident..."
Arthur was young and impetuous, full of confidence at this moment.
And he really wanted to impress his mother, so he thumped his chest and said, "Mother, don't worry, I will get it!"
Mera, however, gave him a disapproving look.
Unlike in the movie, Mera had not experienced adventures with Arthur yet and wasn't familiar with him.
From her first impression, she didn't think Arthur could be a good King.
Orm at least had a noble demeanor; although he lacked royal presence, he could manage to put on a show of dignity.
But Arthur was completely like a drunkard, a hooligan.
He was too far from the word "King."
Instead... Mera secretly glanced at Dane. She felt that if it were this man, he might be more suitable, but alas... why wasn't he an Atlantean? Mera didn't realize that her thoughts were drifting in an unpredictable direction.
Atlanna and Vulko didn't notice Mera's gaze; they were very pleased and genuinely believed Arthur could succeed, so they both offered him their blessings.
"In that case, let's go quickly! Before Orm finds out..."
"Orm, what has he done?" Some ominous thoughts flashed through Atlanna's mind.
Mera whispered to her, "He wants to start a war between the two Worlds, and he's almost succeeded!"
Atlanna immediately said, "Then Arthur must get the trident as soon as possible and stop him!"
Poor Orm, Dane shook his head.
From Orm's perspective, what he did was truly beyond reproach, but unfortunately, apart from a few supporters, most Atlanteans were content with the status quo.
Even those aligned with Atlanna were more inclined to live in peace with the Surface World; Orm was simply outnumbered and outmatched.
Atlanna soon led everyone to a waterfall. She pointed to the waterfall and said to Arthur, "The trident is inside. Arthur, this test is something only you can go through..."
Whether it was an illusion or not, Dane always felt that Atlanna was guarding against him.
Although he had once thought of using the trident, he didn't lack divine artifacts now.
Hmm? Not entirely... Dane stroked his chin and thought. He still didn't have a true main combat weapon!
But thinking of him, the mighty Shazam, a God of Death, carrying a fish spear—how appropriate would that be? That image wouldn't be too pretty... Arthur confidently nodded to Atlanna, then put down his five-pronged spear and dove into the waterfall.
As soon as he entered, Arthur felt he had arrived in a gloomy body of Water, with too little light around him, making it difficult to discern direction.
He swam for a while but still couldn't find the so-called trident, though he gradually felt some changes in the surrounding Water currents.
He suddenly turned his head and found a giant eye staring at him.
"You despicable thief!"
He seemed to hear someone speaking, and then a huge tentacle struck him. On closer inspection, that tentacle was as thick as his entire waist, and it had suckers like an octopus's tentacles.
Arthur was sent flying, his back directly hitting a stone wall. This was man-made!
He looked behind him, and on the steps, there was a throne, and on the seat, a set of yellow-green armor and a golden trident.
Arthur knew he had found his target. He pushed against the Water with both hands and swam towards it.
"You wish!"
The voice appeared again, and Arthur turned his head, almost having a heart attack!
What an enormous monster it was! Its mouth, as if it could swallow the entire ocean, and it had two huge claws. Arthur had no doubt that each one could easily destroy a submarine.
It was practically a real-life Kraken!
Arthur swam desperately forward, just a little more and he would touch the trident.
"Do you think such a petty trick can win a King's weapon?"
Arthur's forward movement came to an abrupt halt. He looked back, and a thinner tentacle grabbed his ankle, slowly dragging him before the giant monster.
"You must be Karasen..."
Arthur was tightly bound by tentacles, which squeezed him painfully.
"You, you seem to understand my words?"
Karasen's large head was tilted, its giant eyeball fixed on Arthur.
Arthur said, "Yes, I understand. Can you let go of me, old friend? This is quite painful."
"Incredible. Apart from the King of Atlantis, for a thousand years, no one has been able to communicate with me. Who are you, thief?"
"I am not a thief. My name is Arthur Curry, and I will be your new King!"
"What a boast!"
Hearing this, Karasen probably understood that this human in front of him was a descendant of King Atlan, so it released its tentacles.
"Then I will give you a chance to prove yourself, to see if you are truly the successor of the King, as you claim!"
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded over 40 chapters of this story on Patreon.
If you're enjoying it and want to read ahead, feel free to check them out here:
[patreon.com/TripleCrown07]
Thanks a lot for your support, it really helps me keep going.