Atlanna wasn't a child like Arthur; she wouldn't be fooled so easily.
No matter how badly her political battles had ended, she had once been queen, and her mind raced to many possibilities.
She quickly pulled Arthur behind her and demanded of Fang Yuan, "Who exactly are you?"
The so-called Envoy of the Sea-God—Atlanna absolutely did not believe it.
"All right." Fang Yuan shook his head helplessly. "I admit it: I'm not the Envoy of the Sea-God."
"I am the sea-god himself—Poseidon!"
The tension in Atlanna's eyes turned to stunned disbelief.
"Wow, amazing!" Arthur peeked out from behind her, voice full of awe. "So Uncle Fang is actually Poseidon!"
Atlanna quickly pushed him back; the silly boy had already been bewitched by Fang Yuan.
Though they no longer had ties as deep as Themyscira's with the gods, Atlanna knew Poseidon had long died—slain by Ares, god of war.
Knowing she wouldn't believe him, Fang Yuan showed his hand at once.
He lifted his right hand; sea-mist soared and condensed into thick storm-clouds overhead.
"Boom!"
Thunder cracked, making Atlanna jump.
"Weather control…" she murmured.
She stopped caring whether he truly was Poseidon; whoever he was, they clearly couldn't beat him.
Fang Yuan waved the clouds away and explained why he had come.
"After Ares killed me, I remained in the Divine Realm a long time before I could return to Earth—at great cost."
"Atlantis is now fractured; in a crisis it couldn't defend itself. So I've come for the golden trident, to steer the oceans back on course!"
Atlanna understood at once: Fang Yuan was here for Atlantis.
Instinctively she resisted; she had once been its queen and felt no kindness toward anyone coveting her realm.
But then she saw Arthur, and the words stuck in her throat.
She knew exactly why Fang Yuan had brought the boy.
"Lord Poseidon… you must have known King Atlan?" she probed cautiously.
Fang Yuan waved casually. "I told you I paid a heavy price—memories are patchy. You're Atlan's descendant; just call me Fang Yuan."
Atlanna bit back the urge to retort: so you really are a fake.
She grew anxious. "The golden trident's requirements are severe; for millennia countless Sea-Folk have tried and failed its test."
Arthur, however, could succeed; through Vulko she knew the boy could speak with sea-creatures—the gift of the first king, Atlan. She believed in him.
"If it comes to it, I'll guard Arthur till he's grown, even at the cost of my life!" she swore silently.
"Relax; I know the material I supplied," Fang Yuan said, fully in character.
He winked at the peeking Arthur and ordered, "Stay here and don't wander; I'll be right back."
Fang Yuan strode into the inner caverns of the mystic realm, passed through a waterfall, and entered the Burial Ground of King Atlan.
The seabed was littered with Broken Ruins—remnants of once-glorious Atlantis scattered when it sank.
Driven by greed, Atlan had rashly attempted unsafe arts, causing Atlantis to sink. Racked with guilt, he exiled himself here with the golden trident.
Now only bones remained, seated on a throne, the golden trident upright in his hands, his golden armor still gleaming.
Fang Yuan clearly sensed divine power within the trident—undoubtedly the true Poseidon's.
There was also a spell—cast by Atlan himself.
It set the trident's prerequisite trial and preserved the king's final majesty.
Atlan was not alone; beneath the throne lay countless skeletons.
They were Sea-Folk who had found this place and sought to claim the trident and rule the oceans—yet none succeeded, and all perished here.
For besides Atlan and the trident, another terror dwelt here.
Karathen!
The legendary sea-beast of Atlantis: a tailed mega-crab sheathed in hard chitin—far, far larger than any ordinary crab.
At full stretch its tail spanned two miles—about 3,200 meters.
Karathen guarded the trident; many failures became its meals.
It even possessed strange gifts—sapience and the ability to sense pure-blooded Atlanteans.
So the moment Fang Yuan appeared, Karathen locked on to him.
"Human?"
Karathen spoke without sound; only those who could commune with sea-creatures heard.
It grew furious.
"A human dares set foot here—unforgivable!"
Its tail, though long, whipped with terrifying speed toward Fang Yuan.
Unfazed, he blink-stepped aside and sent his thoughts via Telepathy.
"Been stuck here so long you can't even sense divine power?"
Fang Yuan equipped the Thor Template; lightning-god might burst forth, bolts stunning even Karathen into brief paralysis.
"Who are you?"
"Wait… you can understand me?" Karathen realized.
"Of course." Fang Yuan nodded. "I am Poseidon."
"…"
Karathen fell silent. It had never met Poseidon, but surely the sea-god wielded water, not thunder—wasn't that Zeus's domain?
Did he think sea-creatures were uneducated?
Why would a sea-god wield lightning?
Are you sure you're not Zeus?
Yet the divine force was real; as a mystical being, Karathen could tell it apart from lesser energies.
Seeing Karathen hesitate, Fang Yuan pressed on. "A crisis is coming to the oceans, and the kingdoms below are blind. I need the golden trident to unite them!"
"Crisis? What crisis?" Karathen demanded, suddenly concerned.
"I can't reveal the details yet."
Fang Yuan fobbed him off, while thinking—
"The crisis is: me and Batman, of course!"
Surprise! Unexpected, huh?
Unimpeded, Fang Yuan reached the golden trident. In truth, he wasn't sure whether his deep-sea powers met its conditions.
But even if they didn't, he still had the Ancient One Template.
Divine power? He could play that game too.
You will get 90 chapter ahead for this fanfiction.
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