Passing through a portal of rushing water, Fenric finally arrived in the Hidden Sea.
It was like stepping into a paradise.
Who would have thought such breathtaking scenery could exist in the depths of the ocean?
Towering mountains and winding rivers stretched into the distance. Waterfalls cascaded with thunderous roars, while forests thick with ancient trees shaded the land.
As Fenric reached the shore, he even saw a massive pterodactyl glide across the sky.
Above, sunlight streamed down as though this underground world were touched by the heavens themselves.
Fenric narrowed his eyes in astonishment.
"This is supposed to be an underground realm… so where does the sunlight come from?"
While he marveled at his surroundings, a pair of eyes watched him silently from the brush. The figure concealed there was cautious to the extreme, even slowing their breathing to avoid detection.
But after squatting too long, their legs grew numb, and they shifted slightly.
The faint rustle of dead leaves followed.
Barely audible to anyone else—yet impossible to escape Fenric's sharpened senses.
Now, with his perception extended to a hundred meters, even the smallest sound could not elude him.
In the next instant, Fenric turned sharply, fixing his gaze on the hidden figure.
"Will you come out on your own," he asked coolly, "or shall I drag you out?"
The figure stiffened in shock.
He found me?!
This man's perception… it's terrifying!
Realizing concealment was futile, the figure slowly stepped from behind the canopy.
A human.
Though dressed in fishbone armor and wearing the skull of a predator as a helm, the person's feminine features were clear to Fenric at a glance.
He recognized her immediately.
"Atlanna."
The woman froze, startled that this dark-haired, dark-eyed youth had called her by name.
"Who are you?"
Fenric's voice was calm, yet carried authority.
"Me? I am the God of the Sea. I came here to reclaim my weapon."
The words rolled from his tongue like a decree, his presence swelling with an aura of domination.
Atlanna instinctively felt awe—but her vigilance did not fade.
"God of the sea?" she repeated cautiously.
In response, Fenric raised his trident and gave it a sweep.
The sea roared.
A colossal tsunami surged upward, towering like a wall of liquid steel.
Atlanna's face paled.
Though a daughter of the ocean herself, even she had no way to resist such overwhelming force. If the wave struck, survival would be a matter of pure luck.
Creatures along the shore scattered in panic, fleeing for their lives.
Just as the tsunami was about to crash down, Fenric snapped his fingers.
The wave froze in place, suspended like a massive glass wall.
Then, from its body, a stream of seawater flowed to Fenric's feet, lifting him high above the ground like a throne of water.
Looking down at Atlanna from his watery pedestal, Fenric asked coldly,
"Now… do you still doubt my identity?"
A man who could command the ocean so effortlessly—Atlanna dared not question him further.
Without hesitation, she dropped to one knee.
"Atlanna greets His Majesty, the Sea God. I shall serve you with all my strength."
Even so, a sliver of doubt lingered in her heart.
The records of Atlantis spoke of Lord Poseidon… but never as a young man like this.
Yet Atlanna was no fool. With such power on display, defiance would mean certain death.
For now, surrender was the only choice.
"Good."
Fenric dispersed the tsunami with a wave. The ocean fell back with a thunderous crash, sending spray skyward.
He stepped down and approached her.
"Stand."
Atlanna obeyed instantly.
"You can remove your disguise," Fenric said.
Atlanna unclasped her armor of bone and coral, revealing her true appearance. Her features were refined, her skin pale and delicate. Though past her youth, her beauty carried the grace of maturity.
But Fenric wasn't into older women—let alone the idea of becoming Aquaman's stepfather.
"Atlanna," he said, his voice steady, "I know everything about you. Once I reclaim my weapon, I'll take you from this place. You'll be reunited with Tom Curry… and your son, Arthur."
(Tom Curry, an ordinary fisherman, was Arthur's father.)
Atlanna's composure broke at once.
For twenty long years she had been trapped here, her only hope the dream of one day seeing her husband and child again. That hope was the sole reason she had endured.
Her voice trembled.
"Truly, Lord Poseidon?"
Fenric smiled faintly and nodded.
"Of course."
In truth, he didn't need to say so much. He already knew from the original tale where the trident was hidden.
But a thought had struck him.
Atlanna's identity—the former Queen of Atlantis—was a card worth playing. If handled well, it could help him bend the Seven Kingdoms beneath the sea to his will.
"Thank you, Lord Poseidon!"
Atlanna knelt once more, her eyes brimming with joy and anticipation.
At last, she could almost see her family again.
"Rise, Atlanna," Fenric commanded. "I sense my weapon—it lies behind that waterfall. Wait here for me."
He strode toward the thundering cascade.
But Atlanna called after him quickly.
"Lord Poseidon! The trident is guarded by Karathen, the great beast. It is dangerous—"
Then she stopped herself.
Dangerous? For mortals, perhaps.
But for the Sea God, what monster could be a match?
And if the creature devoured this young man… then it would only prove he was a fraud.