"So Orm really did it, huh?"
Atlanna's expression turned complicated after hearing everything that had happened in Atlantis. Not surprised. Disappointed, maybe.
Her husband, King Orvax, had always hated the surface world — viewed surface dwellers as lesser beings and any connection with them as a stain on Atlantis.
When Atlanna chose to live among humans and had a son with one, Orvax called it unforgivable. The punishment came immediately: exile to the Trench. A death sentence by another name.
She looked toward Arthur. "It seems Orm inherited more from his father than I realized."
"If you want King Atlan's trident, it's beyond that waterfall." She pointed toward an enormous waterfall cascading down a distant mountain, its roar reaching them even from where they stood.
Mera followed her gaze. "So that's where it is."
"But reaching it is the easy part." Atlanna's expression hardened. "Karathen guards the trident."
Even Mera stiffened. Every Atlantean knew the legend. Karathen wasn't merely some sea monster — it was ancient, predating Atlantis itself.
"I tried many times to reach the trident," Atlanna continued. "Every attempt ended the same way. Without passing Karathen, nobody can claim it. And without the trident, we can't leave this place."
Daniel raised his hand. "I have another solution, if you want to leave."
"What solution?"
"We just leave." He pointed behind them. "We already know the exit. We came through it."
Mera gave him a look.
"What?"
"That only works because you're you."
"Fair."
"Normal people can't casually force their way through an underwater vortex."
"I was merely presenting alternatives."
"You weren't helping."
Daniel sighed. "I feel like my contributions are constantly underappreciated."
Atlanna watched the exchange quietly. The familiarity between them was hard to miss. Then she looked toward Arthur, who stood there watching the conversation without understanding half of it.
She felt a headache coming on. For years she'd imagined Arthur and Mera eventually uniting Atlantis and Xebel. Looking at this, that future seemed increasingly unlikely.
She pushed the thought aside. "Arthur." Her tone drew his attention. "You need to obtain the trident."
Arthur looked toward the waterfall again.
Atlanna stepped closer. "You possess the blood of Atlan. You were born from both worlds — the surface and Atlantis."
"If the legends are true, the trident will recognize the true king." She placed a hand on his shoulder. "And if you claim it, Atlantis will have no choice but to acknowledge you."
Daniel had been watching the whole time. All he could still see was hesitation — the same hesitation that would become a disaster the moment Orm started his war.
Before anyone realized what he was doing, Daniel stepped forward and drove his fist into Arthur's jaw.
The impact launched Arthur backward through a boulder, fragments scattering across the clearing.
"Arthur!" Mera moved instantly. Atlanna threw her spear — it vanished halfway through its flight before reaching him. Daniel didn't even look at it, eyes fixed on Arthur.
"You two stay back."
Something in his tone stopped both of them cold.
Arthur climbed out of the rubble, blood trickling from his mouth. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
Dark energy spread around Daniel. Black armor formed over his body, blue light glowing behind the eye sockets of his helmet. The air itself grew heavier.
Arthur understood immediately — Daniel wasn't trying to start an argument. He was serious.
"Come here." Daniel motioned him forward.
Arthur's grip tightened on the trident. He charged, the ground cracking beneath his feet. The weapon swung with enough force to split stone — Daniel sidestepped, letting it slam into the ground instead, then grabbed the shaft and drove a knee into Arthur's stomach.
The air left his lungs. An elbow followed across his face. Arthur stumbled back. Daniel grabbed his armor and threw him across the clearing, through another rock formation. The ground shook.
Arthur forced himself up, anger replacing hesitation. Good. Exactly what Daniel wanted.
He charged again, abandoning technique, fighting on instinct alone.
The trident swept repeatedly toward Daniel, who dodged each strike and answered with a punch to the ribs, then the shoulder, then the chest hard enough to send Arthur skidding backward. He planted the trident to stop himself.
Daniel kept walking toward him.
"You know what your problem is?"
Arthur spat blood. Daniel didn't wait for an answer.
"You keep acting like becoming king is about you."
Arthur charged. Daniel vanished and reappeared with a fist already buried in his side, the impact launching him through another boulder. Stone exploded outward.
Daniel was beside him almost instantly, grabbing the front of his armor and pulling him up.
"You think your doubts matter?" A punch to the jaw. "You think your fear matters?" Another into his stomach. "You think Atlantis cares whether you feel ready?"
The final blow drove Arthur into the ground, a crater forming beneath him.
Silence. Daniel stood over him, death energy still spreading outward.
"People are going to die if Orm starts this war."
Arthur slowly pushed himself up. His body ached, his face bruised. But he was listening. Daniel could tell.
"If the war starts, it won't be kings and generals who pay for it. It'll be ordinary people." He pointed toward the distant waterfall.
"The only person standing between that future and Atlantis is you." Arthur's fists clenched.
"And all you've done since this journey began is question whether you're good enough."
The words landed harder than any punch.
"A king doesn't wait until he feels ready. A king doesn't get certainty." Arthur's breathing steadied, the uncertainty in his eyes beginning to fade.
"A king makes a decision and lives with what comes after." Daniel pointed again. "The trident is there."
Arthur turned toward the waterfall. For the first time since entering the Hidden Sea, he didn't look like a man trying to avoid responsibility. He looked like someone who'd finally decided something.
Without a word, he started walking.
Daniel watched him go, then dismissed his armor. The heaviness in the air vanished instantly.
Mera looked at Arthur's retreating figure, then at Daniel. "You could have just talked to him."
"I did."
Mera looked at the wreckage scattered across the clearing — shattered boulders, one fresh crater — and said nothing else.
*****
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