Daniel listened quietly to the distant sounds echoing through the Hidden Sea. Even from where they stood, the battle between Arthur and Karathen was impossible to miss.
The roar of the ancient guardian shook the air while waves crashed against the cliffs surrounding the waterfall.
"Hmm." Daniel nodded to himself. "It seems the fight has already started."
Mera followed the direction of the noise. Arthur was either proving himself to Karathen or getting thrown around by it. Knowing Arthur, probably both.
Daniel stretched his arm and a black scythe appeared in his hand. Unlike Atlan's golden trident, the weapon looked ominous — its dark blade seemed to absorb the surrounding light while faint blue patterns glowed across the surface.
The moment it appeared, Mera felt a chill run down her spine. Instinct. Every part of her body was telling her to stay away from it.
"What the hell is that?"
Daniel looked at the scythe, then at Atlan's trident in the distance. "Compared to that golden-colored fork, I still think my weapon looks better."
Mera ignored the joke. "What is it?"
"A divine weapon."
"And what exactly does a divine weapon do?"
"It can kill someone with a single stab."
"Such a thing exists?"
"Why wouldn't it?" To him it was a perfectly normal question. "There were gods on Earth long before Atlantis existed. A divine weapon isn't that strange compared to some of the things they left behind."
Atlanna listened quietly. Ancient Atlantean records did contain references to gods, many dating back to before Atlantis sank. Most modern Atlanteans considered them myths.
Standing beside Daniel made those explanations harder to dismiss. At this point, a divine weapon wasn't even the strangest thing she'd witnessed this week.
Suddenly Daniel's expression changed. The casual attitude disappeared. His gaze shifted toward the distant ocean beyond the Hidden Sea.
Something had appeared. Something powerful. The energy was enormous.
Daniel frowned. That definitely wasn't supposed to be there.
Mera noticed immediately. "What happened?"
He stayed silent for a moment, then sighed. "Well, you guys deal with Arthur and Orm."
"What?"
His eyes stayed fixed on the horizon. "Another problem just showed up."
Before she could ask anything else, he vanished.
Mera stared at the empty space. Looked around. Stared at the empty space again. Her eye twitched. A second later she kicked a chunk of loose soil across the clearing.
"This man." She folded her arms. "He says whatever he wants. Shows up whenever he wants." Another kick. "And leaves whenever he wants."
Atlanna couldn't help smiling slightly.
Mera noticed instantly. "What?"
"Nothing."
Mera looked more suspicious. Atlanna wasn't planning on explaining.
***
Daniel appeared inside the underwater chamber where the huge energy signal had come from.
The place was a mess. Broken weapons floated through the water. Pieces of Atlantean armor lay scattered across the floor. Several guards rested unconscious among cracked walls and shattered structures. At the center stood an empty platform.
Daniel swam toward it. "What the hell happened here?"
He stopped beside a fallen guard and shook him awake. The soldier groaned, eyes opening slowly.
"The... Mother Box..." His voice was weak. "The enemy..."
He lost consciousness before he could finish.
Daniel released him and looked back at the empty platform. "The Mother Box?" His expression turned serious. Now the energy signature made sense.
Thousands of years ago, when Darkseid first invaded Earth searching for the Anti-Life Equation, he had arrived with the armies of Apokolips. Humans, Atlanteans, Amazons, the Old Gods, and even a Green Lantern had united against him.
Darkseid had been defeated and forced to retreat. Afterward, the Mother Boxes left on Earth were separated — one entrusted to the Amazons, one given to Atlantis, the third hidden among mankind. For thousands of years they remained dormant.
Now the Atlantean Mother Box was gone.
Daniel stared at the empty pedestal. There was only one reason someone would start gathering Mother Boxes.
Steppenwolf. Darkseid's uncle. General of Apokolips. The moment all three were united, the Unity would begin, and Earth would be transformed into another world of Apokolips.
Compared to that, the conflict between Arthur and Orm suddenly seemed insignificant.
He looked around the ruined chamber one last time. If the Atlantean Mother Box was already gone, there was a good chance the Amazons had already been hit too. The ancient warning fire of Themyscira was probably burning right now.
Daniel rubbed his forehead. "Looks like Darkseid finally made his move."
Without wasting any more time, he disappeared. The next place he needed to check was Themyscira. Because if the Amazons had lost their Mother Box too, Earth was already running out of time.
*****
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