POV Namor
'Everything's lost. Those damn fools! Why would Orm release that monster?!'
Talo Kan had been destroyed by the damn Kraken, something that I didn't even believe existed until now. And why would I? It was a bedtime story that parents would tell their children about to make sure they behaved. But I was wrong, and now I had to consider where to go from here.
'I could return to the ruins once the Kraken leaves.'
The city was mostly destroyed, but a few places were able to stay intact as they were made of Vibranium, and even the Kraken couldn't break Vibranium. But very little of Talo Kan remains after the beasts' rampage. The only consolation I have is that the arrogant prick Orm got his entire civilization wiped out for his hubris. That fool tried to control the Kraken and suffered for his foolishness. Perhaps I was slightly prideful, but even I know my limits when it comes to a Divine Beast created by Poseidon himself.
As I was thinking about this, I suddenly felt something dangerous approaching and swiftly dodged the attack. I swim away a bit to give some distance between the attacker and me. But when I see them, I feel enraged.
"A surface dweller dares attack me! The ruler of the Seven Seas! The insolence!" I shout in anger.
"Impressive dodging ability. Not that it will save you," the strange surface dweller says calmly.
His calm voice calms me down as well, and I realize I can't underestimate this foe. Whoever they are, they have strong confidence to stand unguarded even after I avoided their sneak attack.
"You stand before King Namor, ruler of the Seven Seas," I introduce and gauge his answer.
"Oh? Are we doing introductions? How quaint. But sorry, I don't like talking with my food," the stranger says before vanishing.
'Food?'
I look around to try and find where he disappeared to, but I barely have time to put up my trident to block the attack from the creature, and despite my power, I am sent rocketing through the water and crashing into the ocean floor. My arms tremble from the impact of the attack. I had no idea how a surface dweller could be so strong, but it seemed unlikely I would ever get the chance to know.
BOOM
I am attacked again and again, and despite my best efforts, I was unable to match the enemy's strength or their bizarre speed. It made no sense. They were moving with even greater speed than an Atlantean or Talo Kani, which should be impossible.
"Well, you've done well to help me adapt to moving underwater, but I don't need to play around anymore," the creature says with undisguised boredom.
'If I'm going to die, then I will make sure they suffer as much as possible for it!'
I channel my connection to the seas and call forth the beast that had destroyed my kingdom.
"Finally, I was hoping you would do that. It saves me the trouble of tracking it down later," the creature says with a confident smile.
"W-What?" I ask with confusion.
Slrrk
The creature suddenly appears before me with its hand piercing my chest. I cough up blood and look in horror at the enemy. Especially when I finally understand what they meant by food.
I feel my energy being drained, and watch as the creature before me grows small wings on his legs.
'N-No...'
I muster all my remaining strength and throw my trident at the beast, which pierces the creature, but it looks unperturbed. But I had done my last act of defiance. The last thing I saw was the Kraken arriving and the creature looking satisfied.
POV Shift Mera
I look up into the sky and look worried at the stormy weather. Not because I thought it was a threat to me, but rather because I felt something was wrong today.
"The winds bring ill tidings," I murmur.
"Augh," my pet says.
"Damn it! How do you keep getting carrots!?" I say with only slight anger.
"Augh," my pet says with that same stupid look upon its face.
I pinch the bridge of my nose in annoyance.
"I swear to Poseidon that if you start dancing, Mr Krabs, that I won't feed you dinner!" I warn.
Mr Krabs pauses and then goes back to doing normal crab things as if he wasn't about to start dancing.
Before I could start complaining about my unconventional pets, my door was slammed open, causing me to panic and nearly fall over. However, I relaxed when I saw who was in the doorframe.
"What does my brother want now?" I complained to the Atlantean Royal Guard, who slammed my door open.
"My lady, King Orm is dying," the guard says grimly.
"W-What?! Bring him in now!" I say with shock as I see my brother Orm.
They do as I ask, and Orm is swiftly carried to the spare bedroom I had. Given this was a lighthouse, there was plenty of room.
"What happened?" I asked worriedly as I observed my brothers' injuries.
"The King attempted to control the Kraken, and the beast didn't care for that," the guard replied.
"Why would anyone release the Kraken?" I ask with confusion.
"I thought it would end the war," Orm says weakly.
"Orm!" I say with shock and kneel beside the bed.
"I was a fool to think the Kraken would be the solution to the war. Atlan was right. I should have listened to him," Orm says with deep regret.
I look over his injuries and realize that it wasn't likely he would survive; at best, we might be able to make him comfortable.
"My guards are all that remain," Orm says weakly.
"Of the army?" I ask with fear.
"Of all of Atlantis," Orm replies guiltily.
My hand goes to my mouth as I try to process what Orm is telling me. It was... I could never comprehend that such a thing could happen. I had visited only a year ago.
"No... Tell me it isn't so!" I say with fear as I look to Orm and everyone else in the room.
Nobody can refute the statement and avoid my eyes.
'Our home, the people...'
Crash
My thoughts are interrupted by a loud crash followed by the splatter of blood. One of the guards who was with us was impaled on the wall with a trident that looked familiar.
"Protect the KING!" the two remaining guards shout and take defensive positions.
I am forced to lie down, and we wait, but after several minutes of no additional attacks, one of the guards goes to investigate and comes back with odd news.
"There are no enemies that I can find. Nor any sign of anyone being here besides us," the guard reports.
It was at this point that I spoke up.
"I... I believe that Trident is... Namor's," I point out.
"Impossible, Namor would sooner die than give up his half of the Trident," Orm says with confusion.
A guard approaches the trident and confirms that it is an exact copy of the Trident that Orm was holding onto even now.
"What could this mean?" I ask.
"The only way Namor would throw his Trident was if there was a risk that a Surface Dweller would take it. Even if he was betrayed by his own kin, he wouldn't throw the Trident away," Orm says with certainty.
"Perhaps this is our chance?" a guard comments.
I look to him in confusion.
"With the Trident of Poseidon united once more, King Orm will have the power to subjugate the Kraken," the guard explains.
"Then we should hurry before Namor arrives to take back his half," I say while reaching for the Trident, impaling one of the guards.
"No! Let me do it!" Orm demands.
"Brother, you are in no condition to move, let alone merge the artifacts!" I refute.
"As your King, I order you to stand down!" Orm orders fiercely.
Orm's eyes look more serious than I have ever seen them, so I relent.
The second half of the Trident was removed from the wall, and then a guard helped my brother outside so he could do what was necessary. The entire time, I felt something was off about Orm. My brother could be fierce, but he had never raised his voice to me before, nor had I ever seen him so serious about something unless it involved our family's safety.
Orm is taken to a field near my house, and he takes both Tridents, one in each hand, and raises them to the sky.
"Oh, Spirit of Poseidon, your humble servant pleads to unite this artifact and grant me the power to avenge our lost brethren," Orm says while he gets into a kneeling position.
The sea starts to crash heavily into the shore and rocks. The Earth started to shake, and the storm intensified. The wind was strong enough that I had to get help from the guards to stay standing.
Orm stood back up with slight difficulty and then slammed the two Tridents together, causing a blinding light. When the light faded, Orm was still standing, but he swiftly fell over.
"Orm!" I shout and run to his side.
When I arrive, I am shocked at what I see. He was a shriveled old man.
"Orm!? What happened to you!?" I say with fear.
"The Trident couldn't be reunited without a price. With Poseidon dead, only our blood could be used as a catalyst to merge them once more," Orm says in a weak voice.
I hold my brother in my arms as he slowly turns to dust in my grip, as the many years that were taken from him become apparent. The guards near me look down in sorrow. As soon as my brother is reduced to ash, the Trident descends from the sky and towards me. I take it with a soft grip, and I think of what to do from here. Which I was truly uncertain of.
'I shall make a proper memorial for those who lost their lives.'
I stand up after sending a quiet prayer for Orm to rest in peace.
"What are your orders, Your Highness?" the guards ask while kneeling before me.
"You would follow me even though I abdicated the inheritance?" I ask.
"You are the last of the Royal Blood. It is our sworn duty to serve you," one of the guards replies.
"Very well, then I accept your fealty. For my first order, we shall be making a memorial to remember the fallen," I say with a quiet tone.