Ocean Song sat cross-legged with his eyes closed.
He was circulating his Qi, cultivating.
His time in Atlantis so far had been short, but he felt like he had made some gains.
He felt like he was scratching at the next wall, the next realm. It was still a large wall, but unlike before, it felt like he could touch it now, but it would take more effort to break through.
His initial thoughts on 'experiencing life' to have his nascent soul grow seemed to be correct. His nascent soul had grown just a tad more recently, but he still felt like he was missing something.
Maybe it was just a consequence of the fact that he hadn't lived a very long life.
His life experiences were…lacking, to put it mildly.
And it wasn't something he could really rush.
He was hopeful he could use the memories of his old life as a springboard. It wasn't cheating; in matters of cultivation, you used anything and everything to get ahead.
But…his memories felt so muted.
He could recall plenty of things, but it felt more like he was reading them off the pages of a book rather than having experienced them in person.
Ocean Song opened his eyes, then took out his gourd and took a drink.
He let out a sigh, then let his back fall against the floor, staring up at the ceiling.
He didn't know what familial love felt like, and he felt like it would be important for his cultivation.
It resolved him a little bit more to find his mother.
Maybe, if he got an answer, it would untie this knot in his heart, and he wouldn't need to yearn after something he never had.
Unfortunately, he was stuck in his room these past few days.
His amazing acting skills meant that he had to pretend to be 'recovering.'
Truly, being such a great cultivator brought its own difficulties. His acting was so convincing that if he simply walked around afterwards, people would question the narrative.
Yes, the drunk shark man that tried to assassinate the son of Poseidon in his own palace.
Many were confused at how this shark man was so powerful.
Clearly, he must have been hiding his strength!
Waiting for the opportunity to strike.
Because everyone saw Ocean Song throw up so much blood and feign defeat.
"Why am I such an excellent cultivator?" He let out a sigh at his own greatness.
He had no one to blame but himself.
Thankfully, there was a knock on the door to alleviate his boredom!
"Come in!" Ocean Song cheerfully called out, quickly standing up as he clasped his hands behind his back.
It was important, as a proper cultivator, to always appear immaculate, even if you're dying.
"Greetings, Father!" Ocean Song politely welcomed Poseidon to his room.
Poseidon paused, wondering why his son's clothing was faintly flapping in the wind. Because for one, they were under the water; there was no wind. And for two, this was a closed-off room; there was no air draft.
"Son." He called back. "Come and sit with me; we have some things to talk about."
"Are you kicking me out?" He asked.
"No." Poseidon immediately replied. "Well, maybe."
"I am willing to point fingers at who stole your toilet for amnesty." Ocean Song quickly declared.
"That's—wait, what?" He quickly shook his head. "Son, come here." He gestured for Ocean Song to join him at the table in the room.
"Would you like a drink, Father?" Ocean Song offered his gourd.
Poseidon looked at the thing curiously, taking it with a bit of suspicion. He knew his son wouldn't try to harm him, not that he could. So he didn't really hesitate to take a drink of it, pleasantly surprised. "This is good wine; it tastes familiar. Where did you get it?"
"Uncle Hades."
"Really? He's usually really stingy with his wine and hoards it. How did you get him to let you take some?"
"..."
"He did let you, right?"
Ocean Song looked away.
Poseidon stared at the gourd for another moment before shrugging and taking another drink. "Do you want to be a prince of Atlantis?"
"Does it come with any responsibilities?" He jerked his head back towards his father.
"Yes, you will—"
"I refuse." Ocean Song said immediately.
Poseidon let out a long sigh. "How about I remove any responsibilities?"
"Then I happily accept!"
His father just shook his head again. His youngest son was both the easiest and hardest to deal with sometimes.
"It won't be announced for a while, but that doesn't mean much. Since your brother is going to be elevated to a king, then I thought it would be alright to make the prince title a bit more…broad in essence. When Percy gets older, I want to invite him over and give him the title too."
It came with certain benefits, and Poseidon felt it would be a good reward for his children who proved themselves. And it would give them another layer of protection. Being a prince of Atlantis was another entire identity on top of being a child of Poseidon.
"Percy will be strong, Father."
"Yeah, he inherited a lot from me." Poseidon said pride. "Unfortunately, his mother is just as stubborn as I am and won't come live in Atlantis."
"A bird can't understand a fish, Father. Madam Jackson yearns for a different kind of life by her own hand."
His lips curled up nostalgically. "She always was strong-willed."
"You need not worry for her safety; I gave her a means to defend herself should a monster attack." I reassured him.
"Yes, I saw the trident when I went to visit." He sent a glare to Ocean Song. "The same one I gave you and told you not to throw away."
"I didn't throw it away. I gave it away." Ocean Song defended.
Poseidon took out his own trident and used it to bop Ocean Song on the head. "I will forgive it, considering who you gave it to." Though he did resist the urge to give his youngest a well-deserved spanking. "Are you still going to look for your mother?"
"Yes, that is my goal still." He nodded.
Poseidon set a small box on the table. "I may have something that can help, something that you can identify her by."
Ocean Song stared at the box and had a strange feeling of unease swell up inside of him.
"Father."
"Yes?"
"Is this a Cinderella situation?"
"Well, I wouldn't call it quite like that—"
"Father, if that box contains my mother's panties, I will be obligated to run to Step Mother and tell on you." Ocean Song said seriously.
Slowly, Poseidon reached out and slid the box back to himself and put it away.
"I believe I may know where your mother went to after our…time together." Poseidon quickly changed the subject.
"Father.'
"Yes?"
"I want some pocket money."
"...Are you extorting me?"
"Yes." Ocean Song nodded.
His eye twitched. "Fine, I'll make sure to give you some money when you leave. In return, we never speak of this again."
"Deal!" Ocean Song quickly declared. "And where did my mother go, Father?"
He cleared his throat. "I believe your mother returned to the old world."
"Old World!? Are Greeks Isekai Protagonists!?" Ocean Song stood up in surprise.
Poseidon bopped him on the head again. "Son, the Old World is what we refer to as Greece."
"Lame…"
He bopped his son on the head again. "Pay attention; this is important."
"I am paying close attention." Ocean Song pouted, rubbing his head.
"Now, as I said, she's most likely in the Old World. But the Old World is…forbidden for demigods and the gods as well."
"Why?"
"The changes of the times. Just as we attached ourselves to Western civilization, so too did we lose what anchored us to the land. Now, just as we lost our original home, so did someone else obtain the lay claim to the land."
"....."
Poseidon sighed. "Christianity moved into the area when we went west. Stay away from the Vatican if you want to live a long life, understand?"
"But you said Mother is over there…?"
"She's an ocean nymph; she doesn't have the same connection to our ways. You're a monster, so you too live in a different state than if you were one of us gods or a demigod."
"So I won't get smote if I go over there?"
"As long as you don't cause trouble." Poseidon nodded. "And stay away from the Vatican."
That sounded very ominous to Ocean Song.
"It sounds simple then!" Ocean Song said happily. "I'll fly over there."
"It's not so simple." Poseidon cut him off. "You still will need to pass through the Pillars of Hercules to get to the Old World."
"That doesn't sound too bad."
"It's guarded, son. Meant to prevent anyone from going back to the Old World, on Zeus' orders."
"By whom?" He asked.
Ocean Song hit him on the head again. "Son, it's literally in the name. It's guarded by Herakles."
Ocean Song pursed his lips. "Why can't I just fly over it? I can even take a plane."
Poseidon shook his head. "The moment you come in contact with your heritage, you're bound by the laws. If you try to fly to the Old World, you'll be hit by a lightning bolt before you even realize what you're doing. The only way to get there is to pass through the Pillars."
"I survived a lightning bolt before." Ocean Song pointed out.
"This is different. This isn't Zeus casually throwing a bolt of lightning as a punishment, son. This is the punishment for breaking the laws; it's not a conscious action on his part. He may not even know you were trying to sneak over. Any Greeks who try to go to the Old World without permission will be met with Lightning."
"What if I swim under the water?"
Poseidon laughed. "Unfortunately, that kind of loophole doesn't work. No matter how you go about it, you will be met with the Pillars. It doesn't matter if you try to go westward around the world; the Pillars will block your path."
"What if I ask the Norse to sneak me over?"
"Son, there isn't—" He paused. "Actually, that might work." Poseidon mused for a moment. "But don't do that. You can't keep going to play around with other pantheons, son. It's going to entangle you in things you should not be entangled with."
"Father, you wouldn't suggest it if it were such a hopeless endeavor. So what should I do?"
"Herakles can also allow people to pass; it's under his authority as the guardian of that place." Poseidon rubbed his beard. "He isn't particularly happy with Olympus in general, so he lets people go if they can pass a test of his."
"I feel like Zeus would not like that."
"Oh, he doesn't." Poseidon chuckled. "It's precisely why Herakles does it. He knows it pisses off Zeus. But Zeus can't really do anything about it."
"The great Hercules." Ocean Song mused. "Is he as great as the stories say, Father?"
"He's known as the greatest hero for a reason, son." Poseidon nodded. "There's a reason that no other demigod has ever been bestowed 'Great Strength' as a blessing since him. They all fear what would happen if another Herakles appeared."
"I will head out immediately, Father!"
Adventure was waiting.
And he greatly desired to find his mother!
Now that he had a clue, he couldn't reject the desire in his heart to get moving.
"If you want to go, I won't stop you." Poseidon stood up. "As a man, I know there are some things you must do even if they're dangerous." He put a hand on his son's shoulder. "I'll get a boat for you to take; it'll be easier."
That, and Poseidon wouldn't mind if his son left sooner rather than later.
As much as he loved his son, he felt like too much had happened already, and he needed time for things to calm back down before he caused more chaos.
[Line Break]
"Take care of yourself; don't get into trouble." Queen Amphitrite told Ocean Song, having an oddly motherly tone to her.
She came to have certain feelings towards him.
She couldn't claim it was like she found another son.
But when she looked at him, she felt the desire to pinch his cheeks and watch him whine about it. He brought a certain bit of excitement that alleviated the immortal boredom that she enjoyed.
Out of all her husband's bastards, she could say that she liked him the most.
Dare she say, she would even be sad if he died.
"Yes, Royal Stepmother! I will be careful." Ocean Song nodded vigorously.
"Here, little bro, I made this for you." Triton tossed him a conch shell, which Ocean Song caught easily. "Blow it; it'll give you good winds for as long as you want."
It was a lot different than the one-use conch shell that he had given Ocean Song long ago on that small island.
It could even be said that this was significantly closer to the concept of his Divine Symbol, something he would never do lightly.
"I will treasure it, Senior Brother!" Ocean Song replied happily.
Triton found himself smiling as he patted his brother on the back.
"Son, be careful. Don't get into trouble. But if you do get into trouble, call for help." Poseidon smiled warmly.
"Don't worry, Father. I can take care of myself." He puffed up his chest. "If anything happens, I can settle it on my own."
"Yes, that's exactly what I'm worried about." Poseidon forced his smile to continue.
Ocean Song stepped onto the small boat they had prepared for him on the small island they were giving him goodbyes at.
They didn't want to make a big deal of it down in Atlantis; he was supposed to be still 'recuperating.' They were just going to say that he went back home to rest after this.
Ocean Song hopped onto his boat.
Being a child of Poseidon, he had a conceptual connection to boats.
He was a master boater.
He unfurled the sails as he waved goodbye, and the boat began to drift away on the tides.
Poseidon may or may not have given him a little boost to get him going.
Ocean Song was happy; his Atlantis adventure had ended for now, but it was time to continue onwards on his quest.
The island disappeared from view, and so did his father and stepfamily.
Now that everyone was gone, he could get to work.
He had long anticipated when next he would be on a ship and made proper preparations.
He slapped his storage bag and produced a stereo.
Righteously acquired through righteous means from the evil Amazon sect.
He fiddled with the control; thankfully it was all digital, and he only had to download songs onto it beforehand, not like the old days where you needed a CD or cassette tape.
"Work your magic, Klaus Badelt." Ocean Song stated and hit the button for the device to start playing.
"~DUN DUN DUN da-da DUN DUN DUN da-da DUN DUN DUN da-da DUN DUN DUN da-da~"
Ocean Song clasped his arms behind his back as he stood at the bow of the ship, letting the winds billow his robes.
Truly, he felt like a proper Pirate Cultivator in this moment.
He took out the Magic Conch that his Senior Brother gave him and took a deep breath. He blew into it.
The winds immediately swept up around him and began to push him forward at fast speeds.
He had a curious thought.
What if he keeps blowing into it?
He blew into it again.
He looked around, and nothing happened.
He frowned, blowing into it a few more times.
Oddly, the wind around him stopped.
In fact, it felt like the area was completely devoid of wind all of the sudden.
That was until he turned around and saw what was happening.
"Oh no."
He could see the literal hurricane coming at him.
Rather quickly, the harsh winds swept him up and spat him hundreds of feet away as the hurricane passed over him.
He was dizzy with how much it tossed him around before he hit the water again.
The hurricane seemed to just disappear further on the horizon as he regained his focus.
He floated up a little bit to get a look around, and he vaguely saw something that looked like a piece of his boat.
He found his boat, but it was, in fact, flipped upside down.
It bobbed slightly up above the water line.
He touched down on it before sitting flatly on it with a sad expression.
He saw his stereo float by, waterlogged and no longer working.
Ocean Song pouted and began to paddle with his hand and sung it himself. "Dun Dun Dun Da Da Dun Dun…"
[Line Break]
A/N
Ocean Song's next adventure begins with…meeting Hercules!
I'm sure it'll be fine.
People asked, they call him Herakles as Greeks, but the island is called the Pillars of Hercules in a more common sense, which is where they made the distinction.
If you want to read 1 chapter ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m. / astoryforone
I also have a boosty if you can't use the above under the same name.