"When Mera put on the crown, I thought I could have more time... to do more meaningful things in the Justice League."
Arthur walked on the deck of the ship, which was frozen solid, with many corpses directly encased in ice.
Their faces still retained a bewildered expression.
He didn't notice anything. It was all white around here, except for ice and snow, there was Bai Shuang and the breath of the three: "But now with the Origin Wall broken, our universe has entered a countdown, and the waters are turning dark."
At this moment, Diana made a discovery: "Look here, Arthur, the front mast used to fix the triangular sail. It looks like wood, but it's actually a metal unique to the Amazon, previously used to make shields to deceive enemies."
Arthur leaned over, unable to distinguish the wood from the metal under a layer of frost.
But if Diana said so, then it must be.
He gestured for the two to step back, then raised his Trident high and smashed it down on the mast like a club.
The frozen metal deformed and flew off, revealing a large concealed compartment underneath with a golden scepter inside.
It had intricate patterns on it, looking like countless branches of a tree linked together, forming an angular polygon.
"Is this... the key to the Tomb of the Gods?"
Diana, however, was staring blankly in another direction, towards the opening they came from.
"I don't know what you're holding, but in front of me, there's something very ugly."
Upon hearing this, Sea King turned his head and saw a bizarre creature, its skin looked bluish, its body was like an octopus but with spider-like compound eyes, and its mouth was filled with layers of sharp teeth like a sea star.
It was enormous, large enough to swallow an aircraft carrier.
Now this monster, it seemed to have surfaced from beneath the ice, using liquid tentacles to wrap around Aryan's ship, as if intending to drag it into its mouth.
"What the hell is that?!" Firestorm flew up, not wanting to be eaten by such a monster.
And Diana also dragged Arthur off the ship, there was no need for them to perish with a historical artifact.
"It looks like some kind of sea monster?"
Arthur gripped his Trident tightly, feeling he had some say in this: "It seems to be composed of liquid, but I don't know of any place on Earth, besides Gotham, where the seawater is green and purple."
"Uh, so it's a cosmic sea monster?"
Firestorm flew up, intending to get closer to explore. If it was a non-living thing, maybe he could change its material composition.
Like turning the sea monster into stone or ice.
However, at this moment, Batman's voice came through the headset. He had obtained the readings through satellites and the monitor on Firestorm's body; this thing wasn't so simple.
"Get out of there!"
"What..."
Firestorm was momentarily stunned; his battle experience wasn't sufficient, so he was dazed for a moment and then got hit by the sea monster's saliva, falling into a pit on the side.
Arthur immediately chose to go save him, even if retreating, he had to take his own with him.
However, Batman's order was the exact opposite.
"Keep away from him, Arthur."
"By the Gods! You say keep away?" Arthur grasped the Trident with one hand, and quickly ran over with the other to grab Firestorm's shoulder, intending to pull him back from the pit's edge.
Batman had had enough of his disregard for orders: "Damn it, listen. Don't come into contact with that alien liquid, it will turn you into..."
Firestorm turned his head, and at this moment he no longer had a human form, replaced instead by several fish and tentacle features, along with a mouthful of sharp teeth.
He opened his mouth and spoke in an incomprehensible language, and Arthur's eyes instantly widened.
He let go of his hand and retreated a few steps: "Batman, Firestorm has been transformed into some kind of aquatic monster."
"Don't let it grab you!" Batman reminded again.
But it was already too late. While Arthur was speaking, a large tentacle made of liquid suddenly appeared behind him, wrapping around him instantly.
"Ah! I order you to let go, you monster." The enormous force made Arthur scream as he felt his insides about to be squeezed out: "Why don't you listen to my command?!"
Diana unsheathed her weapon and charged at the monster, intending to cut off the liquid tentacle to save Arthur.
But everything in front of them changed, and the space started becoming unstable.
"Diana, what's happening?"
Batman could only hear Arthur's screams, so he turned to ask Diana.
Diana continued to fight calmly, but the monster was too fast, and it was shoving Arthur into its mouth.
"The monster has caught Aquaman, and its mouth... is gathering energy. It's opening a cosmic portal! Like a whirlpool!"
Then with a splash, Arthur, being wrapped up, along with Diana who was chasing into the monster's mouth, along with the giant monster, all disappeared from the spot.
"Wonder Woman? Aquaman? Respond!"
Batman's call received no response.
.......................
After an unknown amount of time, Arthur woke from the darkness, feeling the piercing sunlight as if he were lying at the ocean's near-bottom.
He rolled over and sat up.
"Batman? Wonder Woman? Is anyone here? Where am I?"
He discovered that his equipment was gone, and strange symbols appeared on his body like tattoos, sealing the power in his bloodline.
Just as he was lost in thought, three black shadows appeared before him, each mounted on a giant seahorse carrying a person.
These seahorses were different from those on Earth, their bodies bore patches reminiscent of sunken ships, as if coral had grown upon them.
The person on horseback answered his question.
"You're at Blood Reef, King of the Seven Seas of Earth, welcome."
A female voice responded, her English not very fluent, but he understood it.
"Who are you?"
Arthur asked.
The three figures dismounted, revealing themselves to be three peculiar-looking individuals.
One was a bald stout man with a black beard, his right arm resembling octopus tentacles, and his body bore coral marks, like a corpse drowned in water.
Another was an elderly man with a skeletal visage, a long, white beard, red eyes, and a complete shark jawbone with all sharp fangs hanging around his neck, resembling an old-style bear trap.
The last person was a brown-skinned, purple-haired female, wearing a dress-like armor adorned with bright runes.
The Blackbeard answered his question: "We are the Sea God Triumvirate, I'm the Lone Brave Captain."
The old man continued, "I am Zhen Hai Commander, just like Poseidon is Earth's Sea God..."
And the woman finally added, "We are Alien Sea God from other galaxies, I am Admiral Nu Tao."
She seemed unable to stop speaking, approaching Arthur as if intending to help him stand.
"We come from a distant interstellar fleet, bringing with us the rare remaining Sea Race of the cosmos, much like our previous visit here, responding to the beacon's summons..."
From behind the surrounding reefs and corals, numerous strange-looking Sea Race emerged, their bodies appearing mutated, with unnatural twists and transformations.
They watched Arthur, whispering and buzzing.
What beacon? What summon?
Arthur was confused; Batman hadn't mentioned this...
Seeing his bewilderment, the Sea Goddess kindly explained: "In ancient times, your great hero Aryan sounded the horn on Earth, calling us to form an alliance..."
Upon hearing this, Arthur realized these were allies, and he smiled.
Now the Multiverse was on a countdown to cosmic doom, and extraterrestrial allies had arrived just in time. Though unsure about the beacon, isn't this a good thing?
"Then I welcome you to Earth, all of you. I heard if not for you, Earth would have been destroyed by invaders in ancient times, and under the current situation, an alliance would be greatly helpful."
But Blackbeard's Lone Brave Captain suddenly grabbed him by the neck with octopus tentacles, pulling him close to smell the breath of seawater from his mouth.
"An alliance? Sea King." The Lone Brave Captain sneered under his breath, forcefully throwing Arthur, causing him to roll far off on the reefs like a ball.
Coughing, Arthur climbed back up; although his power was gone, his tough hide was enough to withstand blows that would be fatal to ordinary people, though they were mere minor injuries to him.
"I'm bewildered; if you responded to Aryan's summon and helped us against invaders..."
"Ga ga ga ga!!!!"
The surrounding Alien Sea Race erupted into strange laughter, their voices echoing among the reefs and corals, but there was no mirth on their faces.
The white-bearded Zhen Hai Commander revealed the mystery, coldly watching Arthur struggle: "Because we are the invaders, King of the Seven Seas..."
"While we speak, an interstellar fleet has already headed to Earth; they will form a cosmic blockade ensuring no one can discover, or rescue your world."
Admiral Nu Tao crossed her arms, continuing.
Blackbeard's Lone Brave Captain sneered too, adding: "Simultaneously, no one can escape predetermined destiny."
"No! Listen, the cosmos is on the brink of peril; Earth is the only safe sea left, that beacon..."
The Sea Goddess interrupted Arthur; they had lost patience: "In my former galaxy, there's saying: 'The fool waits at the shore for the tide to bring food, but all he receives is the drowned!'"
The Sea Goddess smiled cruelly: "You can stay at Blood Reef in the depths of the cosmos and watch us flood your planet... Zhen Hai, let the waters engulf Earth!"
Zhen Hai Commander raised both hands, and the huge Sea Monster he had seen before materialized behind him, spewing endless purple seawater, directly pouring into Earth through a space gate.
"My pleasure, Nu Tao." He too smiled, filled with vengeful delight.
"No!!!"
Arthur watched helplessly as the mutating seawater flooded into Earth, able only to cry out in despair, but powerless.