Arthur looked at the parchment skeptically. "You want me to believe that some ancient fairy tale is going to solve this?"
Vulko didn't react to the doubt. "It is far more than a story."
He walked around the stone table and rested a hand on the drawing of the trident.
"The Trident of Atlan is real. It was forged by the greatest weapon masters our civilization ever produced, crafted from Poseidon's Steel for King Atlan himself — the first ruler of Atlantis."
Arthur folded his arms but stayed silent.
"According to our oldest records, the trident was imbued with the power to command the sea itself. No weapon before or since has ever matched it."
"But to understand the trident, you must first understand what Atlantis once was."
The chamber fell silent.
"Long before Atlantis became a kingdom beneath the ocean, it had ruled the surface. It was an age of prosperity unlike anything the modern world has achieved."
"Our cities stretched across the globe. Our technology was centuries ahead of every civilization around us."
Vulko's voice echoed softly through the ruins.
"We had unlocked the secret of unlimited energy while the rest of humanity still struggled to understand the world around them."
Then Vulko's expression hardened. "But greatness bred arrogance."
"We became obsessed with progress. Every discovery led to another experiment. Every breakthrough created a desire for something greater."
"We stopped asking whether we should pursue that power and focused only on whether we could."
Arthur's expression grew more serious. Even Daniel paid attention.
"The result was catastrophe."
"The very forces we sought to control turned against us. The seas rose and swallowed our civilization."
"Entire cities vanished. Millions died. The kingdom that had once ruled the world disappeared beneath the ocean."
Silence held the chamber for a moment.
"But the disaster was not the end." Vulko looked at Arthur.
"The same energy that destroyed Atlantis also transformed its people. Those who survived adapted — they gained the ability to breathe beneath the sea."
His expression darkened. "Not everyone adapted equally."
"Some retained their intelligence and culture. Others changed over generations and became something else entirely."
"And what about Atlan?" Arthur asked.
Vulko's eyes returned to the drawing of the trident.
"King Atlan survived the fall." His voice lowered.
"But after witnessing the destruction of everything he had built, he abandoned Atlantis. He left his kingdom behind and vanished into exile."
Arthur looked at the image of the trident. "And the weapon?"
"No one knows." Vulko shook his head. "Neither Atlan nor the trident were ever seen again."
His gaze settled firmly on Arthur.
"But the legends all agree on one thing." The old advisor's voice carried a weight that made even Arthur pay attention. "The rightful king of Atlantis will find the Trident of Atlan."
"One of our archaeological teams uncovered this a few months ago."
Vulko reached into a satchel beside the table and carefully removed a metallic cylinder covered in ancient Atlantean inscriptions.
"It's an ancient recording dating back to the First Dynasty."
"I believe it contains King Atlan's final message to his people, as well as the location of the Sacred Trident."
Arthur looked at the cylinder. "So what does it say?"
Vulko shook his head. "We don't know."
"You found it but can't play it?"
"The technology predates modern Atlantis by thousands of years." Vulko pointed toward several symbols engraved into its surface.
"The markings belong to the Deserter Kingdom. Whatever mechanism is required to access the recording still exists there."
Mera understood immediately. "You want us to take it to them."
Vulko nodded. "The clue to Atlan's final resting place should be inside this recording."
Arthur let out a slow sigh. The plan somehow managed to become more complicated every time someone explained it.
Before anyone could continue, Daniel's attention shifted toward the entrance. He didn't move or speak. His eyes simply settled on the flooded passage leading outside.
A second later, armored figures emerged from the water.
Atlantean soldiers. Orm's men.
Vulko grabbed Mera by the arm and pulled her behind a collapsed section of stone. If royal soldiers found her here, the political consequences would be far worse than an arrest.
The lead soldier entered the chamber and raised his weapon. More followed until nearly a dozen occupied the ruins.
"You are all under arrest for illegal entry and conspiracy against the throne."
Arthur tightened his grip on his trident. Batman quietly shifted his stance.
The officer took another step forward.
Daniel looked at him. "Fuck off."
The officer didn't have time to react. One moment Daniel stood beside the table. The next he was directly behind him.
A hand landed on the back of the helmet and the reinforced Atlantean metal crumpled inward with a violent crunch. The officer collapsed without another word.
The remaining soldiers opened fire. Blue energy bolts crossed the chamber.
Arthur moved first, spinning his trident to knock a rifle aside. Batman dove behind a stone pillar.
Daniel simply raised a hand.
The incoming shots stopped. Dozens of glowing projectiles hung motionless in the air. Every soldier froze.
Daniel closed his hand. The suspended blasts vanished.
Then he swept his arm outward.
A shockwave erupted through the ruins. Ancient stone cracked. Pillars slid across the floor. Weapons flew from soldiers' hands.
Every Atlantean in the chamber was thrown backward as though struck by a giant invisible hammer. Bodies crashed into walls. Several smashed through ruined structures before landing unconscious among the debris.
When the dust settled, the chamber was silent.
The only people still standing were Daniel, Arthur, Vulko, Batman, and Mera behind her cover.
Arthur slowly lowered his trident. His eyes moved across the wreckage before settling on Daniel.
Even after everything he'd witnessed, there were still moments that caught him off guard.
"What the fuck was that?"
Daniel glanced around at the scattered soldiers. "Conflict resolution."
*****
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