Chapter 49: Mera
My name is Mera.
I am the Queen of Atlantis.
My husband is Arthur.
He is the King of Atlantis.
In fact, when I first met him, he wasn't even considered a true Atlantean.
He was just a young man living by the sea with his father, possessing exceptional swimming talent.
No, not just exceptional.
He was born to live in the ocean.
Half of his blood was Atlantean, royal blood, because his mother was Atlanna, the former Queen of Atlantis.
Of course, for certain reasons, Atlanna was no longer queen. Her other pure-blooded son, Orm, was about to become the new King of Atlantis.
And I was born to marry the next king.
But I didn't like Orm.
He had repeatedly declared publicly that once he became king, he would launch a war against the Land without hesitation.
"Tens of thousands of years ago, the Land rightfully belonged to us Atlanteans," Orm's eyes burned with undisguised ambition.
"But the Land already belongs to humans. We can continue living in the sea, coexisting peacefully."
"No, they are gradually encroaching on our territory."
I knew Orm was referring to the nations on the Land, whose technological development lagged far behind ours, resulting in vast quantities of industrial waste they couldn't process.
Driven by a misguided sense of economy, some chose to dump this waste into the ocean.
Whenever Orm spoke of this, his face twisted with disgust.
"We developed clean energy technology and unparalleled magic tens of thousands of years ago. We should reclaim our lands and guide these backward humans toward a brighter future."
I knew I couldn't persuade Orm, but fortunately, I still had enough freedom before our marriage.
So I did my best to avoid him, to avoid Atlantis, even to avoid the ocean itself.
And then I met Arthur.
A surface dweller who perfectly satisfied Atlantean law and could legitimately challenge Orm for the throne.
His eyes always held a lazy, peaceful calm, a stark contrast to Orm's burning ambition and rage.
He might not have been fit to be king, but he could certainly bring peace.
I began to approach Arthur, telling him that, theoretically, he could abandon his life on land whenever he wished.
From the son of a lighthouse keeper to a candidate for the Atlantean throne.
But Arthur laughed.
He rejected my offer without hesitation.
"I won't become King of Atlantis. I just want to live my life on land."
After that, many things happened.
Many, many things that gradually silenced the once cheerful Arthur, things that increasingly forced him to act against his will.
Arthur's powers grew stronger. He joined the Justice League, and with the help of myself and our reliable allies, he defeated Orm and ascended the Atlantean throne.
I knew Arthur still didn't want to be King of Atlantis.
Most of his free time, when the Justice League didn't call him for missions, he would gaze upwards from the seabed, as if his eyes could pierce the dark waters and see something on the surface.
But something had already bound Arthur, firmly pressing him to the seabed, to that golden throne where he would never smile again once he sat upon it.
The peace that connects the ocean and the land.
Atlantis needs his guidance.
A king must shoulder a king's duty.
I have told him these words. His comrades in the League have told him. Even Orm told him.
So, as Arthur and I gazed upon the artifacts excavated and dismantled from the Atlantean Vault, his brow remained furrowed for a long time.
He was clearly displeased, but he spent over ten minutes suppressing his emotions.
Turning to me, he declared that no other Atlantean must learn of this matter.
"It's perfectly normal for Batman to do something like this," Arthur said, as if fearing that I, as Queen of Atlantis, might seek retribution for his royal dignity.
"Last time, Wonder Woman found a bunch of listening devices in her apartment and had a huge fight with Batman. They almost broke up."
Arthur tried his best to make the past incident sound funnier.
He was both anxious and eager to see my reaction.
I pressed my hand against his arm, leaned my head on his shoulder, and showed through my actions that I would always support his decisions.
"Don't forget, not only are you a member of the Justice League, but I'm also listed in the League."
Arthur forced a smile, then turned to glare at the eavesdropping devices. I could hear the suppressed anger in his voice.
But I understood my husband well. He was someone who always considered the bigger picture.
"Let's pack these up. Next time we're at the Watchtower, I'll pretend to be furious and smash them in front of Batman. While I'm at it, I might as well give him a piece of my mind."
Just then, a guard burst into the palace's grand hall with an urgent report.
The guard reported that they had discovered something terrifying beneath the city of Atlantis.
When Arthur and I arrived at the scene, it was swarming with Atlanteans.
There were ordinary residents, guards, ministers, and even some high-ranking scientists.
Everything seemed to be a series of coincidences.
During the hours Luka and Arthur were "playing," the continuous shockwaves caused structural damage to the seabed above a particular cavern.
And because their king had been making such a racket, nearly no one in Atlantis had managed to rest. As a result, when the structures above the cavern collapsed, nearly half the city's population rushed to witness the spectacle.
Seeing the king and queen arrive, the people instinctively made way.
Arthur, with a grave expression, stepped into the massive fissure.
Accompanying him were several Atlantean scientists who had already explored it once.
Suddenly, I was seized by overwhelming panic.
Ignoring the chamberlain's attempt to stop me, I rushed in after them.
The earlier structural collapse had caused some seawater to bypass the magic bubble, seeping into this natural cavern through tiny cracks in the seafloor.
It was pitch black, only the voices of my husband and a few authoritative scholars could be heard.
"How powerful is it?"
"At least enough to affect all of Atlantis."
I could feel the surrounding seawater gradually solidifying; Arthur's trident suddenly emitted faint golden fluorescence.
"Is there anything else?"
"Your Majesty, the technology used here is familiar. It should be Black Manta's work."
I quickly stepped forward, raising my voice to drown out the whispers behind me. "Black Manta has always harbored resentment against Atlantis. We must dismantle this device immediately. Tomorrow, Aquaman and I will visit the Justice League..."
The old scholar frowned.
"It's already been cracked once, and they've added something else. But the underlying technology... I've never seen anything like it."
Before I could speak, Arthur suddenly raised his trident.
The authority of the seven seas converged in his hand. Even though this underground cavern wasn't completely filled with water, the surrounding stone walls were damp with moisture.
Beneath the soft, drizzling sound, every water molecule became Arthur's eyes, ears, mouth, and nose. Every microscopic plankton served as his extended hands and feet.
As long as it was under the sea, it was under his complete control.
Even the smallest swarm could wield immense power.
United, the tiny creatures pried loose a fragment of stone, and a small device dropped neatly into Arthur's palm.
It was all too familiar. Just minutes ago, Arthur and I had been discussing how to handle these very things.
In the darkness, Arthur's figure swayed. He slammed the Trident heavily into the ground to support himself.
I don't know how I walked out of that cavern.
I think Arthur didn't know either.
The king's subjects surged forward, all aware of the immense danger lurking within. Fear spread like wildfire through the crowd.
Voices began to coalesce.
"King!"
"King!"
A little girl was pushed to the very front.
"You'll protect us, right?"
I watched my husband kneel down and ruffle the child's hair.
"Yes, I will."