"You don't know?" Thea's face was the picture of confusion. Had her plan gone wrong right from the start?
"You don't know?" Mera echoed in unison, equally surprised, as she stared at her husband.
"What am I supposed to know?" Arthur Curry, the Aquaman, looked bewildered as both women questioned him. He was in the middle of making oatmeal and quickly turned off the gas. Despite the confusion, his sharp mind caught on to something.
Thea found herself puzzled by their back-and-forth exchange. Seeing the subtle shift in Mera's expression, she gestured for her to speak first.
"Poseidon has always been the deity Atlantis worships. The Elder Council never mentioned this to you?"
Aquaman shook his head, indicating he had no idea. His expression turned peculiar. "No one's ever brought it up with me."
"I thought you knew..." Mera seemed at a loss for words, realizing she'd overlooked something obvious. At the same time, she felt a pang of regret—she should have helped her husband learn more about Atlantean customs. Having lived his entire life in human society, he knew far too little about many of Atlantis's traditions.
Thea watched the couple's lovey-dovey dynamic and cleared her throat lightly.
Unlike the innocent young couple, she sensed something darker beneath the surface—an undercurrent of exclusion and conspiracy.
Anyone with half a brain could tell that the so-called Elder Council was playing games. Although she'd become something of a political figure herself, she still despised politics.
Unfortunately, she was caught in the game now, unable to escape its influence.
Forget about her—even the mighty Darkseid, powerful as he was, still had to make certain political compromises and divide his authority. That's why he let Steppenwolf command his armies and DeSaad manage all affairs on Apokolips.
Darkseid could instantly obliterate these subordinates, yet if he wanted their loyalty, he had to make concessions. This had nothing to do with strength—it was about something deeper: the nature of order itself.
The Elder Council Aquaman mentioned was undoubtedly a product of various factions compromising with each other.
However, she didn't want to get too involved in other people's business. She had enough troubles of her own. She just wanted to quickly find Poseidon's whereabouts.
Understanding her purpose, Aquaman was quite straightforward. "Let's go. You haven't been to Atlantis yet, have you? I'll ask the Council, and we should also have records in our library."
Thea immediately followed them. Honestly, she'd been curious about Atlantis for quite some time.
The couple dove straight into the water. Being a deity now, Thea didn't need any aquatic armor—she could easily keep up with them using her divine power alone.
The three descended together, passing through several massive underwater caverns along the way as Thea followed them through the ocean depths at high speed.
Channeling her divine power to enhance herself, she stayed close behind them. Ten minutes later, they'd entered the deep sea—a forbidden zone for humans. Perhaps only the most advanced underwater detection equipment could observe this place.
Numerous deep-sea fish whose names Thea didn't know detected their presence. Some chose to avoid them, while others, fierce and fearless, lunged forward.
Unfortunately, Aquaman's ability to control marine life redirected them all, sending them back home.
"How can your body survive in the deep sea?" Mera was curious how Thea could keep descending with them. She'd initially planned to help with her own water-controlling abilities, but seeing how effortlessly Thea moved, there was no need.
Thea could only laugh it off and change the subject. She wasn't shameless enough to boast that she was a deity and could freely traverse this "little pond."
At first, they worried Thea couldn't withstand the immense water pressure, but seeing her calmly observing the strange ecosystems around them, they stopped worrying and swam at full speed toward the ocean's deepest reaches.
The deep ocean was utterly silent. Up, down, left, right, front, and back—all completely pitch black. Her sense of direction became completely disoriented. The notorious deep-sea phobia wasn't just talk. Fortunately, her vision allowed her to follow Aquaman without getting lost.
After passing through several ocean trenches that humans had yet to discover, the three slipped through a rock tunnel invisible to the naked eye at the northwest corner of a trench. Finding themselves in a winding, rugged passage, sparse glowing aquatic plants dotted the rock walls. The tunnel stretched for hundreds of miles. The three passed through silently until their view suddenly opened up.
In the profound sea waters stood a magnificent, vast city—Atlantis!
This city, sunken into the deep sea, still retained its ancient beauty. Azure stone pillars glowed even in the depths, and numerous artistic, towering buildings dotted the cityscape like scattered stars. The entire city layout resembled two concentric circles, divided into inner and outer rings. Even with just a cursory glance, Thea could clearly see the power structure here.
Nobles lived in the inner ring at the city's center, while commoners dwelled in the outer ring. This arrangement facilitated city expansion while also allowing commoners' lives to buy time for noble escapes during enemy attacks.
Yes, Thea had no favorable impression of these people. As she surveyed her surroundings, an old man accompanied by several guards was arguing with Aquaman about something. Moreover, seeing the elder occasionally point and gesture toward her, she knew he wasn't saying anything pleasant.
Language barrier! Atlanteans naturally wouldn't speak English. Some vocabulary resembled Greek, but discerning the exact meaning was difficult.
Thea cast a small spell—Comprehend Languages. This spell allowed her to understand the speech of all intelligent beings, though dragon tongue and demon speech fell outside its scope.
"This surface dweller must submit to the Council's interrogation. Arthur, I remind you that even though your mother placed you on the throne, you must still obey the Council's commands." The old man aggressively pointed his finger at Aquaman's nose.
"She's my friend. Keep away from her—for your own good!" Aquaman had interacted with Thea several times and understood her temperament well. She was easygoing when left alone but could be deadly when provoked.
"Her mother is one of the surface world's leaders. I'm warning you, Councilor Cott—if you don't want to start an incident, send your guards back to their posts."
Aquaman spent three days a week underwater and the remaining four on land. He was a socially active person.
The massive momentum of Moira's campaign had reached even South Pacific communities, so naturally, the couple could see the news reports—especially since they knew the candidate's daughter.
The old man named Cott indeed hesitated. When dealing with political figures, you had to use political methods. Hearing that Thea had connections, his eyes showed uncertainty.
Thea pretended not to understand their conversation and asked Mera in English, "Is this guy your enemy? He looks hideous. Want me to make him disappear?"
Actually, she was somewhat hoping Mera would nod. Then she could use her Erase Eyes to directly make the man "vanish." While using it against deities involved too many complications, using it on an ordinary person was virtually foolproof.
Mera jumped in alarm and quickly grabbed her arm, gently shaking her head. She gestured with her chin toward Aquaman, indicating her husband could handle this.