The days of being a spiritual mentor in Meiman.

Chapter 4428 Dark Prelude (Thirteen)

Arthur walked up to her and sized her up. Her complexion was alright, but her expression was somewhat dazed. His arrival had clearly startled her. The woman turned her head and froze the moment she saw Arthur.

"you……"

She took two steps back in disbelief. Arthur kept looking her over, searching for his own features in her. In fact, Arthur didn't look much like the Queen, but he resembled his father remarkably.

"Atlantis above!" The Queen covered her mouth in disbelief. She was trembling all over, staring at Arthur's face as if she were lost in memories.

“I am Arthur, Arthur Curry. My father is…”

"Tom! You're Tom's son!!!" Tears welled up in the Queen's eyes. She said, "My God, you've grown so much! You were just a baby when I left..."

Arthur's Adam's apple bobbed. He could imagine a woman who, shortly after giving birth, was forced to separate from her own son, hunted by soldiers, and ultimately forced to give birth to the child of someone she didn't love. She had suffered enough. And then, she was trapped in this dark place, enduring decades of unbearable loneliness.

Hal quickly stepped forward and tugged at Arthur's sleeve. Unlike others, being resurrected was an incredible thing in itself, and people always need time to accept it. But if a loved one was never really dead, it's much easier to accept.

But precisely because of this, the mastermind could easily set a trap here, making them believe that Arthur's mother was not dead, when in fact she had already been resurrected—which was entirely possible.

Arthur sighed and said, “Mother, I have returned to Atlantis and inherited the throne.”

"What?!" The Queen feigned surprise. "How could you... What about Tom? He... He's dead?"

"No, he is still guarding the lighthouse."

"How could you abandon him? Or has he had other children over the years?"

Arthur shook his head and said, "No, it's just me. He refuses to remarry and has been waiting for you to come back."

The Queen looked pained and said, "Then you can't abandon him. If you become the Sea King, you won't be able to return to land often, and he'll be all alone again."

"So, I wanted to come and take you back..."

“No!” the Queen said decisively. “Back then, I was hunted down and suffered many injuries. I was also exiled shortly after giving birth to Orm. This has caused great damage to my body, and I can no longer leave the sea.”

"But you can go back to Atlantis..."

“That’s even more unacceptable,” the Queen refused again. “Now that you have inherited the throne, if I, the former queen, go back, they won’t know who to listen to. That’s a major taboo in ruling a country.”

"Besides, for me, there's no difference between there and here. Here, I can enjoy some peace and quiet, without having to see those people's ugly faces. How is Om? Did you kill him?"

Arthur shook his head and said, "No."

The Queen sighed and said, "I know you can't bring yourself to do it, but I must remind you that Orm inherited his father's brutal genes. But both father and son have one major problem: they're not smart enough. Even with violence, they simply can't suppress the seven ocean races, and sooner or later they'll wreak havoc on the ocean."

“In fact, Orm has already done so,” Arthur said, lowering his eyes. “He not only wants to unify the seven sea tribes, but also wants to attack the continent.”

The Queen turned away, gave a disdainful snort, and said, "Just like his foolish, dead father. They simply don't understand that Earth has long belonged to humanity. No one can take this planet from them. The ancient races are a thing of the past. To dwell on past glories and try to provoke war is nothing but courting death."

Hearing the Queen's words, Hal's heart skipped a beat. The Queen seemed to know a great deal, so he asked, "Your Majesty, do you know anything about the Mother Box?"

The Queen turned back and stared intently at Hal. Hal held out his hand and said, "We previously dealt with a monster called Steppenwolf, who was sent by Darkseid to find the Mother Box."

The Queen's expression immediately changed. She looked at Arthur and asked, "Steppenwolf?! Where is he now?"

“We’ve already killed him,” Arthur said, “but Darkseid has unleashed a dark storm across the multiverse, with our universe being the first to be affected.”

"That guy's really persistent!" the Queen cursed through gritted teeth, then said, "I've only heard about the Mother Box. But I remember it had three parts that crashed to Earth..."

“Wait a minute,” Hal interrupted her, then asked, “It was divided into three parts, not three mother boxes?”

During their previous battle against Steppenwolf, they already knew that there were three mysterious cubes known as the Mother Box. One of them was fused with Victor, and the other two were located in Atlantis and the Amazon.

They initially thought there were three mother boxes, similar to gear parts in some machines, with three of the same model. But according to the Queen, there's only one mother box. So what about these three cubes?

The Queen shook her head and said, "This involves some principles that I can't explain either. It appears to be three cubes, but in reality, there is only one mother box. Calling it three parts isn't quite accurate; it should be said to be three faces of the mother box. Although humans see three, they are actually observing from different perspectives, but in reality, it is the same thing."

Hal began to understand. The Mother Box on Victor was actually only one side of the Mother Box. The other two sides hadn't been integrated into his body, so the power he received was likely incomplete. Although one side was enough to revive Victor, the secondary power it output wasn't sufficient to fully revive him.

"It seems a lot has happened outside while I've been here," the Queen sighed. "But I'm old and frail, and I can't be of much help. I can only tell you that if you want to uncover the oldest secrets of Atlantis, you must go to the Tomb of Atlantis."

"The Tomb of Atlantis?"

"Atlan was the ancestor of Atlantis. Because he participated in the struggle between Poseidon and Zeus, which led to the destruction of the entire Atlantis, he exiled himself from Atlantis, taking with him his golden trident..."

"Is this the golden trident you're talking about?" Arthur waved his hand, and the trident flew into his hand. The queen's eyes widened.

"My God, how did you get that?"

"It was taken from the Tomb of Atlantis that you mentioned. But I didn't see anything else."

"Have you seen Atlan's body?"

Arthur shook his head, and the Queen continued, "Then you've come to the wrong place. That's his throne, not his tomb. His tomb holds many ancient secrets, and if you can find it, it might answer many of your questions."

Hal and Arthur exchanged a glance and silently noted it down. The Mother Box was ultimately a hidden danger; if it couldn't be completely eliminated, it would surely become a major problem in the future.

The Queen was unwilling to leave with Arthur. This suggested she might not be the one who had risen from the dead. However, they remained vigilant. After leaving, Arthur asked Mera, "Who set up this protective barrier?"

Mera thought for a moment, then said, “I’m not so sure about that. But once you’ve been tried and exiled, you can’t leave the trench. Only a sea king recognized by the sea people can come and go freely.”

Arthur nodded. Don't be fooled by the Queen's seemingly fine appearance now; she might be two-faced. It's best if she can't show her true colors.

After the group left the trench, Arthur said, "I'll stay here to guard against any unusual activity. Also, I might need to explore the Tomb of Atlantis. I'll contact you immediately if there's any news."

Everyone agreed to the plan, so Arthur stayed behind while the others returned to the Justice League base.

"Next up are Wonder Woman and Victor, whose whereabouts are currently unknown. They haven't been seen for so long; they're probably off to see their resurrected loved ones. Who do you think we should start with?"

“I think we should split up,” Hal said. “The mastermind will soon realize that his plan has largely failed. If this appeasement tactic doesn’t work, he might come at us head-on. We don’t have much time left.”

“That’s right,” Barry nodded in agreement. “That mastermind must have a way of observing our universe, otherwise they wouldn’t have chosen this place. Once they discover that this phase of the plan has failed, they will inevitably move on to the next phase ahead of schedule, and nobody knows what they will do after that. We need to take precautions as soon as possible.”

“Alright,” Ron said. “Hal, you’re closer to Victor, go talk to him. Barry and I will go find Diana. If the resurrected one is a god, a great war is inevitable, and it will be safer for me to go.”

So they split into two groups. Barry took Ron to the Amazon to find Diana, but that's another story. Hal, on the other hand, originally planned to go find Victor, but before he could, Victor returned.

Upon seeing Hal, Victor quickly stepped forward and asked, "How are you feeling? Are you alright?"

“Actually, it’s not bad,” Hal nodded. He glanced at Victor’s expression. Victor was young and not very good at controlling his emotions, and Hal quickly noticed something was off.

However, instead of directly confronting him, he told the truth in a different way. He told Victor directly about Barry and Ron's experience and their solution.

"...That's it. Now, the imposters who appeared in their homes have been brought under control. My father too. I have to say, the mastermind behind this is truly malicious. Fortunately, Batman was prepared."

Victor's body stiffened visibly. He realized that Hal had noticed something was wrong with him, but he didn't know what to say for a moment.

Victor felt deeply ashamed. It seemed he was the only one in the entire Justice League who hadn't made a rational decision. Yet, on the other hand, he felt a pang of resentment. Even if there was someone else like him, he wouldn't face such immense pressure. He simply couldn't abandon his mother.

As he was overwhelmed with mixed emotions, Victor suddenly remembered something. He looked at Hal and asked, "Are Barry and Ron's families waiting for them at their homes? Are they free to move around?"

Hal was taken aback by his question, then nodded and said, "That's right. Later, the police investigated and found that the grave had been dug open, and from the inside out. This proves that they did indeed climb out of the grave and return to their home..."

Victor had already stood up and said to Hal, "Sorry, I have to go. I'll be right back."