A few months ago, Namor regained his memories following a brief encounter with the Human Torch. Immediately afterward, he set out to find his underwater kingdom—only to discover it devastated by humanity's nuclear testing, its people scattered across the deep.
Swearing revenge, he attacked New York City with a massive sea monster named Giganto. However, he was defeated by the Fantastic Four and Iron Man and forced back into the sea.
Following a string of clashes with the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, and the X-Men, Namor finally located his scattered subjects and reclaimed his throne.
Through the Fantastic Four, he delivered an ultimatum to the surface world, declaring himself the sovereign of the seven seas and the airspace above them, and demanding that every nation recognize Atlantean sovereignty.
Most governments refused to believe that an underwater kingdom inhabited by a humanoid species even existed. To them, the claim sounded too fantastical. Few had ever seen an Atlantean. As for Namor, because he looked almost identical to a human, they dismissed his claim that he belonged to a separate species known as Homo mermanus.
Although some governments accepted the possibility that Atlantis existed, none were willing to recognize Namor's sweeping claims over the world's oceans. Others questioned whether he truly represented an entire civilization or was merely another powerful superhuman issuing impossible demands. For whatever reason, every nation rejected his ultimatum.
Mr. Fantastic did his best to warn the world about the threat Namor posed and urged the nations to unite against him, but his warnings fell on deaf ears. Namor, however, had seen enough. Realizing that humanity would never accept his demands, he officially declared war on the surface world.
Today was the day the war would begin.
An underwater ship steadily moved towards the surface. Three individuals sat in the command room. They looked mostly human, save for their skin color and slightly pointed ears. Two of them had blue skin, a male and a female, and the third one, a female, had pink skin. The two blue ones wore strange devices covering their mouths and noses; they were water rebreathers that helped them breathe in air.
The door opened, and another individual entered the room with a regal aura. He looked almost human, with light brown skin, except for his pointed ears, like the other three.
"Your Majesty," the three said respectfully in unison as they stood.
He nodded and naturally took the head seat at the table. The other three sat after he did.
"General Krang, what's the status?" Namor asked once everyone had taken their seats.
"Your Majesty," General Krang, the blue-skinned male, answered, "we will reach the surface in half an hour."
"Your Majesty," Dorma, the blue-skinned female, a distant cousin of Namor, called. Namor looked at her. She gave a tight-lipped smile. She pointed to the pink-skinned woman and said, "Should we trust this foreigner? She could be a spy."
"Zora has helped me reunite with my lost people," Namor said. "I am willing to give her a chance, as she is an Atlantean just like us."
"I am honored by your trust, Your Majesty," Zora said with a smile, bowing her head. "I will prove worthy of it." She turned to Dorma. "And Princess Dorma, whatever the Empress thinks, it doesn't mean I agree to that. She might have changed our name to Abyssians, but that doesn't change the fact that we're Pink Atlanteans. We are Atlanteans. And as such, it is our duty to serve the one true king, the ruler of Atlantis, His Majesty King Namor, the Sovereign of the Seven Seas." As she said that, there was a faint tone of fanaticism in her voice. "And I'm not the only one to think that."
Namor showed a pleased smile. "Well said, Zora. As the king of Atlantis, it is my birthright to rule the oceans and all that dwells in them."
"As you should, Your Majesty," Zora said with a seductive smile.
"Absolutely, Your Majesty," Krang hurriedly added.
Dorma shot Zora a subtle, jealous glance, then looked back at Namor with a sweet smile. "That's what you deserve, My Lord."
"Lady Dorma, I understand your apprehension, but I believe Zora has only the well-being of Atlantis in her mind," Namor said in a serious tone.
"My Lord, I absolutely don't doubt your vision, but if she so much wishes to surrender to Atlantis, shouldn't she surrender the various techniques she had learned back in her Empire?" Dorma said, narrowing her eyes at Zora. "Even now she breathes in air using magic only she knows, while our Atlantean army has to use this apparatus."
"Princess Dorma," Zora said with a clipped voice. "I have already told his majesty that due to the Empress's magical oath, none of her soldiers can share any technique or magic learned there with anyone. I am willing to bleed for Atlantis. Please do not doubt my loyalty to our king."
Before Dorma could speak further, Namor interrupted her.
"Enough, Lady Dorma, Zora," he said, with some authoritative weight in his voice. "Let's not waste our time. We have more pressing topics to discuss."
"My apologies, My Lord," Dorma said in a low voice.
"Please forgive me, Your Majesty," Zora said with a bowed head.
Baxter Building, around one and a half hours ago
The Fantastic Four were having a normal day. Well, as normal as it could be for them. Reed was doing some experiments in his lab. Sue was reading a book. Ben was watching baseball. Johnny was unexpectedly studying.
Then an alarm blared in Reed's lab. He hurriedly went to the monitor. After Namor demanded recognition as sovereign of the seven seas and the skies above them, Reed had placed multiple sensors near Manhattan's coastline, fearing another attack like the one with the gigantic whale monster.
Reed was stunned as the monitor showed tens of thousands of blips steadily moving towards the surface. He hurriedly called his teammates to the meeting room.
"What happened, Stretch?" Ben asked as he entered the meeting room and saw Reed brooding over a tablet. "Why'd you call us here in such a hurry?"
"Let's wait for everyone to arrive," Reed said without looking up, his fingers still moving across the tablet.
Sue and Johnny soon entered the room.
"What's up, Reed?" Johnny asked. "What's the emergency?"
Reed finally looked up at his teammates with a serious expression.
"Reed," Sue said softly. "Is everything alright?"
"Namor is bringing an army," Reed said grimly. "I think he found out that the world governments will not agree to his demands, so now he wants to use force to make them accept it. They should reach the surface in two hours, and then it will take them another ten minutes to reach the Manhattan coastline."
The mood in the meeting room turned somber.
"I have already contacted the police chief and the mayor. They have started the evacuation process near the coast. I contacted the Avengers, but they're dealing with a crisis overseas and can't return on short notice," Reed said.
"Does that fishman want to start a fucking war?" Ben roared.
"Not a conventional one," Reed said, shaking his head. "I've analyzed their trajectory. They're all moving toward Manhattan. I believe he intends to take the island hostage."
He looked at the siblings. "Sue, Johnny, both of you leave quickly. This place may turn into a war zone."
"Like hell I'll leave," Johnny barked in protest.
"Reed," Sue said, her voice turning cold. "Do not ask us to abandon you."
"Please understand, Sue," Reed implored. "Neither of you is a soldier. Ben and I have both been soldiers. We know the reality of war. You don't need to go through that."
Ben sighed heavily. "Reed is right, Sue. You take the kid and leave."
"Who the fuck are you calling a kid, Rockhead?" Johnny said, bursting into flames. "You both might have been soldiers before, but now you're the Fantastic Four. We are the Fantastic Four. We will fight together."
"Don't say any more, Reed," Sue said with a serious expression. "We will fight together as a team. And that's final."
Soon it was time for the invaders to arrive from the ocean. The Fantastic Four waited at the shore with bated breath. A large contingent of police and a smaller detachment of soldiers stood with them. But the superhero family wasn't the only group of heroes present at the scene. Spider-Man and Arachne watched the sea from the rooftops of nearby buildings. On another rooftop, Daredevil stood in silence, facing the sea.
Finally, they saw the ocean's surface begin to rise in the distance.
As the water fell, a massive ship came into view before the people on the coastline. Soon, several smaller ships rose behind it. Finally, tens of thousands of wheel-less, bike-like vehicles surfaced, each carrying an Atlantean soldier.
Seeing such a massive army, many people along the coastline felt their breath catch. Most of them weren't trained to fight a war, especially not against an enemy that wasn't human and used technology clearly more advanced than theirs.
Namor emerged from the leading ship and flew into the sky, stopping in midair to look down at the humans below. Zora followed him out and stopped beside him in the air.
Namor looked at her curiously. He could fly because of the wings at his feet; he didn't know how Zora did it, as Atlanteans, whether Blue or Pink, normally couldn't fly.
"Are you using magic to fly?" Namor asked curiously.
"My apologies, Your Majesty," Zora said. "But because of the magical oath, I cannot tell you the details. All I can say, without breaking the oath, is that it is not magic."
Namor remained skeptical, assuming the oath simply forced her into vague denials. Rather than press the matter, he turned his focus back to the shoreline.
Back inside the ship, Dorma and Krang watched through the monitors. Dorma seethed in fury when she saw Zora hovering in the air beside Namor.
Krang noticed her envious expression and showed a sly smile. "Lady Dorma, you can see that His Majesty is impressed with Zora. He was already impressed by her strength, and if she helps him win this war, he may very well grow fond of her."
Dorma's face turned pale.
"He may even take her as a concubine," Krang continued. "Maybe she will even become our new queen."
"What nonsense are you spouting, Krang?" Dorma snapped.
"How is it nonsense, Lady Dorma?" Krang said, the smile remaining on his face. "You also know that what I said may come true. With her around, do you truly believe His Majesty will still look your way? So, why don't you accept my proposal? After all, you once vowed to be my bride."
"Krang," Dorma hissed. "I have already told you, I made that promise when I thought I had lost My Lord. Now that he has returned, that vow holds no weight. He is my true love, and no one can stop me from becoming his. Not you. And certainly not that hussy."
Zora moved her hands through a sequence of gestures, and several magic sigils appeared, then coalesced into one. The sigil drifted and settled over Namor's throat.
"Surrender, humans," Namor said in a slightly condescending tone, his chin raised. "I promise that if you surrender peacefully, my soldiers will not harm your civilians." His amplified voice carried across half a kilometer, reaching everyone along the coastline.
Reed took a megaphone from a nearby soldier. "Namor, please stop this," he implored. "There is still time. There is no need for bloodshed. We can talk."
"The time for talking is over, Richards," Namor said with an angry expression. "I gave you a chance to accept my sovereignty, but you denied me my birthright. The only option I have now is to take what is rightfully mine by force."
"But Namor—"
"Save your words, Richards," Namor said, interrupting Reed. "No one can stop the war."
"Soldiers of Atlantis, are you ready for war?" Namor called without looking back. A regal pressure seemed to radiate from him. He kept his eyes on the humans below.
"We are ready, Your Majesty!" the legions roared in flawless, terrifying unison.
The roar rolled over the coastline like thunder before a storm. Most of the humans felt their hearts hammer in their chests.
Namor smirked, seeing the humans' reactions. He knew a battle could be half-won before the first blow was struck.
"Namor, don't," Reed said hurriedly. "Please understand—the governments will never agree under threat of force. There is too much at stake. Give me a chance. We can take this to the United Nations. I'll speak on your behalf. But please don't start this war. Too many innocents will die."
While Namor and Reed argued, a sniper lying on a rooftop kept his scope trained on Namor's head. His commanding officer had given him strict instructions to observe the enemy monarch and take no action. Then a conflicting order came through a separate channel—from someone much higher in the chain of command. He was in a dilemma but, in the end, decided to obey the higher chain of command and fired.
With his superhuman reflexes, Namor saw the bullet coming and tilted his head aside.
Zora was faster. Her hand blurred, and she caught the bullet between two fingers.
The human army commander realized what had happened. He roared over the radio, "Who fired? Who the fuck ordered you to shoot?"
Reed's stomach sank. He realized they were doomed.
"So this was your strategy, huh, Richards?" Namor asked in a low voice. "No. The fault is mine for expecting honor from treacherous humans."
"Namor, listen," Reed said hurriedly. "This is a misunderstanding. No one here ordered that shot."
Namor no longer bothered speaking to him. "Soldiers," he roared.
"Your Majesty," they roared even louder.
"Attack!" Namor ordered.
Everyone at the coastline panicked. They hurriedly took their positions and braced themselves for battle.
But before the battle could begin, the ocean's surface was disturbed once again.
Three women emerged from the ocean. Two were pink-skinned, like Zora. The third, however, looked as if she were made of water.
They flew upward and stopped in midair directly in front of Namor and Zora. Zora paled at the sight of them. Her eyes locked onto one of the pink-skinned women. "Tyra," she murmured.
Confusion spread through the human ranks.
"King Namor McKenzie, the Sub-Mariner, heed the imperial decree," the leading pink-skinned woman said, unfurling a scroll.
By the Will of Her Imperial Majesty, Empress of the Abyssian Empire, Sovereign of the Deep Dominion, and Mistress of the Eternal Tides.
One hundred and fifty years have passed since the Treaty of Still Waters ended the folly of your forebears, a folly that claimed the lives of countless warriors on both sides.
Our Empire has honored that covenant without fail. We withdrew from the disputes of the outer seas, neither hindering the ambitions of lesser realms nor concerning Ourselves with their quarrels.
It appears that Our silence has been mistaken for absence, and that error has given birth to presumption.
Reports have reached Our Court that a traitor, condemned under Our laws, has been granted shelter beneath your banner. Graver still, you have presumed to proclaim yourselves Sovereign of the Seven Seas. The first act constitutes an offense against Our law; the second, an offense against the natural order.
Sovereignty is neither seized by proclamation nor inherited through vanity. It is acknowledged only by those with the strength to deny it. No ruler possessing such strength has recognized your claim—least of all, Us.
Therefore, let there be no misunderstanding: The waters under Our dominion were never yours to claim, and the subjects of Our Throne were never yours to command.
Our judgment is as follows: The traitor shall be surrendered alive, and the false proclamation shall be formally and publicly recanted before witnesses. Upon the swift fulfillment of these demands, this transgression shall be regarded as the product of ignorance rather than malice, and the peace of one hundred and fifty years shall endure.
Should you fail to comply, let the seas themselves bear witness that it was not Our Empire that chose to disturb the deep.
Silence fell over the shoreline.
Johnny leaned over to Reed, his voice barely a whisper. "Reed... what the hell is happening?"
Namor shook with shame and anger, listening to the decree. It was the first time in his life he had felt such humiliation. His anger now dwarfed even his hatred of humanity.
"I am the rightful king of Atlantis and ruler of all within these oceans," Namor roared. "Instead of kneeling in my presence, how dare your Empress humiliate me like this?"
The trio's expressions turned cold upon hearing the insult against their empress. Namor suddenly felt a suffocating pressure radiating from them, especially from their leader. His heart hammered in his chest. Every instinct screamed at him to lower his gaze. But his royal blood wouldn't let him. He stubbornly held their gaze.
The leader looked at Namor as if he were an insect. "We'll deal with you later." Then she shifted her gaze to Zora. "First, let's take care of the traitor. Tyra, as promised, she is all yours."
The moment the leader said that, Tyra moved with blinding speed and kicked Zora in the stomach. Zora flew back and hurriedly stopped herself midair.
Tyra flew farther from the others, drawing Zora into the open air. She gestured towards Zora. "Time to end this."
Zora's lips quivered. "Why can't you understand me, Tyra?" She flew up to Tyra and stopped before her. "Must we really do this?"
Tyra's face remained impassive. "You should've thought about that before betraying the Empress. From the day you betrayed her and the Empire, you became nothing more than a traitor to me."
Zora's fist shook. "Fine, if that's what you wish. But don't expect me to hold back."
Both kicked the air at the same time, each strike creating a shockwave. The two blasts raced toward each other and collided. At the point of impact, ripples of force erupted in every direction, sending several Atlantean soldiers flying back.
Some of the shockwaves even surged toward the coastline. Spider-Man, Arachne, and Daredevil hurriedly ran toward them. The Thing yanked a soldier out of a jeep and lifted the vehicle, preparing to hurl it at the incoming shockwaves.
But before any of them could act, someone else arrived. The water-woman landed on the coastline. She gestured, and the ocean water rose. The shockwaves collided with the water and stopped. The water fell back into the sea.
"No need for thanks," the woman said with a smile.
The humans responded by pointing their guns at her. Her smile didn't waver; instead, she chuckled demurely with a hand over her mouth. "Do you truly believe those little toys will do anything to me?"
"Lower your weapons! Stand down!" the human commander barked.
"Thank you for helping us," Reed said.
"Think nothing of it," the woman replied, her fluid form rippling under the sunlight. "I merely dislike seeing unaligned bystanders suffer due to our Empire's internal disciplinary matter. Rest easy, surface dwellers—I will ensure none of their stray sparks catch your shores."
Zora and Tyra darted through the air, exchanging punches and kicks too fast for most eyes to follow, each strike met by a swift dodge or counter.
Most of those present couldn't even follow them with their eyes. Only a few could barely track their movement.
"What's your name, beautiful?" Johnny asked with a suave tone. After the trio's arrival, the pressure that had been weighing on his chest vanished without him noticing, and he slipped back into his careless, flirty self.
"Cynthia," she answered, keeping her eyes on the fight.
"Cynthia," Spider-Man asked hesitantly, "are you made of water?"
Cynthia chuckled. "Yes, I am. I'm an Undine."
"Undines are real?!" Spider-Man exclaimed. "I thought they were a myth."
"You have no idea how many so-called myths are real," Cynthia said.
"Are there multiple underwater kingdoms?" Reed asked, adjusting his glasses.
"There are, and a few of them are capable of challenging Atlantis," Cynthia answered.
"And the Abyssian Empire is one of them?" Reed continued.
A faint trace of disdain appeared in Cynthia's eyes. "They are not worthy of challenging us," she said matter-of-factly. It was as if superiority had been carved into her bones, and the mere comparison to Atlantis was laughable.
Reed noticed the absolute certainty in her eyes but chose not to comment. He realized the world was far bigger than he had ever imagined.
Meanwhile, Zora and Tyra's fight continued. Many of their strikes sent shockwaves rippling through the air. Cynthia protected the humans, but no one protected the Atlanteans. Some were injured. A few died where they stood.
Tyra feinted, and Zora took the bait. Tyra attacked her with a finger strike. Zora's body suddenly seemed to turn into a sheet of paper rustling in the wind, and she slipped past the strike with a slight twist.
In the main Atlantean ship
"How dare they attack us?!" Dorma hissed, her fingers digging into the edge of the console. "They are Atlanteans! They should be kneeling before their rightful King!"
Krang stared at the tactical monitors, his expression grim. "It seems the Abyssian Empire is far more powerful than we anticipated."
"What are you talking about, Krang?!" Dorma snapped, rounding on him.
Krang exhaled slowly, as though unearthing a secret buried under centuries of propaganda. "It is a classified state secret—one I only learned upon taking the mantle of General. Three centuries ago, the Pink Atlanteans were entirely subservient to us, the Blue Atlanteans. Then, suddenly, something shifted. We suspected an internal coup. Shortly after, they abandoned their traditional settlements and migrated far beyond our borders. Because of the vast distance, maintaining surveillance was nearly impossible, so Atlantis kept only loose oversight. We thought nothing of it."
Krang looked back at the fight just as Tyra's fist struck Zora across the face, sending her flying through the air.
He continued, "One hundred and fifty years ago, his majesty's great-grandfather, the ruler of Atlantis at that time, King Immanu, declared war on the Pink Atlanteans. He considered them a threat to Blue Atlantean sovereignty. That was a mistake. The war began, and losses mounted on both sides. The Abyssians lost more than a thousand warriors, which might not sound like many, but for their population, it was devastating. But that was not the true disaster. The true disaster was that Atlantis lost tens of thousands of soldiers."
"What?!" Dorma exclaimed. "How is that possible?"
"That's what our ancestors thought, too," Krang said with a wry smile. "However, that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was that those who died from their side were only part of the regular army. Only then did their elite soldiers enter the battlefield."
On the coastline
Everyone watched the battle in the sky quietly. No one dared disturb the woman made entirely of water, not when she was the one protecting them. Even though they had just found out she was an Undine from the myths and were extremely curious, they still focused on the fight.
"Is everyone in your empire that strong?" Ben suddenly asked.
"Don't worry. The regular soldiers aren't that strong," Cynthia said. "We are different from them."
"Are you part of some elite army?" the army commander asked, making his presence known. A shiver had run down his spine when Ben had asked that question. An empire with such strength could threaten any human nation.
Cynthia smiled, easily understanding the commander's attempt to get more information. She answered anyway. It was hardly a secret. "We belong to the Leviathan Reaper Corps."
In the main Atlantean ship
"Once the elites of the Leviathan Reaper Corps joined the war, the scales tipped in their favor. When King Immanu saw their strength, his desire to destroy the Pink Atlanteans only hardened. Even more warriors fell. Even the Abyssians lost some of their elites. Atlantis was weakened considerably. At that time, the Skarka Barbarians took the opportunity to plunder a few Atlantean cities and even kill King Immanu. His son, King Namor's grandfather, King Thakorr, took the throne. The first thing he did upon taking the throne was to sign a peace treaty with the tribe that had already renamed itself the Abyssian Empire. Thus, the Treaty of Still Waters was signed. The Abyssian Empire abandoned its old base and relocated once more. They traveled deeper into the ocean, to depths where even we begin to feel the strain of the water pressure."
—
The intense battle in the sky was finally coming to an end. Tyra had completely overwhelmed Zora, who was already on the brink of defeat. With a final, devastating punch to her sister's stomach, Tyra sent Zora hurtling downward. She crashed onto the coast near the humans.
Tyra landed beside her. Magical shackles materialized in her hands. She fastened them around Zora's wrists.
"So this is the end, huh?" Zora whispered, her voice hoarse. "The only regret I have is that I couldn't convince you to join me."
Tyra's jaw tightened. She chose not to answer that part. "Yes… it is the end," she said quietly. "I will beg the Empress to let me be the one to behead you. It's the only mercy I can still offer you… as your sister."
Zora let the shackles click into place without resistance. A faint, wistful smile touched her lips.
"You know, I miss those simpler times when we used to skip training just to watch the colorful jellyfish," she said softly. "Sometimes I wonder how different things could have been if we hadn't chosen opposite paths. Maybe we would still be together… two sisters ready to take on the world."
A single tear slipped down Zora's cheek.
Tyra felt her eyes sting. A tear welled up, burning hot, as memories flooded her—two little girls laughing while jellyfish drifted around them. She turned her face sharply away, refusing to let her younger sister see it.
She had to be strong for both of them. Revealing her heartbreak would only burden Zora's final moments. It was better for Zora to believe Tyra hated her. That illusion was her last act of protection.
Tyra quickly wiped the tear away and turned back to Zora. She kept her voice steady, though it took everything she had. "Those days are long gone, Zora."
She brought her bound sister to her leader. "The traitor has been secured, Captain Vrenna."
Captain Vrenna gave a curt nod, her cold gaze finally shifting back to Namor.
Namor looked at Vrenna with gritted teeth. His fists were clenched so hard that his nails dug into his palms.
The war hadn't even started, and he had lost more than a thousand of his soldiers. They didn't die honorably in battle. They died as collateral damage, meaningless casualties before the war could even begin.
"Now that we have the traitor," Vrenna said, her face emotionless, "let's deal with you."
Then she looked past him, toward his army. "But before we discuss your retraction, we must first settle the matter of your disrespect toward our Empress."
Namor suddenly felt a strong premonition that something extremely bad was about to happen. "W-what are you doing?" He asked, struggling under the pressure he felt.
Vrenna didn't bother replying. The sea below her churned, erupting into a thick geyser that coiled upward and took the shape of a massive water dragon, spanning over ten meters. The beast revolved around her in a protective blur, then suddenly froze in midair and shattered. Its massive body fractured into thousands of water needles. The needles shot forward.
Namor's eyes widened as he realized what Vrenna was about to do. "No, no, stop it. Stop!" He shouted desperately.
The needles flew with unerring precision, each finding its mark dead center in a soldier's forehead. The dead soldiers slumped and fell into the ocean, their blood spreading red across the waves.
"May the sacrifice of your ten thousand soldiers serve as a reminder," Vrenna said flatly, her tone as calm as a calm sea, "should you ever consider speaking ill of the Empress again."
It wasn't just Namor who looked at the red ocean in shock; the humans on the coastline stared in horror. Even the soldiers, men trained for war, had never seen so many deaths at once. The cops and superheroes could only stare in horror.
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" Johnny screamed at the top of his lungs. He flamed on and shot upward, intending to attack Vrenna.
Vrenna didn't even bother acknowledging him, as someone else intercepted him midway.
Before Johnny could react, a fluid hand clamped tight around his throat. Dense clouds of white steam hissed where her watery fingers met his burning skin, but Cynthia's expression remained utterly calm, a gentle smile still gracing her lips.
Johnny was shocked; even though he was not in his Supernova form, he was still the Human Torch—yet Cynthia squeezed his neck without the slightest change in expression.
"Johnny!" Sue screamed from the shore, her heart in her throat.
Johnny clawed at Cynthia's arm but couldn't free himself from her vice grip. She dropped with Johnny and slammed him into the ground as she landed. She removed her hand as Johnny's flames died down. He started coughing violently. Sue, Ben, Reed, and Spider-Man ran to him.
Every cop and soldier raised their weapons at Cynthia again.
"You already have an enemy standing at your door," Cynthia said, her soft smile still prominent. "Do you want to make an even bigger one?"
Whoever met her eyes felt a shiver run up their spine, despite the gentle smile on her face.
"Why?" Johnny asked weakly. "Why kill so many innocent people?"
"Because their king disrespected our Empress," Cynthia said matter-of-factly.
Above them, Vrenna continued. "Will you withdraw your words? Or do you wish to become a king with no subjects?"
Namor looked at her, his eyes bloodshot with rage and grief. Despite being utterly unwilling, he took a deep breath. He said with a shaking voice, "I, King Namor McKenzie, the Sub-Mariner, withdraw my claim over the Abyssian Empire and all waters under its dominion."
The amplification magic from earlier carried his words to every human below.
Namor turned back and flew back to his ship. The ship slowly submerged after he entered. The remaining soldiers collected the bodies of their fallen comrades and left as well.
The war was over before it even began.
"Let's go," Vrenna said.
Tyra and Cynthia nodded. Cynthia waved her hands. "Goodbye," she said. She, together with Tyra and her prisoner, joined Vrenna. Together, they also jumped into the ocean.
Everyone on the coast just looked at the horizon blankly. They had been ready to put their lives on the line to protect the city, but the war had ended before it even began.
Three centuries ago
It was the day after the Defenders had defeated the clone of Dweller-in-Darkness.
Kevin had already returned to the present. His teammates asked Zephyra where he was, but she only said he had left.
That evening, Miao Song sat cross-legged alone in his room, deep in meditation. His astral projection left his body and entered the astral realm. Soon, he arrived before a figure sitting cross-legged in deep meditation.
"Master," Miao Song said respectfully, bowing his head.
The figure before him was a bald woman. She was Yao, the current Sorcerer Supreme.
"Sit," Yao said calmly.
Miao Song nodded and sat cross-legged in front of her. "Master, as you ordered, we closed the rift. The clues you gave me about finding my teammates led me to some very talented people. However, I found one more companion by chance. He seemed somewhat capable, so I took him as well." He gave a self-deprecating laugh. "However, he turned out to be far more capable than I expected."
"Oh," Yao said with mild curiosity. "What's his name?"
"He goes by the name Pirate Hunter Zoro, which I believe is a fake name," Miao Song said, laughing.
Yao nodded. "You have done a good job, Song. Rest for a few more days, then return to Kamar-Taj."
"As you command, Master," Miao Song said, bowing deeply. His astral form disappeared.
Yao fell into deep thought. She recalled the fragments of the future she had glimpsed earlier. She had been occupied with Mephisto and could not personally deal with the Dweller-in-Darkness. With no other choice, she had to send her disciple on such an arduous journey.
'Thinking back,' she thought. 'It might even be a trick of Mephisto to occupy me.'
She had seen fragments of the future, and despite the tragedy they showed for her disciple, she had no choice but to let Miao Song face the Dweller-in-Darkness.
In the visions she saw, Miao Song, along with the majority of his team, was supposed to die, giving Zephyra enough time to sacrifice herself to close the rift. Only Ulysses was supposed to survive, but even he would be bedridden for years despite his powers. But this unknown person completely changed the course of events, and everyone survived.
But that wasn't the only future his interference changed.
One hundred and fifty years from now, Atlantean King Immanu would declare war on the Pink Atlanteans. It would end in genocide. Not a single Pink Atlantean would survive. Forever erasing the Pink Atlanteans from history, the Blue Atlanteans would just be called the Atlanteans from then on. Immanu would meet his end some time later at the hands of Skarka Barbarians.
However, interference from that unknown person would also change that event. The Pink Atlanteans somehow became capable of resisting Atlantis and, despite heavy losses, forced it to sign a peace treaty.
Only two constants remained across both timelines: King Immanu's eventual death at the hands of the Skarka Barbarians, and the Blue Atlanteans retaining the name 'Atlanteans'—though in this new reality, it was because the Pink Atlanteans had discarded the title entirely, rechristening themselves the Abyssian Empire.
She tried to peer into this person's future, but found nothing. It was as if this person were an anomaly, never meant to exist in this world.
"Who are you really... Pirate Hunter Zoro?" she murmured into the void.
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[Author's Notes]
Seriously. Who is Pirate Hunter Zoro?