The surviving Atlanteans pulled back to their kingdom and restored the barrier after much trouble. They brought their dead along and enacted a mass burial on the outside.
"Our bodies belong to the sea, and after death, we will allow the ocean to reclaim them," Myria explained to me when I watched the funeral. I nodded, recalling a similar sentiment on the surface. Our bodies belonging to the earth and allowing nature to take us back when we expired, or something like that.
As a princess, Myria was busy cleaning up the aftermath. I volunteered to stand sentry and watch out for the undersea tribe, in case they returned for a second invasion. Summoning my Little Anglers and Lantern Fishes, I posted them on patrol, though it was more to allow them freedom to swim around the sea instead of being cooped up in my summoning space.
-Don't worry about the user's summoning space. It is a separate pocket dimension where the user's summoned spirit beasts can rest. Most of them will enter dormant state in there. –
That didn't sound like a fun place.
-If the user wishes for a better place to house your summoned spirit beasts, you may attempt to construct a dungeon. –
"A…dungeon? What the hell is that? How?"
-Details will be forthcoming in the future, but it is a personal domain where the user can house your summoned spirit beasts, accumulate and store treasures, weapons and resources, as well as stay inside. Basically, no different from the dungeons you have read about in popular media. The user can eventually expand it into your own kingdom once you have accrued enough wealth, resources and inhabitants. –
Interesting. I didn't know the super summoning system had such a function. Unfortunately, it seemed like it would be a long time in the future before I could start creating a dungeon. I supposed I wouldn't be as lucky as Kim Jin Woo and randomly inherit a dungeon almost at the start. It would be cool to have cute little Nagas as well as a beautiful steward Naga to help me, though.
Shaking my head to clear it of irrelevant thoughts, I reached out through my mental connection to check on my little spirit beasts. No one saw anything so far, but I wasn't surprised. After the horrendous losses that the undersea tribe suffered in the previous battle, they would need a lot of time to recover and launch another attack. More likely, they would have retreated back to their distant lair – wherever it was – to lick their wounds.
Also, there was Myria's statement that concerned me. Something about this being a diversion. She didn't give me any other details except something about Atlantis's forbidden sacred land. I suppose they didn't want an outsider to get involved in anything the Atlanteans considered sacred, even if I did just help them repel an invasion.
I didn't blame them. They barely knew who I was and we had only interacted for about a week, so it was obvious they couldn't trust me just yet.
Myria was busy with the repairs and the care of the injured. I could see Atlanteans and their allied spirit beasts repairing broken domed houses, with shoals of fish tugging spirit ores and coral to their human friends to cover up gaping holes. Dolphins swam around with reef in their teeth, and whales transported vast quantities of materials for reconstruction, resembling living haulers. Spiritual qi flared as the Atlanteans converted their esoteric energies into undersea flames to weld the ores together. Octopuses crawled over the domes, tools in each tentacle, and offered assistance to grateful workers. Crabs scuttled all over, holding pieces together in their pincers while waiting for secretions to dry and meld the broken rock into one.
I never thought I would get a chance to see how an underwater civilization functioned.
"Sir."
I turned when an Atlantean soldier called out to me. Most of the healthy Atlantean military had been dispatched to help with the repair and relief, while the injured rested and recovered in underwater hospitals. I still recalled the medical facility I woke up in when I first arrived in Atlantis. They were in good hands.
That left a skeleton crew of soldiers to stand guard, but with the barrier reformed, they didn't seem worried even though a huge battle had just occurred.
"What's up?" I returned the salute clumsily, sending ripples spiraling upward from the movement in the water.
"Her highness wishes to speak to you."
"Huh? Oh, okay."
I followed him to the immense dome-shaped palace. This particular structure was the biggest in all of Atlantis, occupying its heart and stretching for several miles. Like the mall, there were plenty of open gaps for Atlanteans and marine life to swim through, and countless coral grew out from biological protrusions all over the elegantly crafted surface. Fountains sprouted in the interior, jetted from modified coral that were sculpted into vibrant statues of past kings and queens of Atlantis.
The marine castle was beautiful. And even that word wasn't enough to describe the grandeur of the palace of Atlantis.
Myria was waiting for me in what seemed like a strategy room, where holographic maps were projected against the walls in ghostly screens that shimmered in the gently rippling water. She was surrounded by delegates wearing fancy naval uniforms. Honestly, if it weren't for my knowledge that we were underwater, the gathering of officers would resemble that of the navy aboard a battleship or in a military base on the surface. Gleaming medals pinned to their white and black dress uniforms indicated their achievements, though I had a feeling they were there more for posturing and a display of their high rank. The only difference was that these naval officers of Atlantis were floating around in the water, swimming through holographic projections as they bickered amongst each other, and the command staff had to cartwheel and twist around in midwater to get out of the way.
There was no sense of gravity here, in more ways than one.
"You're finally here, Song Jun Wen." Myria smiled when I swam into the room, accompanied by my escort. A nod from her dismissed the Atlantean soldier, and he jetted away in a stream of bubbles. One of the officers in the room stepped up, his brow creasing into a frown.
"Your highness, I don't think it's appropriate to call in an outsider to this briefing. There is, uh, a lot of sensitive information being shared right now…"
"It's fine, Admiral MerArthur," Myria said, forestalling his objections with a raised hand. "I believe we can trust Song Jun Wen, especially after his valiant display during the war. I'm sure all of you here will agree that if it wasn't for him, we would have suffered worse losses."
"That…that is true. I am not dismissing his contributions, but the fact remains that he is an outsider. There are delicate matters being discussed right now, issues that are crucial to the survival of Atlantis, and we should be careful about whose ears this information reaches."
"Considering that he's the reason why Atlantis survived the last invasion of the undersea tribe, I would say that he can be classified as an insider." Myria took a deep breath and glared around the room. "The discussion ends here. Is this how we treat someone who saved our kingdom? With suspicion instead of gratitude?"
"Um, your highness, they have a point." I decided to help out. "I mean, I've only been in Atlantis for a little more than a week, and quite frankly, I don't think it's a good idea to share national secrets with me, especially when I intend to return to the surface sometime soon."
Myria gave me a warm smile. "I know, and it's not as if we're going to share all our secrets with you. It's just that this particular secret…you might be of great assistance. We all saw how you turned the tide of the war in our favor, and I strongly believe we will need your unique set of abilities to prevail in this specific mission."
"Mission?" I raised an eyebrow. Myria nodded and pressed her hand to a floating map that flickered against the wall, slight watery shimmers occasionally disturbing the smooth luminescence.
"That's right. I told you yesterday that the undersea tribe's invasion was a diversion. We pulled back most of our military forces for the defense, but that meant the skeleton garrison we left behind in the Abyssal Tomb was quickly overwhelmed by a detachment of merfolk during the fighting. We need to reclaim the Abyssal Tomb before they unseal the entity hibernating within."
"Abyssal Tomb?" I repeated incredulously. Myria sighed.
"Sorry, I should explain to you everything from the beginning. And…" She swept her gaze across the room once more, causing the naval officers to straighten their backs and right themselves in the water. "…this will also refresh everyone's memories on what is at stake here, especially since so many of you have forgotten the ancient history of Atlantis."
"Begging your pardon, your highness," one of the admirals asked stiffly. "But what does the history of Atlantis have to do with anything?"
"Everything," MerArthur snapped. "Does the Abyssal Tomb not echolocate with you?"
I suspected his use of echolocation was Atlantis's version of ring a bell.
"Um, I recall it being mentioned once or twice in the academy, but…what of it?"
"You fool!" MerArthur roared. "How can you not remember…?"
"That's why I'm here to refresh your memories," Myria interrupted, silencing the annoyed MerArthur with a look. "If you all recall the destruction of our homeland, Atlantis, a few thousand years ago, it was caused by the creature that is now sealed within the Abyssal Tomb."
"What?"
"Oh, right…the old legends said that we used to live on the surface."
"I thought the entire kingdom sank underwater because we angered the gods."
As the officers murmured amongst themselves, Myria continued, her voice clear as crystal.
"The creature, which we now refer to as the Deep Sea King, destroyed Atlantis in a single night, engulfing our kingdom in a tidal wave and sinking our home in his rage. Even with our spiritual cultivation and esoteric techniques, we were no match for him. In fact, Atlantis was almost annihilated in that ferocious battle, and our greatest sages were only able to seal him in a tomb."
"Tomb…?" One of the admirals repeated, his eyes wide. "You mean…?"
"The Abyssal Tomb," Myria affirmed. She turned to me, giggling when she saw that my jaw was hanging open and bubbles were slowly escaping. "The rift two centuries ago wasn't the first time that spirit beasts appeared on this planet. Over the millennia, a few spirit beasts appeared here and there, strays that somehow fall through the interdimensional cracks and end up here. And our ancestors, who researched long and deep into the arcane arts, developed cultivation techniques not just to combat them, but also to adapt to specific environments. However, with the advancement in technology, humanity lost touch with nature and cultivation techniques, rejecting harmony with the life around us in nature in favor of profit and exploitation. That's why Atlantis closed itself off from the surface world and refused all contact. We didn't want to be…contaminated by such greed and lose our connection to nature."
"Understandable," I muttered.
"But that isolation doesn't seem practical now that the rift has opened. Increasingly, over the last two centuries, we have come close to contact with cultivators from the surface. It's only a matter of time before they discover us. Already, we had one of their offshore installations built nearby."
Was that my mom's offshore marine laboratory that Myria was talking about?
"Anyway, back to the Abyssal Tomb…it's clear that the undersea tribe intends to unseal the Heaven ranked spirit beast sealed within in order to unleash it upon us. If it awakens, it will certainly seek vengeance against us…and while there have been advancements in both technology and cultivation techniques since our last clash millennia ago, I do not know if we can withstand the combined onslaught from both the Deep Sea King and the undersea tribe. We could barely fend off the last invasion. If the Deep Sea King were to join next time…"
She trailed off. The high-ranking naval officers all exchanged uneasy glances, comprehending the unspoken implication immediately.
"Then we just have to take the initiative and attack them before they can fully crack the seal!" MerArthur growled, slamming a fist into his palm. "Give the word, your highness, and I'll bring my entire battalion there to crush them once and for all!"
"I know I can count on you, Admiral MerArthur." Myria smiled at him. "And we will do so once we have decided on a plan of action. But for this particular strategy, I wish to bring Song Jun Wen along."
"Me?"
"Him?"
Our astonished voices echoed throughout the room. Myria nodded, her expression grim.
"Yes. If the undersea tribe succeeds in breaking the seal before we can stop them, I have a feeling that our surface friend here will be our only hope of survival."
I didn't see how I would, but before I could voice doubts, I caught sight of a notification window. A familiar one announcing a linked quest. Taking a deep breath, I nodded.
"I'll do my best to help."