Life…
What is Life?
Some might say It is the period between birth and death but is that all it was?
Some might argue that it was proof of one's existence, but is that still all there was to it?
As someone who has lived once, experienced death and lived again, Life had no definitive meaning other than being a journey of discovery to Aiden.
However Having knowledge of the bleak future awaiting him if he stayed insignificant, Aiden had poured every ounce of himself into one goal.
Survival.
It is after all, in this particular instinct that the human race is what it is and the only emotion that can stir this particular instinct is the fear of the unknown.
Aiden's fear wasn't merely of the unknown, he was aware of the existing ones and their horrors and he was just part of the average Humans albeit blessed due to his heritage.
But what does heritage have to do with the grand scheme of things?
Aiden couldn't afford to stay average or even "above his peers", No, that wasn't a future Aiden had even bothered to entertain.
His fear fuelled his thirst and hunger for power making him go to extreme lengths of pioneering a path no one had walked on before. Something he could call purely his. Just for the sake of surviving Darkseid.
And now, having survived, Aiden felt lost.
What was Life without that purpose?
'Is this what they call Existential Emptiness?'
The realization that everything he once strived for has come and passed and he survived. He had spent a vast majority of his youth accumulating so much strength, and now that the war is over,
"What now?"
This would have been an easy question to anyone, however, as someone who knew the future of this World he had to decide on a direction and stick to it, but that's where the problem arose.
If he stuck to his current situation and decided to play along, he'd be turned into a Fishman and probably die off sometime in the future. However, if he tried to alter the future, he couldn't fathom the damages he could cause.
This was a very volatile Reality after all.
He had already killed off Granny Goodness and he was sure Mira didn't let those Furies off. This was already a massive breach into this universe timeline.
Timelines were born and destroyed casually after all.
"Can I have the room to myself?" Aiden suddenly opened his eyes from his introspection and said. "I want to gather my thoughts."
"Of course." Mira said with a bright smile and placed a hand on his lap. "If you need help, I'm only a magic circle away. I'm plenty strong now after all."
Aiden smiled. "I can feel that."
Truly, he could. Due to his Force, he could feel an unfamiliar energy pervading the entire room with her at its center. He could tell it wasn't magic but something else and it's presence was quite threatening for some reason.
Finn, Jaxon and Lyra exchanged some words before the room finally fell silent.
As the door closed behind them, Aiden let out a shaky breath. Their words made him feel a warmth in his chest, but also a pang of guilt.
As soon as the guilt hit him, he closed his eyes and cleared his mind allowing only his thoughts to drift freely with the chaos of the outside world. There was no time to entertain negative emotions if there was something he could do about it.
Focusing on what little information he had on the DC Universe, he skimmed through them, looking for any piece that would help him make a better decision.
Aiden was not a die hard fan of this Universe and he was not overly interested in the things outside of Atlantis, Poseidon and Aquaman. Hence, he knew some key information.
He knew that if he stopped his father from utilising the Trident as he saw fit, Atlantis would remain on the surface world and he didn't know what that held for the future.
There was thought of leaving it to the Future but Aiden could remember that Time and Space was something not to be messed with in this Reality. Forces of creation could hunt you down just because you messed with the timeline.
Aiden was NOT ready for such a life.
He may be strong with the help of the Force, but he has yet to know the full capability of the Energy within him. As such, he could not make decisions rashly.
As a famous person once said, Know yourself and you will win a Thousand Battles.
Continuing on, he could always just up and leave.
There was no one stopping him but could he really leave the people he has come to love and cherish as friends and family to die a potentially gruesome death?
He didn't know their fate as it was never mentioned what happened to them in any story till the later twenty and early twenty first centuries.
"Is this what Jor-El felt?" Aiden muttered aloud.
Being burdened of the knowledge of the inevitable demise of his Home World, he shared the information only to be met with scorn.
Aiden didn't even want to warn anybody as that would cause a lot of issues. He didn't need to be told of the level of fame he may have gathered with his achievements on the battlefield.
He could even walk up to his father and snatch the Trident and that's the end of the matter, but…Timeline.
Aiden felt like crying when he reached this train of thought.
"I guess it's to elope then." With no better idea popping up, Aiden came to a conclusion. Emotionless as it may seem, it was the most logical option to take.
Standing up from the bed, Aiden made a slow, staggered walk to the window and pushed it open, allowing the crisp evening air to sweep into the room.
The faint scent of rain lingered, carried on a gentle breeze that tousled his hair and cooled his weary body.
He rested his palms on the windowsill, gazing out at the familiar sight of the Atlan castle grounds.
The view always managed to steady his thoughts, no matter how tumultuous they became.
Below him, cobblestone paths wound their way through lush gardens, where torches flickered softly, their golden glow reflected in the dew-covered foliage.
In the distance, the watchtowers stood sentinel, their banners fluttering proudly against the encroaching twilight. There was an interplay of crimson and gold painting the waters like molten fire, a stark contrast to the cold, imposing walls of the castle.
Aiden's gaze drifted upward, where the first stars began to pierce the darkening sky.
He could hear the faint sound of waves crashing against the cliffside below the castle in a rhythmic melody that had been his companion since childhood.
For a moment, he let himself bask in the serenity of the scene, allowing it to anchor him to the present moment.
"To hell with the Timeline."
There wasn't a specific time given between the end of the war and the time of descent but Aiden wasn't worried, afterall, he is the Third Prince of Atlan and the strongest person in the Kingdom right now.
Who was gonna stop him if he threatened to take away the Trident?
Nobody.
"But still, I shouldn't be complacent." Aiden said and tore his gaze from the picturistic sight in front of him and clenched his right fist. "I'm still not powerful enough."
He could remember the Energy Beam the Force had absorbed when it was piloting his body was powerful enough to knock it unconscious. This showed that despite the Abilities he now boasted, if he didn't understand them, he was still just some seating duck.
However, the one person that could give him answers was still unconscious.
"No. I don't think I'm still in the realm of the common homo magi." A thought suddenly struck him. During his battle with the two New Gods, he felt it.
He could contend with the New Gods physically, something only Kal-El as a Kryptonian and Diana because of her Half God Blood.
As a Homo Magi, his physique was not entirely tailored to be strong but to be extremely sensitive to Mana in a way no ordinary human could, so for him to be able to do that could only mean one thing.
The Adaptive Power Evolution had temporarily evolved his physique to be able to match that of a new God.
As Aiden came to this realisation, he was suddenly at a loss for words. He couldn't have imagined that he would create something so mind blowing.
"I really am a genius aren't I?" A proud grin made its way to his lip as he pondered on this. "I guess that's also why I couldn't be healed through the conventional way. How interesting,"
Smiling to himself, Aiden returned to his bed and conjured a small circle on the top of his palm. "[Clean]"
The spell was one of the most practical and widely used in the repertoire of mages. It was a simple spell designed to rid the caster, or their surroundings, of dirt, grime, and other impurities.
When Aiden cast the spell, the circle glowed faintly as the spell activated as an invisible wave radiated outward from the circle on his palm.
Almost instantly, the remnants of sweat, dirt, and even the faint smell of exhaustion that clung to him dissipated. His skin felt refreshed, his clothes free of creases and grime.
"Sate sate sate, how do I proceed from here?"
…