The air in the tomb carried a scent of decay, a desolate feeling left behind by life swept away by the sands, and the surrounding crumbling walls further emphasized that time takes everything away, leaving nothing behind.
Mera looked at the Divine Horn in her hand, which no longer glowed.
She didn't know what she could still find here — a truth? Or a weapon that would poison her just the same?
The tomb, buried under the sands for tens of thousands of years, still retained its overall structure, but now that someone had entered before them, everything had become uncertain.
Barry rubbed his half-fish face, unsure of what to say.
He saw Mera's face change constantly, first confusion, then turning red, and finally becoming pale.
It felt just like accidentally uncovering someone else's secret, making him feel awkward.
He wasn't a believer in any god, and the word "God" rarely crossed his lips. In the past, if he had the time to say it, he might as well run a few steps faster.
But now, with a corridor as deep as if it had no end in front of him, and the weak light from the torch in his hand flickering unsteadily, it seemed like it would go out at any moment.
This reminded him of the current situation.
Calling upon the name of God now, is it already too late?
Mera pressed her lips together, stayed silent for a while, then continued to walk deeper into the tomb.
Whether or not they found the truth was no longer important. Now that they had come this far, even if the fault lay with Earth back then, they couldn't admit defeat.
Otherwise, what then? Let themselves turn into fish?
The only option was to find the weapon in Aryan's possession, the Tear of Extinction, and defeat the Alien Sea Gods once more, eradicating them completely.
If they were to blame anyone, it would only be Poseidon, but he was already dead, so what could be done?
As the Earth creatures who suffered the Alien Sea Gods' wrath, resistance was the only way.
Superman had a similar thought — you were wronged by the Earth Sea Race tens of thousands of years ago, and now you've come to demand retribution. Fine.
Demand some compensation, an apology, or even material compensation, but invasion? That's not something to be discussed.
Especially flooding Earth and turning humanity into fish — where would we go to claim these losses?
So Clark, born on Krypton but raised in Kansas on Earth, had already categorized these Alien Sea Gods as enemies.
Actually, the Alien Sea Gods did try to negotiate with Earthlings, but the first one they contacted was Luthor. With his mouth running at full skill level, these Sea Gods immediately considered the Destruction Legion as representatives of humanity, as their allies.
Luthor claimed to be the God of Humanity, expressing sympathy for the Sea Gods' plight, and said he was tired of Poseidon as well.
In that case, there are about 7-8 billion intelligent creatures on Earth, kill as you please, until you're satisfied, until you've vented. Then let's consider the matter settled, okay?
He also promised to yield all of Earth's oceans to give the Alien Sea Gods a new home.
He pledged to help the Sea Gods save people, and once they found the Tear of Extinction, they could share it equally and kill Poseidon to show their intentions.
But he also needed some help. Everyone could benefit mutually, and then they could all be good friends.
Hearing this, the three Sea Gods thought the terms were... quite sincere.
And this bald god happened to have a very feasible plan.
Thus, the events that happened earlier unfolded.
........
"Look, the door to the main chamber."
Barry raised the torch slightly so Mera could also see the end of the passage ahead.
It too was a stone door, but its gilding had almost completely peeled away, leaving only mottled stone reliefs.
It was a statue of Aryan, one hand holding a torch, the other the Divine Horn, standing at the prow of a ship gazing into the distance.
The sea breeze lifted his hair and cape, making him appear full of hope and longing for the future.
But Mera only found it ironic; this explorer's end wasn't as depicted in the sculpture.
Aryan wasn't the only one deceived by the gods, and there would always be others to follow.
However, Mera had not yet noticed that now all gods had turned mortal, and the Inverted Man would not recognize any warlock appointed by Hecate as an individual governing Earth.
Neither Mera nor Barry could manage such a large stone door; only the greatly weakened Superman could try to slowly pull it open.
Even Superman felt the effort was taxing, as if pushing the Moon in the past.
But as fine sand and dust began to fall, accompanied by the sound of 'kraka kraka kraka,' the door slowly opened.
Inside the tomb, Aryan's white bones lay like rubbish scattered on the throne, his clothes thoroughly rummaged through, clearly having been searched.
"Damn, it's gone."
If the information on the mural was correct, Aryan died from poisoning when he blew the conch, so the Tear of Extinction should be gathered in his skull.
But now the skull was missing.
Just then, a muffled voice suddenly came from behind them.
"Darling, are you looking for this?"
The three of them turned around, but in the darkness, they could only see two large red dots, but that was enough. The eyes' distinctive shape was enough for others to recognize.
"Black Manta!"
Mera didn't utter a word and roared angrily, wielding her Hard Water Sword to slash at the enemy—this guy, Atlantis's arch-enemy.
But Barry was quicker; he stopped Mera, pulling her back swiftly.
Once the pair stabilized, they saw the path that Mera charged along was instantly covered entirely by purple seawater.
A trap, but Barry managed to pull Mera back from it.
From behind Black Manta, Zhen Hai and the miniaturized Flood Demon emerged.
The liquid-formed monster, like an oversized pet, followed behind its master, spitting out large amounts of seawater that could mutate creatures.
If Mera had taken one more step earlier, she would now have transformed into a fish.
Black Manta made a clicking sound as if he were disappointed. Through the barrier formed by purple water, he raised a glowing skull in his hand.
"I got here first. You're too foolish. As long as we find the coordinates, the Flood Demon's teleportation can send us directly into the main tomb room. There's nothing left for you but extinction! And the ocean requires a new ruler..."
"Don't count on it! You'd only be a mad dictator!" Mera couldn't reach the enemy, so she angrily screamed.
"Wrong! You're the dictators! You force fear upon the ocean, but that's enough now. My new friends and I will change everything. Soon, I'll be the new King of Seven Seas. As for you and your comrades, you should go and eat the new excrement I've laid!"
Zhen Hai nodded in agreement, entirely pleased with the means of a new Sea God.
"Good point, New Sea King, now what do you plan to do with this trash?"
"Of course, drown them, Zhen Hai Commander... drown them all!"
"Hahaha..."
Zhen Hai Commander was very satisfied; he raised his hands, pressing the collar on his neck while the Flood Demon behind him expanded exponentially, directly breaking through the roof.
And in the distance, purple seawater, like a tsunami, surged this way, flooding into the tomb in the canyon.
Of course, the Flood Demon simultaneously teleported the army of Earth's fish-men here, former heroes who now appeared as eerie fish-men, perfect cannon fodder.
Because Superman and the others couldn't kill them, they could only take hits passively.
Soon, the situation turned grim. At Barry's warning, they retreated to the door of the main tomb room, which was relatively narrow, allowing some defense.
But the time they could hold out wouldn't last long; now they relied on Mera's Hard Water Barrier to defend against the purple seawater outside, and Superman's strength was also almost exhausted.
Their attackers were the former heroes of Earth, not only fish-morphed Zatanna, Firestorm, Adam Hero, but also numerous familiar and unfamiliar heroes.
If Barry's Divine Speed wasn't able to let him play the role of hundreds, they would have perished long ago, but this action also accelerated Barry's transformation into a fish-man.
Black Manta and Zhen Hai both crossed their arms, watching from the warband's periphery, and seeing their shoulders shake, they were probably laughing.
Mera was left and right, supporting the barrier while still looking for the last strand of hope.
Black Manta held Aryan's head, filled with the Tear of Extinction, which resembled him drinking from a conch but seemed as if he had consumed all the Tear of Extinction.
If guessed correctly, then...
Indeed, Aryan was a hero, rebelling against Poseidon, albeit too late.
Perhaps after he had spewed some venom, seeing the alien Sea Gods' surprised expressions made him awaken, but Poseidon's control was too strong, so he could only choose to swallow all the Tear of Extinction whole.
He succeeded; the Sea Gods weren't poisoned to death, but managed to survive to be imprisoned by Poseidon.
Yet Aryan died, perishing in the act of rebellion against Poseidon.
But this rebellion brought Mera an opportunity.
On Aryan's spinal column, Mera felt some different tidal movements. A liquid with threadlike black lines emerged from the joints of Aryan's spine soaked in purple water.
The Tear of Extinction indeed exists most in the skull but also extends into Aryan's cervical and upper thoracic spine.
After the flesh decomposed, these toxins naturally clung to the nearest bones.
Though Aryan died instantly after swallowing, he did ingest a small amount.
Mera extended her Hard Water Long Sword, slid it into the funeral relic's spinal joint, and in an instant, the originally pale blue translucent Hard Water Blade turned jet-black as ink.
A sense of extinction and cold rushed straight to her heart.
She knew, the weapon was in hand, and the key was the external mural reminding her, thanks to Zebel's literary education.
"No! Manta! You're telling me the tears have been retrieved!" Zhen Hai saw Mera's move and also saw the weapon in her hand.
Zhen Hai instantly felt uneasy, facing an opponent with Speedster, and now possessing a weapon capable of slaying gods, this battle shouldn't continue.
Seeing the black color, Zhen Hai Commander seemed to feel the ancient pain from ages ago, unable to contend.
Black Manta shrugged; who knew Aryan's spine still had more, anyway Luthor's plan wasn't like this...
Mera looked at Barry, and Barry only thought briefly, putting his hand on Mera's shoulder, golden lightning enveloping her entirely, illuminating the entire tomb room.