Chapter 127
But she did not give in. Instead, she gritted her teeth and tried to raise her head, staring defiantly at Su Quan.
"Good eye."
Su Quan smiled approvingly and asked deliberately, "Aren't you afraid of dying?"
Atlanna sneered, "I am the Queen of Atlantis. The Atlanteans will not succumb to death, and neither will I!"
Su Quan nodded in deep agreement. "Since you're not even afraid of death, why don't you dare to elope? Why don't you dare to cancel the marriage directly?"
"..."
That's a really hurtful thing to say!
Although Atlanna didn't know why he knew about her plan to elope, eloping and dying in battle were two different things.
What she feared was not death, but breaking the traditions of Atlantis and going against the wishes of her father!
Often, it's not that being fearless of death means being indifferent to everything and daring to do anything.
"Hmph, you, a Surface Dweller, infiltrated Atlantis and sneaked into my room, you wouldn't be here just to find out why I don't dare to elope, would you?"
Tell me! What is your true purpose?
Su Quan chuckled, looking at Atlanna with amusement. "What if I told you that my target is you?"
"You don't want to marry Orm, do you? How about you marry me?"
Atlanna was stunned, then sneered, "Are you kidding me? You're a Surface Dweller!"
Su Quan shrugged and said dismissively, "If you choose to elope, the only place you can go is the mainland, and then you can only marry Surface Dweller."
"But it might not be you!" Atlanna scoffed.
Su Quan nodded in agreement. "That's right. Maybe you'll marry the tower keeper who saved you? Who knows? Oh, I know, because your future is in my hands."
"You're not convinced?"
"What If...?, and I mean What If...?, I wanted you now, could you resist? You couldn't, could you? Then you'd only have two choices: either leave Atlantis with me, or become a disgrace to your Atlantis royal family!"
"Your fiancé may still marry you for the sake of the throne, but he will never love you, and may even hate you, because you have brought shame upon him and the entire Atlantis."
"They might even sacrifice you to the Trench for this reason, even though you are powerless to resist!"
Atlanna's eyes gradually changed from anger to fear.
Su Quan laughed and continued, "And What If...? I don't touch you, but I kill Orm, wouldn't you be free? At least you'd be free to marry, right? And you wouldn't have to run away from your marriage and leave Atlantis."
Atlanna's expression changed again, but she quickly regained her composure. "I will not kill Orm for my own sake!"
Su Quan scoffed, "What are you thinking? Whether or not I kill Orm is my decision, not yours!"
Atlanna's face turned pale, and she asked through gritted teeth, "What exactly do you mean!"
Su Quan casually released the Five-Pronged Trident and tossed it back to Atlanna. "My meaning is simple: whether you like it or not, your future is in my hands."
Atlanna caught the Five-Pronged Trident, frowned, and stood up. "What, what exactly do you want to do?"
Su Quan thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "I want you, and I want Atlantis!"
"You're delusional!"
"Yeah?"
Su Quan looked at her with a half-smile, "So you're planning to marry Orm?"
Atlanna hesitated. She truly didn't want to marry Orm, but faced with the fate of the kingdom, Atlanna would still choose to sacrifice herself—
"Would you like to see what your future holds?" Su Quan suddenly asked.
"Buzz!"
An invisible surge of Mind Stone energy flooded her mind, Atlanna suddenly felt a darkness before her eyes. In the blink of an eye, her surroundings changed.
Scenes that seemed to be happening in real time appeared before her eyes, but she could do nothing but watch quietly, like a powerless bystander.
Countless Atlantis soldiers were in pursuit, their Energy Gun firing relentlessly without any mercy. Ahead of the pursuing soldiers, another 'self' was fleeing in a disheveled yet resolute manner.
The merciless fighting continued, with neither she nor the soldiers holding back; it was a true fight to the death!
In the end, she succeeded; she successfully escaped the pursuit and fled Atlantis.
Injured, she came to the surface from the seabed and finally collapsed on the rocks on the shore, washed by the waves.
"I—I'm dead?"
Atlanna looked at her own reflection, lying motionless on the rocks in the darkness, being washed by the waves, and felt a pang of sadness.
Suddenly, the scene changed again.
'He' was discovered by Atlantis soldiers and taken back to Atlantis.
The wedding took place as scheduled.
Time is like a series of still photographs, flashing by quickly. In almost every photograph, the 'self' is like a soulless walking corpse, devoid of any happiness or joy.
Her husband, Orm, didn't love her at all. He was cold and violent towards her. His purpose in marrying her was simply to become royalty and gain power!
Then, 'himself' was judged and was actually sacrificed to the Trench.
The scene ends here, as if signifying the complete end of 'one's' life at this moment!
The frozen image, like the end of a movie, slowly and artistically faded away, Atlanna's gaze returned to reality, back to her room.
She stared blankly at the smiling man for a long while before finally asking, "Is this real? Is this really my future?"
Su Quan shrugged. "Believe me, killing you is easier than lying to you."
Atlanna saw almost all of her real future, but he played a little trick; it was real, but incomplete.
There is no Tower Keeper Tom Curry, no eldest son Aquaman Arthur Curry, and no youngest son with Orm Ocean Master Orm Marius.
Of course, whether these things exist or not is not important. Anyway, Atlanna was indeed caught after running away from her marriage and was indeed sacrificed to the Trench!
Atlanna believed him because the strength he displayed made it easy for him to kill her. If he had any ulterior motives, he could have used a more time-saving and effortless method.
"What's your name?" Atlanna suddenly asked.
Su Quan said with a smile, "Su Quan, you can also call me the Lord of the Void."
He could sense the change in Atlanna's attitude, a change unrelated to him, but rather due to Atlanna's 'future' experiences.
Regardless of the soldiers' merciless pursuit during her escape, Ovax's attitude and purpose towards her Orm was captured, or even her eventual sacrifice to the Trench, all of these were enough to change her mind.
Change her mind about Orm, about the marriage, and about all of Atlantis!
Putting everything else aside, she is the current Queen of Atlantis, and when she ran away from her arranged marriage, those soldiers showed her absolutely no mercy.
Are they trying to take her back? Or are they planning to kill her while they're at it?
After she was captured, she was even tried and sacrificed to the Trench.
She is the Queen of Atlantis, yet Orm can unite with others to judge her.
What does that mean?
This means that Atlantis truly obeyed not her, the Queen, but Orm, who held real power!
Atlanna grew angrier the more she thought about it, and the more she felt that her decision to elope was the right one, because Orm was now powerful and had both real power and an army, and she couldn't do anything to him.
Etc--
Atlanna looked at Su Quan: "You said you want Atlantis?"
Su Quan smiled and said, "And you too."
Atlanna did not refute, but continued to ask, "You want to become the king of Atlantis?"
Su Quan shook his head to her surprise and said with a light laugh, "My territory is much larger than Atlantis, so I have no interest in being the king here."
"However, I'm still quite interested in being the Queen's man."
"If you are willing to follow me, I can help you get rid of Orm, and let you take control of all the power in Atlantis and become the true Queen."
"I can even help you unify the Seven Kingdoms and restore the glory of Atlantis!"
Atlanna calmly asked, "What do I need to give in return?"
"Atlantis's Oceanic Technology, some of its wealth, and some of its Atlantis army that fought for me."
"Of course, there's also the most important thing: your loyalty!"
Atlanna hesitated slightly. If Su Quan could really do what he said, then this little bit of effort was nothing!
Even if the Oceanic Technology is handed over, it will not have much impact on Atlantis, not to mention the wealth. Seventy percent of the Earth is ocean, and if Atlantis can be reunified, the wealth will be inexhaustible.
As for the army that would fight for him, there's not much to say about that. At that time, she could simply send unruly people from other kingdoms to serve Su Quan.
Besides, since it's about loyalty, isn't it only natural to fight for him?
"Really? That's all the conditions?" Atlanna, somewhat incredulous.
Su Quan smiled and said, "You know the Amazons, right?"
Atlanna nodded.
Su Quan said, "The Amazons have been loyal to me for some time now. Their princess lives with me. There is still an Amazons on the shore. If you don't believe me, you can go and ask her yourself."