The Second Mother Box and Sovereignty Over the Seas

Arthur Curry stared blankly at Link, his grip on the trident nearly failing.

Talk?

What was left to talk about?

He had thrown every bargaining chip he had into the trench.

After witnessing Link's reality-defying, utterly unreasonable power, Arthur's last thought of resistance had gone into that endless darkness with them.

He did not fear death, but he could not gamble with the future of all Atlantis.

The man before him had the power to wipe his kingdom off the map at any moment.

Resistance was pointless.

Arthur drew a deep breath of cold seawater and forced himself to calm down. For the first time, compromise and bitterness showed in his defiant eyes.

"Who... are you?" he asked hoarsely.

"Me?" Link smiled. "You can call me Link. As you can see, I'm a Collector with a keen interest in little boxes."

A Collector?

Arthur's mouth twitched. What kind of Collector tossed gods around like trash?

"I can give you the Mother Box." Arthur struggled to get the words out. "But you must promise not to harm my people again, and you must leave my kingdom at once."

It was the last concession he could hope to win.

"Leave?" Link sounded amused. "No, I think you've misunderstood. I never 'leave' what belongs to me."

He raised a finger and wagged it.

"From the moment I set foot here, Atlantis—and you along with it—became my spoils of war."

"You!" Arthur's anger flared again.

"Don't be so quick to anger, Arthur Curry," Link interrupted. "Being my 'spoils' isn't all bad. At least it's better than being King of a kingdom on the brink of destruction."

He paused, his voice turning enticing.

"Submit to me, and I'll grant you power beyond anything you've imagined. The true authority of the King of the Seven Seas."