Back in the stone house, she had barely managed to maintain her queenly bearing, using the phrase "agree to your terms" to preserve her last shred of dignity.
But now Karathen was as docile as a sardine beneath his feet. The Trench huddled in the crevices, afraid to show their faces, and even Poseidon could not intimidate him.
She slowly loosened her grip on his shoulder armor and leaned back. Piece by piece, she shed the posture of the "Queen of Atlantis" and assembled herself into something else...
A subordinate.
Yongye sensed the change in her body language. He did not look back, but the corner of his mouth curved slightly.
At his command, Karathen plunged into the deep sea again. Its enormous body shot toward the deepest reaches of the Mariana Trench like a launched torpedo.
The farther they descended, the colder the water grew and the greater the pressure became. Dark Kurenai patterns appeared on the trench walls, scorched there by some ancient energy. They pulsed faintly in the darkness like veins.
Atlanna stood behind Yongye with her arms around his waist and her cheek pressed against his back. She closed her eyes, no longer watching the darkness swallowing everything outside.
A few minutes later, Karathen stopped. Its massive body hovered directly above an enormous fissure. It drew in all its tentacles, lowered its head, and let out the submissive whine of a dog greeting its master.
Below the fissure, a pale white light slowly swirled.
Yongye glanced down, then patted Karathen on the head. "Go back. Wait outside."
Karathen turned and raced upward at a speed utterly at odds with its size, as though it had been granted a pardon. In the blink of an eye, it vanished into the darkness above the abyss.
What came next