Chapter 1048: The Daughter of Poseidon

Strax returned to Asgard’s medical wing shortly after finding the mysterious trident. Throughout the entire walk, the Gauntlet of Darkness remained restless, emitting small vibrations that became more frequent the closer he got to Ariel’s room.

It was already starting to annoy him.

When he arrived, he found Frieren finishing another examination. Ariel remained seated on the bed, now with her human legs outside the sheets, while the former elf checked the mana circulation in her arms.

"Can she receive visitors now?" Strax asked while entering the room and observing the two.

"She can, as long as you don’t encourage her to stand up." Frieren replied while removing her fingers from Ariel’s wrist and putting away her instruments.

Ariel immediately grimaced.

"I can already walk." Ariel complained while looking at Frieren, apparently tired of repeating that information.

"You can take a few steps. There’s a difference." Frieren corrected while gathering her notes and standing from the chair.

Strax looked at Ariel with an amused smile.

"Already trying to escape?" Strax asked while approaching the bed and putting one hand in his pocket.

"I’m not trying to escape. I just want to get out of this room." Ariel replied while crossing her arms and watching Frieren walk toward the door.

"Then keep recovering." Frieren recommended before leaving, leaving the two alone.

Strax waited for the door to close.

Then pulled the chair over and sat in front of the princess.

"I found something in the sea and wanted to know if you recognize it." Strax explained while removing a small object from his pocket and placing it on the palm protected by the Gauntlet of Darkness.

Ariel tilted her head.

It was a ring.

Its blue-silver metallic structure held an extremely bright sapphire, and small inscriptions ran across the surface of the band.

Her expression changed immediately.

"Wait..." Ariel murmured while leaning forward, forgetting Frieren’s recommendation for a few seconds.

Strax noticed.

"So you know it." Strax commented while carefully observing the princess’s reaction.

Ariel extended one hand, but stopped before touching the object.

"Where did you find this?" Ariel asked while her eyes remained fixed on the sapphire.

"In the middle of the Black Ice. We were opening a path to free part of the coast when Daniela found the ring trapped between two layers." Strax explained while slowly moving his hand.

Ariel continued observing the jewel.

"It was in the ocean?" Ariel asked while seeming genuinely surprised by that information.

"It was. But that’s not the interesting part." Strax replied while closing his fingers around the ring.

The Gauntlet reacted immediately.

The black chains trembled, and a small amount of violet energy began running across the metal plates.

The sapphire glowed.

Strax opened his hand.

In an instant, the small ring began to grow.

The band unfolded into elongated metallic structures, the sapphire shifted to the center of a bluish formation and three blades appeared at the upper end.

Ariel widened her eyes.

A second later, Strax was holding an enormous bluish trident, its shaft stretching until it nearly touched the ceiling of the room.

Divine energy flowed through the weapon.

The Gauntlet vibrated even more intensely.

"Is this yours?" Strax asked while resting the lower end of the trident against the floor and observing the princess.

Ariel remained still for several seconds.

Then slowly nodded.

"It’s mine... and it’s not mine." Ariel replied while her expression showed a mixture of surprise and recognition.

Strax raised an eyebrow.

"That answer doesn’t help much." Strax commented while subtly rotating the weapon to observe the inscriptions near the sapphire.

Ariel let out a small laugh.

"Sorry. I just never imagined I’d find this weapon here." Ariel explained while looking back at the trident.

She extended her hand and carefully touched the shaft.

A small blue light appeared beneath her fingers.

Strax noticed that the weapon showed no resistance whatsoever to her touch.

"Actually, it belongs to my father." Ariel clarified while tracing one of the inscriptions with the tip of her finger.

Strax stopped.

Her father.

He looked at the trident.

Then at Ariel.

The Gauntlet vibrated again.

Strax began to suspect he was about to hear an extremely inconvenient answer.

"What’s your father’s name?" Strax asked while keeping his voice calm, although his attention was completely focused on the princess.

Ariel answered without any hesitation.

"Poseidon." Ariel said while continuing to observe the weapon, apparently not noticing the expression appearing on Strax’s face.

He froze.

Ariel continued naturally.

"He was sealed a long time ago, but he’s still my father. I never got to meet him personally, but..." Ariel began explaining while finally raising her eyes toward Strax.

And stopped.

The man was literally standing there with his mouth open.

Ariel blinked.

"Strax?" Ariel called while slowly removing her hand from the trident, not understanding why he looked like he had just discovered something absurd.

Strax did not answer immediately.

Poseidon.

The God of the Seas.

The brother of Zeus and Hades.

The only one of the three great gods he had not yet met.

And that small mermaid, who had spent three days unconscious in Asgard’s infirmary, had just casually said she was his daughter.

A demigoddess.

Strax looked at Ariel again.

Then at the Gauntlet of Darkness.

The violet lines continued pulsing, and one of the small chains seemed to stretch subtly toward the princess.

Finally, everything was beginning to make sense.

"Ah, so that’s why this thing won’t stop pointing at her..." Strax murmured to himself while slowly raising the arm covered by the Gauntlet and observing the almost insistent reaction of the artifact.

Ariel tilted her head.

"This thing?" Ariel asked while looking at the Gauntlet with a confused expression.

Strax slowly exhaled.

He had spent days trying to figure out why that girl carried an absurd amount of divine energy.

He had considered the possibility that she was a priestess, a servant, someone blessed by Poseidon or simply a victim who had absorbed part of his power during the calamity.

The answer was much simpler.

She was his daughter.

"You’re a demigoddess." Strax concluded while finally looking at Ariel again.

The princess nodded as if that were the most normal information in the world.

"Yes." Ariel confirmed while observing his expression with growing curiosity.

Strax ran his free hand over his face.

"Of course you are." Strax replied while letting out an incredulous laugh and looking again at the enormous trident in his hand.

Ariel began to smile.

"You look surprised." Ariel commented while settling more comfortably against the pillows.

"A little." Strax admitted while observing the divine weapon and then the princess.

He remained quiet for a few seconds.

Then another part of the answer finally hit him.

Ariel had not only said that Poseidon was her father.

She had said he was sealed.

Strax slowly looked at her again.

"Wait." Strax said while his expression changed once more.

Ariel raised her eyebrows.

"Did you just say Poseidon was sealed?" Strax asked while adjusting the trident more securely against the floor.

"Yes." Ariel confirmed while seeming not to understand why that information surprised him even more than her own identity.

Strax stared at her.

Then let out a long breath.

He had gone to that room expecting to discover who a ring belonged to.

Now he had a demigoddess sitting in front of him, was holding a divine weapon and had just discovered that the God of the Seas was sealed somewhere.

And he still needed to understand why the entire ocean had gone mad.

"Okay. I think our conversation is going to be a little longer than I expected." Strax commented while pulling the chair closer to the bed and sitting down again.

Ariel smiled.

"I have time." Ariel replied while adjusting her red hair over her shoulder and casting an amused glance toward the door.

Strax followed her gaze.

The princess shrugged.

"Frieren won’t let me leave here anyway." Ariel added while looking back at her father’s trident.

Strax laughed quietly.

At least one thing was resolved.

He finally knew why the Gauntlet of Darkness had been so restless ever since Ariel arrived in Asgard.

Strax rested the trident beside the chair and looked at Ariel again. The princess seemed much calmer than he was, despite having just revealed information that completely changed how he understood the events of the last few days.

"Let’s start with the most important thing. How did Poseidon end up sealed?" Strax asked while crossing his arms and waiting for an explanation.

Ariel tilted her head slightly, apparently trying to decide where to begin.

"I don’t know all the details. It happened before I was born, and my mother never liked talking much about it." Ariel explained while adjusting her long red hair over one shoulder.

Strax nodded.

"But do you know who did it?" Strax asked while observing the sapphire set beneath the three blades of the trident.

Ariel slowly shook her head.

"Not exactly. There are records in Atlantis, but many are old and some parts were hidden even from the royal family." Ariel replied while her expression became slightly more serious.

Strax did not like that.

He had dealt with enough divine secrets to know that hidden information usually ended up becoming enormous problems.

"And your mother? Did she know Poseidon personally?" Strax asked while returning his attention to Ariel.

"She did. I was born after he was sealed." Ariel confirmed while resting her hands on her lap.

Strax remained silent for a few seconds.

"Then your mother knows much more than you do." Strax concluded while beginning to consider the possibility that he might need to personally visit Atlantis.

"Probably. But she always avoided talking about him with me." Ariel replied while shifting her eyes toward the trident.

She remained observing the weapon for a few seconds.

"When I was little, I asked why my father never appeared. My mother said he was in a place he couldn’t leave." Ariel explained while slowly running her fingers over the sheet.

Strax listened without interrupting.

"Later I found out he’d been sealed. But I never knew exactly why." Ariel continued while letting out a small sigh.

Strax rested his elbow on the arm of the chair.

"You never tried to find out?" Strax asked while examining her expression.

"Of course I tried. But Atlantis is a very old kingdom, Strax. There are things even a princess can’t simply demand to be told." Ariel replied while shrugging.

Strax let out a small laugh.

"I imagine that was pretty irritating." Strax commented while remembering how he himself would react if someone tried to hide information about his family.

"Extremely." Ariel confirmed while smiling faintly.

Strax’s gaze returned to the trident.

"And this weapon? You said it’s yours and it isn’t yours." Strax asked while pointing toward the bluish structure resting beside them.

Ariel followed the movement.

"Because it belongs to my father. It’s one of the things he left behind, so it’s also part of the royal family’s inheritance." Ariel explained while observing the sapphire.

She extended her hand.

This time, Strax allowed her to touch the weapon.

Ariel’s delicate fingers met the metal shaft.

A faint blue glow appeared immediately.

"I had seen this trident in Atlantis before, but I was never able to make it assume its true form." Ariel revealed while watching the light slowly disappear beneath her fingers.

Strax raised an eyebrow.

"You’re saying I managed to activate a weapon that even Poseidon’s own daughter couldn’t use?" Strax asked while looking at the Gauntlet of Darkness.

Ariel nodded.

"Basically." Ariel replied while seeming just as intrigued as he was.

Strax looked at the weapon.

Then at the Gauntlet.

"Great. One more thing that doesn’t make sense." Strax murmured while moving the fingers covered by the black plates.

Ariel let out a small laugh.

"Do you say that often?" Ariel asked while observing his expression.

"Lately, yes." Strax replied while resting his head against the back of the chair.

Ariel continued looking at the Gauntlet.

"Can I ask something?" Ariel questioned while discreetly pointing toward his arm.

Strax nodded.

"What exactly is that? Ever since you came in, it hasn’t stopped reacting." Ariel asked while following a small black chain moving near Strax’s wrist.

He raised his arm.

"Gauntlet of Darkness. It was created from Hades’ Helm of Darkness." Strax explained while observing the violet lines emit another small pulse.

Ariel froze.

"Hades?" Ariel repeated while her eyes widened.

"Yes." Strax confirmed while seeming to find nothing particularly surprising about that information.

Ariel looked again at the trident.

Then at the Gauntlet.

"You have a relic of Hades and you’re holding Poseidon’s trident?" Ariel asked while her expression became progressively more incredulous.

Strax thought for a moment.

"When you put it that way, it really does sound strange." Strax admitted while shrugging.

Ariel kept staring at him.

"You know who they are, right?" Ariel asked while beginning to suspect Strax did not completely understand the significance of those relics.

"Zeus, Hades and Poseidon. The three great brothers." Strax replied while calmly listing the names.

Ariel nodded.

"Exactly." Ariel confirmed while pointing toward the Gauntlet.

Strax smiled.

"I met Hades. Zeus too, unfortunately." Strax commented while remembering the completely different circumstances under which he had encountered the two gods.

Ariel opened her mouth.

Then closed it.

"You met both of them?" Ariel asked while leaning forward, momentarily forgetting her own condition.

"Yes. Hades died some time ago, during a conflict involving the Titans." Strax explained while his expression lost some of its amusement.

Ariel became completely still.

"Hades... died?" Ariel asked while seeming to have difficulty believing that information.

Strax nodded.

"He died preventing a much worse situation from happening. It’s a long story." Strax replied while observing her reaction.

Ariel brought one hand to her mouth.

She had grown up hearing stories about the three great gods.

Poseidon, her father.

Zeus, ruler of the skies.

Hades, lord of the underworld.

The idea that one of them was simply dead seemed almost impossible.

"I didn’t know." Ariel murmured while slowly lowering her hand.

"I imagine news from the underworld doesn’t reach the bottom of the ocean very easily." Strax commented while looking back at the Gauntlet.

Ariel remained thoughtful.

Then a question appeared.

"You said you met Zeus too. What is he like?" Ariel asked while showing a curiosity that seemed to have existed for a long time.

Strax let out a sigh.

"A problem." Strax replied while his expression made it clear he had no good memories of that encounter.

Ariel blinked.

"That’s not a description." Ariel commented while crossing her arms.

"It’s the most polite one I can offer." Strax replied while a small smile appeared on his face.

Ariel ended up laughing.

Strax used that moment to return to the main subject.

"There’s something else I need to ask." Strax said while his expression became serious again.

Ariel paid attention.

"When you were hit in the ocean, did you feel anything similar to your father’s presence?" Strax asked while carefully observing any change in her expression.

Ariel fell silent.

The question seemed simple.

But the answer was not.

"I never knew my father. I don’t know what his presence is supposed to feel like." Ariel explained while lowering her eyes toward her own hands.

Strax understood immediately.

"But you know his divine energy?" Strax asked while pointing toward the trident.

Ariel slowly nodded.

"A little. There are relics in Atlantis that carry that energy, and I also have part of it inside me." Ariel replied while placing one hand over her chest.

Strax observed the movement.

"And the energy that hit you?" Strax pressed while leaning slightly forward.

Ariel closed her eyes.

For several seconds, she tried to recover the memories from before the accident.

Water.

Pressure.

An absurd amount of mana passing through the depths.

Then that sensation.

A presence.

She opened her eyes.

"It felt familiar." Ariel replied while slightly frowning.

Strax became attentive.

"Familiar how?" Strax asked while remaining still.

"Like something I should recognize, but couldn’t." Ariel explained while searching for better words.

She brought her hand back to her chest.

"It was extremely strong. I’ve never felt that much energy gathered in a single place." Ariel continued while her expression showed discomfort as she remembered the sensation.

Strax remained quiet.

"But it didn’t seem like it wanted to hurt me." Ariel added while finally raising her eyes.

Strax frowned.

"You almost died." Strax reminded her while discreetly pointing toward the bed.

"I know. I’m just saying it didn’t feel like an attack directed at me." Ariel explained while lightly pressing her fingers into the sheet.

That was interesting.

Strax had considered the possibility that someone had attacked Atlantis or even Ariel directly.

But, if she was right, perhaps she had simply been hit because she happened to be in the path of something much larger.

"Did you feel anything similar after waking up?" Strax asked while remembering the presence that continued calling to him from the ocean.

Ariel immediately raised her head.

"Yes!" Ariel replied while her eyes widened.

Strax became still.

"When I went to the window, I felt something coming from the sea. It was like it was calling me." Ariel explained while pointing toward the room’s window.

Strax slowly exhaled.

So it wasn’t only him.

"I’m feeling it too." Strax revealed while observing surprise appear on the princess’s face.

Ariel tilted her head.

"You too?" Ariel asked while seeming to finally find someone who understood that sensation.

"For several days. Something extremely powerful is in the depths, but I can’t identify exactly where." Strax explained while briefly looking toward the trident.

Ariel remained thoughtful.

"Maybe it’s my father." Ariel suggested while her expression showed a mixture of hope and concern.

Strax considered the possibility.

Poseidon was sealed.

The ocean had gone mad.

His daughter had been struck by an absurd amount of divine energy.

And now one of his weapons had appeared frozen near Asgard.

The sequence was far too suspicious to ignore.

"Maybe." Strax agreed while keeping his eyes on the sapphire.

He did not want to claim Poseidon was awakening without any concrete evidence.

But he could not dismiss the possibility either.

Ariel observed the trident.

"Do you think his seal could be weakening?" Ariel asked while her expression became more serious.

"It’s a possibility. But there could also be something trying to reach him, or simply some other source of divine power causing all of this." Strax replied while avoiding turning suspicions into conclusions.

Ariel slowly nodded.

Then looked at him.

"Do you intend to investigate?" Ariel asked while seeming to already know the answer.

Strax let out a small laugh.

"Considering the ocean nearly destroyed my city, I don’t think I have much choice." Strax replied while standing from the chair.

Ariel immediately straightened her posture.

"I want to go with you." Ariel declared while moving the sheets aside slightly.

Strax looked at her legs.

Then at the princess’s face.

"You can barely cross the room." Strax reminded her while pointing toward the bed.

Ariel grimaced.

"I’m getting better." Ariel argued while moving her feet to demonstrate.

Strax crossed his arms.

"When you can walk without Frieren having to carry you back, we can talk." Strax replied while an amused smile appeared on his face.

Ariel sighed.

"You two are very similar." Ariel complained while settling back against the pillows.

Strax laughed.

"I’ll take that as a compliment." Strax replied while picking up the trident again.

The weapon reacted to the Gauntlet’s touch.

The violet lines glowed.

The bluish metal began contracting, and within a few seconds the enormous trident returned to the form of a small sapphire ring.

Strax observed the object for a moment.

Then extended his hand toward Ariel.

"It’s a relic of your father. I think it should stay with you." Strax said while keeping the ring on his open palm.

Ariel looked at the jewel.

Then at Strax.

"Are you sure?" Ariel asked while seeming surprised that he would simply offer a divine weapon of such importance.

Strax shrugged.

"I have no reason to steal the inheritance of a girl I just met." Strax replied while moving his hand slightly closer.

Ariel smiled.

She extended her fingers.

The instant she touched the sapphire, a small wave of blue energy ran through the ring.

The Gauntlet of Darkness responded immediately.

The black chains trembled.

Strax narrowed his eyes.

Ariel noticed too.

The ring began emitting a stronger glow, but did not grow again.

Instead, small blue lines appeared across the surface of the sapphire.

Ariel became still.

A familiar sensation passed through her chest.

The same presence.

The same call.

Only much closer.

"Strax..." Ariel murmured while carefully holding the ring between her fingers.

He noticed the change in her expression.

"What is it?" Strax asked while keeping the Gauntlet nearby, prepared to remove the object if the energy began hurting her.

Ariel slowly looked toward the window.

"I can feel it again." Ariel replied while her eyes remained fixed in the direction of the ocean.

Strax turned his head.

That presence had also intensified for him.

For an instant, it seemed much closer to Asgard.

The Gauntlet vibrated violently.

Then everything stopped.

The sapphire lost its glow.

The black chains became still.

And the pressure disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.

Ariel remained looking toward the window.

Strax returned his eyes to the ring.

"Interesting." Strax murmured while beginning to consider a new possibility.

Ariel looked at him.

"Do you know what happened?" Ariel asked while carefully holding the jewel against her chest.

Strax shook his head.

"Not yet. But I think this weapon might help us discover where that call is coming from." Strax replied while observing the sapphire, now completely still.

Ariel nodded.

"Then I’ll take good care of it." Ariel promised while closing her fingers around the ring.

Strax smiled.

"Good. Just don’t try to activate it while your mana channels are still damaged." Strax recommended while moving away from the bed.

Ariel grimaced slightly.

"Are you going to forbid me from using magic too?" Ariel asked while seeming to be getting tired of the restrictions.

"Not me. Frieren probably will." Strax replied while walking toward the door.

Ariel sighed.

"She already did." Ariel admitted while observing the ring in her hand.

Strax laughed again.

"Then listen to your doctor." Strax replied before opening the door.

Ariel raised her eyes.

"Strax." Ariel called while he stopped at the entrance.

He turned his face.

"Thank you. For helping me and for giving this back." Ariel thanked him while holding the small relic with both hands.

Strax nodded.

"Recover. Then we’ll figure out what happened to Atlantis." Strax replied while leaving the room and closing the door behind him.

Ariel remained looking at the ring.

Throughout her entire life, she had heard stories about Poseidon.

A father she had never known.

A god who remained sealed somewhere unknown.

Now one of his relics had unexpectedly appeared before her.

Ariel ran her thumb over the sapphire.

For an instant, the stone emitted a very faint glow.

She did not notice.

Outside, Strax walked down the corridor while observing the Gauntlet of Darkness.

The chains remained still again.

But he had already learned one thing.

That small mermaid was not merely a victim of the calamity.

She was directly connected to the mystery surrounding the ocean.

And if Poseidon truly was beginning to awaken, Strax needed to discover why before another wave of energy struck Asgard.