Throne of Demons

Chapter 6- Too Far Gone

It has been months since the last time Orm saw Arthur when Neron teleported him away. It was December now, and the air in most places became cold and dry. The former King of Atlantis who was still possessed by the demon now hid far away from Atlantis in a small town in Louisiana so as to not draw attention to himself.

He had been training all these months, to prepare himself to take back what was rightfully his. Orm training himself on the surface with the magic of the trident and the addition of Neron's power would be an absolutely unstoppable force. Neron had been particularly quiet for the time being, only rarely popping in to chat with his new friend because Orm played his role so perfectly.

Orm took up residence in an abandoned warehouse. The place was quite small and drafty, but it allowed him to survive. He would often sneak out into the night and go to the ocean to grab a bite to eat and stay hydrated, but would usually come back to his safe house right after.

Orm sometimes had nightmares of people out to kill him, his paranoia was inescapable. He would only wake up from these nightmares from his screams filled with anguish because he let go of the trident that causes him great agony if it wasn't in his hands.

Now, he sat in the darkness with rain pattering outside on broken windows and the wind howling, it was almost cathartic to him. He began to stare at his reflection in a broken mirror. His blond hair was matte from a recent swim in the saltwater and his ocean eyes were so very exhausted. He glanced at the jagged pieces of himself in the mirror and looking back at him was an empty shell of the man he was before. That's all he was now, an empty vessel for this demon. Was Ocean Master the demon, or was Neron? He often contemplated this thought daily.

Atlantis failed him and the surface will pay dearly for that price. He was almost ready to take it all back – all he needed was an army.

No matter though, Orm's thoughts drifted to a rig he discovered when he wandered off in the ocean one night. He heard constant agonizing screams coming from it. After observing and overhearing conversations using his superhuman hearing for almost a week, he discovered that humans were being changed into water-breathers and creatures to work for a man named Lex Luthor. These people, now his people, were forced to work on the rig to aid in polluting the oceans even more. The cruel ironies, Orm thought.

"I'm coming for you, Luthor," Orm vowed to no one in particular.

He put on his helmet and once again looked at the fragmented reflection. It felt wrong as if it wasn't his own – it was the monster's within him. The red glowing eyes of his mask seemed to mock him. Orm looked away and instead turned his gaze to the trident he found at the bottom of a trench months ago. He headed out to the rig in the sea where he would liberate the sea-changed people and build his army.

Arthur, Atlanna, and even Mera have been worrying about Orm for months. Ever since he seemed to teleport away it's been radio silence. Wherever Orm was hiding, he was damn good at it.

Arthur and Atlanna currently sat in the kitchen of the Curry lighthouse drinking tea, they decided to make it a habit every Friday for some mother-and-son bonding time.

"It's been four months, Mom. I doubt he's gonna show up anytime soon," Arthur told Atlanna, who had been panicking the whole time about her other son being missing.

"It's still nice to have some hope," Atlanna replied while smiling weakly and taking a sip of her tea.

When Arthur told her about how Orm tried to sink Gotham, massacred 20 imprisoned Atlanteans, then disappeared, and hasn't been heard from since she's been different. Her heart broke for her son. She hoped he could find redemption after the war he brought upon the kingdoms, but things seemed bleak now.