Hao. The Awakening of the Chosen (Finish)

Chapter 10.5

"All of them arrived at an unknown kingdom for almost everyone, the kingdom of the Aquatics, a realm completely immersed in an ocean. And most of the group had never swum before.Berto was badly wounded, Mafalda knelt before him and begged him to keep fighting for his life. Berto had a spasm, and immediately after, another one. This gave Mafalda hope, and to encourage him to keep going, she spoke kind words about him, describing all the aspects she had fallen in love with. Berto had a much stronger spasm, and when Mafalda was about to kiss him, Berto opened his eyes, met Mafalda's lips, and responded to the kiss.Giorgi approached him and healed the rest of Berto's wounds, Mafalda helped him stand up, and when he managed it after several attempts, she gave him a tight hug. Berto would never forget that, and he also appreciated Mafalda's unconditional love for him, something his parents always said about them. At least until one day his father went off to war and his mother fell ill. Juan recounted the moment, and Berto approached him to give him a hug and whisper thanks.After the intimate moment, they returned to reality. They had two guards captured; they had been apprehended after jumping into the portal with Berto. He suggested releasing both soldiers because they were far from home, and their mothers would be missing them. Unanimously, they accepted the proposal.They also debated their situation; they had to save Lukotico above all. But they didn't know how to get back there. They had all their animals in the stable."Let's not worry about that now. Let's go to sleep; we're all very tired, and tomorrow we'll discuss and find a solution," Juan said, exhausted.Everyone agreed, Gonzalo grumbled a bit but also opposed deliberating at that moment. Together, they summoned a pod of dolphins and rode on their backs to descend to the kingdom of the Aquatics. They had to hold their breath until they reached the main gate.At the city gate, there was an oxygen bubble, allowing the chosen ones to continue breathing. They were asked who they were, and they made up a story about their father sending them to visit a cousin who lived in the kingdom of the Aquatics and bringing their partners along so that their cousin could meet them. The guards didn't fully believe the story until Mafalda grabbed Berto around the waist and gave him a tender kiss on the lips. This solidified the story they were telling the guards. They were allowed to pass.Once inside the kingdom, they had to continue using the dolphins to move around the city. The city was gigantic, rumored to be the largest of the six kingdoms, the second most technologically advanced, only behind the Volcanics. The city was composed of a variety of coral reefs, all different colors, adding splendor to the kingdom. If they looked up, they could see the marine highways, where even newborn seahorses followed along. This surprised the chosen ones since, in their kingdoms, the roads were always chaotic.The palace was located in the center of the city, majestic, painted in rusty pink. Several dozen Union soldiers rode sharks, patrolling around the palace. Looking at the rest of the inhabitants, they noticed they wore a kind of mask covering their noses and mouths, and they thought it might help them breathe through it.Mafalda looked at Natalia; she was struggling as she had never touched the water before. This situation was new for her, and holding her breath was not her best quality. Gonzalo noticed that near the entrance, there was a small shop selling some trinkets, and among all that junk, they sold breathing masks, third or fourth-hand, but still functional. Each one put on their mask and returned to their mounts.They got onto the highway, and immediately a Union army guard stopped them. Seeing that they were very lost, the officer came to help, that is, to show them around the city and its features."Welcome to the kingdom of the Aquatics, with our empress Coralina. I'm Diego, the officer in charge of this area. Here, we're all very organized, but we also have a good time. We have several amphitheaters scattered around the city plus thermal current baths; they are very relaxing, you must try them.Well, where was I? If you look towards the entrance," pointing at the entrance, "you'll see it's the only entrance and exit of the kingdom, mainly for security reasons.As you may have noticed, the palace is located in the center of the city. We have a very generous policy compared to other realms, so the highway passes under the palace for the queen to greet her fellow citizens.On the left wing of the city is the residential area, and on the right wing, you'll find all our science divisions. Would you like to see them?" the guard asked."For my part, that's fine. Now that we have the respirators, we can comfortably go around the city," Juan replied, and the rest agreed with him."Perfect then, follow me, let's go!" the officer exclaimed enthusiastically.The officer showed them all the splendor of the city until they reached the AtlantisBio laboratories. The officer took them to the main entrance, where they met Laura. She was in charge of the experimentation area on the left wing of the laboratory, where, as she explained to those present, they experimented with technologically advanced weapons, even better weapons than those of the Volcanics.They entered through a white service door; according to her, it would be faster this way. According to Laura, if her boss saw them, it could be a problem since they would be entertained too long; she loved talking to guests. Laura showed them the first prototype of the laboratory, called the diffractor, which served to divide matter into its primary elements, very useful for mineral extraction some time ago. Right after, there was a long showcase of awards, honoring the invention.In one of the rooms adjacent to the showcase, there were some residents testing new creations. In the first room, as Laura told them, a new recruit was trying an ion weapon, not as strong as those of the Antler's energy, but enough to disintegrate any armor from any Samiz realm.Next, she presented the armor section, some used by the Union army and others by the empress's private army. Some of them had shields, and others, simply with their colors, reflected their owner. Juan approached the armor; he had been one of the kingdom's blacksmiths and knew about materials. However, at this moment, he couldn't recognize the element used to make that armor; it seemed too advanced. When he asked Laura, she replied that she couldn't give out that information for security reasons. She encouraged them to continue the tour.After finishing the tour, everyone bid farewell, at the laboratory's main entrance. Diego accompanied them to one of the kingdom's hotels as it was getting dark. The guard promised that the next morning, he would accompany them to the city market and visit the Union army access tests, which Juan was interested in.And so it was, when they woke up, they went down to the hotel's entrance, where Diego was with