✔ᵉⁿᵍˡⁱˢʰ for the Ocean [Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom]✔

09

It was worse than expected. Much worse.

Even from underwater, you could see the sky above gradually turning greenish. The orichalcum was actually being released into the atmosphere from here.

Around the clock, for five months, day and night without interruption, a cloud of orichalcum was released from the volcano into the air.

To say that it was "just in time" is a bit of a misnomer, because the damage was already enormous, but the help came at the right time.

The Brothers were in the process of destroying the Orichalcum plant inside the volcano and had a fight with Manta, who was trying to stop them and kill the two Antlanters when Nereus called for an attack. The entire island was to be destroyed.

It didn't take long for the island to resemble Pompeii after Vesuvius erupted and went out. It would take a long time, if ever, for the island to recover. Nature will find its way, it always does, but it will take time.

"I doubt that this makes it any better," Norvina said uncertainly at the smoky sight of the destroyed island as the group went ashore on a small neighboring non-island, "even if the orichalcum is no longer in the air, the rest is probably still underwater and the containers may have been damaged during the destruction. What if the stuff went directly into the water?"

"It was probably all destroyed in the explosion," Arthur said, walking to a piece of rock with Mera's help, "they burned most of it a long time ago."

"And that, you know, from where exactly?" Norvina replied caustically, looking at Arthur challengingly, "Oh yes, you, Your Majesty, are all-seeing and all-knowing. Why didn't you discover the problem sooner..."

"Mistakes were made," Mera interjected, raising her hand and clenching it into a fist, not wanting an argument to get out of hand and searching for the right words, "Right now.... The first thing to do now is to stop David Kane, everything else will follow. It won't do anybody any good if we go at each other now."

Wrong. An understatement. Disinterest is more than just one or more mistakes that have been made.

Norvina?

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For all those who have complained in previous chapters. I ask for feedback and if nothing comes back, nobody needs to complain that some things are shorter or not taken up.