Chapter 11:

Chapter 11:

-Xebel, Atlantis

-27 February 2003

Namor floated in the dark abyss, his body aching as an intense pain coursed through every muscle. His consciousness slowly returned, as if he was emerging from a deep sleep where reality felt distant and fragmented. When he opened his eyes, all he could see was darkness—thick, impenetrable darkness that seemed to swallow everything around him. He tried to move, but immediately let out a groan of pain. His mind slowly began to piece together the events that had led him here.

"Yeah... I definitely messed up the power of that spell underwater," Namor grunted to himself. His mind was still foggy, but he could clearly remember what had happened: he had unleashed his most powerful spell with his wand—a tornado of water so strong that it not only blasted the creature away from Xebel, but also hurled him across the ocean depths.

'I should've thought more about the consequences...' he thought, gently touching his sore ribs. His Atlantean body hadn't been able to withstand the pressure, and the impact had violently flung him to the bottom of the ocean.

'This wouldn't have happened if I had just transformed' he thought with frustration. He had fallen deep—so deep that practically nothing was visible at all.

Finally, after one last effort, Namor forced himself to mutter the word he always kept ready for moments like this:

"Shazam"

A bolt of energy enveloped him underwater, and in an instant, Namor transformed into the imposing figure of Captain Marvel. In a split second, all the fatigue and pain disappeared. His body surged with that unmistakable feeling of renewed power, that torrent of energy that always raced through his veins whenever he transformed.

'Yup, much better…' he thought as he moved his arms with ease, feeling the immense strength that came with his transformation. The pain was now just a memory, and he no longer had to deal with the exhaustion he felt in his atlantean form.

Now transformed, he decided not to waste any time. He needed to explore his surroundings. He floated in a damp, rocky cave, buried deep in the ocean depths of Xebel. The pressure at this depth was immense, but to Captain Marvel, it was barely an inconvenience. He couldn't stay in that dark, unknown place for long. With a powerful surge, he blasted out of the cave at high speed, the water swirling around him in spirals as he ascended.

When he finally emerged from the cave and got his bearings, he realized he was inside some sort of massive underwater tunnel. The walls of the tunnel seemed natural, but there was also a strange energy in the place. It didn't take long before his magical sensitivity picked up on something else. A powerful, ancient magical presence could be felt the deeper he went into the tunnel.

The magical signature seemed to be quite deep, so he would have to dive much further into the ocean to figure out where it was coming from. In fact, he had only been able to sense this magic thanks to the heightened sensitivity he had in his Captain Marvel form.

"What the hell is this?" he wondered, swimming in the direction of the magic source. He had never felt anything this strong before—not in Xebel. Curiosity overtook him. That magical signature was unique, and the idea of discovering something of this magnitude was far too tempting.

He increased his speed, swimming faster down the tunnel, and after several minutes of diving deeper into the ocean, the path opened up to a sight that left Namor—now as Captain Marvel—speechless.

"No way..."

In front of him lay the lost ruins of the ancient capital city of Atlantis. Legends he had read during his time in Xebel spoke of this lost city, a place believed to have been destroyed thousands of years ago. And yet, there it was, deep in the underoceans of Xebel, covered in debris, but unmistakably majestic. Great statues loomed over the ruins, the most imposing of all being that of the legendary king Arion.

No one had ever been sure where these ruins were actually located, though there had been plenty of speculation...

'So... I've just made the biggest discovery in the history of Atlantis...' he thought. 'And by pure dam luck'

Excitement filled him, but he didn't have much time to reflect.

Just then, massive and aggressive sea creatures began to emerge from the shadows of the ruins, drawn to his presence. Creatures of all kinds—some resembling sea serpents, several meters long, with sharp teeth and armored skin; others were giant crabs with dark, rock-like shells covered in numerous sharp spikes, particularly on their claws and near their mouths, with even larger spikes on their backs.

These enormous creatures quickly surrounded him, but as Captain Marvel, he was even faster. The sound of their movements echoed through the water, and a quick glance at their hungry eyes was enough for Marvel to understand what they wanted: to make him their next meal.

'Perfect...' he thought with a mix of sarcasm and excitement. 'At least now I can have some fun'

He had wanted to fight the giant creature from the meteor earlier as Captain Marvel since it would've finally been an exciting battle. So far, nothing had been able to match the overwhelming strength of his transformation. Unfortunately, he hadn't been able to join that fight as Marvel, and worse, he had ended up badly injured in his atlantean form.

Though he had to admit, he was pretty proud of pulling off his ace in the hole as Namor against that strange creature. His efforts to learn magic had paid off.

His thoughts were interrupted as the monsters attacked all at once, their massive bodies moving swiftly underwater. But Captain Marvel wasn't some defenseless Atlantean. With the speed of lightning and the strength of a god, he dodged one of the creatures and punched another square in the jaw, sending it flying into a ruined column that collapsed under the impact. The water bubbled and churned with every movement.

He felt a little guilty destroying such important ruins during the fight, but he decided to ignore that for now and focus on handling the situation.

Two more creatures lunged at him from the sides, their jaws open, ready to tear him apart. But with a quick flick of his hand, he summoned a small magical water tornado that sent them flying backward, stunned by the force of the impact. Yes, having a body practically overflowing with magical energy made it much easier for him to control magic. He didn't even need his wand to help him, and he could even replicate spells without having to chant the necessary incantations... though not saying the words significantly weakened the spell. But unless it was necessary, he didn't see the point in wasting time with words—not when he had fists this powerful.

The fight was fast-paced and brutal, but the reality was that Marvel didn't even have to use a significant portion of his power to dodge or defeat the creatures that kept coming from the depths. Though they were strong, none of them could compare to the speed and strength of Captain Marvel.

Finally, after what felt like hours of fighting, the area fell silent. The defeated bodies of the creatures floated nearby or retreated, either scared off by his overwhelming strength or by the sight of their own bloody, dead companions around them.

Marvel took a deep breath, his energy still as strong as it had been at the start. Yeah, that's why he love this transformation... Not even tired after all that. Now do you see why this tranformation is practically addictive?

"Well… now that we're done with that…" he murmured, swimming toward the source of the magic he had sensed earlier. The magical energy was getting stronger, his magical senses buzzing with intensity. Something incredibly powerful was buried here.

He kept swimming until he reached what looked like a small rocky formation at the end of the ruins, and there, half-buried in the seabed, he found what he had been looking for: a golden crown. As soon as he held it in his hands, he knew immediately that this was the source of the magical energy he had sensed. The crown radiated a unique, strong energy, but strangely, it wasn't evil. There was something pure about it, something that hinted at its origin.

'This isn't just any magic…' he thought. 'It's powerful… but not destructive'

However, something inside him warned him not to take it lightly. This kind of magic, though not malevolent, came with risks. It was likely that only someone worthy could use it without facing terrible consequences. Yup, all those books he'd read in the endless library at the Rock of Eternity had been useful.

"Hmm, I'll have to be careful with this…" he murmured as he examined the crown closely. "But for now, I'll just stash it at the Rock of Eternity, and then... well, then I'll figure out where all this power comes from"

Decided, he said, "Enternus!" to enter his personal lair, and there he stored the crown in a safe place.

Once that was done, he started contemplating his next move—whether to return to Xebel as Namor right away or scout the situation first as Captain Marvel.

He couldn't be sure if he had defeated the creature with that spell, so the safest move would be to take advantage of the fact that no one knew where Namor was and deal with the creature as Marvel if it was still alive. Then he could reappear as Namor in Xebel—although he'd also have to come up with a believable explanation for what had happened and where he'd been.