10 advance chapters in my pat.reon at pat.reon.com/Saintbarbido.
Guys the Atlantis arc is a way for Jin to get some magic and for me to explore some original concepts. He's still going to go back to Central city to kill Thawne and stuff. I revel in the hate. GIVE ME MOOOORREEEEE
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I turned around and what I saw shook me to my very core. A dome of energy was covering a city that stretched out for miles. This has to be… Atlantis. What else would an underwater city be? The structure of the buildings while looking futuristic also possessed distinct traits of Greek architecture. The second thing I noticed was that the city looked to be in shambles. Debris lied around the shiny marble wrecked buildings in a scene akin to that of dystopian novels.
"Wow."
"I know… despite it's deteriorated image, it must have been a beautiful city."
I vaguely felt the shaking of Yuki's head through our link.
"I'm not talking about that. Breathe in the energy coming from the city, Jin. It's…simply breath taking."
She said that last part with a relaxed sigh.
"Ooookay…"
Hope the lil Loli wasn't getting high. I shudder to think of that possibility.
I spread my hands out and although I couldn't breathe it in, I let myself immerse into the gentle flow of the water around me. The thing calling out to me was still there and taking a chance I delved deeper into that feeling. I started falling and falling into a deep hole before finally…I felt it. Not overwhelming power, or unending strength. Instead it was simple at it's base. Encompassing every drop around me for me miles and miles. Magnitudes higher than anything I had ever felt before though not to the level of the speed force.
"If you get what is giving off that aura and combine it with our power…you will become unbelievably powerful Jin."
I cocked my head to the side.
"How powerful?"
"Hahaha. The you from now will be like a baby compared to the you from then."
"Oh. So you mean that powerful huh?"
I was not weak. Not when counting on the fact that I could beat Barry with my eyes closed. Not the best comparison, I know but I could take Thawne down 9 times out of 10. 9 times because fate was a bitch and the plot would definitely derail someone's plan all for the sake of causing more chaos in the future. Fictional worlds tended to be more… dramatic in a sense. I had seen it while living here for almost a year. Everything around me sort of had a surreal vibe about it.
I shook my head from my distracting thoughts and smiled.
"What do you say we check it out Yuki?"
"Yes! yes! yes!"
Came the cheerful reply of my companion. Laughing, I swam towards the city fast. The dome became larger and larger but we were still a distance away. Nearing the city, that's when I fully realized just how big it really was. The damn thing just got bigger and bigger as it filled up my sight.
"Whoa..."
Yuki fully expressed what I was feeling.
I came upon contact with the dome and slowly brought my hand forward to touch it. A ripple erupted from the contact point and spread out evenly on the dome. I pushed my hand deeper and breached it's surface. The skin of my hand felt like it had been immersed into a soft and malleable substance. I could feel that the same wouldn't have worked for anyone else. Something about my demigod bloodline was allowing me entry inside.
Next, my whole body followed. The weird suction force on my body made me shudder once in. Inside, the city was even grander than I'd previously seen. The aquatic weed growing on the buildings especially made it stand out in showing just how old it was. Even though the image of tangled vines suffocating the rock gave me a weird feeling. Schools of fishes swam around me. Most of the species were unknown to me and I guessed that the energy safeguarding the place had had a direct influence on the change of their genetic make-up.
I gently sank to the floor of the seabed that was laid out in marble.
"Hey Yuki...I wanna try something real quick. Tell me if it feels weird."
I told her and started concentrating. In this place my power was further enhanced even in the state of merging with Yuki. So I was strong enough to do this...I hoped. A blob of divine water formed at my front. The drop took on a different hue and shine as compared to the water surrounding it.
"Can you connect to the divine water and form a body? It's better if you were able to see these sights for yourself."
"Really?...I mean yeah. I think I can...do it."
The last part she finished in her newly formed body. The divine water had shrunk and twisted upon itself Infront of my eyes before finally forming into the adorable figure of my crown of water.
"Wheeee..."
She started flying around the place animatedly while touching anything close to her.
"Don't ..."
Arg! She ran off anyway. I increased my speed and followed the little pipsqueak. As energetic as ever, she ducked around the buildings touching everything in a little kid's glee. Actually, she really was a kid.
"Aaah Jin!!!!"
My heart skipped a beat and I blasted off around the corner to see what was wrong.
"Yuki!"
I shouted and formed a sword in my hands before jumping in swinging and hacking at the weeds that were entangling her.
I managed to free her from the creeping plants and we backed away. She was breathing heavily with a look of fear in her eyes. I knew something was up with these vines!
"What happened?"
"I was just flying around...and...and these things started trying to...to choke me. Jin, I think we should leave."
I shook my head. We couldn't leave. Not now. The answers to most of my questions were so close and if we turned back now, I had a feeling that I would regret it for the rest of my life.
"We can't Yuki. We need to go on, I promise I won't let anything happen to you, ok?"
Yuki wasn't convinced and when she started talking again, I stopped and listened. Partly because of her words and partly because of the terrified look on her face.
"You don't understand! When those things touched my skin, they sucked my strength out of me. That's why I shouted. If you hadn't come when you did..."
She lost her power?
"Do you still have access to your abilities?"
I inquired while watching the vines twining around the buildings stretch out towards us.
She nodded and flew up to hug my shoulder.
"What are these things Jin?"
I didn't know how to answer her.
"Get ready."
So I simply said and fell into a stance. The water around us energized me to untold limits but I speculated that just like Yuki, one touch and I would be helpless. So I would have to do this from range.
I controlled the water to slice and shred the vines creeping up to us and for a minute it worked. Then a glow of blood red color started covering the vines and they got even harder to destroy. I froze the entire street and once the ice shattered into little bits, half of the vines were gone. Everything was silent before an ominous feeling fell upon me.
"We need to get out of here."
Yuki nodded and instantly merged back in with me. Using my water sense, I scouted for where the vines were lesser in number and took off towards that direction.
I dodged and ducked around, over and through the numerous tendrils that now looked like tentacles.
"What the hell is up with me and weird shit? First Blackout and his venom like powers and now this. I deserve a long vacation soon."
Uncharacteristically, Yuki didn't reply and I felt her normally upbeat mood plummet even faster every time I came close to getting injured.
My attacks were getting less effective by the second which baffled my mind. The vines were now a deep red color and ominous looking. Up ahead at me, I saw a beam of light that originated from a mostly whole building with a sign out front written in ancient Greek. The conservatory of magical arts and sorcery. Oh, I'd found out that I could read greek much earlier before.
The conservatory was built like a palace but with multiple towers set up in a certain pattern that protected the main building. The aquatic plants and ominous vines couldn't breach 50 meters in from the outside so once we broke past that distance they didn't follow us. I looked back to see the vines gently flapping in the water. They had advanced to the point of having barbs on their lengths and for a second I shuddered to think of what would have happened had we been caught. Well mostly me anyway. Yuki was safe because all she would have to do was retreat back to my realm.
A Wave of my hand and ice covered the ugly things. Then I snapped and I finally figured out why Thanos had loved the action. Just like before the ice broke apart into bits along with some of the vines. They had gotten even more resilient. Luckily although they were agitated by my attack, they still couldn't breach the distance. I wonder, could someone be controlling them or are they naturally evil psycho plants? Something to investigate when we weren't at a disadvantage.
Yuki breathed out a sigh of relief when we entered the conservatory. A pulse spread out and the archway lights came on. An orb of blue light started shining to my left and I felt compelled to place my palm on it.
"Jin...what are you doing?"
"Something I hope I don't regret."
She snorted.
"Fat chance of that happening when you place your palms on weird energy balls."
I rolled my eyes and did it anyway. I had a bevy of fictional laws to support my decision. When you see a crystal ball you touch it. Right?
The blue light intensified after contact and I felt a brief pin prick through my palm. I drew back my hand quickly but not before a drop of blood had been absorbed. At this point, bullets couldn't hurt me so how did that happen?
"Ow."
Yuki started laughing at me through our link and I was happy her mood was recovering.
"I told you so."
"God damnit."
She was quick to add however,
"It wasn't completely your fault. I think something compelled you to do that. I could detect a strange energy signature in the air when we approached the entry way."
"Well what's done is done. I'm more worried about the drop of blood sucked out of me."
Turns out I wouldn't have to be worried for long. Light started gathering before the crystal and formed a vague figure. I shielded my eyes and when the light died down I saw what was revealed and groaned in annoyance, surprise, a little fear and boredom.
"An inverse clone? Really? That's one of the most annoying tropes ever!
Before me looking my complete opposite was another me. Unlike Logan however...there was no life in it's eyes. Oh and it possessed similar but opposite features to me. White hair, that had me wondering if I should dye my hair and red eyes.
"Jin... something...interf...speak...you..."
"Yuki? Yuki! Fuck!"
I understood. Something was cutting off our link. I fell into a stance and commanded the water to crush the red eyed bastard Infront of me. I wasn't too worried because I had finally found out what this was. A test.
I quickly got worried however when the water didn't listen to my commands and a headache started forming behind my eyes. My powers were gone.
"Crap."