Kurt Waves And The Trials Of The Lion City

Chapter I - The Crown Of Genghis Khan

Climbing up the frigid Himalayas was a task fit for a greek hero all on its own, but it was even more so, when done by a group of four men. Kurt Waves, the leader of the expedition, Bons Hermlich, the equity partner in the quest, and two Sherpas who were well compensated to guide them on their trail.

Through icy slopes, wading through mounds of snow, they were bombarded with a storm of ice and snow. Slowing their progress by days, forcing them to seek refuge in their tents, that they struggled to set up against the howling winds.

As the four men sat by a dwindling fire, they could hear something cut through the howling winds as if it were a scream of some deranged beast. One of the four goats they brought to carry their supplies was attacked one night, as those heinous screams grew louder.

Bons poked out the tent with his luger, his monocle reflecting the flash of his firearm, as it cut through the storm, and turn the viscous cries to a wounded whimper. Dropping the mangled, and half-eaten goat, the beast fled into the haze of the storm, leaving a trail of bright crimson blood.

‘It may have well been the Abominable Man the natives warned us about.’ joked the german as he put his weapon back in its holster. His good eye seemed enlarged through its monocle, looking as if it were a voyeuristic planet in some distant galaxy seen through a telescope. He seemed almost cyclopean, since his other eye was welded shut by malformed flesh.

‘You’re wit is too dry to swallow.’ Kurt lamented, as he rolled out the ancient flop map, protected by a shielding of leather. The wolf eyed adventure was keen to noticed the gleam of wantonness in his partner’s eye, as he hurried to his side to observe the map.

‘This is it, isn’t it, we are on de’ right trial?’ the german’s accent salivated out of his fluent English speaking mouth. He couldn’t hide his desire for their prize.

‘Should be, but I think we are being followed.’ Kurt rolled up the map, after getting his bearings.

‘From the beast?’ Bons put his hand on the grip of his pistol in worry.

‘No…from the Chinese.’ then came a bullet that cracked in the air, and went flying past Kurt’s head, and shooting into the skull of a poor Sherpa, killing him instantly.

Then came a barrage of bullet fire from a automatic rifle, Kurt and Bons threw themselves onto the snow ground, making themselves flat, as the last Sherpa tried to run. Tearing out the back of the tent, the Sherpa was met with a barrage of bullets that riddled his body.

After there came a pause of gunfire, the sound of hot blood melting snow, and the smell of gore.

Then a sinister silhouette came to the tent opening, as the goats bleated in fear, trying to break their tethers. The figure was flanked by four men, two on each side. Dressed in the Chinese People’s Army uniform, he was the rank of colonel, with the face of a sneering badger, whose mouth was gripping the neck of a poor rodent, it was going to devour.

‘Mr. Waves.’ the Chinese Colonel pointed out Kurt, kicking his head firmly with his long, leather boots. ‘You should know better not to go on a expedition in Chinese territory without the proper paperwork.’ he sneered as he gestured both men rise to their feet, as he reached out and snatched away Bons luger pistol.

‘Colonel Chao, no worse for wear I see.’ Kurt smiled, as he saw the Colonel remembered their last encounter that left him in a humiliating position.

The crooked mouth Chinese Officer’s scowl turned to a smile, when he hammered a black, metal baton across Kurt’s face, cracking a tooth, and causing blood to drool from his mouth.

‘What are you doing here Colonel? This is Indian territory, we have the permits.’ Bons was going to reach into his coat to retrieve them, but the Chinese Soldier’s raised their weapons in warning.

Colonel Chao sneered into the german’s monocle wearing eye, as he reached into his coat and pulled out the permits. Scoffing Chao tossed them into the dwindling fire.

‘India has no jurisdiction here, these mountains are the property of the Chinese People, and you are trespassing. Planning to raid our history for treasures to sell on the black market?’

‘No we leave that up to you fellas.’ Kurt wisecracked, which earned him another smack in the mouth from Chao’s baton. ‘Ignorant white men. You think you rule the world, with your decadent ways. You, Mr. Waves have caused us enough grief in challenging our claim to the South Pacific, but now that will come to an end—’ Chao held out his hand expecting to be given something. ‘—the map Mr. Waves…or your German friend here, will pay the price.’

The automatic rifles aimed at Bons expecting to execute him, leaving Kurt with little choice, unless he wanted another death on his conscious. Reaching into his jacket he pulled out the leather skinned scroll.

‘Finally.’ Chao smiled wickedly as the fading campfire reflected in his dark eyes. ‘The symbol of our greatest enemy, will be ours.’ before he could take the map, Kurt with the reflex of a cobra flung it into the fire.

The fire darkened the leather, and threatened to consume the cloth within as if it were a moth’s wing. Reaching for it consciously, Colonel Chao leather gloves burned intensely as it tried to free the map from the flames.

This distracted the chinese soldier enough, for Kurt to grab Bons from the shoulder, and hurl them both at the nearest tent support beam. With a hefty tackle, the wood beam cracked and collapsed part of the tent, causing a bedlam of movement under the green velvet.

As the gunners outside tried to figure out what was happening, two figures slipped away in the darkness of the night, hiding in the mounds of snow.

A knife sliced through the tent, and split open a larger enough home for the Colonel and his men to get out. Hands scalding hot, he was still smiling as one of his men brought over a electric lamp, casting light on the scroll. Upon unrolling it however, he saw nothing was inside, and as a cruel realization came upon him, his mouth distorted to a monstrous sneer and he let out a enraged howl.

That was only cut short by a even more shrill cry from behind them, the creature that killed the expeditions goat had returned—and it wasn’t alone.

One chinese shoulder screamed as jaws of some furry alligator-like maw creature snapped on his shoulder, and lifted him into the hazy air. Where he was swallowed, in two gulps, as the Chinese soldiers cried out in fear, and gunfire echoed through the stormy night, two lone figures continued on into the night, to find the lost mine.

***

In the early 1200s the strongest army in the known world was the Mongol Empire, and the leader of this race of conquerors was Genghis Khan. During his conquest to take over the world, he crossed the Himalayas in doing so he lost his crown. Though legends vary from leaving it as part of a treasure hoard, to it being buried in a avalanche, what some more obscure occultist histories would say, it was apart of a grand conspiracy.

During the dawns of Asian history, before the continents split, there are ancient texts describing the super city, the far east equivalent of Atlantis. Where as that city was said to be drowned in the sea, this one was believed to have ascended into the skies.

Up between Heaven and Earth is an ungodly paradise, Shī Chéng, the Lion City. The secret of this mythical city was split between the original five dynasties of Asia, whose descendants eventually became Emperors of nations. From Japan, Korea, Mongolia, China, and Thailand, keystones of this great city have been left behind. Relics that point the way to find the sky bound city.

Genghis Khan may have been the first of these descendants to assemble them all, and place them within a symbol of his supreme authority, his crown.

Situated inside of a icy barrow, whose entrance was less than a mile from Kurt Waves camp, with Bons Hermlich at his side they entered the ancient crypt. Using the light from their shoulder flashlights, they entered the centuries old darkness. Imbedded in the unthawed layers of ice were skeletons of the dead, their lifeless expressions were one of utter modified terror, as they were no doubt sealed inside to keep the location secret.

Mongol treasures both spoils of war and handcrafted marvels were stashed in stone checks, whose sturdy stone casings were starting to crack, leaking precious golden jewels onto the ground.

‘This would keep the Chinese economy alive for eons.’ the German expressed, as he eyed a large jeweled orb, that shot a rainbow light onto the wall, as he examined it under the light.

‘They’d only waste it.’ Kurt had no love for authoritarian dictatorships. He had suffered under one, which destroyed his identity, past, country, and legacy, leaving him to rebuild himself into the man known as Kurt Waves. ‘Come the crown will be further inside.’

Going down the twisting passages, they seemed lost even in a linear passage, the way it moved was as if they were in the frigid innards of a serpent. Winding through the bowels of the Himalayan Mountains, Bons grew paranoid, as he found the shadows behind them growing denser, as the way they came seemed to be sealed up by the icy walls.

As if they were the jaws of a ice maw, he lamented ‘I can’t help but feel we are being swallowed alive, Kurt.’

To this Kurt brushed it off with a should shrug, and a persistence to continue onward, till they came to a large cavern. However this cavern wasn’t just a ordinary cave filled with uneven rock formations, it was more of a crystalline dome, built under tons of snow. Walking into what they perceived as a colossal snow globe, they marveled at the fantastical feat of architecture that couldn’t be matched by modern technology and methods.

Shards of ice flaked off from the dome and formed a thin layer of crinkly snow underfoot. A walk way of crystalline stone ran down from the entrance to a large staircase leading to a elevated dais. Between the walkway was a treasure trove of golden relics, and bizarre asianic works made of jade and other precious stones that mankind had long forgotten about.

However the crown of this treasure was none other than the Crown Of Genghis Khan. A towering totem of power, made of gold, gemstones, and carved with letters proclaiming its wearer with worldly powers of a true emperor of the world.

Ascending the steps Kurt Waves was eager to examine the glistening object, above all else, that crown held the keystones necessary to find the City Of Lions. As he put his hands upon it, he felt its heft of knowledge, that would dazzle the minds of any archeologist or historian in modern times.

Despite Bons having his back, he was caught off guard when he heard the dangerous click of a pistol echo in the dome cavern. Appearing through the wavering passage was a familiar, though blood covered Chinese Colonel, Chao, and what was left of his men.

‘Mr. Waves, I hope we haven’t crashed your party.’ Colonel Chao sneering smile, widened as his dark, greedy eyes were set on the crown. ‘If you’d don’t mind all the same we’d like to take a few party favors.’

Chao and three of his men aimed their guns at Bons who held up his hands helpless to defend himself. Though Kurt could duck and hide among the treasures of the cavern, he didn’t want to lose a valuable friend. Turning his back to the chinese soldiers, he seemed to hesitate on his choice.

‘Don’t delude yourself Mr. Waves, your german friend here will die, but he’ll due much sooner if you don’t hand over the crown.’ Putting the barrel of his pistol to Bons head, Chao’s stern grimace, turned to a sadistic grin, when he saw Kurt turn around and reluctantly approach slowly, handing off the crown to one of the chinese soldiers. ‘Very good.’ Chao laughed, then smashed the butt of his pistol into the head of Bons, who fell to the ground, dizzy from the blow.

Rushing to his side, Kurt was staring down the barrel of half-a-dozen chinese firearms.

‘Of course I’d like to leave you hear bleeding out…but…—’ he looked at the ice ceiling. ‘—I wouldn’t want to be prematurely buried.’ his lips once again formed a beautiful smile, as he held out his hand, and a odd device was handed to him by one of his soldiers.

No doubt it was a explosive device. Placing it near the entrance of the cavern, he pushed a few buttons and gave out a chortling laugh. ‘Its a shame we must leave behind these treasures, but we’ll simply come back for them later. See you then, Mr. Waves.’ arming the explosive, his Colonel Chao and his men quickly left the cavern, leaving only ninety seconds for them to escape.

Going outside Kurt imagined them being gunned down by Chinese soldiers waiting in ambush, and trying to hide from the blast within would bury them alive—or would it? Bons recovered from his daze, and was shocked to see Kurt prying the explosive charge from the wall.

‘What are you doing Kurt?’ Bons Germanic accent came out in his surprise, as Kurt looked around till he found what he was looking for—a wooden Mongolian sarcophagus.

Dumping out its contents, a pile of ash and bones of a honored dead, he angled it upwards, on a slope of treasure. ‘Quick dig a hole and bury this inside, then pack snow and something heavy on top of it.’

Realizing what his leader was doing, he obeyed but kept talking in a frantic, hurried voice. ‘It won’t work. It won’t work.’

‘It’ll work, I’ll bet my life on it.’ Kurt said with a smile, as he boarded the wooden sarcophagus as if it were a rocket ship, aimed at an arc at the dome above.

‘A safe bet.’ Bons lamented as he got in behind his friend, and held tightly, as the detonator counted down, from 5…4…3…2…1—KABOOM!

Fire and rupturing ancient rock drowned out the screams of both men in the explosion, that sent the sarcophagus shooting up into the air, as if it were a wooden rocket. Smashing through the crystal shielding, they covered their faces in their hoods, as the sharp shards cascading over them, and a feeling of rushing snow went all over them as if they were being flung into a blizzard.

Soaring through compacted ice and snow, miraculously they penetrated through layers of snowy dunes, bursting out the side of a mountain. Moments passed as they soared in the air, the wooden sarcophagus singed form the explosion, carried them skyward, till it skidded on the snow and carried them off as if they were Olympic tobogganers.

Speeding down the mountain side, the explosion had the dangerous side effect of causing an avalanche. Kurt could hear the distant cries of men being buried under a tidal wave of snow, as they were being carried down the slope of the mountain.

As their speed evened out, Bons lamented in a weary sigh. ‘Another adventure, we leave empty handed.’

‘Not quite.’ Kurt turned over and smiled, holding up a gleaming gemstone that the German recognized was placed on top of the crown.

Almost instantly he recognized the writings on it, and seeing the seams he knew it was the prize they were looking for. ‘The keystone! You took it off the crown.’

Putting it back into his inner pocket of his coat, Kurt felt triumphant that they were one step closer in uncovering one of the greatest mysteries of the ancient past.

Chapter II - Deciphering The Keystone

Colonel Chao survived the avalanche, but lost the crown in the process. Having fled the scene with what little of his men were left before the Indian army showed up, he returned empty handed, except for coordinates to a treasure their government had claim to. Already the Indian government has archeologists digging the site, to recover treasures to be loaned out to museums at a high price.

Leaving the Chinese Officer once again disgraced, sitting in a waiting room back in China, he awaited his fate, as he sat looking out the windows over the city of Beijing.

A female secretary went up to him, breaking him out of his concentrated stupor, to inform him that the board would see him. Rising to his feet, he dutifully marched down the hallway, through thick doors, which slammed behind him as if it were a closing of a coffin lid.

The room was dark except one light from the ceiling concentrated at the canter of the room, where the accused was to stand, to be scrutinized by the various administrators of the Chinese government. Standing in the beam of light, he was not blinded by the white light, but it darkened the shadows that filled the room.

Translated from the native language, the conversation went similarly to the following.

‘Once again, Colonel Chao, you shame yourself by being bested by an enemy of the state.’

The Colonel remained silent, and took the insult on the chin, that felt as if it would nearly floor him by the solid blow it had struck.

‘Despite the family you come from, you have done nothing but further show your lack of effectiveness in securing these relics. You dishonor the people of China and yourself with this failure.’

‘Do you have anything to say in your defense?’

One voice vindictively offered from the darkness.

Colonel Chao cleared his throat, and taking on a meek tone, got down on his knees, and bowed in contradiction.

‘I have no excuse, this is my failure. I humbly beg forgiveness, and ask for one more chance, please allow me to go back for the crown an—’

‘The crown was already secured…’ a voice answered, stunning Colonel Chao.

‘...how? The Indians should’ve already—’

‘In light of your past failure we had taken on further assistance in securing these priceless relics.’ a door opened on the far end of the room, and from the blinding white light, a dark silhouette blotted out most of the light, before entering the room.

The door closed behind the figure, that approached the center of the room to stand before Colonel Chao as if to take authority over the prostrated figure. Unmistakable disgust showed on the Chinese Officer’s face, as a ebony skinned African stood over him, as dark as midnight, with eyes as white as pearls with two dark color irises around dot-like pupils.

Looking as if he stepped out of a illustration of a magazine of highlighting gentlemen adventurers, he was dressed in a ivory colored jacket and trousers, with a crimson shirt underneath. Holding a hat in one hand, the man smiled at the kneeling Chao before nodding at him in a mocking yet friendly greeting.

‘This is Sir Carrium Blice, he came highly recommended for recovering ancient treasures and the like.’

‘A mercenary.’ Colonel Chao spat out, feeling the disgrace was upon him even before he left for his mission.

‘A archeologist and treasure hunter my friend. And despite what they say, I thank the finding of the crown entirely upon your efforts. If you haven’t uncovered it, I may not have found it, buried under the snow.’ the smile was sincere and friendly, despite the condescending tone that Colonel Chao perceived.

‘Why do you hire this dirty—!?’ Chao rose to his feet as he spoke, but was slapped firmly by Carrium so hard it sent him off his feet.

‘Forgive me Colonel, I thought it best to silence you, before you said something you’d regret.’ the African gentlemen said, as he took out his handkerchief and wiped his hands as if he touched something filthy.

‘That is enough Chao!’ one of the figures in the dark demanded. ‘For now on, you are to orders from Sir Blice as if it were our own. With his help, you are to find Kurt Waves, and retrieve the keystone, is that clear?’

Without any room to be defiant, the Colonel bowed to the darkness. ‘Yes Sir, I will do my utmost to see that I do not dishonor the People Of China…or myself.’

After a moment of silence, the door opened at the far end. ‘You are dismissed Colonel Chao, we have further matters to discuss with Sir Blice, you may wait outside.’

Colonel Chao couldn’t help but form a scowl on his face, as the African continued to smile at him, with a look of superiority upon his face. Obediently he left, back into the hallway, as he imagined details of the mission were being conveyed to Blice, that he wasn’t entitled to any longer.

Taking a seat back into the hallway, he looked out at the windows, as a scowl deepened on his face.

***

After meeting with a detail of Indian military on the mountainside, Kurt showed them their papers, and told them that they were ambushed by Chinese Soldiers. After being taken to a military outpost in India, where after a few choice phone calls, Kurt and Bons were sent on a plane charted Chennai Port in Madras.

From there Kurt and Bons received congratulations from a Indian politician, before being allowed to board his ship, The Auric Plongeur. As it floated above the waves it looked as any other ship would, a long yacht-type vessel, that hid its secrets beneath the waves. Boarding it, Kurt and Bons waved goodbye to the officials, before going into the cabin. Below deck, in the cabin area was a catch in the floor, that gleamed a golden metallic shade. Opening it they climbed down inside, as the windows and doorways to the yacht were sealed up by watertight golden shielding.

Then the upperpart of the vessel submerged as if collapsing onto itself, but in reality it was transfixing itself into its true shape, a submarine. Much like the fiction Nautilus, it was a sea craft beyond its time, whose technology was honed by its inverter and master, Kurt Waves. Who in his youth discovered ancient technology of primordial mankind, the Atlanteans, whose mastery of Earth’s natural laws had seemed magical to the primitive savages they overseen.

Diving deep into the Indian Sea, the Auric Plongeur was bound to its home harbor, the undersea city of Submarinus. Decades it took to build the budding metropolis, in the deep trenches of the South Pacific, where Kurt Waves continues his efforts to keep his underwater nation a secret. A secret until he can have his undersea domain legitimately considered a sovereign country in the eyes of the world.

Enlisting talent from around the world, he has built a alliance of archeologists, scientists, soldiers, and engineers to not only guide Submarinus but the whole of mankind to a better future. This of course has created bitter enemies within totalitarian states, criminal syndicates, and deep state organizations who want to use Kurt’s technology and knowledge for their nefarious practices. Recently he almost had Russia declare war upon him for rescuing a scientist locked in a detention canter, who was working on a near non-radioactive nuclear energy source.

Despite its applications for the betterment of mankind, the current regime wanted to use it to build better long range weapons to dominate the world stage. Despite altruistic motivations, many nations, even the ones posing as democracies would see him become subservient to political corruption.

That is why he remains deep under the sea, at fathoms that destroy most submersible vehicles. If not for the Equilibrium Cores that are in all his sea vessels, the city, and his expanding colonies, even him and his agents wouldn’t be able to survive down below. One day he hoped to use that invaluable invention to explore the stars, first he intended to solve all the unsolved mysteries on Mother Earth.

The next one being the secrets of the City Of Lions. Formerly indecipherable texts he decoded indicated that the city was not swallowed by the sea as first thought. Instead it ascended into sky, where the theory is, it is protected by a sphere of intersecting winds that form a barrier around it, protecting it and keeping it hidden from the outside world.

After finding clues to the whereabouts to the keystones hidden in Genghis Khan’s crown, Kurt set out to excavate it, unaware the Chinese Government was keeping tracks on him to its location. The ambush nearly cost them his and his dear friend’s life, and had resulted in the death of two innocents.

‘We need to be more careful.’ Kurt told Bons as they disembarked the Plongeur at one of Submarinus’s docking bays. Walking on the platform that outstretched from the submarine, both colleagues conversed on their next move.

As they went through layers of decontamination and routine depressurizing, done by dedicated staff, in white uniforms, they formulate the next steps in their mission.

‘I agree Kurt, but let us not forget, I did warn you the Russian’s were using their satellites to track us for quite some time.’ the German’s tone took on a parental tone.

‘Yes, but who knows that they’d share that with the Chinese.’ Kurt noted that he had to be more wary of his enemies pooling their resources.

‘You have many friends Kurt above, but that won’t help you if you are captured. Even killing you would be enough to destroy all we worked so hard to accomplish. No one has the national recognition as you do.’ the praise was embarrassing to hear, but it was also a burden that Kurt began to feel anchoring him to reality.

‘To continue gaining positive notoriety, we have to finish what we started. A Lot of scientists would give their right hand to know even the bare minimum of what we discovered. We already depleted what schematics and formulas that are safe enough to spare, imagine if we didn’t filter out the really dangerous stuff. Detonators that cause the tectonic plates to shift, tidal waves caused by ultrasonic waves. If a country like China gets just one of these secrets, it can plunge the world into a new arms race.’ Kurt despite being aware he was repeating his past tirades, did that mostly to calm himself and vent his frustrations.

As they finished the process and were entering the way gate into the city proper, one of his assistants came out with a pile of paperwork hugged to her chest.

‘Mr. Waves, the United States Congress wants you to attend another hearting.’ she handed off the papers to Kurt weighed the heft of the papers in his hands.

Looking at Bons he told the assistant curtly, ‘Thank you.’ Then found the nearest waste basket and dumped the load into it. ‘Send the usual reply, that I am asserting my rights as a sovereign dignitary, and if they persist in these hearings, guised as veiled threats to take what’s not theirs, I’ll withhold any advancements that I’ll be sharing more co-operative nations.’

Walking off with Bons, the keystone in hand, they walked through the wide, streets of the expansive domed city of Submarinus. Steepled buildings of towering height and sturdy width, housed thousands of people within, all experts in various fields of study, many bringing their families along.

Children played in one of their many communal parts, as an artificial sun lit up the city, and provided necessary nutrients to the undersea people, with any of the negative side effects. Wheel-less vehicles of unbreakable glass hovered down the roads, delivering people to their destinations without incident.

Crime was virtually non-existent, and what does exist of that statistic is resolved with revolutionary treatment programs that cure personality defects or resolve social issues that motivated the act.

Such ideas they tried sharing, but the outside world doesn’t have the resources or are too enthralled to bureaucracy and tradition of crime and punishment to try such methods.

Climbing aboard a hovercraft type vehicle, with a wide platform and bench. Bons and Kurt were lifted into the air and flow to the tallest building in the city, the heart of the entire undersea metropolis, the Atlantis Building. Named after the city whose discovery helped in the creation of Submarinus, only those studying the unearthed technology and artifacts of the distant past were allowed a office inside the structure.

Glowing with almost heavenly gold colors, the platform flow them to the top of the building, where wide doors opened to a hanger where a team of scientists waited to receive their leader. Once the platform vehicle landed, the keystone was handed off to the nearest scientist, who marveled at it, before taking off for study in the laboratory.

As his team prepped the work stations, Kurt and Bons decompressed in the lounge. Where they smoked genetically engineered tobacco that actually improves one’s health from smoking them, and savored a rejuvenated, elixir that purged most disease and infection from the body. Tasting as if it was a savory-sweet Champaign, they enjoyed discussing the events of the day, and what news piled up in the city while they were away, while watching highlights on the viewing screen.

Images of various news stories went by, as a voice came out through the screen, in a gentle but knowledgeable voice.

Nothing of note occurred, aside from a minor dispute over farm space in the expanding agricultural domes.

‘I prefer corn.’ Bons said. ‘Better to feed the pigs with.’

‘Perhaps.’ Kurt responded putting out his cigarette. ‘Though I suspect it has to do with your Germanic appetites for sausage meats.’

Bons eye rolled behind his large monocle, but he didn’t dispute the remark. Finally the work stations were ready, and both men put on their lab coats and entered the lab. Inside was a large glass table hovering over the ground, and above was a hologram of what was place upon its surface, the keystone.

Deciphering software was at work decoding the ancient letterings and code found imbedded on the crystal object. The progress was nearly done, when Kurt and Bons entered the room.

‘How’s it going?’ Bons asked on of the senior staff.

‘We have much of the information from the codex we found in Japan. The Mongolian text seems to have evolved from a more complex series of writings and symbols that align with that of the Atlantean language.’ the information sparked a epiphany in Kurt’s mind as he overheard.

‘So this is Atlantean…when the continents split, this information drifted along with the Asian continents.’ then the screen flashed with detailed information. Numbers and symbols translated to modern English and mathematics. Longitude and latitude, but something else—‘altitude.’ Kurt traced his fingers on the table and caused a circle to form on the screen on a section of a complex formula.

‘The keystone doesn’t just tell where the city is on the world map, but at what elevation it is above us. Between the Mesosphere and the Thermosphere, that is where the City Of Lion’s is concealed.’ the eyes of all the men and women in the room were transfixed on a map that formed.

Showing a 3D model of the Earth, and its layers of atmosphere, and a glowing golden dot that shows exactly where their destination lies.

Bons broke out of the trance of discovery when he noticed one obstacle to making contact with the ancient city.

‘But it is concealed by winds forming a kind of barrier that we’ve never seen before. If the translations of the writings we amassed from the codex and the keystones are accurate. We need a sort of entry pass to pass through or we’ll burn up as we attempt to pass through it, like a shack in a tornado.’

After realizing Bons was accurate in reading the date, they combed through the words on the screen, for any clue to the whereabout of the entry pass. Suddenly Kurt noticed a pattern in the letters and numbers, a sort of continuous arrangement of repeatable formulas. Touching the table, he isolated them, and collapsed them into a single line, then simplified the equation, till it gave them the destination.

Once the coordinates were solved, he placed it on a 3D model of the Earth, and a golden dot showed where they’ll find it, what the writing describe as the Lion’s Roar, sunken in the Yellow Sea. In waters controlled by the Chinese government.

Chapter III - Bedlam In Incheon

Once again the Auric Plongeur embarked, this time with a full crew of experienced field agents, and enough supplies and equipment to not return till their mission was seen through.

Kurt and Bons would head up the mission, as they headed to South Korean and the Port of Incheon. Before leaving Bons, being the polyglottic diplomat of Submarinus he arranged temporary passports, and permits to before the deep salvage expedition. Having provided valuable medical research that saved the life of a prominent politician, their request was expediated. However the shortcut through bureaucracy came at a cost, Bons had to meet with a diplomat to discuss future trade agreements.

As soon as the Auric Plongeur ship came into port (disguised as a luxury yacht) there was a welcoming procession waiting to meet them at the dock. Kurt hid in the cabin, worried he’ll be forced along coddling the bureaucratic wheel greasing, and didn’t come out till he was sure Bons was had been taken away to a expensive luncheon at the tax payers expense.

Disdain for such ridiculous luxuries at the cost of the common man, who works hours to only fill the belly of some foreign dignitary, whose purpose is to line the pockets of the privileged few. Despite the advances he bestowed upon the world, the relentlessly slow analyzing of government funded research.

Millions will die, waiting for something that can be replicated and dispensed in mere weeks. Kurt would have done so himself, but Bons advised it would cause a backlash from the world governments, that they were keen to earn legitimacy for their assertions of sovereignty.

Walking on the dock with his passport in his inner jacket pocket, he was dressed in a trendy, western style sports jacket, and dress shirt. He looked as if he was going for a spending spree on the shopping district. As he moved along the dock, were groups of Korean natives were hard at work, exporting various consumer goods, he had a odd sense of danger. Looking around as he moved, he wasn’t sure what it was, but he started to get the paranoid feeling that he was being watched from outside his line of vision.

That every time he turned away, a enemy agent poked out to continuing observing his movements, waiting to ambush him, but that didn’t stop him from moving along. He needed to meet with a contact in a nearby bar, who’ll give precise coordinates to the Lion’s Roar location.

He knew the general location, but he knew of a expert salvager who frequently a nearby bar who could decipher the coordinates he written down in his notebook. Despite moving through the crowded streets of disinterested onlookers, Kurt still felt a anxiety inducing threat.

Finally after the feeling of being observed reached its peak he arrived at the Phishamans Hole (Fisherman’s Hole). Entering the doors, he felt some of the trepidations leave him, as he walked into the business, seeing it partially occupied with various customers. Relief washed over him as he spotted the back of a familiar straw sunhat, seated in one of the booths, with the back to the door.

‘Roe…Sang-Won Roe…’ approaching the booth with a widening smile, Kurt’s smile faded into a stunned look of dismay, as the man wearing the sunhat turning around and he saw a familiar face. ‘Carrium Blice…’ he spoke the name in quiet disbelief.

‘Accept no substitute.’ the African profiteer bowed his head, and before Kurt could turn away, two figures stood before the door of the bar. Locking it, one pulled out a pistol, aiming it threateningly at him. They were Korean, but it wasn’t upcoming for Korean spies serving the common interest of communism.

‘Please Kurt, sit down, we have much to discuss.’ he gestured to the opposite of the booth, were another enemy agent turned around in the next booth over, holding a gun of his own.

‘If you insist.’ he defeatedly accepted the invitation, and sat opposite to his longtime rival.

‘Oh don’t look so glum.’ teased the African, who opened up the drink menu, and snapped his fingers. ‘Bartender, we’ll take two glasses of your best pear-blossom wine.’ the man behind the bar nodded, before going back to fill the order.

After a few moments of silence Kurt had to ask the question. ‘What happened to Roe?’

Carrium lifted his eyebrows as if it were a memory of a mild inconvenience. ‘My employers wanted specific information from him…they got it.’ the grim implication, nearly made Kurt lunge out ready to strike the cocky mercenary.

‘Easy now, we wouldn’t want to repeat such an unpleasant outcome.’ he smiled as if he told a funny joke, which only widened when the drinks arrived. ‘Now before we drink, we managed to abstract from your friend that you were going to show him some coordinates. May I assume its the location to the Lion’s Roar.’

Kurt immediately betrayed his inner thoughts with a stunned expression.

‘Don’t be surprised, you’re not the only one able to decipher ancient texts. You’d be surprised how many of the keystones information was repeated on the crown itself. Of course the Chinese doesn’t have as advanced computers as I’m sure you possess, but with my help we were able to find out about the whereabouts of the city, and of course what is needed to enter. Now, please hand over the information.’

A barrel of a gun was pressed to the back of his head, Kurt with a scowl on his face, pulled out his leather bound notebook, and handed it to the grasping hands of the African. Carrium continued to smile and softly laugh as if he was meeting with a old friend.

Kurt didn’t expect to see his old rival again, not since the riverboat incident, in his attempt to discover Black Beard’s Treasure.

‘I thought you went down with the ship.’ Kurt spoke in a flat, frustrated tone. ‘Did all that hot air keep you afloat.’

The man behind him pistol whipped the back of his head, for speaking so disrespectfully.

‘Easy now.’ Warned Carrium. ‘We may still need him, after all the secrets he holds is worth a thousand of discoveries of ancient cities.’ Then he stopped smiling, as a stern, menacing look came into his eyes. ‘We may have to abstract it first however, though I hope we don’t have to go that far.’

Kurt said nothing, looking down at the drinks, he noticed a slight discoloration, and fizziness to his wine, compared to the one in front of Carrium. Watching as the African lifted his glass, he said with a bright smile. ‘Cheer up Kurt, let us toast to our new partnership. Bottoms up.’

The pistol was pressed harder to the back of his skull, he knew he had to face a fatal penalty for disobeying. Picking up his glass, he looked at the gunman standing next to Carrium, and felt the tension of a finger on a trigger at the back of his head. If he drank the poisoned drink he’d no doubt awake in a interrogation cell in fortified Chinese military installation, never to be seen again.

‘Drink.’ Carrium ordered, as he drank his own drink, as he closed his eyes, he didn’t expect a sizzling drink being thrown at his face.

Letting out a horrified squeal, as the poison burned at his face, Carrium put his bloodening face into his hands, as Kurt grabbed the barrel of the pistol at his head, and pointed it at the gunman in front of him.

Both the gunmen were stunned at the brutality of Carrium’s injuries to act right away, but when they did, it was too late. The scalding heat on the pistol’s barrel burned Kurt’s hand as two shots fired out, and shot dead the other gunman. Falling backwards, his eyes wide and rolling back in his skull, as a splash of crimson poured from his wound. With hard elbow blow to the nose, Kurt broke the gunman’s nose to his back, and ripped away the pistol, shooting his former captor in the head. Downing him with one, fatal shot.

Carrium struggled to leave, as he left the booth, and tried to run down the aisle, but he blindly charged into two of his men, who collided with him, and fell to the ground. The one posing as a bartender, picked up a large sharp knife, and tried to throw it at his head. Dodging the flying cutlery, with only a thin cut on his cheek, Kurt tried to shoot the bartender who recoiled at the incoming shot, but then the pistol jammed.

‘Cheap chinese piece of—’ the bartender interrupted Kurt’s enraged outburst with a haymaker thrown over the counter. Feeling the hard fist pound his face, he felt his jaw rattle as he was knocked back into the booth. Two of the men posing as customers tried to hold him down, but with a expert knife hand strike to the neck, he temporarily paralyzed one of them.

Then using his mixed martial arts skills flung the other into the the bartender who tried to climb over the counter, but was knocked off his feet with one of his comrades. Standing up, he climbed onto the table, and started leaping from table to table, barely missing a gunshot that shot past his head, as he leapt to the front doors.

With a forceful kick, he knocked the door off its hinges, sending it flying into the street, spraying shattered glass all over the place. Running out of the bar, he was soon followed by what remained of Carrium’s men, whose face blistered as the blood smeared on his cheeks and chin.

Hate was evident on his eyes, as his teeth clenched. ‘Get to the cars, we’ll cut him off in the street.’ Quickly they got into their vehicles and sped off after the fleeing Kurt, who saw that two cars were after him in a heated pursuit.

Going down a narrow alleyway, he hoped to lose them in the intersecting alleyways and crowded streets, but Carrium being a master chess player had the car he was in block off the other end of the alley.

Stopping halfway down the narrow gap between two buildings, he looked onward and saw a car blocking his way, looking back another was cutting off his escape. Looking around he saw the building’s weren’t that high, so he climbed on top of dumpster, and using trashcans, he climbed up to grab hold of the building’s roof.

As one of Carrium’s men aimed his pistol, Kurt managed to pull himself onto the roof, as a shot was fired and only managed to graze the target’s arm.

Kurt hissed through his teeth, as a burning sensation came offer his right arm, as he touched his arm, and saw blood on his fingers. Overcoming his moment of shock from the pain, he ran across the rooftop, and leapt to the next roof over, as Carrium order two of his fittest men to follow on rooftop.

‘You two follow after him, we’ll following him in the cars.’ getting into the vehicles, the two cars sped down on the parallels roads on either side of the buildings, Kurt was leaping across. Barely keeping ahead of the cars, and still two rooftops away from those that pursued him on foot, he was running ragged down blocks, as he looked ahead, he saw the Auric Plongeur still docked.

Speeding up his pace, he waited till he was in earshot to start screaming out. ‘Help…Help…Help!’ his agents on deck didn’t hear him at first, but one eagle eyed deckhand spotted Kurt leaping across the roofs, followed by two pursuers.

‘Mr. Waves, he’s in trouble!’ he cried out, pointing out to the incoming figure of their leader. Just two roofs away from being next to the ship, Kurt lost concentration long enough to trip over himself, fall face first onto one of the rooftops.

This allowed his two pursuers on foot to catch up to him, and before they could apprehend them two rapid shots, cracked the air like a bombastic whip.

One of the hand decks was a expert marksman and had retrieved his long ranged, scoped rifle, and fired two shots, killing dead the two rooftop pursuers. Recovering from his fall with a bloodied nose and scrapped palms, Kurt rose to his feet, as one of the cars to the left of the street sped onward.

Without noticing the gunfire over the roar of the car engine, one of the pursuers stood out from the sunroof, and prepared to fire an automatic rifle. However the time it took to prep his weapon, the shooter didn’t notice on the deck of the Auric Plongeur something retracting from the deck. It was a minigun turret, and a deckhand was swiftly taking aim with it, and as the gunman saw the heavy firearm aimed at him, him and his accomplishes were berated with flesh rending bullets.

Tiny, metal wasps ripped through the car, and deteriorated the men inside, causing the driver to lose control, as his dying body pulled the steering wheel to one side, sending it into the water. As the waters bubbled and foamed, as the car sunk to the bottom, Kurt let out a sigh of relief, as he climbed down from the roof, and limped weary to his ship.

Before he even got to the gangway, a few of his people came to his side, offering a shoulder to rest upon, and first aid. Before they could ask what was happening, Bons returned after a brief lunch with the politician. As a diplomatic car was dropping him off at the dock, he saw Kurt wounded, and worn out being taken aboard.

Ordering the car to stop immediately, the German believed he could run to Kurt faster than the car could carrying him.

‘Kurt! Kurt!’ he called out in his thick emerging accent. ‘What in God’s name happened?’

Kurt already on deck, looked at his friend, and let out a gulping exhale. ‘Just had a drink with a old friend.’ he answered in a sarcastic but weary voice.

Safely back on the ship, Kurt was observed by the second car pursuing him, as Carrium look away from the rearview mirror, looking at the extensive damage to his face.

Looking intently furious at his nemesis, he already began to adjust his plans for their next encounter.

‘Drive me to the ship.’ he ordered the driver, who sped off down the street of roused and concerned people, who heard the gunfire and commotion, and looked to see what caused such a violent diversion from their peaceful existence.

Chapter IV - Death Charges

For days, Kurt and his crew searched the area in the Yellow Sea he calculated the Lion’s Roar would be, in the submarine form of Auric Plongeur, they sunk to fathoms as low as ten thousands leagues. However despite the radar system, and sensor devices, he had yet to find where his prize might be kept.

Cursing himself for being out played by Carrium, he didn’t have time to mourn the loss of a dear friend. Instead he fueled his determination with his frustration, and focused on narrowing the scope of his search.

Bons watching him work at the computer, trying to formulate a ever narrowing, but still massive undertaking, he decided to give him what help he could.

Despite no being the best at deciphering code or solving formulas, he had a keen strategic mind, from when he worked as a mercenary in the heart of Africa. Battling warlords and child soldiers, almost cost him his life, his eye, and his humanity. If Kurt didn’t free him of that revolting life.

‘Make any progress?’ the question was met with a growling moan of despair.

‘By the time I figure this out, the Chinese and Carrium would have found it, and have claimed one of the greatest discoveries of mankind for a oppressive regime not seen since Nazi Germany or the USSR. How many lives will be destroyed in a pursuit of utter control?’

Those words were spoken in a desperate woe of a man haunted by memories of his own losses, and what he never wanted to be repeated.

‘Perhaps you are going about this wrong.’ Bons replied.

Kurt let out a condescending scoffing chuckle. ‘You think you can figure this out?’

‘No. I don’t have all the variables, and even if I did, I doubt I’d be able to compute it in time. However I am keen on the strategy, and in battle, if you are unsure of your position, its often as important if not more so to know where your enemy is.’

Kurt let out a raspy sigh. ‘They’ll be heading towards the Lion’s Roar if they figured out the coordinates. But we don’t know where it is.’

The obviousness of the solution was tempting to rub in his long time friend’s face, but the German held his pride in check. ‘You’d think the Chinese’s ship would be nearby, I mean if they are also looking for the Lion’s Roar.’

After a few loud silent moments, Kurt rose to attention with a sudden the solution flashing into his brain as if he was struck by lightning.

‘We can track their ship!’ he proclaimed, as Bons watched as his friend set long range sensors to detect incoming ships, with a smug smile on his face.

Once the sensors were calibrated to detect sea vessels of a certain size, the screen detected several dozen in the nearby waters, that could be the Chinese ship. Narrowing the perimeters by size, speed, and course heading, the result quickly narrowed to one, and according to the readings, it was a massive vessel.

The size and estimated weight of a aircraft carrier, the display of the map had one ominous blinking light representing the goliath sized war vessel. Able to stand its own against battleships twice its size, the Auric Plongeur however was still sinkable, especially against a naval ship of that size.

With the Chinese Naval and Military using what Atlantean technology it gathered through blackmail, espionage, and black market purchases, they have refitted their machines of war. Everything from air, sea, and land have been refitted with the latest in weapons and long range radar.

‘We need to go lower.’ commanded Kurt as he lowered the Plongeur another several thousand leagues, nearing twenty thousand in total. ‘If we are detected their homing torpedoes or naval charges can be zeroed in on our location before we can zip up our fly.’

A crass metaphor that spelled out the expedient way they could be dispatched if discovered.

Lowering to depths where they won’t be detected, they trailed after the ship at a safe distance, waiting to see where they are heading.

***

Colonel Chao furrowed his brows as he examined the radar screen. Then a confident smile came to his ferret face. ‘No sign of Kurt Waves. Decoding the location of the Lion’s Roar must be beyond his capabilities.’

‘No.’ Carrium Blice shot down that premise as a shotgun does a doe. Legs resting on a computer console, the mercenary treasure hunter was eating olives as he looked at the radar screen. ‘He may not have figured out the precise coordinates, but his vessel is most certainly equipped with advanced sensors, far greater than our own. He is likely following us to the location.’

Hearing this the Chinese Officer’s expression soured into a vindictive rage.

‘Then what good is this expedition, if we are only leading them to the treasure?!’ the Colonel slammed his hand on the console, startling his men.

‘We’re not.’ the cunning grandmaster mentally pictured the Auric Plongeur following them at a distance and position he guessed with a fair bit of accuracy. ‘We’re leading them to their deaths.’ The half-healed burn marks on his face made wrinkled, as he shared a sinister look with the Colonel.

Together they let out a sadistic laugh of victory, as the Chinese Carrier, began deploying deep sea mines. Newly made and have yet to be fully detested, they resemble gigantic blowfish, whose advanced programming would flush out Kurt, if not send him and his prized ship and its crew to a watery oblivion.

***

Going at a steady pace, the crew of the Auric Plongeur manned their stations, not a single man or women were idle. Eyes were on their monitors, and the various controls were be operated, ready to alter their course at a single moment. Kurt Waves took on the role as captain of the submersible ship, and as the dart shape submarine followed the bleep on the radar. Suddenly other blinking lights showed on the vertical, depth charts, showing not only what was ahead of them, but above them.

‘Switch to the three dimensional chart.’ Kurt ordered from the captain’s chair, as Bons changed the view screen to a fully dimensional cube, representing their position and those they were following. ‘What is that?’

There were several lights on the screen, they flashed from a dim purple light to a bright one at steady intervals.

‘They could be depth charges.’ Bons suggested, as he checked the scanning results on his monitor. The light’s on deck were dim, and through the unbreakable glass windows, they saw nothing but a abyssal green void. Somewhere out there, a threat was coming, as the crew saw the lights were not only descending, they were altering trajectory to follow them.

‘Prepare to initiate Evasive Maneuvers B, but dive further down, and alter course by sixty two degrees clockwise.’ obediently the one at the helm followed Kurt’s commands.

Before the first blinking light came into approximately of the Plongeur there seemed to be a distant explosion, followed by a repetition of shockwaves that bombarded their vessel. Shaking the fortified hull, causing temporary interference with the sub’s electronic equipment. Monitors froze on buggy screens, and not of the consoles registered inputs, till everything was restored, and they had mere seconds before the next of their stalkers erupted.

***

‘See!’ Carrium triumphantly cheered, as he pointed to the large radar screen that was lowered from the ceiling. ‘They wouldn’t explode unless something was down there.’

Colonel Chao was still unconvinced Carrium was intelligent enough to predict Kurt, a man who soiled his previously pristine military career for years.

‘Could be a whale.’ he interjected. Whatever pleasure he had from the demise of Kurt Waves was sapped from him by his bitter jealousy of not being able to take credit.

‘You forget, these mines have an AI that only detonate the charges when they near Atlantean technology, that is not coded with Chinese firmware.’ he smiled boastfully, rubbing his victory in the Colonel’s face, as he continued to eat his olives. ‘Before the last one explodes, I can practically guarantee we’ll see the last of Mr. Waves.’

‘Practically?’ a contemptuous skeptical expression formed on his face, as Chao stared at Carrium daring him to double down on his claim.

Meeting the other’s stare, the African swallowed his last olive and said with a voice as sweet as honey coated cobra venom, ‘They are better odds than you ever had.’ with that the tension between the both of them became more taut, and was showing signs it may tear the union apart.

Soon their attention were turned away when another light on the monitor went out, signifying another one had detonated.

***

A deep groan came from insides of the Plongeur, as if it were alive and crying out in pain.

‘Hold on!’ Kurt encouraged, as if he could commune with his vessel. Having dropped a nearly a hundred more fathoms, they were still being pursued by the last two mines.

‘They are splitting up!’ one of the crew said aloud, pointing to the screen where the two purple lights separated, and went to head them off on either side.

Despite their evasive movements, the two lights started to rotate, forming a perimeter around the Auric Plongeur. The perimeter with each rotation got smaller and smaller.

‘Maybe we should fire on them?’ Bons suggested.

‘They are too close.’ one of the crew pointed out. ‘If we do it’ll detonate the other one, and the combined force of the explosion would be enough to breach the hull, and at these depths—’ the words faltered as the reality of their probably demise wore on everyone on deck; except Kurt.

Kurt had to come up with a plan of escape, something to minimize the damage of the explosion, while remaining undetected. He could only surmise the reason for these death charges was the Chinese Carrier did not have the long range radar to detect them, so they invented these to track their unique signature.

That was when he came up with a plan.

‘Quick contact the torpedo launchers, tell them to get two dummy case, and fill it with Atlantean devices, anything that is functioning, there isn’t much time!’

Doing as instructed the tubes were loaded with unarmed torpedoes, filled with their scanners, probes, and other such instruments made with the Atlantean technology. They gleamed with aquatic green lights, as they were sealed inside, and being prepared to be shot out.

‘Tell them to fire the first one when the violet light is about to come to our front.’ the gut twisting waiting for the seconds to pass, became a burning anxiety as the first torpedo was launched.

Watching the small gold dot, representing the torpedo shoot by, passing the violet light, everyone on watching it on the monitor held their breath. What followed was a relief to the building pressure, the violet light followed.

‘Now wait till the other comes around to fire the other.’ before that happened, the mine reached the slowing torpedo and detonated.

It was half a league away, but was close enough to sent vibrations that they could feel impact the hull.

‘Fire the other one!’ Kurt demanded seeing the other probe was now zeroing in on their position. Obediently it was done, and as the torpedo sped off, the mine’s AI went after the far moving target and followed, allowing the Plongeur to change its heading in the opposite direction.

By the time the mine detonated, they were too far away to feel it as anything more than a mild shifting of water.

‘Turn about, and continue to follow the target.’ commanded Kurt, who tried not to notice the looks of admiration from his crew, that made him feel mildly uncomfortable.

***

‘And there goes the last one.’ Colonel Chao said, as he was relief to finally be free of the interfering Kurt Waves.

‘Yes…the last one.’ Carrium Blice however noticed what no one else did, that when the second last one detonated, it left the other one far behind, as if it was distracted by something. ‘Do we have any more, just to be safe.’

Sucking his teeth, Carrium didn’t care for the scoffing look on the Colonel’s face, after his initial boast.

‘Those mines cost the Chinese People more than this Carrier, I trust you don’t intend to waste anymore, after you assurance these weapons you helped design would destroy Kurt Waves.’ the implication was not something anyone wanted to be accused of by a communist dictatorship.

Despite this Carrium held his tongue, and tried to look calm. ‘Just wanted to be sure Colonel.’

Taking the victory for granted, Colonel Chao then ordered they increase speed, as he was eager to get to the Grotto Of Swords, and retrieve the key that’ll unlock their prize.

Chapter V - The Grotto Of Swords

For the rest of the day, the Auric Plongeur followed the Chinese Carrier. Despite to the damage to the onboard computers, and minor repairs needed to patch the leaks that started to sprout in the hull, they were in fair shape.

No more deep sea mines were dropped, but Kurt knew that his long time enemy, Carrium Blice would realize they were being followed. All he had to do was find out were the Lion’s Roar was, his calculations were narrowing by the second, and as the sun set, the computers finally found its location.

Deep in the Yellow Sea, in one of the more shallower trenches, the local records indicate a under sea grotto exists. Its name when translate means The Grotto Of Swords, a name derived from the plentiful amount of swordfish that swim those waters.

Preparing the mini-sub, Kurt and two of his security men were going to investigate the underwater caves. Despite having the most advanced radar system and deep sea sensors in the world, the readings couldn’t fully show what may await them.

Bons despite his insistence was ordered to stay aboard.

‘You’ll act as serving captain while I’m away. If you see any sign of Chinese probes or more of those mines on the radar, get out of range till I contact you on our coded radio.’ reluctantly obeying, the German took the captain’s chair, as Kurt went to the on ship docking bay.

There him and his two men put one golden diving suits, and put light weight, rectangular oxygen tanks on their backs. Wearing deep sea helmets, they climbed aboard the dark green mini-sub, its dark golden color scheme, mimicked that of its bigger brother the Auric Plongeur.

The dart shaped sub’s doors closed in a quiet suction of air, before prongs holding it in place were released and it was allowed to move about in a shallow poor of water.

Before Kurt could initiate all the controls, and fully check the systems, he heard a beeping sound from the console. Pressing the button to open communications, he heard Bons’s voice over the radio.

‘I just wanted to say to be careful out there.’ the German’s voice was straining to withhold emotion.

Kurt felt a tightening on his emotion restraint, simply replied back, ‘Keep this channel closed. We’ll initiate further contact on the coded channel, over and out.’

The two crewmen with him, shared a look with one another, that Kurt noticed as a sort of apprehension.

‘Keep suit radio on at all times, we may become separated down there, and I don’t want to be caught by surprise.’

After getting everything set, the hatch doors opened, and the mini-sub dove down, to fully submerge itself into the depths of the sea.

Nearly ten thousand leagues beneath the sea they were, trying to find the hidden grotto, in the murky darkness, and passing schools of deep sea sea life, Kurt half-expected to see a giant squid, or something worse. What he has seen in places where there is less sunlight than outer space, would traumatize even the most expansive imagination.

Carefully they neared the grotto’s location, the monitor showed it as a large green X, the golden dot on the screen blinked as it moved steadily closer. As they navigated the darkness in that confined space, they began to notice something on the radar.

Usually schools of fish are only shown if they are large numbers, or are swimming by, this however seems to be impossibly expansive. A cloud of dark green colors filled the screen, emanating from the grotto. Looking out porthole, one of the security detail try to see what was heading for them.

‘Mr. Waves, there is a—’ he couldn’t finish it, something sharp had punctured the porthole glass. Made of far less unbreakable material as the Auric Plongeur, Kurt would later lament the cost saving measure that cost that man his life.

As s dark blue saber stabbed through the glass, letting in water, and punctured the man’s eye, slicing through his brains, its stick then sticking through the back of his head. Going limp, blood poured out of his wounded eye, as the remains of life were spent failing about as a seizure has gripped his dying body.

Letting out a groan, he couldn’t articulate anything, and Kurt and the other men were helpless to try and save his life, as a flotilla of swordfish came at them from the murky blackness.

Something seemed to posses them, as if they were bees swarming out to protect the hive. Before the first of them would retract its gore soaked sabre from the porthole, several more stabbed at the hull of the mini-sub. Though not strong enough to puncture it, they left dents in the alloy.

‘Quickly, patch that port window, while I try to lose them.’ Kurt grabbed the steering wheel, and dove under the brunt of the incoming wave. Manage to go underneath the swordfish, the head of the flotilla curved back, to give chase to them.

As the second security man, used a waterproof clay-like substance to seal the porthole, Kurt, increased speed to try and stay ahead of being gored to death by the swordfish. Foaming bubbles streaked across the ocean depths as they tried to make their escape, the grotto getting nearer, but they weren’t going fast enough, the swordfish were faster than expected.

Some unnatural compulsion was giving them speed and strength far beyond was a typical for fish of their kind. Ancient legends tell of shamans who can command animals as if they were an extension of their own forms. He hypothesized that the people of Shī Chéng had mastery of sea life and perhaps other species. What secrets he was hope to discover was forced into the back of his mind, as the tip of the column that chased after them were scrapping at the back of the sub.

‘We’re going to have to abandon the sub, and try to use the propulsion in our oxygen tanks to make it to the grotto.’ Kurt instructed the surviving member of the security detail.

‘Are you sure about this?’ the man was nervous at the plan. Even as the tips of the sword fish’s blades pricked holes in the rear of the sub.

‘Its either we risk it or die.’ it was a choice of evils, that neither of them wanted to make, but Kurt was more prepared than his crewman was; setting the controls to autopilot, he began decompressing, so they can swing out when he opened the hatch.

Just as more tiny leaks were pricked at the back, the decompressing was set, and the hatch opened at the side of the submarine. Using their oxygen tanks, they used the propulsion jets that propelled them as if they were wearing underwater jetpacks. Sending them towards the direction of the grotto with great speed, using the lights in their helms, they found there was a rock formation not far below.

Diving down, they narrowly escaped far enough to to be affected by the mini sub combusting from having the hull ruptured. The explosion dispelled the flotilla’s mass, killing some of them, but overall the majority of their pursuers survived. After the waters settled, they seemed to be reoriented to their missions, as if the connection they have to some mastermind was reconnected after a momentary disruption.

Redoubling their movement, they swam towards them as if the two men were being zeroed in on by a thousand torpedoes each with their homing device.

‘Mr. Waves!’ the security man called out on the radio, as they managed to get between the rocks below. ‘I don’t think we’re going to make it!’ his voice was frantically and defeated, as they expelled much of their reserved oxygen to push they way onward. Trying to get to safe shelter, as the openings between the rocks were being filled with swordfish, Kurt kept focused ahead, he could see at the outline of the cave opening at the end of his beam of light.

‘Hurry! We can make it!’ Kurt pushed ahead, even as thousands of swords were heading towards him, all focus was on him and would’ve skewered him if the last of his party didn’t intervene.

‘I’m sorry Mr. Waves—’ the security man said over the radio, as if to apologize for what he was determined to do. Overloading the pressure on his oxygen tank, he cut off all air being used to propel him, causing it to combust.

Before he was aware at what happened, Kurt was accelerated ahead, so much so, he was pushed into the cave opening, and sent tumbling into a limbo. Feeling the water toss him about in all directions, he was caught in a storm of flotsam. Before the haze of foam became a light trickle of bubbles, he realized he felt a shifting of earth, and as he straightened himself, he looked back and saw that there was a cave-in.

That way back was sealed, and the last of his party was gone.

‘Come in over…’ he spoke over the radio, but heard nothing. ‘...this isn’t funny, now answer me over… …God damn it! Answer me!’ his anger was not at the mute response but for the reason for it, he was alone, and another man gone.

“Noble bastard.” Kurt hated self sacrificing martyrs who risk too much for his benefit. He has never asked another man make a sacrifice, he’d rather they’d die together than have him die like that, for his sake alone.

The only thing left for him was to continue on, he still had to beat the Communist Chinese and Blice to the key, time was against him. Following his light that began to die as the battery in his suit was nearly exhausted from using the propulsion system at such high speed, he was thankful to see, there was a air pocket in the underwater grotto. Above him, he saw the water’s surface glisten to his dim light, and something else, another light, this one was had a blue hue and seemed to mesmerize him as he rose to the surface.

Swimming up, he found himself in a cold air cave, having been buried under the sea for possible millennia, maybe even longer. The blue light having vanished, he was left with the light on his suit to guide his way. Going to the shore of the cave, he removed his helmet just as air was on its last, and breathed the chilled air. Something however kept the air not unbearable cold, just cool, as if he was taking a dip in a pool on a hot summers day.

Walking on the rights, his light was dying, but through the dimming light he saw images, frightful stationary figures in the shadows. Poised in menacing stances, he couldn’t make it out what they were, but it wasn’t till his light nearly out of power did he see on of them move, and coming towards him, brandishing what looked like a large curved blade.

Taking a cover behind a pillar of rock, he ducked low and listened, as he heard quieted, bare feet against slick rock.

Before they stopped, he waited in utter darkness, holding his breathe, before dazzling blue lights flashed on, and he saw he was surrounded by crazed looking men, with fierce eyes, menacing fangs. Wielding falchions they were prepared to attack, but then someone shouted something as if to say in a foreign tongue; ‘Stop!’

Chapter VI - Trial Of The Lion

Entering through an archway was a tall man, far taller than anyone of the other warriors. With smooth bronze skin, he looked as if he were the descended of ancient giants, with a bear so large it covered his massive breast and torso.

The ambushing warriors knelt on the ground, planting the tips of their blades to the rock ground, in complete subservience to the large man. Those black, marble eyes saw Kurt and approached him in lumbering strides, his towering psyche nearly touching the high ceiling of the cave.

Eyeing him from head to toe, the giant seemed to be evaluating the man, as if he could tell by just looking at him.

‘Son of Adam.’ the giant proclaimed. ‘It has been long since my eyes set upon your kind. Not since the heavens deemed to separate mankind have seen you.’

Hearing that deep but harmonic voice, confused and astounded Kurt. ‘...you speak English?’

‘Yes.’ the giant answered with a broad smile as if he asked a silly question. ‘I speak all the tongues of man, as was deemed of me when the tower fell. When all men spoke not a common tongue but many, hear me and know I speak so that all may know my words.’

Shaking his head, he began to wonder if he had died back there. ‘How long have you been alive?’ Kurt wasn’t sure if he was speaking in metaphors or honestly.

‘First introductions, I am Tythus, sworn guardian of Shī Chéng, and keeping of the Roar. And what do they call you?’ Tythus was polite but carried a natural authority that men his equals or lesser felt naturally compelled to obey.

‘I am Kurt Waves.’ he introduced himself, offering his hand for the giant to shake, which he did in a hearty, tug up and down that might’ve dislocated his shoulder if it was done with more malice.

‘Odd name, but many things I hear of the world above, I find odd, with each generation, I know a little more, and realize another thing mankind knows less of.’ a sad look came to Tythus’s eyes, as if he understood something that man was only beginning to understand.

‘How are you able to hear anything from down here?’ Kurt asked, feeling himself being overwhelmed his fascination and curiosity.

‘Come.’ the giant gestured the way he came. ‘And you shall see.’ Kurt walked alongside Tythus as the warriors returned to standing and sheathed their weapons. After walking down a passageway of natural rock, he saw the raw, unpaved walls became more smoothed out as they went along, till it looked as if it were carved by a master stonemason.

At the end of the passage they came to a large circular room, where they were waterfalls on almost every part of the wall, some ran from the ceiling, and into pools into the floor. On those waterfalls were symbols and ancient writing, it looked almost as if an ancient worlds version fo a electronic screen.

Touching the nearest waterfall, Tythus moved aside symbols till a green line formed across the water surface, then it started to jump up and down as if it were a heart monitor. As the line move so did sound come from the water, it was a radio, from a Korean radio station.

‘From here I hear all. All the prayers of sons and daughters of Adam, their hopes, their dreams, the sins and heroic deeds are all for me to hear from the time of the shifting of the lands to the present. The stories I hear, both fantasy and real, has shaped my impression on mankind.’

Kurt listened intently to the giant’s words, still stuck in the stage before accepting the almost unreal reality he found himself in, as he touched the water, and found he could change the station.

‘How are we doing so far?’ Kurt asked, half-jokingly, but he saw Tythus’s stern grimace and his grin faded.

‘Not as I had hoped…not entirely hopeless…but not so hopeful either.’ those words made Kurt nervous.

‘Are we heading in the right direction?’

‘...’ the giant said no more of it, instead he changed the subject. ‘You have come for the Lion’s Roar, to enter the city above.’ he spoke as if it was something he knew already.

‘Yes…did you—’ he pointed to the waterfall.

‘Yes, I hear all, and I recall now hearing much of Kurt Waves, famed explorer, settler of the sea, and archeologist of the past. I am sorry what has happened to two of your men.’ there was genuine sadness in his eyes as he apologized. Then that sadness turned to firmness. ‘That however is the Trial Of Swords, and those wishing to find the Lion’s Roar must be tested, for though innocent may perish, eternity awaits, and death awaits the wicked of heart.’

Holding his tongue, Kurt wanted to speak out against the loss of life form his men, but believed it best not to irritate the giant.

‘So how many trial are there? One I hope.’

The sarcasm was brushed off by the giant’s solemn words. ‘No. Trial Of Searching, you’ve done that by finding this place, as intended by the descendants of my sons.’

‘Your sons? You mean—’ Kurt couldn’t believe what he was coming to understand.

‘Oh yes.’ Tythus confirmed the realization. ‘The dynasties that possessed pieces of the keystone, were my descendants, half of Adam, half of me, whose children once ruled over man. They failed to realize the importance of what they held, but for those like you, who find this place, the second trial destroys those who lack cunning and resolve.’

‘I take it there’s a third.’ Kurt stated, as he was being lead by Tythus away down another passage, with the warriors following closely behind, as if making sure Kurt didn’t make a run for it. Having no weapons on hand, and having left his tools behind, he had no choice but to trust in the fairness of his host.

After a winding passage they came to a large chamber, with a pit in the middle, looking as if it were a medieval oubliette, Kurt saw it was too deep to climb out off, and the wars were slick and moist. Moss covered the walls and hanging greenery grow about, becoming well nourished by the blue light and abundance of cool water.

In the pit there was a opening on the far end, a black fissure in the rock that gave off a ominous aura.

‘What’s down there?’ Kurt swallowed hard, as he began to suspect what was the next trial going to be.

‘The Trial Of The Lion.’ Tythus looked Kurt in the eyes as he spoke of the danger ahead. ‘Just as man passes through the sun, they must pass through the evils, what is seen and what lays hidden in the darkness, and match the beast that lies within us all. Go into the pity, enter the darkness, overcome it, and the Lion’s Roar will be yours.’

‘And if I should fail?’ Kurt backed away, but the warrior’s that followed them, had him surrounded. Drawing their blades, they made it clear he was not going anywhere, anytime soon.

Tythus remained silent, he knew, Kurt was aware the cost of failing the trial. Lifting up the small man, the giant lowered Kurt into the pit, and dropped down a few feet. Nearly falling off his feet from the impact of the drop, he hissed through his teeth and rubbed his knees.

‘You know you couldn’t built some stairs, maybe had a ladder.’ he shot back, irritable from the soreness in his joints.

‘Take courage Kurt Waves.’ the giant encouraged him. ‘Your prize lay just beyond, face the beast inside, and know I hate faith in you.’

That didn’t give him much confidence, but he came all that way for the Lion’s Roar, and he wasn’t going to leave without it. Moving towards the dark fissure, his mind went to the death’s that happened in his pursuit for the City Of Lions. Men killed by his enemies, and trying to protect him in his mission, all he wished he could take back, his regret became a good companion to his fear, as he stepped into the darkness.

Vanishing into blackness he was blinded by the absence of light, looking back it seemed the way back was consumed by the dark. Taking a step forward, he found he could move forward, with each step his slow cautious become a hesitant step, as the further he went in, he got the odd sensation that something was waiting for him ahead.

From what he faced so far, he wasn’t sure if it was mystical in nature or something realistically devised. Living in his world of illusionist tricks and phantasms of ancient history, he wasn’t sure what he could rely upon to judge any given situation.

It wasn’t till he saw something looking at him from the darkness, did a paranormal fear rattled his bones. Unblinking, shimmering eyes of deep gold, and reflective yellows, as if it were a cat looking back from a dark hallway.

A raspy, inhuman growl came from those eyes, and he knew he had found the beast. Nothing to defend himself with, he wanted to go back, but he was worried he might be struck by the creature if he turned away. Standing his ground he didn’t advance or retreat, but he wanted to run, his fear turned to terror as the growls became more shrill and threatening.

Feeling as if the very tip of laws were grazing him, he couldn’t see to verify whether it was real or just his imagination. Fear often poisons the reasonable mind, and turns it into a demon of self-torture. Those eyes didn’t move away, they remained focused on him, and seemed threaten to pounce at him at any second.

Before deciding whether to retreat or try to push forward, he was overcome by a instinctual desire to survive. Despite the violent roars and snarls, he clenched his hands into tightly bound fists, tried to strain his chest tight enough to choke out his anxiety, and pressing his lead first to the ground, charged.

Pushing his full weight into it, he sped towards the eyes, into the darkness, till he felt his body make contact with something. It was firm and unmoving, and nearly knocked the wind out of him as he came towards it, gasping he tried to get the air back into him, when he noticed he was touching something familiar.

Nothing hairy or warm, like a beast might be, instead it was sturdy, and was rough to the touch. Hugging it, he found he could fit his arms around it, and despite it not moving, it had glowing eyes, and continued to roar threateningly.

That was when he fully understood, he was touching a pillar of stone, and resting on it, in the darkness was what he was seeking, the Lion’s Roar. Touching it, he lifted it from its resting place, and as soon as he did that, blue lights came on, and he saw he was inside a cave.

A pillar of rock was there situated in a open area at a dead end, and what he held was what looked like a cornu, only it was designed with a lion’s head. With the jaws opening to form the bell, it growled when air running from a hole in the rock pillar passed into the mouth piece.

Smiling to himself, he the intention of the test, to see if one would flee from a fearsome threat even unarmed. Heading back to the opening with his bronze prize in hand, he noticed something hidden in the rock wall. It would’ve been blinded in the darkness, but it looked in the like, as if they were retracted claws of some deadly jungle cat.

Also near it was a elevation of the rock, a slight one that one wouldn’t of noticed if one was heading back out. Carefully he passed under the claws, and purposefully moved his foot along the elevation, as if he tripped over it, when he was safely out of the way.

In not even a quarter second worth of time, the claws lashed out, and slammed into the rock. Clearly, if he tried running away in the dark, that would’ve impaled him to the rock, and he would’ve been left to bleed to death, waiting for the next victim to try and pass the trial.

Thanking his cleverness, he walked out of the fissure, and as he stood in the pity, he held up the Lion’s Roar in triumph as the warriors and giant looked on with jubilation, after someone finally conquer the trials.

At the height of this exhilaration of seeing their duty fulfilled, there came a intrusion, thunderous sound. Cracking through the air as if someone decided to blow up a moment of joy, a red opening appeared on Tythus’s forehead.

A crimson cavity that brains and blood oozed out off, as his dark eyes rolled over into his head, and just as Goliath did when David slung that rock into his head, the giant fell over dead. Then what followed was a barrage of gunfire, it tore through the warrior’s armor, and further brutalized Tythus, whose body became riddled with bullets.

Blood spraying in all directions, the walls of the pit were stained with blood, as it pooled down there from above. After the gunfire ceased, a familiar yet unwelcomed figured stood over Kurt from above.

‘Carrium Blice! You murderous bastard, what have you done!?’

His rival gave him a bemused smile, realizing the extent of the damage caused to such a archeological find were irreversible.

‘Don’t blame me Mr. Waves, my employers they are quite—’ as he spoke Colonel Chao came into view with a squad of his men, arched with automatic rifles. ‘—blood thirsty…so how about you turn over the Lion’s Roar?’ he held out his hand, ready to accept the ancient instrument.

Kurt held it back, not wanting to give away the key to one of the greatest treasures of the ancient past, and the powers it holds, that they’d no doubt abuse.

‘Turn it over now!’ Colonel Chao demanded aiming his rifle right at Kurt, before his furious sneer turned to a wicked grin. ‘If you do, I promise me and my men won’t shoot you. On my word of honor.’

Carrium gave the Chinese Officer a sideways glance, showing he found his words dubious.

Looking at the Lion’s Roar, he realized there was no other way, but to trust they’d keep their word. Despite feeling cheated and robbed, he reached up, and handed it to the clutching hands of Carrium, his cold mercenary eyes gleamed with avarice and a desire for control over men.

‘You going to keep your word?’ Carrium asked Colonel Chao with a mean spirited smile on his face.

‘Yes, indeed I will.’ Colonel Chao said mockingly, as if they were doing a comedy bit. Both of them laughed, as they saw in each other's eyes that they had the same idea. ‘After all I am a man of my word.’

Chapter VII - Ark Of Salvation

Taken Kurt at gunpoint, the chinese and their hired agent lead him to a chamber of relics. Gold and jewels from chests and artifacts were being packed up and carried back to their submarine.

‘How did you get past the swordfish?’ Kurt asked, letting his inquisitive nature get the best out of him, as he was being chained to a pillar.

‘Always asking questions, even at the end.’ Carrium chuckled, and shrugged as if he decided there was no harm to it. ‘We saved a few mines we used on you. That cleared the way for us, then after digging through rubble, we found this place.’ His eyes went wide in wonderment as he basked in his surroundings.

‘And you would’ve kept this all to yourself, tsk tsk.’

‘Considering who you brought along, I’m glad I did.’ Kurt shot back as Colonel Chao approached with men carrying crates of explosives.

‘Your insults won’t save you. After we empty this place of everything of value, it’ll be demolished to prevent China’s enemies from knowing its secrets.’

‘You promised you wouldn’t kill me.’ Kurt said, knowing full well that was just a pretense to maintain some semblance of honor from the evil hearted military man.

‘I promised I wouldn’t shoot you—’ Kurt knew he was going to say that, he despised a promise broken by a technical turn of phrase, rather than keeping the spirit of the agreement. It is just the same as breaking a promise, only one can maintain the allusion of keeping their word and honor in tact. ‘—soon you’ll remains will be buried along these savages and the last remains of their subhuman culture.’

A look of disgust came upon Carrium’s face upon hearing that, knowing so much more will be lost by its destruction. Somewhere in him, the African knew he was destroying what he spent his life recovering.

Reaching into one of the crates, Colonel Chao pulled out a familiar detonator.

‘Could’ve sworn you did something similar before. I guess you can’t teach a commie dog new tricks.’ Kurt’s words made Chao’s eyes flare with rage.

‘And you cannot teach a dead man anything, you’ll soon know that.’ Colonel Chao stood face to face with Kurt, his face composed in a calm fury. ‘Then you’ll be forgotten like these ruins of the uncivilized past.’

‘They were more civilized than any of you animals!’ Kurt couldn’t restrain his own rage, from how they mercilessly murdered Tythus and his people without warning.

Colonel Chao said no more, as went back to ordering his men, and supervising how to set up the explosive payload.

‘You can always switch sides Waves.’ Carrium suggested. ‘Save yourself by giving them insight in your technology, maybe they’ll spare your life.’

Spitting at the ground, Kurt silently made his thoughts know on the matter.

‘You scum.’ Kurt told his rival with no trace of calmness in his voice. ‘You used to go on about me keeping the Atlantean’s secrets to myself. Claiming it was better for all the know, but what do you think will happen when they—’ he tilted his head to the Chinese soldiers, ‘—have a monopoly on it.’

Scoffing, Carrium rolled his eyes, and shook his head. ‘You think anything’s a secret anymore? The moment you gave the Americans schematics for new vehicles, the Chinese made copies and were working on weaponizing it, and so did the Russians, and the Arabs, the world is an array of stolen valor and ideas. Why bother delaying it? Eventually a superpower falls and new one takes it place, the only winners are not the dictators but those who hire out their services to the highest bidder.’

‘And the losers are the idealists I presume.’ Kurt scowled at that cynical mindset.

Shrugging his shoulders, Carrium didn’t take Kurt’s criticisms to heart. ‘Anyhow even though I am sure you’d turn it down, I’d just kick myself if I didn’t ask, if only to hear your epitaph.’ the Chinese Soldiers were about done setting up the explosions, and removing all the gold and jewels, leaving only stone and wood artifacts behind. ‘Goodbye, Mr. Waves. I should’ve known you’d want a burial at sea.’

Tipping his hat to his long time rival, Carrium left him, as the timer was set on the charges. Marching out of the cave, the Chinese hurried to their submarine, and the last of them Kurt saw was Colonel Chao who turned to him waving with a wicked smile, before turning away and vanishing through the opening.

Once alone Kurt looked over at the timer, he saw the red neon light counting down from ten minutes, he had less than that to escape. His suit was out of power and his radio didn’t work, so he couldn’t contact the Auric Plongeur. Firstly however he had to escape the chains, and that was tough since they were made from steel, and they made sure to wrap them around him tightly—until he exhaled.

Having sucked in enough air, he made sure to give him nearly six inches of free space to maneuver under his bindings. It was hard making himself look red faced with anger from his circumstance than from where he was stuck, but it was his only chance to appear helpless.

Carrium and Chao did not expect him to have a plan of escape, their juvenile overconfidence in their abilities, had allowed him his chance. Putting his hands on the rock pillar, he kept as flat as possible, slowly lifting himself upwards, steadily over the course of a few minutes he pulled himself out of the top of the chains.

The hard, smooth steel rubbed against his body, and made him sore, after he pulled out his legs, in a Olympic gymnastics style leg lift, he let out a exhausted sigh as the chains fell to the ground, and he fell to the floor tired.

However he remembered he was on a lethally tight deadline. Rushing to the detonator he hoped to destroy it, but found it was improved compared to the last one. No seam, or button, it was activated remotely, and it had no protruding wires, in less than five minutes it will wirelessly ignite the cache of few tons of explosives.

Cussing aloud, he looked around the cavern, but found nothing back but the dead, and everyone else was empty or seemed to go on forever, he needed an escape. Looking around the treasure cavern he hoped to find some clue to escape, that was when he saw the painting on the wall.

Ancient letters in a similar Atlantean dialect that told him of a ancient vessel used by their people to survive the great flood. Where Noah escape it with the ark, they survived by using wooden sarcophaguses, adorned with ancient runes. The chinese left it believing it was worthless, but with three minutes to go it might be his salvation, picking up the large, canoe shaped coffin, he found it was lighter than he thought.

Weighing almost as much as a cardboard box, its earthy brown color, seemed to gleam gold in the light. Picking it up he ran out of the cavern and made his way to the water, he needed to get this into the water, so when the explosion happened, he might be carried off by the waves.

Counting down in his head, his chest pounded, his head was light, and he felt tightly wound up as if he were a gear filled clock. With each second that past it was as if he was experience a limbo of endless time, that was crashing down around him, rushing past the cave where he did the Trial Of The Lion, he nearly slipped on the blood as he rushed.

Pity mixed into his anxiety, and when he finally made it to the water, he was barely able to put the small wooden ark into the water without fumbling with it, lifting the lid, he crawled inside. Putting the lid over him, he laid back in the darkness, as the precious time counting down, praying with all he had that he was doing the right thing.

***

Once the Chinese submarine left, Bons ordered the Auric Plongeur out of hiding in the depths.

‘God, I hope Kurt is still alive…’ he said aloud, realizing his words demoralized the crew, he hung his head shamefully, then recovered knowing if he lived, he needed them. ‘...hurry, get there while there is still time.’

Speeding towards the undersea grotto, there was an uneasiness that exploded into terror, when a explosion erupted in a blinding light. Heat radiated from it, causing the water to sizzle, and knocking back their submarine, nearly sending it into tumbling about, but they remained control despite the sudden tumultuous combustion.

Stunned at what they saw they watched as the explosion continued to burn, till the coldness of the depths smothered it and absolute darkness shrouded the ocean depths once again.

‘Check the scanners…is there anything down there?’ he was worried when he didn’t hear of them after they departed, what just happened made him fear the worst. All the adventures they had, the near death escapes, the innovations they invented that would improve mankind, all would burst and vanish from existence, like a bubble in the sea.

‘I see nothing Mr. Hermlich.’ the crew man manning the long range sensors answered, in a restrained, sullen voice.

‘Oh—’ Bons felt as if he was going to vomit out his heart, ‘—Jesus Kurt…’

As the sense of loss was settling into his brain, the crewman spoke up. ‘Wait…there is something, it small, but its floating upwards.’

Bons confusion mixed with hope and keeping his reserve his expectations. ‘What is it?’

‘I don’t know, but we should get it before it gets too far away.’

Expertly the helmsman, guided the Plongeur to intercept the object on the radar, using mechanical arms the object was snatched, and placed inside the docking bay, where it floated in the water waiting to be examined.

Bons and many of the crew (who abandoned their stations) went to see what it was, and to their astonishment it was a wooden container adorned with symbols and ancient letters.

‘Its a wooden box.’ one of the crew stated.

‘But what is inside?’ Bons asked them, as he didn’t wait for it to be scanned, he wadded through the water and went to the sarcophagus, and opened it—

Chapter VIII - The Last Flight

Kurt Waves dressed in his uniform again, was thankful to be alive, but he paused all jubilations till they recovered the Lion’s Roar. Briefing his crew and Bons, he hurried to his captain’s chair to brief them on the next stage of their plan.

‘We don’t have time, if I know Carrium, he’ll go for Shī Chéng right away.’

‘But why? Wouldn’t his employers want to secure the Lion’s Roar first?’ Bons stated, still a little out of it from thinking Kurt was dead not to long ago.

‘Why else did he request a aircraft carrier, he is going to take an aircraft to the city. According to where we believe Shī Chéng is, we are nearing the spot where its just a direct shot up to it.’

Displaying the coordinates on the screen, it shows that all they had to do was fly upwards and the city would be right there.

‘They might not have a craft that’ll carry them up there at that altitude.’ Bons was reticent to take action right away after losing two of their crew.

‘We didn’t think they had those homing mines but they did—’ he looked around and saw his crew wasn’t fully on board with what they believe he was suggestion. ‘—look I was down there, I know the kind of things they’ll find up in that city. If we don’t try to stop them, then we’ll see the worst of humanity rule over us for God knows how long. They’ll dominate the world, and its the people who’ll suffer, now we didn’t start this with the intentions of letting bastards like them win.

‘We either do this now or regret it later, and trust me you all will.’ he saw a look of confidence return to their faces, and the entire bridge beamed with confidence. ‘Besides, they think I’m dead. They won’t be expect a counter-attack this soon.’

***

‘Because they’re going to attack!’ Carrium interjected sharply, as he order the men to laid up the experimental cargo jet plane.

‘Waves is dead.’ Colonel Chao shook his head in disbelief, as the African refused to listen to him, and just return to China with the treasures they retrieved. ‘You’ll get your money, so why do all this?’

Looking at the Colonel with a exasperated look of contempt, Carrium walked up to him, as the men continued to load the plane, till he was standing right in front of him. ‘Because we both thought he was dead before. I know him, if he survived, he’ll try to stop us from reaching the city, no matter the cost.’

Halfway from the surface, Carrium had a odd premonition that Kurt survived, something in him told him it was best to go on with his plan to reach the Lion City. So as soon as they got to the surface, and climbed aboard, he ordered the plane be set up for an immediate expedition to the sky.

‘You’re crazy, maybe you kind leaves things half done, but I assure you, Chinese are superior in our methods of—’ suddenly he lurched forward as did much of the ship. ‘—what the hell was that?!’ Colonel Chao looked at his nearest officer, ‘You! Get to the bridge and report what happened.’ Again the tipped to one side as if it was going to be capsized.

‘You were saying? Oh superior one.’ Carrium turned to the men loading the plane. ‘Stop loading! We have enough, start boarding, we’ll lift off as soon as possible.’ climbing aboard the large jet plane, he was soon joined by Colonel Chao who didn’t want to be left behind.

As the chinese on the carrier tried to figure out what was happening, they didn’t realize that the Auric Plongeur had attached gigantic suctions cups to the side of the ship. Relying on the element of surprise, they used an unbreakable diamond tether of Atlantean design to pull at the ship as a distraction; while Kurt, Bons, and a squad of navy trained security men dressed in skintight swimsuits were climbing the side of the chinese carrier.

Wearing special gloves and knees pads with similar suction cup technology, they ascended the side of the ship. Before the jet plane could take off, Carrium sat next to the pilot, confident they were leave Kurt behind, that was till he saw men climbing over the side of the deck.

Dressed as if they were auditioning to be frog monster in a horror movie, he turned to the pilot and shouted, ‘Get this plane off the ground!’ slapping his back hard, forcing him to start the engine before he did a systems checks.

As the jet plane tried to take off down the runway, Kurt’s men and the chinese engage in a firefight. The crew of the Plongeur used custom fully automatic rifles that looked almost as if they were skeet guns. Sleek with ivory white body, they fired needle like bullets that incapacitated their target with a sleeping drug. Forcing all who are hit by even one to start getting dizzy and losing consciousness.

Clearing the deck of hostels, the jet plane started to drive down the runway. Kurt, Bons, and some of their men ran after it, as the chinese on the ship raised the alarm. Soon a firefight broke out between the chinese on the bridge and below deck, and Kurt’s squad.

Both sides were military trained, and the fight started to get bloody, after a few of Kurt’s men were gunned down as they attempted to take over the bridge. However that wasn’t on his mind, his full attention was trying to reach the jet.

‘Come on Bons! We have to make it!’ he screamed over the roar of the engine, as the cargo jet started to take on full speed. Running out of runway, it was getting close to the wire, as Kurt planned to jump onto the retractable wheels, and hide below.

Hoping to do it with some help, he managed to push himself to his full extent and leap onto the land gear. Looking back he was disheartened to see Bons didn’t make it, he couldn’t hear him crying out over the roar of the engine, as the gear lifted up into the planes interior, he saw Bons reach the end of the landing strip, trying to reach out to Kurt.

Then the landing gear fully retracted inside as the jet too flight, and he was in the belly of the mechanical beast.

***

Hundreds of feet into the air became thousands, as the jet was flying at speeds unheard of before, as it was a new aircraft yet to be fully approved for in-the-field use. Despite the risk, the chinese government believed the minimal failures during the testing phase didn’t outweigh its successes.

Decidedly it was the only chinese aircraft that can carry them to the mesosphere where Shī Chéng awaits, protected behind a swirling vortex of winds. Carrium could only imagine the power inside there, that would allow the ancient people to control the winds. Already he felt a sting of regret destroying the grotto, but what lay in the city was a consolation prize he was maneuvering to take from his employers.

Somehow he’ll use the power of the city to supplant the old world order, and become the true leader of the human race, to prevent such past atrocities. As the clouds grew denser, and the blue sky darkened, he felt an exhilaration that dwarfed all his other discoveries.

***

Kurt was in the insides of the aircraft, moving around he found he was just underneath the cargo hold. Lifting himself up, over wires, and metal beams, he found he could see out through a grate in the floor. Above a few chinese soldiers were moving crates, all of their wore sidearms. He’d have to be quiet to get the jump on one or more of them, as he tried to lift the grate, the door on the far end opened.

Colonel Chao walked through, his eyes livid, speaking in their language that Kurt understood fluently, he overheard what was being said.

‘That damned African the bureaucrats hired has hijacked the plane, he won’t open the doors to the cockpit.’ he moved to one of the crates loading and looked around. ‘Damn it! We didn’t pack the battering ram, most of the tools and weapons we needed we left behind!’

Silently the men listened to their commanding officer rant, and start throwing crates around in a tantrum.

‘Get to the front, we’re going to take back the plane!’ obediently the men left the cargo hold, and Kurt was smiling at his luck. As soon as the door slammed, he lifted up the grate panel, and moved it aside.

Lifting himself up from below, he replaced the grate, and moved between the stacks of boxes, careful not to make too much of a ruckus, as he looked around for leverage. He couldn’t just reveal himself to a plane full of commie chinese without some kind of trump card. Looking through the crates, he found marked with chinese letters for DANGER.

Opening it he smiled to himself, that was what he needed to get them to turn back, and hold them hostage.

***

‘Open this door Carrium, I Colonel Chao of the People’s Army Of China order it!’ there was no response from the other side. The Colonel pounded on the thick steel door again, hoping to get some kind of response. ‘We’ll force it open if we must! You are an employee to the Chinese government, you have no right to refuse a direct order!’ Again he was ignored.

‘Get the blow torch! We’ll for it open!’

Calling up a engineer with a blowtorch and wearing a welding mask, he started to ignite the flame, when they all heard a dangerous clicking sound from behind their group.

Thirty chinese soldiers looked back, and were taken aback by the sight that made them all stop dead in their tracks.

Kurt Waves had somehow managed to get aboard the plane, and was aiming a bazooka at them, armed with a missile that’ll blow them all up.

Despite the scarred senseless look on all his men, Colonel Chao only smiled, and laughed as if he was told a funny joke. ‘Mr. Waves, again you surprise me. But we both know no matter how many times you do so, that you wouldn’t be so brave as to sacrifice your own life.’

Kurt didn’t smile, he kept the same bitter scowl on his face. ‘Considering the number of my men that died, I’d be willing to take one for the team.’ he primed the firing mechanism, that caused a shrill beeping sound to go off, as a red target came out, and formed a triangular simple of red dots on Chao’s chest.

‘Land the plane, or…kaboom.’ the stern quietness of that voice made what he said sound all the more serious.

Chao looked and sounded nervous, more so compared to all his men, who looked at him with concern on their faces.

‘We can’t…Carrium won’t open the door.’ Chao swallowed must’ve been a silver dollar sized lump in his throat.

‘Allow me.’ Kurt said as he switched targets to the door. The chinese men dove for cover, clearing the way fearing to get caught in the explosion.

Pulling the trigger, Kurt expected they all go down in fiery blaze, but instead nothing. No big explosion, it felt as if he fired an empty weapon. Quickly he checked it, and saw it was loaded but still it didn’t do anything. It seemed to not even register it was being fired, shaking he, he tried to get it to fire, while being aware as the Chinese soldiers were realizing they may not die.

‘Cheap chinese piece of crap!’ Kurt shouted out, throwing the bazooka, at a group of soldiers that charged at him, upon realizing that he couldn’t fire. As he flanked around them, he punched another soldier in the jaw, who tried to hold him at gunpoint, and stole his pistol, returning fire as a group of soldiers started firing.

‘Stop it you fools!’ cried Chao, ‘This cabin is pressured, you’ll kill us all.’ that was when Kurt got an idea. Pointing the gun at the nearest port hole, he buckled himself to one of the seats on the plane, and fired at it, before anyone realized his plan.

The bullets cracked window at the first shot, and shattered it on the second. Before they could all fully realize the peril, there was a overpowering suction that pulled them all towards the opening. Screaming, and trying to grasp onto safety, one by one the chinese were squeezed out of the porthole, howling in pain and fear. As they were being sucked out and at that height would drift into outer space.

The turbulence, the deafening rush of wind, the plane losing control, it was almost a cleaning sound that made Kurt seem to have a disembodied experience. So much so, he nearly forgot to put on a oxygen mask to keep the air being sucked out of his lungs. From within the cockpit, Carrium was blowing a beautiful, yet frightening sounding Lion’s Roar, the ancient instrument sounded out a majestic cry of a feral beast.

King of all animals, the lion cry echoed about, which only meant, they were nearing Shī Chéng, and Carrium was pulling down the barrier with the Lion’s Roar. As they were entering the whirling vortex of winds surrounding the floating city, the plane’s interior filled with rushing winds, that flung everything and everyone about that wasn’t secured in place.

Despite clawing, grasping, and kicking other men into the yawning maw of shot out window, it was time for Colonel Chao to meet his maker. Holding onto a seatbelt strap, he was trying to secure himself in place, but couldn’t get a grip against the overpowering pull that would expel him from the plane. Looking at Kurt as he was secured in his seat, Chao had a unmistakable flare of rage and futility. If he could, the Colonel would reach out and straggle the life out of his long time enemy, as he balled his fists in rage, as he slipped further from his lifeline into oblivion.

Slipping away, he let out a drowned out cry of dismay, as he was pulled to the porthole, and as he struggled to pull himself through, his features and body were distorted. Struggling to keep himself inside, and being too big for the opening, he his face turned from red to purple, as his insides were being pushed upwards, as he was struggling to delay his expulsion by inches.

As blood splattered from his mouth, and his eyes bulged, he looked like a purple skinned pig before he was pulled out in a finally jerk out of the plane, into the empty dark void. Alone in the plane except those in the cockpit, Kurt started to breathe easier, as the suction died down, and somehow the darkness he saw outside the porthole became brighter.

Finally the wind died down, and it looked as if they were slowly descending as they were about to land.

Chapter IX - The Last Trial

When the chinese cargo jet plane neared the vortex surrounding Shī Chéng, it looked as if they were nearing a sphere made up of every tornado ever to form. Whirling around at such speeds it looked as if it was barely moving at all, it was time for Carrium to see if the Lion’s Roar would work as described on the crown. Blowing into it, he found it vibrate into him as he blew air through it, as if it was giving him strength.

At hearing the sound it hasn’t heard in many millennia, the vortex started to dissipate, again Carrium blew and a opening formed right through the vortex. Quickly as pilot pointed out there were losing pressure, and hearing the bedlam occurring on the other end of the doors, he ordered the pilot to fly through the opening.

Seeing no other way besides crashing, the pilot flew through the opening, and after hitting a few clouds, they saw it, appearing after a cottony haze, the glorious city of prehistory. Older than the Bible, Mesopotamia, and even the splitting of the continents, Shī Chéng, the Lion City was there to be discovered.

Towering stone monuments of unmistakable Atlantean design. Glowing constructs of technological devices that were beyond their modern understanding, it was beyond anything he ever hoped to find. No mummies tomb, or pirate’s treasure would match the power and knowledge awaiting for them. Finding a stretch of paved stone, the pilot landed, and immediately they noticed the warmth and calm air surrounding them, as they slid down the runway.

Finally stopping, the pilot switched off the engine, as Carrium was ready to explore the city proper.

***

Kurt dazed from the moments of lacking oxygen, and the change in environment from frigid to tropical warm, he knew they landed, and as he struggled with his seat belt, he saw two figures approach through blurry eyes. It wasn’t till his eyes focused, and he felt a hand roughly tear the oxygen off his face did his vision sober, and he saw Carrium standing over him, with a chinese soldier, holding a gun on him.

‘Well, Mr. Waves, another pleasant surprise. Didn’t think you’d be this far along with us, to see the wonders of the floating city with us. But since you’re here, you might as well join us on our expedition as our guest.’

Binding his hands with rope behind his back, Kurt was marched along with a gun at his back, as Carrium went in front of them, he wanted to be the first of them to set foot in the floating city.

Opening the door of the plane, they were immediately blinded by the reflection of the sun off one of the metallic railings of the paved street. Stairs automatically retracted from below the door, allowing them to climb down into the city.

With each step even the chinese pilot’s eyes were wide in wonder, never had they seen such a mix of ancient architecture. Appearing as a hybrid between western, middle eastern, african, and asian structures from the ancient world. Nothing they had seen was so beautiful, that man would have built it before and lost its knowledge.

‘Do you see Mr. Waves, this is what you would deny the world.’ Carrium stepped onto the streets, and looked at the towering structures around them, that despite their height, didn’t blot out the sun.

‘Only to deny it for evil purposes.’ Waves was considering trying to fight the pilot off, despite being bound, and him having a gun, but he saw Carrium had a pistol holster at his waist.

‘Would you call me evil?’ Carrium asked cheekily as a little boy, who knew he has done bad. ‘Any change is devastating. Look at how the world was, imagine what catastrophic event split the world up, and made mankind as it is today? What power could have done such a thing?’

As they walked down the road, their eyes were naturally drawn to a massive stone mural, made of precious stones, and etched with glowing, crystalline material, it answered Carrium’s question.

At the start there was a tower, a massive spire that all people were trying to build. What followed were signs that they angered God and his angels, so from the heavens came a series of natural disasters. Floods, winds, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions, that happened in unison, that split the land, so that the arrogance of mankind would be humbled.

After reading it, Kurt shook his head. ‘Don’t you see Carrium? Mankind lost its history because men like you took it too far. It’ll only happen again if we try to supplant the natural order, we weren’t ready before for this and we aren’t ready now.’

‘Enough!’ Carrium yelled out, anger flushing his face. ‘You are fool Mr. Waves! Don’t you understand that people are suffering? Children starve, men and woman die of curable diseases, and why? Not because of man’s arrogance, but because we don’t have the right leaders.’

‘And you think that is you?’ Kurt shook his head, as he was irritated by the delusional arrogance coming from Carrium. ‘Don’t you see? What’ll happen if the wrong man gets control of this technology?’

‘I know.’ Carrium restrained his anger. ‘That is why I am here.’ leading the way, they continued down the streets, as the African soldier of fortune tried to translate the writing etched in the stone.

‘I thought you were only doing this for money?’ Kurt interjected as he saw how Carrium was confused with the complexity of the ancient writing.

‘And power.’ Carrium added half-jokingly. ‘Money and power is the bedrock of my philosophy. Just like knowing ancient Atlantean is yours. Tell me what does this say?’ he pointed to the stone blocks that seem to mark the way around the city.

Kurt didn’t answer, till he felt the barrel of a pistol dig into his back.

‘Don’t be stupid Mr. Waves, the only reason you’re still alive is that I realize your expertise would come in handy, now tell me what this says before my friend there gets impatient.’

Realizing it was best he kept alive till a better opportunity arises, he looked at the writing and read it aloud.

‘Power…Lightning…something about…making lightning.’ he wasn’t exactly sure, it was a dialect of Atlantean he was fluent in.

‘Lightning? Power?...’ took a moment for Carrium to realize what it meant. ‘A power station! This must be a power plant! It makes sense, how it kept in the air for so long, it is using the wind to generate power, its a giant wind turbine!’ a buzz of ideas came to his mind, and Kurt could see he wouldn’t like any of them.

‘Tell me, where is the control station.’ he ordered, but his excitement turned to anger, when Kurt hesitated to answer.

Pulling out his own pistol, Carrium aimed it at Kurt’s guts. Making the implication simply, “Tell me or die.”

Breathing in slowly, Kurt exhaled and did as he was told, he read the writing on the rocks. Going between them, as they went down the street.

‘Well which one is it?!’ Carrium was getting impatient.

‘I don’t know, the writing describes things differently than we would. Their use of phrases in this dialect use grammar different. But as far as I can see, these buildings—’ he waved his arms over the right side of the street, ‘—were dormitories for the ancient Atlanteans…and—’ Kurt stopped and a silent awe came over him.

Before he was concerned with the guns pointed at him, he rushed into one of the buildings.

‘Kurt wait!’ Carrium called after him, as both him and pilot followed him into one of the open doorways of the building. Stepping inside, lights automatically blinked on, awakened by the movement of footsteps it hadn’t registered in time beyond measure.

Inside the building were a rows upon rows of pods. Ivory, pods filled with blue, glowing fluid. Kurt was the first to see what was inside them, which confirmed his suspicions from what he translated on the rocks. Curiosity filled Carrium as he joined Kurt and looked inside one of them.

Within the fluid, lay in suspended animation, a ancient Atlantean. Covering in radiant tattoos, and looking unlike any other man on Earth, the dormitories were filled with preserving pods to save their entire race.

‘God…they didn’t just die out…they preserved themselves.’ Kurt couldn’t believe he’d ever see a pureblood of the ancient people, the ones who discovered so much, way before they ever did.

‘It is indeed fascinating…but now what we’re looking for. Come along Kurt.’ commanded Carrium. He turned back when he noticed Kurt still not moving, instead studying the pod, as if mesmerized by the man within. ‘Come Kurt, or we’ll open one of these up.’ the threat was enough to get Kurt to come along, in their search for the city’s controls.

Travelling down the street, they finally came to what Carrium recognized as the control Centre, even without Kurt telling him, he saw all the power was flowing in and out of one structure. Built almost as if it were a holy site, with towering steeples, and arching doorways, they all climbed up the long stretch of stairs to enter the building.

Once inside all the various screen made of stationary liquid came to light, flashing in blue brilliance. A mix of elements, fire, air, wind, and water were used in their devices that helped regulate the temperature of the city, and maintain its flight. The screens showed various statistics, and had charts of the world, the city, and even star charts.

‘What is all this?’ Kurt thought aloud, till he was answered by a deep voice, within the hall.

‘It is the salvation of my people.’

The deep but calm voice alarmed Carrium and the pilot who turned with their guns drawn, but Kurt wasn’t afraid, he recognized the giant-like voice.

A another giant, much like Tythus stood there, he was beardless but wore a mass of dreadlocks on his gemstone beaded hair. Looking African, his eyes were however a crystal blue, as they looked upon the three men with neither malice nor concern.

‘So, the children finally have found us.’ he laughed proudly, as if he were a father amazed at his son’s triumphs. ‘Why have you come all this way, children of Adam?’

Neither Kurt or the Chinese pilot could answer, they were amazed at the sight of the towering figure, but Carrium was not one to take advantage of hesitation.

‘We have come to find you, and learn about you and your civilization.’ he smiled back, but he saw there was a hint of knowing in the giant’s eye, as if he were a child caught in a lie before he even told one.

‘Is that all? Tell me did you pass all the trials to reach here?’ the giant questioned, with mild suspicion in his voice.

‘Of course, how else did I get this?’ Carrium pulled out the Lion’s Roar.

‘Ah, so Tythus tested you, and found you worthy.’ a gentle smile came on his face. ‘Then you will no doubt pass the last test.’ the giant turned away, and started walking up a series of stairs, with the three men following behind.

‘What tests?’ Carrium asked nervously.

‘The final one.’ the giant answered.

‘Yes but…why?’ Carrium couldn’t hide the worry in his voice.

‘Have no fear, if you are worthy to know of this city and its people, then you will succeed.’

‘And if one were to fail?’ Kurt asked, not liking the sound of any of it.

‘Then he will meet God.’ the giant answered, without any change in his gentle tone of voice.

At the top of the stairs, after a series of monitors and consoles was a finally platform. A circular one, with a pole in its center, where circles within circles were carved into the metal and stone floor. Writing surrounded the circles of various runes and ancient letters, and the pole at the center had a wheel at its top, a copper looking one with a emerald stone at its center.

‘If you are worthy—’ the giant instructed. ‘—the test of winds will allow you to control the city and the flows of all four winds.’

Hearing that Carrium’s eyes went wide with desire.

‘So I would have control over the winds? I can do anything with it?’ his friendly façade faded from his voice as he saw what he desired within reach.

‘If you are worthy.’ the giant pointed out.

‘What must I do.’ Carrium asked quickly, as anxiety of being close to his dreams and ultimate goal seemingly so close at hand.

‘Go to the wheel at the center, and simply command the wind.’

‘How?’ Carrium was unsure what to do.

‘You’ll know.’ the giant said firmly.

Hesitating at first, the learned archeologist and rapacious adventurer, didn’t want Kurt to take the test or to make the giant trigger any of the city’s security. Despite that bit of humbleness telling him he was not ready, his pride compelled him to take a step onto the platform. The first layer of circle lit up underfoot, and he felt embolden by that to take another step.

A smile came to him as he stepped more hurriedly, till finally he was at the wheel. Looking back at the giant and Kurt, as if to check to see if he was doing it right, he grabbed hold of it, and felt a euphoric sensation come over his entire body. Feeling all the dormant processes in his brain start to flare in excitement, he let out a invigorated roar, as if he had just awoken from a long sleep, and was fully of energy.

‘I can feel it! The power! I can control it! I am worthy!’ he screamed in a bombastic voice, as if proclaiming himself to the heaven’s themselves. ‘Shī Chéng! I am your master! Obey me and carry this city aloft! For I lay claim to the world! Cities will be wiped away, all pollution and industries will be decimated, only what I build will last for all ti—!’ then in the height of his ecstasy, he let out a pained groan.

‘Somethings wrong!’ he cried out, unable to let go of the wheel.

‘No. Son of Adam.’ the giant spoke. ‘You have been tested.’

With those words came a sudden look of panic on Carrium’s face, as he tried to rip his hands from the wheel. Struggling against its magnetic hold on him, he tried to rip himself away, but he was stuck, as the first circle started to move, whirling around as if they were swirling blades. Kicking up wind, as it moved, each circle starting from the outermost one to the inner most one, the blades started to move around.

Slicing up wind, and creating a spherical vortex, as even from without, a haze of air and wind was pulled towards it. Kurt and the pilot looked on in trepidation, fearing what may happen. The pilot unable to stand still, ran away in fear, but in doing so, he charged into a inflowing breeze that dragged him align with it, as if he were a bird sucked it by a jet engine.

To keep himself from being sucked in, Kurt held onto the giant, who allowed the smaller man to seek shelter from his immovable form, as the Chinese pilot let out a mortified scream as he was pulled into the whirling blades and sliced apart.

Gore and crimson fluids spray upon Carrium as he continued to try and let go of the wheel, but couldn’t move. Letting out a wail of despair, as he felt the wind form a around him in a cyclone of rushing air, that pulled on his body, twisting his flesh about his stationary form.

Through the whirling blades and folds of air, Kurt watched from around the giant’s body, as Carrium’s flesh was being torn from him, one stretched lump at a time. Excruciatingly slow, his face was torn off, revealing crimson stained skull, following by his arm and leg flesh, his clothes were shredded as his body was ripped off his skeleton.

Organs and muscle were stripped from his skeleton, which still seemed to be alive, as it trembled against the wind, letting out a quieted scream, before his eyes were ripped from their sockets. After the test decimated Carrium robbing him of all he was, the blades slowed and returned to their resting places in the floor, as the wind died down, the skeleton of Carrium stood upright for awhile.

Then in a rattling tumble they fell to the ground lifeless.

‘Poor bastard.’ Kurt felt sorry for his longtime rival, seeing him die in such a terrible way made him for pity for him.

‘He was poor indeed.’ the giant stated. Turning hit sights upon Kurt. ‘Do you wish to try and claim the city?’ The giant reached down, and with a swift tug snapped Kurt’s bindings, freeing his hands.

There came a moment of consideration to Kurt, as he was tempted, after all he passed the other trials. Maybe Carrium failed because he didn’t pass the last test like he did, but then he remembered what he read on the mural. The fall of Babylon due to the arrogance of man, was he truly worth when other men weren’t?

After contemplating it, he shook his head. ‘If you’re people weren’t ready for it, then I doubt we will be.’

A relieved sigh came from the giant, as he smiled brilliant at what he heard. ‘And in that, you are worthy.’ the giant spoke softly. ‘It is not the test to claim power, but to recognize it is best not to be tempted.’

That was when Kurt realized the Atlanteans didn’t lock themselves away just to survive, but to await the time the world was ready to learn what they did long ago.

‘I doubt others would agree with such a lesson.’ Kurt told the giant.

‘Yes…since this city has been found, men will fight over it, even if they cannot reach it, as long as we’re here, it’ll be a devastating temptation.’ the giant’s words, made Kurt worry.

‘You’re not going to—?’ Kurt thought the worst but the giant quickly soothed that fear.

‘No…but it is time to set the bar a little higher.’ the giant answered.

Kurt began to understand, when he saw the giant go to a monitor and set a chart displaying the cities position to the sky, then set a new course into outer space.

‘So, since the kids got to the cookie jar, you’re just putting it on the high shelf.’ Kurt observed, using a metaphor he found amusing.

The giant thought about what Kurt said, then smiled and nodded. ‘Yes, I believe when your kind find us again, you’ll be ready.’

‘Sadly I don’t think I’ll be alive to see it.’ Kurt was disappointed that such a discovery was going beyond his reach.

‘But you’ll be alive to see other things, I’m sure.’ as the city’s course was being laid, the giant led Kurt down some stairs. ‘Firstly we have to make sure you find your way back down below.’

Beneath his feet, Kurt felt the ancient mechanisms stir, as Shī Chéng was setting its new course to the stars.

‘Will you be able to survive in outer space?’ Kurt was skeptical that even the Atlanteans possessed the power of interstellar travel.

‘It is about time we returned.’ the giant answered, which sparked a endless questions within Kurt that he knew he didn’t have the time to ask.

At the bottom of the stairs, was a brightly lit room, and at its centre was a Antillean aircraft. Looking as if it were a flying boat, it was unlike any other he had ever seen, it was made of alloy man had yet to be able to manufacture.

‘Will this take me back?’ Kurt asked, as the giant was at a console, presumably setting the course of the craft.

‘Consider it a gift to take back with you, as reward for passing the trials, and for safeguarding our secrets.’ the aircrafts top opened up.

Kurt climbed inside, and before the lid closed he managed to ask one last question. ‘Do you think we’ll ever be ready?’

That the giant did not answer, as he closed the door, and stood back, as the aircraft was dropped, and floated down through clouds and rushing winds. Kurt looked up and in the light of the sun, he saw the city ascend, and in a few moments it was a fading image vanishing into the black depths above.

Chapter X - Epilogue

Bons and the crew managed to take over the chinese carrier. Locking the crew in the brig, they started to steer the ship to South Korean to turn it over to the government.

‘I am sure they’ll want to take custody of it, considering it violated a fair amount of treaties, and trespassed on disputed waterways.’ Bons told the crew who manned the bridge.

Despite enjoying their victory, Bons and the crew felt anxious, worrying if Kurt would make it back safely, or at all. They had been worried about him before, but something felt different, as if there was a change in the wind. He was gone for hours and they were nearing the shore.

Bons had them send a message to brief them of what happened, and their plan. Soon a few South Korean naval ships will show up and take possession of the carrier, and Bons intended they leave before they arrive.

Hesitantly Bons gave the order. ‘Prepare to board the Auric Plongeur, we’ll monitor the skies from there.’ As they prepared to leave, one of the crew spoke out, though his words were jumbled from excitement.

‘What is it?’ Bons asked as he checked the monitor.

‘Something is coming!’ the crewman spat out, as they looked at the monitor and saw a aircraft start to make its approach.

Hurriedly they rushed out to the deck, to see if they could spot whatever was coming. They didn’t see it at first, because it blended with the clouds, but soon they saw it head towards them. Moving aside, they saw the aircraft flying with flapping wings as if it were a board, soaring through the air, and landing on deck with two flexible metallic legs with wheels on the end.

Nothing they seen before matched the elegance and swiftness of that aircraft, as soon as it landed with the sound of a dove landing in its nest, they approached it, hoping someone they knew was inside.

The top opened and slid away, and out climbed out Kurt Waves, looking tired and at the same time in awe of what he just went through.

‘Kurt!’ Bons went to embrace his friend, but he was held back by unsteady arms, of the worn out man of adventure.

‘Please save all hugs, congratulations, and questions till after I at least get something to eat. I feel like I haven’t ate in a week.’ as he coughed up a dried piece of phlegm from his parched throat.

‘Yes, my old friend, anything you want.’ Bons helped his friend along as they prepared to return to their undersea home, with a new Atlantean artifact to study for all their trouble.

‘Then since you’re such in a giving mood got any bourbon on you?’ Kurt’s inner rough neck came out, as he was settling into the idea that his latest quest was over, and it was time to head off into the sunset, at least until the next one.

The End.