Immediately after Neo was taken, Hera made sure to go after the ship, with Esme sprinting behind her.
However, before they even got to the submarine, there was not a single trace left behind.
This provoked her to the point where she smashed her fist through the wall.
Soon after, she calmed herself and asked one question, "Who is Davy Jones?"
But the only person beside her was Esme, who also had no idea.
They both walked back and rudely barged into the Queen's hall.
A few others surrounded Queen Elizabeth, feeding her with unusual reports, some of which could help find Neo.
"Who is Davy Jones?" Hera asked, a bit louder than before but still calm.
Seeing her, Elizabeth ordered everyone else to leave them alone.
Ivy, on the other hand, had just walked in.
"Atlantis' greatest threat," Elizabeth responded.
"So what does it have to do with Neo?" Esme asked, noticing Ivy signalling with her head for Elizabeth to keep that a secret.
Elizabeth, who had always been scared of Hera, felt her bones shake under the intense pressure. "I..." she swallowed. "I don't know."
Before anything else could happen, Ivy walked past them.
"He must have been mistaken for someone else. I'm sure he'll be returned soon enough," she explained.
"Soon enough?" Hera chuckled. The threat was an enemy to Atlantis, which meant it was their fault Neo was taken in the first place.
In other words, Hera blamed it on them. "If anything happens to my son, he won't be the only one you'll be worried about."
Soon after she said that, Esme stepped forward. "She forgot to mention you only have an hour to bring Neo back."
The moment Esme heard Neo was to be engaged to the princess of Atlantis, she already hated someone she hadn't even seen.
Now, this situation was leverage to break the bones in her body.
Elizabeth shivered, her jaw trembling. Even if not Esme, she was well aware of what Hera could do.
'Should I just tell them the truth?' she thought, anxiety feeding her thoughts.
As if Ivy had read her mind, she glanced back at her, and Elizabeth shivered even more.
This room was filled with tyrants; pleasing one meant provoking the other. She didn't want to take that risk.
After all, she wasn't entirely sure Hera could defeat Ivy underwater.
Without any further words, Esme left with Hera, and a heavy sigh escaped Elizabeth.
"Tell me, you're certain the boy has a royal bloodline of Atlantis?" Ivy asked.
"Yes, his blood fed the trident, which is why Atlan has awakened, and when he touched the Trident, he didn't die," Elizabeth explained.
Any bloodline outside the royal family would be killed while holding the Trident of Neptune.
And this was another reason male kin of Atlantis were killed, but Neo must have somehow escaped that fate.
"We must find him then; he'll be the next vessel to stabilize the Trident," Ivy said.
"What? If he dies, Hera and that other girl are enough to erase Atlantis, and with King Atlan back, it wouldn't..."
Elizabeth stopped, recognizing the look of disgust Ivy was giving her.
With nothing else said, Ivy left.
---
In that moment, Neo's heart stopped beating.
He relaxed his mind and averted his gaze from the octopus man.
Neo chuckled. "You almost got me there. I don't have Atlantean blood in me. I can't breathe underwater," he said.
His confidence was backed by the fact that none of this had been mentioned in the novel.
But if Atlan was correct, then it would make complete sense why his death was linked to Atlantis.
This must have happened in the later chapters written by the author, and instead of stabilizing the trident with herself or Elizabeth, Neo had been chosen.
"It makes complete sense. If I can change things here and now, then that means I won't die," Neo thought.
Even so, being born into the royal Atlantis bloodline still came as a shock.
No wonder he couldn't bind with any primordial in the origin.
Those were surface gods; there was no way he would be compatible.
Neo sighed. "Let's assume you're right. So what do you need me for?" he asked.
Atlan placed his slimy, tentacled hand on Neo's shoulder.
"To destroy the Trident of Neptune," he said.
But destroying the Trident wouldn't only stop the royal bloodshed, it would destroy all of Atlantis as well.
Neo knew this, and he was certain Atlan knew it too.
However, something wasn't adding up.
"You kidnapped me so easily in front of them. Why didn't you just take the trident?" Neo asked.
He paused and stepped backward. Atlan was either trying to fool him or hiding a crucial detail.
If stabilizing the trident required a royal bloodline, then destroying it should require one as well.
'Shit, he was trying to fool me. Either way, whether I help him or not, I'd still die?'
Neo's head throbbed.
"It is your destiny. You are the only male from the royal bloodline for the last one hundred centuries. When born, they were killed instantly, but somehow you survived for this day, to free not just us but to stop the madness I started," Atlan explained calmly.
Neo chuckled.
Ever since he got here, his only plan had been to avoid his death.
If Atlan believed Neo would just throw that away, he was completely wrong.
"If that's my destiny, what's yours?" Neo asked. "Mine is to die, right? And yours?"
In that moment, the way Neo stared at Atlan with a blank expression made the tentacled man realize Neo wasn't who he expected him to be.
Silence.
Atlan stood wordlessly, staring at Neo. "I must end the royal bloodline that I started. I must kill Ivy and her daughter, Elizabeth. We all have a role to play in this, son," Atlan said, tapping his shoulder.
Before walking past Neo, he stopped and exhaled deeply.
"In the end, the decision is yours. But if you get in my way, I won't hesitate to kill. And if you don't help me," he paused.
"...after I kill Ivy and her daughter, I'll come for you, boy. After all, you are of my royal blood."