"Arthur is a good boy, but he can't control his longing for his mother. Maybe, I shouldn't have given him so many stories about the sea at the beginning. So that he won't keep taking risks and want to go to the deep sea."

Tom Curry, the lighthouse administrator at Port Tsing, was sitting on the sofa, holding a cup of hot tea.

He looked at his son and lie on the carpet and play with the kitten he raised at home.

On either side of him, Merlin and Bruce sat there, as guests.

"But in fact, there is no Atlantis, no undersea people, it's just a fantasy of Arthur."

Mr. Tom smiled at Merlin, and there was a little helplessness in his smile. He lowered his head and explained:

"A child of his age always likes to think about it."

"Then his mother?"

Bruce asked in a low voice, Tom's tea-drinking action stopped. The lighthouse administrator, who had a very poet-like temperament, smiled and said to Bruce gently:

"Arthur's mother died of dysfunction. She left my life five years ago."

"You mean, are the fairy tales that Arthur said little? "

Merlin asked, and Tom nodded, he didn't seem to want to say too much about this matter. But Merlin, who saw hope again, didn't want to miss this hope. He stared into Tom's eyes and said cautiously:

"This kid can call fish to help him. I have seen it with my own eyes that he can even control dangerous sharks and whales."

Merlin breathed a sigh of relief, he reached out to take off his sunglasses, and he said:

"This is a rare ability, and I don't think everyone in Maine has such ability. And Mr. Tom, I'm sorry for my words to be taken away by your son, but I've seen it, I need help."

"You, your eyes! Is it caused by magic?"

Tom was indeed a knowledgeable person. After seeing the abnormality of Merlin's eyes, he was not too surprised, nor was he afraid in his eyes.

He looked at Merlin, who nodded, which also made Tom understand what Merlin was about.

After a few seconds, Tom put down his teacup and shook his head:

"I understand that being a mortal person will always cause bad consequences to be involved in these supernatural things. But unfortunately, I can't help you, Mr. Merlin, you have seen it, I'm just an ordinary person with a little more experience."

"But you have at least those experiences."

Merlin said almost in a pleading tone:

"Mr. Tom, the things I experienced have exhausted me. I no longer hope to go back to the past. I just want to eliminate my troubles and find a place to start my life again. If you have experienced the same thing, please help me!"

"If you have any concerns or requests, please say it!"

Bruce also spoke:

“I will do my best to meet your requirements.”

Bruce and Merlin are friends who have experienced hardships together. He is about to leave North America. He hopes to see Merlin get rid of this bad fate before he leaves.

At least you don’t need to use that painful self-harm to suppress bad luck every day.

The request of the two young men made Tom hesitate.

After a moment, Tom carried the little Arthur who was about to take a nap back to the room, and when he walked out, he turned his head towards Merlin and Bruce:

"Let's go out and talk."

A few minutes later, below the lighthouse, near the reef on the sea, Tom, wearing a windbreaker, said to the two young people beside him:

"Here, five years ago, I found Arthur's mother here. She was seriously injured at that time, and I saved her and left her to live in the lighthouse. Then we became friends, at first just attracted each other, and then we fell in love with each other after the sweetest time, and were forced to separate."

The sea breeze blew to Tom's face and his windbreaker, and there was a touch of unrelieved pain in Tom's eyes. He took a deep breath and said softly:

"Yes, I've seen Atlanta use magic. I know that the people under the sea in Atlantis have maritime warlocks who specialize in fighting with magic. I've seen those under the sea manipulating the water flow, causing storms and tides, and the sea water transforms into the most powerful weapon in their hands. But unfortunately, that's all I know."

"So do you have a way to contact those undersea people?"

Merlin looked at the turbulent sea in front of him and asked:

"Or, can you tell me where can I find them?"

Tom shook his head, and he looked at the endless sea in front of him, and he said:

"No. Five years ago, when the Undersea Man landed and came to force Atlana, what I deserved to die was that my lover saved me and my son at the cost of his own freedom. She didn't want us to be involved in the battle of the Seven Seas Kingdom, and she did not leave any way to contact the Undersea Man, but"

Tom hesitated a little. He looked back at Merlin, and looked at the thundering spark in Merlin's eyes, and he said:

"I don't know if it's an illusion. In recent years, I always feel that there are other creatures in the surrounding seas. After graduating from university, I lived at the lighthouse. At first I did research on sea creatures, but later I met Atlana and simply became the lighthouse administrator here. I know very well about the surrounding marine creatures."

"Mr. Merlin, I can tell you that this sea area is not a habitat for sharks and whales, but they are here now. Do you understand what I mean?"

"Um."

Merlin nodded:

"The food chain of all living things in any environment should be stable. Such large-scale ecological changes must be driven by a force. What do you mean is that there may be undersea people in this sea area?"

"Yes."

Tom nodded, and he said with a little concern:

"There should be people from the same place as Atlana, but I don't know his or her purpose. On the night when Atlana was taken away, my life was insignificant. The only thing I can't let go is Atlana's son, Little Arthur. If the undersea man came with malice, I would not be able to protect my son."

Tom stopped, he turned to point at the cliff bay on the other side of the lighthouse, and he said to Merlin:

"I don't want to hide you, Mr. Merlin. I've seen a figure leaping down on that cliff at midnight and jumping into the sea, and more than once, so if you want to find something related to the undersea people in this place, you should find it from there. But it's dangerous, not just because the cliff is 200 feet above the sea, but most importantly, I've seen those fully armed undersea people with my own eyes."

"Their attitude towards us land people is really not friendly."

“200 feet?”

Bruce shook his head and said to Merlin:

"Without any protection, jump into the sea from 200 feet, even if you are lucky enough not to hit the reef, you will drown due to impact force and undercurrents of the sea. This is no longer an adventure, this is seeking death, Merlin! Don't try it!"

"I know."

Merlin looked behind the lighthouse, the cliff bay that seemed to be cut off by an invisible sharp blade. The light in his eyes was pounding, and he said:

"But I have to try it. I've been almost 1 year away from home, Bruce, this is the first time I'm so close to real magic. I have to try it, I have to try it!"

"Then take this."

Tom took out a silver pendant from his trench coat pocket, which ended with the emblem of an exquisite trident.

He looked at the pendant, his eyes full of nostalgia for the past, and he said to Merlin:

"This is one of the few things Atlanta left to Arthur, this is a creation from Atlantis, and if there were indeed undersea people there, then this thing might have allowed you to escape from his hostility."

Tom held Merlin's hand, and he said to Merlin in a pleading voice, just like Merlin before him:

"I ask you as a father, Mr. Merlin. If you meet the underwater man, if he is kind, please ask me if Atlana, Arthur's mother, whether or not, is still alive and whether I should let Arthur continue to touch the sea. I don't know. Arthur has talent, he is different from me, but I don't know if this is a good thing for him."

"I'll ask."

Merlin took the pendant and nodded to Tom:

"If I could survive, I would definitely ask."

After saying that, Merlin turned his head and looked at Bruce again, and he said to Bruce who looked worried:

"But before that, there's one more thing. I'll have to send you away first, my friend."

—

"I don't understand. You should let me accompany you, at least let me prepare on the cliff. It is better for two people to go, and at least we can take care of each other."

Bruce carried a backpack and a baseball cap, and behind him was a freighter about to set sail for Europe.

Tom Curry grew up in Port Ci'en. He was very familiar with people at this pier. It took only 20 minutes before he found a boat for Bruce. He also agreed to the familiar captain that he asked Bruce to do odd jobs on the boat to get a ticket to Europe.

Merlin put Arthur on his neck and teased Arthur while saying to Bruce:

"I just fear that you have this idea, so I have to send you away."

"I know you treat me as a friend, Bruce, and I treat you as a friend, so I don't want to see you fall into danger because of me. This is my business, my adventure, and you also hear Tom say that the undersea people are like real supermans compared to us, and they are not friendly to land people."

"Besides, when I really encounter danger, I can escape at least. If you add to it, our hope of running away would be too slim."

"You treat me as a burden! It's really hateful."

Bruce gritted his teeth and punched Merlin in the chest, causing the little Arthur on Merlin to giggle. Bruce took out a piece of candy from his pocket, stuffed it into Arthur's hand, then reached out and pulled the baseball cap. He said to Merlin seriously:

"No matter whether this can be done or not, please stick with it, okay? I will also help you find information about magic in Europe. The history there is even older, and I believe I will find it."

"Come on, Bruce, are you afraid that I will commit suicide in despair?"

Merlin took a cigarette out of her pocket and lit it, and he said to Bruce:

"I've experienced such a terrible nightmare. Do you think, what else can defeat me in this world? Stay in touch, Bruce, when you return to North America, if I'm still alive, then we'll drink together!"

"What are you saying! A person like you will not die so easily."

Bruce reached out and patted Merlin on his shoulder. He stuffed something into Merlin's hand, he said:

"Life well! When I come back, I really have troubles that cannot be solved. Use this to find Ah Fu, and he will definitely help you. But don't reveal my whereabouts casually, do you understand?"

Merlin looked down and saw a note with a phone number in his hand.

He put away the note and looked at Bruce in front of him with clear eyes. He stretched out his hand at Bruce, and he said:

"So too. No matter where you are or what happens to you, don't forget why Bruce Wayne set out on this road."

"When darkness tempts you, never forget who you are. I know you did it, Bruce, you are a person who is born to do great things, I can feel it."

Bruce held Merlin's hand without hesitation. He looked at Merlin, and there was emotion in his blue eyes, and he asked with a smile:

"Do I have such a high opinion of you? Then let me ask you, what should I do if the darkness whispered to me?"

Merlin shrugged, and he said:

"Then let's slap it hard!"

"Hahaha"

The two young men smiled happily. A few minutes later, Merlin helped Bruce carry his luggage and took him onto the boat.

On the dock, Merlin held Arthur's hand and Tom stood beside him. They waved goodbye to Bruce, watching the ship leave the coast with his first true friend in his life.

The ship slowly moved away from Merlin's sight. He withdrew his gaze and Merlin's final worries were also eliminated.

He took a deep breath and looked back at Tom beside him, he said:

"I don't want to wait anymore, just tonight."
Chapter completed!