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Inside a massive asteroid belt near Svartalfheim, the mightiest flagship of the Dark Elves, cloaked in stealth, sensed the power of the Reality Stone and slowly began to stir.
"Aether particle energy fluctuations detected. Initiating awakening sequence... Awakening complete."
The ancient language of the Dark Elves resonated simultaneously through every chamber of the warship. Red energy surged through complex conduits and intricate patterns, flooding into every stasis pod.
The Dark Elves, who had slumbered for five thousand years, opened their eyes one by one.
In the main control room, Malekith, the Dark Elf King of old, also opened his eyes and stepped out of his stasis pod.
He checked the ship's sensor arrays, then summoned all the Dark Elf warriors within the vessel to make a loud proclamation:
"Five thousand years. The energy of the Aether has finally reappeared. We shall reclaim the Aether, wash away our past humiliation, annihilate Asgard, and return the universe to darkness!"
During the great war five thousand years ago, realized defeat was inevitable and that the Aether had been seized by Bor. Helpless, he had been forced to flee with his remaining elites.
Regrettably, they never sensed the Aether's energy fluctuations again after that day. Without the Aether, relying solely on their remaining numbers, the Dark Elves had no way to combat the mighty Asgard and King Bor.
Malekith guessed that Bor must have sealed the Aether away. Thus, he decided to utilize the ship's stasis pods to enter a deep sleep, using time itself to gain a tactical advantage.
Asgardians had a lifespan of only five thousand years, whereas the lifespan of a Dark Elf far exceeded that. Dark Elves were beings that existed before the Big Bang; they were far more ancient than the Asgardians.
His plan was to outlive Bor, wait for the seal to fail, and then emerge to reclaim the Aether and complete the Dark Elves' mission.
And reality had proven him right. He had succeeded.
"Return to darkness!"
"Return to darkness!"
"Return to darkness!"
Upon hearing their leader Malekith's speech, the awakened Dark Elf warriors shouted with fanatical zeal.
"Locate the position of the Aether."
Gathering his key lieutenants, Malekith immediately ordered the pilots to begin scanning for the source of the Aether's signal.
The results were delivered quickly.
"It is actually on our home planet!"
Malekith's face showed a look of surprise; he had assumed it would be on Asgard.
His lieutenants, hearing this, were filled with indignation. "Those damned Asgardians! Not only did they steal the Aether, but they also occupied our planet!"
"Let us go back and see what is happening first."
Malekith thought differently from his subordinates. Based on Asgardian habits, he didn't think they would particularly like Svartalfheim.
The Dark Elves were born in darkness; only in darkness could they exert their full power and thrive. Consequently, Svartalfheim was perpetually shrouded in thick storm clouds. It was gray and dim all year round, never seeing sunlight—an environment completely unsuitable for Asgardians.
The Dark Elf flagship engaged its stealth mode once more. With a flicker, it pierced through space and arrived in the skies above Svartalfheim.
The Dark Elf flagship possessed technology even more advanced than that of the Divine Realm of Asgard, allowing it to perform instantaneous space jumps without relying on wormholes. However, their individual combat strength was still somewhat inferior compared to the Asgardians.
"Scan the entire planet. Ensure there are no ambushes!"
Upon arriving at Svartalfheim, Malekith did not act recklessly. Instead, he ordered a comprehensive scan and reconnaissance of the entire planet.
If there was an ambush of Asgardian soldiers, he would immediately order the ship to jump away and flee.
"Report: Apart from the energy of the Aether, only three life forms have been detected."
The advanced Dark Elf technology quickly completed a survey of the entire planet. Corresponding virtual projections materialized at the front of the main control room.
On the barren, cracked earth, a small spaceship was parked. Next to the ship, three humans were eating barbecue and drinking beer, looking as if they were having a delightful conversation.
In the hands of one of the humans, he was toying with a red gem—the primordial form of the Aether.
"No high-concentration energy detected in the three subjects. They do not appear to be Asgardians, but rather Midgardians."
The subordinate reported the ship's scan results to Malekith.
"Those primitive Midgardians have finally made some progress."
Hearing that no high-concentration energy was detected, Malekith breathed a slight sigh of relief.
"However, that ship looks truly archaic. It suggests their progress is quite limited."
Given the situation, it was highly probable that over the last five thousand years, the Midgardians had developed the technology for space travel, built spaceships, accidentally explored Svartalfheim, and discovered the sealed Aether.
As for how the Aether was unsealed—perhaps the seal failed, or perhaps it was due to the Convergence of the Nine Realms. The reason didn't matter.
What mattered was that they could now go down, easily dispose of the three Midgardians, and reclaim the Aether.
In his view, the Midgardian spaceship was light-years behind their Dark Elf technology. He could dispatch a random Elf warrior with a weapon, and the mission would be accomplished.
"Land the ship. I will retrieve the Aether with my own hands!"
Malekith stood before the main console, gazing out at his former territory, and gave the order to the pilots.
After sleeping for so many years, he wanted to go down and take a good look at his own planet.
Meanwhile, down by the barbecue grill.
Thor, holding a skewer of meat in one hand and a beer in the other, asked George with some hesitation, "Will doing this really attract the Dark Elves?"
"With the Aether here, plus us looking completely non-threatening... unless that bunch of Dark Elves have brains like yours, they will definitely show up."
Before George could answer, Loki had already replied, taking the opportunity to mock his brother's intelligence.
Thor shrugged, not taking Loki's words to heart.
It couldn't be helped; he was the older brother, after all. Besides, Loki being like this was infinitely better than when he was constantly plotting against Asgard.
"The fish has already taken the bait."
George drained the beer in his hand, smiling as he slowly raised his head.
To lure out Malekith and the last of the Dark Elves—thereby solving a future threat to Asgard—he had set up this harmless-looking scene after using the Reality Stone as bait.
He had also temporarily used a sealing technique to lock down the energy fluctuations within the three of them to prevent detection.
In truth, this simple trap had significant loopholes and was hard to find entirely convincing.
However, he believed that as long as the Reality Stone was in play and Malekith detected no Asgardian ambush nearby, the Dark Elf would inevitably show himself to seize it.
Even if there was a one-in-ten-thousand chance of a trap, they couldn't afford to refuse.
Especially since, right now, the perception was that there was only a minimal risk, while ninety-nine percent of the situation appeared safe.
(End of Chapter)