Inside the attic, even the wise Queen Frigga opened her eyes wide in surprise.
She knew Prince Lock had completed the unprecedented Nine Refinements of the Divine Body, but cultivation still required a process, right?
How long had it even been? And now he could destroy a mothership with a single punch?
On the contrary, Jane and Daisy reacted a bit better.
Even though they were not in New York during the Chitauri invasion, after the battle nearly every person on Earth had seen the video of Lock punching a starship apart with one blow.
The video might have been from a distance, but that feat had been burned into everyone's memory,y.
But seeing it on a screen and seeing it in person were two completely different things. The shock was simply indescribable.
At this moment, all of Asgard was silent. Countless eyes stared at the fading image of the enormous fist mark, dazed.
Some of the older Asgardians began whispering to themselves, wondering — could even King Odin, at his peak, have thrown such a punch?
Probably not.
For a race that dominated the Nine Realms, a mothership was no trivial thing.
Not only was it bristling with weapons, its greatest feature was its super-strong energy shield. Ordinary attacks couldn't even scratch it.
But now, that same mothership had been turned into a floating donut by one punch.
Watching the smoking fragments of the dark elf ship fall from the sky, Lock was expressionless, still standing guard outside Jane's attic.
Because no one knew if there were still surviving enemies lurking within the temple — better to be cautious.
Thor flew over and threw his arms around Lock in a firm hug.
"Brother, thank you. As long as you are here, I can fight without fear."
Fandral, Hogun, and Volstagg stood from a distance, guilt flashing across their faces for doubting him earlier. Then they turned to help sweep the battlefield and finish off the remaining dark elf stragglers.
Lock didn't leave Jane's room until he confirmed every corridor and hall had been cleared and every last dark elf had been rooted out.
This time, thanks to Lock's early warning, Asgard had suffered relatively few casualties — most of the losses were simply broken buildings.
After the battle, Odin, Frigga, Thor, Lock, Jane, Sif, Daisy, and a few others held a simple banquet.
Odin expressed his thanks to Lock many times. Even Frigga toasted him several times.
This was not just about repelling the dark elves — this was about changing fate itself.
Frigga's survival meant Asgard's destiny had shifted as well.
After the formalities, Lock suddenly asked with a half-smile:
"Queen Frigga, have you seen a future version of Thor — fat, with a beer belly and a big beard?"
Thor's face darkened immediately.
"Lock, what are you talking about? I have a figure that won't go bad for 3,000 years! A beer belly? Really? Just wait until we drink later — we'll see who's got the beer belly!"
Frigga smiled, ignoring Thor's grumbling, and replied calmly:
"No, I haven't. What does Prince Lock imply?"
Lock shook his head. "If you haven't, that's a good thing."
During the Chitauri invasion in New York, Lock had seen heroes from other timelines — Iron Man, Banner as Hulk, Ant-Man, even a different Captain America — which meant the future wasn't necessarily bright.
If the timeline had stayed unchanged and Thanos had won, this would have been the point when Thor and Rocket Raccoon traveled back to retrieve the Aether — the Reality Stone.
In that original timeline, Thor met his mother on this very day, broke down crying, and revealed himself. Frigga instantly knew he was from the future and said gently: You must have suffered a lot.
But now that moment would never happen.
Frigga was alive, Asgard was intact, and the future had changed.
"Well," Frigga said softly, "If Thor ever became like that, it would mean the future was dark indeed. Thank you, Prince Lock."
Thor rolled his eyes.
"Mother, why are you taking Lock seriously? We gods stay fit even if we sit around drinking all day! Jane, come on, check my abs."
Jane batted his hand away, whispering in embarrassment,
"Stop that, people are watching."
Lock then turned serious.
"Thor, when you were cleaning the battlefield, did you see Malekith?"
Thor shook his head. "I didn't. Maybe he got vaporized by your punch."
Odin spoke gravely, "No. Malekith did not come. If he had, I would have sensed him."
Lock nodded, relieved. "Good. He should still be alive."
Thor frowned. "Brother, why are you sparing the enemy? If not for you, Asgard would have paid a heavy price tonight!"
Lock shook his head.
"Malekith holds the secret to safely extracting and controlling the Aether. If he dies, that knowledge dies with him. Right now, Jane's life depends on that secret."
Thor's eyes lit up. He slammed Mjolnir on the table.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go to Svartalfheim right now, drag him out of hiding, and make him hand over the method!"
Lock's lips curled into a grin.
"Good! That's more like it. Let's hit him where he lives. If he refuses, we beat it out of him!"
In the original timeline, Thor, Loki, and Jane had used a clever ruse to lure Malekith and force him to extract the Aether.
But now Loki was gone. No tricks, no illusions.
Lock realized Thor was right — why play games when they had the strength to do it directly?
Jane sighed and rubbed her temples. These two were really the same as when they first met — always rushing straight ahead.
After a quick meal, Lock, Thor, and Jane went straight to the Rainbow Bridge.
Daisy and Sif both wanted to come along.
But Daisy was mortal — Lock refused to take her into battle. She couldn't find an argument this time and could only stay behind, sulking.
Sif had expected to be included, but Lock refused her too.
It wasn't personal — Sif was strong, but not strong enough to survive against thousands of dark elves. She would only slow them down.
Daisy's mood immediately improved, feeling shwass n, 't being singled out.
Sif noticed Daisy's look and their eyes met, sparks practically flying.
Lock quickly looked away. Best to leave before that turned into an actual fight.
With a flash of rainbow light, Lock, Thor, and Jane vanish from Asgard.
In the blink of an eye, they arrived in Svartalfheim.
The sky was dark, the land barren and cracked. There were almost no plants, and the air was heavy, oppressive.
A normal person would go mad after only a few days here.
But to the dark elves, this was home.
Their hell was their heaven.
The realm stretched as far as the eye could see, endless and grim.
It was hard to even tell if Svartalfheim was a planet or a massive flat continent.
Thor frowned, momentarily at a loss.
In a realm this vast, where were they supposed to find Malekith?
And if Malekith chose to stay hidden, three people might never find him — even in a lifetime.
And worse, at any time, they had to be ready for ambushes by the dark elves.
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