The Councilors of the Supreme Court were horrified, their pulses quickening as the activity surged yet again. It clearly signaled that additional mysterious fragments of a past life were approaching, bringing with them unknown revelations. Even now, the entire chamber remained silent, still reeling from the monumental discovery revealed by the Webb Space Telescope. Then, another abrupt spike in activity.
The Councilors exchanged glances, each seeing the same shock mirrored in the others' eyes.
"The activity has skyrocketed again. I have no idea what this means."
"Nothing unusual," someone muttered.
"I only hope we can capture more images that will help us unravel the crises Terra faces."
"Several of the pending projects must be fully pushed through."
Kayden stared intensely at the screen, her anticipation rising. She was eager, almost desperate, to understand what had triggered this sudden surge in activity. Deep down, she wished it were related to the perfection of the Extremis virus.
"As long as I can catch more clues, I'll have greater confidence to reverse-engineer it! Once I succeed, the entire structure of the desperate virus will finally be under my control!"
Outside the studio, the scrolling of comments erupted. Countless viewers expressed their affection for Tony, some romantic, some admiring, followed immediately by exclamation marks, question marks, and chaotic disbelief.
"!!"
"WTF? This makes zero sense!"
"I swear I must be connected to some fake network!"
"For ten whole years, the annual captures never reached such activity levels! But this time? This is insane!"
"I'm so hyped! What fragments of a past life will it show this time?"
"Is it the purple entity? That thing looked terrifying. Is it coming to invade this age of Terra?!"
The screen shook violently, pixels trembling with intensity. Everyone held their breath. What kind of footage would emerge this time?
Suddenly, after several rapid flickers, he captured footage that began to play.
[A dark place appeared, and a voice murmured from the shadows:]
["Long before there was light, there was darkness. Dark elves were born from that darkness. A thousand years ago, the most ruthless of them, Malekith, attempted to plunge our universe back into endless night."]
[The light gradually brightened, revealing a strange humanoid with pointed ears.]
The moment this figure appeared, viewers watching the stream fell silent. The chilling tone of the voice seeped into their bones.
Inside the Administration, the Director and experts stiffened.
The Director trembled. "He wants to drag the world of light into the endless dark? Could this be an enemy even more advanced than the Chitauri?"
Johan spoke gravely: "Malekith intends to drag the entire universe into darkness. If we follow Thor's earlier explanation of the Nine Realms, then doesn't that mean all Nine Realms would be swallowed by darkness?"
Everyone frowned.
"Then they are definitely stronger than the Chitauri."
"The Chitauri only attacked Terra during the Earth Age."
"But Malekith wants to destroy the universe itself!"
A suffocating fog seemed to fall over the chamber.
Xiaotian said solemnly, "Perhaps… the destruction of the Earth Era was actually part of that universe-wide collapse triggered by them?"
Everyone shuddered. It was horrifying, yet not impossible.
"But that was a thousand years ago. A thousand years before the Earth Age… was that considered a new era?" The Director's heart tightened. The implications were staggering.
[The old voice continued: "The Aether particle, an ancient weapon capable of destroying everything. It was the key to Malekith's plan."]
The physicists of the Terra Federation exchanged alarmed glances.
"Ether? Why would a term from ancient physics appear in footage from the Earth Age?"
The Director blinked. "But… we also have the term ether."
Physicist Odom nodded. "Ether was once believed to be the substance that filled the void of space, the first element shaping the material world…"
He explained the historical theories, the abandoned concepts, and the role ether once played in early physics. Nicholas shook his head gently, "You can't dismiss ether entirely. At the very least, the theory pushed physics forward."
The Director finally asked, "So… does the ether particle actually exist or not?"
Odom and Nicholas exchanged troubled glances, "We don't know. Many unknown phenomena are now classified as dark matter or dark energy. Whether any of these could be akin to an ether particle… no one can say for sure."
Johan frowned, "If ether particles capable of destroying the universe don't exist, then why did this footage appear?"
Everyone fell silent. The tension thickened until the screen shifted again.
[On a dark cliff, a dark elf approached Malekith, "The army of Asgard is approaching."]
[A brilliant beam of light descended from above, illuminating the battlefield. "My father, King Bor, led the Holy Army of Asgard into war against these evil beings."]
[The battle erupted fiercely. Countless lives were lost in the clash.]
"It's war again!"
"Back then, whether on Terra or in other cosmic realms, battles were everywhere!"
"But the dark elves are trying to destroy the universe? That's beyond catastrophic."
"Wait… someone's narrating this from the past?"
"Asgard, that's Thor's homeland!"
[King Bor charged forward, leading the Holy Army. Malekith countered with a chilling command: "Release the Cursed Warriors!"]
[A warrior crushed a glowing, molten stone. His entire body flared with lava-like veins as his strength skyrocketed.]
Kayden's eyes widened. "Extremis?!"
Ashton and the others sat upright.
"It looks identical! Enhanced strength, enhanced speed!"
"So the Extremis concept existed even a thousand years ago?"
Kayden shook her head gently, "Maybe not. Malekith called them 'Cursed Warriors.' It may be powered by something else entirely."
Still, the moment the cursed warrior crushed the stone stuck vividly in her mind. She began wondering whether a similar external catalyst could be used to stabilize the Extremis virus.
[The sky filled with overlapping apertures, each revealing a mysterious continent-like space.]
["The convergence of the Nine Kingdoms is forming. Malekith can finally release the Aether particle."]
[As Malekith reached toward the swirling purplish-red fluid, a beam of light blasted him to the ground. Asgardian warriors charged in.]
[When Malekith fell, he discovered the Aether had been taken. "Without their ultimate weapon, the dark elves are defeated. But even so, Malekith attempted to perish alongside the Asgardians."]
[A massive cross-shaped craft plunged from the sky, crushing countless warriors.]
["Your death will replace our existence," he declared. He and his companion escaped aboard the craft, cloaking themselves in stealth.]
["Malekith was defeated. The Aether, destroyed. At least… that's what we were told."]
[A soldier asked King Bor, "Your Majesty, do we destroy the Aether?"]
[King Bor gripped his scepter, "Unfortunately… we cannot. Its power is too immense. Bury it. Hide it where no one will ever find it."]
The scene dimmed, but the shock rippled through the Terra Federation.
"The Aether wasn't destroyed?! It was buried!"
"So after countless years, when someone found it… was that when the universe was destroyed?"
"Damn it, Terra faced too many crises back then!"
"Chitauri, purple sweet potato essence, and now dark elves!"
"And King Bor didn't destroy the Aether…"
"A universe-destroying weapon will always be misused if found!"
The event touched the core of Terra's ancient faults. And now, it involved a force capable of destroying the universe itself. Everyone was torn between dread and expectation.
[Inside the tall castle, Loki was dragged forward, chains clamped around his hands and feet. Soldiers marched him through the grand hall. On the left, a graceful, dignified woman watched him with nervous eyes.]
["Loki," she called softly.]
[Loki turned, smiling with a mocking tilt of his head. "Hello, mother. Are you proud of me?"]
[Frigg frowned deeply. "Please don't add fuel to the fire."]
[Loki shrugged lightly. "How else can I add fuel to the fire?"]
["Enough!" On the throne, King Odin's voice boomed. "I will speak to the prisoner alone."]
[Frigga immediately withdrew.]
[Loki bowed theatrically. "I truly don't understand why you're making such a fuss."]
[Odin leaned forward. "Have you still not realized the seriousness of your crimes? Wherever you go, destruction follows, war and death."]
[Loki replied, "I went to Ami's house to rule the people of Earth as a loving deity. Just like you."]
["We are not gods," Odin said sternly. "We are born, we live, and we die, just like humans."]
[Loki's lips curled proudly. "But we can live nearly five thousand years."]
["All of this," Odin snapped, "happened because you wanted a throne."]
["It's my birthright!" Loki roared.]
["Your birthright," Odin thundered back, "is death. You were abandoned on a frozen rock. If I hadn't taken you in, how would you stand here now, hating me?"]
[Loki stepped closer, eyes sharp. "If I'm to be executed, then show mercy and do it quickly. I don't like talking to you. Truly…I just don't like it."]
[Odin's tone turned icy. "Frigga is the only reason you live. And after today, you will never see her again. You will spend the rest of your life in the dungeon."]
[Loki stared at him. "What about Thor? I'll rot in prison until I die, yet you still want that idiot to be king?"]
["Thor must atone for the damage you have caused," Odin replied. "He will restore order to the Nine Realms. And in time, yes, he will be king."]
The viewers in the live broadcast room suddenly understood.
"I get it! This is the moment Thor drags Loki back to the Dominion."
"Odin is their king, Thor's father, Loki's adoptive father?"
"They can live five thousand years?!"
"Then… are there still God-Realm beings alive in this universe?"
"Didn't the Dark Elves nearly wipe everything out?"
Johan jotted down key points, "This clip should be from Thor's home, the Domain of the Gods," he said, "Aether particles, Dark Elves, Asgard… these existed on the old Earth. There must have been many wars, wars that even spilled onto our Terra."
Everyone nodded slowly.
The director, however, felt his entire worldview crumble. The Dominion War, the Dark Elves, and their sudden appearance shattered his previous theories. Instead of solving the crisis, they made everything even more tangled.
"I keep feeling there's a clue, something running through all of Terra's history, and maybe the entire universe of that era," he murmured, staring out the window. "But we still don't know what it is. A force, maybe? Dark Elves? Purple Potato Essence?"
The screen shifted.
[Inside a decaying factory, Jane, the glasses girl, and an intern walked cautiously. A crow burst across the silent hall, its wings echoing sharply.]
["I don't want to spend my life trapped in places like this for research," Jane muttered.]
["Hey, we're a family, they like us!" the glasses girl insisted.]
[Children suddenly appeared, making Jane exhale, "They're just kids."]
["Are you police?" one child asked.]
["No. We're scientists," Jane replied.]
["We stumbled into this place too," the child said before leading them deeper inside.]
The audience erupted again:
"Jane?! The scientist who dated Thor?"
"What are they doing there?"
"She's prettier than Pepper, honestly."
"If Thor's coming back, he might be a mid-tier king in the God-Realm!"
"Where's Dr. Eric?"
[They arrived at an empty room, at its center, a massive bus. A little boy stepped up, grabbed the front of the vehicle…and gently pushed upward. The multi-ton bus floated. It hovered. It spun slowly in midair. All four wheels dangled freely.]
[Jane and her companions stood frozen, mouths open.]
"F**k!"
"FLOATING?!"
"Quick! Hold down Newton's coffin lid!"
"Loki: This defies science."
"Newton: Who is slapping me?!"
"Terra before the federation? That era was insane!"
The audience rose to their feet, stunned. A bus, weighing measured in tons, simply levitated, with nothing supporting it.
[From a higher platform, the boy tossed a bottle down. Under gravity, it fell and vanished. No ripple, no light, nothing. Seconds later, it reappeared above him. He caught it effortlessly. Physics shattered.]
[Jane repeated the test with a Coke bottle. It vanished too, but didn't return.]
["How is this happening?" Jane gasped.]
["Sometimes it comes back," the boy said. "Sometimes it doesn't."]
Chaos exploded across the livestream:
"WHAT IS THIS PLACE?!"
"I got hit by a soda can today, SO IT WAS YOU!"
"Newton cremated, mass approaching infinity, acceleration zero!"
"Is this still Terra? Or somewhere else?"
In the expert group's projection room, physicist Odom paced anxiously while others clawed at their hair.
"In the Terra-Moon system," Odom muttered, "there are points where Terra's gravity cancels with the moon's. But true zero-gravity is practically impossible. So how does a bus levitate? And why doesn't it accelerate under force?"
Another physicist whispered, "Parallel spaces…interwoven?"
Odom froze.
"Multiple spaces intersecting… objects slipping into another dimension after crossing certain points? We theorized it before, but how could it actually exist?
It's insane!"
Everyone stood speechless.
The director exhaled heavily. "I didn't expect it to hide the universe's greatest mysteries."
[Jane followed her testing instrument through the factory. As she climbed the stairs, the beeping intensified. A sudden whirlwind surged beneath her feet. Wind roared through the passageway.]
[A powerful force yanked her forward, and she plunged through the wall as though reality folded. When she emerged, her foot nearly slipped off a cliff.]
["Darcy?!" she called, but no voice answered.]
[A faint glow shimmered nearby. Jane approached and found a massive stone pillar split down the middle. Dark-red light leaked from the crack, a pulsing mass of shapeless particles writhing rhythmically.]
[She stared, breath caught, realizing she'd discovered something far beyond the boundaries of science.]