Jane didn't hesitate. The instant she counted to three, her fingertip brushed the sealed Aether.
In the next heartbeat, the living, blood-like liquid surged outward. It wrapped her finger, and in less than a second, a third of the Aether poured into her body like a crimson tide.
At that exact moment, Hawk moved. He appeared at her side just as the sealing construct sparked with lightning, ready to obliterate the intruder who had dared approach.
But the Aether had already broken free.
With a thunderous crack, the seal snapped shut. The prison was broken, and the Aether swarmed toward Jane, desperate to consume her. Hawk shoved her aside and intercepted the rest.
The remaining two-thirds of the Aether poured into him.
It felt like molten blood searing through his veins, greedily sucking away his life force.
But Hawk's cosmos flared. At his command, the torrent was drawn inward, slammed into the depths of his small cosmos.
The effect was explosive.
Like a still lake struck by a boulder, his cosmos rippled violently.
Then came the cry of a phoenix.
The Phoenix's heart, already fused with Hawk's cosmos, awakened. Flames surged. From the fire emerged the phoenix itself, its wings spread wide, its crimson blaze colliding with the scarlet flood of the Aether.
A new flame was born—neither pure phoenix fire nor Aether, but a scarlet conflagration forged of both.
The blast was like another Big Bang. His cosmos warped, shattered, and then expanded outward into something vast and new.
In that instant, far across the universe, at the center of the Phoenix constellation cluster fifty-eight hundred million light-years away, a scarlet singularity flickered into existence—threatening to explode and birth a parallel universe.
And somewhere on Earth, in a small country, a newborn girl opened her eyes, and a crimson spark burned within them.
Hawk lost all sense of time.
Then—
"...Hawk!"
A trembling, anxious voice reached him. Gwen's voice.
His consciousness snapped back. He opened his eyes to find Gwen crouched before him, tears brimming as she looked at his wasted, skeletal form.
He lifted a hand and felt the truth of it—his body had been drained nearly dry.
But then his cosmos ignited once more.
Silver phoenix fire roared to life. And before Gwen's eyes, Hawk's shriveled body reinflated like a balloon, restored in seconds.
Good news: he had claimed the Reality Stone. Or at least part of it. Even this fragment gave substance to his cosmos, transforming his once-hollow Bronze Saint power into fully realized Bronze strength.
Bad news: it was incomplete. Without the whole Reality Stone, he couldn't fully manifest or ascend further.
Still holding Gwen close, Hawk murmured comfort. Then his eyes sharpened. "Where's Jane Foster?"
"She came out before you. She's already gone," Gwen whispered.
Thunder cracked outside. Hawk led her toward the exit.
"How long was I gone?"
"Four hours."
"Not bad. I told you six at most. Why the tears?"
"You didn't see yourself—you looked like a corpse!"
"…Sorry. My bad."
Outside, rain poured in sheets. Hawk stopped suddenly—he felt it, Jane's body erupting with Aether's defensive power. Three London officers were hurled aside by the blast.
Thor dashed in, catching Jane in his arms. He glanced skyward.
A rainbow pillar of energy descended, runes burning across the ground. The Bifrost.
In an instant, Thor and Jane were gone.
Hawk stared at the lingering pattern in silence. Then he chuckled softly.
Fine. Let the bullets fly. By tomorrow, the Dark Elf king himself would come. Malekith—bearing the missing shard of the Aether.
Hawk squeezed Gwen's hand, and together they stepped into the storm.
But no rain touched them. A foot around their bodies, the downpour simply ceased.
Gwen's eyes widened. She turned to him. "Hawk, you—"
"I got part of it," he admitted. The fragment of the Reality Stone wasn't enough to elevate him to the Golden Phoenix. But bending the weather within arm's reach? That, at least, was possible.
"Come on," Hawk said, pulling her close. "Let's go back."
By now Thor and Jane were gone to Asgard. The full Stone was out of his reach—for now.
But not for long. Malekith's dream required completion. And that would bring him straight to Hawk.
No one noticed as Hawk and Gwen slipped through the cordons. He bent reality once more, dimming their presence.
They returned to their hotel without incident.
Moments later, Mary knocked at the door. "Gwen, can I borrow a menstrual cup? I just started."
Gwen blinked, then chuckled, handing her one from her luggage.
Mary accepted it with thanks, glanced around. "Where's Hawk?"
"On the roof."
"Okay. So we're sticking to the plan tomorrow?"
"Yeah… I'll check with him later."
Mary nodded and left.
Gwen closed the door, then quietly made her way toward the elevator.
…
(End of Chapter)
[Check Out My P@treon For +20 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!][[email protected]/euridome]
[Thank You For Your Support!]