As he spoke, the police officer reached out to grab Jane by the arm.
Boom—!
Without warning, a surge of crimson energy erupted from Jane's body. The shockwave sent the officer flying, along with the police cars behind him and everyone nearby. Bodies were hurled across the ground, their fates unknown. Jane herself was thrown back, collapsing unconscious.
Thor rushed forward at once, catching her and calling her name over and over.
Jane slowly came to, looking at Thor with confusion.
"What… what happened to me?"
Thor frowned. The residual power within her felt profoundly wrong.
"Hold on to me," he said softly, having already made a decision.
Raising Mjolnir high, Thor called out Heimdall's name. Instantly, the Bifrost descended, enveloping him and Jane in radiant light. With a flash, they vanished.
---
Asgard.
A beam of light flared, and Thor and Jane appeared before the Observatory.
"Jane Foster, welcome to Asgard," Heimdall said with a gentle smile, studying her closely. He had been watching her actions for some time and knew her character well—otherwise, his sword would already have been at her throat.
---
Elsewhere in the Nine Realms, on a desolate world—
This was once the home of the Dark Elves. Long ago, when they attempted to conquer the Nine Realms using the Aether, Asgard's gods and the Bifrost had reduced their world to ruin. Now it was nothing but blackened sand stretching endlessly in every direction.
Malekith, leader of the Dark Elves, crouched and scooped up a handful of the dark sand.
"Our world has become this," he said quietly. "I can scarcely remember what it once looked like."
Behind him, the towering Dark Elf Algrim stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Our people survived only because of you. Otherwise, we would have been exterminated by those selfish Asgardian bastards."
"I will make Asgard suffer as we have suffered," Malekith growled, crushing the sand in his fist. "I will reclaim the Aether. I will reduce Asgard to ash. I will see it utterly destroyed!"
---
Asgard.
Jane lay on a stone bed, golden energy flowing around her in slow currents. Four women stood at her sides, chanting and weaving spells.
A spectral projection rose from Jane's body, suspended in midair by their magic. Runes—ancient and indecipherable—circled it, glowing with arcane power.
Within the projection, crimson energy pulsed and flowed, seemingly fused with Jane herself, impossible to remove by ordinary means.
"How is she?" Thor asked anxiously, standing beside one of the women.
"It's unclear," she replied softly. "The energy within her is vast. Her body may not be able to endure it."
She glanced at Thor before quietly withdrawing.
Thor's sense of dread deepened. Whatever resided within Jane was neither ordinary nor safe.
"It seems you have chosen to ignore my warnings," a voice said coldly.
Odin stood in the doorway, gazing at Thor and the unconscious Jane.
"She's ill, Father," Thor said.
"She is mortal," Odin replied impassively. "Mortals fall ill. That is the natural order."
"I brought her here because we can save her," Thor insisted, lowering his head but holding firm.
"She does not belong in Asgard," Odin said sharply. "A third of her lifespan is already gone. She is like a piece of lamb cooked only halfway—unfit to be served."
"What did you just say? Who do you think you are, old man?!" Jane suddenly snapped awake, sitting up despite her weakness. Being compared to lamb and dismissed so casually enraged her.
"I am Odin," he said calmly, golden light flickering in his single eye. "All of Asgard lies under my dominion."
Jane froze. "…Oh. I'm—"
"I know who you are," Odin interrupted. "And I care not."
Turning back to Thor, he spoke firmly.
"So you told your father about me?" Jane asked Thor, incredulous.
"Father, there is something inside her," Thor said urgently, pointing to the crimson energy. "I have never seen anything like it."
"Midgard has healers," Odin replied dismissively. "They call them doctors. Return her to her own world."
He waved his hand. "Guards. Take her back to Midgard."
Two golden-armored soldiers entered and moved toward Jane.
The moment they touched her, the red energy erupted again, hurling both soldiers across the chamber.
Thor rushed to Jane's side, but her head slumped—she had lost consciousness once more.
Odin's expression darkened. He stepped forward and examined her closely, seeing the red energy coursing through her veins.
"This is impossible," he murmured, his voice betraying shock.
"It's protecting her?" an elderly healer asked.
"No," Odin said quietly, eyes fixed on the crimson glow. "It is protecting itself."
"You two—come with me."
He turned and strode from the chamber. Thor lifted Jane and followed.
They arrived in another hall. With a gesture from Odin, the space around them dissolved into an endless vision of the cosmos.
"Some things in this universe predate creation itself," Odin began. "What resides within her appears to be one such relic."
The stars above shifted, revealing ancient galaxies.
"The Nine Realms are not eternal. They were born from primordial chaos."
Odin opened an ancient tome. Golden runes rose from its pages, forming words and images.
"Before the dawn, all was darkness. From that darkness came the Dark Elves. Before light existed, they ruled the Nine Realms unchallenged."
The pages turned, revealing their history.
"Born of darkness, stealing from the light."
"Mother used to tell Loki and me stories about them," Thor said quietly.
"These were not mere stories," Odin replied. "Their leader, Malekith, obtained a weapon from the darkness itself—what they call the Aether."
He turned another page.
"Many relics born at the dawn of the universe exist in solid form. But the Aether is different—it is a mutable, living fluid. It alters the nature of reality itself. It seeks a host, feeds upon their life force, and endures through them."
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