Aether

"Jane!"

Realizing he had lost Jane, Dr. Selvig panicked. He was about to call Wang Bert when Wang Bert suddenly appeared beside him—after Dr. Selvig pressed the button on his watch, Wang Bert had been keeping an eye on this place.

"Jane actually came back and even entered the Sealed Land. What is this, fate? Hmph, how much fate have I changed already?"

Wang Bert narrowed his eyes and sensed the spatial fluctuations. During this time, he had been helping Tony and Dr. Richards make a knockoff Bifrost, so he had not noticed Jane’s return—this was his real body; his projection was helping out at Kamar-Taj.

"Mr. Wang…"

Seeing Wang Bert appear, Daisy and Dr. Selvig hurriedly called out. Wang Bert waved his hand and said, "Wait outside. Don’t make any rash moves. I’ll go in and take a look."

With that, Wang Bert turned into a streak of blood-red light and flew into the abandoned apartment, then charged straight toward a corner.

The corner was a spatial node. The moment Wang Bert flew there, he was teleported into the dim Sealed Land, just in time to see Jane reaching toward a stone platform glowing red.

Wang Bert immediately raised a hand and pulled through the air. Jane flew uncontrollably toward him, and he caught her in his arms.

Jane was startled at first, but then recognized Wang Bert and cried out in delight, "Mr. Wang, it’s great that you’re here. What is this place?"

"Not a good place. Stay here for now. I’ll explain later."

After giving her that instruction, Wang Bert strode over to the stone platform. He placed his hand on it, and the platform flared with red light. A mass of blood-red liquid slowly floated out. It was Aether—also the Reality Stone.

Wang Bert had thought Aether would rush into his body, but to his surprise, it did not choose him. Instead, it flew toward Jane.

"What the hell? This thing recognizes an owner too?"

Wang Bert snorted and pushed through the air, using a spatial wall to separate Jane from Aether. Aether seemed somewhat angry, circling continuously in midair.

Wang Bert brought his hands together, and a tiny space appeared out of nowhere, crushing toward Aether. Aether transformed into a blood-colored arrow, pierced through the space, and escaped outside.

Then, for some unknown reason, Aether gradually began to disappear. Wang Bert immediately took out the Tesseract and transformed it into a spatial cage, locking down the remaining Aether.

Once the Tesseract sealed it, the remaining half of Aether immediately stopped vanishing. It seemed to know the might of the Space Stone and did not resist, quietly remaining inside.

"What is going on? Why didn’t Aether choose me? And why did it suddenly disappear?"

Wang Bert frowned deeply. After thinking for a moment, he put away the Tesseract and said to the baffled Jane, "Let’s get out first."

"Okay."

Jane nodded repeatedly. This place was far too oppressive. She did not want to remain here for even one more second.

Wang Bert then took Jane out of the Sealed Land and back outside. When Dr. Selvig and Daisy saw that the two were unharmed, they both breathed a sigh of relief.

The two were about to ask something when a seven-colored pillar of light descended from the sky. Thor rushed out and shouted anxiously, "Bert, what happened? Why can’t Heimdall see Jane?"

Before Wang Bert could speak, Jane fired off questions like a machine gun. "You know how to worry about me now? I’ve been back on Earth for so many days. Why are you only looking for me now? Did you not even know I left?"

Thor looked utterly confused. "Why was I supposed to look for you? Didn’t you just go back to Earth for a few days?"

"You thought I just went back to Earth for a few days?"

Jane broke down. So Thor had no idea she was angry, much less that she had run away from home?

Jane wanted to say more, but Wang Bert said, "Save your romantic drama for later. Thor, return to Asgard. I need to see Odin."

Thor immediately asked, "Bert, what happened?"

"Something big."

Wang Bert did not elaborate. He called Steve and told him what had just happened. Then, he opened a portal, and S.W.O.R.D. personnel filed out one after another.

Wang Bert ordered, "Seal this place off. No one is allowed near it. Dr. Selvig, Jane, calculate the exact time of the Celestial Convergence immediately."

"Okay."

Dr. Selvig and Jane nodded at the same time. Jane might have had a bit of a temper, but she understood priorities.

"Heimdall!"

After handling all that, Wang Bert shouted toward the sky. A seven-colored light descended and took him and Thor back to Asgard.

On the Bifrost, Wang Bert transmitted to Heimdall, "Heimdall, the Dark Elves have awakened. Be wary of everyone entering Asgard. The Dark Elves may send a Cursed Warrior to infiltrate."

Heimdall’s golden pupils flashed as he said confidently, "No enemy can enter Asgard under my watch."

"I hope so."

Wang Bert did not waste words and went with Thor to see Odin.

Inside the magnificent Valhalla Palace, Odin asked in great shock, "Aether has reappeared? How is that possible?"

Wang Bert summoned the Tesseract and pointed at the Aether inside. "Nothing is impossible. Aether has truly reappeared. I intercepted half of it. The other half suddenly disappeared for unknown reasons. I suspect it has something to do with the Dark Elves."

"The Dark Elves obtained half of Aether?"

Odin’s expression became extremely grave. He shouted, "Pass the order. Enter combat readiness."

"Yes, Allfather."

The guards immediately went out to relay the order. During this time, Odin had transferred back quite a few troops, and Asgard had sufficient forces.

Thor declared passionately, "So what if they are Dark Elves? Father, give me back my hammer, and I’ll lead the army to wipe them out."

"You just want your hammer, don’t you?"

Odin snorted. "As long as you cannot summon lightning, I will never give you the hammer. Now get out there and organize the army, God of Electric Sparks."

Wang Bert could not help laughing. Thor roared, "God of Electric Sparks? Odin, you actually look down on me that much?"

"I’m your father. So what if I look down on you? Get out."

Odin said impatiently. Thor turned and left in a huff.

Wang Bert smiled. "Allfather, it feels like you’ve become much younger and livelier."

"After spending so long with a bunch of young girls, naturally I’ve become younger."

Odin chuckled. "By the way, can you adjust the drop rate? Little Hela and I have run the Thor dungeon hundreds of times, and the hammer still hasn’t dropped."

Wang Bert was speechless. This old fellow actually wanted to cheat? He said, "If I changed it, it wouldn’t be fun anymore. Keep farming. Back to the point, Allfather, why is Aether so resistant to me?"

"Aether is resisting you?"

Odin thought for a moment and said, "Perhaps Aether fears that you will devour it."

"Devour it?"

"You are devouring the Space Stone."

Odin looked at Wang Bert and said, "Once you finish devouring it, the Space Stone will disappear from this world forever."

"I’m only absorbing its energy. Uh, I suppose that isn’t much different from devouring it."

Wang Bert shook his head and asked, "So aside from the Space Stone, I cannot possess any other Infinity Stones?"

"Being able to possess one Infinity Stone is already an immense blessing."

Odin said, "Bring Aether with you and come to the Treasure Vault."

Wang Bert mocked, "That Treasure Vault full of knockoffs?"

Odin glared at Wang Bert. "I haven’t even settled accounts with you yet. You actually wrote in the game that most of my Treasure Vault consists of knockoffs and useless items."

"I didn’t say that."

Wang Bert shrugged and followed Odin to the Treasure Vault. Odin’s target was the Infinity Gauntlet—well, a knockoff Infinity Gauntlet.

Faced with Wang Bert’s teasing gaze, Odin’s old face reddened slightly. "I once wanted to collect the Infinity Stones and rule the universe, so I had the Dwarf King forge the Infinity Gauntlet. Later, I gave up, and the Infinity Gauntlet was left unused.

"To be precise, this is not a knockoff Infinity Gauntlet. It is an unfinished Infinity Gauntlet."

Wang Bert asked, "What is the difference from a completed version?"

"A complete Infinity Gauntlet can control all Infinity Stones. This one can probably only control one or two."

Odin put the Infinity Gauntlet on his left hand and signaled for Wang Bert to release Aether. Wang Bert did not comply. "Odin, this Aether is mine."

Odin asked with a dark expression, "What do you want?"

Without hesitation, Wang Bert said, "Eternal Fire."

Odin hesitated, then said, "I’ll give you half."

"Deal."

Wang Bert nodded and released Aether. Odin activated the knockoff Infinity Gauntlet, and Aether automatically attached itself to the slot on the ring finger, transforming into half a gem.

"Only half a gem, but it can barely be used."

Odin said, "Aether can alter reality. In a sense, it is the most powerful Infinity Stone."

Wang Bert asked, "There’s a price to pay, right?"

"Yes. Every use requires a sacrifice. This is a stone for desperate measures."

Odin nodded, his face resolute. "This stone came at the right time. I will use my life to protect Asgard and those foolish children."

"I think you aliens are all too rigid. You simply do not understand how to use the Reality Stone."

Wang Bert could not help shaking his head. When he watched Thor 2, he had complained about it before. That Malekith—no, that pathetic loser—actually used Aether directly to attack people. It was stupid beyond belief.

"What do you mean?"

Odin glared fiercely. "Are you looking for another fight?"

"If you weren’t Little Hela’s biological father, I wouldn’t even bother with you."

Wang Bert snorted. "Don’t you have excess divine power? Just use your divine power as the sacrifice. That way, you can activate the Reality Stone, live a few more years, and even recover most of your combat strength."

"You can do that?"

Odin was dumbfounded. After thinking it over, he said, "In exchange for part of my divine power, make it so Little Hela is guaranteed to get Thor’s Hammer when she fights Thor tonight."

The Reality Stone flashed, and reality was altered.

Wang Bert was speechless. "Seriously? You used divine power to alter something like that?"

"What does it matter? As long as it makes me happy. I used to overthink things too much."

Odin chuckled. Spending time with those young girls had made him much more open-minded. He said, "I feel much lighter. This method is really useful. Too bad the Reality Stone is incomplete, so every sacrifice costs double. It’s as greedy as your game."

"Hey, we may be familiar, but if you keep talking nonsense, I’ll still sue you for defamation."

Wang Bert said irritably, "Prepare for war. The Dark Elves will probably arrive soon."

"They are merely defeated foes. What is there to fear?"

Odin raised the Infinity Gauntlet arrogantly. Wang Bert rolled his eyes and said, "You really are Thor’s father. Forget that. I want to talk to you about Loki."

"Loki?"

Odin frowned and asked, "What do you want to do?"

"As a precaution."

Let us turn back time a little. At the exact moment Aether appeared, the remaining Dark Elf forces awoke inside a Dagger Battleship in a hidden corner of the universe.

Five thousand years ago, the Dark Elves had planned to use Aether during the Celestial Convergence to turn the universe into a lightless dark world. In the end, they were defeated by Odin’s father Bor, who led the Asgardian army. Even Aether was seized and sealed away.

Dark Elf leader Malekith fled with the remnants of his forces. They hid at the edge of the universe, waiting for the next Celestial Convergence—which was now.

Malekith, whose white hair was not dark in the slightest, slowly said to General Algrim, "The Celestial Convergence is about to begin. Aether has awakened us."

Algrim clenched his fists and said with hatred, "It is time for Asgard to pay the price."

"That’s right."

Malekith nodded. Just as he was about to say something else, his expression suddenly brightened. "Aether is calling to me on its own. It wants me to sacrifice lives and summon it here."

Algrim shouted excitedly, "Destiny favors us, Malekith. Make the sacrifice quickly."

"I sacrifice the lives of one hundred Dark Elves in exchange for Aether appearing before me."

Malekith did not hesitate in the slightest and immediately made the sacrifice. One hundred Dark Elf soldiers who had just awakened aboard the ship turned directly into ashes. Then, Aether appeared out of thin air before Malekith.

Malekith was delighted at first, but then frowned. "Why is there only half?"

Algrim was stunned. "Half?"

"Yes, half. I cannot be mistaken."

Malekith absorbed Aether into his body. After sensing it for a while, he said, "I cannot sense where the other half is."

"Asgard must have done something."

Algrim said, "Malekith, we must take back the remaining Aether."

"Of course."

Malekith thought for a moment, then turned to Algrim. "Algrim, I need to sacrifice you."

Algrim froze, then dropped to one knee. "I am willing to become a Cursed Warrior."

"Good. Infiltrate Asgard and destroy the Energy Core of the Defense Shield."

Malekith nodded. Just then, a voice suddenly rang out. "It is useless. Asgard is already prepared. You cannot deceive them."

"Who’s there?"

Malekith and Algrim were both startled. At that moment, a shriveled figure like a corpse emerged from the shadows and said, "I am Ebony Maw, subordinate to Lord Thanos."

As Malekith had his soldiers surround Ebony Maw, he asked in a low voice, "How do you know we are here? What do you want?"

Ebony Maw said, "I came to cooperate with you—to destroy Earth and destroy Asgard."

Algrim rose to his feet and said disdainfully, "What makes you qualified to cooperate with us?"