Foreplay

Earth returned to peaceful days.

To the surprise of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers, Loki, who had escaped from the Sky Carrier, vanished without a trace. Tony had originally guessed that his target might be Stark Tower, which housed an Arc Reactor. After all, it was the perfect place to activate the Tesseract—located in the heart of Manhattan, with such a conspicuous landmark serving as the stage for his arrival.

Nick Fury cast a net around the area, but a week passed without any sign of Loki. If the Tesseract had not truly been stolen, they would have almost believed that the assault on the Sky Carrier had been nothing more than an imagined hallucination.

The predicted catastrophe that would destroy the world had simply vanished into thin air. S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers could not help feeling bewildered and disappointed. After several days of tense activity, it all seemed like a joke.

Banner, who had been enraged by Hawkeye Barton and plunged to the ground after wreaking havoc, returned to S.H.I.E.L.D. Thor, however, had vanished just like his brother, leaving no trace behind. This made the Black director suspect that the brothers had already taken the Tesseract back to Asgard.

In truth, his guess was not wrong. Thor had indeed been taken back to Asgard by Odin, where he actively prepared for the arrival of the Chitauri army. As for Loki…

After receiving word that the Cosmic Overlord had personally descended, the Asgardian Prince, skilled in schemes and trickery, went to pay his respects of his own accord.

In the vast, boundless darkness of space, an endless torrent of steel cut through the void like a mighty army on the march. Loki stood at the prow of a Chitauri warship, gripping an ancient dark-gold scepter.

"Asgardian, don’t try any more tricks. No one in this universe dares to deceive Lord Thanos!"

The Chitauri Elder, his body gleaming with metallic luster, issued a harsh warning. His hoarse voice sounded like two rows of rusted iron scraping together, painfully grating to the ear.

"I’m not as foolish as you are." Loki held his head high, a trace of wickedness in his handsome features. "I feel nothing but boundless reverence and admiration for that great being."

After meeting the Cosmic Overlord, who had personally set out, the Asgardian Prince regained his spirits. His dream, once on the verge of shattering, rekindled with a glimmer of hope.

Lord Thanos had not blamed or punished him. Instead, he gave Loki another chance. He would lead the Chitauri army upstream from the depths beneath Asgard and charge onto the Bifrost.

Once they occupied all of Asgard, they could use the fully restored Bifrost to travel freely through the Nine Realms. By then, seizing Earth’s Tesseract would naturally be effortless.

Gazing into the endless depths of space, Loki regained his triumphant expression and tightly gripped the infinitely powerful Mind Scepter. Behind him stood the vast Chitauri army, a surging torrent of steel capable of destroying anything that stood in its way.

Loki could not help envisioning a wonderful future. If Odin and Thor were willing to admit their mistakes before him, then the generous prince would naturally choose to forgive them. Once he found what the Cosmic Overlord wanted, Lord Thanos would fulfill his promise and help him ascend the supreme throne as ruler of the Nine Realms.

"Lucky Asgardian."

The Chitauri Elder sneered to himself. If Loki had not still been somewhat useful, winning Lord Thanos’s forgiveness with his glib tongue, how could he possibly be allowed to call the shots?

Nidavellir… The Black Order has gone to that dwarven homeland to forge that legendary gauntlet.

The Chitauri Elder pondered secretly. If he wanted to distinguish himself before the Cosmic Overlord, he had to successfully conquer Asgard before the Black Order arrived.

This race of lifeforms, essentially no different from space pirates, had long since forgotten most of God King Odin’s illustrious achievements and heroic legends. Therefore, they did not believe Asgard had anything to fear.

Twist off that old man’s head and offer it to Lord Thanos as a gift.

The Chitauri Elder thought this as he cast Loki a malicious glance, letting out a sinister laugh in his heart.

Faint blue light flickered across the night sky, dazzling halos weaving together like an illusory river of stars slowly unfolding.

Sean’s fingers toyed with the cube suspended above him, intoxication flashing through his eyes. He could feel that he was already very close to that final step toward a breakthrough.

It was almost within reach.

The soft body in his arms shifted slightly. Fiery red hair spread across the thin blanket, and a fair arm rested on the man’s chest, occasionally tracing circles. Vast stretches of snow-white skin lay exposed, giving off a tempting allure.

A faint flush appeared on that beautiful, intelligent, elegant face—the delicious afterglow of a fierce battle. At the top of Umbrella’s building, the passionate pair had just concluded a union of body and soul.

"What are you yearning for?" Jean asked softly.

She sensed that Sean was different from usual, as though blazing emotions had been suppressed deep within him, waiting for the moment when they would burst forth completely.

"Battle and war," the man answered, his voice slightly hoarse.

A trace of fervor and anticipation lay beneath his calm tone. For Sean, who was always composed, this was not a common state.

The Tesseract’s power gave him a new way of thinking, as though the door to a new world had slowly opened, revealing omnipresent radiant energy and the deeper mysteries of boundless space.

Sean reached out and grasped the cube. Pale blue light flickered unsteadily as the structure of the world peeled away before his eyes, turning into an illusory space woven from points and lines. A feeling rose within him: with only a passing thought, he could instantly appear in Los Angeles or London from Long Island in Manhattan.

The blue gem inside the cube possessed the immense power to effortlessly pry open the rules of the universe. For a powerful being pursuing evolution, it was simply an inexhaustible treasury of secrets.

Hydra’s Red Skull had actually treated it as an energy reactor for manufacturing advanced weapons. That was undoubtedly a terrible waste, like allowing a pearl to gather dust.

"I feel as though I can roam freely through the stars… Any place, as long as I can imagine it, as long as I can determine its location, I can arrive there in the time of a single breath."

Sean held Jean, who lay against him like a lazy kitten, and murmured softly. No wonder Red Skull had regarded the Tesseract as one of Odin’s hidden treasures, while Nick Fury had treated it like a priceless jewel.

This tiny cube truly possessed an intoxicating, wondrous magic, making one feel as though one were drifting through a magnificent river of stars and traveling across endless worlds.

"You want even more," Jean said softly.

She knew this young man’s character well. Beneath his gentle exterior lay possessiveness and ambition. Even if he obtained the whole world, he would still dream of gathering the starry sky above into his hands.

It was precisely this intense desire that attracted the Flame Phoenix within her, while also causing her to sink deeper and deeper, unable to escape.

"Don’t worry. I can wait… First, I’ll ascend the throne as king of the world, then set sail for the Star Dust Sea."

Sean laughed freely. He looked forward to that magnificent war that would sweep across the Nine Realms—Asgard against the Chitauri army, Sentinel against Thanos.

"That will be a splendid showdown, an unprecedented duel."

The young man kissed the red-haired woman’s neck. His breathing suddenly grew heavier as surging desire burned like a roaring flame.

The masculine and feminine bodies rolled and entwined once more. Above them, the Tesseract hung like a shining lamp, illuminating the fierce battle overflowing with primal desire.