Chapter 133: Dark World
"Hello and welcome to Asgard, valiant humans! I am Heimdallr, the Asgardian of the Bifrost."
Heimdallr greeted Jane Foster warmly. In the original story, his politeness towards Jane was due to Thor, and now, with Mjölnir approving the new Thor, his respect is heartfelt.
On a faintly glowing platform, Jane Foster lay on her back while several witches examined her.
"A certain substance in her body is extremely dangerous and could cause an explosion at any moment. If not for the divine power protecting her, she would be in severe danger."
One of the witches spoke gravely.
Thor nodded and asked, "Can you extract this substance?"
The witch remained silent.
Thor was troubled. As far as he knew, there were only two methods to extract the Aether: one was to resonate with Malekith's energy and draw it out, and the other involved seeking a specific raccoon. Thor doubted that the Aether could be removed with a regular syringe...
"If it is indeed the Aether, there might be a way to extract it," Odin's voice echoed.
"Uh... who are you?" Jane asked, looking at Odin who had entered the room.
"I am Odin, the All-Father, king of the gods, and father of Thor, ruler of the Nine Realms."
Odin entered and said solemnly, "The Aether is the Reality Gem among the Infinity Gems.
We call it the Aether because, unlike other gems which are typically stones, the Aether is a liquid that constantly changes. It only takes on the form of an Infinity Gem under specific conditions.
It converts various substances into dark matter, seeks out new hosts, and covertly absorbs energy from the host's vitality."
"Then how do we remove it?" Thor asked with concern.
While Jane would not be drained due to her eternal life, having the Aether linger in her body as a parasite was problematic.
"The Aether's function is to alter reality, which consumes the host's strength or vitality.
In simpler terms, it grants wishes.
If the wish is simple, it consumes less energy.
Once you take her to your mother, she is skilled in many things.
With dark magic, she can guide how to mobilize energy to make a wish to the Aether and expel it from the body."
Thor nodded.
...
"The Nine Realms are preparing to unite, and we will soon be able to invade Asgard. I can sense that the Aether is there!"
On the massive dark elf spaceship, Malekith held a dark red gem and said in a low voice, "This is the core that we obtained by sacrificing many of our compatriots through the Aether. Algrim, you will finally accept the Curse and become a cursed warrior! Are you ready?"
Algrim, the strongest fighter under him, looked fanatical: "I am willing to give my life, just as our people did!"
Malekith nodded in satisfaction, took out a silver dagger, cut Algrim's body, and placed the red gemstone exuding a dark aura into the wound.
He whispered in Algrim's ear, "You will be cursed by this world until you are fully assimilated."
Algrim responded slowly, "At that point, our enemies will no longer be able to stop you. I will completely destroy them and create a new universe full of darkness for you!"
Moments later, several dark elf fighter planes with strange shapes flew out of the spaceship.
"Odin keeps sending me new neighbors. How considerate," Loki remarked with sarcasm in Asgard's dungeon as he observed the new batch of prisoners.
"Aren't you interested in the request I sent?" Frigga's voice came from behind him.
"Heh, do you want me to be a bookworm forever?"
"No, I'm just trying to improve your situation."
"Really?" Loki sneered. "What about Odin? Does he think the same? And Thor? Heh, I'm truly sorry to trouble them so much."
"Loki!" Frigga's tone grew more serious. "It's entirely your fault that you ended up here."
"Oh? Didn't Odin say I was born to be king? I was just following his directive..."
"You have caused countless deaths on Earth. A true king must be able to admit his mistakes. Your father..."
"He's not my father!" Loki shouted suddenly.
Frigga paused, looked into his eyes, and asked, "And me? Am I not your mother?"
Loki and Frigga stared at each other for a few seconds before he turned his head and said coldly, "Neither are you."
"Hey, mother, I finally found you. I was wondering where you were."
Loki paused, hearing the last sound he wanted to hear.
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