She turned toward Thor, her voice trembling with accusation and vulnerability:
"I've been alone on Earth… waiting for you."
Her eyes glistened, but not from the rain.
"For so long, I waited. I thought you'd come. Every night, I cried, hoping that maybe tomorrow, you'd appear."
"But you didn't."
Thor opened his mouth, but the words wouldn't come fast enough.
Jane's voice cracked slightly, but she continued creeping closer.
"Now, I was swallowed by a space rift. Do you know how terrifying that was? I thought I was going to die."
"And all I could think was… where are you?"
"Was I not important enough?"
"Did you even care?"
Thor's face stiffened with guilt.
His godly strength meant little now, nothing could shield him from the raw ache in her voice.
He lowered his gaze.
"…I'm sorry."
Then, in a bid to recover, he glanced toward the distance, avoiding her eyes as he explained.
"The Nine Realms are in chaos… ever since Loki's deception unraveled. Civil wars, rogue factions, ancient grudges, every corner of the cosmos needs order again. Bifrost was destroyed, and only recently have we begun repairs."
"I couldn't leave."
He looked at her again, softer now.
"It wasn't that I didn't want to come back… I simply couldn't. Heimdall watches all, but today, today he couldn't see you. That's when I knew something was wrong."
"That's when I came."
A low rumble of thunder echoed across the sky.
The heavens opened fully.
Rain hammered the earth, drowning the world in grey.
But it never touched them.
An invisible dome, soft as silk but impenetrable as steel, hovered above them.
Soren stood quietly with one hand raised, psychokinesis rippling gently from his palm, creating a barrier between them and the downpour.
Rain ran in sheets over the invisible wall, a surreal curtain between two worlds.
Jane and Thor glanced up in wonder.
"…You're holding back the entire storm?" Jane whispered.
Soren smiled slightly. "Let's just say I'm good at multitasking."
"Thank you." Thor turned, gratitude glinting in his eyes.
Soren dropped his hand and turned toward them with a calm smile. "Well, I helped you find your girlfriend and walked through a distorted space anomaly doing it."
"So, what's next for the mighty Thor?"
Thor straightened, regal as ever despite the storm. "I'm taking Jane back to Asgard. It's safer there."
"The healers will monitor her, and we can protect her from any further threats."
He turned to Soren with a warm, warrior's smile. "You have my thanks, friend. Come visit Asgard soon."
"We'll feast in your honor… and not leave the mead untouched!"
Soren chuckled. "Sounds tempting."
"But I've got some matters to deal with on Earth first. When the time's right, I'll visit."
"Only… make sure you don't misplace Jane again."
Thor laughed sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.
Soren's eyes flicked toward Jane.
"Thor… Jane's body is still under strain. If you like, I can attempt to ease her system, stabilize her."
He wasn't offering this out of courtesy alone. Soren was deeply greedy.
The Reality Gem, unlike the Time Gem he carried, had broken down into particles, behaving like a liquid, embedding itself within a living host.
This was a mystery worth solving. And the System's mission still hung in his periphery ~ "Collect All Six Infinity Stones."
But Jane simply smiled, shaking her head.
"Thank you, Doctor. I appreciate it… really. But I'm alright."
"Fainting was only a shock. Now that Thor's here, I feel a lot better."
Thor nodded in agreement. "She's strong. I'll keep her safe."
"This time… I won't let her out of my sight."
Soren gave them both a long look, then nodded slowly. He respected their resolve, even if he doubted things would stay safe for long.
With a wave of his hand, space shimmered and a portal opened, carrying them instantly to Everlife.
Before Thor stepped through the portal back to Asgard with Jane in his arms, he turned back one last time.
"Don't forget, Asgard is open to you. When the sky calls… follow it."
Soren raised two fingers in a casual salute.
"Make sure your brother doesn't prank me when I arrive."
Thor laughed. "No promises!"
With a flash of light, the portal vanished.
Soren stood still for a moment, watching the space flicker shut with a gentle hum. The silence that followed wasn't peaceful…
But he said nothing.
Asgard had the tools, the knowledge, and the magic to uncover what was inside Jane Foster. He had done his part.
The rest… was out of his hands.
Far across the galaxy, light-years away from Earth or Asgard, in the forgotten edge of space, a battleship drifted silently through the void.
Black. Scarred.
Its hull bore the marks of time and ruin, and the energy that surrounded it was like a bruise in the cosmos, a wound that had never healed.
Inside the ship, a pair of eyes slowly opened.
They were not mortal eyes. They were void incarnate, pools of endless, consuming black. The kind of black that swallowed stars and erased light.
"Five thousand years… and I wake again."
The voice did not echo.
It was absorbed by the very walls, even the ship feared its master.
"The Nine Realms are nearing alignment."
"The Convergence returns. The era of light is waning. The cosmos will drown once more in shadow… and I will lead it."
In the farthest corner of the universe, Malekith the Accursed, king of the Dark Elves, had awakened.
In Asgard, golden towers pierced the heavens, and the World Tree shimmered like a pulse across reality. But inside the halls of the royal palace, tension crackled like lightning.
Thor had just returned, Jane Foster in his arms. He looked tired but relieved.
Until Odin arrived.
The All-Father's steps were…, his one good eye as sharp as ever, laced with disappointment.
"Father!" Thor immediately saluted with formality.
Odin's expression was unreadable. His gaze shifted past Thor, locking on Jane.
"Thor Odinson."
"The Nine Realms remain in turmoil. You abandon your post, leave without permission, and return with an Earthling?"
Thor flinched. "Jane is my intended, Father. Heimdall saw her vanish. She was in danger. I had to act."
"Enough!"
The word struck like a hammer, silencing the room.
"You forget your duty, your destiny. The Convergence draws near, the very fabric of the Realms begins to fold."
"You risk the fate of millions for one woman?"
Odin motioned to the guards.
"Return her to Earth. Now."
The guards approached. But the moment one laid a hand on Jane's shoulder—
BOOM.
An invisible shockwave erupted. Energy burst from her body, black and red, like veins of liquid shadow threaded with fire.
The guard was thrown backward, crashing into a pillar. Even Odin stepped back, startled.
Jane collapsed, unconscious, into Thor's arms.
"Jane!" Thor roared, panic cutting through his voice.
"What's happening to her?!"
Odin's brow furrowed. That energy… he had felt it before.
The fear, cold, and old returned to his chest.
He stepped forward quickly, laying a hand gently against Jane's arm.
And there it was.
Beneath her skin, something ancient pulsed. A dark fluid, swirling with impossible energy.
"No…" Odin whispered. His voice trembled.
Thor looked at him, confused and concerned. "Father, what is this? Is she infected? Cursed?"
Odin's face was grim.
"The force in her body… is protecting itself. That substance… is older than this universe."
They moved quickly to a place in Asgard that even Thor had only heard of in whispered stories.
A sealed chamber, hidden deep within the mountains of Asgard. Lit by floating lanterns of crystal fire and filled with relics not meant for mortal eyes.
The Vault of Epochs, the sanctuary of secrets.
As they entered, Odin moved to a pedestal in the center. With a whisper of ancient words, the vault responded. Dust swept from the surface of a book that had not been touched in millennia.
He opened it.
The pages glowed with Asgardian runes, some shifting as if alive.
꧁𓊈𒆜༺⚜༻𒆜𓊉꧂
PhantomDream