Thor didn't understand what Dormammu was, so Odin explained.
"Lord of the Dark Dimension," Odin said slowly. "A being of pure magic. A creature spoken of only in the oldest legends."
He paused.
"Defeating even a fragment of such a being means your friend has already stepped into the threshold of the Skyfather level."
Skyfather…?
Thor blinked, completely stunned.
Odin's gaze lingered on Levi for a long time. Finally, he nodded.
"Very well."
One word.
The King of Asgard had agreed to gamble.
---
"The plan is simple," Levi said, raising two fingers.
"First, lure Malekith out."
"Second, let him remove the Aether from Jane himself."
"What?!" Thor exploded. "That's handing him the weapon! And ripping it out will kill Jane!"
"Calm down, Prince," Levi said, glancing at him like he was watching an idiot.
"Who said anything about force?"
He pointed toward Jane.
"Think of the Aether as a tenant. Jane is the house. If we try to evict the tenant ourselves, the tenant will tear the house apart on the way out."
"But if the tenant's old landlord—Malekith—calls it home… it will want to leave on its own."
Levi turned to Odin.
"When Malekith begins extracting the Aether, the connection between Jane and the Stone weakens. It shifts from fusion to transfer."
"That's when I cut in."
He made a slicing gesture.
"I sever the link, stabilize Jane's life signs, and intercept the Aether before it fully enters Malekith."
"High risk," Odin said. "How will you contain the Aether once it's free?"
"I won't control it," Levi shrugged. "No one can."
He opened his palm.
A translucent cube of space rotated slowly above it.
"A pocket dimension with altered time flow."
"Enough to lock it away for a few centuries."
Odin stared at the cube, his expression grave. Manipulating space and time like this required terrifying mastery.
"What are your odds?"
"Fifty percent."
Levi closed his hand.
"But it's your only option. Otherwise you can watch the Earth woman get consumed—and reborn as a new Malekith."
Odin fell silent.
For a gamble involving an Infinity Stone, fifty percent was absurdly high.
"Location?" Odin asked.
"Svartalfheim."
Levi shrugged.
"The Convergence is coming. Space there is unstable—perfect for what I need. And if we wreck the place, we won't damage your royal garden."
The plan was set.
Thor hated it, but had no choice.
---
He personally went to the dungeon and dragged Loki out.
"Where are you taking me, brother?" Loki asked with a crooked smile, chains clinking. "To watch your beloved mortal woman die?"
"Enough, Loki," Thor snapped. "Take us to Svartalfheim. You know the hidden paths."
"Oh?" Loki tilted his head. "A plan even Father doesn't trust… and yet you trust a stranger?"
His eyes slid toward Levi.
"He looks far more interesting than you."
"He'll steal your hammer, take your girl, and you'll thank him for it."
"Shut up!" Thor grabbed Loki's collar.
Levi ignored them and went ahead through the passage.
---
Hours later.
Svartalfheim.
A dead world.
The sky was dark green, broken moons hanging like corpse eyes.
Jane lay unconscious atop a black stone slab. The Aether inside her sensed its master's call and writhed violently beneath her skin.
Thor stood beside her, gripping Mjolnir so tightly his knuckles whitened.
Every second felt like an hour.
Levi stood on a distant hill, arms crossed, eyes closed.
But his mind had already spread outward like a net, covering ten kilometers in every direction.
"You're sure he'll come?" Thor shouted impatiently.
"He will," Levi replied calmly. "Like a shark smelling blood."
The sky darkened.
A massive black pyramid-shaped warship tore through the clouds and hovered overhead.
A hatch opened.
A figure dropped from the sky like a meteor.
Dust exploded across the wasteland.
When it settled, Malekith stood there.
White hair.
Half his face scarred by ancient fire.
Ancient armor etched with thousands of years of war.
His mismatched eyes burned with hatred five thousand years old.
"Prince of Asgard," Malekith rasped. "You brought me my property."
His gaze locked onto Jane.
"Never!" Thor roared.
Mjolnir spun, summoning thunder.
A massive lightning bolt tore from the sky.
Malekith raised one hand lazily.
A crimson vortex formed.
The lightning vanished inside it like a stone dropped into the sea.
"Your power," Malekith sneered, "is a toy."
He stepped forward and reached toward Jane.
"Come back."
Jane's body arched violently.
Dark red liquid energy burst from her eyes, nose, and mouth—twisting like serpents as it flowed toward Malekith.
"Stop!"
Thor hurled Mjolnir.
The hammer screamed through the air.
Malekith didn't even turn.
A fragment of Aether formed a shield behind him.
CLANG.
For the first time, Mjolnir was effortlessly deflected.
Thor caught it—but the impact split his palm open, golden blood dripping down the handle.
He charged again anyway.
The battle lasted seconds.
Malekith grew stronger with every strand of Aether returning to him.
Soon his energy surpassed even elder Odin.
Then—
BOOM.
Malekith punched Thor square in the chest.
Asgardian armor shattered.
Thor flew backward like a rag doll, slamming into a black stone pillar.
"Levi!" Thor coughed blood and roared toward the hill. "What are you waiting for?! Jane's dying!"
"I'm waiting for you to grow, Prince," Levi's voice floated lazily through the air.
"Getting beaten builds character."
"You're already more durable than ten minutes ago."
Thor nearly spat another mouthful of blood in rage.
Malekith stepped forward, grabbed Thor by the throat, and lifted him off the ground.
"Your era is over."
In his other hand, a blade of condensed Aether formed.
Black. Absolute.
It aimed for Thor's heart.
Thor struggled desperately. Mjolnir fell from his hand with a dull clang.
Cold death crept closer.
On the hill, Levi smiled faintly.
Perfect timing.
His figure vanished.
In the next instant, he appeared behind Malekith and casually rested a hand on his shoulder—like greeting an old friend.
"Finished playing?" Levi asked casually.
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