Meanwhile, Jane Foster arrived at an abandoned warehouse.
The readings on the instruments she carried suddenly became extremely unstable—similar to the energy fluctuations that had appeared when Thor first descended to Earth.
Curious, Jane walked deeper into the warehouse and eventually entered a dim corridor between two storage sections.
In the next instant—
She was suddenly pulled into a strange spatial rift and fainted.
At the same time, a blackish-red liquid substance resting on a nearby platform began to move. Like a living entity, it slowly flowed toward Jane and entered her body.
If Karl had been present, he would have immediately recognized it.
Those were Aether particles.
The liquid form of the Reality Stone, one of the six Infinity Stones created from the primordial singularities of the universe.
When Jane regained consciousness, she found herself lying in the corridor again.
Everything around her seemed normal.
After leaving the warehouse, her companions quickly rushed toward her.
They told her that she had been missing for five entire hours.
At that same moment—
In Asgard, Heimdall had already noticed something strange.
He informed Thor that Jane Foster had disappeared from his sight for several hours.
For Heimdall, whose vision could observe nearly everything in the Nine Realms, this was extremely unusual.
There were very few beings on Earth capable of blocking his sight.
And none of them had any reason to target Jane.
Even stranger—
When Jane reappeared five hours later, something about her seemed wrong.
After hearing Heimdall's report, Thor immediately grabbed Mjolnir and rushed toward the Rainbow Bridge.
Moments later—
He crossed the Bifrost and arrived outside the warehouse on Earth where Jane was located.
Whoosh!
A pillar of rainbow-colored light descended from the sky.
When Jane saw it in the distance, she immediately recognized it.
Thor had come from Asgard.
A trace of happiness appeared in her eyes.
But almost immediately afterward, she felt a strange weakness spreading through her body.
Her strength seemed to be fading rapidly.
This unusual scene also attracted the attention of nearby civilians.
Thor ignored them entirely and rushed straight toward Jane.
He quickly pulled her into his arms.
"Jane, are you alright?"
"Heimdall told me you disappeared for five hours, and you don't look well."
"How are you feeling right now?"
Thor asked anxiously.
He knew better than anyone how powerful Heimdall's vision was.
The fact that this place could block Heimdall's sight meant something extremely unusual had happened.
Jane forced a smile.
"Thor… I'm fine."
"I just feel a little tired and weak."
"Maybe I'm just hungry."
She didn't understand what had happened during those missing hours.
But she didn't want Thor to worry.
Thor immediately shook his head.
"No."
"We need to find the Prophet."
"He will definitely know what happened to you!"
"Hold on tight—I'll take you to him right now!"
Thor said urgently.
Jane quickly grabbed his arm.
"There's no need."
"I probably just haven't eaten for too long."
"I'll be fine after eating something."
"There's no need to trouble him."
Karl was the Gold Saint and the strongest hero on Earth.
Jane didn't want to bother him unnecessarily.
But Thor immediately rejected her explanation.
"No, Jane."
"Something is wrong."
"Your life energy is decreasing—I can feel it!"
"It's not because you haven't eaten."
"Something inside you is consuming your energy."
His voice became tense.
"I must take you to Karl."
"He should know what happened here on Earth."
But just as Thor finished speaking—
Jane suddenly lost consciousness and fainted.
"Jane!"
Thor panicked.
Without hesitation, he spun Mjolnir and took off into the sky, flying straight toward Karl's manor with Jane in his arms.
Karl knew countless secrets.
Thor was certain that he could help.
And given their relationship, Thor believed Karl would never refuse.
At that very moment—
Karl was comfortably lying in a rocking chair in the manor garden, leisurely enjoying the sunlight.
Resting on top of him was Black Phoenix.
She wore a delicate black lace nightgown, paired with black stockings.
Her voluptuous and graceful figure was faintly visible beneath the lace fabric.
Her alluring charm could make anyone's heart race.
However—
This view belonged to Karl alone.
He quietly enjoyed the warmth of the sun while holding Black Phoenix in his arms.
Suddenly—
Crack!
Boom!
Whoosh!
A loud sonic boom echoed above the manor.
In an instant, the lace nightgown around Black Phoenix transformed into a formal black business suit.
However, she still remained lying on top of Karl.
To her, no one mattered except Karl himself.
She simply didn't care.
Karl lightly patted her curvy hip, signaling for her to get up.
Black Phoenix glanced toward the sky with clear displeasure before slowly standing.
With the perception of the Phoenix Force, she had already recognized Thor's arrival long before he landed.
Karl slowly stood up as well.
Just then—
Thor descended into the manor courtyard carrying Jane, his expression filled with urgency.
He ran toward Karl immediately.
Karl only needed one glance to understand the situation.
The Aether had already entered Jane's body.
Otherwise, Thor would never appear so anxious.
"Karl!"
"Please help me check what's wrong with Jane!"
"She disappeared for five hours, and something inside her is draining her life force!"
"Please help me see if there's anything that can be done!"
Thor said anxiously as he carried Jane toward him.
Karl raised his hand calmly.
"Relax."
"Let me take a look first."
Using telekinesis, he gently lifted Jane's body and suspended her horizontally in the air.
Then he extended his mental power to scan her body.
Almost instantly, he discovered a strange energy flowing inside her.
That energy was slowly devouring her vitality.
Meanwhile, Black Phoenix stood nearby with an annoyed expression.
If Thor hadn't arrived—
She would still be lying comfortably in Karl's arms enjoying the sunlight.
Every night, Karl was already surrounded by the other women.
Daytime was her only peaceful time with him.
And now Thor had interrupted it.
Naturally, she was unhappy.
Thor, on the other hand, had no idea why Black Phoenix was glaring at him with such hostility.
But he didn't think about it much.
His entire attention was focused on Jane.
Karl soon finished his examination.
"There is indeed something inside her body devouring her life force."
"If nothing is done, it will eventually consume her completely."
"I can temporarily stabilize her condition."
"But I cannot remove that thing."
Karl said calmly.
Then he took out a small piece of dragon bone.
Using Bone Spirit Cold Fire, he refined it into a drop of lifespan essence.
He then guided the liquid gently into Jane's mouth.
Thor frowned immediately.
"It has something to do with Asgard?"
"What do you mean?"
"Karl, can you explain more clearly?"
Thor was completely confused.
He couldn't recall any Asgardian artifact or power that should exist on Earth.
And even if there were—
As the Prince of Asgard, he should know about it.
So he could only ask Karl to explain.
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