"During the reign of your grandfather, King Bor, the Dark Elves were nearly unstoppable. Their leader created a weapon called the Aether, intending to use it to plunge the Nine Realms—and even the entire universe—into eternal darkness.
After King Bor led the Asgardian army to defeat the Dark Elves, he originally intended to destroy the Aether. However, the power contained within it was far too great—even King Bor himself could not destroy it.
In the end, he sealed it away on Earth.
That's why I said the thing inside Jane is connected to Asgard."
Karl spoke calmly as he looked at Thor.
These events had occurred during the previous generation, long before Thor's time.
So it was only natural that Thor had never heard about them.
After listening to Karl's explanation, Thor looked slightly speechless.
He had never expected the problem to be tied to Asgard's ancient history, and something that had happened during his grandfather's era.
"So you mean… the thing inside Jane's body is the Aether?"
Thor frowned.
"Karl, if even you can't solve this, then I'll have to take her back to Asgard and ask my father for help."
He sighed heavily.
"Yes," Karl nodded.
"The thing inside Jane's body is indeed the Aether."
"It also has another name."
"The Reality Stone—one of the six Infinity Stones, which were formed from the six primordial singularities of the universe."
"That's most likely why King Bor couldn't destroy it."
Karl paused slightly before continuing.
"We should go to Asgard and see whether Odin has a solution."
"Besides… I've never actually been to Asgard before."
Thor was stunned for a moment after hearing this.
"What?!"
"It's one of the Infinity Stones?"
His eyes widened in shock.
But soon his expression turned excited.
"That's even better!"
"Come back to Asgard with me!"
"Once we finish dealing with Jane's problem, we'll have a proper drink together."
"You must try Asgardian wine!"
Thor said enthusiastically.
When Karl heard Thor mention drinking again, he couldn't help feeling speechless.
Just how much did this guy love alcohol?
Karl then called Juggernaut over and summoned his Sagittarius Gold Cloth.
At the same time, he signaled to Black Phoenix to open the protective barrier surrounding the manor.
Because Karl understood Heimdall's abilities very well.
The manor had always been shielded by a barrier specifically designed to block Heimdall's all-seeing vision.
Opening it now would allow Thor to call upon Heimdall to activate the Bifrost.
Thor immediately raised Mjolnir toward the sky.
"Heimdall!"
"Open the Rainbow Bridge and bring us back to Asgard!"
Whoosh!
A massive seven-colored beam of light descended from the sky.
It enveloped Thor, Karl, Black Phoenix, and Juggernaut, instantly transporting them away.
At the same time, inside the manor, various automated defense systems quietly activated.
Since Karl had left Earth, it was necessary to ensure that May, Raven, Gwen, and the others would remain safe during his absence.
Moments later—
Thor and the others appeared inside the Bifrost control chamber.
It was Karl's first time traveling through the Rainbow Bridge, and he found the experience quite fascinating.
Looking around at the enormous structure—
Everything was constructed from brilliant golden metal.
Karl couldn't help but feel a little amused.
It seemed that the characters in Western mythology had an especially strong love for gold.
As the group walked out of the chamber, Heimdall was already waiting.
The golden-eyed guardian looked toward Karl, Black Phoenix, and Juggernaut.
Then he bowed slightly.
"Welcome, powerful beings from Midgard."
"Asgard greets you."
Heimdall clearly understood the strength of the people standing before him.
Both Karl and Black Phoenix possessed Skyfather-level power.
Such beings deserved his respect.
Besides, they were also Thor's allies.
Having guarded Asgard for thousands of years, Heimdall understood Odin's intentions perfectly.
Odin wanted Thor to build friendships with powerful beings across the realms—so that he would have allies when facing future threats.
"Hello, Heimdall."
Karl nodded slightly.
"Thank you."
He actually had a good impression of the Asgardian guardian.
Even in death, Heimdall had protected Asgard to the very end.
"Karl, we should go find my father immediately," Thor said anxiously.
Karl nodded.
Thor spun Mjolnir and flew into the sky.
Karl and Black Phoenix followed behind him.
Karl used his telekinesis to carry Juggernaut along as well.
After flying forward for a short time, Thor arrived before the gates of a magnificent golden palace.
The Asgardian Palace.
Thor landed at the entrance.
Karl and Black Phoenix landed beside him.
Together they entered the great hall.
At the far end of the palace sat a white-haired, one-eyed old man wearing golden armor.
In his hand he held a magnificent golden scepter.
He sat calmly upon the throne of Asgard.
The All-Father—Odin.
"Father!"
Thor immediately knelt on one knee.
"Greetings, Odin, God-King of Asgard."
Karl simply stood where he was and spoke calmly.
He had no intention of kneeling.
Karl was already a Skyfather-level powerhouse himself.
And with Black Phoenix beside him, he had absolutely nothing to fear from Odin.
As for kneeling—
That was completely out of the question.
Black Phoenix and Juggernaut were even more relaxed than Karl.
Neither of them offered any greeting at all.
They simply stood beside Karl.
Black Phoenix didn't care.
Juggernaut was simply too lazy.
Odin slowly looked down at them.
But he showed no anger.
He could clearly sense that the woman beside Karl possessed power equal to his own.
As for the muscular man behind them—
Odin could feel a vast and ancient magical force within him as well.
A being with enormous potential.
"Hm."
"Greetings, warrior of Midgard."
Odin spoke calmly.
"I should thank you for helping Thor previously."
"With his level of comprehension, it might have taken him much longer to understand those lessons."
He glanced briefly at Thor.
"You give me too much credit."
Karl smiled lightly.
"Even without my help, Thor would eventually have been able to lift Mjolnir on his own."
These were simply polite words.
Neither of them took them very seriously.
"Father!"
Thor quickly interrupted.
"Please look at Jane!"
"Karl says the thing inside her body is the Aether."
"Do you have any solution?"
Thor's voice carried obvious urgency.
Odin's expression instantly changed.
"What?!"
"The Aether?!"
"That's impossible!"
"My father destroyed it long ago!"
"How could it possibly reappear?!"
Odin exclaimed in shock.
In his memory, King Bor had indeed destroyed the Aether.
So how could it now appear on Earth—and even possess this human woman?
Karl looked calmly at Odin.
"Odin."
"The thing inside Jane is indeed the Aether."
"And I believe you already know…"
"It is also called the Reality Stone—one of the six Infinity Stones!"
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