The Aether is in Hand, The Big Girl Hints

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As Aaron was thinking, Jane finally recognized the figure standing in the darkness.

A friend of Thor—the God of Magic!

Seeing him, Jane smiled awkwardly, got up from the ground, and said, "Sorry, I didn't realize it was you just now. Did I scare you?"

"Well..."

As soon as the words left her mouth, Jane felt embarrassed and wished she could find a hole to crawl into.

A majestic God of Magic, scared by her scream?

Realizing how ridiculous that sounded, she quickly corrected herself.

"S-Sorry!"

She secretly glanced up at Aaron again.

Ever since their last meeting, she had been unable to shake the memory of that battle—it had left her deeply shaken.

She was among the first humans to come into contact with the Asgardian gods on Earth and actually form a good relationship with them.

"It's all right," Aaron said, unfazed. "But you're quite brave, always asking questions everywhere."

"I didn't expect this to happen, but it's fine now. Look at me—I'm perfectly fine."

Jane turned around and checked herself. Everything felt normal.

However, when she glanced at the mysterious substance between the cracks in the stone, she noticed it had disappeared.

She frowned, looked away, then turned back again—

Only to find another Aaron standing behind her.

It was impossible to extract the Aether in front of her, but as long as she wasn't paying attention, he could manage it.

The Aether's self-defense mechanism only triggered when Jane experienced emotional distress.

And Jane was just a human—her consciousness wasn't strong enough to detect the duplicate Aaron behind her.

When the extraction needle struck, it would already be too late for her to resist.

The process took mere moments.

All Aaron had to do was keep Jane distracted.

"Are you sure everything's fine?" Jane asked, still skeptical. "You don't feel like... something just entered your body?"

To avoid raising suspicion, Aaron maintained his distance.

"What? Something entered my body?"

Puzzled, Jane inspected herself, feeling for anything unusual.

But after a thorough check, everything seemed fine.

She looked up, still confused.

At that moment—

A sudden sharp pain!

Jane yelped as a foreign object pierced her from behind. Instinctively, she wanted to resist, but then—

She felt something leave her body.

Her previous fatigue vanished in an instant.

When she turned around, she saw another Aaron standing there, holding a syringe the size of a carrot.

Inside, a mysterious red substance swirled.

She immediately realized what had happened.

Clutching her lower back, she took a few steps away.

"You—what did you just do?!"

Aaron held up the syringe.

"I extracted this."

He swirled the liquid inside the tube.

"This is the Aether, also known as the Reality Stone. It contains immense energy."

"Its power is enough to tear apart stars with ease."

"It invaded your body earlier and kept you unconscious for five hours."

"The biggest problem? The human body can't handle it. It would have continuously drained your life force—until you eventually died."

Jane's face paled instantly.

She had just brushed past death without even realizing it.

If it weren't for Aaron, she might never have known what had killed her.

But then—

Her face flushed red with embarrassment.

"Then why didn't you tell me first? You had to sneak up on me from behind?"

"If you had just explained it, I would've cooperated!"

"Sorry, but you wouldn't have," Aaron replied bluntly.

"If I had told you, you would have resisted instinctively, which could have complicated the extraction process."

Jane frowned but stayed silent.

Meanwhile, Aaron pulled out a prepared extractor.

The previous one had been destroyed by the Aether's defense mechanism.

The version used by his duplicate had been crafted afterward from Uru metal, enhanced with sharpness attributes to make the process as swift as possible.

Jane hesitated, feeling slightly annoyed.

"You think I couldn't handle it?" she muttered. "I have three bachelor's degrees. If you had just explained it, I wouldn't have panicked."

"But I couldn't take that risk. And besides—" Aaron gestured to the now-extracted Aether, "—didn't everything work out just fine?"

Jane wanted to argue but was suddenly distracted by the space around them.

The distorted dimension was starting to collapse.

Before she could say anything else, Aaron grabbed her hand and pulled her back into the real world.

The moment they appeared—

"Jane! You're finally back! You were gone for so long, I was about to have a panic attack!"

Daisy rushed over with a huge sigh of relief.

"I knew the God of Magic would bring you back!"

The other interns had already been sent off to check on the car.

Daisy hurried closer, but just as she was about to check on Jane, she suddenly ignored her—

And turned straight to Aaron.

"Uh—can I get an autograph? Just your name is fine!"

She eagerly pulled out a pen, looking at him expectantly.

Jane wanted to kick her.

This was her way of showing concern?

Aaron glanced at the pen, then at Daisy, and hesitated for a moment before saying,

"Where do you want the signature?"

"Right here!"

Daisy was prepared.

She opened her coat, lifted her collar slightly—revealing a patch of bare skin.

Aaron felt a cold sweat form on his forehead.

Was this... an invitation?

But he had been through too much to be fazed by something like this.

With a steady hand, he signed both sides for symmetry.

Perfect.

After Aaron left, Jane glared at Daisy.

"What the hell was that?!"

"What? I'm just being a fan!" Daisy said defensively.

Then she suddenly clapped her hands.

"Ugh! I forgot to ask for his phone number!"

Jane crossed her arms.

"You really think a god needs a phone?"

"Are you dumb? Did you forget that he's all over the internet?" Daisy shot back.

"And he didn't use the Bifrost just now—he's obviously living on Earth. Having a phone would be totally normal!"

As she spoke, memories of the countless videos of Aaron online flashed through her mind.

That powerful presence…

Enough to drive any woman insane.

Jane was speechless.

Although Daisy had once been her intern, she was clearly much more socially experienced than her.

Jane had always been a career-driven woman, devoted to academic research.

Daisy, while also a scientist, paid more attention to the outside world.

Then, as if making an important decision, Daisy suddenly declared:

"I've made up my mind!"

Jane raised an eyebrow.

"About what?"

"I'm going back to the U.S.! If I'm not mistaken, he's already in New York!"

Daisy was going to try her luck again.

This meeting had gone better than expected.

Maybe, just maybe, she had a chance to get closer to the God of Magic.

After all—

If she didn't try, how would she ever know?

Jane stared at her in disbelief, suddenly feeling like she didn't recognize her at all.

Meanwhile, Aaron had already left London.

Unaware of their conversation, he returned to New York—

And resumed his research.

As for the Reality Gem, Aaron combined it with the Space Gem.

Before he could safely research how to extract the gem's energy, he needed to forcibly absorb the energy inside.

If he couldn't stop absorbing it, it would lead to a very embarrassing situation.

However, before entering his study, Aaron made some preparations.

He set up an energy shield around the house to prevent an attack from the Dark Elves.

Those beings had an extraordinary sense when it came to detecting the Reality Gem.

Now that the Aether particles were present, they were already aware of it—and they were on their way.

Above Vanaheim, in the endless darkness,

A warship that had been dormant for thousands of years stirred into action.

Inside the ship, figures stirred to life.

Each one carried an unyielding fighting spirit and a vengeful fire on their faces.

They were the last of the Dark Elves, survivors who had been fortunate enough to escape during the battle when Bor wiped out most of their kind.

Today, under the leadership of their leader, Malekith, they would restore the glory of the Dark Elves.

Malekith stood at the top, watching his people below.

Beside him stood a towering and terrifying titan—the pinnacle of the Cursed Warlord, a being who had sacrificed all vitality to achieve its form.

"Agem, do you feel it? The Aether particles are calling to us."

"We'll have more trouble with Asgard," Malekith continued, "but it's in Midgard right now. God help us!"

"We're about to reclaim the Aether particles."

"I will restore our world and end this poisoned universe!"

Malekith dreamt of the bright future that awaited once the Aetherparticles were in his grasp.

In their eyes, Midgard had always been a backward world, but this time, they would reclaim the Aether with ease.

With the help of the Reality Stone, they would pull the entire universe into darkness.

At that point, the Dark Elves would regain their position of dominance across the universe!

Before long, the battleship cloaked itself in stealth mode and began its journey to infiltrate Midgard.

Meanwhile, Heimdall, who watched over the Nine Realms, knew nothing of this.

He was too absorbed in watching the celestial bodies gathering in the distance.

He occasionally checked on Earth, watching Thor's movements.

At that very moment, in the endless dimensions,

A new war had begun at the boundary of Hell.

Two lords from different dimensions descended into this space.

Each of them wielded a staff and held vast amounts of gemstone power.

The first was Tiboro, the ruler of the Sixth Dimension, and the second was Aggamon, the ruler of the Purple Dimension.

"I never imagined we'd unite to conquer the boundary of Hell," Aggamon remarked first.

"Hahaha, maybe this is our first collaboration, but it certainly won't be the last," Tiboro replied. "Aren't you curious about Earth?"

"If this partnership goes well, we can certainly cooperate further," Aggamon added with a smile. It would be a lie to say that he wasn't interested in the real universe.

Though the boundary of Hell was vast, it paled in comparison to the real universe in terms of allure.

If they could take over Earth, it would be the perfect springboard to devour the real universe.

Then, their strength would grow immeasurably.

They could even rival the power of the mighty Dimensional Lords!

"But we must be cautious of Mephisto," Tiboro warned. "That guy contacted both of us at once, but he hasn't shown himself yet."

Aggamon agreed.

"As Dimension Lords, we're far weaker than Cthon. His cunning is among the best of all Dimensional Lords. If we're not careful, we may end up as cannon fodder."

They both understood the need to approach cautiously.

Fortunately, they were a duo.

Even if they lost to Mephisto, they would not suffer too greatly.

Now, another joint invasion of Limbo Hell was underway.

And, as Mephisto had predicted, the energy here was less than half of what it once was.

The new ruler was a disciple of the former ruler, Velasco, a demon named Liana.

This provided a great opportunity for victory.

"If we take Limbo down, Mephisto won't be able to interfere," Tiboro said with confidence.

Aggamon nodded. "This is our chance to show what we can really do!"

They both grinned. "We won't hold back. The opponent is just a black magic apprentice, not Velasco. This will be easy."

With that, the two entered the boundary of Hell together.

Not long after the battle began,

A red hell demon appeared.

Observing the chaotic energy surges, Mephisto smiled to himself.

He had carefully orchestrated this conflict between the two lesser Dimensional Lords to weaken them.

No matter who won, the other side would be left in shambles.

It was time for Mephisto to reap the benefits of their strife.

Inside Limbo,

A mysterious guest wielded the Soul Blade, now completely demonized.

Having gained dimensional authority, she could unleash devastating black magic.

She skillfully used black magic, catching the two dimensional lords off guard and causing them some difficulty.

But they quickly adapted, launching a fierce counterattack.

One used an electromagnetic plasma ray, while the other unleashed a beam capable of destroying gems.

Despite her magic and the power of the Soul Blade, the mysterious guest found herself on the defensive.

Under relentless attack, she was unable to gain the upper hand.

Still, she refused to summon Aaron for help.

She knew that he wouldn't want to reveal her identity to the many Mephistas.

And, though victory seemed unlikely, she still believed she could push back the two dimensional lords.

Her fierce determination only made Aggamon and Tiboro more enraged.

They refused to believe that two of them couldn't defeat a newly promoted half-waste dimensional lords.

Back on Earth, Aaron was unaware of the battle in Limbo.

Before he could anticipate the Dark Elves' arrival, he was pulled away by Amora and the others to watch the Nine Stars Alignment , a rare event that occurred once every millennium.

The sight of celestial bodies gathering was nothing short of breathtaking.

"It's truly spectacular!" Gwen exclaimed.

"Can I take a picture?" she asked excitedly.

"Yes, but I suggest you don't share it," Aaron cautioned. "For Earth, many of the Nine Realms are dangerous places."

"Some of the realms—like the Frost Titans, Flame Titans, and Dark Elves—are incredibly hostile. If humans try to contact them, it could lead to war."

He explained that posting photos could potentially expose the coordinates of the Nine Realms to the wrong people.

Some individuals, driven by reckless curiosity, might attempt to make contact with things they didn't understand.

Gwen nodded in understanding, discarding the idea of taking photos, and instead continued to admire the stunning beauty of the event.

If she missed it, she wouldn't have another chance.

Sif, Amora, and Jean each had an astronomical telescope, taking in the sight from their vantage points.

But just as they were admiring the scene,

Aaron suddenly looked up.

In the distance, a massive black battleship emerged slowly from the shadows.

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