"No!" Malekith let out a cry of agony as the Reality Stone slipped from his grasp. The pain of losing the stone far outweighed the physical pain of his severed arm. The damage to his body was nothing compared to the heartache of losing the stone, especially when he had been so close to fulfilling the dark elves' ultimate wish, only for Robert to ruin it. How could Malekith accept this?
With a roar, Malekith's energy surged out, sending Kara, Susan Storm, and Lorna flying away. His strength had evolved dramatically, even though he hadn't achieved his ultimate goal of plunging the entire universe into darkness. The now-darkened Earth alone had given him a massive power boost.
The dark elves had once thrived, but over the ages, they had declined as environments suitable for their existence dwindled, leading to their weakening. But now, with the entire Earth engulfed in darkness, both Malekith and his allies, including Argorim and the ordinary dark elves, were significantly empowered.
Earth's crisis, however, was far worse than just the rise of the dark elves. The darkness that had fallen wasn't the usual kind of night, where there were still stars, moonlight, and artificial lighting. When this darkness descended, all sources of light vanished—no sun, no moon, no stars. Worse still, electricity and artificial lights across human society ceased to function. No lightbulb, no power generator could penetrate the blackness.
For humanity, this was an unprecedented disaster. Many parts of the world were already in the grip of winter, and without fire, these regions faced mortal danger. Furthermore, countless people were trapped in vehicles when the darkness struck, leading to mass casualties far exceeding any previous crisis.
High above, Clark flew at top speed across the globe, doing everything he could to save lives. The overwhelming number of emergencies forced him to make difficult choices, deciding where he could save the most people.
"Superman? Hah, you're just a hypocritical alien, a false god with ulterior motives!" A bald man watched Clark's actions from one of the few places still illuminated by special energy sources, his eyes gleaming with cold malice. "Earth has faced one supernatural event after another, and every time it seems like you're saving the day. But have you ever considered that maybe these events wouldn't happen without you? It's time for me to activate my plan, even if it's not fully ready..."
Meanwhile, in the depths of the darkness, Malekith charged toward the Reality Stone once more. But just as he was about to reach it, a barrage of energy slashes flew in.
In an instant, Malekith's body was sliced into pieces. Despite his enhanced strength, even he couldn't withstand the sharpness of the energy slashes. Yet, this didn't mean Malekith was severely injured—his dark-powered body quickly began to regenerate.
"Argorim! What are you doing?!" Malekith shouted furiously at Argorim, whose delay had cost him the stone.
"I'm coming, my lord!" Argorim, who had been momentarily distracted, snapped back to attention. Though his strength had increased enough to suppress Robert, Argorim wasn't fast enough to keep up with him. Robert had initially engaged in close combat for the thrill of it, but now that the entire Earth was shrouded in darkness, the stakes were too high for games. Robert had no time to deal with Argorim anymore.
"Polaris! Take the Reality Stone and see if you can reabsorb it!" Robert called out to Lorna as Argorim charged toward him.
"Help the vampires and werewolves! Supergirl, kite that big guy—avoid direct confrontation. Use ranged attacks, like your freeze breath, to slow him down!"
As Robert spoke, he unleashed a flurry of energy blasts, preventing Malekith from regenerating too easily.
Lorna grabbed the Reality Stone, and without Kors' mysterious guidance, the stone once again merged into her body, disappearing from sight.
"No!" Malekith roared in anguish as he saw the stone disappear into Lorna. The sound of his scream reverberated through the darkness, sending shivers down the spines of those far away.
Though Malekith knew how to manipulate the Reality Stone just like Kors had, he couldn't sneak up on Lorna as Kors had done. There was no way to stop the stone from merging with her unless he could eliminate everyone standing in his way.
Malekith's eyes flashed with murderous intent, but before he could act, his head felt a sharp disturbance.
With a flash, his head was split in two, unevenly. Malekith had reacted too slowly to completely avoid the attack.
"You're courting death!" Even though his mouth could no longer move, Malekith's voice still rang out as the darkness around him began to churn violently.
Suddenly, beams of dark energy, hidden in the shadows, lashed out at Robert. His keen senses allowed him to dodge, but the power of Malekith's attacks, enhanced by the darkness covering the entire Earth, was formidable.
"This Reality Stone is really troublesome… Even the environment it creates is brimming with power. What kind of wish did that guy make?" Robert pondered as he struggled to fend off the dark beams.
"If this drags on, I won't lose, but the Earth might not survive the extended darkness. I can already feel disturbances in the planet's energy. If this keeps up, many people will die before this fight is even over."
With this realization, Robert made a decision. After deflecting another beam, he unleashed several more energy slashes at Malekith to hinder his regeneration before calling out, "Baron Mordo! Take Polaris and get out of here! Go to Kamar-Taj and see if you can guide the Reality Stone out. Use its power to dispel the darkness from Earth!"
"I understand!" Baron Mordo, recognizing the gravity of the situation, quickly opened a portal and whisked Lorna away mid-battle.
"Stop them!" Malekith roared as he saw Lorna leaving, directing a surge of dark energy toward the portal. But before the darkness could reach it, the portal closed, cutting off the attack.
In some respects, spatial powers were incredibly overpowered. If the Ancient One were here, she could open the Mirror Dimension and erase the dark elves' home-field advantage, then use the Time Stone to speed up the process and deal with the Earth's dark crisis later.
As for why Baron Mordo didn't use the Mirror Dimension? He simply lacked the ability to do so. If more students from Kamar-Taj had been present, they might have been able to open it at the start of the battle, but Mordo alone wasn't enough.
Meanwhile, at Kamar-Taj, one of the few places still bathed in light, the darkness was held at bay by protective wards.
"What happened, Baron Mordo?" Kaecilius asked, perplexed, as Mordo emerged from the portal.
"The dark elves attacked, using the Reality Stone to plunge Earth into darkness. The stone is now inside her body. We need to extract it and use its power to dispel the darkness," Mordo explained quickly.
"The Reality Stone?" Dr. Doom's eyes gleamed at the mention. After witnessing the power wielded by Robert and the others, Doom had become obsessed with finding ways to enhance his own strength, and the Infinity Stones were the perfect tools for that.
"Don't get any ideas. We need to stop the darkness first," Mordo warned, knowing Doom's ambitions. There was no time for further argument—the priority was saving the Earth.
"Fine. Let's deal with Earth first," Doom agreed, though his eyes still burned with anticipation.
The students of Kamar-Taj quickly got to work. Although there were no spells specifically designed to control the Reality Stone, several general magic techniques could still influence it.
Before long, the Reality Stone reappeared, its energy radiating out just as it had with Kors.
If Malekith had witnessed this, he would have been furious. But it was inevitable—the Infinity Stones were never the property of any one race or individual. Whoever possessed the ability to wield them without succumbing to their power could claim their strength.
"Reality Stone!" Baron Mordo breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing it. "Now, let's channel our magic to help someone control it and remove the darkness from Earth."
The students exchanged glances, their eyes gleaming with desire but tinged with silence. After all, the power to turn thoughts into reality was controlled by whoever wielded the stone. Who could guarantee that the one chosen wouldn't harbor other thoughts—like using the stone to fulfill personal wishes? It wasn't as though they'd only be allowed one wish. They could restore the Earth while gaining a little extra for themselves…
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