Finally, I have uploaded 20 advanced chapters on my Patreon for the readers. Go check them out and read them, and please don't forget to give this story a Powerstone and show your support.
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Here's my Patreon: "patreon.com/Hussain678" — 20 advanced chapters have been uploaded there.
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Clark in the American Comic WorldVolume Five Thousand: Sensing Vanaheim
On the battlefield of Svartalfheim, between the Dark Elves and the Asgardians, the Dark Elf leader Malekith stood beside his lieutenant Algrim, gazing down at the land beneath his feet. It was as if he could still see the battle that had once taken place there.
To the outside world, that war had ended nearly five thousand years ago. But to Malekith—who had slept through the ages—it felt as though it had happened only yesterday. Every detail remained vivid in his memory.
Malekith bent down, scooped up a handful of soil, and let it scatter in the wind. To others, it was nothing more than dirt. To him, it was the remains of his people.
Once, the Dark Elves numbered in the hundreds of millions. Now, only a single ship remained—and aboard it, fewer than ten thousand survivors. In Malekith's eyes, every grain of earth beneath him was the ashes of fallen Dark Elves.
"Algrim," Malekith said quietly, "I can barely remember what the world was like before the sun rose."
As he stared out at the deathly silent realm of Vanaheim, he let out a heavy sigh.
"Malekith," Algrim said, placing a hand on his shoulder, "you shouldn't blame yourself so much. The fact that you saved us from Asgard's grasp is already an achievement."
"That's not enough," Malekith replied coldly. "I want Asgard to suffer as we have suffered. I will find the Aether and extinguish the light of this world—returning everything to eternal night."
Just as Malekith lost himself in that vision, the fragment of Aether particles embedded in his arm suddenly trembled.
At that very moment, Clark was showing the Aether to Thor.
The faint vibration was enough for Malekith to realize one thing—the Aether had resurfaced. Judging by the direction of the resonance, he immediately determined that the Aether fragments were now located in Midgard.
A thin smile appeared on Malekith's lips. To him, this was nothing short of divine providence. The moment he awakened, the traces of the Aether Bor had hidden were revealed. It was a gift from the gods themselves.
Turning to his lieutenant, Malekith said, "The Aether has appeared, Algrim."
"Where is it?" Algrim's breath quickened. At this moment, nothing else mattered. As long as they could reclaim the Aether, everything else could wait.
But just as Malekith was about to reveal its location, the fragment in his arm suddenly went still—as if the earlier reaction had never happened.
"Why did it disappear?" Algrim asked sharply.
"…Nothing," Malekith said after a brief pause. "We're going to Midgard."
Though he didn't understand why the Aether fragment had stopped responding, Malekith was certain of one thing—the Aether was now on Midgard.
The reason Malekith lost his ability to sense it was actually simple. Clark had reabsorbed the Aether back into his body. Once isolated by Clark's physique, the Aether fragment Malekith possessed could no longer detect the presence of the main body.
Fragments of the Aether were able to resonate with one another because they sought reunification. Aside from forces of equal rank, almost nothing could truly destroy an Infinity Stone. Though the Aether existed in a strange form—as a flowing crystalline substance—it was still a unified whole. Even if separated, its fragments would naturally attempt to recombine.
Through specialized technology, the Dark Elves had once extracted microscopic crystal fragments from the Aether to create a biological weapon known as X. That was why remnants of Aether particles still existed within Malekith's body.
Now that the main Aether was gone, those fragments became his only means of tracking it. When the resonance abruptly vanished, Malekith realized that some force—or some being—had severed the connection between them.
It didn't matter.
The resonance, brief as it was, had confirmed the truth: the Aether was on Midgard, the convergence point of the Nine Realms.
As Malekith and his forces set course for Earth, Thor also returned to Asgard.
Both the footage provided by S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Aether now in Clark's possession proved that Asgard's historical records were flawed.
Uncertain how many Dark Elves had survived, and determined to prevent another alien invasion of Earth, Thor decided he had to inform Odin immediately. The Asgardian army, dormant for millennia, needed to move once more.
"Looks like we're going to war with aliens again," Tony said with a self-deprecating smile after Thor left.
He hadn't expected that just over a year after the Battle of New York, he'd be facing another extraterrestrial threat—and this one likely wouldn't be any easier.
Last time, the Chitauri invasion collapsed the moment Clark destroyed their mothership. But according to Thor, the Dark Elves weren't mindless soldiers under centralized control. Each of them was an independent, highly skilled warrior.
This meant the coming battle would be far more difficult. There would be no single flagship to destroy—no instant surrender.
Still, there was good news.
This time, they were prepared.
Compared to the Battle of New York, Tony had not only upgraded his Iron Man armor—he had also built an Iron Legion. Though not large in number, it was more than enough to form a powerful fighting force.