The power of the Aether was immense, and no ordinary means could destroy it. Ultimately, it was buried deep underground, essentially sealed away due to its overwhelming strength.
However, where exactly it was buried, Syd was unsure. He only knew that the Aether resided in a hidden space, accessible through a spatial rift located somewhere on Earth during the convergence of the Nine Realms.
As he pondered this, Syd began his search for Jane.
Thanks to his previous observations, it didn't take long for him to find her, busy at work.
Instead of approaching directly, Syd used Jane's friend, Darcy, to guide her toward the next step.
In the workspace:
"What's this?" Jane asked, puzzled as she stared at the device Darcy handed her.
It was a palm-sized monitor, emitting a steady beeping noise while displaying some strange data.
"Is it broken?" Jane asked as she tapped it against the desk, trying to get it working properly.
"I already tried that, but it didn't work. I thought you'd try something a bit more scientific..." Darcy shrugged.
A few hours later, Jane, Darcy, and an intern were out in the field, equipped with their instruments. They found themselves at an expansive, long-abandoned shipping company's facility.
The area was overgrown with weeds and damp, seemingly untouched for years.
"Is this the place...?"
Watching from several meters above, Syd hovered, completely invisible. His curiosity was piqued as he followed the trio.
Without hesitation, he moved silently, flying after them into the facility. Thanks to his optical cloaking, neither Jane nor Darcy could sense his presence.
Syd observed quietly as they wandered through the abandoned site, searching for something.
Soon, they stumbled upon something strange—gravity seemed to be acting abnormally.
An old, discarded car sat in the dimly lit warehouse, and when Darcy accidentally touched it, the car began to float.
"God…"
The astonishing sight left them speechless.
Syd glanced at them briefly before turning his attention elsewhere. After a moment of thought, he left the trio and headed toward a staircase.
He didn't fly up this time but instead walked up slowly.
Upon reaching the third floor, Syd casually picked up a stone and tossed it downward.
The gray stone fell with a whoosh, but instead of hearing the sound of it hitting the floor, the stone vanished, only to reappear above him moments later, falling again.
The stone was caught in a loop—falling, disappearing, then reappearing overhead in a continuous cycle.
"The space here is definitely unstable…"
Syd keenly sensed the strange spatial fluctuations.
However, the spatial disturbance seemed weaker than he had anticipated, likely because he had arrived too early. Objects he threw now only reappeared above, rather than being transported to another place through the rift.
A slight concern crossed his mind—had he come too soon to access the space where the Aether resided?
After a moment, he shook his head.
"If I can't access it now, I'll use spatial manipulation or the Tesseract later. One way or another, I'll reach that place."
As this thought crossed his mind, he heard footsteps approaching—it was Jane and the others.
A while later, Jane noticed the readings on her instruments fluctuating wildly, the device beeping incessantly.
She had seen something like this before—the same phenomenon had occurred when Thor arrived through the Bifrost.
Instinctively, she followed the data, searching for the source of the disturbance.
Syd, observing Jane closely, mused, "I remember the entrance to the Aether's dimension being somewhere else…"
Following Jane should lead to the right place.
However...
As he trailed behind her, a question arose in his mind.
Syd recalled that Jane had been pulled into the dimensional rift by a mysterious gust of wind.
But this place wasn't particularly windy. How could there be a gust strong enough to move a full-grown woman?
There had to be some other force at play—something hidden, exerting power behind the scenes.
"Was it a Dark Elf… or the Aether itself?"
Syd frowned, leaning more toward the idea that it was the Aether's doing.
He had long suspected that the Infinity Stones had some level of sentience, choosing their wielders and, in some cases, even resisting them.
Of course, even if the Stones had some form of intelligence, they couldn't fully activate their power without a user to channel it…
As Syd pondered this, he suddenly noticed that Jane had reached the location.
The device in her hand beeped louder and faster than ever, and then a strange gust of wind appeared.
Despite the surrounding windows being closed, an unnatural force pushed Jane forward into the rift.
In just a few seconds, she passed through an invisible barrier and vanished from sight.
Seeing this, Syd's suspicions were confirmed.
Without wasting time, he followed her, attempting to pass through the same invisible rift.
However, something unexpected happened.
Though he could sense the spatial anomaly with his hands, he found himself unable to pass through.
Syd let out a cold chuckle.
Unfazed, he reached to his waist and retrieved the Tesseract, which was wrapped in cloth.
In an instant, the Tesseract emitted a radiant blue light.
The small spatial rift before him rippled violently under the immense power of the Tesseract.
With the might of the Tesseract's spatial manipulation, the barrier parted like water, revealing a darkened scene beyond.
It was clear—the Tesseract had forcefully torn open the rift.
After scanning the dim environment on the other side, Syd quietly stepped through.
Inside the dark space, Jane was panicking, calling out Darcy's name as she stood lost and confused.
At that moment, something caught her eye—a tall, rectangular stone with a glowing red light emanating from a crack in its center. Flowing red liquid pulsed within the crack, moving as if it were alive.
Unable to resist her curiosity, Jane approached the stone.
As soon as she got close, she was abruptly pulled against the stone's surface. The red liquid within the crack began to surge toward her, attempting to enter her body.
Jane's face twisted in fear.
Just when she thought things were about to go terribly wrong, a layer of red energy appeared between her and the Aether.
"What… is this?" she whispered.
Suddenly, she heard footsteps approaching.
Instinctively, she turned around, and what she saw left her utterly shocked.
A mysterious figure, dressed in black, was calmly walking toward her.
Jane's eyes widened in disbelief.
(End of Chapter)
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The sound of footsteps made Jane's heart race. In this dark and eerie place, there was someone else? Who could it be?
As she turned toward the sudden glow of red light, Jane's gaze locked onto the approaching figure, and her confusion quickly turned to shock.
"White Knight?"
"What's he doing here?"
After the town battle and the events in New York, how could this mysterious figure suddenly appear in front of her now? Jane knew the White Knight wasn't just an ordinary person. He was rumored to be an Omega-level mutant, possibly even a god, with powers far beyond comprehension. For someone of such stature to show up in this desolate place was unbelievable to her.
Jane was utterly stunned.
On top of that, she quickly realized that the strange red light wasn't a random phenomenon but a direct result of the White Knight's powerful Omega abilities. It suddenly made sense to her why the ominous red liquid was being held back so effortlessly.
While Jane was caught up in her thoughts, Syd had already approached her. He glanced at the chaotic Aether that was relentlessly trying to break free from the barrier of his chaotic magic and merge with Jane.
"The Aether, huh…"
With a wave of his right hand, the red liquid that had been trying to invade Jane's body was enveloped in a red energy sphere, drawn toward him.
Jane watched in disbelief as the Aether, previously swirling around uncontrollably, was now calmly suspended in front of the White Knight, contained within a ball of chaotic magic. Her mouth dropped open in shock.
Syd, on the other hand, narrowed his eyes at the Aether, which was still attempting to break free from its containment.
"Looks like I underestimated this thing…" he thought to himself.
Originally, Syd had considered allowing the Aether to merge with him, just to see what would happen. But now, seeing how it struggled even within the magical sphere, he quickly dismissed that idea.
Allowing the Aether to enter his body seemed reckless, even for him. Who knew what kind of havoc it might cause? He wasn't confident that his current physical form, though enhanced, could withstand the full force of an Infinity Stone.
If his Asgardian body and divine power were at their maximum levels, perhaps he'd feel more secure in attempting such a risk. But for now…
With a flick of his wrist, the liquid form of the Reality Stone began to compress within the chaotic sphere. Under the immense pressure of his chaotic magic, the Aether was forced to take a solid form.
In both Syd's and Jane's stunned eyes, the liquid gradually solidified, releasing a blinding red glow.
Finally, the light dimmed, revealing an irregularly shaped red gemstone hovering in midair.
"What… is that?" Jane gasped, covering her mouth in shock, her eyes flicking between the strange gem and the White Knight.
Syd paid no attention to her. Instead, with a simple gesture, the now solidified Reality Stone floated into his palm.
Holding the Reality Stone, he immediately established a connection with it.
Curious to see the full extent of its power, Syd decided to test it. He envisioned a vast grassland, then channeled the stone's power to transform the dark and dreary surroundings into that peaceful scene.
However, as soon as he issued the command, a sudden discomfort washed over him.
He felt a corrosive force radiating from the stone, attempting to invade and damage his body. Fortunately, thanks to his Level 4 Asgardian physique, coupled with his light power and divine abilities, the backlash wasn't enough to pose a serious threat to him.
Of course, that was largely because he hadn't used the Reality Stone's full power.
Additionally, Syd noticed a strong desire emanating from the stone—it was hungry for his light energy.
After a brief moment of consideration, Syd decided not to resist. The Reality Stone absorbed nearly a fifth of his stored light energy.
Then, something remarkable happened.
In Jane's astonished eyes, the bleak, dim surroundings began to shift. The change was rapid, as if someone was painting a new landscape right before her eyes.
In just two or three seconds, the desolate space had transformed into a lush, green grassland.
Jane blinked, rubbing her eyes in disbelief, thinking it must be a trick. But after pinching her own face, she finally accepted the truth.
Her wide-eyed gaze shifted to the White Knight, her mind reeling.
"Is this his Omega-level ability?"
"It's terrifying!"
"This… this defies the laws of physics… of science…"
"How is he doing this?"
Jane could hardly comprehend what she was witnessing. In her mind, this bizarre and awe-inspiring event could only be the result of the White Knight's fabled ability to alter reality.
After all, everyone knew that the White Knight possessed this extraordinary, reality-bending power. He had demonstrated it more than once.
So, it was only natural for her to believe that this was his doing.
As for the peculiar gemstone in his hand, Jane barely gave it a second thought. Who could imagine that a simple stone could wield such world-altering power?
Syd, meanwhile, wasn't paying any attention to Jane's stunned reaction.
He was more focused on the Reality Stone itself.
"So, the Reality Stone really does require energy to sustain its changes…" he mused.
At that moment, he realized why the Dark Elf in Thor: The Dark World didn't simply use the Aether to rewrite reality.
It wasn't that the liquid form couldn't alter reality; it just required an enormous amount of energy to do so. The Dark Elf clearly didn't possess that kind of power.
"No wonder the Reality Stone is considered the hardest Infinity Stone to wield. It needs the support of the other stones…"
Reflecting on the large amount of energy he had just expended, Syd shook his head.
How could any ordinary person hope to control the Reality Stone?
Only with the assistance of the other Infinity Stones could the Reality Stone fully unleash its potential. The Power Stone, for instance, existed to supply energy to the others.
In truth, the Infinity Stones were all interconnected, working best in unison.
As Syd pondered these things, barely ten seconds had passed before he noticed the surrounding landscape beginning to change.
In the blink of an eye, the grassy fields reverted to their original dark and gloomy state.
It was clear that any changes made by the Reality Stone were temporary. Altering reality in defiance of the natural order required a continuous supply of energy to maintain.
The duration of these changes depended on how much energy was provided and the extent of the modifications made.
These altered realities were like rootless water—they could only exist with constant energy input.
However, Syd could sense that this wasn't the full story.
Under the right circumstances, these temporary realities could be made permanent.
With the combined power of all six Infinity Stones, these changes could last indefinitely, perhaps even becoming irreversible.
(End of Chapter)
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