“Selvig, are you sure this thing can really stop Malekith?”

In the square, Thor’s gaze was grave as he watched the dark red Aether particles surge into the sky. He looked toward Selvig and Jane beside him.

“In theory, yes but we can’t get close enough!”

Selvig shouted over the chaotic winds.

“I see…”

Thor’s eyes narrowed as he looked at Malekith, who was now completely engulfed by the Aether storm. His expression hardened.

“I can get close.”

Thor intended to charge into the Aether maelstrom and bring Malekith down himself. If Malekith was not stopped, the Nine Realms and the entire universe would soon be consumed by darkness.

A thunderous crash shook the plaza.

A dark figure descended from the sky.

Rowan, clad in his Black God armor, landed before them.

“Boss?”

“Rowan?”

Both Thor and Selvig were startled at first, then visibly relieved.

Rowan’s power was unquestionable. At such a desperate moment, the arrival of an ally like him was a blessing.

“Hey, Rowan.”

Thor lifted a hand in greeting. The two had shared drinks at the Avengers’ celebration feast after the Battle of New York.

Rowan gave him a nod and stepped closer.

“Rowan, what’s that sword on your back?”

Thor’s eyes were immediately drawn to the massive three-meter blade slung across Rowan’s back. He could feel the scorching energy radiating from it. Something about its design seemed familiar, as if he had read about it in ancient records.

Rowan smiled faintly. “The Sword of Twilight.”

“The Sword of Twilight…” Thor frowned, repeating the words. It took him a few seconds before realization struck him. His eyes widened. “Could it be…?”

“Yes. I took it from Surtur. On my way here, I ended up in Muspelheim by accident.”

Thor’s face lit with shock. “Surtur still lives? I thought my father had slain him half a million years ago.”

His eyes were full of awe as he studied the blade.

The Sword of Twilight was said to rival Gungnir itself, and even surpassed Mjolnir in power. Yet here it was, resting casually in Rowan’s possession.

“He still clings to life, though he’s nearly finished,” Rowan said lightly.

Thor nodded, setting the thought aside.

“You see for yourself Malekith has unleashed the Aether. He wants to blanket the Nine Realms in darkness. We must stop him!”

Thor’s tone was firm, though he remembered well how badly Malekith had beaten him before. With Rowan at his side, however, their chances of victory rose sharply.

“So all we need is to drive this device into him?” Rowan asked, glancing at the strange metallic instrument in Selvig’s hands, shaped like a lightning rod.

“Yes. It will allow us to slice him apart through spatial distortion,” Jane explained quickly.

Rowan looked at the dark red maelstrom spiraling through the wormhole, nodding.

“Alright. Thor, let’s try it together.”

Thor nodded back.

The two each took one of the devices from Selvig.

“Thor, hold him head-on. I’ll strike from behind.”

Rowan and Thor charged into the storm. Rowan had just arrived; Malekith wouldn’t expect him.

“Understood!”

Thor braced himself and pressed forward, while Rowan circled around from behind.

“Malekith!”

Thor forced his way to within twenty meters of his foe. He roared and hurled one of the devices.

Focused wholly on channeling the Aether through the realms, Malekith failed to notice. The rod embedded into his left arm.

Outside the storm, Jane pressed the controls.

Space twisted. Malekith’s arm was severed cleanly and hurled into a random corner of the Nine Realms.

Malekith’s eyes flickered with surprise, but he brushed it aside, summoning the Aether to repair himself.

Yet though a new arm began to form, it would not fully coalesce. His strength was too divided between his ritual and his body.

Thor’s spirits soared. Malekith had no strength to spare.

Now was the moment.

From behind, Rowan shook his head at the all-too-familiar arrogance. Marvel’s villains always made the same mistake rushing headlong into grand schemes without consolidating their strength.

Malekith was no different. Newly awakened, yet already trying to drown the universe in shadow.

It was nothing but suicide.

Thor hurled another rod.

A ripple of warped space severed Malekith’s other arm.

Enraged, Malekith finally diverted power to heal himself.

“Malekith, your end has come!”

Thor charged with Mjolnir raised high.

Dark red spikes of Aether erupted to impale him. Malekith sneered. Thor would never reach him.

But just as he turned all his focus to finishing the ritual and casting Thor aside, a searing blade swept from behind.

The colossal sword, glowing like molten iron, cleaved cleanly through his neck.

Malekith’s head spun through the air, his eyes wide with shock. His lips moved, but no sound came. His fading gaze found Rowan standing tall, Twilight Sword blazing in his grip.

“Well struck, Rowan!”

Thor, though battered by the storm, laughed in triumph.

Still, the Aether storm raged on.

Thor hurled lightning at Malekith’s fallen head, obliterating it to ash.

Yet even without a head, Malekith’s body still stood. Aether surged from his severed neck, struggling to knit him together again.

But the burning imprint left by the Twilight Sword stifled the process.

Rowan wasted no time. He swung again, the colossal blade cleaving in three sweeping arcs while eight flying daggers sliced in unison.

Malekith’s body shattered.

The Aether tried desperately to pull him back together, but Rowan and Thor struck as one.

Twilight Sword and Mjolnir slammed into the exposed Aether core.

The explosion tore the storm apart.

Selvig and Jane were hurled unconscious to the ground by the shockwave.

Thor crashed to the earth as well.

Rowan alone remained standing, his armor and vibranium suit absorbing the worst of it.

The Aether was destroyed, leaving behind only the Reality Stone an irregular dark red crystal, pulsing with mysterious energy.

Rowan stepped forward and seized it. Whatever its use, it was safer in his hands.

“Rowan… cough… we did it. Ha!” Thor laughed through his bruises, staring up at the clear sky. He had seen Rowan take the Stone, but said nothing.

Rowan had earned it.

The Aether had been under Asgard’s guard once before. And they had failed. Better it remain with Rowan.

Later, the other Avengers arrived, clearing away the Dark Elves and their creatures.

Rowan and Thor, as victors, claimed Malekith’s massive warship. Shuri brought a vibranium craft to haul it away, despite the silent envy of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Earth’s governments.

“Shuri, the Dark Elf ship has powerful cloaking and anti-matter weapons. Study it well.”

“Understood, boss!”

Satisfied, Rowan watched the ship vanish from sight.

Thor clasped his shoulder. “I must return to report to Father. Next time I come to Midgard, we’ll drink again.”

Rainbow light engulfed him, and he vanished.

Rowan watched the Bifrost sigil fade, clicking his tongue in envy.

That rainbow bridge was far too convenient.

Back at his tower, Rowan ignored the reports of awe and curiosity over the Dark Elf ship. He locked himself in his vibranium chamber and sat cross-legged.

From his storage, he withdrew the fiery crystal Surtur had given him the Flame Core.

Surtur had claimed he bore the blood of fire. Was it true?

Rowan examined the core with his psychic senses. No malice, only pure flame essence.

Still cautious, he prepared safeguards Elixir of Life, Extremis serum, and the newly-won Reality Stone. If the crystal was a trap, he would survive.

Ready, Rowan cut his palm and pressed the crystal to the wound.

It melted instantly into molten flame, seeping into his blood.

The burning essence surged through his veins, into every organ, every cell.

His genetic energy stirred wildly, boiling like a storm. Droplets of potential gathered into streams, streams into rivers, rivers into a flood.

At last, everything converged in his dantian.

With a thunderous crack, the barrier shattered.

A miniature star burst into being within his core. Orange and radiant, its surface was formed of countless golden crystalline facets, spinning slowly and releasing strange pulses.

“My martial core…”

Rowan’s spirit trembled with joy. He had broken through to planetary level as a warrior.

He guided the fiery energy outward. His bones cracked and reforged, his organs and marrow transfigured. Agony wracked him, but he roared through it.

Flames erupted across his body. His eyes blazed yellow-red. His hair rose, transforming into fire itself.

In that moment, he resembled a war god cloaked in living flame.

“So this is my planetary evolution…”

He flexed his hands, fire spilling freely from his arms and shoulders. Yet he felt no heat, only boundless strength.

When he willed it, a volcano erupted from his palm. The air warped with heat at least three thousand degrees, greater even than Extremis warriors.

“If Luo Feng has his Diamond Body… then this shall be my Flame God Form.”

Rowan tested his power, exhilarated. His transformation magnified speed, strength, defense and explosive force. Fire wreathed his body, an extension of his will.

With a thought, he released the form. The fire died, his hair fell back into place.

It was clear now. His ability was not mere pyrokinesis, but transformation itself. Fire control was only a secondary gift.

“I am planetary rank at last.”

A wild grin spread across his face.

At this level, he could truly step into the universe.

Without such power, he would be nothing more than prey.

“On Earth, aside from the Ancient One, no one can stand against me now.”

He clenched his fists, setting his next goal.

Planetary today, stellar tomorrow. He would touch upon the laws of flame or space themselves.

The cosmic genius battle was only ten years away. He would not miss it.

“But I’m not without aid…”

His eyes fell on the Twilight Sword. Channeling his fiery core into it, the colossal blade shrank to a manageable size, reshaping at his will.

Rowan’s grin widened as the weapon transformed into a single-edged crimson blade. He gave it a few test swings, pleased with its balance.

“From now on, you’ll be my Twilight Blade.”

The old dragon-patterned saber could be discarded. This was his true weapon now.

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep