The Sword of the Vishanti slashed downward, while the Scarlet Chains of Cytorrak tightly bound Malekith—now controlled by the Aether—before Gene. Without hesitation, Gene poured the full power of the Space Stone, hidden within his armor, into the blade of the Vishanti's Sword. Once a radiant golden blade, it now shimmered with a layer of blue energy. The fusion of golden-blue light clashed against the Aether's crimson aura, sparking a visual contrast that lit up the battlefield.

Sensing danger, the Aether violently twisted Malekith's body in resistance. But it was all in vain.

Gene raised the gleaming, golden-blue broadsword high and brought it down like a divine judgment piercing the dark. The radiant blade cleaved through the Aether's defenses and struck Malekith head-on. A blinding light seared his vision, and in the next moment, the dark elf's body was consumed by the blaze.

When the light faded, Malekith was gone—vaporized down to the most basic molecular particles. The Aether, now without a host, floated erratically in midair, tumbling and pulsing with residual energy.

The dissipated from Gene's hand. His V-shaped visor glinted as he gazed at the swirling remnants of the Aether. He raised both hands, and strange magical runes flared into existence. Sensing the power, the Aether paused its chaotic spin. Then, as if drawn by instinct, it condensed and coalesced, pulling its high-energy particles into a concentrated form—eventually shrinking into a dark crimson orb. Quietly, it drifted into Gene's outstretched hand.

With a clench of his fist, the magical array disappeared, and the crimson orb of the Aether vanished into his palm.

The Aether was now secured.

But the greater issue remained—the convergence of the Nine Realms.

Gene looked up. The rifts in the sky representing the other eight realms were still open, meaning Wanda's mission on Earth wasn't complete yet.

Malekith was dead, but something felt off.

Gene knew Malekith's power hadn't been impressive—comparable, at best, to Amora's. From what he knew of Asgardians, they wouldn't follow someone weaker than themselves so easily. No intelligent species would. Which meant the one behind Amora was not Malekith. Someone else was pulling the strings—and that someone had yet to reveal themselves.

Gene had a bad feeling about this.

Suddenly, a warning rang out in his neural network:

"Phase fluctuation anomaly detected!"

And the location... was right where he stood.

In an instant, Gene vanished, leaving behind only scorched, darkened earth.

"Professor! Dr. Selvig! Wake up!"

Dr. Erik Selvig stirred, groggy and disoriented. The first thing he saw was Wanda Maximoff kneeling beside him, her bright eyes full of concern.

With Amora dead, her mind control over Selvig had dissipated. But the prolonged control had left his mind foggy. He couldn't quite grasp what was happening.

Seeing his confusion, Wanda extended her hand. A stream of Chaos Magic flowed gently into his mind like a clear spring, helping him recover clarity.

Selvig slowly stood, glancing around at the strangely dressed S.W.O.R.D. agents surrounding him. His gaze then landed on a massive machine in the courtyard—and the ancient ice sarcophagus it was connected to.

His eyes widened in horror. Alarmed, he scanned the area. "Where's the witch?" he asked urgently.

"Don't worry, Professor," Wanda replied. "Amora is gone. But now we have something even more important to deal with—undoing everything she forced you to do. Like you said earlier, the device you built is causing the Nine Realms to merge. If we don't stop it, our world will be destroyed. Only you know how to reverse it. Please, Professor, try to remember."

Selvig stared gravely at the device as it continued siphoning energy from the ancient sarcophagus. In the sky, the silhouettes of the other eight realms loomed ominously. Strange, monstrous creatures had already crossed over from their worlds to Earth, sowing chaos. Meanwhile, disoriented humans had been transported into foreign realms without warning.

Earth's military forces were battling the monsters. S.W.O.R.D. agents were doing their best to contain the growing crisis. But the Nine Realms were now in utter disarray.

With a furrowed brow, Selvig dropped to the ground, staring intently at the device he had built—now the harbinger of catastrophe.

"Yes... we must stop this," he muttered. The elderly scientist began pounding his head with his fists, as if trying to reboot his own brain like an outdated computer that needed a few hard knocks to function.

After a moment, Selvig managed to stand again. Captain Supreme quickly moved to support him.

"We need to reprogram the device," Selvig said firmly. "The energy from the ancient sarcophagus was designed to merge the Nine Realms... but if we reconfigure it, we can also use it to send them back to where they belong."

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T/N:

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