Across the desolate ice fields of Jotunheim, a Frost Beast sprinted wildly through the driving snow.
Astride its broad, scaly back sat a young man and a diminutive, dark-haired girl barely four feet tall.
"Luna, time inside that wormhole was completely chaotic," Ethan said over the howling wind. "I fell out two days after you did. Do you think Malekith emerged before us? He does have the Aether, after all."
Ethan knew his final strike had been devastating—far exceeding the power he had unleashed against Mephisto back on Earth—but he wasn't naive enough to believe the Dark Elf King was dead.
You don't just kill someone holding the Reality Stone.
"It is a certainty that he escaped before we did," Luna replied, glancing up at the sky.
Above them, faint, multicolored phantom circles had begun to bleed through the heavy clouds, the visible manifestations of the other realms drawing perilously close.
"But he will not rush to Earth just yet. He will hide in the dark, recuperating his strength while he waits for the Convergence to fully align the Nine Realms."
According to Luna's calculations, the cosmic alignment would peak in roughly two days.
Because Malekith's physical body could not sustain the true, unbridled power of the Aether for long, he needed this celestial event.
To completely rewrite the laws of physics across all realms and plunge the universe into eternal darkness, he had to unleash the Aether from the central nexus point.
He would have to travel to Midgard.
"By the way, what exactly is this method you mentioned for dealing with Malekith?" Ethan asked.
He studied a crude map they had acquired from the local Frost Giant tribe.
As they drew closer to the Frost Throne marked on the parchment, his curiosity only grew.
"What else could it be? We are using the most interesting artifact in Jotunheim," Luna said.
She reached into a dimensional pocket space hidden within the folds of her dress and pulled out a large, glowing blue crystalline box.
"The Casket of Ancient Winters. Ymir's Heart. As long as you know how to properly channel its power, it is capable of freezing time and space itself, stalling Malekith long enough to prevent him from modifying the laws of reality."
"That can actually deal with the Aether?" Ethan looked at the frosty casket with genuine skepticism.
"Of course not," Luna shook her head, her expression deadly serious. "The Aether is an absolute cosmic artifact. The Casket cannot overpower it, but it will have no problem restraining Malekith himself."
The Infinity Stones represented the absolute pinnacle of cosmic power.
A single stone was enough to overwhelm a god, and all six could effortlessly rewrite the universe.
Yet, very few beings truly comprehended their fundamental mechanics or how to safely wield them.
If cosmic warlords fully understood their volatile, soul-destroying nature, they wouldn't treat them so carelessly.
As they spoke, the Frost Beast carried them through a long, narrow canyon.
The endless ranges of snow-capped mountains finally gave way to a massive, sprawling plain.
Five colossal icebergs dominated the edges of this frozen expanse, each taking on a bizarre, jagged shape.
Some pierced the sky like jagged spears, while the furthest one bore an eerie resemblance to a severed head.
In the center of these five peaks stood another structure.
To Ethan, it didn't look like a mountain at all. It looked more like a titanic, shattered pillar attempting to hold up the sky.
Through the howling blizzard, he could see that the top of the colossal column had been violently broken off.
It was a monumental ruin perfectly suited to this dead, frozen world.
As the biting wind whipped past them, Ethan could almost hear the despairing roars of countless dying creatures echoing in the gale.
The violent sounds gradually faded, replaced by what sounded like the soft, helpless sobbing of a woman lost in the snow.
"Why does this place feel so overwhelmingly sad?" Ethan murmured, a rare frown crossing his face.
"It is a natural reaction," Luna replied softly. "After all, this is where Ymir, the progenitor of the Frost Giants, finally fell. Those five peaks on the horizon are the dismembered pieces of his body. That massive pillar in the center is either his shattered spine, or what remains of his stump." She sighed, surveying the frozen wasteland. "Odin was truly ruthless back then."
"Wait. What do you mean by a tree stump?" Ethan asked, catching the odd phrasing.
"Did I not mention it before?" Luna glanced at him, mildly surprised. "Ymir was an incredibly unique entity. He was not just a giant. He was a colossal tree—a genuine Tree of Life."
She adjusted her grip on the Casket and continued explaining. "Many Earth myths are just distorted rumors left behind by Asgardians during their ancient wars with the Frost Giants. However, some legends hold truth. While the Nine Realms were not literally carved from Ymir's corpse after Odin killed him, Ymir did possess the ability to terraform an entire planet. All life in Jotunheim was created and sustained by him."
"The Tree of Life generated the atmosphere, birthed the oceans, and maintained a complex biological food chain," Luna said. "It is said that Jotunheim's ecosystem was once even more vibrant and prosperous than Earth's. But when Odin severed the Tree of Life, the entire biosphere collapsed overnight. The ensuing environmental cataclysm transformed Jotunheim into this desolate, frozen graveyard."
"Is that similar to the biological tree Hydra accidentally mutated using the Extremis virus back on Earth?" Ethan asked curiously.
"That pathetic little sapling does not even come close," Luna scoffed, gently patting the Casket. "If I wasn't trying to perfect that rudimentary experiment, why else would I have gone through the trouble of infiltrating Asgard to secure Ymir's Heart?"
She hadn't anticipated Malekith crashing their heist, but his interference hadn't just made it easier for her to steal the Casket—it had given her the perfect target to test its divine power against.
The Frost Beast made excellent time across the flat plains, swiftly delivering Ethan and Luna to the base of Ymir's stump.
Viewed up close, the sheer scale of the dead Tree of Life was staggering.
The colossal trunk and the mountain-sized roots jutting from the earth had completely petrified and decayed.
The surviving Frost Giants had carved their primitive dwellings directly into the rot of their ancestor's roots.
The local giants immediately took notice of Ethan and Luna's arrival.
They didn't attack outright, but hundreds of hostile, indifferent eyes tracked their every movement through the snow.
A heavily armed patrol soon marched forward, surrounding the beast.
The lead giant locked his gaze onto the Casket of Ancient Winters resting in Luna's lap.
Without a word, he gestured for them to follow, leading the pair away from the surface and deep into a glacial abyss.
Half an hour later, Ethan and Luna stepped into a cavernous, subterranean hall carved entirely from ancient ice.
At the center of the chamber sat a massive throne, upon which slouched a towering Frost Giant with a ferociously scarred visage.
"It has been a long time, Master of Jotunheim," Luna called out, her voice echoing off the frozen walls. "Lord Laufey, King of the Frost Giants."
'Laufey?' Ethan furrowed his brow, staring up at the throne.
'Didn't Loki kill this guy in Asgard?'
"That treacherous runt's betrayal certainly angered me, but I am not pathetic enough to die at his hands," a deep, rumbling voice declared from directly behind Ethan.
Ethan turned around to find the real Laufey standing mere feet away. He glanced back at the throne; the figure lounging on the seat hadn't moved an inch, entirely lifeless.
"Do not be surprised," Luna explained calmly. "Laufey is an absolute master of elemental ice. Crafting a few flawless decoys is child's play for him."
Ethan nodded in understanding. It reminded him of a conversation he'd had with Bobby Drake back at the orphanage.
Bobby had mentioned that true Omega-level mastery over his mutant powers would eventually require full elementalization.
It seemed Laufey had long since mastered a similar state.
"Let me see who dares enter my domain," Laufey rumbled, stepping closer. "Your physical form has drastically changed, but your underlying essence remains exactly the same. You are Selene from Midgard, the mercenary Odin frequently hired on Earth. Tell me, did the All-Father suddenly grow a conscience and send you to return Ymir's Heart to its rightful owners?"
The giant stared hungrily at the glowing box in Luna's hands. Ethan could practically feel the centuries of bitter resentment radiating from Laufey's voice.
"I will not politely decline the return of our clan's greatest treasure," Laufey sneered. He raised a massive hand, signaling the heavily armed royal guard surrounding the perimeter of the hall. "Take it from them."
"Wait a moment," Luna interjected, her tone unbothered. "Are you really in such a rush? Can we not talk first?"
"There is no need. The two of you do not have the right to waste my time," Laufey barked.
The Casket of Ancient Winters was the literal lifeblood of the Frost Giants; he had absolutely zero patience for negotiations.
As his hand dropped, the icy sentinels surged forward, weapons raised.
Ethan sighed and took a single step forward, stomping his boot onto the glacial floor.
He violently manipulated the kinetic vectors traveling through the solid ice.
The entire subterranean palace shuddered violently.
Massive fissures spider-webbed outward from Ethan's boot, instantly exploding upward in a devastating shockwave of concussive force.
Lethal shards of razor-sharp ice bloomed outward like a crystalline flower, violently piercing and blasting away every single giant that had dared to rush them.
Laufey's red eyes narrowed slightly as he evaluated the sudden carnage. "This is your subordinate? His strength is admirable." The giant king crossed his arms. "Very well. After you hand over Ymir's Heart, I will grant you five minutes to speak."
Ethan's vector manipulation was terrifying, but it still wasn't nearly enough to force Laufey to truly compromise.
This was Jotunheim, the absolute epicenter of his elemental power.
Unless a literal demigod marched into his throne room, the Lord of the Frost Giants feared no one.
Just as that arrogant thought crossed Laufey's mind, an absolutely suffocating psychic pressure slammed into his very soul.
He gasped, his head snapping up to meet Luna's gaze.
Her eyes were glowing with a blinding, ethereal silver-blue light.
"My patience is incredibly limited," Luna said, her voice echoing with divine authority. "Do you want to talk to me now, or would you prefer to wait until Ethan and I completely dismantle your throne and tear this cavern down around you?"
Laufey physically took a step back, utterly stunned by the sheer weight of the aura pressing down on him. The essence of a demigod.
The Frost King cleared his throat, his arrogance instantly evaporating. "Well then. What was it you wanted to discuss?"