<><><><><><><><>
Stonehenge.
Also known as the Salisbury Plain Stone Circle. It is one of Europe's most famous prehistoric cultural sites.
Every year—no, to be more precise, almost every day—tourists flocked here to witness its majesty.
In other words...
It was just a bunch of broken rocks, their authenticity questionable at best.
Hawk glanced at the scattered stones, some standing, some fallen, and immediately lost interest.
Perhaps because it was still early, or perhaps because some idiot had gone streaking through the stones the day before, Stonehenge was closed to the public today.
But that didn't include Hawk.
He stood silently before one of the monoliths.
He could feel it—an inexplicable energy pulsing from the stones, the same kind of vibration he'd felt in that abandoned warehouse yesterday. It was as if the entire monument had been activated.
The Convergence of the Nine Realms.
It was a celestial spectacle, a marvel that occurred only once every few thousand years.
Today, as the World Tree trembled, the nine realms connected by its branches would briefly overlap, like a planetary alignment.
Technically, Earth should no longer be considered one of the nine realms after having fallen from the World Tree.
But while the branch may have broken, the roots remained. And because of that connection, the spectacle of the Convergence would play out here, on Earth.
That's exactly why Malekith planned to use the Aether to drag the Nine Realms into eternal darkness today.
On any other day, whatever reality he created would be temporary—just a fleeting illusion. The moment his power couldn't sustain the Aether's energy drain, or the second someone took the stone from him, the Nine Realms would snap back to normal.
After all, the reality altered by the Reality Stone alone was not permanent.
Otherwise, Thanos wouldn't have bothered collecting all the Infinity Stones; he could have just used the Reality Stone to rewrite reality from the start.
First, the Reality Stone cannot directly override, cancel, or surpass the core abilities of the other Infinity Stones.
If Thanos were to use only the Reality Stone, he wouldn't be able to rewrite the entire universe with a single thought.
He would have to wait for the Aether's crimson, liquid-like substance to physically spread and envelop the cosmos.
A process that would, conservatively, take a few hundred billion years.
The universe is a big place.
But that wasn't the most critical limitation.
The reality created by the Reality Stone alone is temporary, it cannot be made permanent.
That was why Thanos needed the other stones.
Only with the other stones could he tap into the Power Stone's infinite energy to fuel the Mind Stone, use the Mind Stone to amplify his will, and then finally wield the Reality Stone to permanently reshape the universe at every level—space, time, and soul.
Malekith knew this. It was why he had chosen today.
During this once-in-a-millennium event, the boundaries between the Nine Realms would blur and overlap, creating massive, inter-dimensional energy conduits and spacetime anomalies. This would provide the Aether with an unprecedented source of power, an amplifier for its influence.
With it, Malekith's dark reality would become permanent.
Coincidentally, Hawk had the same idea.
The moment his Cosmo manifested in reality, the moment its parallel universe was born from the true Phoenix constellation, it would unleash an unprecedented burst of energy—an explosion that would make his Cosmo a permanent, physical reality.
...
Just then, he caught a flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye. He glanced toward a stone pillar to his left.
Hawk smiled. "Do you carry that suit with you everywhere?"
"Nope. I wear it underneath. When I need it, I just rip off my jacket and pull on the mask."
Peter, who had been crouched on the pillar like a gargoyle, shook his head and gave a completely serious explanation for his quick costume changes.
Hawk listened to his explanation and nodded. "Where are Gwen and Mary Jane?"
"They went out shopping."
"And you?"
"I decided to take a break too. Besides, MJ dragged Gwen off for a Girls Day Out."
"Right."
Hawk chuckled.
Peter shot a web, swinging gracefully down to land next to Hawk. He looked toward the center of the stone circle, where the energy was most concentrated. "Need any help?"
Hawk smiled.
"You know what I'm here for?"
"Nope."
Peter shook his head and shrugged. "They're having a Girls' Day. Figured we could have a Brothers' Day."
He didn't know what Hawk was doing here, or what he was about to do.
But one thing he knew for sure.
Hawk was his friend. And if the roles were reversed, Hawk would have his back, no questions asked.
Hawk understood perfectly.
But—
"You can watch. But don't help."
Hawk's voice was serious. "Even if it looks like I'm dying, don't interfere."
"..." Peter tilted his head, his expression hidden behind the mask.
Hawk's expression was grim. "Don't worry, I won't really die. Even if I'm struck down, I'll just be reborn from the ashes."
The Sixth Sense could only be mastered at the edge of death itself. Only by coming infinitely close to death—or even experiencing it—could one earn the right to wield it.
His Cosmo might have reached the level of a Silver Saint, but it was an empty title.
Peter listened to the gravity in his tone, looked at his serious expression, and after a moment, nodded.
"Okay. So, can you at least tell me who you're—"
"He's here!"
Before Peter could finish, Hawk felt the Aether rapidly approaching. He cut him off and looked toward the center of Stonehenge.
A ripple, silent and unseen, passed through the air. And then he was there. Malekith, the Dark Elf, his face as pale as stone, the left side freshly scarred. He had sunken eye sockets and milky white pupils, and he radiated an aura of ancient doom and otherworldly menace.
The moment he appeared, Peter's Spider-Sense screamed, and every hair on his body stood on end.
Hawk and Malekith's eyes met.
"Child. I believe you have something that belongs to me. Would you be so kind as to return it?" Malekith's pale pupils were calm as he looked at Hawk.
Hawk smiled faintly. "I'm afraid I can't do that."
Malekith also smiled.
He had known the moment he saw him that the boy would not give up the Aether willingly.
After all, he was already using it.
"A power from another universe... With the energy you can currently manifest, I doubt you have what it takes to stop me."
"We'll see."
Malekith was an ancient being, a contemporary of King Bor, Odin's father.
Like Mephisto, his experience was vast, so it was no surprise he recognized the origin of Hawk's power.
Hawk wasn't concerned. He just shrugged. "If I die, the Aether is yours. If you die, it's mine."
"Fair enough." Malekith nodded, then his gaze shifted to Peter. "And what about this spider?"
Hawk smiled back. "Every fight needs an audience. If I die, he can take care of the body. Saves you the trouble."
Malekith laughed.
Hawk laughed with him.
Their eyes met again across the stone circle. The next second, a crimson energy erupted from Malekith's body, coalescing in an instant into a razor-sharp spear.
"Go!"
The moment Malekith's expression changed, Hawk shouted at Peter. As the crimson spear shot toward him, his right fist was already moving to meet it.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
The spear shattered like glass.
A flicker of amusement crossed Malekith's pale eyes.
"You fell for it—"
Before the words had even faded, the shattered crimson fragments instantly reformed, flowing around Hawk's fist and slamming into his chest.
CRACK!
Hawk was thrown backward, crashing clean through the retaining wall the London government had built to protect the ancient monument.
Peter, who'd listened to Hawk and stayed clear of the battle, watched from his spot on a stone pillar as Hawk went flying through the air.
With a single step, Malekith exited the stone circle. With the next, he passed through the hole Hawk had just blasted in the wall. A cloud of dust rose from the ground nearby. As it settled, Hawk stood again, looking disheveled.
Malekith smiled, his expression one of genuine, almost gentlemanly appreciation.
"Care to continue?"
"Of course."
<><><><><><><><>
If you're interested, you can read advanced chapters:
https://p-atreon.com/dragonnx
~# Bonus Chapter every 300PS!!
~# If you like the story, please leave a review.
~# Add to Library!