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Furthermore, the Dark Elves' true motive for acquiring the Reality Stone was to plunge the entire cosmos back into complete darkness. For the vast majority of living organisms, this would be a catastrophic, absolute extinction event. Consequently, Fini felt absolutely no psychological burden or moral dilemma regarding his decision to eliminate them.
"The Dark Elves!? Those aliens!?"
Tony was momentarily taken aback before asking with immense curiosity, "What exactly is this artifact you're trying to seize from them?"
"You can think of it as a weapon," Fini replied, choosing not to delve into a detailed technical explanation of the Aether. Instead, he assured him, "Don't worry, I don't plan to detonate these missiles on Earth, so there won't be any collateral damage or environmental fallout here."
"Then where exactly do you plan to use them?" Tony asked, his face awash with surprise.
"Svartalfheim."
Fini stated the location clearly. This was an option he had thoroughly calculated. Among the Nine Realms, only this desolate wasteland—the original home of the Dark Elves—was the most ideal battlefield for this confrontation.
While luring the Dark Elves to one of the other realms was a viable counter-strategy, doing so would make things significantly more difficult to manage with Asgard when Odin and Thor inevitably intervened.
Tony had heard Fini discuss the structure of the Nine Realms before, so he knew exactly what kind of place Svartalfheim was. He couldn't help but ask, "How are you planning to transport a payload of missiles that size across cosmic distances?"
"Portals, obviously," Fini replied casually. He then continued, "The celestial Convergence, an event that occurs only once every five thousand years, is rapidly approaching. The spatial boundaries between the Nine Realms are compressing tightly, making planar translocation infinitely easier."
"The Convergence!?"
This was the first time Tony had heard of the phenomenon. He was deeply intrigued but equally mystified.
"It's a cosmic alignment where all Nine Realms intersect perfectly along a single spatial vector. Think of it as an eclipse, except this particular structural coincidence only happens once every five millennia. Realistically speaking, you'll only witness this once in your lifetime."
Hearing Fini's explanation, Tony's brow furrowed in deep thought. He called out loudly, "Jarvis, aggregate all recent astronomical anomalies, telemetry logs, and deep-space observation data. Flag them for my review tonight."
"Right away, sir."
Rather than relying solely on Fini's brief overview, Tony clearly preferred to conduct his own rigorous scientific investigation. After instructing Jarvis, he turned his attention back to Fini. "How exactly do you plan to deploy these missiles?"
In all the time he had known Fini, this was the first time the sorcerer had ever approached him to borrow conventional physical weaponry.
"I'm going to set up an ambush in advance. The moment the Dark Elves materialize, I'll detonate the entire payload directly underneath them," Fini explained with a shrug. When the time came, he could easily retreat into his own pocket dimension; no matter how violent or destructive the explosion was, it wouldn't affect him in the slightest.
He didn't know the exact combat parameters or power levels of Malekith and the Dark Elves. However, considering they had waged a devastating, near-peer war against the forces of Asgard in antiquity, their capabilities certainly wouldn't be weak.
To ensure absolute victory, he wanted to be as meticulous as possible. Layering his preparations was the safest course of action. After all, this was a highly specific tactical scenario. Knowing full well that the Dark Elves possessed a biological tether to track his position, drawing them into a heavily rigged kill-zone was the absolute best strategy he could devise.
As for the components of the trap, aside from high-yield munitions manufactured by Stark Industries, he couldn't think of many other portable assets capable of delivering that level of immediate, concentrated kinetic damage.
He had briefly considered covertly liberating a few nuclear warheads from global stockpiles, but ultimately discarded the idea. The world was already reeling in a state of geopolitical chaos following the exposure of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra. If several thermonuclear weapons suddenly went missing, it could trigger an unpredictable global crisis.
Therefore, he tasked Tony with engineering an abundance of high-yield conventional missiles. If the sheer volume was high enough, the saturation bombing would deliver an impact not far behind a localized nuclear yield.
Hearing this plan, Tony froze. A look of sudden annoyance washed over his face, his expression souring instantly. He began to deeply regret spending the last two weeks pulling exhausting all-nighters to meticulously upgrade and refine the guidance systems and structural utility of the missiles.
With a crude deployment method like a stationary landmine, all the sophisticated features and advanced tracking matrices he had integrated were completely useless.
"When exactly do you need them delivered?" Tony asked, his tone dripping with distinct irritation.
Fini glanced at Tony, entirely oblivious to why the billionaire had suddenly gotten bent out of shape. He answered evenly, "Sometime within the next few days. I'm going to make a reconnaissance run to Svartalfheim tomorrow to finalize the coordinates for the kill-zone."
"You're traveling to another planet tomorrow?"
Tony's irritation vanished instantly, replaced by sheer scientific curiosity. He immediately pressed, "Can I come along?"
Fini blinked in surprise, counter-questioning reflexively, "What would you even do there?"
"Conduct a preliminary field survey and environmental research," Tony replied with a perfectly straight face. In reality, he was simply fascinated by the prospect of alien worlds. Since Fini made it sound like cross-realm transit was as simple as walking through a doorway, he saw no reason not to ask.
Fini stared at Tony with an expression of mild disbelief. After considering it for a moment, he saw no real harm in it and agreed. "Fine. Prepare your equipment. We depart tomorrow morning. Expect to be there for about two days."
He had scouted Svartalfheim previously and knew the terrain was entirely barren—nothing but rocks and dust, completely devoid of indigenous life. Bringing Tony along wouldn't pose any active threat to his safety.
"Excellent."
With Fini's approval secured, Tony felt a wave of genuine excitement. Although he had crossed the threshold of Earth's atmosphere in his armor during the battle, setting foot on the surface of an entirely different planet was a historic first for him.
After coordinating their departure time, Fini left Stark Tower.
On his way back home, he briefly toyed with the idea of bringing Skye along for the trip as well. However, remembering the dismal, oppressive landscape of Svartalfheim, he ultimately discarded the notion. Skye's curiosity extended to alien civilizations, bustling extraterrestrial hubs, and cosmic commerce—she certainly wouldn't enjoy a barren wilderness survival excursion.
The following morning, Fini arrived at Tony's Malibu estate precisely at the agreed-upon hour. Tony was already waiting in the courtyard, completely encased in a brand-new iteration of the Iron Man armor that Fini hadn't seen before. A short distance away stood Pepper Potts, her features clouded with deep anxiety.
"Fini, is this Svartalfheim place dangerous?" Pepper asked, walking over to him the moment he stepped through his portal.
"Rest assured, it's quite safe," Fini said reassuringly. He then added lightheartedly, "In fact, if you're curious, you're more than welcome to join us."
"Absolutely not!"
Before Pepper could even process the invitation, Tony intervened instantly, his voice tightening with protective panic.
He immediately turned to Pepper, offering a highly exaggerated justification. "You know Stark Industries can't function for a single day without you. If you leave the planet, I'll probably return to find us completely bankrupt!"
Hearing his absurd, theatrical reasoning, Pepper's lingering anxiety shattered, and she couldn't help but let out a soft laugh.
Based on Fini's relaxed demeanor, she understood that the destination was indeed barren of any immediate danger. Tony's frantic intervention was simply his characteristic way of ensuring she remained completely out of harm's way.
Glancing at Fini, who merely rolled his eyes with a look that suggested he wanted no part in their domestic banter, Pepper felt immensely relieved. She advised softly, "Keep your wits about you, and make sure you both return as quickly as possible."
Fini nodded to signal his understanding. Then, with a fluid rotation of his wrist, he conjured a glittering, golden ring of sparks, opening a massive gateway to Svartalfheim directly before them.
Peering through the shimmering aperture, Pepper stared in awe at the alien horizon, its stark atmospheric composition and geometry differing drastically from anything on Earth.
Tony required no further prompting. After offering Pepper a quick farewell, he eagerly ignited his thrusters and stepped through the portal, officially taking his monumental first step onto an alien world.
Fini offered Pepper a polite nod of farewell before stepping through the threshold immediately behind him, returning once more to the desolate domain of Svartalfheim.