"It's me. Long time no see, Darcy!"
After a brief greeting, Thor urgently began to question her, "Where is Jane? Where did she go? Why are you guys here?"
"She just walked through a wall!"
Darcy gestured toward the nearby wall and said, "If you had come five minutes earlier, you probably could have stopped her."
Hearing Darcy's words, Thor didn't even have time to ask why Jane went inside. Without another word, he charged straight forward with his hammer. Fortunately, the portal was still open, preventing Thor from crashing headfirst into the solid wall.
After Thor entered the wall, Ian, who had met Thor for the first time but hadn't managed to say a single word to him, finally looked at Darcy and asked, "Was that Thor?"
"Yes. It's been so long since I last saw him, and he hasn't changed a bit!"
Darcy nodded, her tense expression finally relaxing quite a bit. Thor's appearance gave her a massive sense of security, and it finally saved her from worrying about what tone of voice she should use to call Fane and explain the situation.
Of course, she had no idea that even if she did call, the current Fane wouldn't be able to answer anyway.
As for Thor, because he had rushed in too blindly, he ended up just like Fane--the moment he crossed the wall, he began falling straight down the cliff. Fortunately, Thor had a hammer that could fly, which carried him right back up to the ground.
Sensing movement behind her, Jane, who was currently investigating the area where the Aether's seal had vanished, gasped in surprise. But when she saw that the person in front of her was Thor, she froze in stunned silence.
"Jane!"
Seeing that Jane was safe and sound, Thor breathed a massive sigh of relief. He quickly stepped up to Jane, but before he could utter a single word--
Slap!
A slap in the face choked back all of Thor's words right into his throat.
Feeling the very real sensation on her palm, Jane knew she wasn't hallucinating. Looking at the completely dazed Thor, she quickly explained, "Sorry, I just wanted to make sure you were real!"
Thor immediately grabbed Jane's small hand and said with a tender expression, "Of course I'm real!"
Although Jane had imagined many ways they might reunite before this, she clearly hadn't expected it to happen like this. Looking at Thor's deeply affectionate gaze, anger suddenly flared in her heart.
Wrenching her small hand free, she slapped Thor yet again, demanding, "Where on earth did you go? You said you would come back!"
Thor was caught off guard once more, but fortunately, he could understand Jane's anger. With a face full of guilt, he explained, "The Bifrost was destroyed, and the Nine Realms fell into chaos. Wars broke out everywhere, and marauders ran rampant. I had to put an end to the slaughter."
Because Fane had previously told her about this, she wasn't too surprised. However, remembering the Battle of New York that S.H.I.E.LD. had made public not long ago, she asked again, "But I saw you on TV. You were in New York!"
Thor found himself a bit cornered. Back then, he had indeed intended to come look for Jane, but because Fane had beaten Loki half to death, he had to rush back to Asgard for Loki's sake.
Thus, Thor could only divert the topic with a sorrowful and affectionate expression, "Jane, I fought through blood and battle all to protect you!"
Then, trying his best to recall the "One Hundred Techniques to Pacify a Goddess" handbook that Fandral had recommended to him, he continued, "But I was wrong. I was a fool!"
"I believe it is destiny that brought us together again!"
As Thor spoke with deep affection, he followed the techniques from the book, gently touching Jane's long hair while slowly leaning his face closer.
Deep down, Jane still loved Thor. If it weren't for love, she wouldn't have been plagued by worry every single day, abandoning her date at a high-end restaurant just to run off to a dangerous place like this.
So, their faces drew closer and closer until their lips met with zero distance, and perhaps even a bit of negative distance. In this completely deserted space, there was no one to disturb them, and the two only parted when Jane began to feel a bit breathless.
Afterward, Jane didn't dwell on the Battle of New York anymore. Instead, she asked about the reason for Thor's presence here, "Why are you here?"
"I've had Heimdall keeping an eye on you. Just now, he saw you enter this place and then lost track of you. I was worried you might be in danger, so I rushed over immediately."
A wave of warmth and emotion welled up in Jane's heart. She then said, "I heard from someone named Fane Halsey. He said he knows you, and that every time you return from a war, you always go to Heimdall to ask about my situation."
Thor froze, asking in surprise, "You've met Fane?!"
Seeing Thor's reaction, Jane felt a bit puzzled, "He said you were the one who asked him to come find me."
For some inexplicable reason, Thor's heart tightened. He hurriedly asked, "What did he say to you?"
"He said you would definitely come looking for me, so you asked him to give me a heads-up in advance."
It was precisely because of Fane's message that she had missed Thor even more, which ultimately led her to this place. Thinking of this, she turned her head to look back at the giant stone monolith. Thor's arrival had interrupted the research she was doing just moments ago.
Hearing Jane's answer, Thor let out a sigh of relief. He then quickly nodded in agreement, cooperating with the story, "Yes, he was staying in Asgard some time ago, and he even went with me to suppress the rebellions in Vanaheim and Nornheim. We are very good friends, so I asked him to check on you when he returned!"
After saying this, he noticed Jane turning her head back, and immediately realized that this wasn't the place for a chat. He continued:
"Let's leave this place first. This is the boundary where the Nine Realms converge, and things could change at any moment. If we stay any longer, you might not be able to return to Earth!"
"Wait a minute!"
Jane didn't follow Thor back right away. Instead, she quickly ran over to the giant stone monolith, examining it meticulously. However, she couldn't see anything unusual anymore. Furthermore, now that she was back here, she no longer felt that faint sensation of being summoned by something.
Following Jane's footsteps, Thor also arrived in front of the giant monolith. Seeing the faint markings of Asgard's Bifrost on the ground, he furrowed his brows, realizing that this space didn't seem as simple as it appeared.
He couldn't help but ask Jane, "Why did you come here?"
"I was sucked into this place before, and then I inexplicably fainted and woke up back on Earth. I felt like something or someone might have been calling out to me at that time. I wanted to figure it out, so I came back inside to take a look."
Hearing Jane's explanation, Thor's brow furrowed tightly as he said, "Are you sure you felt a call?"
Although he didn't know exactly what this place was, he was still a Prince of Asgard after all. He could tell that this giant monolith was a seal, and an exceptionally secure and complex Asgardian seal at that.
This meant that whatever was sealed here was definitely nothing ordinary. Given that Jane had been sucked in and then passed out before leaving, something must have happened during that window.
Anxiety instantly gripped his heart. He immediately raised Mjolnir in his hand, lifted his head, and shouted loudly into the space:
"Heimdall!"
By a stroke of immense coincidence, just as Heimdall swept his gaze over Svartalfheim, he suddenly sensed Thor's call. Guided by Mjolnir's coordinates, he finally discovered this hidden space where the Aether was sealed.
Thor then walked over to Jane's side, scooped her up into his arms, and stepped aside, saying, "This is an Asgardian seal, and there might be something dangerous inside. In any case, I'll take you to Asgard for a check-up first, and then report this matter to my father!"
Before Jane could even respond, in the very next second, the beam of the Bifrost pierced through the entire dark space, enveloping the two of them and forcing Jane to swallow back the words of refusal she had been about to say.
Inside the Bifrost, cradled in Thor's arms, Jane looked at the surrounding scenery with pure wonder. For her, this was absolutely an unprecedented experience.