Heimdall soon arrived at the palace of the All-Father Odin.
"Your Majesty…"
Heimdall relayed what he had witnessed to Odin.
As Odin listened, his brow furrowed. "Malekith…"
Odin was neither surprised nor completely shocked by Malekith's rebellion.
He wasn't surprised because he had long anticipated that the Dark Elves might rebel someday. What was surprising, however, was learning from Heimdall that the Aether had resurfaced.
Given that Malekith and his followers had awakened because of the Aether, Odin quickly deduced their likely intentions. It was probably the same as thousands of years ago—using the Aether to plunge everything back into darkness.
"Where is the Aether now?"
Odin asked Heimdall, his expression serious.
Heimdall hesitated.
Upon realizing Malekith's intentions, he had tried to locate the Aether while reporting to Odin, and he had also checked on Thor and others. Without the Aether being in a special space, Heimdall had indeed seen where it was. Moreover, the Aether was in the possession of someone he knew well.
Heimdall replied, "Your Majesty, the Aether is currently on Midgard, in the possession of someone you are very familiar with."
He hesitated, then continued under Odin's astonished gaze, "In addition to the Aether, the Tesseract is also with this person."
Odin's face showed a flicker of shock, which quickly turned into a furrowed brow. His expression became grave.
The Tesseract contained the Space Stone. Odin knew very well the dangers of the Infinity Stones. Having considered collecting them himself, he was acutely aware of their potential for disaster. The Infinity Stones were a source of great peril, and if all six stones were brought together, it could lead to catastrophic consequences.
No one understood the severity of this situation better than Odin. He had once intended to collect the Infinity Stones, and the Infinity Gauntlet in his vault was crafted for that purpose. However, for various reasons, he had abandoned the idea, filling the gauntlet with fake stones instead, leaving it in the vault as a memento.
Moreover, realizing the dangers of the Infinity Stones, he had thrown the Tesseract to Earth to keep it away from Asgard.
To now learn that both the Tesseract and the Aether were in the possession of a single person was astonishing.
Odin asked urgently, "Who is it?"
He instinctively ignored Heimdall's mention of the person being familiar.
Heimdall hesitated again and said, "It's the White-Clad Hero…"
At these words, Odin's face, previously grave and serious, now displayed a mixture of surprise and complexity.
He was both astonished and taken aback. He was well aware of the White-Clad Hero. Since the hero had wielded Thor's hammer, Odin had been keeping a close watch on him…
Odin hadn't expected that the Aether and the Tesseract would end up with this person.
"Has Thor returned yet?"
Odin quickly inquired. He wasn't surprised by the negative response from Heimdall. He had asked more out of habit.
Without the Tesseract, Thor was likely still stranded on Midgard.
Without further delay, Odin tightened his grip on his golden scepter, and a surge of formidable energy emerged.
In the next moment, a brilliant burst of multicolored light shot out, heading straight for Earth.
This radiant light was the power of the Bifrost. Without the physical Bifrost, Odin was using this ability to perform the transportation.
Heimdall, standing by, was not surprised. He silently watched as the rainbow beam made its way, seemingly viewing the scene on Earth.
On Earth, in New York.
Thor, who was at Stark's lavish mansion, troubled and seeking Tony Stark's help to return to Asgard, suddenly froze, instinctively looking up.
Boom!
The colorful beam penetrated the top floor of the mansion, directly hitting Thor.
Seeing this, Thor was stunned and murmured, "The Bifrost?"
"No, it's Father!"
He quickly realized, his face lighting up with excitement. He eagerly told Tony Stark, who was staring in shock, "Haha, I'm finally…"
Before he could finish, Thor vanished along with the colorful light, leaving only a complex pattern on the mansion's floor.
"Damn it!"
Watching Thor disappear and seeing the large hole in the mansion's roof and the damaged floor, Tony Stark couldn't help but curse loudly.
He then wore a serious expression.
Why had Thor suddenly been transported back by Asgardians?
"What's happening in the realm?" Tony Stark wondered, confused.
As the rainbow beam's appearance drew attention, it was not only noticed by some citizens but also detected by SHIELD's instruments due to its immense energy.
Even far from the scene, Syd, who was linked to Asgard, also detected this familiar energy.
"This is the Bifrost beam?"
Syd was startled, then quickly realized what was happening.
Currently, the Bifrost was presumably still damaged, as the Tesseract, used to repair it, was in his possession.
Understanding that this similar Bifrost-like energy was likely Odin's doing, he wasn't particularly surprised.
The Bifrost had a dual meaning: it referred both to the physical device and the ability it granted.
The Bifrost ability, originally a part of Odin's powers or Asgard's heritage, could still be used by Odin and Thor even without the physical Bifrost.
Heimdall, as the Guardian of the Bifrost, could also utilize it, as he was granted the power to wield Odin's abilities.
End of Chapter