Three figures slowly emerged from the howling black sandstorm.
Aaron held Captain Jack's Compass and led the way according to the needle's guidance. Thor supported Jane and followed closely behind him.
"Can this really find us a way out of the Dark World?" Jane asked doubtfully.
"Either trust me or stay here and wait to die. Which do you choose?" Aaron said bluntly.
Jane froze for a moment, then asked in astonishment, "Do I even have a choice?"
"You know the answer, so why ask?"
Jane was instantly left speechless. Relying on a compass for directions in the Dark World sounded unreliable, but wandering around like headless flies was even less reliable.
A few minutes later, the three arrived at a cave to shelter from the storm outside.
Jane sat wearily on a rock and said uneasily, "He wants to unleash the Aether. Not just on Asgard or some one planet—Malekith wants to destroy everything."
"How?" Thor asked. "Jane, how will he destroy it?"
"The Convergence of the Nine Realms," Aaron said casually. "It is a cosmic phenomenon that occurs once every five thousand years. The Nine Realms will align in a straight line.
As long as Malekith releases the Aether at the central point—Midgard—he can shroud the Nine Realms in darkness in the shortest possible time, then spread it to every star and planet across the entire World Tree.
From point to line, line to plane, plane to volume. The entire universe will be swallowed by darkness."
"If I hadn't discovered the Aether, things wouldn't have come to this," Jane said self-reproachfully.
"Then Malekith would only have obtained the Aether sooner."
"I found the Aether while I was looking for you."
"Jane." Thor gently stroked her hair, and his heart felt heavy as well.
"You two don't need to