Svartalfheim

Richard had arrived a step too late. Perhaps changes to the fates of the original characters had caused a slight deviation in events; in any case, the Aether seemed to have broken free of its seal ahead of schedule. But it could not have been long ago. At least, he could still sense traces of the Aether's lingering energy here.

Although the Aether served as the vessel of the Reality Stone, that vessel was not the Stone itself. The Aether was a weapon controlled by the Dark Elves through magical means, and it bore the imprint of the Dark Elves' souls. Even after centuries or millennia, it would not fade away.

In other words, once freed, the Aether would undoubtedly fly toward its master at the first opportunity. There was a good chance that Malekith, the Dark Elf BOSS from the movie, had already awakened and that the Aether had fallen into his hands.

Which meant Richard would probably have to find a way to snatch it from him.

As for where to find him, that was not difficult. The Dark Elves' lair was Svartalfheim, one of the Nine Realms. That was no secret. If he teleported there directly, there was a ninety-percent chance he would find their headquarters. Besides, the Aether had only left recently, and the residual energy it had left in space could still be tracked. Like breadcrumbs in a fairy tale, following those scattered traces would make it easy to pinpoint the Aether's location.

Richard did not waste any time and immediately took action. Activating the Space Stone's power, he flashed from where he stood and appeared directly in Svartalfheim.

To be honest, it was an awful place.

Though the Nine Realms were interconnected dimensions that relied on one another, some of them were as different