A cold, shadow-drenched throne hall. On the throne sat a solitary figure. Other than Lothar, no one else was present.
No Chitauri army. No The Other. Not even Hela.
"Woz?"
"Lord Lothar, Woz is currently compiling data."
His wristband flickered. A glowing holographic display shimmered before Lothar's right eye. Malekith's character model began to materialize. Seated confidently on his throne, Malekith made no move to stop Woz—his demeanor, sincere and unbothered.
"Name: Malekith."
"Age: Unknown."
"Gender: Male."
"Race: Dark Elf."
"...System error encountered. Woz is generating an error log..."
"Error log complete. Uploading to terminal..."
"Data transfer successful. Thank you for your cooperation, Lord Malekith."
Woz's synthetic voice echoed with unnatural sharpness in the hollow hall.
Malekith rose with a slow, deliberate grace, gazing down from the throne at the lone figure standing below the dais—Lothar.
"Looks like your AI could use an upgrade."
"Woz does need to evolve. Just not yet."
Lothar didn't deny it. Woz did require periodic upgrades—updates only possible back at the Black Quadrant base, personally administered by his adoptive father, Thanos, to evolve the AI's architecture.
"A hassle, isn't it?"
Malekith opened his arms, descending the steps one by one. "Agree to my terms, and I'll give you more than just the Space Stone. I can make Woz a self-evolving sentient lifeform. How's that sound?"
He leaned in, a smirk curling on his lips.
"And if you still want Odin's daughter, I'll guarantee her life. When Asgard falls, I won't kill her. I'll hand her over to you. Sound good?"
"I refuse."
Before Malekith could finish his sentence, Lothar's voice cut him off.
Malekith's smile faltered as he stepped down further, his presence growing heavier.
"My father once said—'A true king never creates problems he cannot solve, nor makes promises he cannot keep.'"
"And you, clearly, are not a true king."
"Is that so?" Malekith let out a laugh, as if he'd just heard a joke too good to ignore.
"Did Thanos, who told you that, also teach you another lesson?" Shadows began to coil behind him like smoke.
"'Your pride will blind you.'"
"Who knows? Maybe he did."
Lothar shook his head. The air at his feet surged. His black hair danced wildly as a thrill burned at the corners of his sharp eyes.
BOOM!
A roaring shockwave exploded through the air.
Lothar was already at Malekith's side, a brutal roundhouse kick tearing through Malekith's body—only for it to pass through and crash into the steps beyond.
CRASH!
Shards of stone flew in all directions.
"Is that all you've got?"
Malekith's image reappeared at Lothar's side in the blink of an eye. His cold palm slashed toward Lothar's face like lightning.
SMACK!
The blow landed with such overwhelming force that Lothar was driven deep into the stone staircase.
"How's that feel?"
Malekith descended gently, looking down at the man embedded in the stone with a smirk.
"Now... can we have a real talk, child?"
To Malekith—nearing ten thousand years old—Lothar, just barely in his twenties, was little more than a toddler. Maybe even an infant.
Even if that "infant" was far larger than a typical Dark Elf newborn.
"Tch."
Lothar pushed himself out of the shattered stairway, wiping blood from his lip. His eyes locked on Malekith's, ablaze with a burning will to fight.
"Not even close."
Lothar, you might not realize this yet, but that power… it didn't come from the Mind Stone. It's yours.
I didn't let you use the Mind Stone because I wanted you to find your true limit.
His adoptive father's words—spoken after the battle on Planet U40—echoed in Lothar's mind.
No The Other by his side. No Mind Stone to rely on. Not even Hela to share the burden.
He would use Malekith—this Malekith—as the whetstone to hone himself beyond his limits. Unleashing everything he had in the grand throne hall, Lothar let his power erupt freely.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The throne hall, forged from exotic alloys, trembled violently. Beams shattered and collapsed, dust clouds billowing and mingling with dark mist, swallowing the chamber whole.
Find your limit… and then shatter it.
"Aaaaaaaargh!!"
A guttural roar split the air. Lothar's palms lit with silver-white energy, surging skyward in a blinding pillar of power!
"Impressive strength."
Malekith nodded thoughtfully. Drawing fully upon the power of the Aether, the world beneath Lothar's feet twisted once more.
The entire realm—all of Svartalfheim—was consumed by darkness.
"But that's all it is."
With a single gesture, the energy beam Lothar had fired vanished into nothingness.
"Give you a few more centuries, and maybe I wouldn't stand a chance. But now, here in Svartalfheim—"
Thunder cracked behind him. The wind howled. Suspended in the air, Malekith rose higher.
"I… am the ruler of this dark world!"
KRA-KA-BOOM!!!
The thunder responded like an army obeying its general. Lothar, now back on Svartalfheim's terrain, glimpsed Hela nearby, The Other locked in battle, and the Chitauri army clashing with Dark Elf soldiers in the distance.
"Prince Lothar! You're back!"
The Other crushed a Dark Elf skull with his staff, eyes wide with joy. But before he could say more, another wave of Dark Elf warriors overwhelmed him.
ROOOOAAAAAR!!!
Behemoths under Lothar's command rampaged across the battlefield, mechanical beasts devouring Dark Elves in bloody, grinding gulps.
"Drown in this twisted reality."
Life energy from fallen kinsmen flowed through ritual arrays into Malekith's body. Mystical runes flared across his skin as the boundless tide of darkness surged forth, engulfing Lothar and his Chitauri legions.
"Since you won't accept my offer…"
Malekith's eyes gleamed with malice as he hovered above the battlefield.
"…then die."
Aether Particle Ability—Virtual Reality Conversion!
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