{Chapter: 66 - Flames of Judgment}
Sif moved with grace and fury. Her shield crashed against a dark elf's helmet with a thunderous clang, sending the enemy sprawling into a bulkhead. She spun, catching another with the edge of her blade, its metal slicing clean through the dark armor. Her combat prowess was clear—this wasn't just a warrior of Asgard. This was a goddess of legend.
Yet even as she fought with intensity and elegance, Aiden remained close, ever watchful.
He wouldn't let her do all the work.
Aiden's flames danced like living creatures, leaping from his fingertips in arcs of molten red and hot fury. Every time a dark elf tried to flank them, a searing blaze intercepted the attack, reducing weapons—and sometimes the attackers—to scorched rubble and ashes. The scent of scorched ozone filled the air, mixing with the sounds of energy weapons charging and battle cries being silenced one after another.
Though Sif held her own, Aiden's flames moved faster than steel.
Within the shimmering dome of telekinetic energy he cast around them, the two were untouchable. Arrows and bullets ricocheted off harmlessly, and the air shimmered with heat from the magical shield. Aiden's mind reached out and redirected incoming projectiles mid-air, causing them to collide with their own kind or embed into walls harmlessly.
When the smoke began to clear, only one dark elf remained. He stood trembling in front of Malekith, clutching his blaster tightly but without the will to raise it. His knees knocked together, the cowardice of certain death overtaking whatever loyalty he had left.
Aiden's gaze turned cold.
He raised his hand and made a subtle gesture with two fingers.
A loud crack echoed through the chamber as the last dark elf was flung aside by an invisible force, his body slamming against the wall and sliding down dead.
Now, only Malekith remained.
The all proclaimed King of the Dark Elves stood propped against the edge of a strange medical pod, one side of his face burned and deformed. He looked far from regal—no longer the feared tyrant who once darkened the stars with his cruelty. His breath hitched when he saw Aiden.
"You..." Malekith spat, his voice trembling despite his attempts to sound threatening. "You dare stand here and claim victory? This is the Svartalfheim! The dominion of my people! If you kill me, the dark elves will never forgive you! They will come for you—one by one—across the realms!"
Aiden's smirk was slow and dangerous. "Still clinging to that old arrogance?" he said with a chuckle, glancing sideways at Sif. "Where's all that bravado now, little ant?"
Sif folded her arms, unimpressed. "He's bluffing," she said calmly, her eyes locked on Malekith. "You can see it in his eyes. He's terrified."
Aiden nodded. "I figured as much."
Malekith snarled, trying to hide the fear in his voice. "The legacy of the dark elves will not end with me!"
"Heh," Aiden exhaled slowly. "Let them become history then."
Finally, the last of the guards fell.
Malekith thrashed in his pod, trying to crawl free. He locked eyes with Aiden and knew—there would be no more second chances.
"You ran once. I'm not giving you the chance to do it again."
With a sudden flare of his hand, a stream of flames ignited and spiraled into the air like a fiery dragon. The heat intensified around him, and the metal floors beneath his feet began to glow faintly red. The entire chamber trembled with power.
Malekith's eyes widened. Panic replaced pride.
Without warning, he turned and ran.
Aiden didn't chase him.
Instead, he flicked his hand. Instantly, Malekith was yanked backward by a tremendous telekinetic force, his feet dragging across the metal like a ragdoll before slamming into an invisible wall.
Before he could recover, a second layer of force field surrounded him—an orb of shield that encased his entire body like a cage.
"Let me out!" Malekith howled, slamming his fists against the glowing barrier. "You can't do this!"
Aiden walked forward, fire coiling around his arm like a serpent. "This is justice," he said, eyes burning with a fury forged in countless battles. "You murdered innocents. You invaded worlds. Now you face the consequence of your sins."
He extended his flaming hand.
"Supernova."
Unlike before, when his whole body was engulfed, this time all his fire power condensed onto his arm. The flames turned white, hotter than molten steel, and the energy around him crackled with intensity. This wasn't just a spell—it was a sentence.
"No! No, please!!" Malekith shrieked, real fear in his voice now.
Aiden's eyes narrowed. "Burn."
With that single word, a violent burst of white-hot flame exploded within the force field, so blinding and intense that Sif had to raise her shield and turn her head.
BOOM!
The barrier glowed red as the heat intensified. The entire chamber shook as if a star had detonated within it. When the flames finally died down, all that remained inside the force field was molten slag. There wasn't even ash.
Not a trace of Malekith.
Just silence.
Aiden exhaled, his body steaming from the power he had unleashed. He lowered his hand and turned to Sif with a half-smile. "Think Odin will thank me for this?"
Sif looked at him with admiration. "The Nine Realms will thank you," she said earnestly. "What you did... it wasn't just for Asgard. You saved everyone."
Aiden nodded thoughtfully. "Still, I wouldn't mind a little appreciation... or a medal," he joked.
But Sif wasn't laughing. Her gaze lingered on him longer than usual, her thoughts turning elsewhere.
Now that Malekith was gone, she knew what came next.
Aiden would leave.
This time, probably for good.
The thought unsettled her, made her chest tighten in a way she hadn't expected. She'd fought by his side. Trusted him. Even felt something for him that she couldn't quite put into words. And if she let him go without doing something... would she regret it forever?
Before she could act, Aiden was already walking toward the control panel of the ship.
He looked around at the technology surrounding him—the sleek walls, glowing glyphs, and crystalline energy cores humming beneath the floor. He grinned.
"This ship is amazing. Why waste it? SHIELD has their helicarrier... and now I've got my own flagship," he said with a spark of amusement in his eyes. "Let's just say I upgraded."
He ran his hand over a nearby metal console without any buttons, and it lit up in response.
Sif walked over, tilting her head curiously. "You're seriously taking this entire spaceship back to Earth?"
"Absolutely," Aiden replied with a wide grin. "It's faster, stronger, and easily ten times cooler than anything Earth has on wheels—or wings. Just the size alone is enough to make most people think twice. And besides, winner takes all—that's practically a universal law. Isn't your home filled with weapons looted from your enemies? Even Odin's vault is stacked with relics taken from the vanquished. Claiming spoils after a hard-fought battle? That's not theft—that's strategy."
Aiden chases after Malekith to not only kill him but to also steal this spaceship. How can such an eye-catching ride be missed?
Sif let out a soft laugh, one that barely touched the edges of her lips. The sound echoed faintly in the empty corridor of the dark elf spaceship, but her eyes, glistening under the artificial lighting of the vessel, remained serious. Her gaze lingered on Aiden, thoughtful and searching, as though trying to etch the moment into her memory.
Her voice dipped into a quieter, more vulnerable tone. "And now? What happens next?"
Aiden met her gaze with equal intensity, his eyes burning not with flame, but with a quiet resolve. "Let's finish what we started."
The two of them began sweeping through the ship, navigating its vast corridors and high-tech passages, their steps light yet purposeful. The architecture of the dark elves was otherworldly—black, sleek metal walls lined with glowing dark light, humming faintly as if alive. Though the main threat had been extinguished, pockets of resistance remained. Hiding in crevices, storage rooms, or even tucked away in stealth compartments, the last remnants of the dark elf crew scattered like shadows trying to avoid the dawn.
Aiden, with his flames still swirling at his fingertips, scorched a path ahead while Sif, ever graceful and deadly, wielded her blade with practiced ease. Together they moved like a force of nature—fire and steel, judgment and retribution.
Eventually, the sounds of slaughter faded. Only one dark elf remained, curled up in the corner of what appeared to be the pilot crew's sleeping quarters. The moment the elf opened his eyes and saw Aiden, he immediately scrambled back, pressing himself into the wall like a frightened animal.
"P-Please! D-Don't kill me!" the dark elf pleaded, his voice cracking with terror.
Aiden chuckled, the sound low and almost amused. "Teach me how to operate this ship. If you're useful, maybe I'll keep you around. A servant, perhaps?"
Seeing that Aiden had no interest in mercy without value, the dark elf quickly nodded, grateful for any chance to survive. Over the next few hours, he taught Aiden everything he knew—how to manually pilot the craft, how to override the automated systems, how to access hidden compartments, and how to manipulate the ship's cloaking and shielding mechanisms.
"This ship is far beyond anything SHIELD has," Aiden muttered in admiration as the dark elf guided him through an interface of glowing glyphs and holographic controls.
With Aiden's new servant's help they found more dark elves. One by one, the last of the dark elves were flushed out of hiding and sent away into death's embrace! It took time—the ship was massive, with multiple levels and twisting halls—but eventually it was empty of dark elves.
Still watching the terrified dark elf, Aiden issued a quiet warning. "Don't think about running. You saw what happened to Malekith and your whole race. You're not even a warm-up by comparison."
The elf shivered and lowered his head in submission, daring not to argue.
Sif let out a soft laugh, one that barely touched the edges of her lips. Her voice dipped into a quieter, more vulnerable tone. "And now? What happens next?"
Aiden paused, turning to her with a gentler expression. "I will take this ship home... maybe save the world again. But I'll come back."
Sif looked at him, her eyes flickering with emotion. Then she reached forward, gripping his wrist gently.
"I hope you mean that," she said, voice almost a whisper.
Aiden didn't pull away.
"I do."
At that moment, Sif approached from behind, her steps silent despite the armored boots. "Aiden, show me a room in this ship," she said casually, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "I've been fighting dark elves all my life, but I've never seen how they lived."
*****
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