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*****
The overwhelming sensation Svartalfheim triggered in Fenye was one of pure turbidity. Dark, curry-yellow skies hung heavy over a soft, sandy wasteland. While it lacked the biting sub-zero temperatures of Jotunheim and the oppressive, blistering heat of Muspelheim, the vast, empty perimeter felt infinitely more desolate than either realm.
The moment his boots touched the ground, Fenye quieted his mind to gauge the localized baseline efficacy of Golden Derivative Magic. He discovered that much like his experiences in Asgard, a latent, ambient force was actively resisting his attempts to reshape the laws of reality.
This realization prompted a wave of quiet reflection. The Dark Elves had undoubtedly enjoyed an era of supreme dominance, once stretching their influence so far as to plunge the entirety of the Nine Realms into perpetual darkness.
Regrettably for them, they were ultimately overpowered by the even greater brilliance of Asgard.
Although Golden Derivative Magic couldn't operate at maximum threshold here, Fenye didn't pay it much mind. The statistical probability of engaging in high-intensity combat within this wasteland was practically nonexistent. The surviving Dark Elves were currently locked in deep hibernation within their cloaked starships; had there been active surface remnants, Asgard wouldn't have confidently claimed that the race was entirely extinct.
Just as Fenye was preparing to manifest his compass to manually scan for signatures of the Aether—the fluid form of the Reality Stone—he suddenly registered a familiar, faint tracing sensation.
Beneath his mechanical visor, Fenye's brow furrowed tightly. This particular trace was fundamentally distinct from Heimdall's piercing vision. Had it not been for his baseline senses being exponentially heightened via his breathing technique, detecting this subtle gaze would have been an statistical impossibility.
"That old man..."
Fenye glanced toward the vector of the observation. High up in the murky, yellow-tinted sky, the cloud layer was exceptionally dense, but he was absolutely certain that one of Odin's ravens was covertly monitoring his coordinates from the shadows.
Choosing to entirely ignore the All-Father's surveillance, Fenye manifested his compass, stacked an enhancement effect onto its matrix, and focused his thoughts entirely on the concept of the Reality Stone.
Observing the weathered metallic needle remain entirely stationary, a wave of disappointment washed over him. This outcome indicated one of two parameters: either the cosmic compass lacked the baseline authority to penetrate the ancient seal of the Reality Stone, or the Stone wasn't actually buried within the coordinates of this realm.
Fenye heavily leaned toward the latter conclusion. This was Svartalfheim, after all; burying the Aether inside the ancestral home of the Dark Elves would be functionally indistinguishable from hand-delivering it back to them.
Consequently, if he desired to secure the Reality Stone, his absolute best strategic window would be to wait for the arrival of the five-millennium Convergence and manually intercept the sequence through Thor's mortal girlfriend on Earth.
Stowing the compass away, Fenye refrained from initiating an immediate transit back to Asgard, choosing instead to casually trek across the desolate terrain of Svartalfheim.
As his exploration progressed, a strange wave of familiarity washed over his mind. The hollow environment reminded him vividly of his time on Vormir—the same tedious, vast emptiness spanning a world completely devoid of baseline features.
At the very least, Vormir had possessed the Red Skull to provide a modicum of conversation; here, he couldn't detect even a micro-signature of biological vitality.
Fenye continued his march across the wasteland, actively searching for architectural ruins or artifacts tied to the Dark Elves. However, when he utilized his compass tracking to navigate toward the coordinates of the ancient Dark Elves' royal palace, he arrived to find nothing but a flat, featureless expanse of endless sand, realizing he had significantly overestimated what remained.
Ultimately, after spending five days on the field without unearthing a single shred of actionable data, Fenye called upon Heimdall to activate the Bifrost, returning to the golden spires of Asgard.
This particular excursion into Svartalfheim officially constituted his lowest-yielding campaign to date—or more accurately, a campaign with absolutely zero yield. While the atmospheric parameters of the wasteland weren't ideal, they weren't aggressively hostile enough to trigger a localized evolutionary adaptation for Incursio.
Upon materializing back at the observatory, Fenye received word that Thor had just synchronized his return to the realm. He immediately set off to locate the prince, fully intending to initiate a long-overdue sparring session. However, the moment he breached the chamber, he noticed the God of Thunder looked visibly weighed down.
"What's on your mind?" Fenye inquired, his curiosity piqued by Thor's uncharacteristically anxious demeanor.
"An insurrection has broken out in Nornheim," Thor responded in a low, heavy rumble, keeping his gaze fixed on the distant Asgardian landscape outside the massive balcony windows. After a brief silence, he abruptly turned his head to look at Fenye. "Tell me, Fenye... do you believe Asgard's administrative model is fundamentally flawed?"
"What do you mean?"
Fenye was still mentally cataloging the cosmic coordinates of Nornheim when Thor's question caught him entirely off guard. He blinked in genuine surprise, struggling to comprehend the underlying context of the prince's existential query.
"Is it truly Asgard's divine right to hold administrative dominion over all the realms?"
Hearing Thor voice such deep political doubts felt remarkably ironic to Fenye. Shrugging his shoulders, he responded, "That's a complex administrative question for me to weigh in on. Speaking strictly from a personal standpoint, I naturally disdain answering to anyone else's authority."
"However, looking at it from the perspective of Midgard or other lower-tier realms that lack the baseline military parameters to defend themselves against cosmic threats, operating under the formal protection of Asgard's military vanguard is an immense benefit."
"That being said... what exactly transpired down on the field to prompt this sudden wave of introspection?" Fenye inquired, genuinely curious about the catalyst behind Thor's philosophical shift.
---
"The primary instigator behind this localized Nornheim insurrection is a sorceress whom the natives refer to as the Norn Queen, Karnilla."
The name instantly struck a chord of familiarity within Fenye's memory. Analyzing his past data logs, he recalled having heard that specific title mentioned by the Frost Giants during his campaign in Jotunheim.
"She maintains that Nornheim is a sovereign, independent state that shouldn't be subjected to Asgardian regulation. Consequently, she has mobilized her forces to systematically secede from our administration."
"And what is her baseline governance model like? How does she treat her populace?" Fenye questioned.
"What?" Thor blinked, looking slightly confused by the vector of the inquiry.
"I mean, how effective is her actual administration? If Nornheim secures total independence, will the quality of life for the average citizen surpass what Asgard's protectorate currently provides?" Fenye clarified helplessly.
"The structural parameters of her domestic policies are largely unverified. However, intelligence briefings indicate she is an exceptionally autocratic ruler who harbors a deep disdain for men. During the prolonged window when the Bifrost was shattered, she systematically incarcerated every single male citizen within her borders."
"Well... that's certainly something," Fenye murmured, offering a brief moment of internal sympathy for the male populace of Nornheim. Recalling Thor's earlier mention of heavy casualties, he shifted the topic back to tactical parameters. "Are her vanguard forces exceptionally formidable?"
"Yes," Thor confirmed, his expression darkening into a rigidly serious mask. "Their sorcerers command a unique arcane matrix that allows them to exponentially scale their baseline physical and magical attributes. Karnilla herself possesses an exceptionally powerful combat output."
Listening to Thor's breakdown of the enemy metrics, Fenye's internal calculations immediately surged with excitement. He was sitting precariously close to fully funding the experience requirements for his ninth ability draw. With a premium experience deficit to resolve, catching wind of a high-tier boss encounter was an incentive he couldn't logically ignore.
"When is the vanguard scheduled to deploy?" Fenye inquired abruptly. Thor had clearly returned to the capital strictly to secure military reinforcements, indicating his departure would materialize rapidly.
"Tomorrow morning. Why do you ask?"
Observing that highly familiar, predatory smile manifest across Fenye's features, a wave of recognition hit Thor, prompting him to assume a vigilant posture. "You're not seriously proposing to tag along on this deployment as well, are you?"
"Did my presence on our last joint campaign introduce any structural complications to your operations?"
Fenye's retort left the God of Thunder thoroughly tongue-tied. Setting aside the sheer, devastating offensive output Fenye brought to the field, his presence alone practically revolutionized their entire logistical and supply workflow.
Capitalizing on Thor's silent hesitation, Fenye decided to execute a subtle psychological provocation: "If my memory serves me correctly, you technically lost our competitive wager during the last campaign. Do you lack the confidence to win it back?"
Seeing that Thor was still visibly wavering, Fenye pushed the stimulus a step further: "In fact, come to think of it, you haven't actually secured a single definitive victory against me yet."
As the ancient adage goes, there are limits to what a warrior's pride can endure. The moment the remark hit home, Thor's competitive drive ignited completely. "That was simply a case of me exercising royal restraint! We execute a fresh competitive wager on this deployment, and I will personally claim the win!"
"It's a deal!"
Fenye closed the agreement with immense satisfaction. His mind was already rapidly calculating the potential experience yield of the Norn Queen, crossing his fingers that her baseline combat metrics would be substantial enough to officially unlock his ninth independent skill draw.
(End of Chapter)