Just as she was about to complete the final rune node, the moment the magic thread was about to perfectly couple with the ley line energy—
"Hum—!!!"
A low, vast, and tearing "hum," impossible to capture with hearing but acting directly upon the soul and the deeper levels of spatial perception, like a funeral bell from the end of the Universe, pierced through the barrier between the Pot Heaven and the main World without warning, slamming violently into the depths of Artoria's consciousness!
It was not a sound, but rather like a "ripple" or "resonance" stirred at the level of the entire "World's" rules—one that could not be completely isolated by any barrier—when some terrifying spatial energy, transcending conventional physical rules, was forcibly pried open, torn, and erupted!
"Urgh!" Artoria let out a muffled grunt, her body shaking violently. The magic thread she was about to complete instantly snapped, scattering into specks of light.
Her face turned pale, and she staggered back two steps. She felt as if her heart had been tightly gripped by an invisible giant hand, and as if the billion icy needles had pierced into her mind, bringing a wave of intense dizziness and heart palpitations.
That feeling... cold, hollow, filled with predatory greed, yet containing an unimaginable, violent power belonging to "Space" itself!
Moreover, the source was not pointing to any specific location on Earth, but seemed to come from... outside Earth, yet incomparably close, as if in low Earth orbit, a huge wound leading to an unknown abyss had been forcibly torn open!
"Artoria!" Minerva's figure appeared instantly by her side, steadily supporting her.
The blue light in her optical sensor flashed rapidly, clearly having also perceived the abnormality through some deeper connection. "Detected severe disturbance in your mental and energy fields! External spatial readings are abnormal! Detected ultra-high intensity, non-natural spatial fluctuation peak, source pointing to... the sky above New York, in the low Earth orbit region! The energy signature... has a weak homology with the residual high-dimensional spatial energy detected when thawing Steve Rogers, but the intensity is at least six orders of magnitude higher! Preliminary judgment: homologous high-dimensional spatial energy has been activated on a large scale and in an unstable manner!"
Homologous high-dimensional spatial energy? Above New York?
Artoria forcibly suppressed the surging blood and the stinging pain in her mind. She instinctively mobilized the perspective of the Herrscher of Truth to its limit, attempting to "look" in the direction from which the tremor came.
However, separated by the barrier of the Pot Heaven, her perception was greatly weakened, and she could only capture some blurred, heart-palpitating fragments of "scenes":
—In the background of the endless dark void, a point of deep blue light, like ink dripped into water, rapidly expanded and rotated, forming a vast, incomparable deep blue vortex, inside which stars seemed to flicker and die.
—Inside the vortex, cold, dead, and metallic, murderous giant shadows, like a school of sharks that had smelled blood, were stirring, about to swarm out.
—A vast will, cold, indifferent, looking down like ants, mixed with greed and the desire for destruction, was permeating toward Earth along with that spatial rift, like invisible radiation.
Chitauri! Tesseract! Battle of New York!
Several keywords struck Artoria's mind like lightning, instantly connecting everything! It was Loki! He really wasn't dead! Moreover, he had obtained the Tesseract and, outside Earth, had opened a portal to where the Chitauri army was! That crazy God of Mischief had truly brought the flames of war to Earth!
"It's Loki..." Artoria's voice carried a hint of trembling, not just because of the impact just now, but because she realized the severity of the situation. "He opened a portal above New York! The alien army is coming!"
"Confirmed. Spatial fluctuations are continuing to strengthen, and the stability of the rift is rapidly increasing. The large-scale invasion is expected to occur in..." Minerva's data stream calculated rapidly, combining the information from the global monitoring network, which was synchronously transmitted by little ai and had fallen into temporary chaos due to this extraordinary spatial phenomenon, "...within one to two hours. First wave impact point: Manhattan, New York, probability 98%."
Artoria clenched her fists tightly, her nails almost piercing into her palms. Despite "knowing" the plot, when she truly felt the impending, destructive spatial power and malice, the sense of crisis and heavy pressure originating from the instinct of life still made her gasp for breath.
The peace and satisfaction of the newly built Pot Heaven were instantly washed away by this hideous malice from beyond the sky. No matter how good their little home was, it could not stop the torrent that would overturn the entire World.
"We must go out!" Artoria forced herself to calm down, her thoughts running fast. "Minerva, immediately check the status of all equipment, especially the defense and mobility units. Bring emergency supplies, and also... the knife Steve gave me."
"Understood. Equipment self-check initiated. Emergency protocol 'Watcher' prepared for activation." Minerva did not hesitate at all and executed immediately; her figure flashed and disappeared from the spot, heading to the workshop and warehouse.
Artoria took a deep breath and took one last look at this Pot Heaven that they had built with their own hands and had not yet had time to fully enjoy. The sunlight was still soft, the pond was calm, the newly built cottage stood silently, and everything was as quiet and beautiful as a paradise. However, outside, the storm was coming, and dark clouds were pressing down on the city.
"I'm sorry, our new home..." she whispered, a trace of reluctance flashing in her eyes, but it was immediately replaced by determination. "After we beat back those uninvited guests, we will come back and continue to make it even more beautiful."
With a thought, her figure disappeared from the Pot Heaven and reappeared in the study of the cottage by the sea on Long Island. Almost simultaneously, Minerva also appeared beside her with the organized equipment. The silver-haired battle doll had changed into the black "Flower Contract" combat suit, with the special long sword with the re-optimized energy circuit on her back, and several new tactical mounting points on her waist and legs, fixed with some small devices that combined Asgard runes and Earth technology. Her optical sensor's blue light was sharp, and she entered the highest level of combat alert status.
Outside, the weather seemed to be no different, still the bright afternoon sunshine. But Artoria could clearly feel that the air was filled with an invisible, oppressive "stagnation," like the silence before a storm. Ordinary people might not have noticed it yet, but those with extraordinary perception could vaguely feel the increasingly clear malice and spatial distortion coming from above the sky.
little ai's voice sounded in the room, with unprecedented urgency: "Detected large-scale abnormal interference and data blockage in the global communication network! Multiple government and military radar stations in the New York area have captured unknown giant energy sources and mass reactions! The encryption level of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s internal communication channels has been raised to the highest level, suspected to be in a wartime state! The energy readings on the top floor of Stark Industries tower are soaring, and Mr. Tony Stark's vital signs show high activity and tension!"
"Contact Tony! And Coulson!" Artoria immediately ordered, while walking quickly to the equipment room, putting some potentially useful potions, rune stones, and special props into a special waist bag. The military knife Steve gave her was fixed to the outside of her left leg with a sturdy belt, and the cool, solid touch came through, as if it could provide a bit of extra calmness.
The holographic communication was connected almost instantly, but the image was extremely unstable, full of snow and distortion. Tony's face appeared on the screen; he was wearing his iconic gold-red Mark armor, his mask was open, and his face was a complex expression mixed with extreme shock, anger, and excitement. The background was the top floor laboratory of Stark Tower, and one could see the New York sky outside the window... there seemed to be some strange streamers.
"Artoria! Did you feel it? That damn thing!" Tony's voice came through the noisy interference, "Jarvis detected an incomprehensible spatial curvature distortion right above our heads! Some lunatic used some unknown method to open a back door to an alien junkyard right above Stark Tower! The energy readings are off the charts! I..."
His words were interrupted by a violent explosion and the roar of the building shaking. The screen shook violently, and Tony turned his head sharply to look out the window, cursing. "They're here! Damned bugs! I have to go... Jarvis, trigger the city-wide disaster alarm! Contact Rhodes! And... damn it, where is that big guy with the hammer?!"
The communication was interrupted by harsh noise.
Immediately after, Coulson's communication attempt connected, with equally poor signal. "Ms. Artoria... New York... is being invaded by an unknown alien force... the portal is located above Stark Tower... the Director has activated the Avengers protocol... but the situation... is out of control... we need... any possible assistance..."
"We'll be there right away!" Artoria said in a deep voice, "Tell Fury that we will cut in from the east side and try to avoid densely populated civilian areas. Keep the communication... if possible."
Ending the short and chaotic communication, Artoria and Minerva looked at each other, both seeing the solemnity and determination in each other's eyes. What was supposed to come had finally come. And, it was... seemingly more sudden and more violent than expected.
"Minerva, check the external vehicle."
"The quinjet is in position, but low-altitude flight may be attacked. It is recommended to use high-speed maneuver mode, advance at low altitude from the Long Island coast, use the building complex for cover, and head straight for the sky above the East River in Manhattan."
"Good! Let's go!"
The two did not hesitate any longer, rushed out of the cottage, and jumped onto the quinjet (kindly provided by S.H.I.E.L.D., modifications unreported) that had been waiting in the open space behind the house, which had been initially modified by Minerva to strengthen its mobility and short-range breakthrough capability.
The engine let out a low roar, the fighter jet rose rapidly, and at a low altitude of less than a hundred meters from the ground, like an arrow off the string, it sped toward the northwest, toward New York City, where the ominous deep blue light could already be vaguely seen in the sky.
Inside the cabin, Artoria checked her status one last time. Her magic was full, her spirit was slightly tired from the previous impact, but her fighting spirit was high. The perspective of the Herrscher of Truth allowed her to "see" the increasingly clear and terrifying deep blue rift in the distance, and the dense, cold lives and killing creations pouring out of it like locusts.
Her hand gently stroked the cold military knife on her leg.
"Captain," she whispered to herself, as if speaking to the warrior who had just awakened, "It seems that the opportunity to fight side by side that you mentioned has come even faster than we imagined."
The fighter jet tore through the air, rushing forward without hesitation toward the sky that was being ignited by the flames of war and the light from another World.
The tranquility of the Pot Heaven had been completely broken. And the battle that belonged to them in this sudden interstellar invasion was about to begin.
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