Hello everyone, a new work has been released! If you find it appealing, kindly take a moment to check it out and consider adding it to your library.. [Ashes of God And Devil]
*****
{Chapter: 336 Ether's Self-Protection}
Jane was knocked off her feet by the recoil of the energy surge. Dazed, one hand instinctively pressing against her forehead. Her voice was weak, confused, her breathing uneven as she sent flying.
"I… what just happened to me?"
Before her body could fully hit the ground, William vanished from sight in a shimmer of red-gold light and reappeared beside her. His arms closed around her just in time, catching her limp form like a precious treasure.
"Jane," William's voice was firm but tender, like a vow.
Jane blinked up at him, her eyes cloudy. "William… what… what's going on? I feel like I was hit by a truck made of lightning."
"You'll be alright," William murmured as his fingers gently brushed her hair out of her face. "Just rest. You've gone through too much too fast."
But before she could reply, a panicked shout cut through the air.
"Stay away from her!" a police officer yelled, voice tight with fear. "She's unstable! Dangerous!"
William turned toward them with a slow, deliberate motion. His eyes locked onto the officer's, unblinking. "Is there anyone in this world more dangerous than me?"
The officer froze mid-step. "W-William…"
One by one, the other policemen realized who stood before them. Fear spread like wildfire. Some backed away instinctively, others dropped what they were holding. Radios fell to the ground. Hands trembled.
"It's William," one of them stammered, his skin pale as chalk. "Oh my God. It's really him."
"I want all forces on alert," another shouted into his radio. "Patch me through to the Prime Minister. Mobilize every available division—air, land, sea! William is in London—repeat—William is in London!"
But his hand slipped, and the walkie-talkie clattered to the ground before he finished.
Ian, still clutching his science notebook like it might save him, gaped in disbelief. "That's… that's really William? No way. I must be dreaming. I mean, the William?"
Darcy rolled her eyes, her tone flat. "No, Ian. You're not dreaming. Unfortunately, that's him. All fire and drama, as usual."
William glanced back at the police and gave them a lopsided grin, one that did nothing to ease the tension in the air. "No need to panic. I'm not here to destroy anything. I came for Jane. That's all."
And with that, he vanished again—this time taking Jane in his arms, disappearing from their sight like a god plucking a star from the sky.
The tension broke like a snapped cable.
"He's gone," one of the officers whispered, sinking to his knees. "He's actually gone…"
Another wiped his forehead, voice hoarse. "This… this is way above our pay grade. Let the higher-ups deal with it. I'm not sticking around if he comes back."
Down the road, Ian was still frozen in place. He stumbled toward Darcy. "Did I really see him? Tell me I didn't imagine that."
"You didn't imagine it," Darcy muttered, clearly irritated. "That was William. And Jane went with him… again."
Suddenly—
BOOM. BOOM.
Thunder cracked the sky open like a splitting seam. Lightning spidered across the clouds in brilliant streaks. A bolt struck down in front of them, and from it emerged a tall, muscular figure clad in armor, his hammer crackling with divine power.
"Where is he? Where's William? I felt the power of Thor here!" the man demanded.
Ian blinked rapidly. "T-T-Thor? Are you serious? Am I seeing every major celestial being in one day?"
Darcy's jaw dropped for half a second, then she composed herself. "Thor?! You're here too?"
"Darcy," Thor said, recognizing her instantly. His voice softened, though the tension remained. "You're safe. Good. But tell me—where is he?"
Darcy pointed at the sky. "Gone. He took Jane with him."
Thor's jaw tightened. "Then I was too late… again." He stared up at the clouds, hammer gripped tightly in his hand. "The Tesseract must be with him. I cannot return to Asgard without it. I must find him."
Darcy gave a nervous laugh. "Yeah… good luck with that."
Behind them, the police were still wide-eyed, not daring to approach. They knew this was far above anything their badges could handle.
"I'll find him," Thor said, and with a mighty swing of Mjolnir, he took off into the storm-filled sky.
---
Above the clouds, wrapped in the howling wind and drifting mist, William held Jane in his arms as they soared across the city's skyline. The sky shimmered with hues of pink and orange as the sun began to dip.
Jane, resting against his chest, finally stirred. Her hair fluttered in the wind, and her lips parted in a quiet gasp. "So this… this is what it's like to fly."
She looked down at the tapestry of the city beneath them—its glowing lights, its flickering cars and tiny buildings—and for a fleeting moment, her expression lit up like a child seeing the stars for the first time.
"Do you think this makes everything okay?" William asked with a teasing smile, his voice low and unhurried.
Jane crossed her arms and let out a sharp huff. "It's nice, sure. But don't think for a second that I'm just going to forgive you because of this."
Moments later, the wind rushed around them as they reappeared near a quiet lake on the outskirts of London. The water reflected the dusky sky, its surface still and unbothered—completely opposite of Jane's mood.
"You know…" Jane turned to him with a sparkle in her eye, "We should fly again sometime. That… that was something else."
William shrugged, his voice cool and even. "You can fly as much as you like. No need to rush. I'll take you flying until you're absolutely sick of it."
"Ugh, you're impossible." Jane rolled her eyes with a grin, her arms falling to her sides. "Could you be any more robotic?"
William gave a helpless gesture. "I've never claimed to be interesting. Still, you seem to like me. Why is that?"
Jane's face darkened. "Maybe because I'm an idiot who fell for a cosmic-level liar who just vanished on me!"
William didn't flinch. He stepped forward and pulled her into a firm embrace, holding her as though she might vanish again. "Lying to you was necessary. But I'm not walking away anymore. I'll take responsibility for everything. All of it."
Jane struggled in his arms and pressed a hand against his chest. "You're hugging me too tightly. And this—this is what you call luck? Getting possessed by some ancient energy while dating the universe's most emotionally unavailable man?"
"Compared to what other women go through in this world?" William gave a dark chuckle. "You are lucky."
Jane stared up at him, unamused. "Oh, right. Lucky me. So lucky I could explode at any second."
"Of course." William smiled evilly. 'Other women were either robbed or r@p€d.
Her tone was biting, but William only looked at her with calm seriousness.
"Tell me straight," Jane said, finally pulling back. "What's going on with my body? Why did it feel like something inside me woke up back there?"
William's face turned grim. "What happened before I found you?"
Jane took a breath, her brow furrowing. "I was in this old abandoned factory. It felt... wrong. Like the shadows were watching me. There was this strange pull—like gravity was twisting in on itself. Then I saw it. Between two stones, there was this glowing red light—liquid, almost alive. Before I could do anything, it leapt into me. And then I blacked out."
William nodded slowly. "So it's begun..."
Jane narrowed her eyes. "Care to actually explain instead of muttering ominously?"
"The thing inside you is called the Aether. It's not just energy—it's one of the six Infinity Stones."
Jane blinked. "You mean like... those artifacts? The ones gods go to war over—?"
William nodded. "Yes but much stronger.
Most of the others are solid, crystalline. The Aether is different. Fluid. Adaptive. And far more unpredictable. It doesn't just exist—it consumes. It's alive in a way."
Jane stepped back, suddenly pale. "Wait. Are you saying I've got one of those things inside me right now?"
William's silence was answered enough.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" she shouted, panic rising in her chest. "It's going to kill me, isn't it? You said it feeds off the host's energy. My energy."
"You won't die." William's voice turned firm. "Not while I'm here."
Jane glared at him. "And what exactly can you do about it? You already said the Aether can't be destroyed. You going to magic it out of me with your brooding stares and smug smile?"
"If I could absorb it safely, I would have. But it protects itself. The moment someone tries to force it out—"
He reached for her shoulder gently.
BOOM!
A violent surge of dark red energy burst out from Jane's body. William was hurled backward, crashing into the soft earth with a heavy thud.
Jane stood frozen, her hands trembling. "William!"
He groaned, pushing himself up, steam rising from his coat where the blast had scorched it. "Exactly what I meant... The Aether sees even my touch as a threat now."
Jane's eyes filled with tears, her voice cracking. "I didn't mean to—"
"I know," William interrupted softly, brushing dirt from his sleeve. "It's not you. Not anymore. That thing's inside you now. You're... connected."
Jane wiped her eyes roughly. "So what now? I just wait around like a time bomb while the universe fights over the thing living inside me?"
William looked at her with intense calm, his expression unreadable. "No. Now we find a way to control it. Together."
Jane stared at him, half in disbelief. "You left me, William. You left without a word. And now you're telling me we're in this together?"
"I never stopped thinking about you," he said, stepping closer despite the danger. "I came back for you. I always would."
She looked away, her voice shaking. "I loved you. I still love you, even after everything. But I don't know if I can trust you."
William took her hand gently. "Then don't trust my words. Trust what I'll do next."
For a moment, they stood there—two souls wrapped in chaos, anger, love, and fate.
The wind blew softly over the lake, carrying with it the weight of everything unspoken.
******
Hello everyone, a new work has been released! If you find it appealing, kindly take a moment to check it out and consider adding it to your library.. [Ashes of God And Devil]