Eternal Thief

The moment Corpse Governor’s mind cleared, a rare trace of helplessness flickered across his face, but it vanished just as quickly as his focus snapped back to the portal.

As the Corpse Governor was still watching and thinking about his options, time slowly passed. Right after ten minutes, the passage suddenly collapsed, just as it had appeared, and the projection returned to stillness as if nothing had ever happened.

”...What?” The Corpse Governor froze as he was caught off guard, and his eyes flickered with confusion and disbelief, ”...It closed just like that? Just what is going on!?”

But no answer came, and only heavy and oppressive silence remained.

”Something... is not right...” His voice echoed faintly through the region like a possessed ghost.

---

Beyond that, the Corpse Governor’s hidden domain was a massive dark labyrinth stretching into endless and twisted interconnected caverns.

At this moment, within one of those remote caverns, a dark figure suddenly flickered into existence like a phantom; it was none other than Ace.

As the Lawless Darkness slowly receded, his body leaned slightly against the cold stone wall, but his breathing remained controlled, and yet faint signs of mental fatigue lingered beneath his calm exterior.

His mind was still sharp, but he didn’t move immediately, recalling that skeletal giant, which was still vivid in his memory, especially that gaze and the terrifying presence it exuded.

Although he had previously thought of the Giant Skeleton as the Corpse Governor, now that he had time to contemplate, he knew he was most likely wrong, and the former was probably another hidden expert of the Corpse Clan like Belfast.

Ace’s eyes narrowed slightly beneath his hood as he exhaled slowly, and then shook his head faintly as he thought, ’It was very dangerous. Although I’ve considered the possibility that someone might be on the other side of the terminal, I wasn’t expecting it to be a Half-Abyssal King.

’Furthermore, that exchange point’s location and appearance were completely different from the exchange points located in districts outside.

’But what is even more strange is that, other than that skeleton corpse, no one else was there, when it should’ve been a huge commotion.

’At least, if there hadn’t been such an incident when a portal suddenly emerged, the Corpse Governor should’ve already been alerted.’ Ace’s mind raced as he felt something wasn’t right.

After all, right in front of him, the Live Fate Map was already opened, and it was dyed in gold, and the terrain was like a labyrinth.

But there weren’t any fate points guarding this place except for the black fate point indicating the skeleton giant, which was strange considering how close this location was supposed to be to the Undead Boundary’s core formation.

That’s why Ace dared to stop using the Lawless Darkness, but no matter how safe this place looks, he wouldn’t underestimate the severity of the task.

Afterward, Ace didn’t move immediately and leaned against the cold cavern wall. He closed his eyes for a brief moment, regulating his breathing as he slowly circulated his Primordial Spirit Qi.

The earlier strain from maintaining the Lawless Darkness and pushing Dark Tempest to its limits had taken a toll, even with the support of the elixirs.

Moreover, this place was not somewhere he could afford to be careless, and even while resting, his vigilance didn’t drop for a single second.

On the other hand, the Live Fate Map remained fully active before him, its golden glow illuminating the labyrinthine terrain ahead.

His focus stayed locked on it as well, especially on the black fate point or the Skeleton Gatekeeper who stood out like a dark star amidst the golden map, unmoving, absolute, and dangerous.

Ace monitored it carefully, but nothing changed, and time passed quietly. However, right at that moment, Ace’s eyes snapped open.

’...What?’

For a split second, he thought he had made a mistake, and his gaze sharpened as he stared at the map, a hint of disbelief in his eyes, because the black fate point had suddenly vanished, completely.

Ace frowned slightly, his mind instantly running through possibilities, ’Did I misread it...?’

But the next moment, his expression turned serious, ’No... that’s impossible.’

Ace had been watching it the entire time, and there was no way he could mistake something like that. Which meant it had truly disappeared.

At that moment, a faint chill crept into his heart, especially adding to the silence of this place, which had already felt unnatural before, and now became even more unsettling.

’Could it be that corpse giant used teleportation since he didn’t find anything...?’ Ace thought grimly, ’Other than that, I can’t think of any reason for it to suddenly vanish. But I didn’t feel any space fluctuations in the area at all. It’s almost like that Vein Carriage...’

But even as he reasoned it out, the unease didn’t fade; if anything, it deepened because this place was too quiet, and seemed too safe, and now, too unpredictable.

Ace didn’t linger on the thought any longer as his eyes turned cold as he spoke inwardly, ”Moira, show me the path.”

The moment his command was given, the Live Fate Map reacted, and one of the countless winding paths within the labyrinth began to flicker faintly, standing out clearly from the rest.

Ace’s gaze locked onto it, and without hesitation, his figure blurred as he slipped into stealth once more, every sense sharpened to its peak.

Though he didn’t activate the Lawless Darkness yet, he remained ready to deploy it at any moment, and then he moved!

The labyrinth stretched endlessly, with twisting corridors, intersecting tunnels, and sharp turns that led deeper into darkness.

Ace followed the marked path with precision, his movements silent and controlled as he advanced deeper into the unknown.

At first, everything seemed normal, in fact, too normal, but after a while, Ace slowed and then finally stopped.

His eyes narrowed as he thought with a hint of suspicion, ’...Something’s wrong.’

The next moment, Ace’s gaze shifted to the Live Fate Map, and he was startled when the terrain seemed to have changed because the path Moira had indicated just moments ago was no longer correct, and, strangely, a new route had appeared!