Eternal Thief

The moment the mysterious Devil's Malediction of Desolation bloodline seal on Ace's bloodline shattered…

"Kekekekeke! It finally happened!" An eerie laughter suddenly reverberated around a dark forest filled with crimson miasma, and multiple beastly eyes suddenly opened and glowed in a vile dark shimmer, "That little nuisance is finally dead! Finally, after resisting my Fiend Purgatory Curse for so many years, he finally died!

"Hmph! I was worried about nothing since the Fiend Purgatory Curse took so many years to claim that little nuisance's life, but I guess it was to be expected since those two should've tried their best to suppress it.

"Kekekeke… you dare to harm me just because of a little bug! I'll make sure to torment you for eternity with the Fiend Spawn made with your own son's era talent and all his resentment and hatred!

"What a delightful gift it was! With this, I can finally recover and even go beyond! Then I'll personally find those hateful bugs and devour them all!"

The eerie voice was filled with deep resentment, yet at the same time, it was excited about getting the result it wanted, and it had waited for it for a long time. Truth be told, this voice owner had been afraid and filled with trepidation since the day it used the Fiend Purgatory Curse.

Because of his current realm, he was very prone to danger, and this exact heaven-defying instinct has kept him alive for who knows when. The same sense of crisis kept rising through the days ever since he had used the strongest curse he had known, the Fiend Purgatory Curse, on a baby.

Despite telling himself again and again that it was nothing when the baby didn't die after a week, which should be more than enough to kill even a Sage, he became even more restless.

But he didn't dare to leave because he was too wounded, and his enemies were numerous, so he remained hidden and slowly waited for the baby to die. However, with each passing, the wait became unbearable, and the longer the baby lived, the more agitated he became.

Because the Fiend Purgatory Curse was one of the crucial parts of his cultivation technique and part of his very being, he secretly used it on a baby to rob the baby of its peerless talent. Then, he would've used that talent for himself without others realizing it. Not even his secret associates were aware of this!

But if somehow the Fiend Purgatory Curse was destroyed, he would never be able to progress, and his path of cultivation would forever be lost. This was the price of cultivating such a vile yet heaven-defying technique that can rob others of their talent, and that was also the secret behind his current strength.

Although this was an obvious weakness, he never allowed anyone ever to get a hold of it; it should also be the case that day. However, he had miscalculated, and the baby tormented by the Fiend Purgatory Curse was able to get away because of his parents' suicidal efforts.

To this day, he was always agitatedly waiting for the Fiend Purgatory Curse to kill that baby because only then can it return to him, and no one would be able to stop it at that time. Still, at the same time, it was prone to destruction as long as it was in the baby's body.

Nonetheless, he was still very confident because he knew no one else in this entire heaven could do anything about that curse, for it was his biggest secret. Even a Sage was helpless against his curses, much less a baby.

And today, he finally sensed that his Fiend Purgatory Curse, which had been somehow dormant for so many years, was finally freed. Now, this 'free' could mean two things.

First, either the curse was destroyed, or second, the curse had done what it was supposed to, and now he can finally call it back and enjoy his rewards.

He didn't even think for a moment that it was the former case, for he still believed that his curse was indestructible. Why would it have been around for so many years if they had a way to destroy it?

He thought that the baby's parents were using everything in their means to suppress the curse all these years, but they were also mortally wounded back then, so he knew they wouldn't last long, and today, it finally happened.

"O' Ancient Fiend, please heed this servant's plea…" He started to chant a spell as his multiple eyes glowed in crimson color. Runes emerged around the gloomy forest, and the laws stirred like tide waves. An image of a fiendish being emerged, covering the sky. "Fiend Purgatory Curse, return!"

With a final elated yell, a blinding crimson light suddenly shot out towards the fiendish being in the dark horizon. Then it vanished, and so did the fiendish being.

There was an eerie silence for a while, and then the eerie voice rang again with a hint of incredulity: "Why isn't the Fiend Purgatory Curse returning?!"

He suddenly started to have a very bad feeling about this, and he quickly chanted the spell again and again, and the same phenomenon appeared. However, just like before, nothing happened. Absolute gloomy silence dominated the area before the entire area started to tremble as if a volcano was about to erupt.

Then, a single word, filled with unwillingness, disbelief, hate, and boundless rage, a word that could be heard throughout the most vicious and dangerous place ever to exist in this heaven, rang, and it was added to the ghostly legends of this place.

"NOOOOOO!!!"

---

In another secret section of the temple, Mortal Sky Ascension Temple, which wasn't disturbed by Ace's sudden 'visit.'

This was a place filled with countless stars, and in the center of it was a neon platform with ethereal runes shimmering all over it.

On this platform, the naked figure of a handsome man was sitting cross-legged, and ethereal golden Qi was being absorbed in his body, making it radiant with a holy light.

At this moment, a neon figure suddenly appeared right in front of this naked man. He didn't notice the neon figure at all, as if he were under some kind of coma, and continued to absorb the golden Qi while some meticulous changes were taking place in his body.

"Why is this generation's Heaven's Stealer different?" A distinctive, ethereal voice rang from the neon figure.

Suddenly, the space suddenly stirred, and a beggar appeared to be prostrating in front of this neon figure.

"I haven't been able to find any clues, and I even let him take the 'Seed'! Please judge this incomplete servant!" His voice was filled with self-blame!

"Hah, if I even punish you for something so trifle, wouldn't I be shooting myself in the foot?" He playfully replied, "We both know it wasn't your fault. Your only job is to find and teach the Son of Heaven, who was born in the same Heaven as the Defier of Heaven, who also has the potential to become a Heaven's Stealer.

"But this time, something interfered, and the Heaven's Stealer got a head start from the Son of Heaven. As for the 'Seed,' it was also an unexpected variable. Who could've thought it was hidden right under my thumb all this time?

"No worries, though. Since we already know where it is now, it's very easy to take it back…" The neon figure then looked at the naked man and pointed his finger at him, and a golden streak shot toward the man's forehead.

When the light vanished into his forehead, the man started to tremble. Suddenly, a golden white scale symbol materialized on the man's glabella. The next moment, golden threads shot out from the scale symbol and started to weave themselves on the man's body.

After witnessing this scene, the Neon figure declared, "Let the mission to retrieve the 'seed' also fall onto this generation's [Heaven's Advocate]!

"Of course, he still has his life's only goal, which is the reason for his very existence, just like his predecessors, To Kill this generation's Heaven's Stealer!

"Even more important, the task that has never been given to other Heaven's Advocates is to put an end to this meaningless battle between…!"

______

[End of Fourth Volume: Thief vs World]

[AN (1): This marks the end of Ace's journey through First Heaven: Mortal Sky Heaven. This volume contains many revelations that set the future stage for Ace's thievish adventures and shed some light on his true enemies, his origin, and the danger he would have to overcome!]

[AN (2): I'm also very grateful to my readers for their support and love for this story, and I hope I'll continue to write it without any blunder! Please don't hesitate to share your opinion on the story so far with your comments and reviews. They are helpful and motivate me to improve the story and continue to write!]