Eternal Thief

After entering the portal, Ace felt his vision blur, and the next moment, he was standing on solid ground. 

'Where am I?' Ace quickly scanned his surroundings and was astounded. 

He stood in the middle of whiteness as far he could see, and the only other in this strange space was a towering black monolith. The moment Ace laid his eyes on that monolith, he instantly felt the sword cores in his soul and martial space tremble, which was completely unexpected. 

"We meet again, Sun and Moon Inheritor, or should I call you Heretic now?" A deep voice sounded, which made Ace instantly alarmed since he didn't feel any presence at all, and the fate map was completely blank!

Fully alert, Ace released his aura as he looked around with a grim expression, "Who?"

Although Ace was expecting this sort of thing when he jumped into that portal because of the Sun Chase and Moon Seeker Token, this place was too strange, and that ethereal voice also sounded somewhat familiar. 

"I can understand it is easy to forget about someone as irrelevant as me. But still, you should at least remember the person who showed the path to the Sun and Moon Secret Realms?" The voice sounded again with a hint of coldness. 

Ace's eyes narrowed slightly as he called a name from the hint he just got, "Sun and Moon Sword Custodian?" 

"So, you do remember me. But it's a pity I'm not glad at all." SMSC coldly stated. 

Ace's heart sank after he received confirmation, and he knew he was in huge trouble. He dryly said, "Greetings, senior. It's been a while. I hope you're doing fine." 

"Do you have no shame?!" SMSC shouted with indignation. 

Ace smiled wryly, "I'm ashamed, but you won't believe me anyway." 

"Hmph, it seemed you're not worried about your current predicament at all." 

"I wouldn't have jumped into that portal if I didn't have a way to preserve my life." Ace's voice turned cold, "So, do you want to kill me as well?" 

After a moment of silence, the SMSC sighed ruefully, "I can clearly sense you still hadn't cultivated the Yin Yang Mortal Sword Manual. Was your intention being to destroy the Union from the start? What kind of grievance do you have with the Union?" 

Ace impassively replied, "All I can say is I had no intention of destroying the Union, nor did I have any grievance against the Union. What I did was for my survival, nothing more, nothing less." 

"From your words, it seemed someone put you up for it, and with your mysterious methods, it would be wrong not to believe you. However, I can sense you're not feeling guilty at all. In fact, you appeared… thrilled?" SMSC stated with a hint of uncertainty. 

Ace's eyes shone with a hint of surprise, but he maintained his poker face as he said, "It's meaningless how I feel. If you want to get rid of me, then all I can do is retaliate, so there is no point in discussing these things." 

"Hahhh… you're really something. Do you still think that portal was opened on its own because of your token? Sorry to disappoint you, but the truth is, I was the one who opened it after sensing your token." SMSC said matter-of-factly. 

Ace was astounded since he wasn't expecting this, and his expression turned pale, "Is this some kind of prison?!" This was the first thing that came to his mind since this could only mean the Union Leader might be on his way here right now with all those people. If this was a trap, then he had jumped right into it!

"Hahaha… I like your current expression, but unfortunately for me, I can't let you die or be imprisoned by the traitor!" SMSC coldly revealed as his voice was filled with loathing when he said 'traitor.' 

However, Ace wasn't going to believe that, "If you're telling the truth, then let me go!" 

"Hah, do you really want to leave? Alright, I can send you back. But remember, if you decide to leave now, you will have the entire union on your tail. Furthermore, you will never be able to become the Chosen One!" SMSC coolly said, and the next moment, a portal suddenly opened right in front of Ace. 

Ace was shocked as he wasn't expecting it all. He even thought this was some trick, but he could tell that the portal was real. Now, he really started to doubt whether the SMSC really wanted to help him or if this was another trap. 

However, the last part about the Chosen One still piqued his interest, and despite his vigilance, he decided to inquire further, "Are you really the telling the truth? Who is this traitor? The Union Leader, if I presumed? 

"But I'm also someone who destroyed the Union, so you're helping me, and even handing me the position of the Chosen One didn't make any sense to me. So, don't take offense when I say it is hard to believe you!" 

"Your crimes are indeed far graver than the traitor. Not only were your actions blasphemous to the Sun and Moon God, but you even killed the Sun Guardian, and it was also because of you that the Moon Guardian was sacrificed. 

"Now, you have completely destroyed the Union, the sacred ground created by the Sun and Moon God. Even thousands of deaths will not be enough to punish your wicked crimes!" The hatefully uttered. 

Ace didn't deny any of it as he knew the damage caused by him was not small, but he didn't regret any of it, and this was exactly his point. So, he questioned again, "Then why?" 

"Because of me!" 

Ace was shocked when he heard another voice other than the SMSC, and this voice was far more imposing that by just hearing it, he felt like his mind was pulling into a trance-like state. But his heavenly Qi keeps his mind in check. 

Paled, Ace instantly looked towards the monolith because that voice came from it, and his sword cores started to vibrate even more violently!

But the next words of that imposing voice caused Ace's mind to go blank with trepidation, "What a powerful soul you have. As expected of… Heaven's Stealer!"