Eternal Thief

The moment Ace activated his ability, both of them vanished as the trees managed to grab nothing but empty air.

With Ace's current strength, it was easy to escape these trees that seemed to have only instincts; they were no real threat as long as someone knew how to avoid them.

The next moment, they both appeared far above the black forest under the neon sky and continued to rise above. Only now did Ace sense a powerful restriction of laws the higher he got, so he quickly stopped.

Eva's eyes shone as she looked at the forest below, and she smiled, "Good work. I was about to obliterate them."

Then she hesitated before she told Ace through the voice transmission, "I think those trees are abyssal beings."

Ace was surprised, "Are you sure?"

"I'm 80% sure. It is a secret realm that belonged to one of the rulers of the abyss, after all. So, it isn't a big deal for them to have beings of the abyss. We should be more careful." Eva gravely stated.

"Just what is this abyss?" Ace couldn't help but ask as he became increasingly curious about the abyss.

Eva hesitated momentarily before gritting her teeth and revealing, "Since you can already understand the forsaken language of the abyss, it won't be a big deal to tell you. Within my inherited memories, I found vague knowledge about the Nine Everlasting Heavens and Ten Eternal Abysses!

"The Heavens and Abysses are two sides of the same coin. This means that each Heaven has a corresponding Abyss, the only difference being that Heaven exists above while the Abyss is below. Both sides have their own rules and laws. Most importantly, their own races and inheritances.

"But an extremely powerful wall separates the two entities and its people from coming in contact with each other. Although I don't know how the creatures of the abyss can infiltrate the heavens, I do know that both sides are natural enemies.

"Especially the creatures of the abyss are bloodthirsty for the people of the heavens. As for abyssal beings like me with a noble bloodline of the abyss, we can easily roam freely in the heavens without any danger from its laws.

"Furthermore, the races with an unorthodox background, like Devils and Demons, seem to share a common background: the Abyss. It's just that their bloodlines have been altered to live in the Heavens. But their ancestors should have been from the abyss at some point and ended up in heaven.

"Anyhow, if the people from the heavens, who know about the abyss, found out about the noble bloodline of the abyss roaming freely in the heavens, they would stoop to any level to hunt us down because they can acquire many benefits from our bodies. In their eyes, we are like natural treasures; the same goes for the abyssal creatures.

"I didn't want to tell you before because just mentioning the Everlasting Heavens and the Ten Eternal Abysses could bring about calamity. And I also don't want you to think of me differently. After all, I was born in Mortal Sky Heaven, and despite acquiring the abyssal bloodline, I have no feelings for the abyss…" Eva said with a hint of dejection as she looked at Ace's hooded face with some worry.

When she found out about this information after she broke into the 8th realm, she was shaken and didn't want to tell Ace because she was afraid that he might think of her differently.

However, they were coming in contact with the abyss after coming to the Sky Heart Plains often, and she knew Ace would find out about it eventually. So, now that she was in this secret realm, she decided to tell him since this wasn't the mortal sky heaven. But she was still worried a little; she closely sensed his emotions.

'Nine Everlasting Heavens and Ten Eternal Abysses!'

Ace was shaken a little by this huge secret. He always wondered how many heavens were out there, but he had never thought some abysses seemed to be on the same level as the heavens.

It took a while before he managed to absorb all this information, and then he looked at Eva's worried expression and couldn't help but smile bitterly, "You don't need to worry about it; I can never hate you or think differently of you just because some bloodline from a different world. Do you think I love you because of your bloodline? You're still as crazy as when I first met you all those years ago in that inn."

Eva felt a huge mountain lifted from her heart at this moment, as a bright smile bloomed on her face before she hugged him tightly. "I'm sorry, and thank you."

Ace hugged her back as he gently said, "Don't worry about it too much. You did well telling me about this information. Now I won't be in the dark and know my goal."

Ace's eyes shimmered coldly, 'For each heaven, there is a corresponding abyss, huh? But there are only nine heavens, while the abysses are ten. Does this mean the abysses are more powerful than the heavens? Then there is the system, the enemy of Heaven, while I don't know what stance the system had for the abysses.

'Tsk, what a headache. I'm still a slightly bigger ant in the grand scheme of things; I need the power to survive and protect those who are dear to me. I don't want to end up like the previous heaven's stealers…'

Ace's eyes were filled with complex emotions as he got some clues about his end goal or at least what needed to be done so he would not end up dead.

"Alright, let's go. We need to find the trial or whatever is hidden in this place. I have a feeling that this place might have more mysteries related to the abysses." Ace solemnly stated before he flew in the direction where his thief sense was pointing him with Eva.

The black forest was massive; it had no end, even after flying for half a day.

However, after a few more hours, Ace suddenly stopped as his eyes went wide when he looked far ahead. Eva also sensed something as she looked in the same direction, and her eyes widened.

A few miles away from their position, they finally saw the end of this grand forest; however, what they saw, they weren't expecting it at all.

Because there was an endless blackness like space, and just looking at it, a chill went down both of their spines.

With trepidation, Ace couldn't help but ask Eva, "That isn't the entrance of this heaven's corresponding abyss, right?"