Eternal Thief

On another small island,

Ace and Alina sat on a beach close to each other while watching the beautiful sea sunset.

Alina was leaning over Ace's shoulder with a blissful look in her dreamy eyes as if it was but a dream. Yet the sound of waves, cold winds brushing past her, and the familiar warmth she was feeling couldn't be any more real.

"I missed you every day…" She muttered tenderly at this moment for the first time.

Ace was enjoying this moment just as much as Alina and had a gentle smile on his face, "I as well, missed you. Thinking about you, wondering what you would've been doing, were you healthy and taking care of yourself. Now seeing you all grown up into a beautiful young lady, time really flies, hasn't it?"

"It's been seventeen years, three months, and two days exactly since we'd been separated, so yes, time flies." Alina melancholically replied.

Ace couldn't help but glance at Alina and chuckled in amusement, "So you've been counting, huh?"

Alina nodded lightly before glancing back at him with anticipation, "Of course, haven't you?"

"I might've lost track of it at some point. Besides, you know I'm not good with remembering time." Ace replied honestly.

A hint of nostalgia flashed past Alina's eyes, and instead of getting dejected, she giggled, "Hehe, I know you remember months by the time of your monthly salaries. When you get your salary, your new month starts, and the previous month ends."

Ace chuckled in nostalgia as he remembered how he used to be in the past, "You make it sound like it was just me who used to do silly things. Don't you remember your glutinous self? I almost got broke by feeding you."

Alina blushed slightly as she retorted in embarrassment, "It was Big Bro's fault as well! You shouldn't have gotten me addicted to your cooking and then put up with my every demand. You even spent all your savings to fulfill my childish demands! And you just couldn't let me get a job either!"

Ace smilingly replied while looking directly into Alina's eyes, "I'd done what a brother should do for his only little sister. Besides, that money was just gonna rot anyway since I didn't have anything to spend it on. So, don't make it sound as if I regret what I've done because truly, I didn't for a moment and will do the same if given another chance."

Alina was captivated by Ace's words and couldn't help but feel her heart race as she remembered Ace just like this, and it appeared he hadn't changed it all. He still cared about her just as much as he did in the past.

Alina finally lowered her head with a guilty gleam in her eyes as they turned misty with tears, "I-I'm sorry! I shouldn't have left you in that city and should have taken you with me. You have no idea just how miserable I felt when I returned and saw the River Flower City's ruin. I-I…I thought you…*sob* I'm not qualified for your care or love. You've done so much for a stranger like me, yet I a-abandoned you… I'm an ingrate…*sob*…"

Ace could feel Alina's trembling body and raging emotions filled with regret, sadness, guilt, and other negative feelings she had been bearing and suppressing in her heart for all these years. They all came out like torrents all at once now that she had finally been united with Ace.

It would be a lie to say Ace hadn't thought about this direction, but he never blamed Alina; instead, he blamed their backgrounds and his helplessness.

Ace sighed and took her in his arm, and said softly, "It's not your fault. You shouldn't blame yourself for something you had no control over. I was just a mortal back then, and you belonged to a prestige race and family. Even if I was in your shoes, I don't think anything could've been different.

"Maybe it was meant to happen this way. Since those past events made us what we are today. If your grandpa hadn't come back in time and given you that pill, you could've been dead. Thereby, I would've blamed myself for that my entire life, just like I blamed my wretched fate. Heh, I even blamed Heaven for my own helplessness and ignorance.

"A mortal like me had no right to expect anything from you or anyone. So, don't blame yourself since it hadn't been your fault in the first place. We are just born different and in different circumstances.

"In fact, if you had taken me with you and your grandpa had come earlier, I won't be what I am today and could never be able to stand toe to toe with you or face off with your family.

"And besides, you came back for me, hadn't you? So, don't blame yourself unless you're unhappy about my good fortune and jealous, huh?"

Ace's last teasing words made Alina look at him in a moment of daze before she burst into laughter despite her still self-blame expression. However, his words had some effect, and she didn't seem that self-depraved anymore.

He didn't miss this chance and continued, "I've heard you're famous by the title, Ice Sword Fairy, but sorry to say, I'm even more famous than you, and my reputation struck like heavenly thunder. So, if you're jealous, I can understand and send some of my reputation your way."

"Hahaha… stop that! Who's jealous of you, huh? And you're not famous but infamous, and don't sound so proud, or you might bite your tongue!" Alina laughed as she retorted, and her guilt seemed to be almost gone, and happiness replaced her heart.

Ace snickered, "So what if I'm infamous? It's the same thing, anyway. At least admit my title is way more imposing than yours, right?"

"No way~" Alina shook her head vigorously.

Thereafter, both of them laugh heartedly, and the gloomy atmosphere vanishes, and the atmosphere becomes jolly and nostalgic again.

After messing with each other some more, Alina no longer seemed self-depraved or self-blaming. She even seemed in a much lighter mood, as if a mountain had been lifted off her heart. It was as if they both had returned to the past.

At this moment, she questioned Ace in a hesitant tone, "Can I ask Big Bro how you became Sky Stealer? Why do you choose to be a thief instead of a being a fame cultivator? I know you are fully capable of that. Then why become everyone's enemy and called a thief?"

The jolly atmosphere suddenly changed the moment this question surfaced…