Eternal Thief

Chapter 1486: The Living Shadow! (2)

The mysterious being’s voice reverberated within the chamber at this moment. It was deep and layered, echoing like a thousand whispers behind the darkness, “Hall Proprietor, we meet again. How was the auction, and did the Duchess like my gift?”

The Hall Proprietor swallowed dryly, his throat tight. He almost fell from his seat to one knee from instinctive fear.

Previously, this person didn’t appear like this, and the Hall Proprietor clearly remembered only seeing a tall, cloaked figure. Only when he tried to play a trick to pocket the Ancient Abyssal Permit would this person show his true power.

However, this time, he seemed to have dropped the act and directly appeared, flaunting his might fearlessly as if he was afraid of none.

Furthermore, those words spoken by the mysterious person were truly insolent, and just by listening to them, the Hall Proprietor could be killed!

The Hall Proprietor calmed his wildly beating heart and suppressed the terror as he respectfully spoke in a forced tone, “Y-your excellency! Thank you for trusting us with the Ancient Abyssal Permit, and it brings life to our auction!”

However, the Hall Proprietor’s polite words made his eyes narrow, ghostly flames flaring, and the regal, abyssal presence pressed down on him until he thought his soul might collapse.

“I’m not here for your rubbish, nor am I interested in your trash of a hall. Tell me, did you give the Duchess my invitation or not?”

’Why didn’t he make his move yet?!’ The Hall Proprietor’s mind reeled as he was terrified, and his trembling voice finally found its way out, “Y-Yes… Esteemed one… I… completed the mission!”

“Kekeke…not bad, not bad. So, where ’her’ token of love?” The voice sounded agitated and ecstatic.

The Hall Proprietor was stumped before his expression changed as he was instantly confused by ’token of love’ as he had no idea what this mighty expert was talking about.

The voice grew colder when the Hall Proprietor didn’t move, and was displeased by his bewildered expression, “Where is the Ebon Vein Nectar?!”

Realization dawned on Hall Proprietor at this moment, before a bizarre expression surfaced on his face, ’Is he not right in the head?!’

Nonetheless, he didn’t dare dillydally anymore unless this person’s temper flared up and killed him. Hall Proprietor has already given this guy the title of insane, and he knew this kind of person was the most dangerous because they are unpredictable.

The next moment, a pitch-black small vial appeared in his head, and before he could say anything, the vial vanished from his palm.

“Hmmm~” A strange moan suddenly rang in the room, and a chill ran down Hall Proprietor’s spine, making him tremble, and whatever he was about to say stuck in his throat.

’He’s definitely insane!’ He thought.

“Yes! This is the token of love! Hahahaha! I finally received it today!” A wanton laughter boomed in the darkness.

The next moment, the shadows thickened for a heartbeat, swallowing even the sound of his pulse, and then—like mist scattered by wind—they were gone.

The lights of the chamber returned. The glow stones burned steadily once more.

Yet the Hall Proprietor remained rooted in his place, drenched in cold sweat, his breath ragged. For the memory of those icy blue eyes and that voice still crushed his soul.

“I’m…a-alive…!” Hall Proprietor was still in disbelief, and the moment he accepted the reality that he was still alive, the exhaustion came crushing down, and he limply lay on his seat!

“Being alive is a blessing…!”

—

The eternal dark sky of the Abyss stretched endlessly like an ocean of darkness without dawn or dusk. Only the twin red moons hung high above, glaring down like the sinister, unblinking eyes of some ancient devil. Their cold glow painted the world below in crimson gloom.

At this moment, like lightning tearing through the night, a black streak shot across the heavens, so fast it seemed to tear apart the void itself. The air shuddered around its passage, the Abyss itself groaning under the sheer speed.

But in the next instant, the unthinkable happened. The moons’ scarlet light vanished.

As though someone had snuffed them out with a single hand, the entire sky drowned in ink, plunging everything into suffocating darkness.

A vast inky dome materialized from nothingness, enclosing the black streak like a predator springing its trap. Its edges rippled with abyssal runes, sealing space and choking the very air.

Yet before the dome could close completely, a voice burst forth—mad, wanton laughter that shattered the silence, ringing with both mockery and scorn.

“Kekekeke! The Duchess only sent her hound after me? Hmph! Not even coming personally? I feel… hurt!” The sneering voice carried disdain sharp enough to cut the sky itself, “Since that’s the case, you are not worthy of my time. And… I wouldn’t want my beloved to be sad over your pathetic end. So, rejoice, little hound—I shall let you live!”

The black streak trembled with power, and in the very next breath, space collapsed ahead of it, crumbling like paper. Without hesitation, the streak plunged into the collapsing abyss, vanishing into its depths.

For a moment, silence reigned before the next moment…

“Presumptuous!” The word thundered like judgment, dripping with a cold, killing intent so fierce it froze the very void.

The Vaultkeeper appeared within the inky dome, his silhouette rigid, robes billowing like a storm of shadows.

Without hesitation, without fear for his own safety, his body dissolved into a shadow-streak, and he gave chase into the collapsed void where the black streak had vanished.

The dome trembled, then began to fold upon itself. The collapsed space sealed, the moons flickered back to life, and the Abyss returned to its familiar stillness—two red eyes glaring down upon a world that acted as though nothing had happened!

—

Back in the Duskmire Vault, Ace has returned to his cultivation chamber, but his mind was still on the Vaultkeeper, ’I wonder just who was daring enough to provoke the Dread Duchess, and would the Vaultkeeper be able to apprehend them…’

Ace couldn’t help but shake his head. This has nothing to do with him since he has already acquired more than enough from this simple stroll.

A silvery glimmer surfaced in Ace’s eyes at this moment as he muttered, “Mirrored Persona manifestation!”