Eternal Thief

At that moment, the monumental sigil that had taken form from the merging of the Seven Sin Glyphs began to twist.

Its geometric perfection rippled like water disturbed by breath, and the light it radiated darkened, gold dimming to black-gold, silver fading into a deep crimson hue.

Ace instinctively stepped back as he felt something terrifying was going to happen.

At that moment, the sigil pulsed once… twice… and then…BOOM!

A low, resounding vibration rippled through the void, and from the heart of that pulsating sigil, a figure began to take shape.

At first, it was nothing but light and shadow entwined, formless, ethereal, undefined. Then, slowly, the chaos condensed, coalescing into the vague outline of a humanoid phantom.

It stood tall, its body a shifting silhouette of obsidian mist woven with golden veins of radiance. Its outline flickered, unstable yet majestic. Thereafter, two faint eyes unraveled themselves, one dark as the abyss, the other bright as a newborn star, opened within that blurred face.

The air trembled, and its aura erupted, not with fury or hostility, but with pure existence. An extraordinary yet profound mystic of divinity and sin. It was Holy yet Evil…Serene yet Oppressive.

The sheer weight of its presence defied comprehension.

Even Ace's Universal Physique, containing the Force of Darkness, buckled. His inner world groaned audibly, its cosmic constructs flickering under the invisible pressure radiating from that phantom.

The newly born Law of Sin's sigil dimmed, struggling to maintain its mysterious rhythm.

The phantom wasn't even attacking, yet this suppression wasn't intended. It was as if it were inevitable. Like a mortal standing before the sun, one doesn't burn because the sun wills it, but because the sun exists!

Ace clenched his fists tightly, feeling the pull of that aura threaten to unravel his essence thread by thread, and yet… deep down, he understood that this phantom wasn't trying to harm him.

It simply was the embodiment of something far beyond the Ascension State Realm—a being who had walked a path so far above comprehension that the laws themselves bent in reverence.

At that moment…

"How long has it been…"

The words resonated through the plain. They didn't echo; instead, they vibrated, carving meaning directly into Ace's soul.

That voice was deep, weathered, and vast as an ocean; it was the same one that had first declared the start of the trial. But this time, it was no longer cold or detached. There was a feeling of ancient patience and a hint of amusement.

"How long has it been since something completed one of the Sin Trials I've left behind? Here I thought that fellow was tricking me…hehe."

The phantom's tone was filled with amusement before it softened, carrying faint warmth beneath its profound depth, "Little fellow… You are surely not ordinary to complete this trial left behind by my past self, countless ages ago."

Despite the pressure making every breath feel like a mountain on his chest, Ace's eyes flickered in disbelief. His mind spun, not from fear, but from realization.

That voice, the very cadence of it, carried undertones he recognized. Not from this era, not even from this reality.

'The… Language of the Ancient Gods…?' He thought with shock.

Although it wasn't exact, only fragments, faint traces, Ace's spiritual perception caught it clearly.

The phantom's speech held five percent of that profound tongue, the same one he'd inherited from the System!

This meant that whoever this was, his existence was terrifyingly powerful and profound, and the things he spoke revealed clues to his exalted identity.

Furthermore, Ace knew who this trial was, and the identity of this phantom became crystal clear. Not to mention, this kind of peerless expert didn't need to hide his identity from someone like Ace, who was infinitely weaker than him!

Right at that moment, the phantom flickered, releasing a profound intent before his voice rang again, deeper and piercing, "So, you understood me just now? Haven't you? Now that's even more interesting because this 'tongue' shouldn't exist in your place, not to mention, even if you found any traces of 'it', you couldn't possibly decipher it without your current strength!"

Ace's blood ran cold when he heard those words filled with a peculiar intent, as he knew he couldn't hide his emotions from that phantom at all, and now one of his biggest secrets was on the verge of exposure.

Yet, he didn't dare to move carelessly, nor did he want to lie too much, because that phantom was too powerful.

'Since this is a trial, and I passed it, I shouldn't be worried too much…' Ace thought before he lowered his gaze slightly, clasping his hands together, and bowed with utmost respect.

His tone was calm but carried sincerity that came from the depth of his being, "This junior greets the senior. Forgive me if I have offended you with my lack of manners!"

The phantom tilted its head slightly. Its eyes, or what passed for them, shifted, faint light rippling through its form as though it were studying him not with sight, but with conceptual awareness.

For a moment, silence reigned. The kind of silence that stretched between stars, weighty and infinite. Then, a faint chuckle escaped the phantom's shadowed lips.

It was low and surprisingly kind as he said, "Good. You have manners… and awareness. Heh, don't worry, everyone has their secrets and fortuitous encounters. Since you have completed my trial, you could be considered half of my heir. Someone I've been waiting for ages!"

Its voice carried both approval and melancholy with a touch of longing, as though it hadn't spoken to another being in countless eras.

The voice continued in a heavy tone, "Most who stumble upon my legacy can only carry two or three sins before they either perish in greed or succumb to their own sin because it's too overbearing to face their sins and master them through acceptance. But you…"

The phantom raised a formless hand, its shadow sweeping through the void—the air warped, space bending in layered ripples. Ace felt as though reality itself bowed before that gesture.

"You managed to carry all the Seven and yet remain whole. The Law of Sin lives within you, not as corruption, but as equilibrium. That is…rare. Perhaps even considered a miracle of ages."

The voice suddenly turned profound, and his gaze piercing as it looked at Ace and snickered, "But I guess it's normal for someone who had already comprehended the Law of Sin even before.

"Although you haven't mastered its true essence, you still carry the entire law in its true form as a 'Unique Law'! Yet, this Unique Law also didn't belong to you. How intriguing!"

Ace's eyes widened slightly, his heart pounding when that being seen through the truth behind the Law of Sin.

If he was skeptical before, now he was sure that this being in front of him wasn't someone he could trick with mere words, at least not with his current level of strength!