Eternal Thief

When these three completed their chain mission, Ace was the first one to know, so he quickly told them to gather together and left the cavern under the palace through a new passage he found in the treasure blueprint.

"Everyone, you all did your part splendidly, and now it's my turn to start on the final mission. I've already found the intel on the target and its location. Within three years, I'll start the mission." Ace solemnly declared without wasting any time, "But you all have the right to know that after this mission, we'll never have a chance to come to this time since this mission will end with my ascension. This means you'll all be coming with me, so this might be the last time you'll ever see the Mortal Sky Heaven."

"I'm okay with that since I don't have any lingering attachment to this place. Thanks to you, I'd gotten my revenge and even got the chance to enter a broader stage." Freya replied smilingly with deep anticipation in her eyes; as someone with huge ambition, she wouldn't be content with just the Mortal Sky Heaven now that she knew about the higher heaven.

Winter snorted, "Why do I feel like you want to get rid of us? Only an idiot would miss this place."

"I'll follow you anywhere." Noa coldly declared.

Ace sighed as he looked at the three of them. They had all come a long way from being nobodies to the most powerful and influential people in the Mortal Sky Heaven. He was gratified but also afraid of failing this. If he failed, everything would be over, and he couldn't show his fear in front of them.

Freya suddenly inquired, "But don't you need our help with this last mission of yours?"

"No." Ace shook his head.

"After gathering all the intel, I found that only I could do this because of my special cultivation path. Anyone else would be sending themselves to their graves if they infiltrated this place."

"Even we?" Winter questioned in disbelief, and the other two had the same thoughts.

"Yes, you might not know, but there are two more grades above grade-8, especially the forbidden grade-10, and this place is riddled with formations and traps of this grade and many more things out of your imagination.

"Even I don't dare to enter without full confidence, so you can't partake in this." Ace ruefully stated while revealing some secret information that only he knows. After all, as his allies, they had the right to know about this information.

"Grade-10? What kind of mission is this? Don't tell me we are going to die?" Winter retorted with disbelief.

"Nothing like this will come to pass. And why did you seem different?" Ace asked as he finally noticed Winter was far more emotional than her usual self.

"We think there is something wrong with her brain," Noa replied coldly before Winter could.

"There's nothing wrong with me, you lunatic!" Winter flared as she glared at Noa.

Ace's eyes narrowed, "No, there is really something wrong with you. Tell me what happened."

"Damn it! I told you all that it's just some reaction from my bloodline, nothing else. Let me enter my room, and I'll be fine." Winter finally gave in, feeling very embarrassed in front of Ace.

"System, what is wrong with her?" Ace quickly asked the system with concern.

"[She has absorbed too many personalities with her victim's memories, and now that she's finally herself, it makes her agitate as she was experiencing minor personality disorder. You can think of it as a kind of backlash for absorbing too many memories and pretending to be someone else.]

"[This is the biggest disadvantage of absorbing so many memories and then pretending to be the same person as a person will eventually lose their true self. But host didn't need to be worry as long as she entered seclusion and cultivate the Faceless Thief Secrets (1st Vol) this backlash will pass. This wouldn't have happened if she hadn't absorbed so many memories recklessly and overworked her soul.]"

Ace's expression instantly darkened, "Then why didn't you warn her? And why am I only hearing about this backlash now? Wouldn't this apply to me in the same way?"

"[She isn't the host, and there's nothing to warn about since the solution to this problem is already available for her. As for the host experiencing the same, it's not possible because of the Dark Void's existence, or you should've been long-lost yourself. The system had already informed the host that the dark void can absorb all negative emotions and backlashes that normal cultivators would experience in their path of cultivation or with unorthodox ways.]"

At this moment, realization dawned upon him, and he couldn't help but feel glad and more assured. He then told Winter about this backlash, and not just her. The other two were also shocked.

"Now that you understand the problem remember to always use your cultivation techniques if you feel like this again. I know we all have such skills, and this also makes our job easier, but if we take something to the extreme, it will naturally have consequences.

"Faceless, your role makes you annex your target's memories, so you have to be extra careful. But your cultivation technique is the remedy, so you'll all be fine." Ace stated, but he didn't dare tell them about his privilege, or he knew they might start to resent the system.

"Thank you for telling me this; I can be more assured now." Winter was relieved.

"You don't have to." Ace nodded before he suddenly remembered something and smiled mysteriously, "Oh, in the upcoming days, there will be a new facility opening in the thief's house, so look forward to it. Even I don't know what kind of function it would have, but it will be very beneficial for you guys."

"What kind of facility?"

Everyone's interest was instantly piqued since they all knew anything related to the thief's house would not be ordinary.

"It won't be a surprise if I told you now, would it?" Ace chuckled before he sent the curious members into the thief's house.

After everyone left, Ace's jolly expression turned grim.

'I don't have much time. Once I stole this space treasury, the finale will begin!'