Eternal Thief

Undead Cradle, the Forbidden Region of the Lower Grave Strata, no longer resembled the sacred abyss it once was, as everything was broken.

Massive cracks split through the corpse-veined earth like wounds carved into the world itself. Entire sections of the ancient pathways had collapsed inward, swallowed by darkness.

Towers of bone and fossilized flesh that had stood unmoving for countless years now lay scattered across the abyss like ruins after the end of an era.

At the center of it all, the Corpse Governor stood amidst destruction. His corpse flames burned wildly, expanding and shrinking with terrifying instability.

Every breath released waves of deathly pressure that distorted the surrounding space. The remnants of forbidden formations exploded around him whenever his aura surged uncontrollably, for he had succumbed to his madness completely!

”SKY STEALER...!” His roar thundered again, pulverizing an entire wall of the forbidden region. ”COME OUT!”

Killing intent flooded outward endlessly as his Law Sense swept through every corner of the Lower Grave Strata again and again like a raging storm searching for prey.

Yet every single search ended the same way, with no trace of aura or fluctuation...nothing. It was as if the entity called Sky Stealer had never existed at all, and that only worsened his madness.

The Corpse Governor’s eyes were bloodshot with corpse flames as his skeletal fingers clenched violently.

”Impossible... impossible...!”

Another surge erupted.

’BOOOOOOOOM—!’

A massive corpse mountain collapsed instantly under the pressure alone.

Meanwhile, countless communication requests continued bombarding his consciousness from every direction. They were emergency reports filled with panic and warning, and naturally, from Belfast, the Corpse Commanders, and the hidden Corpse Clan elders.

But none of it reached him, or rather, he ignored all of it completely for right now; there was only one thing on his mind: find the Sky Stealer, kill it, and take back the Undead Boundary.

As for the massive devilish owl hovering above the entire Undead Cradle, the name branded across the heavens themselves, and the fact that the entire world now knew of this humiliation, he still didn’t know any of it because his mind had narrowed into pure obsession.

But right at that moment, suddenly, the Corpse Governor froze as his body stiffened violently, and the madness within his eyes halted for the briefest instant.

”...?”

Confusion gave way to disbelief, because deep within his undead soul, something had just stirred.

At first, it was faint, so faint he almost thought it was another hallucination birthed by his unstable mind.

But then it became clearer, and he felt as if a restriction that had existed for so long he no longer consciously perceived it was loosening, or more accurately, it was disappearing!

The Corpse Governor’s corpse flames trembled violently because, inside his grave, like an inner soul world filled with tormenting storms, mountains of wailing earth, and rivers of despair, it was a grand world at the very edge of the Half-Abyssal King Realm; something was beginning to evolve.

The bottleneck that had trapped him for ages suddenly began to crack, making his undead soul tremble with unprecedented activity as abyssal laws that once felt distant and unreachable now seemed strangely clear.

”A... breakthrough...?”

His voice came out hoarse and disbelieving, making the Corpse Governor stagger backward slightly before that tiny thread of sanity buried beneath endless madness rapidly resurfaced.

At that moment, the Corpse Governor’s mind became terrifyingly clear as he finally understood.

”The... Undead Boundary...” His expression froze completely, ”That missing core formation and vanished seal. Now suddenly, this disappearing suppression...”

Almost like a last piece of the puzzle, everything connected instantly as realization dawned on the Corpse Governor.

For countless years, the Corpse Clan had believed the Undead Boundary was their greatest blessing, their protection, and foundation, as well as their shield against annihilation.

Yet now, the moment its core disappeared, the restriction on his cultivation also vanished, and even the strange madness corroding his mind had begun weakening noticeably.

The Corpse Governor’s expression twisted violently with shock, disbelief, hatred, confusion, and relief as everything collided together.

”Hahahahaha...!”

The Corpse Governor suddenly burst into morbid laughter, which almost sounded like the wailing of resentful ghosts, because it turned out that their greatest protection, the Undead Boundary, had also been their greatest shackle.

Nonetheless, in that despair and hatred, for the first time in countless years, the Corpse Governor felt genuine hope toward the Abyssal King Realm.

A realm every Corpse Clan member dreamed of reaching, and no one in the history of the Corpse Clan had ever successfully attained.

But now, it was possible for him to finally attain it and bring destruction to his enemies, especially to that dreadful woman who took away his companion!

The Corpse Governor’s corpse flames flickered chaotically as he stopped laughing.

”...Sky Stealer...”

His voice lowered with complex emotions as right now he genuinely didn’t know anymore whether he should hate that entity beyond reason or thank him.

But one truth became crystal clear. Personal strength mattered more than anything. Since the Undead Boundary was gone, for better or worse, the Corpse Clan’s cage had shattered.

But their greatest calamity, the Evernight Council still remained, and the moment those old monsters, Evernight Kings, learned the Undead Boundary was weakening, they would never let this opportunity pass.

Suddenly, another thought struck him as the Corpse Governor’s eyes widened faintly.

’If the restriction on cultivation is gone...then... can we finally leave this cage called the Undead Cradle as well?!’

Just thinking about that single possibility shook him more than Sky Stealer’s theft itself, because for countless generations the Corpse Clan had been trapped and isolated here, like some caged beasts.

No matter how powerful they became, they couldn’t break free from the restriction of the cultivation, and none could truly leave. It was to the point that the precious Corpse Governor ended up drawing the calamity named the Evernight Council in his mad desperation.

But now, without even trying, everything that the Corpse Clan ever wanted seemed to have been given to them, and perhaps that restriction that contained them in the Undead Cradle had disappeared as well.

The Corpse Governor instantly suppressed the resurging madness because this matter was far too important.

Finally, after ignoring them for so long, he accepted one of the countless communication requests. The moment the connection formed.

”LORD GOVERNOR!!!”

Belfast’s panicked voice exploded through the link, as calm composure gave way to only terror and frustration.

”The surface has descended into complete chaos! The mysterious giant owl manifestation suddenly appeared across the entire Undead Cradle! Everyone can see it! Every participant! Even the hidden members!

”And we couldn’t reach you...Just what happened?!”