Under countless gazes heavy with curiosity, greed, fear, and calculation, Eva and Ace moved, but they did not rush, nor did they hesitate.
Their figures cut through the tense air like blades drawn halfway from their sheaths. Whispers rippled across the Abyssal Plains, yet none dared to voice them too loudly.
This pair stood too close to the Dread Duchess, too calm beneath the Evernight Gate, too unfazed by the three Protector Envoys looming above like carved gods.
As they approached, the envoys did not stir, nor were any questions asked, nor was any intent demanded.
It was as if the decree had already been spoken once, and from this mont onward, the Gate no longer cared who entered or why. Whoever stepped forward would bear full responsibility for their own life and death.
Ace noticed it instantly, as the invisible scrutiny that had lingered earlier was gone, and the Gate no longer judged intent, for it judged existence.
With each step closer, a profound pressure descended upon him, but it was without hostility, and instead, it felt like obsession. A weight that pressed not on flesh, but on identity itself, as if sothing vast and ancient were leaning closer, peeling back layers to see what lay beneath.
The closer he ca, the stronger it grew, until his thoughts felt slightly heavier and his breathing subtly restrained, as he instantly knew this thing was asuring him.
Nonetheless, with his primordial foundation and universal physique, Ace didn’t falter or show any excessive reaction, but he was slightly worried about his force technique.
Beside him, Eva’s expression remained composed, but inwardly, her bloodline churned subtly. The disdain she had sensed earlier surged violently, no longer subtle or distant.
It coiled through her veins with barely restrained malice, urging her to tear the Gate apart, to devour the source of its offense. Her devilish eyes, hidden beneath their gray disguise, flickered dangerously.
Yet she suppressed it perfectly.
Moreover, both of them ignored the Protector Envoys entirely because they knew better; as long as they didn’t provoke those sentinels, they might as well have been statues.
At that mont, they stopped before the Evernight Gate, and for a brief mont, the world seed to hold its breath as the bleeding light of the Gate pulsed slowly, rhythmically, like a colossal heart beating behind layers of law and darkness, and runes crawled faintly across its surface, ancient and indifferent.
Ambiguously, Ace and Eva exchanged a brief yet aningful glance.
Ace questioned, "Are you ready?"
"Heh, you know best." Eva snickered with confidence.
Ace wanted to chuckle, but held back before he thought about sothing and asked with a hint of uncertainty, "Since you have your identity token, what about ? How will they know it is ’Nomad’ and not just so random Abyssal Being?"
Eva finally realized at this point, as she hadn’t even thought about this problem, and her expression darkened ever so slightly.
"I don’t know, but Dread Duchess hasn’t told anything about it. Furthermore, everything about this trial is a mystery to even her, so I’m sure she has no clue. Moreover, with how confidently the Council has prepared all of this, they might have a way to identify each individual.
"Besides, you have already been in one of their realms, so it’s not strange if they had picked up your ’Spirit Mark’ or ’Abyss Mark.’ But if you have received so kind of token from Dread Duchess or the Council before, try holding it. Anyhow, I’m sure the council won’t make such a rookie mistake." Eva assured, but her voice also lacked confidence, and she even considered going back to speak with Dread Duchess.
Ace also felt it made sense and guessed what Eva was thinking and quickly said, "Don’t go back or try to use Spirit Transmission; there are too many eyes on us. If you turn now, it would be bad for the Dread Duchess’s reputation even if you have a valid reason. The whole Abyssal Plains is watching, so let’s go with the flow. Either way, it doesn’t matter to whether I have an Evernight Invitation or not anymore!"
Ace’s last words were filled with arrogance and confidence that originated from his very bones, making Eva extrely proud and happy.
The next mont, without any words or hesitation, and with just mutual understanding, they stepped forward into the gate!
The instant Ace stepped inside, he felt as if he was stepping into water instead of air, and the mont he went completely inside and crossed the threshold, the world shattered!
Space twisted violently around him, folding inward like crushed glass before snapping apart. There was no sense of falling, no sense of motion, only displacent so absolute that his senses lagged behind his existence.
Ace knew this feeling too well as he thought solemnly, ’Teleportation! So, this gate never led to the Evernight Sanctuary itself. It led to the trial, just as the Guardian Envoy had ntioned when he threw the Yin Duchess out...’
But before Ace could fully process that thought, a terrifying power descended. Yet this peculiar power has no pressure or suppression; instead, it was the power of
inspection.
A vast, profound Qi beyond comprehension swept over him and tried to pierce and bypass his defenses and concealnt, as if probing directly into the core of his being.
But the instant that mysterious power of inspection entered his body, the Mirror Embryo within his knowledge sea stirred, and the next mont, Ace suddenly felt the Grand Mirror Phantom Scripture subtly activated with his Darkness Force.
Ace was shocked and suddenly grew nervous because of this unusual relationship to his physique, and his muscles locked instinctively, but he forced himself to remain calm and trust the Grand Mirror Phantom Scripture.
The mysterious power of inspection seed to tremble faintly before it went away abruptly, and before Ace could figure out what had just happened, three lights appeared.
The first was pale silver, and it passed through him slowly, from his crown to his inner world, and Ace’s heart palpitated when he sensed the system didn’t bother to obstruct this light at all!
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