Cursed Immortality

While Jacob was still mulling over what just happened, the tower's emotionless voice rang. "Congratulations, Trialist!

"You have passed the Star Warrior difficulty level Tower Trial of the Tower of Leo!

"The Rewards of Star Warrior difficulty Trial will be granted!

"Reward: The Legendary Vestige of Virgo has been given!"

Jacob finally snapped out of it, and he wasn't feeling good about this because, just as he suspected, the Grim Lich had chosen the easiest difficulty trial, which meant there would be no legendary king state treasure or legacy or an ascension permit.

'I killed him too mercifully…' Jacob thought as he was remorseful about the other two rewards, especially the treasures.

But he didn't let his greed cloud his judgment. He knew his purpose, and he looked towards the materialized Cosmic Vestige of Virgo.

The Vestige of Virgo was a dark, translucent hexagonal gemstone. The surface was smooth and polished, but beneath it, swirling shadows seemed to move as though darkness itself was alive within. The gemstone was surrounded by faint, glowing markings etched along its edges, pulsing with the rhythm of a heartbeat.

When he held it, it felt cool to the touch, yet it radiated a deep, oppressive power, resonating with the elemental force of darkness he felt from the permeates of the Wisp of Virgo.

Now, including the Cosmic Vestige of Virgo, Jacob had the Vestige of Taurus and the Vestige of Leo, three vestiges out of twelve. With the Legendary Key of Aquarius, he can claim the Cosmic Vestige of Aquarius as well.

So, now, Jacob needed to find the remaining eight ones, and he knew he needed to hurry after what he witnessed in the Tower of Virgo. If there were someone like the Grim Lich, who only wants the Cosmic Vestige, then things would go south for him.

Although Jacob didn't know how long the path of Legend would remain open, he was sure it would stay open at least until all the vestiges were claimed or every legendary key and star ocean medallion was used.

But he was so sure that people who claimed a legendary vestige would remain here once they acquired it and might even have a way to leave once they achieved their purpose, especially the people from the middle galaxies.

After all, he was the only one who needed all twelve vestiges, not the others, so time was of the essence to Jacob.

Once he accepted the cosmic vestige of Virgo, the tower's voice rang again. "The Wisp of Virgo has acknowledged you!

"The hidden condition has been met!

"You already have the Legendary Master Key; please take it out!"

It was just like the last time, and Jacob was relieved that he at least got another legendary key, so he repeated the process, and the Legendary Master Key was merged with the Legendary Key of Virgo.

Once it was done, the symbol of Virgo on the Legendary Master Key was replaced by a woman's face, which was just like the Wisp of Virgo—pitch black and faceless!

Jacob was then sent out of the tower, and as expected, the tower had vanished, leaving him in the gloomy, dark subterranean space.

"Cursed Immortality!" Jacob then summoned cursed immortality because he had an important question to ask.

But as he summoned the cursed book, he was about to stow away the Legendary Master Key when he noticed something, making his eyes flicker wildly in shock.

On the Legendary Master Key, Jacob saw that the symbol of Capricorn had vanished, which happened just a moment ago. Jacob suddenly has a very bad feeling about this.

"Hehehehehehe…" Immortika's eerie laughter suddenly rang in his head. Before he could say anything, the cursed book beat him to it, "The Zodiac symbol's disappearance on your key means that someone had already claimed that cosmic vestige, and it is no longer available for taking. This also means that the tower is also gone, and you have lost your chance to complete the key! Ah, such a pity; you weren't fast enough!"

Jacob was shocked before rage burned in his eyes as he clenched his bony fists, "Are you blaming me for this? Who the hell would spread twelve legendary keys in twelve different galaxies? Even if I was fast enough, this damn place was simply too massive, and this was bound to happen eventually.

"You were really expecting me to gather all of them before all those participants can? Furthermore, I can still claim the vestige, but what the hell is the deal with this Legendary Master Key?" He asked coldly, with apparent anger in his voice.

Although he didn't know what would've happened if he had completed the entire Legendary Master Key, he was also frustrated because he wouldn't be able to do it now, even if he wanted to. He might not show it, but he was also looking forward to it since Immortika also deemed it important.

"Hehehe, really? Are you sure you did everything? Don't you think you would've gotten all the legendary keys if you had used Infinity Blood Sacrifice and made a wish? You could've even paid less by simply demanding their locations.

"Hehehe, yet here we are. Well, I understand you deeply care about your lifespan, but you also have a way to claim it back. Yet, you didn't want to take the risk. Tsk, tsk, tsk, now, you have lost an opportunity. You can only blame yourself for not having the courage." Immortika sarcastically retorted, but from its voice, it didn't seem angry or disappointed. If anything, Immortika was amused by Jacob's plight.

Jacob became silent again. It wasn't like he hadn't thought about using the Infinity Blood Sacrifice to get all the legendary keys, but just as Immortika said, he wasn't willing to sacrifice his lifespan at all.

After all, it was his life, the most precious thing, and he was doing all of this to expand it and make it endless. Sacrificing it was another matter, and this was the only thing Jacob would always hesitate to sacrifice, no matter how small the cost.

But now that things were looking grim and, from Immortika's words, the completion of the Legendary Master Key seemed quite important for him, Jacob experienced an intense internal struggle.

After a while, Jacob asked impassively, "Tell me, is this Legendary Master Key as important as the cosmic vestige?"

"Hehehe, that's for you to find out. I've already told you what I could, and I'll repeat it again in simpler words: This is an opportunity you don't want to miss!" Immortika ambiguously replied.

Jacob was silent momentarily as he considered it more before asking, "So, can I wish to return to the Tower of Capricorn to get Wisp of Capricorn's acknowledgment? If yes, then how much will it cost me?"

"See? Now this is the attitude of someone who's willing to sacrifice everything for something far greater. Hahahaha…". "Immortika laughed with relish; the ecstasy in its eerie voice was evident. "If it were before the tower was still present, it would've only cost you 600+ years with your fully charged cursed blood. But now that someone has already claimed the vestige, the tower's purpose is complete, and it has gone dormant again and will only surface in the next path of legend's opening. "So, if you used the wish to get into the tower again, your wish needed to be specific like you can't just wish that 'I want to go to the Tower of Capricorn' because you will be sent to the tower, but you won't be able to activate the trial anymore, and you'll be trapped in it without a treasure to escape from it.

"That's why you need to wish not only to enter the tower but also to directly go to the final trial and 'meet' the wisp of Capricorn, and this will cost you 5,000 years of your lifespan without needing to sacrifice your existing cursed blood!

"Now, the question is, are you willing to do it? Hahahahahah….!"