Cursed Immortality

Several days after leaving the Tower of Leo, Jacob wondered the path of legend, hoping to find new clues about other keys of legend. Yet the path of Legend seemed boundless as many unique terrains were riddled with dangers and opportunities.

Furthermore, Jacob felt uneasy because he thought the other participants might have already reached the towers and were in trials, and that's why no one bothered to wander around.

He even found the corpse of a dwarf, killed by someone recently, as all its treasures were gone, but he didn't see anything. But his search became even more rigorous. One day, Jacob entered a gloomy forest and suddenly stumbled upon an ancient ruin deep in the shadows, where the canopy above blocked most of the sunlight.

The ruins were crumbled and overgrown, but what piqued Jacob's interest was that he found something peculiar among the broken stones—one of the fractured stone pillars had a groove, which was extremely familiar.

At this moment, Jacob felt he was struck by lightning as it finally drew to him.

'The path of legend can not be accessed only by legendary keys but also with a Star Ocean Medallion!'

Indeed, this groove was precisely shaped like the Star Ocean Medallion, and even the markings were like the compass. Jacob felt he had stumbled upon something big, so without hesitation, he took out his Star Ocean Medallion that he had gotten from the Epic Plains Trail and tried placing it in the groove.

To his surprise, not only did it fit perfectly, but the next moment, the need within the medallion suddenly started to spin, and the broken pillar trembled slightly. What happened next was even more startling, as the pillar suddenly vanished and was replaced by a rusty metal box.

The Star Ocean Medallion also fell and returned to its dormant state as if it had served its purpose. Jacob quickly stowed away the medallion before picking up the rusty metal box, which was unlocked to boot. A worn piece of parchment was hidden within a rusted metal box. When Jacob opened the parchment, it depicted a partially faded map with symbols he recognized from one of the Zodiacs. In the corner, a faint outline of a tower was marked, encircled by symbols of darkness.

He could barely make out the name written in ancient script, and his eyes shone with astonishment as he exclaimed, "Virgo! Is this the map that leads to the Tower of Virgo?! So, that's the Star Ocean Medallion's role in all this. Although it can't lead directly to the towers like the legendary keys, it can help discover their whereabouts if others know where to look! What an unexpected surprise!"

Although the map's condition was poor, there was enough left to give Jacob a vague sense of direction. This was also going to be his next target!

However, he also knew this journey wouldn't be easy without the Legendary Key. If the Tower of Virgo were anything like the Towers of Taurus and Leo, it would be heavily guarded and perilous to reach.

Yet the thrill of discovery drove him onward since he knew the Key Holder might've already activated this tower. So, instead of wasting his time searching for others, this was his best option!

Jacob followed the map's faint directions, venturing deeper into an ever-darkening landscape. The air grew thick and oppressive, and soon, the light of day was swallowed by unnatural shadows. Along the way, he encountered a series of escalating dangers:

At the border of a desolate valley, Jacob found himself hunted by strange creatures, their bodies formed from shadows and fog. These shadow beasts were swift, silent, and nearly invisible in the dark, but Jacob's heightened senses from his Eyes of Judge allowed him to detect their movements just in time to defend himself. Their attacks, however, grew fiercer the closer he got to the tower.

But they were not enough to obstruct his way and he wasn't in the mood of killing them so, he only avoided them while saving his power.

Jacob even stumbled upon ancient traps as he pressed on, which were clearly meant to deter anyone from reaching the Tower of Virgo. Pitfalls were hidden beneath layers of fog, spikes laced with dark poison, and illusionary mazes that twisted the landscape into a labyrinth. Jacob would have been caught in several of these deadly snares without his Eyes of Judge and quick reflexes.

As he went deeper by following the map, the land changed, and it seemed alive with danger. He suddenly stumbled on a web of rivers flowing with purple liquid, and to his shock, that purple liquid was poison!

The poison that flowed through the valley occasionally burst into clouds of toxic gas, and Jacob had to navigate narrow ledges to avoid falling into the tainted waters. Every step he took felt like walking through a realm forgotten by time, where the forces of dark magic had twisted reality.

Although he was immune to poison, he didn't want to dive into those rivers as he didn't know what might be in them, and it would waste his precious time.

Hours into his perilous journey, Jacob came upon a dark altar at the center of a clearing. It was made from obsidian stone, and runes similar to those he had seen on the ruin from which he had obtained the map were etched into its surface.

At the base of the altar, Jacob found another groove similar to that ancient pillar, and without hesitation, he used the medallion again. The next moment, the altar began to glow with an ominous light, and a new path opened before him, leading into a deep, narrow canyon.

"This must be it," Jacob thought as the air around him grew colder. He picked up the medallion, stowed it away again, and entered the narrow canyon.

The canyon led Jacob to an underground cavern hidden beneath the corrupted valley. As he ventured deeper into the earth, the darkness became suffocating. His steps echoed through the winding tunnels until he reached a massive underground clearing. It was like another world of darkness.

At this moment, Jacob spotted something in the distance. Rising from the center stood the Tower of Virgo—a spire of black obsidian, even darker than the surroundings, seemingly absorbing any light that dared touch it.

A faint, dark mist surrounded the tower, and its surface was covered in intricate symbols that glowed with faint, purplish light. It was a cold, eerie sight, far more foreboding than the Tower of Leo.

Jacob could feel the power of darkness radiating from the structure completely opposite to the light, as though the tower itself was alive.

The mist surrounding the tower could beguile and trap anyone, but with the Eyes of Judge, it was useless again, Jacob said as he approached the tower's door.

Without hesitating, he takes out the Legendary Master Key, and the tower's voice rings at that moment.

"Seeker of Zodiac, you may enter!"

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