Within a vast, ethereal expanse filled with floating islands and celestial bodies, the sky was a kaleidoscope of colors, shifting and changing constantly. The land beneath was filled with towering ancient trees pulsing with neon spectrum and giving off a mysterious aura.
Furthermore, within this ancient forest, strange, otherworldly creatures roam, and some even have their own territories filled with hidden dangers and opportunities.
At this moment, in the middle of a hill, a gigantic gray skeleton, 50 meters in length, was lying there. But it didn't appear to be rotting or an ancient corpse, for its gray bones seemed to be carved with moonstone without any kind of dust or profanity on them.
Furthermore, for some reason, those otherworldly creatures didn't dare approach this skeleton and actively avoided it as if terrified of its presence.
Suddenly, on the gray skeleton, crimson runic markings started to surface, and soon the entire skeleton was covered in them, and they were glowing in a rhythmic crimson pulse.
But that wasn't all. The next moment, within the hollow eye sockets of the skeleton, white sparks appeared, and the very next moment thereafter, ethereal white golden flames ignited in them as they burned fiercely!
The skeleton suddenly moved the next moment as it started to rise from the ground, making it tremble slightly.
"Where am I?" A confused spectral voice suddenly rang from the skeleton as the flames in its hollow eyes flickered before they turned intense as the skeleton, who was obviously Jacob, instantly remembered everything.
Furthermore, when Jacob noticed his completely transformed body and the hidden power within him, he was even more shocked, "I completed the longevity schema; how? And how did I even escape that place and end up here?!"
The more Jacob thought, the more confused and frightened he became because this was too strange, as he knew he wasn't imagining things. He even thought he was in another illusion or that strange state, but he didn't feel he was in one like before; somehow, he knew it was reality.
Jacob quickly tried to test it since it was the only way to confirm it and get answers to his questions; this situation was simply too uncanny.
He first looked towards his neck and found the infinity pendant was there and without hesitation, "Cursed Immortality!" Jacob tried to summon the cursed book and confirm if he wasn't hallucinating or trapped in an illusion.
To his relief, Cursed Immortality appeared, and without waiting, he quickly opened the cover and looked toward the first page. What he saw shocked him while also confirming that he wasn't imagining things at all. ______
[Cursed Immortality: Cursed Immortal Physique (Nine Phases)]
{Current Phase: Second Phase}
---
-First Phase: Body Transformation (Complete)
-Stages of Body Transformation: Three
-First Stage: Cursed Heart Emergence (Compete)
-Second Stage: Cursed Blood Condensing (Complete)
-Third Stage: Cursed Bone Marrow Amalgamation (Complete)
-Second Phase: Cosmic Crucible Totem Skeleton
-Stages of Second Phase: One -First Stage: Cursed Totem Skeleton ---
-Inheritor: Jacob Steve
-Current Phase: Second Phase (Cosmic Crucible Totem Skeleton)
-First Stage Progress: 0% ---
-Lifespan: 900,350 Years (All Youthful)
_____
Jacob was gobsmacked when he saw that the first phase had been completed, and even more shocking; his lifespan had reached over 900,000 years somehow. He clearly remembered that the last time he checked, his lifespan was around forty thousand years, and even if he somehow completed the first phase, he was supposed to get only 5,000 years after completing the longevity schema. Yet, his lifespan had reached over nine hundred thousand years, and the scariest part was he didn't even know how. But then he suddenly thought about something.
"Nyx?!"
He remembered she went to the Dark Battle Arena to devour the dreamscape realm and control it. That was the only explanation he could think of. But it still didn't make sense how he was able to complete the longevity schema.
However, he didn't get a reply at all, and when he tried to enter the nightmare dreamscape realm, he couldn't, 'Is she evolving again?'
"Morning sunshine!"
Jacob was startled when a familiar impish, eerie voice suddenly rang in his head, "Immortika?" "Hahahahaha… what a priceless reaction." Immortika laughed, clearly enjoying Jacob's reaction.
But Jacob wasn't in the mood to entertain the eccentric book, "What the hell is going on?"
"And here we go again." Immortika muttered before it finally decided to stop tormenting its inheritor, "Didn't I tell you at the start that once you completed the first phase, I will be able to communicate with you again vocally? So, congrats, you don't have to read anymore, hahahahaha!"
"I wasn't fucking asking if you can speak or not!" Jacob retorted as he started to feel like he had just released the devil from its prison and even wanted to put it back. But alas, he knew it was impossible, and now he had to live with it.
"How did I complete the longevity schema?" It was the biggest question he wanted an answer to no matter what, and he knew that if he didn't get it, he would never be at peace.
"Duh, you know there is only one way this could happen. So, of course, it was me who helped you! Now, show some gratitude to your savior! Hehehe…" Immortika admitted it without hesitation as if it was talking about something trifled.
But I wasn't impressed at all. It was a massive shock, and they quickly asked, "How? You never told me you could do something like that?"
Jacob was always under the impression that he was in control of the progress of Cursed Immortality. But now, after hearing that Immortika could interfere and control its progress as well, he started to feel uncomfortable, as if he was being controlled. Immortika could manipulate him if it wished.
It changed his entire perspective of the cursed book, and he would never accept it.
Jacob never thought that after awakening, he would instantly experience such an existential crisis that could directly affect his entire life and path to Immortality!