At first glance, it resembled a fortress ...

yet its architecture differed,

more akin to the cathedrals once used by the Sacred Throne faith.

A cathedral.

And not just any ...

the largest Ethan had ever seen in his life.

Its towers stretched skyward, jagged and spiked,

its walls built from black stone that gleamed

like polished obsidian.

"...Is that it?"

"The final zone of this legacy dungeon?"

Jackson nodded.

"Yes.

The strongest monsters nest there...

and beyond them—

the cursed Golden Dawn Knight."

Breaking through that place felt impossible...

not with their current strength.

Ethan studied it in silence for several minutes,

before his expression hardened,

his thoughts aligning into something more focused.

"There’s something that’s been bothering me, Jackson...

something in your story that doesn’t add up."

Jackson replied in the same indifferent tone.

"And what exactly would that be?"

In that moment...

Ethan chose to strike directly at the hidden truth

the giant beside him had kept buried.

"You said you’ve lived here for hundreds of years...

so tell me—"

Turning toward him, eyes blazing,

he asked:

"Why... haven’t you turned into a monster yet?"

Silence fell between them instantly.

It was a valid question.

Prolonged exposure to the Curse of Darkness

inevitably transformed humans into monsters.

Even the Hearts were no exception—

though they resisted it far better than ordinary people.

Jackson was undeniably powerful—

but surviving within the curse’s domain for centuries

should have been impossible.

That contradiction had been gnawing at Ethan all along.

Jackson remained quiet for a moment,

his serpent-like eyes fixed on Ethan—

before he smiled and nodded.

"So you noticed...

faster than the others.

That alone proves how perceptive you are."

He nodded again, satisfied.

"You’re right, boy.

I should have become one of those wretched creatures long ago."

"But I didn’t ...

because the curse in Old Ashvarn...

doesn’t function the same way it does outside."

"What do you mean?"

Ethan asked, curiosity sharpening—

sensing that this answer could change everything.

"The force binding this city underground...

is the Flame of Lord Vessel ...

the same fire from which bonfires draw their power."

"That flame has been suppressing the curse here

for a very long time."

"It couldn’t stop the spread entirely ...

but it changed the conditions of transformation."

Jackson gestured toward the roaming monsters below.

"Humans still turn into monsters...

but only under one condition."

"For it to happen—

they must die at the hands of those creatures."

The words struck like lightning.

Ethan shot to his feet instantly.

"As long as we’re alive...

we won’t turn."

"We only transform... if we die in battle."

Anyone who entered the city became something close to immortal ...

unable to age or die naturally.

Meaning the only path to becoming a monster

was death itself ...

allowing the curse to consume the corpse.

"As long as we live...

the Flame of Lord Vessel protects us."

Ethan’s eyes widened as realization hit him.

"If that’s true—

then the Elders can enter without any risk!"

"They could fight freely ...

and they wouldn’t turn into monsters at all,

so long as they aren’t killed!"

Jackson nodded.

"That’s correct... but."

"They don’t know any of this.

They believe they’ll turn the moment they step inside."

"And we—

have no way of telling them."

The solution was simple.

Painfully simple.

All it required...

was for Asterion

and the other Elders to enter.

And they could purge the legacy dungeon themselves.

But they wouldn’t.

Because no one could inform them

of what Ethan had just discovered.

"The Flame of Lord Vessel held for centuries...

but it’s reaching its limit now."

"That’s why you came here, isn’t it?"

Jackson’s words sharpened Ethan’s understanding further.

"Soon...

the curse will overwhelm the flame."

"And when that happens ...

the force protecting you from transformation will vanish."

"The curse will spread unchecked...

and consume your new city...

and everything beyond it."

The only chance for success...

was for the Elders to enter now, before the flame was extinguished.

That was the only solution.

But how...?

"How the hell do we make them enter?

How do we tell them they won’t turn if they do?!"

Ethan felt a wave of dizziness as he tried to think it through.

The answer was simple—painfully so—

yet at the same time, nearly impossible to execute.

"To leave the city, we must clear the legacy dungeon by defeating the final boss.

And to defeat him, we need the strong ones outside to come in.

But to bring them in...

you have to leave the city and tell them the truth."

Jackson let out a mocking laugh.

"A perfect loop."

"A locked-room puzzle with no solution."

That was the reality the hunters were trapped in.

"So what will you do, Ethan Heart?"

"How will you act... now that you know everything?"

"Don’t mess with me—damn it...

there’s no way I’m giving up now after realizing all this..."

"Yes, yes...

many of my old comrades thought the same way you do."

"They tried to find a solution.

Tried to send a message outside...

to call for help."

Jackson pointed toward the city below.

"Do you know where they are now?"

"They’re right there in front of you."

"Mindless monsters... wandering without purpose or worth...

after being slaughtered by the Golden Dawn Knight and his followers."

Every word Jackson spoke—

every gesture—

whispered the same message into Ethan’s ears:

Give up.

He had been weaker than hunters like Jackson once.

And even Jackson ...

with all his monstrous strength ...

had failed.

But Ethan refused to think that way.

"The old hunters had their power...

and we have what makes us different."

"Your failure...

doesn’t mean we’ll fail too."

"There has to be a way.

No legacy dungeon in this world exists without a weakness."

Ethan believed that with absolute certainty.

But time was running out.

Reaching behind his neck,

his fingers brushed against the mark of the Blood Eclipse.

And in that moment...

he realized ...

he didn’t have much time left.

’It’s been a full month... since Luna last checked the barrier...’

In other words—

that barrier was on its last breath.

And soon...

the Curse of the Beloved of Darkness would activate,

placing an even greater burden upon him.

Before that happened ...

Ethan raced against time,

desperately searching...

for a solution.