Mission

Several days passed.

Ned lingered before the cave for a long time, like a child stumped by a difficult problem, pacing back and forth.

His heart was filled with conflict.

He was thrilled and restless with joy over the god's blessing, yet hesitant and uncertain about the heavy duty that was about to bind him.

But in the end, he still walked inside.

He found his father and spoke with him in the firelight.

This was, after he had made his mistake, the first time he had talked with his father.

He told Richie everything he had gained, and also confided in his father about the voice that had always lingered in his heart.

"Father,"

Ned said.

"I revere the god, and I revere you."

"But I strongly resist taking up the heavy duty on your shoulders, even now."

"For these twenty years, I have been running from the path you chose for me."

Ned spoke with his father about his childhood.

"From the time I can remember, you began teaching me how to settle disputes, audit the granaries, and allocate food supplies, but those things never sparked any interest in me."

"Yet I never dared to bring up my thoughts to you, afraid of provoking your anger, and afraid of defying the god."

As Ned said this, he lowered his head, not daring to look up at his father, as if afraid to continue.

"Go on."

Richie only said this.

"I love chasing new things; I greedily enjoy a life where every day holds anticipation. I always hope that someday, I might see the world beyond the island."

Ned confessed his ideals to his father.

"Even if it costs me my life, even if doing so has no meaning, I still want to do it."

"I was once lost over this, but later, when I saw my younger brother take up that duty, I instead felt relieved. From that moment, I knew I could never walk the path you expected of me."

"I know full well that thinking this way is selfish, but I can't stop myself from thinking it."

Ned paused.

Then, he looked at the Rot Spirit Staff tightly gripped in his hand, and his eyes finally regained calm.

"Yet the merciful god has now granted a blessing to someone as selfish as me."

"If this is the duty of my bloodline as the God-Chosen, then this time I will not run. Father, please tell this ignorant Ned what I should do."

Ned confessed everything.

Because he knew.

He could escape the expectations his father placed on him.

But he could not escape the mission given by the god.

If his father said, that this was the mission the god had given him, then this time he would not run.

He only, after finishing, lifted his head as if relieved, and calmly waited for his father's answer.

But, contrary to his expectations, this father, who had always been strict with them, who had always used the standards of an heir to tightly discipline their behavior as the God-Chosen, for the first time, showed no sign of blame or severity toward him.

Perhaps because Richie no longer had anything to worry about.

Or perhaps Ned's words had truly touched Richie, reminding him of the ideals of his youth.

Richie just quietly leaned on his staff, listening to the account of his eldest son, who had once made a mistake.

In the firelight, Richie thought for a long time before saying:

"Your mother once said something to me."

"She said,"

"Perhaps, to the god, everything we do has meaning."

"Whether great or small, they are equally precious."

Richie looked at the child with his head lowered, speaking slowly.

"The gods chose you—perhaps precisely because what you do and what you choose will all carry meaning."

"If you truly do not wish to walk this path, then think carefully about how to use the power the gods have given you to seek your own way."

"Do not waste the power the gods have bestowed upon you, nor let down the younger brother who has shouldered the burden for you."

Ned heard the tolerance and trust in his father's words.

He stared blankly at his father's face in the firelight.

Richie only revealed a hint of a meaningful expression, took his hand, and showed regret in his eyes.

"Ned, you should have told me all of this sooner."

In that moment.

Ned finally realized that he was still his father's eldest son.

And his father had never truly been disappointed in him.

In the end, he could only ask dazedly.

"Then what about Boer?"

He worried that Boer would be affected by this.

He also feared hurting this younger brother's pride and dignity.

Richie said.

"I'll handle everything."

Richie quickly announced to the tribe everything Ned had obtained.

At the same time.

He also declared.

That the decision to let Boer become the chieftain would not change.

He did not favor one child over the other.

Even when one of his children received the gods' blessing, he still treated them equally, as fairly as possible.

When Boer learned of this.

He was simply happy that his brother had gained such power.

In his view, as the eldest son of the chosen one, his brother was naturally meant to receive this blessing.

But.

Just as Ned had initially feared.

After learning that he possessed such power.

His fate and position were overturned, no longer his to decide.

He suddenly became the chosen one in people's eyes.

While Boer, who was about to ascend to the chieftain's seat and had once been surrounded by supporters, instead faced opposition.

Among them, the most vocal opponent was Huxter.

"Since Ned is your eldest son in name, and now possesses the mighty power of the Rot Spirit Flower, then Ned should inherit your position as chieftain and lead the tribe as the gods' proxy."

Huxter knelt on the ground and said calmly.

This priest, always fervent toward the gods, offered his counsel to Richie.

"Even if he once gravely injured a tribesman, that was merely a minor scuffle. You have already punished him by cutting off one of his fingers, which means everything from before is over, isn't it?"

Huxter said.

"To ruin the future of a chosen one for the sake of a mere elder's son—what a pity."

Faced with Huxter's somewhat offensive words.

Richie only lowered his gaze.

"I believe my children, no matter what position they hold, will have a bright future."

"It's settled. No more discussion."

As a chieftain and a chosen one.

He naturally had to uphold that sacred dignity and could not casually change his decision.

Of course.

He was also acting as a father, protecting his son's dignity.

Just as he had once protected their mother.

In the end, this council quickly broke up in discord.

Not long after.

Boer finally succeeded his father and became the tribe's chieftain.

And Ned no longer indulged in that carefree idleness and freedom.

He, too, hoped to use the power bestowed by the gods to make some contribution to the tribe within his means.

He joined the coastal patrol guard.

Under the reverent and curious gazes of the tribe, Ned raised the Rot Spirit Scepter.

"Look! Ned is actually controlling those bugs to fly out over the sea!"

"Is he using his mind to command them? What does that even feel like!"

The tribesmen watched the tiny Water Mosquitoes flying toward the sea, clicking their tongues in wonder.

Under Ned's control.

The range of the tribe's insects had expanded significantly.

It even extended beyond the coast.

The reason was simple.

Although the Rot Spirit Flower's control range over insects far exceeded Ned's.

However.

The Rot Spirit Flower, rooted at the island's center, could not move.

Ned could.

The range for controlling Rot Spirit Insects was centered on the caster.

The insects Ned commanded could fly up to a hundred meters from the coast where he stood.

This allowed him to direct some tiny Water Mosquitoes to hover over the sea surface, detecting ripples in the water.

From this, he could determine whether a school of fish or a larger creature was passing by.

Of course, he could not make these insects dive into the sea.

Because if he did, the Rot Spirit Mycelium would be corroded by the seawater, and he would lose control.

One day.

As Ned gripped the Rot Spirit Staff and used insects to scout the ocean, he suddenly discovered a strange new power manifesting on his Rot Spirit Staff.

Unlike the previous ability to control insects.

It was an extremely unique, mysterious, and eerie power—completely different from anything the Rot Spirit Flower had shown before.

It was the power known as Decay.