Mission

For several days,

Ned had wandered in front of the cave like a child faced with a difficult problem.

His heart was filled with conflicting feelings.

He was so thrilled and overjoyed by this divine blessing that he could neither eat nor sleep, yet he was also hesitant to accept the burden of the heavy mission that awaited him.

But in the end, he still went inside.

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

It was the first time since he had made his mistake

that he had spoken with his father.

He told Richie everything he had gained, and confided in his father about the voice he had kept hidden in his heart all this time.

"Father."

Ned said.

"I look up to the gods, and I look up to you."

"But I deeply resent taking on the heavy burden you bear. I still feel that way now."

"For twenty years, I've been running away from the path you chose for me."

Ned spoke with his father about his childhood.

"Ever since I can remember, you've taught me how to settle disputes, take stock of the storehouses, and organize the distribution of food. But I've never had the slightest interest in any of it."

"But I never dared tell you what I thought. I was afraid of making you angry, and afraid of defying the gods."

As Ned spoke, he lowered his head, not daring to look up at his father, as if he didn't dare continue.

"Go on,"

Richie simply said.

"I love chasing after new things. I greedily savor the kind of life where every day is full of anticipation. I'm always hoping that one day, maybe I'll get to see the world beyond the island."

Ned was honest with his father about his dreams.

"Even if it costs me my life, even if it serves no purpose, I still want to do it."

"I used to feel lost because of this. But later, when I saw my younger brother take on that mission, I actually felt relieved. From that moment on, I knew I couldn't walk the path you hoped I would."

"I know it's selfish to think this way, but I can't stop myself."

Ned paused.

Then he looked at the Rot Spirit Staff clutched tightly in his hand, and at last his eyes grew calm again.

"But the merciful god has now bestowed a blessing on someone as selfish as me."

"If this is the mission I must bear as one of the God-Chosen's bloodline, then this time I don't want to run away. Father, please tell foolish Ned what I should do."

Ned had confessed everything.

Because he knew

he could run away from the expectations his father placed on him,

but he could never run away from the mission bestowed by the gods.

If his father said

this was the mission the gods had given him,

then this time, he wouldn't run away.

After saying all this, he simply lifted his head with a sense of relief and waited calmly for his father's answer.

But

to his surprise,

his father, who had always been strict with them and had always held them to the standards of an heir in everything they did,

for once showed no sign of reproach or sternness toward him.

Perhaps Richie no longer had anything to worry about.

Or perhaps Ned's words had truly touched Richie, reminding him of the dreams he'd had when he was young.

Richie simply stood quietly, leaning on his cane,

and listened to the account of his eldest son, who had once made a grave mistake.

In the firelight,

Richie thought for a long while before he spoke.

"Your mother once said something to me."

"She said,"

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

"Whether great or small, it is all equally precious."

Richie spoke slowly as he watched his child with his head bowed.

"The gods chose you. Perhaps it's precisely because everything you do and choose will have meaning."

"If you truly don't want to walk this path, then think carefully about how to use the power the gods have given you to pursue your own."

"Don't waste the power the gods have given you, and don't let down your younger brother, who has taken on the heavy burden for you."

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

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

Richie's face held only a hint of meaning. He took Ned's hand, his eyes filled with regret.

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

At that moment,

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

And his father had never truly given up on him.

In the end, he could only ask, dazed,

"What about Boer?"

He was worried this would affect Boer.

He was also afraid of hurting his younger brother's pride and dignity.

Richie said,

"I'll take care of everything."

Richie soon announced to the tribe all that Ned had gained.

At the same time,

he also declared

that his decision to appoint Boer as chief would not change.

He favored neither of his sons.

Even when one of them received the gods' blessing, he still treated them equally, doing his best to be fair.

When Boer learned about this,

he was simply happy that his older brother had gained such power.

In his eyes, his older brother, as the eldest son of the God-Chosen, deserved this blessing.

But

just as Ned had feared from the start,

when people learned that he possessed such power,

his fate and position were turned upside down, no longer something he could decide for himself.

He suddenly became the God-Chosen in everyone's eyes.

Meanwhile, Boer, who was about to become chief and had once been surrounded by the people's support, faced opposition instead.

The most vehement opponent was Huxter.

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

Huxter said calmly as he knelt on the ground.

The priest, who had always been fervent in his devotion to the gods, presented his counsel to Richie.

"Even if he once badly injured a member of the Tribe, that was only a minor offense. You've already punished him by cutting off one of his fingers. That means everything from before is over, doesn't it?"

Huxter said,

"To sacrifice the future of a God-Chosen for the sake of the son of a mere elder would be a great waste."

Faced with Huxter's somewhat presumptuous words,

Richie merely lowered his gaze.

"I believe my children will have bright futures, no matter what positions they hold."

"It's settled. There's no need to say anything more."

As a chief and one of the God-Chosen,

he had to uphold the sacred dignity of his position. He couldn't change his decision on a whim.

Of course,

he was also protecting his son's dignity as a father.

Just as he had protected their mother's dignity back then.

In the end, the meeting soon broke up in discord.

Not long afterward,

Boer finally succeeded his father and became the Tribe's chief.

Ned, meanwhile, no longer sank into a life of carefree aimlessness.

He also hoped to use this divine power to make whatever contribution he could to the Tribe.

He joined the coastal patrol.

Under the Tribe members' devout and curious gazes, Ned raised the Rot Spirit Scepter.

"Look! Ned really did control those insects and make them fly out over the sea!"

"Is he controlling them with his mind? What on earth does that feel like?"

The Tribe members watched the tiny Water Mosquitoes flying toward the sea and marveled in amazement.

Under Ned's control,

the insects in the Tribe could roam farther.

Their range even extended beyond the coast.

The reason was simple.

Although the Rot Spirit Flower could control insects over a far greater range than Ned could,

it was rooted in the center of the island and couldn't move.

Ned could.

The range within which Rot Spirit Insects could be controlled was centered on the caster.

The insects Ned controlled could fly as far as a hundred meters from the coast where he stood.

This allowed him to make tiny Water Mosquitoes hover over the sea and detect changes in the waves.

From that, he could tell whether schools of fish or larger creatures were passing by.

Of course, he couldn't make these insects dive into the sea.

If he did, the Rot Spirit Mycelium would be corroded by the seawater and lose control of them.

One day,

as Ned held the Rot Spirit Staff and used the insects to scout the ocean, he suddenly discovered a strange new power manifesting on the staff once more.

It was different from the power to control insects he'd used before.

It was a remarkably unique, magical yet eerie ability, completely unlike anything the Rot Spirit Flower had shown before.

It was the power known as Decay.