Chapter 916 The Cursed Child’s Legend
?Long long ago, a frustrated immortal emperor terrorized the world, his tyranny horrifying every living being.
Oppressed and helpless, the subjects prayed to a higher power to have their suffering end.
Through this higher power, the subjects learned that the immortal emperor was childless. The empress was unable to conceive, and in pain, the emperor turned into a tyrant.
Once the subjects realized the problem, they went straight to the Goddess of Life.
The Goddess of Life heard the people's plight and stated, "Oh mortals, the tyrant hath wrought countless vile deeds. The weight of his malevolent karma is immense, and scant remains for salvation."
The subjects felt their hopes shatter hearing that and begged the Goddess to give them some solution.
The Goddess of Life was saddened, but could do nothing in the end, for the emperor's bad karma was too high.
In the end, feeling pity for the people, the Goddess of Life told them that there was no God that could help them, but, beyond the horizon lay the Devil of Darkness, and he cares not for karma.
The journey was dangerous, but the Devil was even more so.
The Goddess of Life suggested they mustn't go there, but the subjects knew... this was their last hope.
Thus, past the seven seas, beyond the mortal lands, the subjects journeyed, to find solution, with their hopeless hands.
As the Goddess of Life had stated, they reached the Devil of Darkness' domain, an empty, desolate, and eerie place, laying beyond the horizon.
Traversing further within this domain however, they met not with desolation, but a paradise, and then saw the very Devil of Darkness.
The Devil of Darkness welcomed the subjects and heard their plight, eventually, said with warmth, "Oh mortals, your worries have been heard. I promise you that the emperor will have a child, however, the child would be cursed because of the immense malevolent karma of the emperor. Do you still wish to let that happen?"
The subjects, thinking they had suffered enough already, and that the least the emperor could do was bear a cursed child, readily agreed with the Devil, not knowing that it was not a God, but a Devil they were dealing with.
The Devil smiled in glee—an omen the subjects were too innocent to understand.
The pact had been made, the emperor and the empress had a child.
The kingdom saw happiness for the next few years and right when joy was at its peak, the curse took effect.
The child, who was three years old and ate solid food, was in a constant state of hunger and ate food five times a day.
If even one meal was skipped, he would bawl his eyes out, worrying the emperor and the empress.
Having been blessed with a child after so many years, the immortal emperor and empress didn't think that feeding a child five times a day would be any problem, for the emperor had the whole world in his grasp and food was not a problem.
Going back, she saw the emperor in a sickly complexion and the child still eating, but with a rueful expression on his face.
It was evident that the child did not like eating, but was forced to do it by fate.
Two-thirds of the entire population was dead due to the severe oppression imposed by the emperor and the situation was really dire.
The empress, in tears, quickly got to work and cooked a hearty stew with the ingredients she had gathered and fed it to her child.
The child's curse vanished, his soul satisfied, and after years of being awake and eating continuously, he finally slept peacefully, curled up in his mother's embrace.
Only one bowl of the stew was enough for the child, but the empress had made a big pot full of it, thinking it may not be enough.
The remaining stew was used to feed the sickly emperor and the subjects, thereby having everyone become healthy and alive.
The empress then told the emperor about the wrongs he had done and as to why their child was cursed, and also about the subjects who ventured to the devil's domain.
The emperor, instead of punishing the subjects for signing a pact with the Devil, bowed and thanked them with his deepest gratitude.
The emperor vowed to never impose such tyranny and from there on, the kingdom saw nothing but joy, laughter, and peace.
The story of this cursed child became a legend and was passed down through generations upon generations, having some twists and turns added to it.
Many things were forgotten such as who the emperor, empress, the child, or the kingdom was, but the very essence of the story stayed the same, along with the riddles.
Years later, many thought of it as nothing more than an ancient folklore and this legend was buried deep under the wheel of time.
.....
"...so, that was the story." Miguel turned around and said with a calm expression, only to feel surprised.
Among the four, the only one listening was Ralph, sitting on the ground cross-legged, while the rest were sleeping with their heads on his lap, snoring even.
"When did they sleep?" Miguel couldn't help but ask.
"The moment you turned around, Chef." Ralph answered.
"So from the very start!?!" Miguel was shocked! "Where's Juan, did he—"
"Chef Juan had work and left." Ralph answered again, with a calm expression on his face.
"Sigh... Are you guys even taking it seriously?" Miguel asked.
"Don't worry about it, Chef. Just tell us what to do."
Miguel sighed again. "Wake them up, I'll give the final instructions on the last quest."