?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.
However, the emperor could not be any more wrong.
As the child grew, the quantity and the amount of times he ate food increased.
By the time the child was four years old, he had to be fed every single hour, which turned into every half an hour, then into every ten minutes, and then…
The child, by the time he was four and a half years old, was in a state where he ate with every single breath he took.
There was nothing else the child did other than eat and this worried the emperor and the empress greatly.
Eventually, the emperor ordered all his subjects to do nothing but cook food for his child and the joy the kingdom saw vanished.
The tyranny began again and people worked without any breaks.
The child's stomach was a bottomless abyss and no matter how much he was fed, it was never enough.
Before things turned for worse, the empress, after a quick discussion with the emperor, left on a quest to find a cure for their child.
The emperor could not leave the kingdom as there could be an uprising from the people and many other struggles. There also had to be someone taking care of the child, so both of them couldn't leave together.
The empress journeyed in search of a cure for her distressed child. Time was ticking and any delay would lead to big disasters.
Even after many days of travel, the empress found nothing. Dejected and depressed, she sat by a river illuminated with a blue fluorescence, hugging her knees and crying.
As if the heavens had heard her distress, from the river emerged out a deity, asking the empress why she was so sad.
The empress narrated her plight and after listening to it, the deity explained what all things had transpired prior to her child's birth.
The deity also gave the empress a solution to her problems, after all, there was no way the heavens were unjust and wouldn't leave out a door open for a problem.
They weren't solutions per se, but riddles, which the empress had to solve on her own, for there was no easy path as the sins of the emperor were way too high and the empress had to share the bad karma with him.
The riddles the deity gave were as follows:
"To quell the child's hunger, seek the whispering herbs that dance beneath the moon's silver gaze."
"Venture where the river serpent guards the essence of earth's heart. Blend the whispers with tears of the river serpent's laughter."
"In the meadows where dawn's breath kisses the earth, secrets unfold in petals of gold. Born from the first light's tender embrace, they guard the essence of daybreak's grace."
"In the caverns where whispers echo, find the gem that cradles the fire's glow. Amidst the silent stones, it slumbers deep, a treasure guarded by shadows' keep."
"Seek the southern reaches, where the sun bids farewell to the day. A hidden entrance unveils the path; venture with courage and the gem will reveal its warmth."
The empress embarked on a journey once again, now having clues to the cure for her child.
The path was filled with challenges, but traversing through all adversities, the empress gathered all the ingredients the deity spoke about and returned to the kingdom.
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."