One of the bandits struggled to stand.

He wanted to shake off Taesan's control and escape.

But it was impossible. He couldn’t even stand, let alone breathe normally.

'What… is this!'

The man was terrified.

They weren’t weak. The fact that they collected tolls in broad daylight implied that they had the strength to evade anyone who came to hunt them.

But against Taesan, their strength was meaningless.

“Don’t be too afraid. Answer properly, and I’ll let you go.”

Taesan spoke calmly.

To them, his relaxed tone sounded like the voice of death.

He started questioning them, and they answered fervently, fearing for their lives.

In the end, Taesan managed to gather some useful information.

“So he’s called the cursed child.”

The child with divine blood—he was widely known as someone cursed by all things.

The reason was simple.

Wherever he went, everything around him withered and decayed.

If he stayed in a village, the village would be ruined. Buildings collapsed, and people died mysteriously.

If he stayed in a forest, the forest would wither. Lakes dried up, and vegetation shriveled.

And through it all, the cursed child remained unscathed.

“When everyone was baffled and terrified, the Emperor himself declared an edict. He said that the boy is cursed by all things and that his very existence brings ruin to the world.”

“The Emperor?”

“The ruler of the Holy Empire, who has dominated this world for ages. He is also the Apostle of the God of Order. He is a being beyond human limits.”

The bandit spoke of the Emperor with reverence, almost as if he were a god.

“The Emperor is the ruler of this world. His words are law. That’s why we call the boy a cursed child and avoid him.”

Taesan pondered the explanation.

He then asked the bandits another question.

“So, this curse only activates after a day?”

“Yes… Until now, the curse has always struck if the cursed child stayed in one place for over a day.”

“What about those who continue to follow him as he moves?”

“There isn’t any information on that…”

Following the cursed child wasn’t something anyone dared to try.

The bandit glanced at Taesan with uncertainty.

The information he’d shared was common knowledge.

But Taesan had asked as if he was completely unfamiliar with it.

While the bandit was still wondering about Taesan’s identity, Taesan waved his hand.

“That’s enough. Now, get lost.”

“Th-thank you!”

Not sure if Taesan would really spare them, the bandit scrambled to his feet and fled. The rest of the bandits quickly followed.

“Does the bearer of divine blood truly have such a curse?”

[Hmm… I’m not sure either. There’s so little information. It’s possible, but for the bearer of divine blood to be uninjured?]

The ghost was equally uncertain. Taesan decided to stay by the boy and observe.

The child hadn’t gone far. Taesan caught up with him in only a couple of steps, positioning himself in front of the boy.

“Huh?”

The boy’s eyes widened as Taesan blocked his path.

“W-weren’t you leaving?”

“I just heard about you from those men.”

“Oh… so you didn’t know about me.”

The boy looked relieved, assuming Taesan had only stayed by his side because he hadn’t known about the curse.

“I bring suffering and death to everything around me just by existing. So, please, keep your distance.”

With that, the boy tried to continue walking.

But Taesan followed right behind him.

“Uh…”

“Where are you headed?”

“Wh-what?”

The boy stammered, startled by Taesan’s question.

“…I’m going through the vast forest… to Rekrezen.”

“Then let’s go together.”

“Huh?”

The boy looked horrified.

“You’ll be cursed if you stay near me! You have to keep your distance!”

“I’m strong,” Taesan replied calmly.

“In this world, there’s no being who could curse me.”

“Uh…”

The boy didn’t seem to believe him.

But Taesan was being truthful. In battle, maybe he’d face difficulty, but he could easily brush off curses.

“So, let’s go together.”

---

The boy tried desperately to shake Taesan off after that.

He tried talking him out of it and even attempted to hide.

But none of it worked. Taesan didn’t listen to the boy’s words and easily found him wherever he hid.

In the end, the boy gave up.

“If you get cursed, it’s not my fault.”

Taesan walked with the boy, who kept as much distance as possible.

It was a wide path, so there were quite a few people traveling along it.

“Ah!”

“It’s the cursed child…”

As people recognized the boy, they recoiled in horror.

They looked at him as if he were some kind of monster.

The boy accepted their looks with quiet resignation.

He kept walking, and night soon fell. He stumbled into the forest, looking for a place to rest.

The boy lay down on a patch of relatively soft grass.

Just then, his stomach growled loudly.

“…”

The boy’s face flushed with embarrassment.

Taesan, observing him, turned and walked into the forest.

“Oh…”

The boy instinctively started to call after him but stopped himself.

If Taesan left him, it would be for the best. Reassuring himself, he lay back down.

But Taesan returned soon after.

“Huh?”

The boy’s eyes widened in surprise.

In Taesan’s hands was a deer.

Taesan tossed it to the ground and waved his hand, igniting it in flames. The meat slowly started to cook, crackling softly.

“Oh…”

The boy stared, mesmerized.

He was weak and slow, unable to catch agile wild animals. He mostly survived on roots and fruits, with only the occasional fish.

But now, real meat was cooking right before him.

Watching the boy’s intense gaze, Taesan spoke.

“Eat.”

“…Are you sure?”

“I brought it for you.”

“Th-thank you!”

The boy immediately leaned in to eat but quickly recoiled as the hot meat burned him. Undeterred, he blew on it and tried again.

Taesan flicked his hand, summoning a breeze to cool the meat to an edible temperature.

The boy devoured the food eagerly.

Soon, drowsiness overcame him, and he collapsed, falling into a deep sleep.

Taesan gathered some wood to build a fire.

A gentle breeze helped ensure the boy slept comfortably.

The boy’s face looked more at peace.

---

The next morning, the boy’s eyes widened in shock when he saw Taesan, completely unharmed.

“Huh? Huh?”

Every place the boy had stayed in for over a day had fallen into ruin.

But here was Taesan, after more than a day at his side, completely unscathed.

“How…”

“I told you. I’m strong,” Taesan replied.

“A curse like yours won’t harm me.”

“Oh…”

The boy was at a loss.

This was the first time he’d experienced anything like this, and it left him deeply confused.

But a spark of life appeared in his eyes.

As they walked again, the distance between the boy and Taesan was closer than it had been the day before.

The boy began talking non-stop, and Taesan replied when appropriate.

“I once managed to catch a squirrel, and I was so happy to have some meat. But then I saw its babies and couldn’t go through with it.”

“I still can’t tell which mushrooms are edible. I’m never quite sure.”

“This road must have taken a long time to build. So many people must have worked on it.”

The boy’s words kept flowing, as though he hadn’t spoken to anyone in a long time and wanted to make up for it.

They continued on until night fell again. The boy fought to stay awake, his head nodding sleepily.

“If you’re tired, sleep.”

“N-no… I still have so much to say…”

He stubbornly fought against his exhaustion.

He tried to share all his experiences, the surprising things he’d encountered—anything that came to mind.

He was starved for human interaction and wanted to continue talking.

Unlike the Princess Anetsha of Bekweseta, who was also a child but raised with the poise of royalty, this boy was still just a child in every sense.

That’s why, even as he tried to push Taesan away, he couldn’t fully commit. And once he realized that Taesan was immune to his curse, he opened up completely.

Taesan asked him a question.

“Is there any reason you have to throw your life away?”

“…”

The boy fell silent at Taesan’s question.

“No.”

He shook his head.

“I shouldn’t be alive in this world. Offering myself to His Majesty the Emperor is the only way I and this world can be saved.”

The boy spoke with unwavering conviction, as if there was no alternative.

Taesan pressed on.

“Why do you have to offer yourself to the Emperor?”

“Only His Majesty can contain my curse.”

The boy replied bitterly.

“I even went to a temple to learn about my curse. His Majesty personally prayed to the gods to understand it. They said I was cursed from birth, and I can’t even die freely.”

If he died, his curse would spread, tormenting all life. But if he stayed alive, everything around him would wither.

“Only the Emperor can handle this curse. I shouldn’t exist.”

The boy clenched his fists.

His hands trembled slightly.

“This journey is for him.”

The boy drifted off to sleep with a sorrowful expression.

Taesan stoked the fire thoughtfully.

‘A choice.’

What outcome was the God

 of Choices hoping for?

Taesan looked up at the night sky, dotted with countless stars.

After a moment, he spoke softly.

“Be gone.”

[You have activated Declaration of Isolation.]

The air around him twisted, blocking out the watching presence.

The oppressive gaze faded, replaced by a sense of bewilderment and anger.

There was no longer any trace of it. Taesan continued to tend to the fire.

---

The boy eventually muttered, “We’re here…”

He gazed into a massive forest. It was a beautiful place, teeming with life, and he walked in with a heavy heart.

“Rekrezen, the vast forest. Do you know anything about it?”

“No.”

“It’s a beloved forest, where various plants and animals have thrived for a long time. And now… I’m going to…”

He clenched his fists and walked deeper into the forest.

As they entered the untouched inner parts, the terrain grew more rugged. Eventually, a sharp leaf cut his arm.

“Ouch!”

Blue blood trickled from the boy’s wound.

He continued forward with a sorrowful expression.

Taesan plucked the blood-stained leaf and kept it.

“When I vowed to sacrifice myself, a prophecy was given. To become a worthy sacrifice, I must pass these trials, understanding who I am and how twisted my fate is.”

The boy reached the forest's center and sat down.

“To stay in Rekrezen for a day—that’s the first trial.”

If the boy stayed in one place for a day, the area would supposedly wither.

The boy spoke with a pained look.

“Please… leave. I don’t know how you’ve avoided the curse, but it’s different this time.”

Even the boy didn’t understand why Taesan was unaffected.

But this time, he was certain. Every place he’d stayed in for over a day had turned to ruin, and he doubted this time would be different.

“No.”

Taesan shook his head. The boy, conflicted yet grateful, looked at Taesan.

“…Thank you for staying with me.”

He lowered his head quietly.

Time passed.

The boy spent the day listlessly, picking at the food Taesan had brought and lying quietly.

A full day went by.

Birds chirped, water flowed nearby, and leaves rustled in the wind.

The forest was peaceful.

“What?”

The boy’s eyes widened in disbelief.