Landor continued, "I've heard some details from the villagers, but I want to hear from you."
Daren replied, "As you've heard. I am a Gemini Anima User. My first Anima is my body. And the second one is a banyan tree. But it's a little different from a normal banyan."
Landor said, "Let's talk about the Body Anima first. Which part of your body is the Anima?"
"It's my whole body," replied Daren. Landor looked at him for a second and said, "Are you sure? Your whole body? Muscles, bones, organs, etc?"
Daren nodded. He then told him how it had felt when he had sensed the Anima in his hut. Landor nodded and muttered, "There is hope for him still."
"Let's go outside. Let me see this different banyan tree of yours," Landor said with curiosity.
Daren nodded and moved out of the hut. He then summoned his Banyan Tree Anima. Although he was a little hesitant at first, given what he had gone through while cultivating, he obliged under Landor's encouraging gaze.
The tree appeared behind him, its hanging roots adorned with unbloomed wisteria buds. Landor first observed the tree, walking all around it. Then he touched the trunk, the hanging roots, and even the wisteria buds.
"I see the problem now," he said. Daren looked at him attentively. Landor continued, "You almost died because of three reasons. First, your body is too weak. You're malnourished.
Second, your Innate essence is too low. Lower than what it should have been. You should have had at least Level 3 or even Level 4 Innate Essence."
Daren pouted. Level 3 or 4 wasn't much better, was it?
"Don't think that's low. That's great for Gemini Anima Users like yourself. Your current Innate Essence is only Level 2 because you have two Anima. If you only had one Anima, your current Innate Essence would be Level 4. Your current essence reserves probably match that," Landor chuckled as he explained.
Daren was shocked. He didn't know if the last part was true or not, as he had nobody to compare himself to. He asked, "Then wouldn't Gemini Anima Users with more Innate Essence more than Level 5…?"
Landor replied, "Oh yeah, they are absolute monsters. But coming back to you, your body most likely used its Innate Essence to survive the malnutrition instead of nourishing your Anima.
Hence, the cracked and dry trunk, the weak roots, and the unbloomed flowers. Though it is quite intriguing. Flowers on roots, what a novel concept. What were your parents' Anima?"
"My mother had a Body Anima, her hands. And my father had a Plant Anima, a banyan tree," Daren replied sadly. Landor put his hand on Daren's shoulder and said, "You can't bring them back. But you can ensure that you never tarnish their memory."
Daren said, "But I have already done that. I'm Daren Withered Roots, the cursed child."
Landor shook his head and said, "You are not cursed. The only ones cursed are the ones who gave you that awful moniker. Cursed with cowardice and narrow-minded cruelty. Always remember that."
Daren looked at Landor with slightly wet eyes and asked, "Uncle Landor, why are you being so nice to me?"
Landor was silent for a moment. Then he replied, "I don't know. Maybe I sympathise with you. I also lost my family to the beasts. Or maybe you remind me of my children. They, too, would have awakened their Anima this year. They were twins, you see."
Landor then shook his head and said, "Let's leave that. Coming to the third reason, your Anima are going in two opposite directions, even though their destination is the same."
"What do you mean?" Daren asked. Landor replied, "Your body wants to heal, while your tree wants to grow. They have the same goal: regaining what has been lost. But they are fighting with each other for your essence. To compensate for that, you end up with much more essence that you can safely absorb and refine."
"Does that mean that I'll never be able to cultivate?" Daren asked downcastedly. Landor replied, "No, you can cultivate. Without it killing you."
Daren looked at Landor hopefully as he continued, "When I was young, I once travelled to the Free Territories with the merchants. My father said that it would be a good experience and would help broaden my horizons. And I learned something there. We Plant Anima Users, we're pretty respected."
"Uncle Landor, you're also a Plant Anima User?" Daren asked. Landor replied, "What, you thought that I would have a Beast or an Armament Anima just because I'm a warrior?"
Landor chuckled, and an extremely tall tree appeared behind him. The most striking thing about it was its steel-like trunk. Landor said, "This is my Anima, the Iron Oak. I have a body of steel, quite literally."
His left chest glowed through his clothes, and his skin turned a grey colour. He clapped his hands, and Daren heard a metallic clang. "But as I was saying, Plant Anima Users are respected.
There are two reasons for that. First, most Plant Anima Users become healers, just like your father. Second, unlike plants, we don't take from the earth.
We return. We take the excess essence that we cannot absorb and return it to the earth through our roots. Of course, that takes a lot of practice and sufficient strength. But you can imagine how important that can become for an organisation." Landor's skin turned back to normal as he explained.
Daren asked, "But how does that help me?"
Landor gave him a mysterious smile as he said, "Daren, let your tree spread its roots throughout your body. Let it become the earth that it nourishes. At least that is our eventual goal. You will need to strengthen your Banyan Tree Anima sufficiently before you can do that.
You will probably need to wait until you absorb your first Origin Bead. And, you must promise me that you will not attempt this method before that. Until then, you have to choose an Anima to major in. If you do, I will tell you a secret later. Something immensely beneficial to you."
Daren replied, "I promise, Uncle Landor."