That morning, Daren woke up late. He had gotten used to waking up to the sound of Landor sharpening his axes. He looked around and saw that Landor wasn't there. He walked out of the hut, and Landor still wasn't there. Daren began panicking.
He went around the village asking if the warriors had returned. Most ignored him, but finally, one of them replied, "The warriors haven't returned yet. It's normal for them not to return on the same day sometimes."
Daren finally calmed down a little. He returned to the hut and decided to follow his routine. Yes, he would keep himself busy until Landor returned. He completed his morning workout and ate the last of the leftover food as breakfast. He sat down to meditate but had trouble focusing.
'What if I'm really cursed and Uncle Landor died because of me? Just like Mom and Dad? Will he leave me as well? No, Daren, you can't think like that. Remember what Uncle Landor said. You're not cursed. You are not cursed.'
With that, he finally forced himself to calm down. He summoned his Anima and began sensing the ambient essence. A little later, he heard something and opened his eyes. It was Landor. He had returned. He breathed a long sigh of relief and said, "You're late."
Landor, noticing the sigh, smiled and said, "What? Were you worried about me?"
"Of course not," Daren replied and closed his eyes again to resume his meditation. He heard Landor say, "Oh, and here I thought you'd be worried, so I brought something for you."
Daren heard something being dragged in. He was about to say something, but he felt his Anima shift. Landor brought in an entire Beast corpse that he had left outside the hut to surprise Daren. But he ended up being the surprised one. Because as soon as he brought the corpse inside, he saw that a bunch of Daren's Anima's hanging roots stretched and rushed towards the corpse.
They tried piercing it but were unable to. Just as he was about to react, one of the roots entered one of the various wounds the beast had received. Seeing this as a sign, the rest of the roots also entered the other wounds. Daren gasped, "Wha-!"
A strange scene unfolded in front of Landor. It was as horrifying as it was beautiful. The corpse visibly shrank and turned into a husk. At the same time, the violet buds bloomed into flowers he had never seen before.
They were not small, timid blossoms, but long clusters that hung like jewelled chains from the roots. Each cluster was made of dozens of delicate petals, shaped like butterflies in mid-flight.
The flowers poured downward in a cascade, swaying gently as though moved by a breeze only they could feel. Their colour was a deep, velvety violet at the base, fading into a softer lavender halfway through—only to end in a startling crimson at the tips.
The petals looked as if they had been dipped in fresh blood, the red deepening the closer one looked, as though the flower itself drank life to bloom. A faint sheen glimmered on their surface, catching the light like silk spun from moonlight. The air filled with a fragrance that was sweet yet heavy, lingering with an unsettling weight.
Landor calmed a shaky breath and muttered, "That is no ordinary banyan tree."
At the same time, Daren could feel changes happening inside his body. He felt euphoric. Warm currents swam throughout his body, and he felt strength filling his muscles at an unnatural speed. There was a small click inside his abdomen, and he felt his essence reserves increase. He had broken through. He was now a Level 3 Anima Novice.
But reality hit. He saw Landor looking at the flowers with both awe and a hint of fear. He stuttered, "Un-Uncle Landor, I don't know–"
Landor interrupted him and said, "We'll talk later."
Currently, Landor had other matters to attend to. The other warriors who lived nearby had witnessed everything. He ran out of the hut and saw that a small crowd had gathered. He could already hear them talking in low voices.
"Hey, did you see that?"
"I'm not imagining things, am I? Withered Roots' Anima, it drained that corpse."
"Did you see the pretty flowers that bloomed?"
"But does Daren's Anima really have such strange abilities?"
Landor had to deal with this. Fast. Or this could very easily turn into a witch hunt. One of the stronger-looking warriors came forward and said, "Landor, you just saw what happened. The boy is not stable. We must take him to the Chief. Only he can make a decision now."
Landor replied, "Maro, whether the boy is stable or not is none of your concern. He is my ward. I will handle it as I see fit."
But Maro wasn't ready to back down. He said, "What if those cursed roots of his drain a villager? What will you do then? No, we must take him the the Village Chief. Only he can decide the boy's fate."
Maro moved towards the hut. At least he tried to. But he felt something grab his throat. He tried to get rid of it, but his efforts were for nought. He struggled to open his eyes and saw that Landor was gripping his throat.
He remembered the warrior's fearsome first Anima Skill. The same one that allowed him to wrestle with humans and beasts alike. Iron Bark. He heard something whisper in his ear, "Don't. You. Dare."
Just then, Landor heard the Elder's voice, "Landor, enough. Anymore, and he will die."
Landor glanced at the Elder and let go of Maro. Maro dropped to the ground, heaving and coughing. Landor walked to the Elder and asked, "Are you here for the boy as well?"
The Elder wanted to say yes, but he saw something in Landor's eyes that made him change his mind. He said, "No. But we will need to discuss this situation with the Village Chief. While Maro's methods were wrong, his heart was in the right place.
After all, fear spreads faster than reason. We just manage it. Of course, since you have accepted the boy as your ward, you may accompany us in his stead. After all, all of us only want what's right for the village."
Landor looked at the man in front of him. He was old, his back hunched. He couldn't even walk without his staff. Yet the older man's eyes held authority. Landor realised that he didn't have a choice. It was either this or abandoning the village. He sighed and said, "Very well. Lead the way."
Even though he had just returned, Landor felt as if he was going back to the forest. Only this time, he wasn't the hunter.