Omniscient POV
Arsalan was taken to the hospital, where his grandmother was admitted. The officer accompanied him there.
On the bed lay an old woman in her late fifties, but the chemo and other treatments had taken such a toll on her that she looked far older and severely weakened.
Her skin had lost its luster, her hair was gone, and she breathed heavily with the help of life support.
When Arsalan entered the room, he saw another old man standing beside her.
"Are you Komori-san?" the officer asked.
[A/N: Komori can mean Guardians of the Tree.]
"Yes. You spoke with me on the phone," the old man replied before turning his eyes to Arsalan.
His gaze was sharp and unfriendly. "So, you're Maya's kid. Sit over there. Your grandma's sleeping because of the medication, but she'll wake up soon."
Arsalan sat silently, his eyes fixed on the frail woman lying on the bed. Even though he was seeing her for the first time, he could spot similarities between her and his mother. The thought made his eyes grow wet.
The old man stepped outside to speak with the officer. A few minutes later, the officer returned to Arsalan.
"Take this card. It has my number on it. Use it if you need anything. I'll come again later. Take care, kid," he said before leaving.
He had already handed Arsalan over to his guardians, but he planned to make follow-up visits just to be sure. Arsalan nodded quietly.
After the officer left, the old man came back in and sat beside him, studying him with curious eyes.
"I'm your grandma's cousin, Hiro Komori. I've been the one handling her medical care. Did your parents tell you anything before they came here?" he asked.
Arsalan looked at him blankly, unsure what he meant. The old man clicked his tongue in irritation.
"Don't you have any family in London? At the very least, I can arrange for you to go back there if you want," he said.
Arsalan shook his head. He had no one.
The old man sighed loudly, rubbing his temples as if a headache was forming. "We still have some time before your grandma wakes up, so let's talk. Tell me about yourself."
But the conversation didn't go smoothly. Arsalan looked exhausted and crushed by everything that had happened. Seeing this, the old man tried a different question.
"Do you know why your mother never came to visit her before?" he asked, making Arsalan lift his head to look at him.
"This family is cursed. A lot of bad things have happened because of that damned tree," he said with irritation, making Arsalan curious.
"It's an evil tree, I tell you! No matter what, stay away from that damned thing," Komori warned with a serious face.
"Don't scare him like that. And it's not a cursed tree," came a weak, struggling voice. Both of them turned to see Arsalan's grandmother looking at them.
"You know damn well it is. Look at what happened to Maya and her husband. Look at what happened to you," Komori shot back, clearly displeased.
"It had nothing to do with the accident. And my illness has nothing to do with it either. Just because something bad happens doesn't mean you need to find something to blame," she said.
"Heh, suit yourself. Just keep the kid away from your nonsense. Otherwise, he'll end up running away as Maya did," Komori said as he stood to leave.
Grandma's expression tightened with sadness at the words. She already knew what had happened to her daughter and son-in-law—Komori had told her, despite the doctors advising against it.
He argued she wasn't so weak, and it would be worse if she broke down in front of the child.
"I'll go out for a smoke. You talk to your grandkid," Komori said.
"Didn't you quit smoking? Your lungs aren't doing that well," Grandma reminded him.
"Shut it. I'm still doing better than you," he grumbled as he walked out.
"He may seem harsh, but he isn't a bad person," Grandma said softly. She extended her hand toward Arsalan. "I am Sumiko Komori, your grandmother. Come here, let me take a good look at you."
Arsalan stepped closer. She cupped his face gently, her hands soft as they brushed over his cheeks and hair.
"You have your mother's eyes. I still can't believe you inherited her heterochromia. She always said she loved how unique her eyes were," his grandmother said.
Arsalan nodded, remembering the times his mother told him how happy she was that he had her eyes.
"What does your name mean? I'm afraid I'm not very familiar with foreign names," says Grandma.
"Mom used to say Arsalan means 'fearless.' Adeon comes from the Latin word 'adeo,' which means 'toward divinity,' and Arvendis's 'Arv' means 'heir' in Old Norse," says Arsalan.
"It's a good name. I can imagine how much she must have thought before choosing it," says Grandma.
After that, the two of them slowly began talking more and more, freely, especially about their lives. At some point, both broke down in tears.
"I am really sorry. I truly am. I was never a good mother. If only I had realized it sooner, your mother wouldn't have left me," says Grandma as she breaks down.
They stayed hugging for a long time. But at one point, while crying, Arsalan lifted his T-shirt to wipe his eyes. In that moment, Grandma's eyes caught sight of the golden tree tattoo on his chest.
"Ars, why do you have that tattoo? Maya never liked it, so she wouldn't have put it on you," says Grandma.
Ars was what his parents and close friends used to call him, and he had asked her to call him that, too.
"This? I don't know. I already had it when I woke up in the hospital. Same with this crest on my hand," says Arsalan, lifting his T-shirt again and showing his left arm.
Sumiko didn't know anything about the red crest on his hand, but she definitely knew about the tattoo on his chest.
It was the beginning of everything, and it was recorded in her family's history. She never thought she would see it in her lifetime.
But if it was real, it explained how Ars survived the plane crash without a single injury. Nothing else could explain such a miracle.
"Do you know why Maya ran away from home?" she asked. Ars shook his head.
"For six thousand years, our family has been guarding the World Tree. It is our duty to look after it. In return, it blesses and protects those who believe in it.
But for the last few hundred years, no one was born with the Guardian's Crest to prove its authenticity.
Because of that, belief in it declined, and people started calling it superstition. As a result, its blessings and protection were withdrawn.
Your mother and I were the same. Worse, I even tried to use it for my own greed. Your mother didn't like what I had become and ran away from home.
Every part of the tree has medicinal properties. If I hadn't eaten its leaf, I wouldn't have survived cancer for so long. By the time I regretted my decisions, it was far too late," says Grandma.
"Retracts its blessing and protection? Does that mean it kills them? Did it kill my parents?" asks Ars, his tone dangerous. That was the first thing that came to his mind.
"No! It's not an evil being. It doesn't harm people just because they don't believe in it. But it protects those who do, with good intentions, even performing miracles like what happened to you.
Though it has its own priorities and limits, it will decide how far it will go for those it protects. Not everyone is equal to it," says Grandma, trying to calm him.
Ars didn't look convinced. An adult might question its authenticity, but a child doesn't question much.
And he already knew that surviving that devastating crash was nothing short of a miracle. It doesn't take an adult to understand that. After all, Ars had almost died there.
"The Guardians should have tattoos like yours. And they should be connected to the World Tree itself. At least that's what the book about our lineage says," says Grandma.
"What are you telling the child?! Are you out of your mind?!" yells Komori as he rushes in and sees what's happening.
Sumiko and Hiro shout at each other for a while. After that, Hiro takes Ars to Sumiko's house to stay. His own house was nearby as well. The sun was already setting.
Sumiko's house looked like an old Japanese shrine. Behind it stood a massive, beautiful tree. Its leaves were a vibrant green, and golden lines ran through the leaves, the branches, and the trunk.
"It's that accursed tree. Don't go near it. Find yourself a room. I'll go buy you some food and see if I can find a housekeeper to help you," says Hiro as he heads out.
On the way here, they had passed by his own home. Hiro lived alone after separating from his wife and children, and most of the time, he wasn't even there.
So it was better for Ars to stay at his grandma's house instead of a place that clearly needed serious care.
His hatred for the tree was clear in his voice, and it wasn't without reason. He partly blamed it for his current situation. To him, it really was a curse.
When they arrived, Hiro also explained to Ars how his grandma had lost most of her inheritance to her treatment. Now, all she had left was this house and the damned tree.
She hadn't wanted to rely on it, but she used it in hopes of living long enough to see her daughter again and ask for forgiveness—something she never got the chance to receive.
As Hiro left, Ars looked around the place. Dust covered everything, and it clearly needed cleaning. The house had several small rooms, more than he expected.
Behind it, the massive tree had its roots and branches spread across the house, almost as if it were enveloping it.
The kitchen still had gas, and the house still had electricity and water. Ars turned on the stove, lit some papers with the flame, and began throwing the burning pieces at the massive ancient tree.
[A/N: How is the chapter? Leave a comment. Add this fic to your collections and donate as many power stones as you can. This fic really needs all the support it can get.
Ars can speak both English and Japanese. His father was English, and his mother was Japanese.
How many of you want Hayasaka Nao (Hayasaka Ai's mother from Kaguya-sama) to work part-time as the housekeeper?
I know this chapter was short and simple, but I'll try to finish this part in the next chapter. After that, we'll timeskip to his 18-year-old self and jump into the Danmachi canon. I'm a slow writer, but I hope you'll enjoy it. Feel free to read my other fics and join my Discord.
https://discord.com/invite/TpZWKss5bj
WebNovel has shadowbanned all my pics. I really don't know why! I will upload them again on discord. So, check it out.
Ars's main power will be Perfect Replication.
Should he join Demeter's Familia (since his power is tree-related)? Or Hestia's?]