1 The newest addition to the Arc household

Remnant is a wondrous place where the forces of light and darkness are in an constant struggle against each other.

The grimm, soulless creatures made of pure darkness with the sole purpose of destroying all sentient life on remnant and the huntsmen, symbols of hope and courage that stand as the protectors of the humans and faunus that inhabit the land are in a fierce and endless struggle for generations.

But in this desolate and forsaken place which was abandoned by its very gods, an event that could change the outcome of this ancient war and the fate of remnant itself is about to take place.

A coincidence, a fluke, a scenario with such an abysmal likelihood of happening that not even the brother gods or any of the place's inhabitants could have foreseen.

And it all starts on a ordinary day like any other...

...

On the continent of Anima, located in a remote village that was far away from the kingdom of mistral, the hub of civilization on the continent and the place which the most inhabitants are gathered.

It was a sunny day, the climate was warm and pleasant as the spring season brought with it life to all the vegetation and filled the forests with lush green.

The village was called Ansel, and it was made up of an small farming community in wich its population doesn't exceed a hundred inhabitants.

Among the many simple houses and small business that dotted the place, stood a very large and rustic building that stand in contrast to the minimalistic architecture of all the surrounding buildings, showing it to have a much richer history that seemed to have preceeded the village itself.

On the front of the building, there was an symbol engraved on entrance which depicted two arcs on top of one another and beneath it was written: 'Arc household'.

But the tranquil atmosphere that permeated the rest of the village was nowhere to be seen in that specific house as only worry, tension and pain seemed to emanate from inside the building.

If you were to come close enough, it would even be possible to hear terrifying howls of agony coming from inside the house in short intervals.

The sounds were coming from an bedroom inside the house, in it it could be seen three women. One was laying on a bed, her expression was giving away all the pain and exhaustion that she was currently enduring, the second was a much older women that carried herself with a very calm demeanor that seemed to put everyone that looked at her at ease and the last one was a girl that was clearly the youngest and it showed through her uncomfortable expression and how nervous she was acting.

And the reason that those three women were currently on that room must be very obvious by now, one of them was going through labor and the other two were helping her through it.

The woman who was currently lying down, despite all the pain she was going through showed no signs of fear, apprehension or doubt, considering how well she has been following the instructions she was being given and how composed she was, it would be safe to assume that this was not the first pregnancy that she has gone through.

The old lady, which would stay in the bedside and occasionally offer advice and guidance whenever necessary seemed to be in her depth. Even if the women that was giving birth showed that she was already experienced on the procedure, she was still miles apart from the sheer experience that she has accumulated over her long life.

The third woman in turn seemed to be the most out of her depth of the three, but it didn't stop her from following the older women's instructions to the letter and helping the one on the bed by drying her sweat with a towel and offering all the moral support she could.

The procedure has already been going for a few hours and it was now finally nearing its end, that was when the older woman spoke in a calm and unhurried manner: "Come on deary, just one more push and it will be finally over, just take a deep breath and push with all your strength."

The younger woman which was currently holding the laying woman's hand also quickly added: "Don't worry, everything will be fine, you can count on us."

The laboring woman shows a small smile after hearing that "worry?" She scoffs "I'm not worried, just excited to finally meet my son. My husband and I have been wanting to have a son for a long time and now our dream is finally coming true."

Taking a deep breath, she than lets out one last scream "Aaargh!" as she summons all her remaining strength to finally free the baby from her womb. The old lady meanwhile was already positioned between her legs and was ready to recieve the baby as soon as it came out, which she did.

The younger woman was wincing at the mother's crushing grip, but soon the mother runs out of strength and lays motionless on the bed as she hurries to offer any aid she can to the totally spent mother.

As soon as the baby comes out, the older woman skillfully picks it up using a towel and cuts the umbilical cord which is still attached to it in one fluid motion before using the towel to wrap the baby and gently start to clean it up.

Her name is Emma, and she is known throughout the village as the most skilled midwife and the one responsible for more than few dozen births on this village, seven of which being from the woman she is currently helping, this being the 8th child the Arc family is having, from where the mother and her husband pull so much excitement Emma doesn't know nor is going to ask.

All this years acting as a midwife in countless births, she has become quite perceptive and is very quick to find a problem whenever there is one, and now she is facing a big and very obvious problem.

Ever since the baby came out it hasn't let out a single squeak and has been mostly motionless.

Fearing for the worst, Emma starts to check the baby only to find out that he is not breathing nor can she feel the beating of its little heart.

Using of her vast experience, she wipes clean the infant and proceeds to try and perform the standard resuscitation procedures for babies, using her fingers she gently presses the baby's chest in short intervals in order to try to get some oxygen to fill its lungs, but it was for nothing as the the baby refused to show any reaction.

After coming to a realization, she has a chill spread through her spine while she quickly starts churning her head in order to find the best way to break the news.

The woman on the bed is too weak to notice anything but the one on her side quickly notices the grim expression of the midwife and quickly asks: "What is wrong? Why are you making that face." The woman on the bed also perks up after hearing the question and awaits patiently for an answer.

With a long sigh, Emma decides to be truthful and replies: "The baby is too quiet, it has already been a minute but the it refuses to make any sound or show any movement." She then takes a deep breath before revealing "I think it is dead"

The woman on the bedside which is called Camille and is a neighbor and longtime friend of the Arcs has her face lose all its color becoming sickeningly pale while her conciousness starts to feel faint. But she snaps out of it as she feels her hand be squeezed by her friend's showing that she very much heard what the midwife said.

The women himself being the one with the worst reaction as she finally completely collapses without a inch of strength and starts to silently cry and lets out a few pitiful whimpers as she stares at her son's motionless body unable to utter a single word.

...

But unseen to any of the occupants of the room, the space near them starts to ripple before a crack is formed and it continues to spread until the very space appears to buckle and break leaving a small hole that is inperceptible to the eye and from it leaves a small white wisp before closing off once again.

This wisp that looks like a small white flame than starts to roam around the room aimlessly before stopping near the stillborn baby, as it starts to flicker out and it becomes closer and closer to being completely extinguished.

And from the baby, a few flickers of light emerge showing many smaller flames that are identical to the one that aproached it. That is his soul, broken and fragmented and as it leaves its body the soul fragments are attracted to the soul that came from the space fracture and start gathering near it.

The Wayward soul than starts to without any hesitation absorb the fragments of the baby's soul becoming bigger and burning much brighter and more vigorous.

But then, as soon as the last shard is absorbed, the Wayward soul found itself being pulled into the baby's body by a unknown force and before long the soul entered the body that has become an empty vessel, merging with it.

...

After the shocking revelation, the room became completely silent with only the sound of sobs permeating trough there.

But the silence was interrupted when Emma asked: "Do you wish for me to inform your husband of what happened?" She knew that it wouldn't improve anything but it was something that had to be done nonetheless.

Camille than looked at her friend while trying to comfort her as best she can and all the grieving mother could do was weakly nod whilst still looking devastated and with a far away gaze.

But before the midwife could leave, she still managed to say a few words, despite them being quiet and being muffled by the sobs that permeated in the bedroom.

"Can- Can I at least hold my son before that?" Emma immediately complied to the request and brought the child close so that it could be held by its mother at least once.

But, while the three of them were distracted with their own grief, the baby's deathly pale complexity was becoming gradually more rosy, the body temperature was steadily rising and its breathing and heartbeat were picking up although still very faint.

Emma reaching the bedside presented the child that was wrapped in a blanket and as the mother reached her hands to grab it, a sound reverberated through the whole room.

"Uwaaa!"

The wail of the child spread through the whole room and for a second the three women forgot to breathe.

The midwife was the first to break from her trance and immediately yanked the baby back before thoroughly examining it from head to toe.

The other two also becoming much more relaxed as they heard the baby's voice, they started shed tears all over again, this time was due to relief.

The mother than became impatient as the midwife analysed the baby with her critical eye for any anomaly and anxiously asked: "How is it? Is my baby alright?" Her friend by her side sharing much of the same anxiety.

Emma, looked for a few more seconds before finally giving her verdict.

"He is great, more than great actually. In all my years, I've never seen a infant look so healthy. As far as I can see, there is no problems with him and I can spot none of the aftereffects that problematic births would have but I would still recommend taking him to a doctor immediatly. Going from practically dead to completely healthy in mere seconds, this can only be called a miracle!".

As she heard that, all the doubts that were on the mother's heart were gone and she was washed with a wave of relief and happiness, her friend sharing the same sentiment.

Finally, Emma presents the baby to his mother that embraces him full of love as she feels his warmth and shares her own with him while she gently caresses him.

Alexandra Arc, at this moment feels what could only be described as complete bliss despite what her haggard and tired appearance shows.

She then nods towards the midwife signaling that she can call her husband inside.

Her friend also says farewell and leaves in order to give the now bigger family some privacy, she has been through a emotional roller coaster and it has taken its toll both physically and psychologically, the young woman has earned some rest.

After a short moment, she hears hurried footsteps before a man comes rushing into the room with all its might, his appearance almost as bad as her own and eyes that radiate both worry and relief.

That is her husband Nicholas Arc.

Nicholas, as soon as he entered the room immediatly came to his wife's side before bombarding her with a million questions.

"Are you okay? Is our son okay? Why are your eyes so swollen? Did any complications occur? Is he going to suffer from any after effects? Will it influence your health? Did-" "Enough you dork! Give me some time to answer the questions." She quickly interrupted her husband before he goes too far.

"Okay, so the child is in good health, he won't suffer from any aftereffects, my health is fine, a complication did occur but it's all fine now." She purposely left out the part where the baby was basically dead for a few minutes before suddenly reviving, her husband is worrying enough as is.

"Thank oum!, my prayers were indeed answered, and it is a boy to boot, the legacy of the Arc household will definitely be carried onwards now." The father can barely contain his exitiment, it's no secret that the two of them have been trying to have a son and after having seven daughter he was finally given a son.

Alexandra meanwhile can only smile seeing this scene, the dread she felt when she thought that her son was dead seemed like a distant memory now.

And after the two calm down a bit more, Alexandra then finally lets the child be held by his father and asks him one of the most important questions there still is.

"Have you chosen a name for him?"

Nicholas meanwhile, who is having his son grab on to his finger while he slowly sways just brushes off the question and says: "There is no hurry, let me spend a bit longer with him first." Alexandra seeing that he is trying to avoid the subject, presses him even harder for an answer "Who was the one that decided that deciding the name of the infant only after its birth would be a good idea? Well, it has been born so you better come up with a good one!".

Nicholas sighs and hoists the baby up so they stay face to face, and after a minute humming and looking at the infant who has already fallen asleep up and down, he finally has an epiphany.

"Jaune" he whispers "Jaune Arc" He says this time louder and with more enthusiasm "That is the name I have decided on"

Alexandra after hearing that quirks her eyebrow and asks: "After one of your ancestors?" After receiving a nod to her question, she then repeats it a few times in order to let it settle in her mind and finally gives it her final verdict.

"It's sweet, short and rolls off the tongue. I like it"

So with his wife's approval, he then finally says gazing directly at the sleeping infant "You shall henceforth be known known as Jaune Arc, my first male heir and the youngest member of the Arc house."

But the two of them were unaware that the baby was not sleeping as he seemed and had an opinion of its own about the name he has been given.

'Jaune Arc, why does this name sound so familiar?'