It was for that purpose they had created the Etherium, with the goal of making their heirs acquire the Power of God.
Just about all of the children of the Siegfried family had been sent to Etherium. The family needed to ensure that some of them manifested the Power of God, even minimally. If they failed to accomplish this, then the family would lose its control of the kingdom in the near future. Due to their origins, the Siegfried clan had more aptitude for the Power of God than others. Of ten children, one or two would be able to gain the Power. Despite being forced through inhumane experiments, however, the royal children gained abilities so weak that they could scarcely be compared to even the ones their ancestors had wielded a century ago. Being able to fling the Thunder at will like the royals of old was still but a faraway dream.
Brunhild and Sigurd were both supposed to be sent to Etherium on their eighth birthdays.
Brunhild had loved Sigurd. She always depended on her kind older brother.
She remembered her brother turning eight and stroking her head before he went off to Etherium. Even as a five-year-old, Brunhild had known Etherium was a scary place.
On the day of their parting, the young Brunhild cried and wailed as she clung to Sigurd. “Don’t go, Brother.”
Sigurd gave her a troubled smile and said, “But I have to.”
Strangely, she sensed no fear in his smile. “Why? They’re going to do awful things to you.”
“I’m going so I can protect you from those awful things.”
Sigurd stroked Brunhild’s head. That made her stop crying. Her brother running his hands through her hair always put her at ease.
“I promise to come back. When that happens, make sure to welcome me home.”
She nodded, droplets spilling from her eyes with each movement of her head. “Uh-huh. I promise. You have to come back, Brother.”
Her words seemed to encourage him quite a bit. He showed no fear as he went off to Etherium in a carriage.
That was the last Brunhild ever saw of her brother.
Three years went by.
Once the experiments were over, Sigurd returned.
As she had promised, Brunhild welcomed him back, embraced him, and said, “Welcome home.”
She was happy he had kept his promise and returned. She wanted him to comb his fingers through her hair as he had done before.
But for some reason, her brother pushed her away. He looked down at her as though she was repulsive, then said, “What’s with this girl? How creepy.”
His words shook her, leaving her unable to get to her feet for some time. It took her a while to understand what he’d said to her. Even when it did sink in, she still couldn’t believe it. This was the first time in her life she’d ever heard her brother say something so cruel.
Her brother had indeed come back.
But not as the person she knew.
He had lost his memories. He didn’t remember Brunhild.
She didn’t know what sort of experiments they had performed on him at Etherium, but they had warped his personality. He was violent and said things that bewildered her. But for paying that price, he had successfully obtained the Power of God—the strongest manifestation of the ability in generations at that. Sigurd conquered an island of Eden all on his own at the tender young age of eleven.
But Brunhild didn’t care about such powers. Her one and only wish was for her brother to be kind and gentle again.
She tried to help him remember. She showed him books he’d loved and went on walks with him in the garden or in town to trace old memories. She had him touch her hair, too. But he just seemed irritated. She became more and more afraid of talking to him.
She felt the brother she had loved had died.
But even with a development as tragic as this, there was one saving grace.
Sigurd had brought with him an attendant named Richard.
The boy had come back from Etherium with Sigurd. He was the same age as her brother, with characteristic white hair and red eyes. He said they had met at the facility and hit it off, and he’d become Sigurd’s confidant.
Richard must have pitied Brunhild for how her brother ignored her. When she would hide and cry over how Sigurd had changed, Richard would find her and console her.
“It’ll be all right. The brother you love will be sure to come back one day.”
His words were just empty consolation. But they still made her glad. They made her try to believe her brother would return to how he used to be one day.
Brunhild came to cry in Richard’s arms more and more often.
Richard was fairly mature for his age. That had to be why—without even realizing it—she began seeing her brother in him. Brunhild gradually grew attached not to her brother but to Richard.
That made things worse.
Sigurd undoubtedly noticed his sister’s lack of affection for him and was put off by it.
When Brunhild turned ten, Sigurd decided to expel her from the castle.
“Without the Power of God, you’re the shame of the Siegfried family. Henceforth, I forbid you from calling yourself Brunhild Siegfried. Since you are no longer a member of the royal family, you have no right to live at the castle.”
His justifications for expelling her were entirely specious. Brunhild was not the only member of the Siegfried family who lacked the ability to use the Power of God. But by that time, her brother had taken the throne and was making full use of his overwhelming power. None could oppose him.
Brunhild was banished and forbidden from taking any of her belongings or so much as a single servant with her. She departed the castle in a wretched state.
I’m going to die like this.
A girl thrown out into the world without anything to her name would never survive. Succumbing to despair, Brunhild walked with no goal in mind.
Just then, however, she realized there was a strange weight in her pocket.
She thrust her hand inside. For some reason, there were two little items in her pocket. One was a small vial containing just one drop of the Miracle of Life, and the other was a gold coin. She had no memory of ever acquiring either item. They had popped up out of nowhere, as if by magic. But they gave her hope. If she had the Miracle, then she wouldn’t have to fear becoming ill or wounded, and the gold coin would be enough to feed her for half a year. It seemed like she could just barely manage to travel.
“This must be God’s will.”
Brunhild folded her fingers and offered prayers of gratitude to the heavens.
She searched and searched for somewhere she could live, but every place she visited was cold to outsiders. She wandered until her legs were leaden. The dwelling she finally found was an unoccupied hut in the forest on the outskirts of Tauber Village, where she settled down. She’d used up all her money by that time, so she found fruit, berries, and mushrooms from trees in the nearby forest and somehow staved off hunger. She’d loved reading ever since she was young, so she had some knowledge about plants, which saved her.
Brunhild’s life was one of isolation. She was able to survive—but nothing more. The people of Tauber Village were suspicious of her and her unknown background. Some even thought her a witch for living in a hut without involving herself with others. Her loneliness grew day by day, and there were even times when she felt there was no reason she should be in this world.
The next thing she knew, six years had passed. It was a hollow time.
That was around when she found the dragon dying by the river. By then, her loneliness had become unbearable. She’d wanted someone to need her—even a dragon would do. Her wish was granted, and she started to live with the dragon. The year they had spent together had been the happiest time in her life.
Nevertheless…
Her brother had killed the dragon, and now she was here.
“Hng… Ah…” Tears of frustration spilled from her eyes.
Her brother had driven her away, only to kill her family.
Just how long did she have to live at his mercy?