It was around dusk.

  The homework assigned by the tutor had already been finished. With nothing else to do, Ga idly swung her fists and kicked her legs, imagining herself fighting an opponent.

  From the doorway, she caught sight of a young man in the distance on the farm—his satchel slung at his side, his expression solemn as he waved to the farmhands along the road.

  That young man was her eldest brother, just returning from school.

  A mischievous idea sparked in Ga’s mind. She slipped behind a cabinet, preparing an ambush.

  The moment her brother stepped inside, Ga burst out from hiding and launched herself at his legs, kicking and punching wildly.

  Her brother immediately scooped up the small Ga and lifted her high into the air. His gaze sharpened as he stared at her.

  “You silly little doll. Don’t fool around.”

  It was only a simple sentence, but the look in his eyes—like he was saying I could kill you—froze Ga in place.

  After a few seconds of locked stares, her brother suddenly hurled her downward.

  Ga screamed—

  but before she hit the ground, he slowed the motion deliberately, even poking her in the side to make her laugh with ticklish pain. Then he let out a contemptuous chuckle, turned away with a smug air, and walked off.

  Left behind, Ga could only stick out her tongue and make faces at his back in petty retaliation.

  A while later, Ga heard another familiar voice greeting the farmhands cheerfully along the road.

  She instantly recognized it—her second brother was also returning from school.

  Once again, she hid behind the cabinet.

  “Phew! I’m home!” the second brother shouted energetically as he entered.

  Ga rushed out and attacked his legs with fists and kicks—but he didn’t react at all.

  Embarrassed, Ga stepped back and stared at him.

  “…Uh… oh! I get it now!” her slow-witted brother said, bending down to her level.

  “You want to duel with me, right?”

  Ga’s eyes lit up. She nodded eagerly.

  “Haha, alright, alright,” he said, clearly pleased.

  He set down his bag, rolled up his sleeves, and kept smiling—but his fists clenched, his body lowered slightly, his stance firm and heavy, radiating unmistakable danger.

  Then he said something that didn’t sound right at all.

  “No one at school dares to play this with me anymore. Little doll, you’re the best sister in the world. Come on—let’s fight properly.”

  At the time, Ga only felt excited to be playing with her brother. She clenched her tiny fists with joy.

  “Go on,” he said. “You first.”

  “Yah!” Ga charged forward, punching and flailing wildly. Her brother carefully blocked every strike.

  “Alright—my turn now.”

  He was smiling.

  But the smile was shadowed with something lethal.

  His solid left hook slammed into Ga’s face, spinning her in place. Pain exploded across her cheek, her consciousness beginning to blur—then his right hook followed, striking her face again and spinning her the other way.

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  The pain erased everything.

  He didn’t stop.

  A powerful kick sent Ga flying through the inner corridor of the house and tumbling all the way into the backyard.

  She hurt so badly she could barely breathe. She tried to cry for help, but no sound came out—she could only lie there, gasping.

  She heard her brother approaching and thought he was coming to help her.

  Instead, he straddled her body.

  Judging by the way he raised his arms again, he wasn’t finished.

  Instinctively, Ga raised her arms to protect herself. But the fists came down like falling rocks, blow after blow. Her guard did nothing.

  Her consciousness began to fade.

  Hearing the commotion, the eldest brother leaned out from a second-floor window.

  Seeing his younger brother beating their sister senseless, he shouted in fury, “Psi! What the hell are you doing?!”

  The second brother paused and looked up.

  “This?” he said. “A duel.”

  Suddenly, a clothes-drying pole struck him.

  He was sent rolling into a flower bed.

  It was their mother, livid, gripping the pole tightly.

  “Why are you hitting your sister?”

  “I—I was just… playing…” the second brother said innocently.

  “Look at her. Then look at yourself. Do you really think this is playing?”

  He stared blankly at the sky, then looked back at Ga.

  “…Yeah,” he said, chuckling. “Seems fair.”

  Bang!

  A heavy punch came down on his head, driving his face straight into the dirt. A hand seized his collar and violently yanked him up, throwing him backward.

  “Ow… it hurts… it really hurts…”

  This time, the force was real. He could no longer laugh—he clutched his head and wailed.

  The one who struck him was their father.

  Ga’s face was swollen like a pig’s head, her arms bruised dark purple.

  Their mother bit her lip, then forced a smile so Ga wouldn’t worry.

  “Hey, my little doll,” she said gently.

  “You were very brave—strong like a shield.”

  Seeing her mother’s caring expression, the warmth Ga felt far outweighed the pain.

  Their father stood nearby, stiff and uncertain, eventually settling into silence.

  Ga found his awkward stillness oddly funny and even let out a small giggle.

  That night, their father dragged the second brother out to the farm and forced him to fight.

  The boy stood no chance.

  He was beaten again and again until his face was covered in blood and he collapsed unconscious.

  Only then did the fight end.

  The farmhands watching suddenly began to sing in the Viking tongue—a song that sounded fierce, yet mournful.

  “Only the brave may be called human.

  Humans are born in order to die.

  Only through death may one enter the hall.

  Beautiful Valkyrie, guide me to the hall.

  Mighty Valkyrie, guide me to the hall.

  Let me join the great warriors of old.

  Laugh together at how our throats were cut.

  Laugh together at how our heads were severed.

  Laugh together at how our ribs were crushed.

  Laugh together at death—

  the death that will never make us afraid......”

  Ga lay on the ground as her consciousness slowly returned.

  The singing still echoed in her ears, dreamlike.

  Turning her head, she realized the voices came from the Viking students outside the cage, singing with eyes closed. Some were even crying, their voices trembling yet resolute—like an ancient ritual.

  She turned again and saw Centurion Andrew nearby, his back to the cage, shoulders shaking slightly as he hugged his knees and bowed his head, caught between grief and helplessness.

  Suddenly, Ga sensed another presence inside the cage.

  A woman—her skin pale as wax, her eyes deep and bottomless. Her face was beautiful, yet completely bloodless.

  She bent down slowly and smiled at Ga.

  When that smile spread, sharp teeth gleamed coldly.

  Ga tried to push herself away—but the woman seized her wrist with an iron grip.

  In the next instant, she drew out a pure white swan feather and stabbed it into Ga’s palm.

  The moment it pierced flesh, the feather softened and twisted, flowing like liquid into her veins. Strange white patterns surged beneath the skin.

  Ga’s entire hand spasmed violently.

  She sat upright and screamed.

  At Ga’s scream, the Viking students immediately fell silent.

  Andrew spun around and rushed to the cage, half crying, half laughing in relief.

  “Thank the gods! You’re alive!”

  “Alive—hey! I won! My pet won!” Tallev shouted excitedly, slapping the cage.

  “Ga-Ga, chicken legs tonight!”

  “Oh, come on!” Lofr protested.

  “He was already knocked down by my bear—that doesn’t count!”

  Soon, the Viking students opened the cage to carry Ga out.

  The moment they entered, the massive brown bear curled into the corner, whining and trembling—clearly aware that these Viking children, when driven mad, were far more terrifying than it was.

  “Wait—shouldn’t we check her injuries first—”

  Andrew didn’t finish.

  Ga was already lifted high into the air.

  The children tossed her upward again and again.

  Each time she was thrown, the severe injuries inside her body flared like fire, forcing screams from her throat.

  The children took those screams as ritual drums.

  The more she cried, the more excited they became—laughter and shouts merging into a frenzied symphony.

  Her body rose and fell through the air.

  Faces around her blurred into streaks of light.

  Their eyes burned like flames.

  They lifted her as if she were something sacred.

  In her delirium, Ga felt as though she were being carried into a grotesque temple—surrounded by jeering demons, offering her up to a god of despair, abyss, and chaotic darkness.