As Goddess of Victory: NIKKE celebrates its 4th anniversary, the absolute heavy hitters, including Pilgrims, are gathering in one place. Among them is the 2nd generation Fairy Tale squad, Old Tales, looking to rewrite a tainted tale. They have now returned in full force after reuniting with Hansel and Gretel, who were separated during the recent side story GINGERBREAD HOUSE.

And behind this narrative sits the newly introduced character, Bernuouia. Catching Commanders' eyes with her alluring design, Bernuouia dropped a massive amount of new lore and foreshadowing with every single word, triggering a flood of information just before the 4th anniversary. KookminTree has neatly gathered the story of the witch Bernuouia, who seems to know quite a lot.

The Witch Who Picked Up a Foal on the Road

To explain chronologically, Bernuouia ran into Hansel and Gretel after the 2nd-anniversary incident. At that time, Hansel and Gretel were in dire straits. Ambushed and attacked on the orbital elevator, the pair were plummeting under the force of gravity. In a desperate bid to save Hansel, Gretel acted as a human cushion, resulting in Gretel's body being utterly shattered except for the head, halting all functions.

To save Gretel, Hansel dragged a broken body for two years, barely making it to the research lab promised with Abe, and tried to muster remaining power to restore Gretel. However, the surface had long since been seized by Raptures, and Nikkes encountered along the way treated Hansel as a Heretic and showed hostility. This was the side effect of Oswald erasing all information regarding the 2nd generation Fairy Tale.

Believing humanity had betrayed them after a brief encounter, Hansel grew steadily exhausted. Abe, who had been told to wait, never showed up, and whether Cinderella and Little Mermaid were dead or alive remained a mystery. Plunged into despair and standing beside Gretel's unpowered recovery capsule, just as Hansel was about to give up on everything, Bernuouia appeared in the lab.

Noticing the sudden appearance of Bernuouia with red eyes, Hansel hastily drew a suicide pistol and aimed it. Unfazed by the weapon pointed straight at her, Bernuouia slammed the parasol she was holding onto the floor, instantly calming the tension. Soon pointing at Gretel in the capsule, Bernuouia offered a sweet proposal: 'Do you want to save her, no matter the cost?' Knowing there would be a price, but clinging to the promise that Gretel could be saved, Hansel entered a slave contract and exchanged names with Bernuouia.

Bounty Name: The Witch

Bernuouia was in a situation where other energies could not be used to stay hidden from pursuers. Yet Gretel was of the Fairy Tale model and far too shattered, requiring immense energy to be reconstructed via a body maker. What Bernuouia did was sacrifice one of her own legs to substitute for the energy source. In the end, Gretel was restored, and Hansel and Gretel remained by Bernuouia's side as slaves ever since.

As a bit more time passed, Little Mermaid finally tracked down Bernuouia's home where Hansel was staying. Upon hearing that a Heretic had rescued Hansel, Little Mermaid's face hardened, and she proposed escaping the place immediately. This was because it was before Little Mermaid met Leviathan, a time when hostility toward Heretics was at its peak. When Bernuouia appeared after hearing the commotion, Little Mermaid immediately resorted to intimidation using word magic, and in trying to stop it, an accidental misfire of Hansel's armed witch's hearth occurred. It was Bernuouia who saved Little Mermaid from taking a direct hit. Fast forward to the present, and the party including Grave, Mori, and Cinderella revisited Bernuouia's home.

Just as Little Mermaid did in the past, Cinderella and Grave were infuriated by the sight of Hansel and Gretel being called slaves. However, Bernuouia calmly led them inside and spent a lot of time talking alone with Cinderella due to a series of accidents. During this chat, Bernuouia dumped a mountain of new lore and background knowledge about Goddess of Victory: NIKKE all at once. She listed facts previously unseen in the story, such as the definition of Heretics, as well as mentions of this continent, this side, and that side.

According to Bernuouia, the concept of a Heretic is a Rapture with a Nikke's appearance that retains a human brain. She added that unlike when Cinderella was first created, Cinderella's body is composed of Rapture material, which still classifies her as a Heretic. To the shocked Cinderella, Bernuouia struck a deal: let her investigate the Corruption Code, and in return, she would teach how to wield even greater power.

At this point, Bernuouia reintroduced herself as a heretic who betrayed V.T.C. and a bounty-named witch. Looking closely, the tattoo on her chest bears a striking resemblance to the symbol on the garments of V.T.C. priests. The successive revelations that she was formerly with V.T.C. and that V.T.C. remnants or splinter groups still linger on the surface heavily stimulated Commanders' imaginations. Related details might be unveiled in the 4th-anniversary story or beyond.

However, Cinderella refused, stating she could not reveal the Corruption Code for the sake of Nikkes. Ignoring this, Bernuouia assigned Cinderella a homework task: to control her Heretic nature and master the method of gigantification. Cinderella snapped back that she is a Nikke and could never transform into such an unseemly form. Bernuouia dismissed the protest, countering that a moment will definitely come when Cinderella has to use it, arguing there won't be any luxury to care about such things when facing the Rapture Queen. She even threw out the question: 'The red eyes reflected in the mirror are proof that you are still a Heretic; does admitting that mean Cinderella is no longer Cinderella?' This served as a catalyst for Cinderella to take a step forward in the side story.

What, She's Not a Witch, She's Maman

The witch in the original Hansel and Gretel fairy tale tried to eat Hansel and Gretel for nibbling on her gingerbread house. In Goddess of Victory: NIKKE, all Fairy Tale models are adapted from fairy tales, and judging by the side story's title GINGERBREAD HOUSE, everyone predicted such themes. Yet looking at the story wrapped up so far, far from being a wicked witch, Bernuouia only helped the party. She healed Gretel at the cost of her own leg and intentionally smashed a cherished vase to help reconciled companions make up. On top of that, she provided various pieces of advice to care for Cinderella's physical and mental well-being.

Hansel and Gretel resolved their misunderstandings and swore to fight against the Queen alongside Cinderella's group. However, Bernuouia grew angry, asking if this is how they repay kindness with ingratitude, and demanded they provide a justification for leaving behind someone who lost a leg to save Gretel. With no counterarguments to make, Hansel and Gretel temporarily stepped back and decided to run away from home. Truly, they are a couple of wild foals. Knowing full well this would happen, Bernuouia had already handed Cinderella Hansel and Gretel's dedicated armed witch's hearths in advance.

Believing Bernuouia would never know about their runaway stunt, Hansel and Gretel received their gear and listened to the enclosed message from Bernuouia. Hearing the words, 'Don't go getting yourselves hurt wantonly, and return in one piece, you runaway foals,' Hansel and Gretel immediately burst into tears. But the following line was classic: 'If you're going to cry, stop right now. It makes you look ugly.' It was the exact portrait of a mother who knows everything her children are up to.

Appearing out of nowhere beside Mori, who was tearfully bidding farewell to the departing Old Tales group, Bernuouia explained why she called Mori a duck. She called Mori that because waddling around trying to get strong looked just like a duck. She then added food for thought: 'The world is unreasonable and unfair, but if you just create the grounds of effort, the world also gives you the chance to alter what you were born with.' She offered encouragement that perhaps Mori, called a duck, might one day become a swan. Is this a hint that a variation of Mori might be on the way?

Setting out on the road, the Old Tales members suddenly noticed a path dyed in green unfolding behind them. Bernuouia's nanomachines were glowing green, carving out a path across the sea. At first, they thought it was the road to the battlefield they were heading toward, but they soon realized it was a path meant for the foals returning home. Seeing Hansel and Gretel shed tears once more over this, the Old Tales squad vowed to definitely return.

Before long, the battlefield they were heading toward came into view. The fairy tale tainted by 100 years of time is gone. Now, they will leave behind the original story, ending on a clean white page with a happy ending. Surely, at the end of that fairytale, a warm-hearted witch and a gingerbread house waiting to welcome five children await. As Goddesses of Victory gather for the 4th anniversary, let us look forward to the newly rewritten fairy tale.