“I grew up on the streets of Alerith.” Bernice started.
“I thought you came from the Imperial Cloud Meadow?”
“My parents were refugees. We lived on the north side of the continent, alongside the corrupted lands of the demons. Our city was ransacked by demons, and we barely managed to escape. They tried to conscript my father to fight in the military. It wasn’t that my father was a coward. It was just that the Imperial Cloud Meadow has very little in upward mobility. No matter how well my father fought, he would never be anything more than a commoner in the army. He wanted better for us.” Bernice explained.
“So, you came down to Aberis?”
“My father was one of the first test subjects.” She lowered her eyes. “I only found out about it since becoming Lord Reign. One of the first things I did was look into the program.”
“I’m sorry...”
“My father disappeared and left, and my mother grew ill and infirmed. When I had only myself to depend on, that’s when I changed my identity. A girl alone on the streets only had a few opportunities available to her. So, I called myself Bernard and started to act like a man. To earn money, I participated in underground fighting, dungeon diving, and dangerous adventuring missions. I still wasn’t able to save my mother from dying.”
“That’s... so sad,” Alysia said the words running through my mind.
“Eventually, as if by chance, a demon appeared in the streets of Alerith. There had been rumors about it for months, soldiers suddenly turning into feral demons and attacking people on the streets. It was the final phase of Lord Reign’s token research. I happened to be at the right place at the right time to encounter a demon attack. A whole hoard of soldiers turned at the same time. We fought, and I survived after a difficult battle. That’s when I was called the Demon-slaying Hero. I believe that one of the demons I had killed, was none other than my father!”