Hänsel

''"Hey father, praise me, I've defeated her henchman as well."

- Hänsel

Hänsel was a boy kidnapped and raised by Eve and Adam Moonlit, and the twin brother of Gretel. Born as part of Project 'Ma', the newborn twins were taken by their mother, Meta Salmhofer, to Held's Forest and raised by the Moonlit Family after Eve killed Meta. After being abandoned in the forest during a famine, Hänsel and Gretel murdered their foster parents and split Eve's Original Sin into the Seven Deadly Sins.

Project 'Ma'
Hänsel was born along with his twin sister, Gretel, in the Levianta Royal Institute as part of Project 'Ma'. After birthed by his mother, Meta Salmhofer, Hänsel and his sister were placed in vitro conditions. Celebrated by the people of the Magic Kingdom, their births marked the first year of a new calendar, EC 0. Some time later, they were taken by their mother from the laboratory and hid in Elphegort.

Original Sin
After a year of being hidden by Meta, she carried them to Held's Forest for a stroll. While there, Meta settled them near a tree and left them. Soon after, he and Gretel were discovered by Eve Moonlit. Believing them to be fruit, Eve took them and carried them through the forest as she fled from their mother and eventually killed her. After being greeted by her husband, Adam, he saw the twins in her hands and became horrified by Eve's action. With Meta dead and the twins orphaned, the two woodcutters adopted the children and raised them as their own.

In EC 013, two lights descended upon the twins and fused with their bodies, making them incomplete copies of the twin gods. In EC 014, Hänsel and his sister were led by their parents deep into the forest on a moonlit night. The curious twin asked his father if God was waiting for them down their path and later wondered aloud why their parents were looking at them with such gloomy expressions.

Eventually, Hänsel and his sister realized that they would be lost if they continued on the path and were soon after abandoned by their parents to die. Seemingly betrayed, Gretel and her brother concluded their parents were actually a wicked witch and her henchman that had tricked them.

Using the glass bottle he had around his neck, Hänsel filled it with moonlight and the two used it to light their path as they wandered together. At last, Hänsel and Gretel arrived back home, recognizing it as the "witch's house". With manic expressions, the twins decided to murder the witch, believing they would become happy if she was gone, and their shadows began spawning tendrils. Knocking at the door, Adam and Eve answered and, while they stared in horror, Hänsel and Gretel grabbed their fake parents with their shadows' spectral arms. Hänsel then happily implored his "father" to praise him for defeating the witch's henchman, laughing.

While Gretel threw the "witch" into the oven, Hänsel murdered Adam. Watching the "witch" burn to ashes in the oven, they witnessed her body become the embodiment of her Original Sin. Using items located throughout the house, the two split it into seven fragments, scattering it across the world so that it could be eventually cleansed. Gretel and her brother enjoyed the confines of the witch's house, sleeping in a chair there for the rest of night, and then decided to go out and search for their "real" mother and father.

Legacy
After his death, Hänsel's soul reincarnated with his same appearance every few centuries. In several cases, his reincarnations maintained some of Hänsel's memories and characteristics, including loyalty to matriarchal figures who resembled his mother, Meta. Due to the disruption of fate caused by Abyss I.R. and Queen Prim, Hänsel's reincarnation wasn't born into the world, though the originally intended reincarnation, Prince Alexiel, continued to share his visage. Around December, EC 610, Hänsel's soul merged with the Glass of Conchita and his degraded will manifested as the male servant centuries later, serving the Master of the Graveyard.

The playwright Ma wrote several screenplays involving Hänsel and Gretel and adapted them into films. While watching the films with an intruder to Evil's Theater, Ma questioned if the twins even existed, since they seemed to be hidden so well by their parents that no documents recording them existed. While reflecting on the "motions" of the Master of the Court, Gammon Octo noted how Hänsel's reincarnation, Lemy Abelard, was uncharacteristically born without a Gretel counterpart. Gammon also wondered what became of the twins, questioning if they needed to ask the Master of the Hellish Yard to find an answer.

Personality and Traits
As a child, Hänsel acted kind and innocent alongside his sister and appeared obedient to their parents. They weren't naive, however, and realized when the forest path the family took would inevitably get them lost. After being abandoned by their mother and father, Hänsel became embittered by the event and concluded that Adam and Eve weren't their real parents at all, simply a witch and her henchman that had tricked them.

Hänsel could act extremely devious as well, murdering Adam with smile on his face, all while mocking his foster parent. Likewise, he and his sister became determined to find their real parents, despite not knowing who they might be. He also appeared particularly supportive to Gretel, often holding her hand and leading them onward while they were lost, and enjoyed playing with her.

Skills and Abilities
After being fused with a fragment of Levia-Behemo, Hänsel became an imperfect copy of one of the dragon gods. As a result, the young twin's shadow could come to life and manifest in dark, twisted forms, such as arms, hands, or other appendages, and be freely manipulated by him. Hänsel also showed some other magical capabilities, taking a bottle they found and filling it with moonlight; similarly, he was able to split the Original Sin into seven pieces and scatter them across the world.

It also allowed Hänsel to reincarnate every few centuries, his soul fated to be reborn in an identical body every few centuries, typically with his reincarnated sister as a twin. However, if either of the boy's fated parents had children with someone else before his intended birth, Hänsel could instead incarnate as one of those children instead or not incarnate in that particular reincarnation cycle at all.

Character Connections
Meta Salmhofer: Hänsel's real mother. Hänsel didn't remember Meta, growing up in Eve's care, but he later expressed a wish to go find his "real" mother after Adam and Eve were dead. He passed on a fanatic loyalty to Meta to all his reincarnations, showing this loyalty to anyone resembling her.

Eve Moonlit: Hänsel's foster mother. Hänsel grew up thinking of Eve as his mother, however he became convinced she was a wicked witch after he and Gretel were abandoned by her and delighted in bringing about her death. He later considered her to be a pretentious and troublesome woman, discovering her Original Sin among her ashes.

Adam Moonlit: Hänsel's foster father. Hänsel grew up thinking of Adam as his father, however he became convinced he was the wicked henchman of a witch after he and Gretel were abandoned by him. After killing Adam, Hänsel delighted in his accomplishment and gave him no more consideration after discovering Eve's Original sin.

Gretel: Hänsel's twin sister. Hänsel loved his sister and was always beside her if he could help it, holding her hand to comfort her while lost in the woods and leading the way with the bottle; later he would aid her in defeating their foster parents. Hänsel continued to stay with Gretel after Eve's death and would usually be by her side in their reincarnations.

Pollo: One of Hänsel's reincarnations. Hänsel's appearance and soul passed on to Pollo's, and with it he passed on his loyalty to anyone resembling Meta, such as Conchita.

Lemy Abelard: Another of Hänsel's reincarnations. Hänsel's appearance and soul passed on to Lemy Abelard, and with it he passed on his loyalty to anyone resembling Meta, such as Julia.

Male Servant: A remnant of Hänsel born from the Glass of Conchita. Made from residual traces of Hänsel, the Servant shared his appearance and his loyalty to anyone resembling Meta, such as the Master of the Graveyard.

Allen Avadonia: One of Hänsel's intended reincarnations. Due to the disturbance of fate caused by Abyss I.R. and Prim Marlon, Hänsel wasn't born as Allen, or at all, during this period.

Conceptualization and Origin

 * Hänsel is inspired by the character from the Brothers Grimm's tale "Hänsel &amp; Gretel".
 * In the original story, Hänsel is depicted as a gluttonous child, strengthening his link with the Demon of Gluttony.
 * Hänsel's name is derived from German, meaning "Little Hans"; the name Hans comes from the Latin name Johannes, meaning "graced by God".
 * Hänsel's status as a Ghoul Child may be a reference to the sin of Gluttony and his reincarnation's service to Banica Conchita; ghouls are undead spirits or demons usually depicted as scavengers and human flesh eaters, often associated with graveyards and burial grounds.

Curiosities

 * Hänsel's attire is similar to that worn by Alexiel as a child and, to a lesser extent, the male Servant in Evil's Theater.
 * Hänsel's reincarnations tend to be more innocent or oblivious compared to his sister's reincarnations.
 * When plotting to kill his foster father, Hänsel's shadow manifested as a physical, shape shifting entity around him.

Gallery
Songs=