Mint Adenade closed her eyes as she slowly fell asleep. She was in a bedroom of an inn in the snowy village of Ary, with the other members of Cless's team occupying their own beds near hers. This night was the last rest the party would receive before the final assault on Dhaos's castle. All she could think about as she let the side of her head sink into her pillow was how the current war would soon be over.
Mint suddenly opened her eyes again and blinked as she heard footsteps approaching her bed. She sat up and gasped at the sight before her. A beautiful woman in long white cleric's robes was standing near her bed, gazing toward her with a comforting smile. She had long blonde hair and blue eyes, appearing almost like an older mirror image of her shocked onlooker. Mint couldn't believe it was her mother, Meryl Adenade.
"Mother...?"
Meryl nodded slowly as she quietly sat on the side of Mint's bed, being careful not disturb her daughter's friends. She reached forward to brush Mint's cheek.
"I've missed you, Mint."
The woman continued in a proud tone.
"I'm glad you were able to do so much on your own. It looks like your training is complete, and I couldn't ask for a better successor."
Some of Mint's doubts were buried when she felt her mother's warm hand touch her skin. However, she remained in confusion when she spoke again.
"But... how? I thought you died in Mars's prison."
Meryl slowly shook her head as her motherly smile brightened.
"What would ever make you think that, dear?"
The younger female looked downward in silent sorrow as she recounted what had happened since their separation.
"I almost was certain of it when I couldn't hear your voice any more from your cell, but I tried to hang on to hope. When the boy who rescued me told me he hadn't any sign of you, I thought he may been lying. He must have realized how hard it would have been on me if he had told me you were dead back then."
Meryl briefly closed her eyes in thought. The teacher then spoke to her student in a rewarding tone.
"You've developed excellent perception, but you're forgetting one important thing."
Her eyes opened as she continued.
"A healer should always trust the other members of her party, just as they trust her with their lives."
As she accepted this explanation, joyful tears began to well in Mint's eyes. As her shock faded, she remembered that she had traveled into her world's future to defeat Dhaos, and Meryl had been left behind in the present. She now questioned her mother in a more cheerful voice.
"How did you get here? Did Mr. Morrison send you?"
Meryl explained her mysterious presence in her usual calm tone.
"The spirits helped me. I asked Martel if I could see you just long enough to give you my blessing. I wish I could help you in your upcoming battle, but I can't risk using too much of Yggdrasill's power by staying here. I'll be waiting for you when you come home."
Mint nodded after her mother spoke, now accepting her words without question. She then leaned forward and openly hugged her instructor, resting her head under the older female's chin.
"I'm so glad you're safe, mother."
Meryl returned her daughter's embrace with gentle arms. When she lowered her lips and kissed Mint lightly on the forehead, the young mage put her final worries aside and fell into a state of relaxation.
Mint's cerulean orbs fluttered open a few minutes later. The moonlit bedroom was just as it had appeared when she had first nuzzled her pillow moments earlier. Meryl was gone, having only been a ghostly vision in her hopeful reverie. However, Mint felt no sorrow in this revelation. Instead, an oddly mischievous grin formed on her face before she peacefully fell asleep again.
Deep within his castle, the demon king Dhaos awoke from a trance-like state on his throne. It had taken a great deal of patience and some exploration of his target's thoughts to find her vulnerabilities, but he had finally infiltrated her mind and bent her will to follow his command. He no longer had any doubts toward completing the mission his people had entrusted him with.
Cless walked to the edge of the cliff face in front of him and lifted his sword into the dark, clouded sky. His party patiently waited several feet behind him, watching as he used the legendary Eternal Sword to lead the heroes to their final opponent. When the blue blade began to glow in Cless's raised hands, a magnificent, albeit eerie, floating castle appeared in the air in front the cliff. He had disabled the spell that had been hiding the evil manor, and now nothing could stop him from reaching Dhaos.
Cless suddenly gasped as the sound of rumbling earth boomed from behind him. He turned around in place to see all of his comrades captured in what appeared to be massive, thriving tree roots that had exploded from the mountain rock. He then heard a chorus of agonized male and female screams as each party member began glowing in a bright green light that the plants quickly absorbed. When the horrible sound ended, the party was reduced to a set of dried out husks. All of their mana, the basic life force all living things shared, had been drained from their bodies. The only member not to meet this nightmarish end was the team's soft-spoken healer, who seemed to be guiding the massive roots with her metallic staff.
Mint now shifted her attention to the young swordsman. She gracefully walked toward him with her staff at her side as he remained frozen in baffled horror. Once she was close enough, she outstretched her gloved left hand so it barely touched Cless's armored chest. This caused him to drop the Eternal Sword to the rocky ground and topple over backwards, sprawling flat on the ground on his back. He winced and struggled as he felt some mystical spell paralyzing every muscle in his body from the neck down, and he frantically shouted as he watched his medic place her weapon down and remove her silky white gloves.
"Mint, what's wrong with you? We were about to end this!"
Mint remained silent as she lowered herself to her knees and seductively straddled over Cless. A few strands of her long, golden hair draped over her face, and her eyes glanced toward Cless's abandoned blade with a tiny spark of envy when she finally spoke.
"The Eternal Sword is a miraculous thing, Cless. It allows the user to travel freely through space and time, an ability even Lord Dhaos is limited in."
She then shifted her attention so she could peer into Cless's frightened eyes. An innocent smile crossed her lips as her soft voice continued.
"It can't change owners by force, but that won't be a problem. With your spirit, I'll be able to wield it myself so I can offer it to him."
The captured swordsman gasped at these words, then realized what had overcome Mint. Her bizarre actions, her haunting tone, and the slightly crazed quality in her light blue eyes were all familiar to him. She was being controlled by Dhaos, just like Meia and so many others had been. He tried futilely to regain his strength as he raised his voice and pleaded to the healer.
"Come on, get a hold of yourself! We can't let him win!"
Mint's peaceful expression only brightened as Cless begged to her. After removing his scarlet bandanna from his dirty blonde hair, she began gently massaging his temples with her bare fingertips and quietly spoke again.
"Don't worry. Chester and the others' sacrifices won't be in vain. Now that I've proven my loyalty, I'm going act as his ambassador so no one else has to die. With the Eternal Sword, he'll have no reason to make war with Aselia."
As Mint said this, Cless realized that some part of Mint's pure-hearted nature remained in her warped psyche. It appeared as though Dhaos didn't have absolute control over her, and he was determined to bring the misguided cleric back to her senses.
"That's nonsense, Mint! You know he just wants to kill everyone! Think of Rhea and everyone else who died because of him!"
Mint's cheerful demeanor now changed to a small frown. She sighed sadly when she replied to his objections.
"It's more complicated than you think, Cless."
Her happier expression then returned to its original beauty. She leaned downward as she lowered her voice.
"You won't have to worry about it, though. I'll take care of everything."
Mint closed her eyes before speaking a final time.
"Just relax. This will only hurt if you fight it."
She tenderly pressed her lips against Cless's as she used her hands to stabilize his head. Despite her advice, Cless initially used any strength he could find to try and squirm out of Mint's delicate embrace. His resistance faded, however, when he found himself unable to breathe. After a few seconds of desperate, muffled moans, he fell silent and found this process to somehow be pacifying. Trained as a soldier since childhood, he had always feared spending his final moments maimed and alone if he were ever killed on the battlefield. In a partially bewitched state, he decided dying in his unrequited lover's arms was a better option. His own eyes closed as he accepted this fate and voluntarily shared his breath with the priestess. All signs of life gradually faded from his body.
When Mint lifted her eyelids and pulled away from the lethal embrace, Cless appeared to be frozen in eternal slumber. She reached to the ground to collect her white gloves and put them back on her hands, tugging at them with her teeth to bring their taut around her slender fingers. In silence, she reached for her silver and gold staff and attached it to a small holster on her back. Finally, she took the Eternal Sword into her hands and rose to her feet.
Mint closed her eyes and giggled quietly as she felt her victim's essence pulsating through her heart. She softly hugged the blade and pressed its dull side against the cross adorning her bosom as she contently spoke to herself.
"Now we'll be together forever, Cless."
The monstrous tree roots that still held the remains of Mint's other teammates receded back into the ground, and the group of shriveled corpses were left sprawled across the mountain terrain. She then opened her eyes and held the Eternal Sword outward to complete her objective. In a short flash, she was engulfed in a ball of blue light that transported her to her master's fortress.