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Because Mist didn't mind us hearing about her mother, or maybe because she wanted us to learn about her, Mary decided to talk about her while we were having our feast. Everyone was quite interested, honestly.

"I only meet her briefly, just… less than a week, and what I know about her isn't that much…" Mary said. "But every parent I meet that lends me their child will always leave a mark on me, someone I'll never forgive, someone I promised I'll protect their children…"

"I admire how hard you've worked to protect those children, even in that town that despised demons so much." My mother said. "I'm relieved we were able to bring you out of that place… You did well, all those years."

"Thank you, Lady Faylen." Mary smiled. "But I couldn't had done it without the help of many good people there as well. Not everyone was bad… I have fond memories of good-hearted people as well. But well, let's go back to the topic. Mist's mother… Well, it was in the morning of a Friday that I meet her."

"She was covered in blood, with a spear piercing her stomach." Mary said, as Mist recoiled. "She was… most likely a survivor from the war, someone that escaped the battle that the Demon Army had brought to the Human Continent… She had you in her arms, when you were so tiny and adorable, well, you still are…"

"Mother…" Mist sighed, gripping her fists. "W-What happened afterwards?!"

"We managed to sneak her inside the city with Lucia and the help of some guards that pitied us." Mary said. "In there, we did our best to heal her wound, barely managing to stop the bleeding… Yet, the damage was too severe, she should had died in that moment, yet she was filled with willpower. I remember her saying "There's no way I'm leaving my daughter alone and starving. Even if it means I have to hold on the pain, I'll feed her until my very last breath.", resisting her pain, she feed you milk for the next four days."

Mist looked paralyzed as she heard that, her hands beginning to tremble, her golden eyes beginning to form tears, as Zack hugged her shoulders.

"She… She resisted those four years." Said Mary. "She told me that her tribe… was very small and poor, and that she enlisted into the war because she needed the money for her family. She didn't knew that they would go all the way to Gallatea, that it was something nobody informed them about…"

"That Demon King… was sure an asshole." Nepheline sighed. "He really thought that sending a bunch of innocent people to war would somehow help him… Tch…"

"Well, it's not like we did anything different. Our factions, did as well, sent many innocents to die." Faylen admitted. "Nobody is absent of these sins…"

"…" Nepheline remained in silence after hearing that.

"She… looked a lot like you, Mist, dear." Mary smiled. "Though, she had a small body as well, but her arms were strong, and she had large black nails, and a few black strands around her white hair. Her eyes were black, and she said that your golden eyes were from your father, her husband, a hunter that had died a few months before she went to war…"

"Dad…" Mist muttered, as she started crying silently.

"She really loved you, and even amidst the pain, which couldn't be relieved by our weak magic, nor our cheap pain killers or potions, she always sang a lullaby while holding you in her arms…" Mary smiled faintly. "She sang the lullaby that mothers would sing to their children, in the language of her tribe. I couldn't really understand it, but I could feel that it was something regarding how the sun will always set, and how the sun will always come back every sunset and every morning, it probably meant something about moving on, and leaving behind grievances and sorrows, because every day, the world will keep moving forward, and it will not wait for you to grieve and cry, that you need to be stronger… and keep moving forward, with your head held high."

Mist seemed to hum a melody; a melody imprinted into her mind that she heard those four days, her tears kept flowing from her golden eyes.

"She told me that her tribe… lived near the Black Withered Forest, to the southwest of the Purple River." Mary said. "I don't remember where it is, as I never visited such places when I was in the Demon Continent… But that's all the clues I have."

"The Black Withered Forest, to the southwest of the Purple River…" Mist said silently, making sure to remember that.

"And…" Mary was beginning to cry now, recalling those times. "In that fifth day, when I went to see how she was, and if she had improved at all, I found her smiling, hugging you while the two cuddled in the bed. You were sleeping so peacefully, that I didn't wanted to wake you up. But as the hours passed, and I heard no words from her at all, nor I saw her opening her eyes… I touched her hand, feeling it very cold. She had passed away peacefully, hugging you, and with… a smile."

"Mom…" Mist continued crying, the more she heard this, the more she cried. "Mom… Sniff… MOM!" She couldn't help it, crying loudly, as Zack hugged her, letting her get it all out over his chest.

"It's fine… let it all out." Zack cried with her, hugging her.

Most of us remained in silence, while I started crying without realizing too, Aquarina patting my shoulders while caressing my head.

"I'm sorry… for not telling you about her earlier." Mary sighed. "I just didn't wanted to see you cry, dear…" Mary hugged Mist, as Zack gently let Mist hug Mary instead.

"It's fine…" Mist cried. "I wanted to know… it makes me both happy and sad… that she died peacefully…"

"The thing she wanted the most was for you to keep on living, moving forward without looking back." Said Mary. "So, let's do just that, alright? Slowly, one step at a time, let's keep moving to a better future."

"Nn…" Mist nodded, while still crying. "I'll do it for mom…"

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