2010-2015 (Big Bang-Heroes of Maple)

July 2011: Mercedes (Legends)

(add prologue)

In Elluel, Mercedes awoke from the ice and excitedly left her quarters, hoping to see her subjects alive and well. To her shock, however, all the elves were still frozen in slumber. Furthermore, Mercedes realized that nearly all of her old strength had faded away because of the curse. She suspected that her awakening was due to the Seal of Time degrading, meaning that she needed to regain her strength as soon as possible before the Black Mage broke free from the seal. She returned to Elf School in order to master the basics, humiliated that she could barely handle the Puppetrees when she used to train against Yetis and Wyverns with ease.

After becoming stronger, she decided to venture outside the kingdom borders. Though she dreaded facing the powerful Slimes outside, she quickly discovered that they were much weaker than they had been since before the curse, making her wonder exactly how much time had passed. Upon arriving in Ellinia, she was perplexed to see the town, as her understanding was that there were no settlements in the Ellin Forest that she remembered. Furthermore, there was no way that such a large town could have been built in just a few years. She decided to speak with the town residents and recognized that many of them were Sylphs, a younger race of fairies.

She first spoke with Wing the Fairy, who dismissed her as a human. Offended, she told him that she was an elf, but Wing was confused and told her that the elves were a race of fairies that had disappeared centuries ago. When Mercedes was taken aback by the revelation, he told her to confirm it by asking Arwen the Fairy. Arwen agreed with Wing and told Mercedes that all the records stated that the elves had vanished hundreds of years ago, though no one knew why or how. As the color drained from Mercedes’ face, Arwen grew worried and suggested that she visit Rowen the Fairy, who was adept at healing magic. Mercedes went to see Rowen and asked her about the elves once more to be sure, finally accepting the truth after Rowen confirmed what Wing and Arwen had said.

To help calm Mercedes’ nerves, Rowen told her to drink a cup of Clear Tree Sap from the Talking Tree. While Mercedes drank the sap, the Talking Tree asked what was wrong with her. Mercedes told him that just yesterday, everyone knew her name, but nobody knew who she was anymore. The tree unhelpfully told Mercedes that her own pride in her accomplishments didn’t automatically make her important, and that there was nothing wrong with being a nobody.

As her existential dread set in, Mercedes weakly told him that she had lost her powers and couldn’t fight anymore, but the tree told her that there was nothing wrong with not fighting either. When she replied that she had no friends left, the tree grew impatient and snapped at her to make new ones, telling her that she should forget about her problems and live as a normal person. (A/N: The tree really said “Stop trauma dumping on me.”)

Crass as he was, Mercedes knew that he had a point and wondered whether she ought to heed his advice and settle down. However, she recalled her people still cursed in eternal slumber and vowed that even though she had lost her powers and friends, she would never give up. In order to regain her strength and find new allies, she asked the tree whether he knew of any jobs that she could undertake. The tree told her that Bruce at the Golem Temple was looking for someone to do errands for him. Though she was miffed at the thought of being a sovereign-turned-errand girl, she nevertheless decided to seek him out. 

At the Golem Temple, Bruce hired Mercedes and asked her to first find a package that the Golems had stolen from him. After Mercedes returned it to him, Bruce realized that the package had been torn open, and that one of the items, a Dejected Green Mushroom puppet, had gone missing. He explained that many monsters around Victoria Island had grown more violent due to such puppets, which exuded noises on a frequency that only monsters could hear, and asked her to recover it from the Golems. After Mercedes returned the puppet to Bruce, he realized that the Golems hadn’t exhibited any strange behavior while the puppet was in their possession, which helped him conclude that the frequency of the puppet seemed to only affect Green Mushrooms. He thanked Mercedes for her help in his research and told her that he would continue investigating the puppets.

Some time later, Bruce reached out and explained that he had told his mentor about her, and that his mentor wanted to meet her. Mercedes went to Perion and met with Bruce’s mentor, Winston, who immediately noticed that she had a peculiar accent and strange ears. He then asked her to collect leaves from Dark Stumps, as he wanted to compare the leaves to a fossil which he had found.

After Mercedes brought him the leaves, Winston compared them against the fossil, but realized that it would be difficult to prove that the species of the fossilized monster was mobile like the Dark Stumps. He wished that there were a record of monsters to compare against, but explained that the warriors of Perion cared little about keeping such records. He told her that there was a place in Ossyria rumored to have a warp in spacetime, which allowed one to travel into the past, though he dismissed it as a myth.

Mercedes remembered that she had ordered the creation of a Monster Picture Book during her reign and believed that it was still in Elluel. As all the monsters had evolved since the book had been made, she decided that it was useless to her and instead gave it to Winston, who was thrilled to see how detailed it was. He thanked her profusely, explaining that it would change the very course of his research. Before she left, he asked her for a final favor, which was to deliver a vial of Arcon’s Blood to Manji.

After delivering the blood, Mercedes was contacted by Bruce, who told her that his colleague, Dr. Betty, had heard good things about her from himself and Winston, and that she wanted to meet Mercedes as well. In Ellinia, Betty asked her to collect Evil Eye cell samples for her research. Mercedes recalled how the Evil Eyes had been disgusting cave-dwellers in her time. Betty was confused by her words, but then recalled how Evil Eyes used to live in caves centuries ago, though they had migrated to the forest over time. After collecting the Evil Eye samples, Betty asked her to collect Curse Eye samples. Though Mercedes had never heard of Curse Eyes before, she nevertheless collected the samples for Betty.

Betty thanked her and began musing aloud whether Evil Eyes or Curse Eyes were older. Mercedes explained that Evil Eyes had to be older, as Curse Eyes hadn’t existed centuries ago. She told Betty that Evil Eyes would only leave their caves when food was scarce, and that it had been her responsibility as sovereign to drive them away from Elluel, adding that the Evil Eyes back then were much stronger than they were in the present day.

Betty then had an epiphany that the Evil Eyes who had first ventured outside their caves likely fed on the forest plants, causing their skin to turn green until they eventually evolved into Curse Eyes. To confirm her hypothesis, Betty asked Mercedes to bring plant cell samples, after which she told Mercedes that she would contact her if she ever needed more help. (A/N: Thankfully she never does. Mercedes was probably glad to know that she didn’t have to spend the rest of her life being a royal intern.)

Mercedes then heard the voice of Philius, the Elder of Magic, in her mind. She rushed back to Elluel and found that Philius had been freed from the ice. After reuniting, Mercedes told him about her adventures in Maple World, as well as the fact that centuries had passed. Philius was puzzled about why the Black Mage’s curse hadn’t lifted on all the elves once Mercedes had awoken. Just then, Danika and Astilda, the Elders of War and Life, awoke and greeted Mercedes.

Philius suggested that with all the elders awake, they could perform the Rite of Snow, a powerful cleansing ritual, which he hoped would be enough to break the Black Mage’s curse. When the ritual failed, Philius concluded that it was because the curse was tied to Mercedes, whose growing strength had allowed the most powerful elves to awaken. He believed that her return to full power would lift the curse on the rest of the elves. However, he also realized that Mercedes’ awakening meant that the seal on the Black Mage was weakening, if not already broken.

As Philius began to lose hope, Mercedes insisted that they had not yet lost and told him that they just needed to make new allies in order to gain strength. Philius then remembered that Mercedes had entrusted the Mistelteinn to Athena Pierce, who had evacuated from Leafre before the battle against the Black Mage. He believed that the Mistelteinn’s power may have shielded Athena from the curse, and that she may have survived the war if she had managed to escape Leafre. Mercedes agreed, but with no leads on where Athena could be, she decided to visit Betty and ask if she knew of Athena. To her surprise, Betty explained that Athena was extremely famous in Maple World, and that she could be found at the Bowman Instructional School in Henesys.

Mercedes went to see Athena, who couldn’t believe her eyes upon seeing her queen. After a heartfelt reunion, Athena told Mercedes how she had crashed in Victoria Island with the other refugees and built Altaire Camp. She explained that after the situation had stabilized, she had tried entering Elluel many times, but always found the path blocked at the border. Mercedes told her that she had closed the border in order to prevent the curse from spreading and had never gotten the chance to warn her.

Athena then asked about everything that had happened during the final battle, and so Mercedes explained how the Heroes had sealed the Black Mage, how his curse on Mercedes had extended to the other elves, and how she was currently trying to awaken them. In turn, she asked Athena about everything that had happened over the past centuries. Athena told Mercedes about how Victoria Island had been completely settled, that Cygnus had become the new Empress, that the Black Wings were trying to revive the Black Mage, and that Von Leon had returned.

(A/N: The exact timeframe of when Von Leon returns isn’t specified, but in terms of game updates, the Lion King’s Castle was introduced before Mercedes was released, and so I’m assuming that Von Leon likely became active around the same time that Aran and Evan’s storylines take place.)

She also told Mercedes that she had been in contact with Aran, which surprised Mercedes, as humans didn’t have long lifespans. Athena explained that Aran had also been frozen for centuries, and that she was traveling around Maple World trying to recover her lost memories. She then asked if they could return to Elluel, as she longed to return to her homeland. (A/N: Athena lets it slip that Danika is her sister in this conversation.)

As they began heading outside, Athena remembered that she had forgotten something and asked Mercedes to wait outside for her. While Mercedes was waiting, Francis approached her and, after confirming that she was indeed Mercedes, began to attack her. Mercedes forced him to retreat, just as Athena came out. She brought Mercedes back inside and explained that based on the symbol that Francis was wearing, he was likely a member of the Black Wings. She told Mercedes that she had always suspected that the Black Wings were watching her, but Francis’ attack had confirmed her suspicions. She wondered if the Black Wings had made their move because she had been trying to take out the Mistelteinn.

The fact that she still had the Mistelteinn after so long surprised Mercedes, but Athena explained that even though she knew that Mercedes had ordered her to safeguard it in order to keep her off the battlefield, she had nevertheless taken the order from her sovereign seriously. Mercedes then wondered why the Black Wings had attacked her and not Athena, to which Athena explained that the Black Wings had a Master of Disguise, whom she believed had been planning to impersonate Mercedes in order to take the Mistelteinn from her.

(A/N: Given how important the Mistelteinn seems to be in Mercedes’ story, it’s strange that it never really plays a major role in the overall lore. The game never specifies what kind of treasure it is, but a book called Secret Story, which has lots of cool extra details about the Heroes and Commanders, explains that it’s a sacred bow imbibed with the power of the elves. We don’t really know why the Black Wings were trying to steal it, but I’d wager that they thought that it could be used as a power source.)

Athena then realized that the Black Wings may have been listening in on their conversation, meaning that they knew about the existence of Elluel. They immediately rushed over, where they found Black Wings henchmen invading the kingdom. While Athena and Philius drove them out of the town, Mercedes eliminated all the enemies at the border. After forcing them to retreat, Philius told Mercedes that they still didn’t know enough about the outside world to form conclusions about the reason behind the attack. He added that since Athena had other responsibilities outside of Elluel, they couldn’t rely on her to guide them forever.

Athena then returned from eliminating the stragglers and reported that the Black Wings had successfully been driven off, with no injuries on their side. However, she told Mercedes that the elders were too weak from the ice to hold back a larger invasion in their current state. Mercedes told Athena to keep holding onto the Mistelteinn, as Elluel was no longer a safe place to keep it. She briefly considered standing guard at the border, but Athena insisted that Mercedes needed to train in order to regain her full strength and free the elves. She suggested that the Cygnus Knights could offer their aid to Elluel if Mercedes approached them. Mercedes agreed to visit Cygnus in Ereve and Athena told her that she would write a letter to Cygnus so that she knew to expect Mercedes.

Sure enough, Neinheart greeted Mercedes as royalty and led her to the Empress. Cygnus told Mercedes that it was an honor to meet one of the legendary Heroes. She explained that she had been trying her best to help Maple World, but her inexperience and the fact that the Cygnus Knights were still new made her unsure about how well she was doing. However, she readily agreed to send a detachment of knights to guard Elluel and hoped that Mercedes would share her wisdom and guidance as an experienced ruler in exchange. When Mercedes agreed, Cygnus told her that she was glad to have Mercedes’ support, as there were few royals with whom she could speak.

(A/N: Taking into consideration that the other two known monarchs in Maple World are the self-obsessed Queen Areda of Ariant and the childish King of Ludibrium, it doesn’t come as a surprise that Cygnus has no one around her that she can talk to about how to rule.)

After their meeting, Neinheart told Mercedes that he could only spare a few knights, but assured her that they would be sufficient. Mercedes asked Neinheart whether Cygnus would be alright, as the young girl was shouldering a huge burden. Neinheart promised that Cygnus was wise beyond her years, despite her youth, and that he, Shinsoo, and the Cygnus Knights were doing everything in their power to support her. Still, Mercedes felt uneasy in her mind about the Black Wings and the return of the Black Mage, wondering whether Cygnus, a frail little girl, would have the strength to lead the people in the event of a full-scale war. Nevertheless, she returned to Henesys and told Athena Pierce about the successful negotiations.

Athena noticed that Mercedes looked unwell and asked whether she was alright. Mercedes confided her doubts about Cygnus, to which Athena told her that Mercedes herself had taught her that a good ruler would go to any lengths to save their people, which was precisely the kind of ruler that Cygnus was, adding that Cygnus reminded her of Mercedes in a way. Mercedes then returned to Elluel, where she met the three knights whom Neinheart had dispatched.

One of the knights, Vel, reported that all was well in the kingdom. He added that though there wasn’t much to do, he had seen Danika training and was amazed at her fighting prowess, as though she had lifetimes of experience, and asked Mercedes how old Danika was. Mercedes herself had forgotten how old Danika was, but knew that she was older than Athena Pierce at the time that the elves had been frozen. Mercedes went to ask Danika her age, to which Danika answered that she was 240 years old, not counting the time she had spent in the ice. Mercedes reported Danika’s age to Vel, who was taken aback, especially when Mercedes joked that Danika was practically a baby. 

(A/N: I’ve always wondered whether elves and Flora have a similar aging process, especially since they look almost identical. Illium is 153 at the start of his storyline and he’s probably a high-schooler in human terms. Danika is 240 years old and serves as the Elder of War, despite her young age. I wonder whether elves and Flora age at around a tenth of a human’s aging process, making Illium around 15 and Danika around 24.)

After spending more time training, Mercedes felt that she was strong enough to start using some of her more advanced skills, though she was unable to recall them. She remembered that when she had first become the Ruler of the Elves, she had undertaken three trials from the Great Spirit of the elves. For her third trial, she recalled how she had to beat the Rage Dragon, and how the dragon had almost eliminated her instead. She wondered whether she would have to pass the trials again in order to prove herself worthy to the Great Spirit.

At the King’s Seat, Mercedes played a song called ‘The Sovereign's Appeal’ on the large harp upon the throne, allowing her to summon the Great Spirit. The Great Spirit greeted Mercedes, who began voicing her doubts about her ability to lead and suggested that a new ruler should lead the elves. The Great Spirit reassured Mercedes that she had done what was best for the elves, as refraining from battling the Black Mage wouldn’t have guaranteed their safety either way. Her spirits lifted, Mercedes then asked whether she would need to pass the trials in order to regain her power, but the Great Spirit told Mercedes that she had already proven herself worthy of Elven Grace when she had first become queen, and so she restored more of Mercedes’ power at no cost.

With her new skills, Mercedes continued training earnestly until she was called back to Elluel by Astilda, who told Mercedes that Elluel’s water supply had been poisoned. Though she and the other elders had been trying to purify as much water as they could, they simply couldn’t work fast enough, and so Astilda asked Mercedes to check the fountainhead. She apologized for having summoned Mercedes from her training in order to do so, but explained that Philius was researching the curse, Danika was training for battle, and she herself was simply too old.

At the fountainhead, Mercedes found Black Wings henchmen poisoning the water and immediately eliminated them before returning to Astilda. Astilda told her that the Cygnus Knights were doing a good job of protecting the town, but even they couldn’t watch everything that happened around them. She doubted that the Black Wings would try poisoning the water again, but asked Mercedes to tell the Cygnus Knights to watch the fountainhead as well. She also added that it would take time for clean water to flow through Elluel, and so she asked if Mercedes could bring clean water if she were to encounter any during her travels, mentioning that the Cygnus Knights had said that there was a spring at the highest reaches of Ellinia from which clean water flowed. There, Mercedes found a small stump overflowing with water, which she brought back to Elluel.

Mercedes then continued her training until Philius called her back to Elluel once again, explaining that an old friend had returned. Upon arriving, Mercedes was pleasantly surprised to see her old friend Sylvidia, a snow-white unicorn. However, she noticed that Sylvidia was exhausted and asked if she was hurt. Sylvidia replied that she wasn’t hurt, but that it had been difficult to find food in Maple World over the past centuries without the help of the elves. Mercedes prepared a special unicorn meal for Sylvidia, who was grateful for Mercedes’ kindness. However, she explained that she still felt hurt that Mercedes had gone without her to fight the Black Mage and hoped that they could finally be together again. Mercedes tried to convince Sylvidia to wait a bit longer until the Black Mage was defeated for good, but Sylvidia protested that she would stay at Mercedes’ side no matter what.  

Some time later, Mercedes received a letter from the Shadow Knight, who had challenged her to a duel in Sleepywood. Furious at the Shadow Knight’s audacity in challenging the Ruler of the Elves, Mercedes went to Sleepywood, intent on putting him in his place. There, the Shadow Knight greeted her and explained that he wanted to test his strength against her, as the legends stated that Mercedes was a master of the Dual Bowguns. Mercedes wondered whether the Shadow Knight was affiliated with the Black Wings, but regardless, she swore to win for the honor of the elves and proceeded to defeat him.

(A/N: There’s a mistake with this quest, as it states that you have to defeat Mu Young instead of Nameless, which is what the Shadow Knight is referred to in other quests. This has led some people to speculate that the Shadow Knight is Mu Young, which is an understandable conclusion, as Lotus possessed Mu Young to fight Phantom in his storyline, giving Mu Young a tie to the Black Wings. However, the death animation for the Shadow Knight shows that he’s really just two pandas stacked on top of each other wearing a robe and a wig.)

After the Shadow Knight retreated, Mercedes went to ask Athena Pierce who he was. Athena was unfamiliar with such a person and asked what he had been wearing. Mercedes described how he had worn a bamboo hat and a cloth that covered his face, explaining that his clothes looked like they were from Mu Lung. She added that his speech was old, but not from centuries ago, and that he also wore a black robe with a wing symbol on his clothes.

Based on her description, Athena concluded that he was likely part of the Black Wings and told Mercedes that she must have scared them. She explained that the Black Wings had agents all over Maple World and asked Mercedes to stay safe in Elluel while she herself hunted them down. Mercedes warned Athena that she was overstepping her bounds to suggest that the Ruler of the Elves hide while her people were in danger. Realizing that she couldn’t persuade Mercedes, Athena told her to visit Manji in Perion, as he might know something about the Shadow Knight. When Mercedes described the Shadow Knight to Manji, he told her that he had seen such a man training by fighting Wild Boars some time ago.

In the Wild Boar lands, Mercedes discovered a Tongue Twister Scroll and brought it back to Athena Pierce. After reading the scroll, Athena learned that the Shadow Knight did indeed belong to the Black Wings, but that he had disobeyed their orders and fought Mercedes alone, rather than lead her into an ambush. However, Athena was more worried about the one who had written the letter, as the wording of the letter made it seem as though the person not only knew Mercedes personally, but held a grudge against her. Undeterred, Mercedes continued training and soon regained even more of her old power from the Great Spirit.

Soon after, she received a letter from Athena Pierce, who wrote that she had heard of someone who had the power to break the curse on the elves, and that he would be waiting for her in Sleepywood. Mercedes thought it was strange that Athena had written a letter instead of contacting her directly and noted that the wording of the letter was overly obsequious. Nevertheless, she went to Sleepywood and met a hooded man named Audish, who told her about the Flame of Revival, which was said to able to break any curse. (A/N: It’s not explicitly mentioned in this quest, but Audish is actually Hiver in disguise.) However, he told Mercedes that he needed to test her strength and asked her to defeat Copper Drakes. After proving herself, Audish told her to go into the Humid Swamp in Sleepywood, where she would find the flame. Mercedes went into the swamp and instead encountered Dargoth the Giant, who told her that there was no Flame of Revival.

Realizing that she had been tricked, Mercedes defeated Dargoth and rushed back to Athena Pierce to warn her that the Black Wings were sending fake letters in her name. After Mercedes explained how she had been ambushed, Athena wondered whether there was an information leak, as the only people who knew about Mercedes’ goal to revive the elves were Athena, the elders, and the Cygnus Knights. Athena told Mercedes that she would personally speak with the Cygnus Knights and ensure that they were careful with what information they divulged to others. She also suggested that they agree to only speak directly instead of sending letters so that they wouldn’t fall for any other Black Wings schemes. 

Some time later, Mercedes was contacted by Lalich, one of the Cygnus Knights dispatched to Elluel. He asked Mercedes whether the child she had taken from Elluel a few days ago had woken up from the curse. In confusion, Mercedes told him that she had never taken anyone from the town, which in turn confused Lalich, who told her that he had seen her take the child, and that she had told him that she had wanted to see if she could break the curse on him. Though he trusted that Mercedes knew what she was doing, he explained that he just wanted to know if the child was alright.

Suddenly, he realized that the Black Wings had a Master of Disguise and feared that he may have been tricked. He asked Mercedes to return to Elluel right away, where he apologized to her for failing in his duties. However, Mercedes told him to save his apologies for the child and vowed to get him back. Soon after, she received a letter that instructed her to go the Verne Mine in Edelstein and speak with Le Tierre the Secretary if she ever wanted to see the child again. Mercedes noted that the letter was signed by “someone who remembered Mercedes”.

When she got to the mine, she immediately threatened Le Tierre to return the child. Le Tierre was unfazed and simply told Mercedes to check the room to the left. Upon entering, she found that the Black Wings had set up an ambush for her, but she easily defeated them all and rescued the child. However, she realized that it was a human child, not an elf, and confronted Le Tierre once again. Le Tierre laughed and said that it was hard to keep track of every child they had kidnapped, but when Mercedes threatened her, Le Tierre said that ‘she’ would get mad if Mercedes kept her waiting, and so she instructed Mercedes go into the Power Plant room on the right and enter the door at the end.

Following her directions, Mercedes found herself in Orchid’s room, where the Wing Master was waiting for her. Orchid mocked Mercedes for her one-track mind, claiming that once Mercedes focused on something, she was unable to notice anything else. At first, Mercedes couldn’t believe her eyes, but after realizing that it was indeed Orchid, she asked how the Wing Master could still be alive, to which Orchid merely said that she could ask the same of Mercedes. (A/N: I guess that she didn’t expect that Orchid and Lotus had survived Phantom’s beatdown.)

Orchid explained that ever since she had heard that Mercedes had been freed from the Black Mage’s curse, she had wanted to meet her. Mercedes then realized that Orchid was the leader of the Black Wings, which explained why the Black Wings seemed to know so much about her. She asked Orchid what the point of reviving the Black Mage was, to which Orchid began to hint at something that the Black Mage was planning, even in spite of being sealed away, but stopped herself mid-sentence and joked that she had almost given away a secret. The two then engaged in a battle, which Mercedes was barely able to win, causing Orchid to retreat.

(A/N: These theatrics are likely just Orchid toying with Mercedes, as she had no intention of reviving the Black Mage. It’s also possible that the writers hadn’t settled on Orchid’s true purpose of founding the Black Wings at this point, which makes her come across as a loyal Commander in this exchange.)

Though Mercedes was exhausted from the fight, she was aware that Orchid hadn’t even been at full strength without Lotus by her side, fearing what could have happened if Orchid hadn’t been weakened. She then found the elf child in Orchid’s room and escaped with him and the human child. She returned the human child to Claudine in Edelstein, believing that Claudine was merely a doctor, and returned back to Elluel with the elf child. Mercedes and the elders were amazed that the child, Moonie, had been freed from the curse by Orchid. As yet another Commander had resurfaced, the elders decided to tighten security and asked Mercedes to let Athena Pierce know what had happened, hoping that she could advise them about what to do next.

Before she headed out, Mercedes spoke with Moonie to see whether he had recovered from his ordeal. Moonie told her that he couldn’t help but feel sad that he was the only child in Elluel. With his family and friends still frozen, and with the elders too busy to play with him, he felt especially lonely. Mercedes offered to play with him, but Moonie told her that he couldn’t ask her to do that, as she needed to get stronger in order to free the others. Though she could do little else to help him, Mercedes played the music box in the middle of town for him, which helped lift his spirits. (A/N: Though she doesn’t remember, that music box is the same one that Lucid had made for her, which has the power to give sweet dreams to anyone who listens to its music.)

She then met with Athena Pierce and told her about her encounter with Orchid and explained that she was worried about the possibility of the Black Mage returning. Having faced him once, she knew all too well about the terrible power he possessed and told Athena that the Heroes had been lucky not only to have sealed him, but to have escaped with their lives. She feared that there was no guarantee that she could defeat him a second time, especially when she had grown weaker while he was managing to break through the Seal of Time. She confided to Athena that she was terrified of the Black Mage, but Athena told Mercedes that she wasn’t alone, as the Explorers, the Cygnus Knights, the Resistance, and the returned Heroes all stood with her.

Soon after, Neinheart reached out the Mercedes and apologized on behalf of the Cygnus Knights for having allowed Moonie to be kidnapped. Some time later, Mercedes went to Edelstein to check on the human child, Cutie, and asked Claudine if there was any way that she could help. Claudine told her that she had already done enough to help them, but at Mercedes’ insistence, she asked Mercedes to collect Nependeath Seeds in order to create a nutrition pill for Cutie. After Mercedes brought her the seeds, Claudine thanked her and noted that both Mercedes’ strength and her hatred of the Black Wings made her wonder whether their paths would cross again.