Divine Awakening: My Game Drops Increase Infinitely-Chapter 124 : The Queen of Anarnia

As the figure drew closer, Axton's eyes widened. His heart gave a sudden, uneasy jolt.

'That face…?'

There was something hauntingly familiar about her.

The woman before him wore a flowing robe of radiant white that seemed to gleam faintly in the light. Her presence was divine, her steps graceful and slow, but her expression carried an unmistakable sadness. She looked like an angel from an ancient story, yet her sorrow seemed to weigh down the air around her.

And then, as if confirming the strange familiarity, she spoke.

"I am Queen Lamia," she said softly. Her voice was calm but filled with a deep melancholy. "Queen of the Anarnian Empire and Great Priestess of the Holy Light Cathedral."

Axton's mind snapped.

'Lamia!?' 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

That name struck him like lightning. He knew that name.

He had seen that face before—only, the last time he saw it, her eyes had been eerie, her skin pitch black, and her skeletal grin had dripped with malice.

She was the Undead Archer. The final boss of the World Event.

His grip on reality slipped for a moment.

"So… you were the queen," Axton muttered under his breath, still trying to process what he was seeing.

Queen Lamia nodded solemnly. "Yes. Once, long ago."

Her gaze wandered toward the city beneath them, where Anarnia's ruins lay still and quiet.

"We had a stable and flourishing civilization for hundreds of years," she began, her voice distant, as though she were reciting memories that no longer belonged to her. "Our Empire was a beacon of light in the world—prosperous, peaceful, blessed by the Holy Light. But then… the undead came."

Her tone hardened slightly. "They came from beyond, bringing with them the stench of death and decay. Anarnia, our beloved home, was swallowed in their darkness. The air grew heavy, the sky lost its color, and our people began to fall."

She paused, her face softening with grief.

"We couldn't let that happen. We fought desperately. Every man, woman, and child took up arms to defend our home. But the more we fought, the faster we fell."

Her eyes turned downward.

"Only a few days after the invasion began, my husband, the King, died under mysterious circumstances. No wound. No poison. Just… gone."

As she described the king's death, Axton couldn't help but remember Mayor Duncan. It had been a similar situation where the mayor was murdered but there was no trace of anything.

Her hands trembled slightly as she continued. "After him, others followed — our generals, our priests, our guards. One by one, they fell… their deaths unexplainable."

"As Queen and as the Great Priestess, I had no choice but to take both seats of authority—the political and the spiritual. I was once a warrior before I was a ruler, so it was only right that I stand in the front lines. I swore to protect my people."

Her voice cracked faintly, but she forced herself to go on.

"I eventually found the source of my husband's death," she whispered. "But it was not something I could name… nor defeat. Before I could act, it seized me. My body was taken, my will shattered."

Her voice trembled. "I was… turned into that monster you fought."

Axton felt a cold sensation crawl down his spine.

"So you were still aware," he said quietly.

She nodded weakly, her eyes glistening. "Yes. I was conscious. Trapped within my own body, unable to scream, unable to die."

Her hands clenched tightly as she looked at them with disgust. "With these very hands, I butchered my own people. My knights, my priests, even the children of the Holy Light. All of them… by my bow and arrows."

Axton's throat tightened. He could see the agony in her eyes — genuine and raw.

"Those I killed," Lamia continued, "rose again as the undead. Bound to me… bound to my curse. I became their leader, their queen… but not by choice."

Her voice dropped to a whisper. "I begged for death. I begged to be released. But death… refused me."

For a moment, silence hung between them.

Then, slowly, Lamia sank to her knees before Axton.

The queen of Anarnia, the once-feared Undead Archer, bowed her head deeply to him.

"Thank you," she said softly. Her words carried a depth of emotion that struck Axton like a blade. "Thank you, great warrior. Thank you for granting me death… for releasing me from that endless torment."

Axton froze.

He had been thanked many times before by NPCs, by quest givers, by spirits of the fallen. But this time, it felt different.

It felt real.

He scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "I… uh… didn't really do it for that."

But deep down, he understood. Being forced to destroy everything you love… that was a fate worse than death itself.

Lamia smiled faintly, though it was filled with sorrow. "I know. But even so, you did what I could not. You freed me."

Rising slowly to her feet, she continued, "Before I fell, I cast a sacred spell upon myself — one that tied my soul to the heart of Anarnia. I did this so that, when I was finally freed from the curse, I could return… even for a brief moment."

Her eyes met his again. "So that I could guide the one destined to lift the curse completely."

Axton raised an eyebrow. "You mean… me?"

She smiled weakly. "There is no other. The curse may have ended for me, but for the city, it remains. I can feel it. Its shadow still lingers."

Axton's expression darkened. 'So, the World Event isn't truly over or what…' he thought.

Lamia continued. "The undead will not release their hold so easily. I believe there are forces beyond even my understanding working behind this."

She looked over at the ruined city one last time.

"My time here is limited," she said softly, her voice now faint and echoing like a breeze through the clouds. "The bond that ties me to this world weakens with every word I speak."

She lifted her hand, palm facing upward.

Two faintly glowing objects materialized above it, floating gently.

Their light was soft, not harsh, casting a pale aura that surrounded her like the last rays of dawn.

"You are strong, O' Great Warrior," Lamia said, her tone filled with both pride and sorrow. "But strength alone will not be enough. You will face many trials. Still… I believe you will endure."

She extended her hand toward him. "Take these. My final gifts. Use them to protect Anarnia when the time comes again."

Axton hesitated for a moment, then reached out.

The two items floated gently toward him and stopped just above his open palm.

Ding!

[You have received two items from the Queen of Anarnia — Lamia]

Axton glanced down at the glowing notification, his expression unreadable.

He looked back up to speak, but the queen's figure had already begun to fade, her form dissolving into pale motes of light carried away by the wind.

The faint sound of her voice lingered as the last trace of her presence vanished.

"Protect our home… warrior of fate…"

And then she was gone.

The sky above Anarnia grew still once again, leaving Axton standing alone, staring into the empty light.

He clenched his fists around the air where the queen once stood.