Eden blinked. "...Death Queen?"
Evelynn nodded slowly, her tone calm but her eyes distant, as if she were recalling a story she wasn't sure she wanted to tell.
"Yes. A terrifyingly gifted woman. The last time I heard of her was years ago." She smiled softly. "I was just a child when she came to disrupt the empire I lived in."
'She used to live in an empire?'
Eden thought but quickly came back to the topic.
Lira, who had been silent until now, subtly shifted her weight. "I thought you were going to talk about the White Necromancer."
Evelynn smiled, glancing back at the maid. "Are you still afraid of her?"
Lira shook her head. "I am a big girl, my lady." She spoke flatly. "I don't fear anything now."
"Oh." She raised her brow. "Do you want me to narrate some stories about her?"
Lira turned silent before she slowly began to move. "I think I have some work left to do."
Evelynn chuckled when the girl ran out of the room like a scared cat.
"She used to cry whenever I told her stories of the White Necromancer." Evelynn smiled, looking at her son. "You were much braver than her."
"Who is this White Necromancer?" Eden asked, tilting his head.
Evelynn smiled as she changed the topic. "You were asking about the Death Queen, right?"
Eden looked at her suspiciously for a second before he nodded. "Yeah."
"Hm, there isn't much to know about her." She said, moving close to him. "She is a mystery that was present before I was even born."
"….I see." Eden nodded as he rubbed his head. "Anything else?"
"…Well, it's well known that somewhere out there she has her own kingdom." She said, gently rubbing his head. "But no one knows its accurate location."
Eden felt at ease at her touch as he asked. "Nobody tried to find that place?"
"Many did." She said. "But none returned back, so after a while people stopped bothering with her."
Eden leaned back slightly, his gaze falling to the polished marble floor. "So, anyone who goes looking for her… just disappears?"
Evelynn nodded softly. "Yes. Some say she curses those who speak her name with ill intent."
She turned silent for a second as she sighed.
"Others believe her kingdom isn't even part of our realm anymore—like it exists between life and death."
'Between life and death…' Eden repeated in his mind, his fingers twitching slightly.
He looked up again. "And nobody knows what she looks like?"
Evelynn smiled faintly.
"Descriptions vary. Some say she's a young girl with silver hair and eyes as dark as a void. Others claim she wears a mask made from the skull of a fallen god. But I think…"
Her voice softened, almost wistful. "I think she's simply someone who got tired of living and decided not to die."
Eden blinked. "…That's… depressing."
Evelynn chuckled, brushing his cheek gently. "It's tragic, not depressing. There's a difference."
He tilted his head. "You sound like you pity her."
"Perhaps I do," she said quietly. "Anyone who commands death must have suffered enough to understand it deeply."
Eden went silent for a moment.
[You feel it too, don't you?] Sana's voice chimed softly in his head.
'Feel what?'
[That strange pull… like you've met her before.]
Eden frowned slightly. 'That's impossible.'
[Is it?]
'Wait, is she—?'
[I can't answer that.]
'…You aren't saying she is—.'
Before he could reply, Evelynn spoke again, breaking his focus.
"Anyway," she said, standing gracefully and straightening her dress, "have you already chosen your weapon?"
Eden shook his head. "No, not yet."
"When are you going to do that, silly boy?" She said, gently touching his head. "Alright, come with me."
Eden couldn't even stop her before she grabbed his hand and dragged him away.
Eden stumbled forward as Evelynn dragged him through the hall, her pace graceful yet surprisingly fast for someone in a long dress.
"Mother—wait!" he protested, half laughing, half panicking. "I can walk, you know?"
"Oh hush," Evelynn said with a teasing smile. "If I let you walk, you'll start thinking again. You always look so serious lately—it doesn't suit you."
'Because I am serious,' Eden thought, sighing internally.
The two made their way down a wide corridor lined with portraits and glowing crystals.
The faint hum of mana filled the air—this section of the estate was older, colder, and quieter.
Eden recognized it from his memories: the armory.
They stopped in front of two massive steel doors engraved with ancient runes.
Evelynn pressed her palm against one of the glyphs, and it glowed faintly before the doors creaked open.
The moment Eden stepped inside, his breath caught.
Rows upon rows of weapons lined the walls—swords, spears, staves, bows, and even stranger tools.
Each pulsed faintly with mana, humming with restrained power.
Evelynn smiled as she watched his reaction. "Your father used to spend hours in here, just staring at these."
"I can see why," Eden murmured. "They're… beautiful."
"Beautiful and deadly," Evelynn said softly. "Every piece in this armory was forged from the remains of something ancient. A fallen beast, a forgotten god, or even a cursed relic of war."
Eden ran a hand along a black-bladed sword, its edge whispering faintly like wind. "And you want me to pick one?"
"Of course." She walked past him, "you only have a few days before your awakening, learning how to use a weapon will be helpful."
'…She is talking like I will fight someone at the awakening ceremony.'
Eden let out a sigh as he began to walk right behind her.
Evelynn looked back at him and smiled. "Go choose a weapon." She said. "You can take one and choose a secondary weapon later on."
"…Ah, alright."
Eden said as he turned to walk in a different direction.
≤Do you have any weapon in your mind?≥
'Not a sword.'
Eden thought as he kept on walking down the hall.
≤Why not a sword?≥
'I just don't like it.'
Eden replied, glancing at the rack of spears on display.
'I also don't want to deal with spears either.'
He let out a sigh as he shook his head.
From a normal person's perspective, Eden may look like a fool for not getting a sword or a spear, but he had his reasons.
And that is—.
'I don't like them.'
...
Eden walked around the place for a long while as he found a lot of interesting weapons.
≤You're being incredibly picky,≥ Sana said, her tone somewhere between amused and exasperated.
'I just don't want to swing a sword around like every other cliché hero.'
≤What about a staff?≥
'Too mage-like.'
≤Daggers?≥
'Too assassin-like.'
≤Then what do you want to be—stylish?≥
Eden frowned. 'That… actually sounds nice.'
Sana sighed. ≤Unbelievable.≥
Eden stopped near a display covered in a thin sheet of dust.
Unlike the polished, radiant shelves around it, this one seemed forgotten—ignored.
It was a pair of dual-axes with a pair of chains hanging down from their bases.
One slightly longer than the other, both with dark steel edges and handles wrapped in worn leather.
They looked used, not displayed. Like they belonged to someone who actually fought with them.
Eden looked at the thing for a long while as something clicked in his mind.
….A memory of the previous Eden.
The memory in which he used to practice with an axe.
'....'