Anticipation rose within me as I followed Miria down a long, spiraling staircase that descended into darkness, beyond where my eyes could see. In truth, I couldn't see anything except the faint glow of Miria's hair ahead of me. Her hand held mine as we descended.
Unlike me, Miria seemed completely fine in the darkness, leading me without any hesitation. Her grip on my hand was firm—just enough not to hurt me but strong enough that I no longer had control over my own hand.
I was a little hesitant at first, my thoughts wandering toward many unnecessary or unrealistic possibilities. If Miria wanted to do something to me, she would certainly do it without worrying about dirtying her home floor. Dragging me down to what could only be called the basement of her castle was likely because she wanted to show me something.
With that thought, my nervousness faded, replaced by a thread of understanding… Miria was holding me so tightly because she was nervous. Yes, the Demon Queen was nervous! But what could possibly make her nervous?
At that thought, Miria suddenly stopped. She turned toward me slowly, her crimson ember-like eyes piercing into mine. "I am not nervous! I just want to be honest with you!"
No, she was definitely nervous. The sharpness in her voice and the intensity of her gaze made that clear.
Miria's eyes narrowed further at me, her face mere inches from mine.
'I should probably stop thinking, huh?'
With that thought, I did. Miria responded in turn, continuing to lead me down the dark staircase.
A few minutes passed, yet the stairs showed no sign of ending… but something had definitely changed—more with me than with my surroundings. The steps still felt the same, the darkness remained suffocating, and Miria was still tense. But as we descended, I found myself breathing harder, moving with more difficulty. Even my motions felt blurred, as if every movement left a lingering trace in the space around me.
'Weird.'
I waved my free hand in different positions and shapes, but the blurriness and afterimages remained. It was as if my hand was moving through a thin layer of transparent water or thickened air.
'Is my mind playing tricks on me?' That would be funny, in a way.
"Your mind is perfectly fine," Miria's calm voice drew my attention away from the strange phenomenon. "Space is manifesting as we approach my domain's anchor."
'Space is manifesting? … Domain's anchor? … What?'
"Don't worry too much. You won't be harmed while I'm with you," Miria reassured me, but she didn't answer my questions.
I pushed my curiosity aside and moved even closer to Miria. I didn't understand what was happening, but I could guess that our destination wasn't entirely safe. Otherwise, why would she assure me of my safety? As for the questions that roamed freely in my mind, they would be answered once we reached our destination.
A few more minutes passed, and Miria and I finally reached the bottom of the staircase. She was still holding my hand, even tighter than before. The strange phenomenon around me had stopped, but not because it had naturally faded. In fact, the closer we got to the bottom, the more intense the distortion of space around me became—and only around me. Miria seemed unaffected. But the shapeless energy continued to follow my frame perfectly—which was Miria's doing.
Around me, I could literally see the incomprehensible fabric of space twisting at even the slightest movement or breath. Thin streaks of blue wandered aimlessly, and when they collided, the space between them opened like the maw of a giant beast. Inside that maw, there was only an infinite void.
Miria and I moved through the space. I could no longer call it a basement. The space here was vast and endless—my eyes couldn't see its end, nor could I grasp its height. The only thing remaining of the basement as a concept was the solid, limited stone floor beneath us, which gave me some sense of security. That, and Miria, of course.
At the center of this floating stone floor in the strange space rested a black gate. Its closed frame was adorned with unfamiliar gray symbols, almost similar to those in the sixth tower of the castle—only infinitely more complex.
The edges of the door were strange in their own way, seeming to be held in place by the surrounding space itself, as if space had wrapped around it and started from there. The visible space along the door's edges appeared folded at an angle my mind simply couldn't comprehend, just to allow the black gate to stand in this dimension.
'What the hell is this?'
I tore my gaze away from the door with difficulty and looked at Miria beside me. Dozens of questions swirled in my mind. I opened my mouth to voice them, but Miria spoke first.
"This… call it a gate. It is the anchor and the center of my kingdom," her words flowed easily, but her expression was serious. "Which means, it is both its exit and entrance."
Her words ran through my mind as I tried to grasp their implications. But my attempts were fruitless—there were too many things I didn't understand.
Before, I hadn't thought much about her domain. I had simply taken it as a given—a place under Miria's absolute control, where she could even manipulate time itself. But now, her cryptic words suggested that her domain wasn't just something that existed but something she had created.
'Did she… create an entire world?!'
I couldn't see how that could be possible… but then again, she had said she was born with mana itself. And mana was life. So, there was no reason to think she couldn't create worlds. But… could she?!
"You're lucky that I tolerate the chaos of your thoughts. Most people wouldn't," Miria said.
I turned my eyes to her, finding her watching me with a mixture of exasperation and strange fascination—like someone observing a puppy trying to solve a Rubik's Cube.
"Your words are as sweet as you, but they're a little concerning," she said, shifting her gaze away from me to the black gate before us. "But you're not entirely wrong either. This isn't a complete world—it's limited. More like an extension of a world rather than a world itself. But that's not important right now."
She was right—it wasn't important right now. Even though she had brought me here to explain this, the situation now suggested that she wanted something from me. But what?
"Go and open the door," Miria said nonchalantly, letting go of my hand and gesturing toward it.
'What…?'
I remained standing in place. Her words registered in my mind, but I couldn't bring myself to act on them. Something felt off about this, and I didn't understand why. Why did she want me to open the door? Did she want me to step into another place?
"Just place your palm on it and try pushing. Don't overthink it," Miria said again, trying to reassure me.
But still…
I took slow steps toward the door, the space around me shifting to accommodate my presence, shaped by the formless energy surrounding me. With every step closer, I felt my heart sink. I didn't know what Miria intended with this, and she didn't seem like she would explain. It surely wasn't something bad… right?!
I reached the door without any of the obstacles I had imagined. Up close, its form was even more intricate—the complex patterns on it were not only more elaborate but… they were moving.
'What?!'
I turned my head to where Miria had been standing—only to find her right behind me, a small smile playing on her lips.
For a moment, I thought this was some kind of joke at my expense, but then she whispered into my ear.
"Try to open the door."
I stared at her for a second, but in the end, I gave in and turned back to the door. Slowly, I raised my hand and placed it against it. Its surface was cold against my skin, but not uncomfortably so.
Taking a deep breath to calm my chaotic mind, I closed my eyes and pushed the door with all my strength.
I felt nothing—as if the door had vanished from my sense of touch. Had I opened it? Or not?
I tried pushing harder, but I felt as if my hand was stuck. I couldn't push. So… I couldn't open it?
"That's enough. Open your eyes," Miria's commanding voice reached my ears, and I did as she said.
The first thing I looked at was the door. It was still closed, of course. I hadn't been able to open it, which made sense—it was massive, too large for my insignificant body to budge.
I pulled my hand away from it and turned to Miria, who was watching me with curiosity.
I was ready to say something, to ask why she had made me do this, why she had brought me here. But she erased all my questions effortlessly—with a single kiss. Her lips pressed against mine with a force she rarely used, only when she was overflowing with emotions.
'What got her so excited?'
But even that thought didn't last a second under Miria's deep yet sweet kisses.
She continued kissing me for a few more seconds, and when she was done, she took my hand and pulled me away from the door, leading me back toward the spiraling staircase.
On the way, Miria gave me a vague explanation for her actions. "I just wanted to confirm what kind of hero you'll be. And what kind of worlds you'll play a role in."
'Ugh… So there are different kinds of heroes?'
Even as I thought that question, I didn't understand why Miria was being so secretive about this whole process. There were things she wasn't telling me, and I couldn't simply ask—because she would have answered before I could even put the thought into words. Mind-reading and all.
Plus, I didn't miss the fact that she had said worlds instead of a world.
I glanced back at the closed black gate. Its massive form remained motionless amid the chaotic space surrounding it. Suddenly, I found myself unusually curious about what lay beyond it.
I turned back again to face Miria's back as she led me up the spiraling staircase once more. And again, I found myself even more curious about her. There was so much more to her than she was telling me. Beyond just being the Demon Queen. Or maybe… her title itself meant more than she had explained to me?
'I want to know more about her!'