The Queen's Dilemma

Portals result from an extreme amount of magical energy filled with malicious intent released by demons. The first set of portals opened during the Great Demon War when the Northern nation declared war against the other four. Lord Brutus, Monarch of the North, wanted to be the supreme ruler of the entire demon world. Because of the clashing of powerful demons, portals began to open and numerous monere had accidentally gone through them. Portals are opened by accident. Even Ivana, who was one of the most powerful demons, took hundreds of years before she was able to create the two small portals.

There are three kinds of demons: the monere, the homino, and the natusa. The monere are the beast-type demons under the rule of the Queen of Thorns. The homino are the man-type demons. They are divided into the four nations of North, South, East, and West. They are basically like humans, intelligent and adaptive, although some had tried breaking their nation's laws and were immediately executed. The natusa are the demon leaders since they are a league above others. Queen Ivana, Lord Auroch and Lord Brutus are all of this kind, including Lord Orcus of the West and Lord Silva of the East, as well as most of the "nobility". Despite being powerful, Ivana never cared about power and dominance. When the war broke out, she declared herself neutral and concentrated on protecting the beasts.

"And that's exactly why it's a mystery to me that you wish to harm the beast", Lord Auroch admitted. I did not answer. I kindly excused myself and spent the rest of the night turning and rolling on the bed, restless. No, I've made up my mind. The beast has to pay for what it's done or what it's about to do. I kept telling myself that, but my heart was slowly being filled with uncertainty. The next morning, I thanked Lord Auroch for his hospitability and continued my journey. The closer I was getting to my destination, the more conflicted I was feeling. At last, I reached the entrance of the cave. I heard a low rumbling and the spider came out cautiously, its egg attached to its belly. It must have felt my presence. The spider looked at me with unsuspecting eyes. I swallowed back all inhibitions and attacked the spider. I sent a root towards its eyes. The spider lowered its head and covered its eyes in defense. It raised its head and gave me a questioning look. I launched five vines filled with thorns towards its body. Then... What was that? For a spilt second, I saw myself. I saw myself attacking the spider not from a reflection, but it was like I was looking through the beast's eyes. I shook my head in confusion. The vines fell back. Eight roots shot up from the ground and wrapped each of its legs. The spider was immobilized. It was my chance. I took a vine and released a scant amount of energy. The vine hardened and shaped into a spear. I stared at the monster coldheartedly. It was time for revenge. I can finally live in peace, I thought. The spider stared back at me pleadingly. I glanced at its egg. I could sense the tiny little spiders inside it, like the ones that killed my brother. The memory filled me with rage. I held the spear tightly, then slowly lifted it. I was about to throw it, but...

What's going on? It's happening again. I'm seeing myself through its eyes. I saw myself drop on my knees, my hands over my eyes. More than that, I could feel the spider's anxiety and fear for its children. I could "hear" its thoughts, its confusion and distress ringing on my mind. It must be part of the Queen's abilities. I can communicate with the monsters? The roots loosened in that moment of distraction. The spider instinctively retreated, planning to go back into hiding. I snapped out of it. No! I felt myself releasing an excessive amount of energy. I watched in shock as a huge portal opened below it and the spider vanished out of sight. Alas, I saw through its eyes - my village.