Devotion was flung away from Victor and Alex, having let go, and thrown roughly onto a random spot within the Interplanar Secret Realm. He was almost instantly knocked unconscious from the impact, but managed to stay up.
"Ysmir? You at least still with me?" Devotion asked. His fears were quelled when he felt Ysmir's cold snout press against his neck. "Somehow, I lived. Guess the laws here aren't as strong as the High Elders thought!" Devotion exclaimed with pride. "I really am just way too lucky sometimes."
Ysmir sighed, still unable to communicate that there was no luck involved, just the fact that Devotion still hadn't realized he had advanced. However, while Ysmir couldn't communicate with Devotion, in felt more intelligent than before. Ysmir found itself having more complex thoughts than just instinct, and could probably scheme on its own, if it wished. However, it still had an inherent loyalty to Devotion. Ysmir just hoped it would be able to communicate with Devotion soon. It would be more efficient, and a lot less lonely. Ysmir realized that it felt more like a pet than a companion at the moment. It would have to bring that up once it could communicate.
Upon feeling that Ysmir was still with him, Devotion was slightly more relieved. At least he wasn't totally alone. He finally took this time to examine his immediate surroundings. Devotion found himself in a strange, alternate world. The plants at his feet, while it appeared to be a regular grass, was a deep purple color. Ysmir seemed to blend right into it. The sky was a bright orange hue. Blue clouds were present within it, forming a sort of thin layer. In the far distance was an immense mountain range, absolutely towering in size. Every so often, Devotion could see bright lights coming from it. The results of battles between cultivators, most likely.
Behind Devotion, there was a thin fog rolling close to the ground. This fog was a cyan blue, the same as the clouds in the sky. It appeared to be made of the same stuff as those clouds.
"Well, I suppose we should try and find the other two. Hopefully they landed together, at least. Any idea on where to head, Ysmir?" Devotion asked, but then noticed that Ysmir was already on its way towards the fog. "Guess you have your own ideas."
Ysmir wasn't sure why, but it felt a calling towards that fog. It had unconsciously started walking towards that fog, and Devotion had only just noticed.
"Do you know this Realm at all? I don't know why, but it feels vaguely familiar to me." Devotion said. As he said that, Ysmir reached the realization that it felt the same. This Realm really did feel kind of familiar. Ysmir continued walking into the fog. It knew where to go.
As Ysmir walked, and Devotion followed, the fog began to grow thicker and more intense. When they first walked into it, it was barely taller than Devotion's ankles, but now, it stretched up to his waist. He picked up Ysmir and placed it on his shoulders.
"Just like bite me or something if I walk the wrong way. I trust you know where you're going, you seem pretty confident." Devotion said. The fog was now too thick for Ysmir to be even visible, and Devotion didn't want to lose track of the fox. It was his only guide right now. He wasn't even sure if he could get out of the fog if he wanted to.
They continued to walk for nearly a full hour before Devotion heard something.
"We must leave this place."
"I hope nobody follows us to this wretched land."
"I wish we turned away."
"Death would be more preferable."
Countless voices whispered variations of these phrases all around Devotion. At first, he tried to ignore them, but they only grew more and more intense. Devotion was having second thoughts about this. Clearly, these were the voices of tortured souls who had met their own fate within this fog. He should heed these warnings before it is too late.
Just as Devotion began to turn around, Ysmir bit him. He was going the wrong way. Ysmir wished it could communicate that this was an illusion meant to deter others, but it couldn't just yet. This would have to do for now. It wasn't sure how it knew there was an illusion, it just did. Ysmir felt like if it had just been a few days earlier, it would have been caught in the illusion as well. It had to be the advancement. When Devotion had reached the next rank, so had Ysmir! That had to be it.
Devotion, upon feeling the pain of being bitten, was pulled out of his trance. The whispers faded. He was able to continue onwards until they returned, and once again, he began to turn away. Ysmir bit him again, and he snapped out of it.
They continued like this for some time, with Ysmir biting Devotion every few minutes to keep him from running away in fear. After another hour, Ysmir suddenly bit Devotion again.
"Hey, calm down, I wasn't trying to turn around! I don't hear anything right now!" Devotion said angrily, rubbing his neck where Ysmir had bit him. Ysmir ignored him, hopping down from his shoulders.
Devotion looked down. There didn't appear to be anything special on the ground here.
"What do you see?" Devotion asked, bending down. He noticed that Ysmir was trying to dig into something. It was lifting the purple grass from the dirt, scratching at something. Devotion got on his knees and began to dig as well, not quite sure exactly what he was looking for. After some time, he eventually felt his finger run across wood. He quickly dusted it off, calling Ysmir over to come check.
"Is this what we were looking for?" Devotion asked. Ysmir looked at it and nodded, excitedly trying to paw it open. Whatever it had felt a resonance with, it had to be behind this door.
Devotion finished dusting all the dirt off of the wood, revealing a trap door on the ground. There was no handle on it, but a small hole. Devotion hooked his finger with that hole and pulled, ripping the trap door open. In fact, he ripped the entire door off of its hinges. They were so old and rusted, a small amount of strength broke them. Clearly, this door had not been opened in a very long time.
Ysmir jumped back up on Devotion's shoulders, excitedly motioning him to enter.
"I swear to god, Ysmir, if there's another giant spider or mentally insane guy here, you're never allowed to lead again. Me entering random trap doors into horrible dangers should not be a recurring thing." Devotion scolded. He was more trying to ease his own worries.
Devotion peered down the trapdoor. There was a ladder so long that you couldn't see the bottom of the hole. It turned pitch dark before the bottom. Devotion fired a weak fire bolt down the hole, trying to see how far it goes, but it went out before reaching the bottom. This hole was unimaginably deep.
"Here goes nothing, I guess." Devotion said, holding his breath and beginning to climb down the ladder. This would take some time.