Devotion pulled open that plain door to the next room. The door was a simple gray concrete, no runes or anything covering. It seemed completely unremarkable.
The door swung open easily, the lock no longer there.
"Betrayal. What a bullshit, cliché fear to have! I've never even thought about it, but now this trial is making me rethink things." Devotion ranted. "I can at least always trust you, right Ysmir?"
Ysmir nodded. In truth, it had felt the influence of the trial try to implicate it. Ysmir felt some form of spiritual strength attempting to probe into its brain and force it to turn on Devotion, but Ysmir had resisted. Spiritual attacks seemed to just not work on Ysmir. First, the illusions in the mist hadn't affected it, and now, it was immune to the betrayal that trial was supposed to force.
Instead, the betrayal was pushed to Guff, the only other being in the room. It was unfortunate that Guff hadn't moved forward before Devotion had entered, but at the same time, it was good for Devotion. That way, the trial could still technically be conquered.
As Devotion stepped through the door, he was greeted with another large, empty room. There was a door on the other side, identical to the one he had come through, and a large, stone altar in the center of the room. The stone altar had a simple, ordinary chain on top of it. Devotion got no reading from it, no aura was emitted. It was completely ordinary.
Before approaching the altar, Devotion walked to the other door, checking if it would happen to be unlocked. Unfortunately, it was not.
"So, is this another trial? Do I just take this chain?" Devotion looked up and asked. He wasn't sure who he was talking to, but he was still pissed.
"This is, without a doubt, the stupidest trial. What is the point of this shit?" Devotion ranted. He was kind of pissed off. At least he hadn't had to fight anything yet.
Devotion approached the altar, slowly. Just as he stepped onto the final step, the chain suddenly split and whipped out on its own, wrapping around Devotion's leg. It did the same to Ysmir.
A booming voice rang out from the altar. "Wicked souls are bound to me, admit your sins and be set free!"
"Who designed this shit?!" Devotion yelled out in frustration. He assumed this trial was meant for more than one person to attempt, and this was supposed to stir frustration and distrust between the group by admitting their greatest fears and sins. Too bad he was alone, and Ysmir couldn't talk.
Speaking of Ysmir, the chain immediately fell slack around it, letting it free.
"Oh, so you're exempt? Goddamn." Devotion groaned. To say he didn't expect that would be a lie. Ysmir seemed to just be immune to shitty situations, always slipping out.
"Alright, what do you want me to do? Why did you speak in rhymes?" Devotion asked the chain.
The booming voice rang out once more. "Wicked souls are bound to me, admit your sins and be set free!"
"God, you're almost as insufferable as that guard at the Mechanism Sect. At least he says more than one thing." Devotion sighed. "Alright, let me think. What sins have I committed?" He thought out loud. There were tons of things going through Devotion's mind, but he was too embarrassed to say any of them out loud.
"I cheated in a gambling game, which led to the death of a man named James Powder, and I feel very little regret?" Devotion offered. The chain did not budge.
"Wicked souls are bound to me, admit your sins and be set free!" The booming voice rang from the altar.
"Oh my lord, I get it. That wasn't good enough for you, I guess? Let me think some more." Devotion said, putting on a show of being deep in thought. "I wasted most of my parents' money and led to me getting cut off?"
"Wicked souls ar-" The booming voice began.
"Shut up! Shut up before I rip this fucking chain off the altar and take it myself. This has to count as some form of war crime or psychological torture." Devotion cut it off. He'd be hearing that damned voice in his sleep at this point.
"Deepest sins you must admit, lest you wish to stay in this pit!" The booming voice suddenly called as Devotion thought.
"At least that's new. Fine. My greatest sin is that I most likely would sacrifice someone close to me if it led to me surviving in the end." Devotion finally admitted.
"Do not attempt to lie, lest you wish to die." The altar replied.
"That wasn't a lie, but alright. My greatest sin..." Devotion really had to think. He came up with something, an idea to get out without admitting anything else embarrassing.
"My greatest sin I admit to you, please god just let me through." Devotion said. Maybe if he rhymed back, it would let him go.
The chain went slack, recoiling back to the altar.
"Are. You. Fucking. Kidding. Me." Devotion spat out. That was supposed to be a joke! It wasn't supposed to work! You had to fucking rhyme to get free!?
Devotion angrily kicked the altar. It started to crumble.
"Wait. If an angry kick did that, how old is this thing? I wonder if this chain is useful at all." Devotion thought out loud. He pulled out his new Frostbrand sword, slashing it where the chain was connected to the altar. The bolt holding it on instantly shattered, letting Devotion pull the chain free.
"So I could have also done that. Good to know." Devotion said, storing the chain in his Interspatial Ring.
"Steal from me most won't dare, Karma awaits you, so beware." The altar said, its voice fading.
Devotion froze, hearing the term Karma. Isn't that what Ghostwhisper had told him about? What exactly was it, and why did this altar know about it?
"Wait, what Karma?" Devotion desperately asked the altar. There was no reply. For the first time in his life, Devotion was disappointed not to hear that voice give a cryptic rhyme. It seems whatever energy was keeping it functional had faded when Devotion took the chain.
Devotion shrugged, pushing it out of his mind. The less he worried about it, the better. Devotion called Ysmir back to his shoulder, walking towards the next door in this chamber. He was internally praying that he wouldn't have another trial. He didn't think he could handle it, especially if the solution was that stupid again.