"I swear I heard a giggle, but I do not know where it is coming from. The giggle even sounded near my ear so I can assure myself that I am not hallucinating." Adrian muttered as he looked around.
Adrian then stopped looking round and looked at two directions that he has yet to consider. He did not consider up and down. He first looks upwards and spread his wings. He then flapped his wings in order to take off as there is no upward wind to carry him.
Adrian flew about a hundred meter until he hit something like an invisible wall. He stuck his face near the invisible wall and saw the nether realm just outside of it. He could more or less infer that the ceiling that he touched is none other than the boundary of the fox marble.
Adrian then looked below as he already crossed out the option of going up. The only thing that he can do now is go below but all he sees is water. Adrian flew back down and sealed back his soulbounds. He wanted to try and penetrate the floor despite it looking really solid despite being made of purely water.
Adrian touched the water to see if he could slip his hand in but all he got is rebound. The water felt like an elastic substance that reforms if you use force upon it. He will not be able to penetrate this watery floor with just simple force. He has to do something about it.
While Adrian found out about the situation of the watery floor, the giggling that he hears suddenly stopped. He did not know why but he felt something like a chill run down his spine. He felt as if he is being observed with great hostility.
He did not know why but it seems that whatever or whoever is giggling before is now filled with hostility. Adrian used this as a sign that he is on the right track since the condescending attitude suddenly turned hostile.
"I just need to pierce this layer and I would get to the other side. I noticed that this area seemed flat and not curved which is like the ceiling. There is something on the other side as all the only thing I know about fox creatures is that they are playful and loves to use illusions.
That is how they are portrayed in popular media at least. Another thing that the popular media shows is that foxes are sometimes bipolar. What is holding an item taken from a heavenly fox to do the same?" Adrian stated as he flew as high up as he can until he reached the invisible ceiling.
"I should make it worthwhile." Adrian stated as he casted spells to buff himself.
Adrian used two spells that can propel his landing speed. If he attempted this with a solid floor or ground, then he would either leave a crater or his body becoming pounded meat. He then accelerated his descent by decreasing air resistance as he folded his wings.
The shape that Adrian is forming right now is reminiscent of a triangle. He then decided to spin like a drill and descend at a rate that almost broke the sound barrier. Since Adrian strengthened his body with nether energy and primordial energy, he would not easily get damaged as he hardened his body to become almost like dragon skin.
Adrian penetrated the floor like a drill and continued spinning until he could feel the rebound that is happening. Fortunately for Adrian, the rebound could not take the immense force that he exerted, and he popped a hole on the floor. Like what he guessed, he managed to get to the other side.
The orientation is flipped as his previous up is now down while his down is now up. The hole that he poked on the floor closed back up as if the water covered the hole. Adrian looked around and saw that the other side is not that different from the previous location.
The only thing that is different from the other side is a gate that is called a Torii. The Torii is standing at the very middle of the location as Adrian is only about a few meters away from it. In the middle of the Torii gate, a small white fox with two tails could be seen. The hostile gaze that Adrian could feel is actually coming from the small white fox itself.
"To think that a demon would reach my inner sanctum. It seems that I have really weakened due to the passage of time." The small white fox stated in a threatening voice or at least tried to. The voice that Adrian heard is squeaky and like that of a child's voice.
"Greetings, I have come to know of a way to fill the fox marble with energy." Adrian stated but the white fox just looked at him as if he is scanning him from head to toe.
"I know why you come here. You are not the first one to try but you are the first one to actually succeed. I have been locked away for who knows how long that the vestige that is left by my real body has already diminished to this extent.
If you were about a thousand years earlier then you might have seen me in my full glory. Not this pathetic form that could not even siphon energy from the surroundings." The white fox stated as he described himself as the vestige of the heavenly fox.
"What do you mean that you are unable to siphon energy from your surroundings? Aren't fox marbles used only for that function?" Adrian asked as his journey inside would have been in vain if he does not get what he wants.
"It is not that I cannot siphon the energy from the surroundings, but it is more like the area I was would not allow me to. That idiotic descendant of the fox clan actually locked me inside a box that seals the energy of the outside world. Hence, the reason for my diminished power." The white fox stated.
"In that case, why don't you start now? I already took away the box. All you needed to do is gather the energy from the surroundings." Adrian stated but the white fox looked at him as if it is angry.
"You want me to absorb that dangerous energy outside. I might as well get erased from existence. Even that energy could kill gods if they get exposed to a large amount and you want me, a lowly vestige, to absorb it?" The white fox stated which made Adrian dumbfounded.