Chapter 48: Bottomless Abyss! Seeking Recommendation Votes
August 4, 2015
Author: Floating Tower
Bottomless Abyss.
The truest embodiment of chaotic law, a place where anything can happen due to overwhelming chaos.
Here, there have been good demons, lawful lords, paladins from hell seeking redemption, hell’s children, and almost everything that could happen has occurred here, because true chaos means that anything is possible. However, as the embodiment of chaotic law, the overall nature of the Bottomless Abyss belongs to Lawful Evil; in this place, any lawful faction encountering demons will suffer a -2 penalty to their Charisma, and if they belong to the Good Faction, they will incur an additional -2 penalty to their Charisma.
This is the law of the Abyss.
The Bottomless Abyss does not directly suppress your power, but it makes you ‘enemies on all sides’! (Note: The Charisma penalty is merely superficial; many adventurers have discovered additional penalties to friendliness.)
Soren’s faction is Lawful Evil.
So if he appears in the Bottomless Abyss, then due to the repulsion of the Abyss law, all demons who see him, know him, or have heard of him will inherently suffer a -2 penalty to their Charisma; simply put, ‘Just seeing this guy makes you feel uncomfortable; you really want to fight him first before anything else.’
If a Lawful Good individual appears in the Bottomless Abyss, they should basically prepare to fight all the way.
Because all demons will regard you as their mortal enemy!
………………
No one knows how many layers the Bottomless Abyss actually has.
Because chaos means infinite possibilities, as long as power is strong enough, even a demiplane can be created, and the difference between the layers of the Bottomless Abyss and a demiplane is not as great as one might think. Due to the spatial gaps between planes, no one has truly explored the deepest parts of the Bottomless Abyss, but so far, it is known that there are about eight hundred different Abyss layers!
Even.
In ancient times, the Hell of Bartok also belonged to a part of the Bottomless Abyss.
Because in a very distant era, the Lord of Devils, the Master of the Nine Hells—Asmothiels—used unprecedented divine power to slice the Bottomless Abyss. He forcibly separated nine planes from the Bottomless Abyss, transforming them into the Hell of Bartok we know today. The power of this devil lord is unfathomable; he even altered the laws of these planes, reshaping them into the Hell of Bartok, a paradise for Lawful Evil devils.
The predecessor of the Abyssal Blood War was the war between the gods of order and the source of chaos!
The fall of Asmothiels, and the Obsidian Demons being replaced by Tanar’ri demons, led to the end of this ancient war, hence transforming into the current Abyssal Blood War, an endless conflict between Lawful Evil devils and Chaotic Evil demons!
The main battlefield of the Abyssal Blood War is within the first layer.
Sometimes it is in the first layer of the Bottomless Abyss, and sometimes in the first layer of the Hell of Bartok.
Where exactly depends on how well the factions are fighting, whether the demon legion is sufficiently vast, and whether the devil legion has deployed its true elite forces!
Because if the two sides truly engage, it would be a terrifying planar war.
The Abyssal Blood War has never truly stopped!
………………
First layer of the Bottomless Abyss. Ten Thousand Abyss Plains.
In the howling wind, a figure cloaked in a robe appeared here, seemingly having arrived from another plane. Upon arrival, he disappeared from the spot.
A series of data appeared before Soren:
“Inter-planar teleportation complete!…”
“Entered the Bottomless Abyss!… Inter-planar travel achieved!… You have acquired a small amount of Plane Traveler information!…”
“Data operates autonomously!…”
“Starting to tally current plane characteristics!…”
………………
A stream of data flickered before Soren’s eyes, and shortly after, information about the first layer of the Bottomless Abyss presented itself.
“First Layer of the Bottomless Abyss—Ten Thousand Abyss Plains:
Normal Gravity: The top layer of the Bottomless Abyss. The Ten Thousand Abyss Plains and many other layers exhibit normal gravitational characteristics, but some other layers of the Bottomless Abyss may include various divergent gravity characteristics.
Normal Time: The flow of time in the Bottomless Abyss is the same as in the Material Plane. However, there are rumors of a layer where time ages and flows in reverse. While reverse flow is strange, a visitor may return to youth or even become non-existent. [Note: There are legends of time dragons appearing.]
Infinite Space: The layers of the Bottomless Abyss are eternally infinite. However, its known domains are finite.
Holy Form: A being must be at least as strong as a low-tier god to alter the characteristics of the Bottomless Abyss. Weaker beings will find no difference between the Bottomless Abyss and the usual Material Plane (transformative characteristics), as this plane can be altered by spells and physical effects. [Note: Interfering with the laws of the Bottomless Abyss is as difficult as in the Material Plane.]
Weak Chaotic Tendency and Weak Evil Tendency: Lawful characters suffer a -2 penalty on all Charisma-based checks in the Bottomless Abyss; good characters suffer the same penalty. Lawful Good characters face a -4 penalty on all Charisma-based checks.”
………………
The plane characteristics of the Bottomless Abyss manifested before Soren’s eyes.
In the Bottomless Abyss, clarifying the plane’s characteristics first is beneficial for all upcoming actions, because sometimes even a difference in gravity can leave you unprepared!
Dust and sand fill the air.
At the location where Soren appeared, not far away stood a weathered and crumbling signpost, bearing the following message:
“This is an endless, suffocating place of horror.
This is a place with extremely harsh environments and life-threatening dangers.
This is a place devoid of morals and ethics, where killing never ceases.
………………”
The writing on the back had faded away.
Throughout the long years, only this portion remained, which every adventurer passing through the teleportation to the Bottomless Abyss would have seen.
Soren turned and left this place.
His destination lay in another direction, where a key piece of his plan in the Bottomless Abyss was buried.
—— Abyss Blood Pool.
This was a ghastly and blood-soaked location, where even the ground was a strange dark red, with visible insects scuttling about in various sizes, their horrific numbers making one’s scalp tingle at just the sight.
The endless killing began the moment it was born!
Abyss Worms are the most basic components of the Bottomless Abyss, with numerous souls from the multiverse descending into the Bottomless Abyss; unless they are taken by some powerful demons, they can only reincarnate in this plane through the Abyss Blood Pool. Abyss Worms are their most basic form, being the weakest creatures, requiring mutual killings to evolve into real demons.
This world is filled with many souls.
But high-quality souls are always scarce, as the gods, demons, and devils fight for them.
Now even the chaotic demons know to snatch excellent souls first, as this greatly enhances their strength! Basically, souls converted through the Abyss Blood Pool are merely subpar demon cannon fodder.
A professionist’s soul, a common person’s soul.
A human’s soul, a goblin’s soul.
A gnome’s soul, a beast’s soul.
The quality of these souls is unequal; a common person’s soul is enough to attract a devil’s attention, but a goblin’s or head’s soul might be disregarded even by low-tier devils. Because humans require a long time to grow and cultivate, while goblins and head’s can produce a whole nest in just one spring.
These inferior souls attract little interest!
Some flow directly down the River of Underworld to the ‘Unknown Lands,’ while others are attracted by the Abyss Blood Pool and reincarnate as the lowest-level Abyss Worms.
This is the source of the vast cannon fodder army of the Bottomless Abyss!
And it is also the first step of Soren’s upcoming plan, because he must find a way to eliminate the repulsion of the Bottomless Abyss law against him; these Abyss Worms, born of the fundamental reincarnation of the Bottomless Abyss, will be Soren’s first test subjects.
……………… (To be continued ~^~)
