"Crocodiles, Crocodiles everywhere."
As a series of realms and realities connected together as a large cave, the Abyss felt like a pretty bad place to take a rest.
No matter where he went, hostile creatures appeared. Once one of those creatures is killed, it disappears in golden particles but lately respawns once again.
How so? The Abyss is a rift through time and space, a fallen reality that holds many records that keep repeating themselves and react to any new interference like Jon.
These Records and Memories of the World were just there as a sort of protection to the links between the worlds, all of these Recorded Pasts and Realities are dangerous spots and places that even the strong can't pass easily.
The place Jon came through at first was a marshland with many reptiles. It fitted the description of Black Marsh, the home of the Argonians.
At first, it was a horde of Crocodiles that Jon tore apart easily with the [Ebony Blade]. These creatures were good against magic and had a good regeneration ability so the 'Absorb Vitality' enchantment on the blade was dealing with them quite easily.
Sadly, it was impossible to harvest anything in the Abyss as everything is just made of Space and Time.
*Growl*
"Hooman, no fish here! Why there is no fish here?"
On the other hand, there was a tragic cat that kept searching the marsh while mounting Jon's head. Her voice was as tragic as ever.
"You can eat something preserved."
"Too salty or too cold."
Sadly, there wasn't much Jon can do. Due to the unstable law of Space around him, he can't enter the [Cube] at all but still, he can take out things and put in things. The reason was that the [Cube] had a more stable Space than the Abyss.
Basically, the [Cube] was its own World, a sub-World to the Mundus. As a sub-World, it can't be more stable than its source, it also can't be accessed easily in a lesser environment.
That explains how Jon is able to do things inside the [Cube] that he can't do outside like enlarging its space and adding rooms by supply it with Magicka, something that is both illogical and impossible in Mundus.
This matter of the [Cube] proved that exploring the Abyss is going to be much more rewarding than what Jon could think of.
But now, it was time to focus on the prize.
The Mission is to retrieve the severed part of Azura's Divinity.
When Jon corrupted Azura's Star, her power in the star was supposed to return to her but another being stole it and it is now sealed in the Abyss.
Daedric Artifacts are parts of their owners. The nearest example to them is the Sin Artifacts that Jon created. Jon may have enchanted these Artifacts with magic power but he used parts of his own Soul in the process creating an extension of his own in them.
Severing Azura from her Star is like severing Jon from one of his Sin Artifacts. It is basically forcing out the Soul Extension of the owner. It may not sound like a big deal but losing one of his Sin Artifacts is a nightmare.
He may have done that to Azura but Jon didn't know the identity of the one that stole the fragment. It may sound like a pang of guilt but the Labours seemed like a fair punishment for now.
Still, Jon was thrown in the Abyss without a clue.
*Roar*
"Stupid lizard, give me fish."
Nefertiti vented her frustration on a crocodile as she landed on its head breaking its skull and jaw.
The reason why she was frustrated that she can't access the [Cube] as well and the Shadow World does not exist in the Abyss which is after all the Shadow of the world itself. That's why Nefertiti can't take a quiet nap in the Abyss.
As the pair traveled, Jon came to an idea.
He cast [Bound] on a crocodile and observed the effect.
"Damn! Look at that… I bounded it like a Daedric creature."
"Hm? What does that have to do with fish?"
"Eh… nothing. I can just control the crocodile-like a conjured being now. But I don't think I can Conjure anything from the Abyss once we return to Mundus. I must say it…"
"Stupid Hooman doing stupid magic. Don't care, gimme fish!"
"Okay, okay… I must endure, she is just a teenager now. I am still proud of her. Jax, some fish here."
"Yes."
Jax was following behind Jon all the time. Nefertiti and Jax are the only three living creatures who entered the Abyss with Jon but as they were inside the Cube, they couldn't stay in there when it forcefully rejects all living things with high-grade souls.
Jax, of course, was acting as Jon's servant during the whole trip.
"We have been walking for days!" Jax murmured.
"Hours." Jon corrected him.
"R… Really?" Jax exclaimed.
"This is the Abyss, no one can tell how time works here."
"Then how do you tell?"
Jon didn't answer. He was thankful to the Soul Extension gifted to him by the Augur, the thing he calls System. It indeed helped him with telling time.
The thing is… seconds passed like minutes and if he strayed too far from Jax, he would feel the other moving slower or faster based on the difference in time.
Days passed on them but the recorded time was merely hours.
"This is the most confusing experience I ever had. The Shivering Isles and Quagmire were not this dangerous." Jon said.
(True… you are in deep shit, my friend.) Shadow spoke.
"Thank you."
(So, have you figured out any way to navigate in the Abyss and find what you are looking for?)
"Not really. I am busy keeping my head sane amidst all this crap."
(Here's a quick tip, you need to have a piece of Azura to find another piece of Azura.)
"... Seriously?" Jon stopped as he took out Azura's Star.
"I don't particularly feel anything. Even if I made a Divination, the Time law is flawed around me."
Divination spells like Clairvoyance need a stable law of Time. Detection and Divination are the magic that collects information, while Detection gathers information through Space, Divination gathers information through Time.
For a Mystic Mage, a place with a messed up law of Time and Space is hell.
(Why don't you use the old fashioned way?) Shadow suggested.
"And that is…"
(Ask the cat.)
"What? Wait… No! I won't let Nefertiti sniff it, are you mad?"
(Your own risk then.) Shadow said and retreated quietly.
"Dammit! Eh… hey, girl. See this thing? It is Azura's Star. Can you locate a similar thing with the same Soul Scent?" Jon asked.
Nefertiti turned to him with blank expressions, she then shapeshifted into her human form.
With a cold glare, she looked at Jon.
"Do you think I am a doggo, Hooman?"
"What? Blasphemy!"
"Good, next time, ask the cow-head to sniff."
"Hey!" Jax retorted but was ignored.
Jon sighed and went down on one knee in front of Nefertiti.
"Listen, Nefertiti. You are a shadow cat… the Shadow Cat! One of a kind. Right now, this place is called the Abyss, it is a place with a similar structure to the Shadow World that only someone like you can navigate in. Do you see how awesome and important you are!" He said.
"Humph! I expect a lot of Fish in return." She said as she snatched away Azura's Star and walked away.
"Fine, whatever you want."
Jon couldn't help but rely on her in this kind of situation but Nefertiti seemed really rebellious.
(Don't worry about her.)
"I am not worried. They just grow up so fast." Jon said with a nostalgic face.
(You are hopeless.)
***
It wasn't long until Nefertiti found a way out of the Abyss's first layer. Even though 5 hours have passed on the System screen, Jon can swear he felt them like 5 days.
The way out of the Abyss was a cave at the end of the maze. It looked quite out of place.
(These caves are the real Abyss. The islands of the archipelago on the Sea of Chaos. Safe Zone if you wish to rest.) Shadow said.
"Finally!"
Tired from the tense sensation during the journey, Jon collapsed on the cave's wall.
"Hey, Shadow. What do you think the Order of the Black Worm was using the Gates of Wish for?" Jon asked.
(Obviously to access the Abyss.)
"Come on! Even I wouldn't want to enter the Abyss after learning its nature. What makes you think those third rate Mages can do in the middle of the Abyss anyway?"
(Unlike you, most of those who enter the Abyss have targeted locations or get guided to one.)
"Is that so? What do they use?"
(Look over there.)
Shadow guided Jon further inside the cave. It was a barely lit underground cave with green and yellow glowing mushrooms illuminating it. Other than the mushrooms, there was Crystals coming out from some parts of the cave walls.
These Crystals had various colors and qualities but Jon recognized them in an instant.
"Meteoric Glass!"
Meteoric Glass is a variety of Aetherial Fragment. The glass is crystalline and comes in various colors. It is prized for being magical in nature and highly enchantable.
The Ayleids, known for harnessing Aetherial Fragments, used the glass to create artifacts like Welkynd Stones and Varla Stones. Skyshards were believed to be shards of Aetherial Magicka that carry the essence of Nirn. They are sometimes linked to Lorkhan or Anu.
When properly cultivated, meteoric glass crystals are able to grow and multiply. The Ayleids were only beginning to cultivate the material when they were wiped out by the Alessian Slave Rebellion.
Now in front of Jon was a colony of those rare goodies. He remembered when he trapped the Starlight Energy in Azura's Star to activate the Ansei Pyramid and when Shadow told him that this trick he learned will turn out to be useful at some point in the Abyss. This was because of the properties of the Meteoric Glass that allow it to absorb all kinds of energy.
Now, this colony of Meteoric Glass looked so beautiful in the eyes of Jon that his head overheated from the number of ideas that he can use all that stuff for.
(You need to hold your horses?)
"Why?"
(Not all the Crystals in that Crystal Colony is suitable for use. Some are just bad quality.)
"Tsk! You always bring me the awful news."
(You welcome.)
Just like a Coral Colony, these wild Meteoric Glass Colonies grow in Aetherius, the Void, the Abyss and some places in Oblivion. They were indeed hard to harvest but not impossible.
Jon held [Greed] over the colony and let it flow in a liquid state. Through it, he could feel the difference in quality between certain crystals of the Colony.
With some control, [Greed] devoured all the useless crystals and left the ones Jon deemed useful.
"You can praise me now." He said.
(You should be ashamed of yourself if you can't do at least that much.)
"Go to hell."
Those Meteoric Glass Crystals were taken to the side and put in a pool of 'Crystal Aether', a mix of the 'Tears of Kyne' extract and the 'Lorkhan's Tears' solvent that Jon created in Coldharbour to refine the materials that created the Elder Staff, Pride.
[A/n: Take a hint.]
That process was repeated with other Crystal Colonies in the same cave until Jon decided to head out to the next level in the Abyss.
As the first level was a Marshland from Argonia, the second was clearly the mountaintops of Skyrim with a horde of Frost Trolls. The third level was a thick forest with Giants and Soriggans resembling the nature of Valenwood. The fourth was a sea level, sharks and sea serpents flooded the tunnel and the space underwater was much bigger than above it. The fifth was a Dwarven Dungeon. The sixth was a Battlefield between Nord-like People and Elf-like Giants. And the seventh was the inside of a castle overrun by Orcs, Goblins and Undead.
Only after the cave that separates the seventh and the eighth did Jon find a clue to his quest. A crack in the wall of the cave leading to a strange sub-dimension to the Abyss.
Jon walked in a space that felt completely different from the space of the Abyss, a strange alien Dark Fantasy-like corridor.
(Congratulations, you have reached a Crack between the Worlds)
~~~~~~~~~~
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"The Crack between the Worlds you say?"
(Indeed.)
"So let me get this straight, this world is this butt cheek and that world is this butt cheek and then we have this crack between them."
(Please put your pants on.)
"The point is… the Cosmic Asshole is around, right?"
(... Actually, that would explain the smell in this place but no, there are no Cosmic Assholes.)
"What a shame! I used to call my boss a Cosmic Asshole in my past life."
(Very funny.)
As the two started exchanging insults and roasting one another, Jon kept scouting the place he is in.
The theme of the area is a Dark Fantasy-like castle that reminded him of his time in Castle Volkihar. Long silent hallways, unlit candlesticks, darkened painting frames, broken furniture and very gloomy corners.
"Hey, Shadow. What is this place exactly?" Jon asked.
(Now you are willing to listen?)
"Don't get salty on me now."
(Fine, the Cracks between the Worlds are areas that connect the Abyss of this World to the Abysses of the Other Worlds. Otherworldly beings can access them but can't use them to travel to other Worlds.)
"So to say it more correctly, it is the cafeteria were otherworlders meet up but can't follow one another to different worlds."
(Couldn't say it better myself.)
"You mean I may run into beings from other worlds here?"
(The possibility exists but the chance is unimaginably rare. Remember, this is as far as you can get from Mundus, you won't receive any blessing in this place.)
"Okay… this is that serious then."
Jon heightened his senses and spread his passive detection.
"Oh!" As he did so, he noticed something.
"The Space and Time around are stable."
(The Crack between the Worlds is a world of its own. It is more Stable than the Abyss so you can think of it as a world that is floating on the sea of chaos alone.)
"I see… wait! I have a very bad idea."
Jon said as he retrieved the Meteoric Glass Crystals that he collected along the way. He had a fair number of them as he harvested 7 Abyss Caves worth of Meteoric Glass.
He held a bright blue crystal that shone brightly under the effect of the Candlelight spell Jon uses and felt like a really expensive gemstone.
(What are you doing?)
"Watch this." Jon used the Crystal in one hand and started charging it with energy. This energy contained the Law of Space from the Crack between the Worlds in the specific coordinates Jon standing on.
Jon used the same technique he used while trapping the Starlight Energy in Azura's Star. Once he was done trapping the Law of Space in the Crystal, he walked twenty meters back where he came from and stopped.
"Now."
While simply supplying the Crystal with Magicka, Jon disappeared from his place and appeared in the place where he trapped the Law of Space twenty meters ahead.
As he did so, the Crystal turned to dust in his hand.
"... This is sick!"
(Nice idea.)
"Indeed. With this, I can enter the Abyss and directly come here. And… wait! There is more."
Jon had an even better idea.
"Azura told me that Time is my only Ally meaning I can harness the power of the Abyss the way I see fit using those Crystals. You said that Abyss is another synonym for Time when it comes to the Law of Shadow Magic which means…"
Jon headed all the way back to the Crack in space and returned to the Cave in the Abyss. He used another Crystal and started trapping the Time Energy from the Abyss itself.
(Oh! So you are trapping the unstable Time Energy from the Abyss because it is easier to digest.)
"Indeed."
Jon had a mad smile on his face while doing so.
He activated his Magicka and something miraculous happened.
His Astral Form separated from his Physical Form and he became a golden ghost. He saw the events from just now happen in front of his eyes but running backward. In his hand, the Crystal was there but it was also in an Astral Form.
Once the Time Energy in the Crystal ran out. Jon reverted back to his body but.
(Oh! So you are trapping the unstable Time Energy from the Abyss be…)
"Because it is easier to digest."
As he said so, the Crystal turned to dust in his hand.
(What…) Shadow halted.
"You were going to say that, right?" Jon said.
(You bastard! You managed to slide back in time under my nose?) Shadow's voice carried a hint of being impressed.
"Hahahaha! This is crazy!"
Jumping back in Time! Not even an Arch-Wizard can pull that one off without the help of a dozen artifacts and scrolls.
Now Jon could do it by using the Data he acquired from analyzing the Dawn Magic spell used by Darius in the final match of the Grand Champion.
This spell that can trap pure energies into Crystals is now called the [Meteoric Protocol], an Expert level spell inspired by the Dawn Magic that can trap Energy and Powers in Meteoric Glass.
Jon repeated the process with more Crystals and had different effects based on how he used them. If he threw them at the enemy, the Space Crystals would devour a part of it in a Void Orb that appears for a second while the Time Crystals cause the target to go in Stasis.
The potential was limitless but the crystals were not so Jon had to keep most of them and continue his course. Still, the trip became 100 times safer with the existence of a method to jump back in time. Of course, using this method in stable dimensions like Mundus as much harder than the Abyss or the Crack of Worlds.
Anyway, fun time was over. Jon returned to exploring the dark castle beyond the crack.
The corridor was pretty damn long and some places devoured the light of magic Jon used to see around. This eerie place would give anyone the creeps so Jon kept an extra careful awareness.
Finally an on the turn of a corner, he found himself in front of a single door.
"Nefertiti, is the Soul Scent of Azura still coming from there?" Jon asked.
"Yes."
"Okay… just when we find ourselves reincarnating in Dark Souls this time, don't play me."
Pushing the door, Jon found one single room.
"Seriously now?"
He was annoyed as he had to look somewhere else but still Nefertiti walked in.
At the center of the room, there was a table. On the table, there was a strange-looking box.
"And?"
"... Inside the box?" She pointed.
"Should I open it?" He asked.
"You can't. This box is bigger than this place." She said.
"Huh?"
Jon looked at the box and could hardly understand her until he started scanning the space around and the box.
"Holy shit!"
Couldn't help but swear, Jon noticed how large the box was. It was as large as a castle from the inside but from the outside, it was compressed to the size of a box with complicated mechanisms to keep it locked and to keep anyone from seeing what's inside.
"Nice try!" Jon smirked and cast [Eye of Magicka].
The spell that can expose the flow of Magicka around the space was one of Jon's secret spells. Still, it didn't work as he thought it would work.
Instead, he saw a fingerprint on a certain part of the box as if it was highlighted by ultraviolet light.
"Wow!"
Gasping from surprise, Jon couldn't help but touch the fingerprint spot with his thumb.
*Crack* *click click click click click*
Suddenly and without warning, the box started moving on its own. It rotated around itself and made mechanical sounds then its a lock appeared on the outside of the box with many lines of brass metal and nails separating some parts and connecting others.
"What is that thing? Is that Dwemer?" Jon freaked out unintentionally.
(No, it is a tool from another world.) Shadow replied.
"Another world? Why would something like that come here and imprison Azura's Divine Extension?"
(Someone must have found it and put it to use. Many things from different worlds drift through space and time. This tool is similar to the [Cube] of yours.)
"Where did it originate from?"
(A world called Arag, created by the magic of the Horned Dwarves. Arag is a fun place but gradually losing its peace due to the discovery of gunpowder, you can imagine the rest.)
"An advanced world, with magic, eh? Sounds fun indeed." Jon replied, "Still, this machine is very curious. Sadly I can't take it back to Nirn."
Jon didn't bother and pulled out the [Skeleton Key] to unlock the lock on the chest. Once that was done, the box opened more and showed a secret mechanism, one of those that are used with modern safes.
The Catatoskr inside Jon was fully curious and swore to open this box no matter what. From a safe mechanism to secret maps mechanism, musical notes mechanism to star-formation mechanism, Jon kept solving every riddle as the box grew bigger and became more complex with every turn.
After some time, Jon arrived at the innermost deep part in the box. Once he solved the puzzle, a red gem appeared for him and stood across a stand. On that gem, there was a Magical seal and it was a typical to the one used in Mundus. This is where things got interesting as this seal can't be left unless by someone from Mundus meaning that someone has solved it before Jon.
The answer to that came earlier than he expected. There was a note signed by an M letter.
××××××××××××××××××××
It was a pleasant encounter running into an otherworldly artifact during my trial in the Abyss. Master Iachesis insisted to focus on my trail, collect a fair number of Meteoric Glass and pass but how can I resist such a curiosity?
That idiot Vanus is also keeping an eye on me. I think Master is the one who told him to do so. The fool wouldn't let me do my work in peace.
Thankfully, I found this otherworldly artifact that I can't tell its name but I'll call it the Puzzle Box from now on. For an item like that to drift between worlds, it is my fortunate indeed. This box can twist itself into various puzzles as if something created by Sotha Sil or a Dwemer Tonal Architect. It can contain Space and even trap parts of the Rifts between Worlds. The rest of this Maze will be trapped by me so Vanus or any other Psijic can just run around like headless hens.
I also kept the space of the original owner intact so I can experience how the other worlds felt. Such a curious style indeed. No man or Mer can create such elegance.
××××××××××××××××××××
This was obviously a note left by the young Mannimarco who was annoyed by Vanus Galerion and their Masters, Ritemaster Iachesis.
To think that Mannimarco was the kind to enjoy puzzles.
"Well, let's just free the Space." Jon said as he started decrypting the seal.
After ten minutes, the red gem started glowing and a ray of red light was shot from it. That light hit a wall in the room and created a door from that light. Second by second, the door became more real and the red gem finally broke to dust.
"Here we go."
Taking the first step through the fancy wooden door, Jon's halted his steps and opened his eyes wide.
"Wow."
Followed by Nefertiti and Jax who have no civil sense whatsoever, Jon had to ask them not to touch anything.
The room looked quite the old fashioned by Earth standards.
A large wooden desk, a leather chair, a typewriter, a collection of books written in a foreign language and many other things that gave the vibe of the 19th century.
This is surely the space of the original owner Mannimarco kept intact.
Jon looked around for a way to open the door to the next room but he soon realized that the room is also another puzzle.
Moreover, there were many engineering schematics lying around that Jon couldn't help but make copies from them.
Now to finish up things, Jon took out the Skeleton Key and became hell-bent on going forward.
~~~~~~~~~~
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