บท 444: Abyss (1)
"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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