The Abyss

"The allure of the abyss is inescapable. Even so, no one has managed to reach the end. A golden city that sleeps at the bottom of the abyss. Relics that surpass understanding. For 1900 years we have ventured into the darkness hoping to make greater and greater discoveries. The romance of a lost age and the arcane. Drawn to the great unknown, the abyss devours us."

About
The Abyss is a colossal pit discovered 1900 years ago around the islands of the southern ocean of Beolusk. The vertical hole has a diameter of around 1000 meters and it's at least 20,000 meters deep, with its exact depth being currently unknown. Soon it was discovered a unique ecosystem and remnants of an ancient yet advanced civilization that made the hole their home millenia in the past. Hiding countless treasures and relics of immense value inside, many explorers have challenged the mysterious. Some are merely treasure hunters looking for the Artifacts inside, others are merely explorers fascinated to unveil the secrets it hides. In order to explore the Abyss, valiant cave raiders called Delvers were born, and the town of Ooth was created at edge of the abyss.

However, even after so many years the Abyss still contains many sections left unseen, as the hole also carries many dangers. A hazardous habitat that defies common sense and other-worldly creatures that have adapted to its unique environment are some major obstacles, but the phenomenon that was named the Curse of the Abyss is the biggest impediment. The term refers to a series of symptoms that manifest upon ascending while inside the abyss, with it's more scientific name being "Strains of Ascension". The deeper one delved into, the more severe the symptoms are, ranging from dizziness and nausea to intense pain on the whole body, loss of senses and even death. This makes the returning trip from the Abyss to be extremely difficult, and it's far more often for delvers to perish on the way up.

1st Layer: Edge of the Abyss

 * Depth: 0~1350 meters.


 * Strains of Ascent: Light Dizziness and Nausea

The first layer is the most shallow section of the abyss, right below the Town of Ooth. A gondola was built between 50 and 580 meters to hustle the descent. The enivornment doesn't really change and wildlife consists of mostly harmless animals, though ocassionally predators from the 2nd Layer might ascend in search of food. There aren't many treasures or relics either, but there is a considerable number of Praying Skeletons.
 * Description: 

2nd Layer: Forest of Temptation

 * Depth: 1350~2600 meters.


 * Strains of Ascent: Heavy nausea, headache and numbness of limbs.

The Forest of Temptation is the first truly dangerous section of the abyss. The fauna and environment suddenly change, turning into a tropical rainforest with huge vegetation. It is filled with dangerous beasts and ascending becomes increasingly difficult, making it a place where only experienced explorers can delve into. If a red whistle delver somehow gets to the 2nd Layer, search parties are called off and is treated as a suicide.
 * Description: 

On the deepest point from 2000 meters onwards, the habitat suddenly flips around and becomes the "Inverted Forest". Predators in the air become common and wind currents are very strong and unstable. It also gets colder and darker since it receives little light due to its inverted position. At the farthest from the center an Observation Camp was built to serve as a resting point for delver. Currently the white whistle Ozen is using it as its base.

3rd Layer: Great Fault

 * Depth: 2600~7000 meters.


 * Strains of Ascent: Vertigo combined with visual and auditory hallucinations.

The third layer consists only of a 4000 meters vertical cliff, making it a highly challenging area to cross. Countless methods have been attempted to cross it through the use of artifacts or differently crafted devices. Aerial predators are common, including Scarlet Maws.
 * Description: 

4th Layer: The Cup of Giants

 * Depth: 7000~12000 meters.


 * Strains of Ascent: Intense Full-body pain and hemorrhage from every single orifice of the body.

The 4th layer is the point where the curse of the abyss gets truly severe and could potentially kill a person if it's someone that is already wounded or weak. It is invaded by some absurdly overgrown vegetation, with 800 meters tall plants shaped as cups. Plants have extremely fast growing rates on the 4th layer, making the layout of the place to be in constant changing. Because of this, it is impossible to make maps or a chart. The fully grown cups are filled with hot water in the top, but the ones that are not fully grown produce acid instead. The most dangerous beast is the Tamaugachi. While it is herbivorous it is highly defensive of what he considers its territory, and will attack anyone he sees nearby.
 * Description: 

In the middle region at the 9000 meters marks there is the famous Garden of the Flower of Resilience, an area filled with Eternal Fortunes, the trademark flower of the Abyss. The distinctive sight produced by the countless glowing flowers make of the garden one of the most beautiful landscapes of the Abyss.

5th Layer: Sea of Corpses

 * Depth: 12000~13000 meters.


 * Strains of Ascent: Complete sensory deprivation, confusion and self-harming behavior.

The 5th layer is the world that only white whistles delve into, and according to Shiggy you can count the number of people who successfully returned alive from here with the fingers of your hands. It is the most shallow layer of the abyss, being only 1000 meters deep, but it is also the widest one, probably around 10 times wider than the town of Ooth. It consists mostly of a large sea with some crystallized sections, and the water is being held up by a large layer of thick muddy water. The water is filled with sea monsters of the sea, and diving deep into the water is synonymous with suicide, since swimming back up would make someone be hit by the curse of the abyss. Because it is the last section of the abyss where it is physically possible to survive a return trip from, it is quite common for white whistles to set a base here.
 * Description: 

At the deepest point, a base was established by the white whistle Bondrewd, named Idofront. Because it is just above the 6th layer, a device akin to an elevator exists right on its center. Normally, descending from the 5th layer would require to dive into water and swim, but this nearly impossible to achieve, so the device is required to descend. However, it can only be activated by the sound of a white whistle, and since their whistles are especially designed so that they can only be used by their original owners, the altar is only available to them.

6th Layer: The Capital of the Unreturned

 * Depth: 13000~15500 meters.


 * Strains of Ascent: Devastating body alterations that result in the loss of humanity and sometimes death.

The 6th layer is the point of no return, since it becomes humanly impossible to survive the ascent. When a white whistle delver descends to the 6th layer it is called "The Final Journey".
 * Description: 

7th Layer: The Final Malestorm

 * Depth: 15500~????? meters.


 * Strains of Ascent: Certain death.

The final layer of the Abyss. Not much is known about it but there are many rumors about it. Some white whistles have claimed that from above it can be seen something shaped as a ring.
 * Description: 

The Deepest Point

 * Depth: >20000 meters.


 * Strains of Ascent: ????


 * Description: No-one has reached the deepest point but it's been confirmed that it's beyond 20000 meters deep.