Abyss Sequence

The entire world was engulfed in war, as tribes fought against tribes, humans against beasts, struggling ceaselessly for the last remaining land and water resources.

They had become completely unlike themselves, their bodies covered in bone plates, reproducing had become incredibly difficult.

Only by soaking their bodies in water could they remove the bone plates and mate to procreate; water was essential if they wished to conceive offspring.

But if there was no water, blood would do.

Indeed, using blood was even better.

Mating in blood, an infant would be born with the 'blessing of blood', gaining bone plates from birth, even developing more useful limbs.

Driven by the desire to reproduce, the last living beings in the world fell into madness.

Their wars had polluted the last clean lands and water sources; the land was barren, no longer supporting growth, and the water sources had completely dried up, eliminating the possibility of using water directly to birth new offspring.

No water? Then use blood!

With blood, they grew stronger and would become the final victors of this war.

The few remaining tribes and numerous beasts thought this way.

Humankind exterminated all beasts in a tacit agreement, and then turned upon each other in battle.

One tribe after another was destroyed, and offspring became increasingly difficult to bring forth.

To birth new descendants, the last males in the world had no choice but to open their veins, mating with the last females in the world in their own blood, using their blood to nurture the last living animal in the world.

Apart from the females still gestating their young, all other animals in the world perished.

To survive, it could only feed on the corpses left behind by war, yet even so, it could not endure until the day the child was born.

The last female on Earth collapsed, but before falling, it opened its veins and dismantled the bone plates on its lower body.

After its death, its belly suddenly stirred, and shortly, a cub entered this world.

With the cry of the last life, a forgotten extraterrestrial entity finally began to hatch in a forgotten corner of the world.

That 'holy object', once worshipped on altars, prayed for and fought over, broke its shell, and a pitch-black monster emerged.

Though just born, its body rapidly expanded upon contact with air, swelling into a monster that covered the sky.

The last creature in the world opened its fragile eyes, and though its vision was blurred, it captured the silhouette of that monster within its view.

A tear slid from its eye corner, the droplet wavering in the air, reflecting the dazzling radiance that suddenly appeared behind the monster.

The light surged through heaven and earth, killing the newborn monster and also destroying half of the planet!

"...Luo? Yan Luo?"

Yan Luo pulled his attention back from the 'memory', looking up at the circle of experts surrounding him.

An expert inquired with concern, "What just happened?"

Yan Luo did not immediately respond but glanced at the current time.

It had been merely three minutes since he dripped his blood onto the crystal and witnessed those memories.

To others, he merely seemed to have been in a daze for three minutes.

Yan Luo took a deep breath and said, "I might have witnessed the entire process of the Forbidden Demon Abyss being born..."

The reason he said 'might' was because he had only seen the tragic past of this planet, unaware of how its history transformed into the Forbidden Demon Abyss.

Nonetheless, compared to his previous scant understanding of the Abyss, Yan Luo's findings were substantial enough to advance humanity's understanding of its origins.

Experts were startled by Yan Luo's words; they exchanged glances and quickly got to work, some inquired further about Yan Luo's findings, others ran out of the Forbidden Demon Abyss to contact city government and colleagues from other cities.

Yan Luo did not conceal anything, detailing everything he had witnessed.

Considering that verbal recounting might lead to information loss, Yan Luo described everything he saw in as much detail as possible.

Experts surrounding Yan Luo recorded his narrative using audio devices, cameras, and pen and paper, striving to keep the record as complete as possible.

Quickly, the commander became aware of the situation, but upon his arrival, he was stopped by the students of these experts.

Listening to Yan Luo's account made it evident that he was in an especially mystical state, hence the experts wanted to document as much of what he knew while his memory was still clear.

At this point, they were unsure whether the crystal's memories were a one-time event, or if Yan Luo could activate it again to view those memories.

Regret for interrupting Yan Luo's observation was now impossible; they were merely concerned for his well-being at that time.

They were racing against time, trying to extract as much knowledge from Yan Luo as possible.

Experts used their connections with the city government and educational institutions to bring in skilled artists to illustrate what Yan Luo narrated.

The recount went on for a full eleven hours.

Neither Yan Luo nor the primary recording expert ate a single bite; Yan Luo didn't even need to drink water, for his body had strengthened enough to minimize water consumption during his narrative.

Without eating or drinking, Yan Luo eventually detailed all the memories he had retained over eleven hours.

After finishing, Yan Luo immediately stood up.

"I'm hungry."

Before he could make a request, waiting researchers presented the already prepared meal; thanks to the excellent insulation, it was still piping hot.

Yan Luo sat down again, devouring the food from a basin-sized tray.

Many were still immersed in his narrative, visualizing the demise of an emergent civilization through Yan Luo's words.

Once free from this illusion, they began fervently debating what the extraterrestrial egg-shaped object was, and what creature was finally born.

Why did the total extinction of life on a planet allow the creature to emerge?

And from where did the beam that killed the monster originate, why did it only destroy half of the planet, leaving the other half untouched?

It seemed as if an invisible hand had pressed a pause button, freezing the prototype of the Forbidden Demon Abyss at the moment the planet shattered.

Everyone felt fear toward it, but even amidst fear, they had to discuss.

After all, if no countermeasures were devised, Blue Star might be doomed to the same fate.

These matters were irrelevant to Yan Luo; after finishing his meal, he returned to his dorm to sleep.

Not surprisingly, at the dorm entrance, he encountered a Hunter offering companionship, to which he skillfully declined. After a quick wash, Yan Luo went to bed to sleep.

Upon waking, rejuvenated, he donned his gear and quietly left Fortress One, once again delving into the Forbidden Demon Abyss, continuing his deep Abyss hunt.

Not long after, experts sought to consult Yan Luo, only to find out he had gone hunting Demons again.

Yan Luo was always like this, forcing the experts to resignedly return to organizing the recorded data for further study.

Later, they tested the crystal, discovering its magical reaction had completely vanished, understanding that the memories obtained by Yan Luo were a one-time event, with no possibility of further activation by others.

Thus, they shifted focus to researching how the crystal could hold the memories of an Abyss's past, hoping to innovate new carriers of information.

As he rode his motorbike on the hunt for Demons, Yan Luo pondered.

What exactly was the crystal, and why could it record the entire process of civilization's destruction on that planet?

Was there a power observing the destruction of civilization on that planet, perhaps even observing the planet's destroyer, the Abyss's malevolent forces?

If the Forbidden Demon Abyss contained such a thing, did other Abysses also possess similar items?

And was the destruction of the prototype planet of the Forbidden Demon Abyss orchestrated by the power recording all these events behind the scenes?

Otherwise, how could this record be so comprehensive!