The Portal/Vortex (place between the worlds?) into the Black Abyss.
Lucreto in the Black Abyss
The Black Abyss is a hellish prison-like realm in the multiverse.
Background[]
The Black Abyss is a dark and apparently bottomless realm, where evil is banished in Daventry's legends.
Having received advice from the frozen Archons, Connor was told to banish Lucreto into the Black Abyss. While fixing the Mask the vortex opened behind Lucreto. Connor barely pushed the archon backward into it. With Lucreto defeated, the vortex closed behind him vanquishing him forever.[1] Those who fall in apparently fall forever, and it is unknown if the realm is made up of anything more than a swirling vortex...
The power of the Black Abyss is so great that when the portal opens up, it is able to draw in things from the outside with extreme force... It is very difficult for individuals to resist the gravitational pull of the realm. Once they are caught in the pull, there is no escape, and they are drawn into the realm's vortex.
During the cataclysm, the Magic Mirror was also darkened only showing swirling vortex similar to that seen in the portal to the Black Abyss. It only unclouded enough for Lucreto to speak to Connor through the mirror, before going completely dark.
Being a realm of dark and shadow, this may be the home of the Efreeti who are a race said to live in another plane of existence.
Perhaps this land is also ruled by the Lord of Darkness (if it is not a title for another lord such as Azriel).
Very little is known about the geography of this realm, all that has been seen is the swirling pink and black vortex that leads to it (which resembles the place between the worlds).
It is said to look into the eyes of Charon is to look into the Abyss.[2] Though it's not clear if it's referring to the Black Abyss or another hellish place.
Behind the scenes[]
In biblical literature, abyss refers to a bottomless pit, to the underworld, to the deepest ocean floor, or to hell, see Abyss.
The inspiration for Lucreto being tossed into the Black Abyss comes from the idea in Revelation that Lucifer/Satan was/will be cast from Heaven into the Abyss (see Revelation 9:2, 20:1-3, Luke 8:26)... The Black Abyss also seems to have similarities to the Phantom Zone in Superman mythology. The Abyss being represented as a bottomless vortex is apropos as the Abyss was represented as a bottomless pit in the bible.
- "His [Archarchon, Lucreto] storyline parallels that of Lucifer, the fallen angel whose attempt to overtake Heaven ends him up in Hell."[3]
The Abyss (though not necessarily the same place as the Dark Abyss) is first mentioned in the KQ6 Hintbook, and the Black Abyss appears in KQ8.
The Archons also give Connor the clue that only the Black Abyss can vanquish Lucreto. According to the debug console after the mask is restored the 'portal' behind the alter leads to the 'vortex' of the Black Abyss. (The term 'portal' in the files appears to relate to the circular entrance to the tunnel (that opens, and then closes later), where as vortex refers to the tunnel itself which Lucreto or Connor can be sucked into. Thus Conner sends Lucreto to the Black Abyss. The sound files related to the tunnel are known as Abyss.aud.
The script in the 7000.msg file calls it the Black Abyss.
It is possible for Connor to get sucked into Black Abyss vortex... This leads to one of the game's more original deaths, and somewhat of an alternate 'ending cutscene', as Conner screams as he rotates within the vortex, sucked ever deeper into the black hole.
In an early drafts for KQ8 a place known as 'the dark abyss' would have apparently been one of the lands visited in the game (though its relevance is unknown).
The place between the worlds' (the pink vortex leading from Daventry to the Realm of the Sun) in KQ7, resembles the Black Abyss vortex. Rosella is grabbed by False Troll King, who pulls her through the side of the vortex through his magic mirror. It is unclear how Valanice entered the realm of Eldritch however, she is apparently deposited through a dust devil.