Abjuration

"Blood of the Sun. Have you come to burn me?"

— Abjuration to Nephis, Chapter 2436, 'Lost Heaven' ^[1]

Description

Abjuration was a Cursed Demon once counted among the Spirits of the Sun God's realm before falling into Corruption.^[2] Having survived the Doom War and outlived the Lord of Light, it spent thousands of years hiding from the merciless radiance of the orphaned sky in the sweltering darkness of Godgrave.^[3] Abjuration was later lulled into an unnatural slumber by Nightmare and used as a weapon against Mordret in the ruins of True Bastion.^[4] Changing Star eventually slew the Cursed Demon.^[5]

Appearance

"A shapeless mountain of gray flesh towered above the rubble, covered by moss and brimming with a hundred revolting limbs that rose from it like a harrowing forest."

— Description of Abjuration, Chapter 2436, 'Lost Heaven' ^[1]

Abjuration took the form of a towering, shapeless mountain of grey flesh overgrown with scarlet moss, from which extended a hundred revolting limbs that rose like a harrowing forest.^[4] Innumerable monstrous eyes were scattered across the grey expanse of its formless body, opening to peer at onlookers with a "dreadful, frighteningly alien lack of emotion". Additionally, Abjuration's limbs were skeletal and charred, suggesting old burns left from some ancient catastrophe.^[1]

A frightening, eerie presence emanated from the creature, so intense that the light of the moon seemed reluctant to touch it and the winds avoided it altogether, causing Abjuration to be shrouded in darkness and silence, as though the world itself was trying to escape it.^[1] Merely standing in proximity to Abjuration was enough to make even Saints struggle to breathe, with its presence pressing them into the ground.^[4]

When Abjuration spoke, its voice was distant and otherworldly in timbre, yet eerily human, using a long-forgotten language.^[1]

Behaviour

Abjuration was ancient, malevolent, and possessed of a recognisably mournful character beneath its malice. Upon first being faced by Changing Star, it spoke of the dreams it had due to Nightmare's [Dream Curse]. They were dreams of being whole again, of the sun being kind again, and most wistfully, dreams of having wings again.^[1]

Abjuration's words carried "indescribable, faint emotion" before turning cold and insidious.^[1]

"You are not the one who forced that hateful dream upon me. You are not the one who stole it from me, either. Are you?... And yet, I cannot forgive you. Those wings of yours, so beautiful."

— Abjuration to Nephis Chapter 2436, 'Lost Heaven' ^[1]

Abilities

Will

Abjuration's Will was vast as an ocean and oppressively firm in its insidious malevolence.^[2] Anything it denied had no choice but to cease, and everything it refused was doomed to be erased from existence. ^[2]This authority was wielded both defensively & offensively, preventing adversaries from harming it while simultaneously negating their ability to escape.^[3]

Concept of Abjuration

Abjuration was the personification of the very concept of rejection, renunciation, and negation.^[2] As such, attacks directed at Abjuration could be simply denied or cancelled before ever getting a chance to do damage, as if the very concept of being hurt by them had been proclaimed a falsehood.^[2] Because the Cursed Demon proclaimed it so, it became true.

Beyond that, Abjuration could also choose to deny the existence of its adversary outright, forcing the world to erase them completely.^[3] Against Nephis, Abjuration was capable of negating the bonds of longing from her back to humans inspired by her, threatening to extinguish the innumerable stars that represented Changing Star's Domain.^[6]

Physical Might

Besides its conceptual authority, the Cursed Demon possessed crushing physical power. The hundreds of skeletal limbs it possessed wreaked havoc across the ruins, exerting such furious might that countless tons of stone rubble were turned into fine dust.^[6]

Habitat

Originally a Spirit of the Sun God's realm, Abjuration once soared in the boundless heaven before falling into the vile depths of Corruption during the Doom War. After outliving the Lord of Light, it spent thousands of years hiding from the destructive radiance of the orphaned sky in the sweltering darkness of the Hollows of Godgrave.^[7][2]

While it slumbered in Godgrave, it was lulled into deeper sleep by Nightmare over the course of many months. First, the Nightmare Creatures populating the area around its lair succumbed, then the fallen deity itself was slowly infected, one drop of insidious poison at a time, until it finally fell asleep.^[7]

"The Cursed One had resisted for a long time, but eventually, the Dream Curse seeped into its mind, body, and soul. At first, it would grow sluggish sometimes, then it would doze off for a minute or two before recovering. Finally, it fell asleep."

— Abjuration's slumber, Chapter 1793, 'Soft Hand' ^[7]

Abjuration was briefly contained within Effie's Beast Locker before taking up residence amidst the rubble of True Bastion, where it remained until its death.^[8]

Notable Encounters

Godgrave (Volume 8, Lord of Shadows)

"Nightmare is busy with an important task. He is lulling a special guest into slumber. The centerpiece of my welcoming committee."

— Sunny regarding Abjuration, Chapter 1792, 'Bait and Switch' ^[9]

Sunny's fifth Shadow, Nightmare, was tasked with lulling a Cursed being to sleep, working at it for many months until the fallen deity finally succumbed. Abjuration's slumber remained restless and shallow, but Sunny was certain he would be able to bring it into the underground hall of the Nameless Temple before the Sovereigns came.^[7]

Unleashed Upon Bastion (Volume 9, Throne of War)

During the battle of Bastion, Effie summoned Abjuration from the Black Beast Locket and unleashed it upon Mordret as a parting gift from the Lord of Shadows. Mordret chose to flee rather than face the Nightmare Creature.

Fight Against Nephis (Volume 10, Dark Lord's Dreadful Travelogue)

Abjuration was confronted by Nephis in True Bastion, and the ensuing battle saw Nephis severing dozens of Abjuration's arms. In return, the Cursed Demon's claws sapped her warmth and weakened her flames with every blow, threatening to extinguish the billions of human lives connected to Nephis.^[6]

The stalemate was broken when Nephis succeeded in invoking the Name of Passion for the first time, mastering the Knowledge of Passion and overpowering Abjuration's Will:

"The frigid hell of Abjuration's creation was vanquished, and the incandescent inferno of purifying flames was actualized, settling to take its lawful place in reality. And so… Abjuration burned."

[...You have slain Abjuration]

— Abjuration's death, Chapter 2440, 'Knowledge of Passion' ^[5]

Trivia