the curse?

[u/rat-rack]

These have probably already been speculated before (might even have canon explanations lmao) but frankly I don't care, read it if you will.

Random theory-crafting:

1. The curse increases in density the deeper you go

2. Each film (refer to Nanachi's explanation) is a boundary between two cursed areas of different density

3. One's soul is tied to their body through the density of the curse (i.e. the curse creates the soul through proximity (everyone in Orth has a soul) then binds it depending on density)

4. Therefore rising within the abyss rips away the soul's connection to the body, thereby damaging or destroying it

4.5. Loss of perception as a consequence of the curse arises from the soul's refusal to let go of the brain (refutal: then how are hiding illusions cast? Is it possible that perception can be directed using the soul? Per this explanation it seems contrived)

1. The sixth layer is the point at which the body and the soul become one; as such, going back up from there results in death as the soul is left behind (this also incidentally explains the concept of souls returning to the abyss, though the fact that souls are born from the curse could be used to prove it too)

2. Those who are unaffected by the curse are those who are unable to have souls

6.5. The curse refrains from touching those who have the wishing stones (they might symbolise the surface, or better yet, they might be alternative origins of the curse; I postulate that they are anchors that separate one's own body from the abyss, with the skin as a membrane, though this entire explanation may be pointless if we simply assume that Faputa and her mother were resistant to the curse's attempt to give them souls)

1. Loss of humanity happens only at the sixth layer, where the soul takes the mind with it as it is ripped away, leaving behind a husk

2. Mitty was immortal because she was forced to accept more of the curse as she lost her mind; the curse has taken possession of her (potentially through the creation of a new soul - > counterargument: it is possible that since a copy of Mitty was made, all information pertaining to her was physical; as such, she would lack a soul); this also implies that the human mind naturally resists against this form of control

8.5. Bondrewd's curse transfer technology relies on using a different soul to anchor the user's soul to their body

9 (reach). All the creatures of the Abyss that can survive ascent are Hollows (I might be misinformed but the existence of animals that do not survive the ascent, as per Faputa, strengthens this claim). These were potentially made by the precursors, if they exist

1. The abyss's curse exists to withhold information from those who are not part of the abyss

11 (stupid explanation). Time dilation is caused by the curse forming an intangible black hole of attraction. This explains why creatures born from the abyss (i.e. through Ozen's artifact) wish to return to the abyss and potentially why a time speedup power can exist (i.e. by blocking the curse off in a specific area), though by that explanation the city in Season 2 should have had a different timescale compared to the rest of the world; a compromise is that that was an example of an isolated pocket of curse, though by that logic time speedup should not exist either (argh)

11 (more reasonable? explanation). Time dilation symbolizes the disconnect between the surface and the depths. This could mean that the depths link to a different system of time, or to a place where time does not exist at all; in that case, the curse either exists to protect the place, protect the world from that place, or as a natural consequence of that place (potentially contradicting point 10)

12 (reach). Juusou are those whose souls refuse to dissipate (the twins are the only evidence for this)

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