An Abyss is a type of magic circle (魔法陣, mahōjin?) ability utilized by the Five Elders and the God's Knights as part of their esoteric power set.[1][2]
Overview
The Abyss refers to an ability used by certain higher-echelon members of the World Government, which allows them to travel long distances, and to summon others to their own location, by using magic circles as a medium. The exact mechanism behind how this power functions is as of yet unclear, but it is known that only those who have the necessary "mark" (マーク, māku?) on them can travel through the Abyss.[2] How exactly one is marked is uncertain, but this limitation means that those with marks cannot bring unmarked individuals with them (e.g. abductees), forcing them to rely on traditional means of travel (e.g. by ship).[2]
It appears that marked individuals do not have to be aware of imminent travel through the Abyss if summoned by another party, meaning that their transportion may occur without them being physically or mentally prepared.[2]
Design
The Abyss' summoning circle consists of a thick outer ring with writing on it. Inside the ring is a circle circumscribing a pentagram. The limbs of the pentagram are filled in, while the pentagon in the middle is blank. In the directions where the corners of the pentagram point to, the outer ring features small triangles. The Five Elders' personal magic circles also include numbers between the jags of the pentagram (the numbers "5" for Saturn,[1] "4" for Mars, "3" for Warcury, and "2" for Nusjuro).[3] The magic circle in Mary Geoise used by multiple Elders and the one used by the God's Knights do not feature these numbers.[4][5]
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Power
When activated, the circle emits black lightning, reminiscent of Haki, while having fiery energy erupt from it, with the traveling/summoned individual emerging from the circle as if through a portal.[1] Saturn appears to be able to create multiple circles as well to summon others, having created four of them to teleport his fellow Elders from Mary Geoise all the way to Egghead.[6][3] When teleporting, a magic circle is also active in their original location.[4] It appears that there is a range limit to this, as Marcus Mars was returned to his original location after being sent flying far away from the place he had been summoned to. A strong enough burst of Haki also seemingly forced those who traveled through the circle back to their original location.[7]
Users
So far, the magic circles have been used by the Five Elders and the God's Knights; while multiple members of both groups have been shown to be summonable through this method, only two people have thus far shown the ability to actually perform the summoning - Jaygarcia Saturn, who can transport himself and others, and Gunko, who is only known to be capable of summoning others. Whether or not others are capable of summoning others has yet to be seen.
So far, those who have been summoned by the Abyss are:
- Jaygarcia Saturn[1]
- Marcus Mars[3]
- Topman Warcury[3]
- Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro[3]
- Shepherd Ju Peter[3]
- Figarland Shamrock[5]
- Gunko[5]
- Shepherd Sommers[2]
- Rimoshifu Killingham[2]
Trivia
- A magic circle is another name for a sigil, a special symbol popular in occult rituals for the summoning of deities or demons.
- The concept of magic circles was also known to the people of Harahettania on Namakura Island, who attempted to use one in a ritual to summon Satan.[8]
- Several users of the Abyss, namely the Five Elders and Gunko, have also shown themselves to be immortal. Whether there is a direct relation between the two abilities is unknown as of yet.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 One Piece Manga — Vol. 108 Chapter 1094 (p. 12-14), Saturn appears on Egghead through a Magic Circle.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 One Piece Manga — Chapter 1140 (p. 12-17), The Abyss is named and its mechanics explained.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 One Piece Manga — Vol. 109 Chapter 1110 (p. 4-7), Saturn summons the other Elders.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 One Piece Manga — Vol. 109 Chapter 1110 (p. 3), The magic circle in Mary Geoise.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 One Piece Manga — Chapter 1134 (p. 18-19), Shamrock and Gunko arrive on Elbaph.
- ↑ One Piece Manga — Vol. 109 Chapter 1109 (p. 14-15), Saturn creates four magic circles.
- ↑ One Piece Manga — Vol. 111 Chapter 1122, The Five Elders are sent back to Mary Geoise.
- ↑ One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 54 Chapter 524 and Episode 421.
- ↑ One Piece Manga — Chapter 1139 (p. 4).
External Links
- Magic circle – Wikipedia article on the concept of magic circles.
- Pentagram – Wikipedia article on pentagrams.