By the time the countless tiny arms receded from William's abdomen like the ebbing tide,
representing the flock,
representing the Perfect Born Body,
representing the newly born "Birth Gate," it had become something different.
The inner wall had taken on a rock-stratum-like structure. It was no longer a hollow running through his abdomen; looking inward revealed only pitch-black darkness.
If it had once been a hollow, it was now more like an abyss.
William himself, however, did not feel much of a change. He detected no new symptoms. Apart from some itchiness, his abdomen seemed largely unchanged, and the Birth Gate's effect remained.
The only addition was a sense of connection. Just as the Tenth Abyss had said, some sort of bond had been established.
"From now on, you can contact me through the hole in your abdomen, but... you may only open the connection when you have something particularly urgent to report, or when someone dares to challenge my authority. Otherwise, I will directly deny it and erase your identity as my 'Spokesperson.'"
"Understood."
"Also, the 'life' expressed by your abdomen unexpectedly resonates rather well with my abyss. Keep developing it. Perhaps a genuine Sub-Abyss Structure with practical effects will eventually evolve within you."
"Life can resonate with an abyss? I understand."
"Remember your promise. Besides serving as my Spokesperson to the outside world, you must also regularly send me Abyssals of acceptable quality."
"Please rest assured. I will certainly satisfy you."
William had already formed a detailed plan. He only needed to send one student to the Tenth Abyss at regular intervals. That would not only satisfy the requirement of 'offering tribute' but also allow the student to obtain abyssal knowledge from within the darkness,
and because of the special nature of the Black Madness Brain, even after