The Abyss is an enormous vertical landscape divided into seven unique layers, defined to be the region of the Overworld known as the Deep Underground, whose mouth begins at y = 0 and whose depth is unknown to this day. Over the span of many years, with a spirit of adventure for the unknown and countless legends luring them in, the world's only remaining unexplored chasm has swallowed up a great many people. To those who offer up their bodies and challenge the chasm for which even darkness is no match, the Abyss is said to provide all. Life and death, Curses and Blessings — all of it. At the end of their journey, what fate will they choose to meet?

The Abyss is permeated by a mysterious field, the very blood of the Abyss, that seems correlated with many of the eldritch phenomena surrounding the Abyss, most notably including the Curse of the Abyss, a set of afflictions that seem to grow more severe with depth. The concentration of this field as well as the afflictions that result from it seem to grow more severe with depth. Rumors say that the affictions do not seem to occur in delvers who are descending into the Abyss, only those who are attempting to ascend out of it. Despite this, prolonged exposure to the field seems to cause the minds and bodies of delvers to literally warp until they are beyond recognition.

The Strains of Ascension is the scientific name referring to the afflictions associated with the Curse of the Abyss. These strains, shown below along with their Minecraft manifestations, differ in each layer and become more severe with depth:

• 1st Layer: Dizziness and nausea (exhaustion of hunger and thirst)
• 2nd Layer: Numbness and headaches (throbbing blur effect)
• 3rd Layer: Hallucinations and vertigo (sanity loss)
• 4th Layer: Bleeding and pains (regenerable damage over time)
• 5th Layer: Loss of all senses (complete blindness and deafness)
• 6th Layer: Loss of humanity (unregenerable damage over time)
• 7th Layer: Certain and immediate death (instant death)