Disclaimer: This post contains spoilers for the Made In Abyss manga, up to chapters 68 and 69.

What is up with Akihito Tsukushi’s ability to dream up horrifying fantasy creatures? I’d be talking about the one that snatched Nanachi away after it’s failed attempt to abscond with the twins. Now that we got a better look at it, it turns out that it’s no ordinary case of horrifying megafauna.

The official materials don’t give a name for it just yet, so I’m just going to give it a temporary name. For now, I’ll refer to it as “Phantasmaplasm”. I think it’s fitting for such a nightmarish creature.

If the Phantasmaplasm is not the 7th layer’s apex predator, then you might want to avoid whatever that might be. I remember thinking that the Sakawatari looked badass, and that if that’s the worst thing that can come out of the 7th layer, then the place is probably not that bad. But as it turns out, the Sakawatari probably came to the surface for a very compelling reason: to escape the Phantasmaplasm.

If it’s a picture you want: here’s one:

Except that picture might not be much help, for a couple truly terrifying reasons.

1. It doesn’t convey the sheer enormity of the thing. It might actually be comparable to a skyscraper. And,
2. It’s usually invisible.

Yep, the thing is usually invisible. Unless you have some form of enhanced perception, its body doesn’t become visible until you make direct contact with it. But at that point, it probably already has you.

Yeah, something that huge being invisible.

But the nightmares are just getting started. In addition to its conditional invisibility, the Phantasmaplasm can also cancel a person’s senses if it’s in their proximity. Riko and Srajo’s group was put on alert when Reg’s sense of smell suddenly vanished. But even that wasn’t much warning.

In this sense, the Phantasmplasm has an ability that is somewhat similar to the Kudara from the Binary Star game. A Kudara is able to create hallucinations by reading the minds and memories of cave raiders in its proximity. Because of this, there’s a precedent for a primeval creature capable of using psychic attacks against a person’s senses. Up until now, the most dangerous creatures that Riko’s team has encountered, such as the Crimson Splitjaw, the Orb Piercer, and the Turbinid Dragons, used things like poison and martial ability to attack. The Phantasmaplasm is unlike anything Riko’s group has encountered so far.

While all this is disturbing already, it gets worse. The Phantasmaplasm can hyper-regenerate. As evidenced by Yataramar’s attempt to burn off one of its enormous tentacles, as long as the tentacle is still attached, it can completely regenerate in a matter of seconds, even if burned.

Oh yeah, it’s also unaffected by the strains of ascension. Which is a pretty big deal in the 7th layer, where the strains are presumably “certain death”. So yeah, we can assume that a person would be killed if it were to pull them upwards by just a few meters.

All things that we currently know about it considered, if you were to see this thing coming as you walk down the street, you’d probably cross to the other side. Or turn and run like you’ve never run before. Except, you wouldn’t be able to see it coming at all, and the only warning you’d have of it’s presence is if one of your senses, such as smell or hearing, were to suddenly go.

Whatever’s at the bottom had better be worth the trip.