By the time countless tiny arms had withdrawn from William's abdomen like the tide receding,
representing the flock,
representing the Perfect Birth Body,
representing the newly changed "Gate of Life" that had become unlike any other.
The inner wall took on a rock-layer-like structure, no longer a hole transversing the abdomen, but just a darkness when looked inside.
If what was there before was a hollow, it now seemed like the Abyss.
However, William himself hadn't felt much change, hadn't captured any addition of illness, and apart from a bit of itchiness, there seemed hardly any change in his abdomen, and the effect of the Gate of Life still existed.
The only new element was a sense of connection, as the Tenth Abyss had said, establishing some sort of bond.
