of course, all of this can be made uncanon if this poses to be really against roa lore if roa people wants to involve n/a somewhere officially (very unlikely but still)
the only solid lore i used to have is that its name was written as "N/A" in the ancient documents because abyss creatures have no names in general (they dont name themselves, of course). i've written about this in the trummel & alto 1 codec, but here's a bit of detail i didn't write in the codec: but modern people thought it was an acronym, so they took it as "Nihil Acies" - so that's an alternative canon name for ya.
in the trailer, you may have noticed n/a was (relatively) near that entrance of the gate at the bottom. if you haven't noticed, that gate and the corridor (of which designs are based on...) leads to Nihil Descent. this is very non-roa-canon cause i don't think they'll ever cross over pause ahead world with roa world, but it's fun to think about
i don't think N/A would go too far outside Nihil Descent which N/A was apparently supposed to be protecting.
N/A only fought/went outside because the rivals came right to the place it is guarding. otherwise, abyss force probably would have wrecked everything already (although i'm sure N/A (BY ITSELF) can be stopped if there are enough people fighting it - but of course, abyss is many..... more written later.)
if the abyss forces were a pyramid, N/A itself is a mere like 3rd or 4th in command.
n/a being 3rd or 4th in command or whatever leaves other people in interpretation for stronger abyss forces, if they wanted they can make a commander sort of character of abyss, i just didnt want to be like "i made a definitive leader of abyss". i'm trying to be inclusive in my headcanon as much as possible.
of course, that doesn't mean N/A isn't powerful, (i don't know bout it myself,) but i have it set to be like 3rd from top to give space for other abyss characters that may happen, if they wanna be strooooong or someth, as written above.
another established lore is that N/A isn't really attached to axolotl forme or anything, but chooses to use this forme for combat convenience. N/A can change forme if it wants.
n/a's form is incapable of speech, but on rare occasions it communicates via an almost hallucination-like telepatic force. you can see this on action in trummel & alto 1's codec (and technically in the CSS info box), but i guess it doesn't matter as much.
if not for invasion motives of the abyss, the abyss is probably as intelligent as humans.
while all vessels of abyss are disposable, abyss is very likely capable of preserving and protecting (or in other words CARE) for its members, and that experience/habit/personality will probably carry over to normal living - if they did not have an ultimate goal to rule over, of course.
if n/a has been separated of such aggressive goals, n/a would be a cryptic philosophic and a bit of a dreamer, and would very often be occupied with desire to learn, but it has no hostility and never bothered by anything. if you seek help from it they are very likely to be glad to help.
i often see it as, and i've written it vaguely in n/a codec, but abyss hive mind may control all and is great for general planning and stuff, but surely there are benefits in having individual conscience to an extent, and besides abyss probably isn't capable of keeping up toooooo many thoughts so they split it.
but i wrote in the codec that they do so sparingly.
these split abyss mind will still act close to abyss hive, but will probably act... individually, perhaps, just like that, human-like.
the split mind and the main mind can probably affect eachother but there are probably ways to sever that tie - whether by a "Severance Rune", heightened mind, or by sheer strength/force of will.
i'm pretty sure sakamoto3's "Abyss Hime" is separated from abyss hivemind to an extent due of the sheer amount of Power she has absorbed, etc.
so abyss castaways or abyss betrayer can surely occur - however would not mean they can get away with it, i've written more about it below.
however, if you jump timelines or universes or something, abyss hivemind will probably lose track of you. this seems to have happened with fungiwizard's Siren. this might make a *fully* separated abyss being, but atleast only until the abyss hivemind gets ahold of the separated vessel again.
((Q: so according to hyu's lore, the aether people could ally with the abyss if there's a common threat for them?))
took a bit late to reply but i guess yes. atleast, in this headcanon, where they can think and plan pretty well, of course. maybe the real abyss is a bit more feral in nature? not enough canon abyss lore to figure this out.
((Q: what if there's no common threat? can people convince abyss vessels to ally with them?))
under specific conditions, sure. it's only if:
- the vessel has its own split conscience from the hive mind (keep in mind this is rare, they do it sparingly because free will is hard to control, of course)
- the vessel is against, or atleast is tempted to be against, the hive mind
- the vessel has or is willing to sever themselves from the hivemind (or else they get tracked, betrayal details coming obvious to them)
well, of course, tis my headcanon.
but i think it hopefully covers most interpretation of abyss and its characters?
((Q: so they could overthrow the hivemind if they actually try, right...?))
yes, but it is unrealistic... hive mind in itself is perfect, no part of it is against itself.
while any "split conscience" and the hive mind can probably affect eachother, the split mind cannot affect the hive mind enough to cause any significant disruption.
and remember, abyss has an "endless" army - do you expect to win as a number against infinity?
a mere one vessel from the abyss. betrays the hive mind, but does it cause the hive mind to be at disadvantage?
you could gather 15 abyss vessels against the abyss hive mind, the abyss itself. the abyss never ends. can you win?
betrayer of abyss or not, doesn't change the fact that it just only has the power of one individual.
n/a may be 3rd or 4th in command or whatever, but even it cannot fight back and leave any damage even if it decides to fight. it's just one vessel.