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Manhwa: Cavalier of the Abyss

Cavalier of the Abyss is the sequel series to Immortal Regis by creator Ga On-Bi. The story returns to that of the mystical world of Chaos but brings in a new protagonist, the rash revenge-driven undead named Xix against the brutal Immortal Regis of Chaos, Nex, who was once known as Jae Hyuk. Meanwhile various factions of the Regis' court and outside forces seem to be attempting to moves around the same time as Xix attempts assassinating Nex.

What happened in the past to make Chaos and Nex this way? Who or what is Xix and the origin of his mysterious abilities? What is the Clan of Night that wants to see Caladbolg unsealed?

Tropes found in Cavalier of the Abyss:

Admiring the Abomination: Oski in a nutshell.
Anti-Hero:
- Nex is a cold, bitter, ruthless, jaded tyrant! He's also trying to prevent Caladbolg and followers from bringing ruin to both worlds. This includes ordering entire villages executed because even one is infected.
  - Fallen Hero and Broken Hero.
- Xix is driven by his desire for revenge against Nex and is not afraid to play dirty, but a good person at heart.
Anti-Villain:
- Caladbolg, for all he is set up as the big bad, has had scenes where he is shown as less villainous than Nex. The fact he has asked at one point for a stop to their conflicts and compromise seriously helps his case, even when he has ultimately selfish ends.
Apocalypse Maiden:
- At one point in the flashback Nex is told that if chooses Serin in the coming Sadistic Choice, all hell will break loose.
- Siana winds up being this for Banaan Village.
Arranged Marriage: Yuan and Ninurta have one just set up at he beginning of the series It doesn't last.
Asskicking Equals Authority: Word Of God states that Nex is second in power only to Caladbolg.
- Yuan's father, Yongje Yeonoh, Head of the Serpent Clan
Back-to-Back Badasses: Xix and Just surprisingly.
Berserk Button: Nex displays varying degrees of tolerance for the usual antics that go along with politics and court intrigue (i.e. plots, deceit, back-room deals, etc). Openly rebel against him however, and all bets are off; He will kill you, and anyone else who tries to stop him. Thus-far, the only person to press this button and survive is Xix, and only because the palace was attacked right as Nex was about to decapitate him. That Xix is his long lost son may explain Xix's continued existence.
Betty and Veronica: Iffrita and Serin to Nex. Yuan and Siana to Xix.
Big Screwed-Up Family: And how:
- Nex is a cold, jaded tyrant with a sadistic side who massacres villages on a regular bases, doesn't even blink when Xix threatens to kill his son's fiance, and has Serin, previously his one true love, tied up in an eternal nightmare.
  - Nex is convinced that he's surrounded by people who want to use or back-stab him. And he's right.
- Serin is locked in a box, heavily sedated, and subjected to an eternal nightmare, punishment for a major betrayal that has yet to come to light. Nex, however, cannot bring himself to killing her. Which of Nex's children she did or did not give birth to while running away from him are a major plot point. Implied for both Siana and Xix so far.
- Caladbolg, supposed God of Chaos who possesses and continues to identify as Jae-Hoon, Nex's little brother. Due to this, a large plot point is how there's no clear distinction between both personalities. Even though he is the Big Bad he comes off far more compassionate than Nex, acting as a foil. Later it is shown he has taken Siana under his wing, who he confirms is his niece.
- Iffrita, Nex's wife and the queen, once sweet and a total ditz, now a Bitch in Sheep's Clothing. She secretly hates the Demon clan for executing her mother as a political pawn, it's implied that she manipulated the events that led to Serin's internment and the razing of the Banaan village, and in court she's constantly maneuvering to get herself as close to Nex as possible.
- Ninurta Noah, the prince and purportedly the son of Nex and Iffrita, although Nex is said to have accepted him without actually checking if this is true; it's implied he's actually the son of the queen and Mikhail Noah, as he bears little resemblance to his father. Nex is not that fond of him, and when he is captured by a dragon-bourn Siana, Nex orders his men to fire at him and declares him a traitor when he defends himself to survive. Currently a allied with Caladbolg of the Night Clan and possibly became Romantic Runner Up to Xix, as his failed arrange marriage with Yuan but is shown to be developing ties with Siana. It's shown in later chapters he may in fact be Iffrita's second child, not her first as people are lead to believe, and the fact that Just uses his blood successfully for the blood seal ritual proves he is actually Nex's son after all.
- Ouroboros, also known as Just, claims to be the son of Nex and Serin as part of a ruse by Serin's father, and is a Manipulative Bastard who takes sadistic pleasure in tormenting his "brother" Ninurta.
  - Ouroboros is also the brother of Skoll, the wolf demon sealed inside Xix.
  - Technically all the beasts are related to Caladbolg, as they are created out of fragments of him.
- Xix: An Undead and Heartbroken Badass whose entire village was massacred at Nex's orders, thus he has a death wish against Nex and is completely thunderstruck when he discovers that he may be Nex's son after a blood ritual. This after Nex defeats, tortures, and nearly kills him. He was left at the village by a beautiful woman in flashbacks drawn looking like Serin and left with her family's artifact Semek. He was actually killed and then resurrected by Siana in previously mentioned massacre. After said resurrection, he proceeds in a daze to tear out Siana's heart and take it into his own body.
  - Also the host of Skoll, a wolf demon related to Ouroboros the snake demon.
- Siana: Childhood Friends with Xix, and member of the Night Clan. She is also necromancer and like Xix implied to be the long lost child of Serin and an unknown Night Clan member that Caladbolg/Jae Hoon is convinced is Nex/Jae Hyuk. Xix thought she died when his village was destroyed, but in truth a post-resurrection haze Xix tore out her heart to took it into his own body. Afterward her body was taken by Caladbolg and he had his forces work to save her. She reappears later in the present aligned with Caladbolg, and they believe each other to be uncle and niece. Her true body is with the Night Clan and she normally interacts via replicated one her consciousness is tied to.
- Miya: The only one to get away from this relatively clean. Indisputably Nex and Iffrita's daughter, she is a sickly little girl who cannot even comprehend how messed up her family is. Xix, Ninurta and Nex all care for her deeply (the former initially in opposition to his own vendetta) the fact that she actually looks like Nex often causes people to draw comparisons with how Ninurta does not.
Beware the Nice Ones: What happens when they're pushed too far. Mainly applies to Nex, Iffrita and Ninurta.
Bishie Sparkle: Yeonoh Yongje
Chekhov's Gunman: Siana initially seemed very much a Bit Character regulated to flashbacks.
Cock Fight: Xix and Ninurta engage in one more than once, the first time over Yuan. Second over Siana.
The Corruption: Apparently the Night Clan can corrupt anything nearby.
Creepy Cute: The Ghost fires/Will o' wisps.
Darker and Edgier: Compared to the previous series Immortal Regis.
Deliberately Cute Child: During the flashback Caladbolg.
Doting Parent: Yeonoh
Establishing Character Moment: As Nex, the first thing we see Jae Hyuk do is ruthlessly order the purge of a village of suspected rebels � men, women, and children alike are all put to the sword. He also chops off the arm of a soldier who questioned his orders. He's not so sweet anymore.
Et Tu, Brute?: Serin apparently betrayed Nex in the past; the scar on his back came from when she literally back-stabbed him. Just to twist the knife further, she was also pregnant with one (or more) of his children at the time.
- There's a lot of evidence that the betrayal was orchestrated by Iffrita, and that Nex has long harbored suspicions about it.
Evil Former Friend: Thanks to the backstory this comes a lot for various characters especially with Nex.
- Iffrita given her sweet nature during the flashback can be considered this.
- Seon Yu from Immortal Regis and Nex both consider each other this.
First Episode Spoiler: Somewhat later then the first episode but it's not until Chapter 4 that Nex is confirmed to be Jae Hyuk.
Grey and Gray Morality: Between Nex and the forces of Chaos vs Caladbolg and the Night clan
Heel Face Revolving Door: Nex
Hostile Show Takeover: Poor Xix get not just utterly defeated by Nex, but lost all spotlights to him as well!
- Not really. According to Word Of God, Nex is still the main character while Xix is supposed to be a Supporting Protagonist.
Incest Subtext: Caladbolg, Nex, Siana, Xix, Miya, Just, Ninurta... to name only a few affected by this. A large problem is due to how this is a story of a really messed up family in-fighting.
It's the Only Way to Be Sure: Whenever Nex finds Night Clan Corruption in a town, he has the inhabitants slaughtered; no exceptions. Somewhat justified as The Corruption spreads like a wildfire if it's not stamped out in a hurry.
Kissing Cousins: When incest actually did become canon, with Iffrita and Mikhail Noah.
The Law of Conservation of Detail: Used a great deal in this series.
- The fact that a undead can't survive without their heart Xix is captured and later watches his own heart destroyed early in the series at chapter 10, leading to what should have been Skoll being let lose and his death. Instead he turns up fine seemingly with his heart intact. It isn't until dozens of chapters later in chapter 67 that we found out it is because he had two hearts within him since becoming a Undead.
Lonely at the Top: Nex lives this trope, as the only person he really trusts is Depore. The tragic part of this is that Nex is actually an inverse of this trope. He never wanted power, much less the position of Regis, but was basically shoehorned into it due to circumstance and the actions of others interfering with his life.
- The Chains of Commanding: Hence his bitterness.
Love at First Sight: Just claims this as the reason he's hiding Siana with some creepy undertones as well.
Luke, I Am Your Father: Xix and Nex are related by blood somehow, and there is a lot of evidence to suggest that Xix is actually the long lost child of Jae Hyuk and Serin. Though this might be a Red Herring, as Siana, who is totally confirmed as Serin's daughter and has the necromancy to prove it, resurrecting Xix and him taking her heart. Neither Xix or Nex are particularly happy about this.
Morph Weapon: Ghost Fire/Will o' wisps when used by the Night Clan
- Diffor still counts but Nex rarely has need to use her in such a way anymore.
Not As You Know Them: Nex takes this Up to Eleven, going from sweet and driven but arguably naive young teen hero to an evil, sadistic, jaded anti-hero.
- Most major characters from the previous series have made appearances here, more or less along the same lines, but Seon has flipped allegiances to Caladbolg following another one of Nex's (apparently many) massacres.
- Iffrita is notable as well: although she never appeared in the previous work, an extended flashback from two years after Immortal Regis shows how she wasn't always an utter manipulative bitch.
The Nose Knows: The Kirin Clan, Seon Yu's clan, can identify blood by smell.
Papa Wolf:
Nex: Don't touch my daughter.
Rivals Team Up: Xix and Just
Rival Turned Evil: Iffrita and Serin were once friendly rivals for Jae Hyuk's affection, and she even declared that he should "follow his heart" and supported Serin at one point, against her father's (and surprisingly, Serin's father's) wishes. Today? She hates the Demon clan, and especially Serin, with a passion, and it's implied she had a heavy hand in getting Serin imprisoned.
Sadistic Choice: For Jae Hyuk: To save Serin, or protect the anchor supporting all of the Abyss.
Shipper on Deck: Just about everyone from Miya to a dragon goddess ships Xix and Yuan.
Star-Crossed Lovers: Nex and Serin. Their relationship is... complicated.
Supporting Harem: Complete with incest subtext! All the ladies love Nex but he loves Serin most of all, and Xix has a minor harem too but is clearly being set up with Yuan.
That Man Is Dead:
Diffor: Jae Hyuk...
Nex: Diffor. You know I threw that name away a long time ago.
- In the same vein, This is Nex's attitude towards Caladbolg. His brother is dead, and that... Thing is just an imitation.
Triang Relations: So many! The main one being between Xix, Yuan, and Siana. Especially as Xix still is not over his childhood friend despite her reappearance as Forgotten Friend, New Foe. Inverse of First Girl Wins. Xix also is envious of the brief relationship Ninurta and Yuan had. Siana also seems to have the beginning of a Fire And Ice Love Triangle involving Ninurta and Xix.
Used to Be a Sweet Kid: Nex, A.K.A. Jae-Hyuk as shown in Immortal Regis.
Villainous Friendship The series has quite a few great example, but in particular the friendship between Caladbolg, Siana and Ninurta is notable.
We Used To Be Friends: Seon Yu to Owen and Nex. He joined the Night Clan because the quartined his home and led to the point that his entire race was wiped out. Nex does that often.
Yandere: The flashback arc reveals Iffrita set Serin up to get Nex to herself. Caladbolg is also an excellent example, with how he is obsessed with his brother, to the point of wanting to remove Serin, and how he also happily tries to turn Siana's childhood bully into an abomination.
Yonkoma: As a Print Bonus at the end of some chapters, usually has a lot of Lampshade Hanging.
Younger Than They Look: Owen is technically in Nex's age group but doesn't look it.