Board Thread:Dark Souls/@comment-183.90.118.193-20141019064346/@comment-24912592-20141022094117

It's a bit hard to tell what the Abyss exactly is. I would say it's just pure, manifested darkness. Which can spread, corrupt and consume. Malice, yes.

That pure darkness is visible in the kings fight, you can even get swallowed by it. Or in Manus' burial mound. Oolacile itself is inhabited by corrupted creatures, it's not swallowed yet. However, the farther you descend, the more dark goo you see on walls and so. I imagine that stuff to be like tendrils. If I'm not mistaken, the special animation in the kings' abyss also includes tendrils reaching for you.