Night.
Dark.
Vantablack.
The dripping night fills my ears; my mind. A cave?
It is liquid darkness. A graveyard of absolute rot.
But even rot is alive, no? It is not rot then.
It is pure black. Why though? Why me? I cannot move from these chains.
But are they chains? Or am I suspended by fading stars in this forever darkness?
These are not stars. They are the last glimmers of hope, growing dim. Oh so dim. So translucent and liquid.
They provide stability in this darkness. An orientation. I fear what will happen when they wither. What will 'up' become? How will I know what lies above? And if I go the other way, how far will I fall into this darkness?
Knowledge is a curse sometimes. Wisdom is blood. It is fine to have a little within yourself, but do not drink it pure, and most certainly do not let it all spill out of you. There are secrets to this reality that no mortal should ever have to have revealed more than once. And never in full.
And it is knowledge of the dark that I attain as these tiny shimmers holding me aloft fade. They are gone.
It is only black now, and I can no longer tell what is up, down, or in any direction whatsoever. It is a loss for me then, isn't it? Yet I am still alive.
But life is madness. Am I spinning? Or is it just in my head? I look in any direction and it's simply more darkness. Where has my hope gone off to now, I wonder? I cannot see my body.
There is only darkness.
Darkness is absence of light. Darkness is not reality; it is absence.
Thus absent of light, the madness begins.
What is that in the distance? An orb?
A chariot made of light. It is the moon rising slowly over an unseen horizon.
But this is not my moon. This is not a moon that I know. It is pure white, and as crisp as if it was mere meters away from me. Gleaming with dripping light, I see the droplets fall from it, and fall forever into the abyss. Such darkness is so dark, it absorbs even the light from this orb. Death.
The candle goes out.
The circle of light spawns an entity. A demon. Where is my sword?
Where is my courage? I am helpless in this darkness.
I look into the orb, and the demon looks back at me. It is terrifying.
The only thing more terrifying is that this orb is naught but a mirror.
What have I become?
