Elias looked around. It was a stone hallway it was quit..compact the ceiling was just a feet above his head
—some kind of black stone. Perhaps obsidian?
No… not obsidian. Obsidian is a kind of glass; it should reflect some light even if it absorbs most of it. But here, this black stone was absorbing the torchlight completely, making everything appear as there was nothing but darkness except the torches themselves.
This black stone was absorbing all light, and yet he could still perceive the corridor as if it were dimly lit. It was both fascinating and terrifying, as if seeing a new color or listening to a new kind of music for the first time.
Elias continued to observe his surroundings in a stupor , as a migraine started to form.
"Ahh, what the fuck."
He slowly looked toward the ceiling, no longer being able to stand up, and the increasing pain made him fall abruptly to the floor, collapsing and feeling dizzy from the ever-growing migraine.
The human brain tries to keep up with the complex world but, alas, in the end it's limited by biology. The human brain comprehends not a percent of the world around it; complex and conflicting sensory signals tend to overwhelm it.
Suddenly the pain stopped, and a kind of fascination started growing inside Elias.
The black stone that appeared as the darkness of the void given form started to seem mesmerizing, as if calling to him, telling him to come close.
Standing up, Elias tried to touch the ceiling.
"Wait…" He frowned, pulling back the hand he had been about to press against the ceiling.
"I don't know where I am, or what kind of danger could be here."
"This black stone seems to have some form of hypnotizing effect, but why would I feel more mesmerized toward the ceiling rather than the floor or side walls?" Elias thought.
After contemplating it for some time, he decided to observe the black stone again—this time the side wall.
After some time, Elias again started to feel mesmerized by the black stone.
SNAP. Elias slaps himself to break out of his stupor, closing his eyes.
"It seems staring at any particular part of the black stone causes some kind of hypnotic effect," he thought.
But his brows furrowed.
What about the floor? He had touched it when he fell to the ground.
After some more contemplation, Elias sighed, deciding not to ponder it, as there was nothing that could make him understand what was happening.
Elias felt a chill run down his spine—
or did he?
He chuckled.
Did he feel it? Anything?
Yes, he did. He felt hunger, thirst, pain, all of it—but it was so hollow, superficial, as if someone had stripped him of the ability to feel and perceive things.
"Perhaps it's related to how I still am in that abyss," Elias pondered.
For now, he needed to maintain caution.
This place was clearly not somewhere a human should be.
"This place…" Elias thought for a while.
"It's definitely allowing my brain to perceive it somehow. Otherwise…"
He exhaled.
"Could it be something magical? Mystical? My current predicament does indicate something unnatural.
Or—maybe I've just gone mad. But oh well. It is what it is."
He looked again at the bizarre hallway.
After closely examining the floor, the side walls, and the ceiling—ensuring his eyes didn't remain on a fixed spot for a few seconds—Elias noticed how unnaturally smooth the hallway was.
If it were made of anything else, he was sure he would see his own reflection in it.
But this black stone was like an abyss.
He began taking slow, careful steps, staying close to the side, rapidly scanning for anything that might harm him.
Can't be too cautious. I'm not even Indiana Jones, Elias thought.
With each step, he felt a growing dread—some biological dread.
Blink.
Elias froze.
He wasn't feeling anything.
He, in the abyss, felt nothing.
Yet his body—his..self in this world—felt dread.
The primal fear all living things have of death.
But...was it the fear of death?
No. No… no.
Ah.
Elias realized that with each step he took, his dread increased.
He started to feel thirsty.
This place was manipulating him.
It was bizarre—utterly.
With each step, Elias could sometimes see shadows at the corner of his eyes that disappeared when he tried to look at them, and heard whispers incomprehensible to understand, causing bouts of great pain in his head.
His brain was getting too much information.
With each step, he started to feel more and more hungry and thirsty, as if he had walked a mile and starved for days.
It was all so terrifying and bizarre, even for someone who could only feel nothing but hollowness in himself.
Elias couldn't help but smile.
How depressed and bored he had been on Earth, surrounded by nothing—no mystery, no thrill.
But now, after so long, he felt excitement.
He knew he was safe—why? How?
He didn't know.
It was his intuition, but alas… safe.
Such a mystery.
Such a thrill.
He mused
It was new to him, whose life had been mostly books—and not even novels or stories, but maths and physics and his room.
Did he have no friends?
No, he did.
He was merely an introvert who wanted nothing more than minimal contact with anyone.
Anyway, Elias thought, let's focus on moving forward.