-- BLACKNESS. NO LIVING SOUL can comprehend the true meaning of it. To understand it would be like trying to understand the origin of the Nothing. And as I walked with the Devil through this infinite darkness, I could only wait for it to recede. It was the strangest feeling to be here. I felt as though every one of my lingering human emotions had been instantly sucked from me, yet curiosity had been left behind in shards. My mouth was dry, yet full of saliva, which tasted unnaturally salty as if it were sweat. I realized I had no heartbeat, yet there was breath emitting from my nostrils and it felt thick like humidity. But most of all, I felt empty, metaphorically and literally. My body felt light as though made of nothing but skin, but instead of feeling I might float into the air, I thought that at any moment I would fall like a feather into the blackness beneath me. We pressed on for hours, or maybe only seconds. No words were exchanged. No glances or acknowledgments. There were no sounds; not even our shoes striking against the invisible floor.
