The 10th Circle - Abyss [Complete]

2. Engram: Maze

There are depths in man that go to the lowest hell, and heights that reach the highest heaven, for are not both heaven and hell made out of him, everlasting miracle and mystery that he is.
Thomas Carlyle

~ ~ ~

There was a flash of bright light, and then – nothing. Nothing but grey. Not even darkness - just a vast and empty space inside my mind that was devoid of everything, an experience without qualia except for the passage of time. And there I remained, for what seemed like an eternity, until I was pulled towards a growing, bright light. When I reached it, I went past it, and beyond there was just darkness. And cold. Perhaps I was dead?

All I knew was that I needed to get out.

When I opened my eyes, I found myself in a dark place, ankle-deep in cold water. The ground below my feet was made from a metal grid, unsteady and sharp against my naked skin. It was just below the surface of the pitch black water that expanded all around me, as far as my eyes could see in the dim light that seemed to surround me, until it merged with the darkness in the distance.

"Hello?"

My voice sounded small and fragile in the dark void. There was no echo, and no response. Gradually, my eyes grew accustomed to the darkness, and I could make out something like a dim glow somewhere in the distance.

With nothing else to do, I figured I might as well head in that direction. Perhaps I could get out of the cold water before my feet froze off. So I began to walk on the unsteady ground. It seemed to tremble and swerve underneath my every step, but I moved forward - until I suddenly stepped onto nothing and lost my balance. With a shriek of surprise, I slipped, tumbled into the cold water and almost hit the back of my head on the treacherous flooring.

This is no floor, it's a catwalk, I realized, as I pulled myself out of the inky liquid, back on the metal grate that I had been treading on.

I began to shiver violently form the cold now. On all fours, I began to feel my way forward to the edge that I had dropped off. The path did not stop, it just took a sharp turn to the right here. Determined to stay on all fours for safety, I began to crawl along the path in the darkness, feeling my way forward with numb, trembling hands. The sharp edges of the grid cut into my hands and knees now, and I moved at an excruciatingly slow pace.

"I'd like to go back."

I heard my own voice, but I wasn't sure if it was really me who was speaking. Something was wrong about the sound of it.

"I don't like this. Can I go back? Please?"

My pleading fell on non-existent ears.

"I don't like this place. Take me back! Take me back, now!"

My voice grew louder and louder until I screamed the words out into the darkness. My heart began to pound painfully in my chest, and I wanted to curl up into a ball and cry. I wanted to give up, and go back to the Grey, where at least there was no pain and no feeling of loneliness.

That was when I heard the piano. Faintly, softly, the music seemed to course through the air and past me, like petals of a flower carried by a soft wind. The sound soothed my pain and filled me with a blissful warmth, and it made my heart jump with joy.

It must be here somewhere, I thought, and scrambled to my feet. There, up ahead, where that light is coming from. It must be there.

And I began to run.

~ ~ ~

I tried to open my eyes, move my body, make myself known in any way, but I couldn't feel anything. For a moment I thought I was able to see – two people bent over me, their faces blurred and as unfamiliar as their voices. And behind them, the dark night sky illuminated by a thousand sparkling lights, just before my eyes closed again and I couldn't will them open anymore. It was like my mind was floating in the Grey, and other than the passage of time and the voices, there was nothing to remind me that I still existed.