You find yourself in the midst of a dark, snowy forest, with no light to guide you. As you take a few tentative steps forward, the crunching of snow beneath your feet is the only sound you hear, and the cold, biting air is the only sensation you feel. The darkness is so complete that you cannot see your own hand in front of your face, and the snowfall muffles even the sound of your own breathing.
As you stand there, your senses strained to the maximum, you begin to smell something that makes you shudder. It's an aroma unlike anything you've ever experienced before - an earthy, musky scent that seems to penetrate every fiber of your being. You realize with growing horror that it's not just the smell of the forest, but something else entirely.
Suddenly, you hear a rustling in the undergrowth, and you freeze. You can't see what's making the noise, but you can feel the fear rising in your chest. The rustling grows louder and closer, until it seems to be right in front of you. You can hear the breath of some creature, but you can't tell what it is.
As the seconds tick by, you begin to realize that you're not alone. All around you, there are unseen creatures moving in the darkness, their presence hinted at only by the sounds of their footsteps and the rustling of leaves. You're surrounded by a world of unseen dangers, and you can do nothing to defend yourself.
The aroma in the air grows stronger, and you realize that it's having an effect on you. Your mind is becoming clouded, and you're finding it harder and harder to concentrate. You're losing control of your thoughts, and the fear is turning into something else - something primal and wild. You're beginning to feel like a trapped animal, driven to madness by the overwhelming scent of the forest.
There's no water, so you turn to the snow for hydration, the only thing that seems to give light to the dark forest. And so, you eat the snow. And soon, before you know it, you are beginning to devour yourself.
Conversations occur that never actually occur. Encounters occur that again never actually occur. You walk endlessly, forgetting to sleep.
In your mind you are both at the exit of the forest, as well as the centre. The trees are your friends, and then they are your enemies.
You are not safe.
"How did you survive?"
The girl grimaced.
"Luck"
Lex thought back to his time in the dark forest.
"I suppose it is a lot of that isn't it. If I hadn't been found...well I'd have been dead"
She nodded.
Luck was the only way to escape that hell. Either accidentally walking out the forest, or being found by someone sane enough to guide you out.
"So...perhaps you could release me?"
She looked at the shadows that restrained the young man.
She pondered.
"No. I can't trust you yet. Tell me your abilities"
Lex's expression turned grim.
'So that's how you're going to be. How dissapointing'
"No"
She stared at him.
"Are you sure you want to do that? You're playing with your life here, kid"
Lex simply glared at her.
"Why are you being so stupid, kid? Just tell me what you're capable of and then it's all over. You can live. Why are you making me do this?"
"I'm not making you do anything. If you choose to kill me...that's your decision"
She simply stared at him for some time, thinking. It seemed she didn't want to kill him.
However, that didn't mean that she wouldn't.
In this world, telling people what your capable of is a death sentence. But I suppose when you're faced with death, it might not be a bad option.
But if either way, you are screwed, why not pick the option where you have a chance of not being as screwed? Now, he was betting on the fact she would spare him. Perhaps there was another way he could gain her trust.
"Fine. I'll let you go"
Lex smiled inside. Luck was on his side today.
"So long as you retrieve the object off the alter for me"
'Fuck'
Lex looked at it with a dark expression.
'No way in hell'
"No. Just kill me"
Every part of his body was screaming to stay away from that alter. Whatever object was on it, it was bad news.
There are worse things than death, and he believed the object on that alter was offering one of those things.
The girl expressed surprise.
"It's only an object? Are you scared of an alter? Oh...have you sinned?"
Lex glared at her. He wasn't playing any of her games.
"Fine...I'll do as you ask"
'Well shit'
Suddenly, everything became nothing.
She hadn't even moved a muscle as far as he remembered. In fact, she hadn't even finished that sentence before the darkness took over his sight. Or rather...the nothing.
He felt that the darkness itself was an illusion. Not even darkness existed here. His mind simply forged that image so that Lex would not go insane. After all, you can't perceive what isn't there.
How was he here? Surely if you died, that was it. So how was he existing in nothing? Shouldn't he have been absorbed by it?
All he was left with was his thoughts. There was nowhere to look; nothing to look with. Only his mind remained. His body had dissipated along with everything else.
He was alone. If you could even say that much.
A horrible feeling emerged within Lex. Soon, his thoughts began to slow.
'Who...am I?'
Soon, the nothingness was all he remembered. Why had he even been confused to begin with?
He? What is a he?
It.
The nothingness.
It's thoughts soon began to disappear.
It? But --- didn't exist.
--- was not there. Was nothing.
Thoughts.
They seemed...to disappear. What was something? What was nothing?
What was anything at all?
What...?
...