Paralyzed by the unknown, lost in shadow, how can I find the fissure where light might pierce this gloom? It presses in – a void that steals the air, leaving me breathless in the emptiness. Doubt, a fragile seed, sprouts even here in the suffocating dark. Where is the conduit for truth? How can it be brought forth? Is the only passage forged in fire? Must I consume myself, offer my own being as the flame, hoping its sacrifice illuminates the way forward?