The Sunless Path
by Esther Elizabeth Racah
The sunless path stretched endlessly before her, winding through a barren landscape where no light dared to linger. The sun had long since abandoned the world, leaving behind only a thick, oppressive darkness that seemed to swallow everything in its wake. She had walked for what felt like an eternity, her footsteps echoing hollowly against the earth. Still, no matter how far she went, the scenery never changed. There were no landmarks, no signs of life—only the path and the void that surrounded it.
She could not remember when she had begun this journey along the sunless path, nor why. The memories of her past had faded into the shadows, blurred and distant as if they belonged to another world entirely. All that remained was the compulsion to keep moving forward, though she knew not where the path would lead. Each step felt heavier than the last, her legs trembling with the weight of an unseen burden. But to stop was unthinkable. The thought of standing still, of allowing the darkness to close in around her, filled her with a nameless dread.
The scent of damp earth and decay surrounded her as though the world itself was disintegrating beneath her steps. She breathed it in with each ragged gasp, and it settled like a stone in her lungs. The silence was absolute, broken only by the sound of her contrived breathing and the soft, relentless thud of her treads. There were no birds, no insects, no wind to stir the dead leaves that littered the ground. It was as though the world had been drained of all life, leaving her the only living soul in a place where life no longer belonged.
She had tried to turn back once, but the sunless path had twisted beneath her, warping into something unrecognisable. Her sense of direction had vanished, and the more she tried to retrace her steps, the further she seemed to stray from any semblance of escape. The path was a labyrinth with no end, a cruel trick played by forces she could not comprehend.
Despair gnawed at the edges of her mind, whispering to her that there was no destination, no salvation waiting at the end of the journey. She was trapped in an endless cycle, a prisoner of the sunless path and the darkness that clung to it. And so, she continued to walk, forever lost in the sunless void.
