Nick's mind became chaotic.
He thought about many different things without any kind of logical connection.
It was like he was inside a fever dream.
Colors moved back and forth and transformed into completely different concepts.
Was he dying?
Was he still alive?
Was he dead?
Everything became surreal to Nick.
How fast was time passing?
Was it even passing?
From time to time, concepts and realizations entered Nick's mind.
While his focus might have been completely scattered, his mind was still generating thoughts.
His mind was trying to make sense of Nick's new reality.
The Dark Cloud.
Why had it suddenly given up?
Some part of Nick's mind realized that it actually made sense.
Everything returned to the first two possibilities.