Farewell... Old Friend

Ashton's eyes shot open in the eerie quiet of the unknown, and he found himself engulfed in an all-encompassing darkness. It wasn't the familiar darkness of a closed room or a night devoid of stars – it was a profound, endless void, a blackness that seemed to stretch on forever.

"Where am I?"

A start jolted through him, and he sat up abruptly, surrounded by the impenetrable dark. There were no outlines, no shapes, just an oppressive nothingness. No skies above, no ground below. Just darkness stretching out in every direction.

"Please tell me this is some kind of a prank..." Ashton said out loud, hoping someone would reply, but no one did. 

The silence was deafening, and Ashton strained to hear any sound, but it was as if the very air absorbed any attempt at noise. He tried to discern any hint of his surroundings, but the darkness clung to him like a shroud, offering no answers.