My recent dream about the intermediate realm of the world

[Teofrastus]

Dream: "I have descended deep into a concrete shaft, reaching a level that feels like the underworld. Everything is raw grey concrete and eerily empty. The walls tower forbiddingly high. A metal staircase spirals downward into absolute darkness. The atmosphere is terrifying. Far above, I can still see a square of light from the entrance, like a distant memory of the world above. While I know I can turn back, those who ventured here before had no such choice. They were compelled to continue their descent into the consuming darkness. An otherworldly blackness seems to seep from the descending staircase—a darkness deeper than any I've known. An overwhelming sense of doom creeps over me."

Comment: The dream evokes Plato's Allegory of the Cave, though Plato speaks only of ascension, not descent. I remain unafraid, knowing I can return. This plateau in the underworld represents our earthly realm—an unsettling place where Hades' darkness perpetually seeps into our reality. I cannot embrace the optimistic worldview common among modern Christians. Despite its beauty and allure, the material world exerts a corrupting influence on our souls. That square opening far above represents the portal through which the soul transitions at the moment of death—a window to transcendence that echoes the Platonic journey from shadow to light. The key difference is that while Plato's prisoners move from darkness to illumination, this vision suggests we exist in an intermediate realm, constantly touched by the depths below while glimpsing the light above.