Read "The Flight to Lucifer" by Harold Bloom online for free on Textopian. Full text with search, annotations, highlights, and AI-powered reading aids.
Time itself seemed to have fled away; Perscors had no notion of how long he had marched. The stones had turned to black soil, except where the ground gaped open, revealing nothing but an endless abyss. Skirting one of these fissures, Perscors saw for the first time in this underworld some growth. Along the fissure's edge he found a clump of milky flowers, stark white in their dark setting. Drawn to them, he tried to pull one up, but was amazed at the root's resistance. Crouching down, he struggled obstinately and some moments later finally drew out the black root. So great was the fatigue caused by the root's obduracy that he felt more drained than he had been by the battle. The plant gave off an unpleasant odor, strong and garlicky, but he felt comforted by it and placed it in the right-hand pocket of his torn robe.
As he strode on, vegetation began to appear in the form of clumped shrubs, sparse at first, but progressively thicker, until indeed their presence started to slow his pace. He moved through darkened groves of cypress trees, illuminated obscurely by the reddish light from above. Abruptly, Perscors faced a vast lake sunk in deep shadow; nearby yawned the wide mouth of a rocky cavern. He did not hesitate but advanced into it.