And he had reached the other side, the beginning of all things. He was ready to learn the building stone of the universe. The “arche”, as the ancient Greeks called it. The source of everything, the first element that ever existed. As he looked around, he saw nothing. He couldn’t figure out if his eyes were closed or not. He attempted to look down, to look over himself, his hands, and legs, but he couldn’t. He wasn’t able to determine if he was even moving his head, if he was in control of his body.

     After a while, he realized he was nowhere, he had reached total emptiness. Everywhere was empty but also full at the same time. He did not float, nor did he fall. He did not feel, but he did think. He only existed in the mind, with his thoughts and his ideas. He was in some kind of a cavity, a void in space. Or perhaps, a loophole of the universe. Had anyone discovered this place before him? Was he the only one? Was there any way to get out? Or was this eternity? Or death? Or afterlife? Maybe this was what a blackhole was supposed to look like. But there was no way to know exactly. He couldn’t even decide on the color of the environment. It wasn’t white, but it wasn’t black either. Emptiness could not have a color.

     Then, the question arose: Did he exist? Was he existing at that specific moment? Was he conscious or was this an illusion of the mind? He tried to lay a foundation of what he knew or what he thought he knew: he became certain that he existed; however, in what form or space he did not know. He was sure of this because he was able to think.

     Zero, he said suddenly. Not knowing if his voice had been heard by anyone or anything. Not even knowing if he had actually spoken. He realized that he would never be able to know. There was no way of knowing anything. But he figured at last; “zero” was what everything was made of. Everything was made up of nothing.