Is this what death feels like for everyone? Or do different causes of death make you feel different things?

All I could feel was numbness. I couldn't feel my limbs at all. Hell, I couldn't even feel myself walk. I couldn't hear anything – the overpowering silence the only noise in here. All I could see was white. Everything was white. Even my clothes were white. In here is was just me and the vacuum of… nothing.

Everyone had told me that death had no suffering. That everything and everyone would get the peace and tranquillity that they deserved. Did I deserve peace? Hadn't I just gotten murdered for trying to stop Moriarty?

I had only been dead for a short time. Well. That's what it felt like anyway.

The nothingness was overwhelming. I didn't know what I was doing. I hated to admit it but I was scared. The great consulting detective was scared. What was going on?

I looked around, seeing the space of emptiness stretch out as far as the eye could see. I was truly alone here. And that increased my fright tenfold.

Suddenly, I turned to my left and jumped. Get yourself together, Mr Holmes. Get a grip on things.

The figure was wearing a black cloak. It had a hood covering its face. I stepped back.

It started talking. 'So. The Great Sherlock Holmes. Out of the real world, in the Realm of the Unsuffering.'

The Realm of the Unsuffering. Is that what they called it?

Who are you? I wanted to ask. My voice wouldn't obey.

'You died of a cause you had no chance of stopping. You died saving others; saving the innocent; saving your loved one.'

'My loved one?'

'John Watson,' he stated simply. 'For that reason, you were placed here. I am the opposite of the force.'

The opposite of which force?

'The force that stops the suffering,' he said, seeming to read my mind. 'Somewhere right now, others that died for selfish reasons, reasons that didn't have to happen, are being punished. Being punished to remind them of the mistakes they made. The mistakes that have caused a great deal of pain to their loved ones.' He paused. 'You have a question, Mr Holmes,' he indicated.

My mouth stood agape. Ask your question, Sherlock! 'Where is this force that stops the suffering?'

He laughed. 'You are such a commoner, Mr Holmes. Everyone asks this question.'

I frowned, greatly offended that he had called me common. 'Just because everyone asks it, are you not going answer it?'

'The force that stops the suffering is in the Realm of the Punished. To balance the positive and negative energy. I do the same thing here.'

'Who are you,' I asked finally.

'The force that punishes.'

'Are you going to punish us?'

Again he laughed. 'No. I have no power here. All I can do is keep the energy balanced. Because I am made of pure negative energy. It is just that that negative energy has no purpose other than to equal the positive energy.'

'What would happen if you were in the Realm of the Punished?'

'There would be too much negative energy. Not too much punishment, mind you. The force that stops the suffering ensures that. However, the unsuffering do not need to be punished.'

All this information on the punished and the unsuffering was getting too much. I doubted my Mind Palace could handle such strong information. I didn't need to know this. It could just be deleted.

'Where am I going now?'

'You will follow me.'

He extended his left arm and swiped at the air. He chanted something in some foreign language and suddenly, a pair of wooden double doors materialised.

'These are the doors to the unsuffering world. Here you will be at extreme peace and tranquillity for all eternity.'

He beckoned me over and walked me through the doors. As I went through, I realised something: this was my end.

Or was it just the beginning?

This was an idea I had for an assignment. Hope you guys enjoyed it and it wasn't too confusing. Please review.