Thank you for your curation and thoughtful comment. I did not expect the Inkwell to see this, since I did not publish in the community.

I'm not familiar with Pier Gynt; sounds like something to add to my reading list.

I did not consider fear of nothingness when writing this. It's a good point to though; I think if this scenario were to actually happen, it probably would not end belief in the afterlife. Actual reports of nothingness would probably cause people to hang onto that belief even more.