Astral Overtones of A Life Long Gone

Bathed in light, I see my flaw.
The end is close, yet I barely see the maw,
Of this beast from the underworld,
Who shows me the many lives unfurled.

The many lives of people long lost,
Souls covered in a pale white frost,
Beings swallowed in the shadowy abyss,
Wondering who all will notice that something is amiss.

And on their dying breath, they all mutter,
The same thing, barely able to stutter,
The phrase out before they're left to die,
"I just wish I knew the simplest thing.... why?'