In a place where the passage of time can't be felt, and stairs that shine were the only source of light, the man with an expression of forlornness climbed up with a coffin on his back.
Any other person would have perhaps already started to think about the pros or cons or perhaps given up but not a single thought like this came into George's mind.
It was because this was not only a test to bring her back but it was also a trial of his love.
The love for her did not let him give up irrespective of the suffering.
The path to the sky was getting harder and harder but he didn't flinch.
There was only a single thought in his mind which was ringing again and again.
Which is either to bring back Ava to life or die trying to save her on these very stairs.
There was no second option for him.
With such a resolve, he didn't have the slightest negative feeling and these difficult times made him more stubborn, bringing up an unseen side of him that had been lay hidden in the depths of his heart.
The coffin which was quite light at first seemed to weigh a ton now.
His body seemed to be screaming and begging for him to stop and give up.
His stomach was growling and crying for food.
His eyes were unable to stop shedding tears because of being kept open for so long.
However, he could feel his heart beating faster than ever under the effect of the adrenaline rush.
With resolve that seemed to be as hard as diamond, with one stair one kneel George didn't turn back even for a once.
There was nothing but the sight of a stair reflected in his eyes.
His footsteps which were quite fast at the beginning were now extremely steady.
One step, one kneel up and the process went forth again and again.
His face was red while veins started to bulge all over his body.
Due to the repeated kowtow, the layer of skin on his knees had been peeled and torn up.
If one looks back, one could see the imprints of blood on the stairs.
Even if he was struggling as if a hero carrying the fate of the world, no one was there to cheer for him or support him witnessing his epic struggle.
Finally, his legs started to ache especially his knees which felt as if a myriad of needles had been inserted into it.
After bowing down for more than a hundred times, he was starting to lose the sensation below the waist and his back was feeling numb.
At first, he thought that he was just feeling it but now he was sure that he could feel the weight of the coffin.
Maybe it had been made light to give him hope that he could climb but after a few steps its weight had suddenly increased in the middle.
Without it, he may have climbed more than 300 stairs and would be able to move faster and more unrestrainedly however nothing was easy.
Since the reward for passing the trial was something that couldn't be imagined, the difficulty for clearing this might be quite hard.
Maybe many were given a chance to go through this and became a source of fun for that God Of Death.
Maybe not a single one has passed this trial while he might be the only one who is trying to do something impossible.
However, this did not deter him as what could be worse than losing the one you have loved the most.
People say the heart is the source of all kinds of emotions.
His heart had been with Ava and when she died; she had taken it with her.As if to prove this true the fear of dying did not fear him.
But he didn't stop, in the end, the pain in his body was unable to affect his will in the slightest. He took firm steps in the process of advancing and kowtowing.
The pants on his legs had already been torn and with each step, blood kept falling from two places but as he reached higher, blood started to drop from his forehead as his head hit the stairs.
Watching the scene, Alex who seemed to have turned into a blurry figure started to scream.
"Stop it!"
"Give up. There is no need to suffer."
Alex didn't know what was going to happen but he knew the result was death.
"At the end, you are going to die reincarnated."
"You will meet Ava. Although it will be in a different form, you are going to meet her."
Alex felt his tears forcing out of his eyes.
His lips became dry and he started to shout while hoping that his voice may reach the past him.
"Don't listen to this son of bitch."
"You are just a simple human, you can't pass this cruel trial."
"Even, I may fail if I was in your situation."
"Moreover, who knows if that bastard would keep his promise."
At the moment, Alex only wanted one thing which was to tear the God Of Death apart.
Irrespective of the price, he wanted to kill the God of Death who was toying with them.
However, no matter how much he screamed his voice didn't reach George who kept on climbing without rest.
It looked as if a deep force was supporting his gradually weakening body.
His body had been staggering and was already close to collapsing and finally, with a loud bang, his body suddenly fell on the ground violently smashing the stairs to the ground. But his left arm still grasped the bottom of the stairs so he wouldn't slip down.
Blood covered his whole body and his face was filled with lumps due to falling on the stairs repeatedly.
His body had been shaking violently and with a violent grasp of breath, he barely managed to shift his position and fall again with a bang.
But this time he didn't climb any further and his sight slightly turned dark and he fell unconscious.
A few hours after, his body shook lightly and using his arms to prop herself, she slowly rose.
Pausing for a moment trying to manage his struggling body, he barely managed to get up.
Once again he stepped up and kowtowed again.
In just a moment his blood covered the whole new stair.
Without any break, he kept on advancing through the path.
He either dies here or brings her back.
He climbed a few steps and fell once again collapsing on the floor.
Soon he climbed again and fell unconscious.
He collapsed time after time and then got up to carry on the process.
Alex had already closed his eyes trying to stop himself from watching the scene.
He didn't know how many days had passed but George's body which had been filled with vigour at the beginning had been toned down to a thin figure.
His face had become hollow and he looked like a zombie.
The dress he had worn had been dangling loose as if he had lost tons of weight.
And finally, after an unknown amount of time, he fell without getting up and the body which had been breathing till now finally seemed to have stopped breathing signalling the end.