The Secret of the Red Mountain

There was no end, there was no beginning, there was nothing, nothing at all, only the continual motion forward.

Azemo almost could not remember why he was moving forward, and still he trekked on. Moving up the endless mountain, focusing only on the fact that he was still moving, climbing towards the mountain top.

As he continued to walk it was hard for his mind to focus on anything besides pain and exhaustion. One might have thought that Azemo would have gotten used to it, but thanks to the properties of the second test, his condition continually worsened. On top of that, the higher Azemo climbed, the more he felt a weight trying to shove him back down.

Even when Azemo tried to think of the wonderful parts of his life, the thoughts were forced out, replaced by scenes of death. By the time he had made it halfway up the mountain, Azemo had seen Sillis die a hundred times, Zaebos even more, Kaede being stabbed and all the demons being crushed.