There is a statue here of cold stone. Its lifeless eyes take on a semblance of animation due to the lone candle that flickers before it. The statue, the candle and you are all that exist within this great ocean of darkness.

“You have attempted to bypass the trial,” a faint echoing voice emanates from the stone. “In your haste to reach some goal, you have attempted to step over the journey. Like all who step without looking, you have found something unpleasant beneath your feet.”

The candle flares for a moment, quietens, nearly dies, then returns to its dancing but stable state.

“I was as you. I too wished to reach the end, and I have found an end of sorts. Sometimes, the end is not at the end, do you understand? Put it this way. Some climb mountains, yes? Well if you were to skip to the end, you would find yourself back on flat ground having ascended, then descended again. You would be at the end of your journey, but not your goal. So it is here. Be gone.”