His sadness turned into blazing fury.
Damon was infuriated as he dragged his legs up the steps.
And finally, he saw it again.
He had reached the point where he could see the clouds.
His glimmer of hope shone again and he became more determined to reach it and take hold of it now more than ever.
His hope was not as pure and raw as the first time.
It was mixed with fear and doubt.
At the back of his mind, Damon was wary of the kind of bad fortune that may befall him now he had a second chance at escaping this hellish place.
Was the end of his climb truly near?
Was fate playing with his broken spirit while preparing to deal him an even more fatal blow?
The cloud that he saw was not a mirage. It was as real as the tormentous feeling he experienced from his ascension.
Soon, the door also came into sight.
Damon wanted to jump up for joy but he preferred to not jinx his transient good luck for a moment.
After a few more hours of climbing, ultimately, he reached the door that stood at the top of the stairs.
.
.
.
The door was muddy brown, old and scratched, with many wave-like inscriptions drawn on it.
Its knob was weathered and shed of some of its surface but it stood steadfast to the door like two lovers to one another, guarding whatever was beyond them.
Damon stretched his trembling hands, reaching out to hold the knob.
He grabbed it and felt rejuvenated for a brief moment.
A sudden rush of ecstasy raced through his body, deep into his spirit and he felt reborn.
Damon was injected with a little of the mana that pulsated in the door knob.
Feeling that sudden surge of magical energy, he was shocked and immediately, he withdrew his hands.
Afraid and suspicious of such an unexpected good fortune.
'What sorcery is this?'
He doubted, believing that such a graceful gift did not come without a price.
Only the door stood in Damon's way now and he had to open it somehow.
Mana had seeped from the door knob into his body, rejuvenating him yet Axon had not recorded the event.
This made it even stranger and caused him to be uneasy.
Could it have affected him in any way?
Damon was refreshed enough to remember he had an avatar profile.
He pulled it up and glanced through.
That was when he understood.
The door was a kind of refiller, refilling the energy points he lost during his tedious ascension.
Damon saw his energy points rise from 92 back to half of his normal total for his level.
Had he wasted more time inside the First Stairway, it may have been futile.
.
.
.
His climb has been an arduous flight from the bottom through an infinity of steps but finally, he reached the end.
Consumed by weariness and depression but saved by his unyielding determination to reach an end that he could not see.
The unending spiral of stone steps, his greatest foe so far, had finally been defeated.
Damon was the victorious one, standing at the top and his hand reaching for the doorknob one more time.
He let out a deep exhale as he did so.
His heart pounded fast as he grabbed the knob.
The stream of mana flowed into his hand again but he stood firm, refusing to pull his hand out as it travelled through his body and finally returned to the knob.
"Here goes nothing," he muttered under his breath, not hopeful for anything from his long-lasting experience alone in the void.
Watching his energy points rise once more, he waited patiently until it completely refilled what he had lost before turning the knob.
Creak!
The door creaked open, introducing Damon to a blissful scene — the one he had so much longed for.
Damon took a big step beyond the door and into the world of the Second Floor.
He closed his eyes, allowing the sun to bathe his skin.
The wind caressed his body and he took a long, deep breath of fresh air.
It was real.
Real was an understatement, it was surreal.
He was not dreaming.
He took his another step beyond the door into this expanse of greenery, mixed with different varieties of flowers and different lighthouses at different positions in this vast field.
The touch of the sun's rays on his skin had never felt so warm and comforting.
Damon moaned from the relaxing sensation he felt from the breeze brushing over his skin.
He did it!
He had successfully climbed the First Stairway
Ding!
[You have climbed the First Stairway]
[You have reached the 2nd Floor]
[Welcome to the 2nd Floor]
Damon muttered with a voice filled with deep relief, "Finally."