'I can't quit here….. I can't fail my sister. I can't fail myself. If I fall here, it will be all over. I will never be able to respect myself for having quit here. I need to make it to the end, I need to survive-'
Rocky kept repeating these words in his head as he tried to push himself to the finish line.
With only four days to go and the effects of nourishment deprivation reaching its peak, Rocky faced his hardest mental challenge yet. However, despite a part of his brain constantly urging him to quit, since if he did not, he would 'die', Rocky tried his best to conquer that feeling and push past it.
Survival instinct was something ingrained deeply into one's mind.
It was the base desire of any race, ingrained into them through millennia of evolution.
It was the desire that told one that they were thirsty when their body was running low on water and the instinct that triggered the fight or flight reflex when one faced mortal danger.