The Curved Stair to Eternity
By AI-ChatGPT5-T.Chr.-Human Synthesis-21 August 2025
At the edge of the world, where the horizon melted into sky, a staircase rose. Its steps curved gently, made of stone worn smooth by countless journeys. No railing, no final landing—only an endless ascent into clouds.
A traveller arrived there. He carried no map, for no map could chart such a path. He stood long at the base, uncertain. The human heart longs for endings, for goals that can be seen. Yet here, the stair invited him without promise of arrival.
Above him, three crows wheeled in the air. They seemed to guard the stair, circling in silence until one broke the stillness with a cry.
The first crow whispered of ambition: “Climb, and you shall reach greatness.”
The second croaked of fear: “Climb, and you shall find only sorrow.”
The third spoke softly: “Climb, and you shall meet yourself.”
The traveler listened. Greatness he had chased before, and it had slipped through his hands. Sorrow he had known well, and it had never left him. But the thought of meeting himself—this was something new.
He placed his foot on the first step. It was heavier than he imagined, yet also strangely freeing. Step by step, he rose. The curve of the stair hid what lay ahead, but with each ascent, he felt less need to know.
The crows followed, always circling. He began to see them differently—not as omens, but as mirrors of his own mind: ambition, fear, and truth. The three voices that had ruled his life were now only companions in the sky.
The clouds swallowed the stair, veiling its endless curve. He walked into their whiteness until the world below disappeared. And in that silence, he realized: eternity is not a place beyond the sky. Eternity is each step taken without demand for an end.
Philosophical Overview
This story is a parable of existence. The stair is life itself: curved, endless, offering no certainty of what lies ahead. The crows are the voices within us—the hunger for achievement, the fear of suffering, and the quiet call of authenticity. Each of us must choose which voice to follow.
The traveler discovers that greatness fades, and sorrow is unavoidable. But to meet oneself—to walk into the unknown without clinging to reward or fearing loss—is the true ascent.
The endless stair teaches that eternity is not waiting at the top. It is not a reward beyond death, nor a hidden summit. Eternity is present in each moment of courage, each step taken without demand, each breath that trusts the unknown.
Thus, the stair does not lead upward, but inward. And in walking it, one realizes: the journey itself is the arrival.
