"Why do we guard death? No one likes it. Why can't we just let it go away?"
"Because, little odhow, without any limit, no one would do anything, for they would have all the time in the world."
Odhows are one of the three types of jogah, and they control the spirits of the underworld to prevent them from rising to the surface.
With death I think you'd wind up being supremely bored unless there was someone who had some nifty games for everyone to play. And failure is only failure if you don't learn from it and grow as a result.
Also, the clock is upside down to represent death, in case you find facts like that interesting.
Link
Lone Companion
And with Death, you may also have all the time to do Nothing; because, for only so long will you have to Exist, to be conscious of your Failure.