The truth hit Alex like a cold knife to the gut.
Sharp.
Undeniable.
Humbling.
Adam was stronger.
It wasn't just a hunch or a whisper of doubt in the back of his mind. It was a fact—blinding in its clarity, crushing in its weight.
Just hours ago, Alex had stood atop his own mountain of triumph. He'd killed a prince of the Demon Realm, stared down a Doom-class entity, and walked away with two unique titles, along with three rare essence roots still pulsing with power in his inventory.
He had felt unstoppable.
Invincible, even.
But watching Adam fight… watching him win without breaking a sweat—as if his opponent had been nothing more than a warm-up—Alex felt the ground shift beneath him.
All that pride he'd been carrying in his chest suddenly felt misplaced. Shallow.
There were still summits above him.
And Adam stood calmly atop one of them. Unshaken.
