"Or are you going to accept reality? That some prices are worth paying. That power requires sacrifice. That becoming more than you were means leaving behind the weakness that made you a victim."
Alex foot eased off the gas slightly, the car slowing as it approached.
And in that moment, something crystallized in Alex's mind with terrible clarity.
Lilith was right.
Without the system, he was nothing. Would always be nothing.
Just another man who got stepped on by people like Marcus and Sophia, too weak to fight back, too powerless to matter.
He'd built his entire new life on the foundation of power the system had given him. His confidence, his strength, his ability to protect the people he cared about... all of it came from Lilith.
Take that away, and what was left?
The same broken boy who'd let Marcus destroy him. The same pathetic fool who'd believed Sophia's lies. The same helpless victim who'd watched his world crumble without being able to stop it.
