Warm rays of sunlight gently caressed my face, forcing my eyelids to flutter open. Soft bedding wrapped around my body pleasantly, and somewhere in the distance I heard familiar, everyday sounds—the rustle of the wind, the creak of wooden planks, the gentle clatter of a cup being set on a table.

  I blinked, instinctively reaching out as if to grasp something.

  It was… strange.

  The last thing I remember is…

  I furrowed my brows, but before I could recall anything, I heard a familiar voice.

  "Finally, you woke up. I was beginning to think I’d have to douse you with water."

  I lifted my head, looking at Darius sitting across from me. A slight smile played on his face, and his figure was so… natural. As if everything were exactly as it should be. As if… nothing had happened.

  I blinked again. Slowly. Far too slowly.

  "How are you feeling?" he asked, and concern shone in his eyes.

  I didn’t answer right away. Something was off. This place. This moment. It…

  I looked around the room, feeling a strange pang of unease. We were in a shelter, but something about this scene didn’t fit. I shouldn’t have been returning here. The last time we parted, I had headed toward the source of water, and Darius had returned here. So why was I here with him now, as if we’d never been separated? Was it some kind of illusion?

  Everything looked natural. An old, wooden table, a few crates in the corner, a fire dying down in the hearth. I could feel the warmth, the scent of wood, a slight pressure in my muscles after intense exertion. Even Darius looked just as always—smiling, yet focused, as if ready to fight at any moment.

  "I thought you’d wake up earlier," he said, without interrupting his meal. "We slept longer than usual, but I think you deserved it. That fight really put you through your paces."

  I blinked. Really? Did that make sense? We fought together. We defeated the First Gate. That was certain.

  "Yes…" I mumbled. "I'm just a bit… disoriented."

  Darius shrugged.

  "Not surprising. We defeated the Gate, and now we can rest before moving on. The system gave you solid rewards, didn’t it?"

  I opened my status screen, and a familiar window appeared, as always—everything looked fine. And yet, I felt an undefined unease, as if something was slipping past me.

  Nothing happened.

  My heart began to beat faster. Something was wrong.

  But if it was an illusion, it was a perfect one. Everything here was realistic, crafted down to the smallest detail. My body remembered the fight, yet I felt no fatigue that should have accompanied it.

  I tried to ignore it. Maybe I just needed a moment to recover.

  A few hours later, we stood before another Gate. My body felt light, stronger. The fight began immediately—beasts leaped from the darkness, but it all seemed to unfold in slow motion.

  One move—and the opponent fell.

  Another—and he vanished before I could even react.

  It was too easy.

  I looked at Darius. He was fighting, but… he was slower. Not as distinctly, not as drastically, but suddenly the difference between us became palpable.

  Had I always been this strong?

  Had we… or had I… always dominated in battle? Perhaps Darius simply wasn’t developing? Maybe I was growing stronger faster than him? And if so… did it even matter?

  I felt no pity. I felt no doubt. I felt only pure, primal excitement. The fight was simple, natural—as if I had finally stepped onto the right path. As if I’d always had the upper hand, but only now had I fully recognized it. It wasn’t a forced feeling, but an instinct.

  I felt an excitement that built with every blow, with every battle. There was something primitive, almost addictive about it—the feeling of absolute control, the certainty that I could do more, faster, harder. That I was stronger. That I was in command.

  Before us lay more Gates. Each one presented a new obstacle, yet none seemed insurmountable. New challenges, new victories. New levels that I conquered with astonishing ease.

  And I had no intention of stopping.

  Weeks passed. Time flowed inexorably, and every battle became just another step, another test that I passed without hesitation. More Gates fell before me, and the system generously rewarded my efforts.

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  [System: Level up.]

  New Skill Acquired.

  Item Received: Ring of Bloody Dominance.

  This became my everyday reality. Opponents were no longer a challenge. I fought instinctively, as if my body knew the answers before I even had a chance to think. I felt every movement becoming more fluid, as if I had finally reached the place where I was always meant to be—at the top.

  Darius… At first he served as a reference point, a measure of my progress. We fought side by side, but now? Now his steps were delayed, his strikes imprecise, and his breath grew heavier. Had I accelerated, or was he simply falling behind?

  At first, I didn’t even notice that he fought less often beside me. He was always a few steps behind. Initially, I assumed it was natural—perhaps he was tired, or it was his way of conserving energy. But over time, the difference became more and more apparent.

  Another Gate.

  I thrust my hands forward, and a wave of energy exploded around me, striking the monsters before they could even move. Every movement I made was fluid, almost intuitive—I cast spells as if they were a part of me. Notifications of experience points filled my field of vision, yet I paid them no mind. Only the fight mattered, flowing through my body and mind like a river.

  Darius fought a few steps behind me. I saw him dodging blows, still trying his best, but… it wasn’t the same anymore. He was slower. He was heavier. As if he clung to me by sheer force of will rather than following his own pace.

  I only stopped when the battle was over. I took a deep breath, filled with satisfaction, while Darius leaned on his sword, catching his breath.

  "Not bad," he said with a smile, but something else flickered in his eyes—perhaps fatigue, perhaps doubt. "You… really sped up."

  I looked at him in silence, and the inner voice that had been so quiet until now began to speak more clearly. Did he really still need me? Or should I stop waiting for him? Had I accelerated? No—he slowed down. For the first time, this thought formed fully in my mind: I was stronger. Much stronger.

  Did that mean I had always been better than him? Or simply… that he couldn’t keep up?

  [System: Level up]

  Darius did not level up.

  I didn’t comment on it. We moved on, but from that moment on I saw more and more differences. His strikes were slower. His reactions less precise. And I… I no longer waited for him.

  For the first time since we began our journey, I felt weariness. The fight was no longer a challenge. My strength grew at a pace I couldn’t understand, yet I didn’t question it. The system rewarded me for every step. And Darius?

  He was beginning to look like someone who would soon be left behind.

  Perhaps he already was. Or maybe he had never really been on my level, and I was only now noticing it?

  Finally, we reached the largest Gate we had encountered so far. Its dark interior pulsed with an unknown energy, promising the greatest reward we could ever obtain.

  "This… looks different from the others," Darius said, staring into the space before us. "Do you have a bad feeling about it?"

  I didn’t answer immediately. My thoughts were focused elsewhere.

  Could Darius keep up with me? Should I stop and wait for him? This thought was strange, unpleasant. But I couldn’t shake it.

  Would it even matter if I no longer needed him?

  The air was thick with the heavy scent of magic. The Gate before us pulsed with an almost living energy, and its dark surface seemed to absorb the light. I stood at its threshold, feeling a familiar shiver of excitement.

  Darius stood beside me. His breathing was heavy, and I saw tension in his eyes. He didn’t look away from the Gate, but I felt him watching me. Perhaps he was trying to discern some change he couldn’t yet name. Perhaps he had finally realized that we were no longer the same.

  I didn’t wait.

  I stepped through the Gate, and the energy hit me like a wave.

  The battle began immediately. The monsters waiting for us were unlike any we had faced before—stronger, faster, more intelligent. But I, too, was different. I felt power flowing through me without resistance, as if my body and magic had finally become one.

  I saw everything—their movements, their weaknesses. Every strike of my magic obliterated them in an instant. I was fast, precise. Powerful.

  Darius fought beside me, but… he was slower. Watching his movements, his fighting style, I began to notice a difference that had previously been only an intuition.

  He hadn’t changed.

  It was I who had become stronger.

  Strikes that once required concentration now came naturally. Spells that needed preparation now formed in a fraction of a second. I was faster, more powerful. And him? Still the same. Still the one trying to catch up with me.

  I didn’t look at him. I focused on the fight, on the next wave of enemies falling before me like marionettes cut by invisible strings.

  [System: Level up]

  New Skill Acquired.

  Everything became so easy.

  And then the thought came.

  There were no longer any challenges for me; no one posed a real threat. I no longer had a worthy rival. And then I saw myself.

  I was sitting on a throne forged from pure energy, looking down at the Lords kneeling before me. Their faces concealed a mixture of fear and admiration. They paid homage to me, acknowledging my strength, my dominance. I was more powerful than ever. There was no one who could stop me. No one could match me. Only I, at the top, beyond the reach of the weak.

  I felt a conclusion forming in my mind. Was all of this… a trial? Did someone really think I might hesitate? That I would consider a choice that had been obvious from the very beginning?

  I snorted with laughter. It was pathetic.

  Power demanded sacrifice. It always had.

  I raised my hand... but then I suddenly hesitated.

  Something was wrong. My mind, brimming with certainty, encountered resistance. The illusion trembled at the edge of reality, and I began to notice its imperfections. The Lords kneeling at my feet were formless; their faces blurred, as if they had never truly existed. The throne on which I sat felt cold, lifeless. This wasn’t true power. It was an imitation.

  Darius looked at me. There was no fear in his eyes, nor was there adoration. Instead, his gaze was calm, almost… certain. As if he, too, had understood something. As if he knew that true power does not lie in solitude.

  Not fear, not anger. But calm. Understanding.

  In that moment, I realized that this trial was not about strength, but about choice. And I had made mine.

  Lowering my hand, I felt the illusion begin to crumble. And with it… the entire false vision of power dissolved.