Page 474 of Axis of Fire

How unbelievably cruel...

to use my greatest weakness against me.

I came to a crossroads.

The map fell silent.

Only the glowing marker showing my current position remained.

"So... which way?" I muttered.

The map immediately illuminated both paths.

One route stretched much farther, eventually leading toward Point O.

Only then did I realize I was already standing at Point K.

So this...

was the trial.

The second route was noticeably shorter.

But judging from the markings, it was also far more dangerous.

A choice.

That was all this challenge really was.

And I couldn't move.

It felt strangely familiar.

As though the trial had been built from the decisions I'd made my entire life.

Because I had always chosen the harder road.

The more painful one.

I'd convinced myself that hardship made me stronger.

That every obstacle was a lesson I couldn't afford to miss.

That choosing the difficult path somehow made me...

worthy.

But Gwen had never lived that way.

She always chose the easier option whenever she could.

And she wasn't weak.

She wasn't spoiled.

If anything, she'd often achieved more than I had—

with far less suffering.