Grim sat slumped in his chair, the events of the previous evening weighing heavily on his mind.
[You drove them away,] Caius said, his voice heavy with disappointment. [Liona and Lianna—two people who have stood by you through everything—and you drove them away for someone who sees you as a tool to be used.]
"Did I?" Grim asked, though he wasn't entirely certain he wanted to know the answer. "Or did they reveal their true nature when faced with strength they couldn't control?"
[Listen to yourself,] Caius replied with growing urgency. [Those words aren't coming from you. The corruption is rewriting your thoughts, making you see enemies where there are only friends.]
"And what if those friends are the reason our family fell?" Grim countered, though even as he spoke, he felt a flicker of doubt. "What if their weakness, their need for restraint and compromise, is what destroyed everything we built?"
