Reborn as the Last van Ambrose

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?"

[Our family fell because of betrayal and political maneuvering, not because of mercy or friendship. The corruption is trying to convince you that cruelty is strength, but they are not the same thing.]

Grim stood and moved to the window, gazing out at the garden where servants were already working to repair the damage from the previous night’s festivities.

The sight should have been peaceful, but instead, it reminded him of how easily things could be broken and how much effort was required to rebuild them.

"What am I becoming, Caius?" he asked quietly.

[Something that frightens me,] his great-grandfather replied with brutal honesty. [The power you’re gaining comes with a price—not just to your soul, but to everyone around you. Last night, you took pleasure in causing unnecessary pain. If he betrayed our family that would be entirely different.]

Before their conversation could continue, Grim’s attention was drawn to his desk, where a leather-bound book lay partially hidden beneath some papers. He didn’t remember placing it there, and its presence seemed to pull at his consciousness in a way that was both compelling and disturbing.