CHAPTER 216: THE BOOK

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.

The book’s cover was unmarked, bound in dark leather. When he touched it, the material felt warm—almost alive—and the dark mana in his body responded with increased intensity.

[Don’t,] Caius warned urgently. [Whatever that is, it’s connected to the corruption. I can sense it from here.]

But Grim was already opening the book, drawn by a compulsion that felt both foreign and familiar. The pages were filled with text written in a script that should have been incomprehensible, yet somehow he found himself able to read it perfectly.

The first passages dealt with the nature of power and its relationship to morality—arguments that suggested conventional ethics were constraints imposed by the weak to limit the strong.

As he read, Grim felt a growing sense of recognition, as if these were thoughts he had always carried but never been able to articulate.

"Power is neither good nor evil," one passage read. "It simply is. Those who would constrain it with artificial limitations serve only to ensure their own destruction."

Another section discussed the necessity of decisive action: "Hesitation in the face of necessity is the hallmark of the weak. The strong understand that some choices require the willingness to inflict pain in service of greater purposes."

[Stop reading,] Caius pleaded. [Can’t you see what it’s doing to you? Every word is reinforcing the corruption’s influence.]

But Grim couldn’t stop. The book seemed to be answering questions he didn’t even know he had, providing justifications for feelings and impulses that had been growing stronger since the dark mana had entered his system.

A Chapter on leadership caught his attention: "True leaders are not those who seek to be loved, but those who have the strength to be hated when necessary. The weak leader compromises until nothing remains of his original purpose. The strong leader shapes the world to his will."

The arguments were seductive in their logic, presented with the kind of philosophical rigor that made them difficult to dismiss. Each page built upon the last, creating a coherent worldview that painted restraint as weakness and mercy as self-destruction.

[This is exactly what the corruption wants,] Caius said desperately. [It’s feeding you ideas that justify its influence, making you believe that becoming a monster is actually becoming enlightened.]

"What if it’s not making me a monster?" Grim asked, his eyes still scanning the pages. "What if it’s showing me what I need to become to actually protect what matters?"

[And what happens when everyone you claim to protect becomes afraid of you? What happens when your strength becomes indistinguishable from tyranny?]

Before Grim could answer, a knock at the study door interrupted his reading. He reluctantly closed the book and put jt away in his desk.

"Enter," he called.

Chen Xing stepped into the room, his diplomatic composure firmly in place despite the obvious strain of the yesterday’s aftermath. "My lord," he said with a respectful bow, "I apologize for the early interruption, but there are several urgent matters that require your attention."

"What kind of matters?"

"Meeting requests," Chen Xing replied, producing a small stack of formal correspondence. "It seems that last night’s events have prompted considerable interest in private discussions."

Grim gestured for him to continue.

"Ambassador Lín has requested a formal meeting this afternoon to discuss ’matters of mutual concern,’" Chen Xing began, his tone suggesting the euphemism barely concealed the diplomat’s anger. "Empress Alexia has also sent word that she wishes to speak with you at your earliest convenience."

"Anyone else?"

"Lord Húwáng and Lady Ruxi have requested a private audience, as has Duke Ravencrest. Additionally, several smaller officials have submitted requests for brief meetings to discuss various trade and political matters."

Chen Xing paused, then added carefully, "There have also been several informal communications from various noble houses expressing concern about the events of last evening."

"Concern?"

"Questions about your health, your judgment, and your suitability for the responsibilities being offered to you," Chen Xing replied with diplomatic delicacy. "Nothing formal or official, but the whispers are already beginning to spread."

Grim felt the dark mana pulse in response to the implied criticism, and for a moment, his vision tinged with purple light. "Let them whisper," he said, his voice carrying those unnatural harmonics. "Words from the weak have no power over the strong."

Chen Xing’s expression flickered with concern before returning to professional neutrality. "Of course, my lord. How would you like me to respond to these meeting requests?"

"Schedule them," Grim decided. "Starting with Ambassador Lín. If he wants to discuss ’mutual concerns,’ let’s see what he has to say."

"And the Empress?"

"After Lín. Then the others in whatever order seems most politically advantageous."

"Very good, my lord," Chen Xing replied, though his tone suggested he found the prospect of managing these meetings daunting. "I should warn you that the political implications of these discussions could be significant."

"Everything has political implications," Grim said dismissively. "The question is whether we’ll be strong enough to weather them."

After Chen Xing departed to arrange the meetings, Grim found himself drawn back to the mysterious book. Its presence seemed to pulse with dark energy, promising answers to questions he was only beginning to understand.

[Please,] Caius said quietly. [Before you open that book again, think about who you were before the corruption. Think about the people who loved you, who believed in you. Is the power you’re gaining worth losing everything that made you who you are?]

Grim’s hand hovered over the book’s cover, torn between the spirit’s plea and the compelling pull of the dark knowledge within. The choice felt momentous, as if opening the book again would represent a step from which there might be no return.

But the whispers of the dark mana were growing stronger, and the book’s promised understanding of power and purpose felt increasingly necessary in the face of the political challenges ahead.

"I need to understand what I’m becoming," he said finally. "And this book might be the only thing that can help me do that."

[Understanding corruption doesn’t make you immune to it,] Caius warned. [Sometimes the most dangerous knowledge is the kind that feels most necessary.]

As Grim reached for the book again, he wondered if his great-grandfather was right—or if the old ways of thinking simply weren’t adequate for the challenges he now faced.

"I know your worried. But I’m not. And I need to deal with everything if im going to get revenge for our house. Malaxis might have tainted me, but I’ll use this to kill him."

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