>>5256557"W-Why are you telling me this, mister?" Benny asks as he is cradled by Griffith, being hypnotised by his mere presence.
"Because I was once like you, I only grew because I sold my pride to the long deceased Tudorian Gennon, his sordid tastes in young boys being infamous for child trafficking as sex slaves. It was with that sovereign that I grew my army, and used his power to end his own reign. No child of war will live with fear in their eyes. My kingdom will be an utopia that will mesmerise and change the lives of the worst of pessimists!"
"YOU DON'T BELIEVE ANY OF THIS, LIAR! NOT EVEN YOUR SOUL IS AS EMPTY AS THE LIES YOU TELL TO HIM! YOU'RE NO FALCON, GRIFFITH! YOU'RE A VULTURE OF YOUR OWN MEN!" You nearly jump at him if it wasn't for Nosferatu Zodd still floating above you.
"Do you accuse me of being two faced? Who are you to judge of my intent...?" Griffith finally acknowledges you, the lack of emotion in his voice only makes his rebuttal more eerie.
"From the beginning, I was right in guessing your true origins, weren't I? Yet you still went out of my way to doubt my words. Who is the real liar between the two of us? The one who lies to others, or the one who does it to himself?"
"Spare me of your semantics!" Your anger gets a chuckle out of the white falcon as he continues his drivel.
"Of course, not that it matters now. I realise you were only a pawn in our board, used only to push me further into promotions. A means to proceed the flow of causality in a way that made you think as if you were important." He continues with a chess analogy as he did way back then. "And as the pieces are switched, you have outlived your purpose. Despite being born in a higher position, you have become irrelevant to the point of being unrecognisable as an opponent."
"Being cocky of having to 'work' for your place in the realm of the demons? It's childish to pretend that the way you came back was nothing short of cruel!"
"Perhaps. What with this new form of mine, maybe I have found a deeper appreciation of the innocent cruelty of childhood life."
The ground beneath you shakes as you hear the stomps of something crushing the ground behind you. Barnham is close, along with his army of Gladiators. You are not sure on what he will decide, but your gut instinct tells you that mortal minds are ill-fitted to withstand a clash of strong apostles.
>Get out of the river and wait for Barnham.>Attack Griffith and tackle him into the ice. 