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Kind of reminds me of Castlevania episode 1, where Dracula finds the grave of his love, and will "no longer travel like a man". Not totally the same, and the emotional vibe is different, but from a cool factor angle. There's something there.
dirge being a genuinely evil heretical monster but skirting under the radar of anyone actually taking actions to stop him because he cares about 12 people enough to make a point of Not Doing Anything With Consequences, thus putting everyone in the position of needing to act first against him, which itself is disincentivized by him being genuinely companionable and friendly and affectionate
like no your instincts are right he is GOING to be a PROBLEM. except. the problem hes going to be wont actually manifest for like. several decades?? because the people he loves REALLY dont want to be in the position of having to confront him, so he makes a point of NOT putting them in that position
like hes LITERALLY nice. hes a real sweetheart and he loves his friends so much and at least half of them are good aligned, so like. he isnt going to cause them strife just YET. not if he can avoid it.
but when they arent there to hold him BACK. thats when the trouble starts