{Aurelius's POV}

Sometimes I wonder if I was born broken. Other times, I know it is a result of my actions.

I remembered once, when I was no older than ten, asking my father why he punished his enemies so brutally. He looked at me, eyes colder and unloving as he said, "Because mercy leaves room for revenge."

That stayed with me. Something I would never forget. That singular answer made me detest him, because he did the opposite of what he warned me against, and died as a result of it. ...