[Astarion listens to him, quiet and intent, until the very end. He purses his lips before letting out a heavy sigh.]

As it turns out, seeking incredible power comes with its own consequences.

I could feel myself slipping, when I pulled him from his sleep. I could see him in my actions, hear him in my thoughts. I think that, had I completed the ritual, I would no longer have been myself.

[He looks up to Gale, his expression somber but gentle.]

Were you to become a god, I don't know if you would be the man I've come to love.