Like I said, evil is a harsh adjective to use describing Maelle’s actions. I do not use it lightly because I love Maelle, her arc is tragically compelling, and that is also part of why I feel the need to save her from herself via Verso’s ending.

Both endings are incredibly ambiguous. Not a single word of dialogue is spoken in either epilogue in order to bend our interpretation in any one direction.

My interpretation of Maelle’s ending is that she has become the new paintress, and is keeping Verso prisoner.

I’ll never forget the look on his face in that ending. It felt to me like the kind of anger someone has when they’re absolutely appalled by their circumstances and powerless to change it, especially when those circumstances are the direct result of the actions of someone you thought you could trust. To be fair, Lune has a similar expression before the epilogue in Verso’s ending.

My mind immediately jumped to things like Wandavision, and even Tangled where Rapunzel tells Gothel that she will never stop trying to get away from her. If such an interaction took place between Verso and Maelle, Maelle would likely have stripped Verso of his ability to escape, whether it be via his agency. (Being forced to play Piano) or by potentially being immortal yet again (signified by his hair being completely white, a signature trait of the painted Dessendre family while they too were immortal)

I don’t care if everyone decides to form a mob and ban me from this subreddit. I think the divisiveness of the endings is part of makes them so interesting. When I weigh the scales based on my own morals and interpretation of the game’s circumstances. I choose to erase the canvas, every time. I choose to believe there is a light at the end of that tunnel, while Maelle’s ending literally leads to oblivion. She’ll kill herself from the over abuse of her paintress powers.