I feel like the ruthless route is what would happen if this were real 95% of the time, since I'd argue a chain is destroyed, but instead of being broken in a natural and harmonious way, it's instead severed by the scraps of what was available. It works, but it's messy. I still found a couple of the endings in ruthless satisfying, but they're absolutely raw. Some are certainly cruel. At least 2 have funny moments depending. The speedrunner loop route having one of my favorite lines. Just absolutely petty in the, "really??? Still?" sense. So I'm glad ruthless exists to really add weight to doing right by Asterion and the hotel.