That objective correlative comment is super interesting; I hadn't considered the weapon choice acting as determining what kind of character you are... I'm gonna have to experiment with that in a future project, because that is a good idea.
I was strongly considering making the usurper turn yellow in the ending. In the end, I thought the red of the blood coating the ruler and converting him into the usurper would make more sense. That being said, I do like that idea more as I think about it. I'm glad that the ending still landed in the end, though.
As for that ending, your first thought is right on the money for what I was going for: a self-murdering time loop. The yellow signifying status is also fairly accurate.
And in regards to the fail state... I briefly considered it, but I was already kind of drained from making all the images and didn't want to put in the work to add a second ending where the anagnorisis didn't happen.
Thank you for the complements on everything! I'm actually quite happy with how the drawings came out, and I'm glad that I'm not the only one who enjoys the bends.