I feel like during the story, the concept of being blinded by grief goes further. They begin to sustain the illusion of Verso by thinking in his place, filling the holes in his stead, saying things like "Verso would have wanted this" or "Verso would have wanted that".
When fighting the Paintress, Aline asks Monoco if he'd betray Verso like this, but would Real Verso even consider it a betrayal? Maelle says that Verso would never have wanted his canvas destroyed, but is that really true? Or would he rather want to see his sister, whom he sacrificed his life for, alive and well?
He knew exactly what he did, but his own sacrifice becomes the beginning of her end.
It's like his presence is haunting the whole story, but he is always cut off when it comes to listening to reason.
Only Painted Verso asks the last piece of his soul whether he is tired of painting, listening to him and acknowledging his feelings. And I think this might be because his own experiences mirror Real Verso's. His voice is loud too, but he is not heard. He tells Renoir that he's tired, he says to Maelle that he doesn't want this life, but it's still not enough.
His own voice is reduced to what "Verso would have wanted".
