I’ll cop to the fact that Scarlett’s shift from Gigundus-speak back to soliloquy here is a bit “convenient” in terms of explaining everything for the reader.

I think it was important, however, to establish that there was once a real Gigundus, that he was not merely Scarlett’s puppet from the start, and to display the weird mix of deception and delusion at her core. Like, she knows that she’s been animating an empty suit of armor, and yet, in some warped way and on some level, she also thinks she’s brought him back. “I needed him.”

Man, Scarlett turned out to be more flammable than HESTIA.