The rest of the day went by without any drama. Her parents didn't notice anything strange about either Dennis or Alesha (she'd worn her hair in such a way as to cover any evidence of the tattoo Layla had warned her about), and the family engaged in their usual Sunday activities. Board games, card games and making treats as a family to share with their friends' families.
Dennis and Marshall geeked out together in another room when they brought the cookies over to Marshall's family, while the adults talked about various things. The conversation was mostly dominated by hushed whispers about the attack the night before. Alesha went off by herself during this topic, looking at the books and movies the family had out in order to keep up the illusion that the topic made her uncomfortable. It wasn't entirely an illusion; but the reasons for it were. She knew a lot more about the attacks than anyone else in Iritia, or on Elantris as a whole, for that matter, but she couldn't afford to let anything slip. It was far easier to pretend to be a traumatized survivor than attempt to join the conversation.
As she thought about it, Alesha wondered how much of "traumatized survivor" was an act. Was she traumatized from the attack? Certainly it had been scary, but she'd been dealing with so many other changes since then that processing her emotions about having been literally set on fire at the time had been put on a far back burner in her mind. Was it normal to forget about such a thing? Even now, as she was trying to focus on it, she found the memory beginning to slip from her recollection. It was as if something was interfering with her attempts.
She tightened her resolve to think about her experience back then and asked internally, "System, is this your doing? Why am I having trouble thinking about the attack?"
[...]
The System didn't respond, but a flood of other jumbled thoughts came her way. She remembered seeing the man carrying his arm, and how delicious it had looked to her at the time. She recalled the thrumming, beckoning call of the symbol on the moon, how it had reached as if into her very bones to summon her to it, and how it had captivated every part of her being. Even now, she could recall the symbol with crystal clarity. Something within her stirred with the memory of it. Surging with power, it boiled, urging her to act, to wreak havoc, to revel in chaos.
Was this the Chaos Energy she'd acquired from the quest reward earlier?!
Afraid of what she might do if she let the Chaos Energy continue to roil within her, she quickly opened the Chaos Energy "Shop" and selected the only available option to expend it:
The rampaging energy inside evaporated as three 3-ounce bottles of clear liquid appeared on the shelf in front of her.
Alesha breathed deeply in and out a few times, heart settling down, and placed the bottles of Korak in her inventory. She'd need to drink those later so that if this happened again, she could convert the rampaging Chaos Energy into Korak once more. It was completely up-in-the-air as to what would happen when she drank them. But she couldn't exactly risk the Chaos Energy inside her taking over.
She didn't know if it could, of course. It was entirely possible that she could resist, take control of and calm the Chaos Energy, without having to turn it into Korak. Alesha just didn't like how strong the temptation to give into its demands was. She felt that if she gave into its temptation even once, her days as a human would be forever irretrievable, and she didn't want to risk crossing that threshold. If avoiding that meant drinking more Korak instead, she'd gladly do so.
"System, I'm supposed to be able to hold Chaos Energy better now. How come it's acting up like this, when it never did before?"
[Hmmm how should I respond?] The System cooed, seeming to enjoy the position of power it held at the moment. [I know something you don't, and you want to learn it from me. Say, what about I tell you the answer as a reward for a quest, hmm? That sounds nice,] it continued, its words layered with venomous honey.
"What?! That's not fair!" Alesha shouted mentally, dismayed. Just moments ago, the System was being helpful, but now it was being this secretive? Just what was going on here?!
[Come now, Host! I've got to have fun occasionally,] the System said, speaking as if to a wayward child.
"Please, Rogork, don't make me do a quest for this!"
[Ooh buttering me up, are you? Hmm… let me think…]
Alesha bit her lip and crossed her fingers, worried. The adults continued to talk in another room, Marshall started laughing at something her brother had said, and Layla popped a bubble from the gum she was chewing as she fiddled with her phone. None of them were paying Alesha any attention.
[Nah, this piece of information deserves a quest. I've got just the thing…]