[-1 HP, minor bleed expired]
[27/44 HP remaining]
Alesha huddled on the ground, palms pressing against the wounds in her head, and heaved a sigh of relief. The pain was still positively mind-numbing, but at least the bleeding had stopped. She carefully shifted her palms. Would her wounds be alright if she removed what was pressing against them?
"Ow, ow ow," she muttered as the motion caused the blood clots to tear somewhat.
[-1 HP]
[26/44 HP remaining]
"Well, at least my hands are free now, and I shouldn't be in any danger…" she mumbled. Of course, she could accidentally hurt herself again. Hopefully she wouldn't.
[Never thought I'd see the day when you are more of a danger to yourself than your surroundings!]
"Shut up," Alesha muttered. "I don't have the patience for your crap right now."
[Awwwww come on! You know you've missed me. I haven't been helping you out much lately, have I?]
Alesha felt a seed of dread growing in her gut. The System was being playful and teasing… this probably meant something bad.
[Awww you know me better than that! I never, ever do anything that isn't for your benefit!]
"Don't you mean YOUR benefit?" Alesha corrected in a whisper, speaking softly -- not out of worry that others would hear, but out of habit.
----
Up above, the Examiners were whispering among themselves. A female voice asked, "Who is she talking to?"
Another spoke, this one a deep bass, "I surmise she's speaking to herself."
"Isn't that something we should be worried about? Demons with multiple personalities are actually much harder to control, what if she's one of them?" A nasal male voice asked.
"This will take but a moment," the bass voice replied. He raised thick, meaty hands and interlocked them in a particular manner, then chanted a brief spell. That done, he set his hands on the desk without a word.
"Brutus?" the woman asked, leaning over. "What's the result?"
He did not respond.
Putting a rough hand on his shoulder, the woman shook him gently, at which point he fell forward onto the desk.
When blood started to pool out from under his hood, the woman screamed.
----
Head still throbbing with the wounds from her claws, Alesha sat on the ground in the cubic depression, realizing her hunger had abated greatly. She still wanted to eat, but it wasn't painful anymore. How had that happened?
[Master Necromancer Killed! +5000 XP]
[Level Up!] x4
"Wh- what?!" Alesha yelped, standing up. What the heck had happened?! When had she killed anyone?! She didn't remember doing that! When had she even had the chance, she'd just been sitting here, doing nothing else!!
[Somebody tried doing something stupid,] the System said gleefully, in sing-song tones.
"What do you mean?!" Alesha unintentionally shouted.
[You have reached Level 10! Evolution loading… Your options are…]
[Error: Evolution path already selected.]
[Evolution will now commence.]
"WHAT!?" Alesha yelled louder, forgetting that there were people around. "I don't want to evolve! I'm human! --"
About to scream at Rogork by name, the System stopped her, and she choked on words she couldn't speak. It was at this moment that the Examiner woman screamed, having just noticed blood pooling from the man's head up above.
Before she could try again, Alesha felt a wave of exhaustion hit her like a truck, and she stumbled about, struggling to hold onto consciousness. "No, please no," she said weakly before falling face-first onto the hard stone floor.
Her nose broke when she hit the floor, but by then she was too far gone to notice.
[-2 HP]
[24/72 HP remaining]
[Evolution will heal your wounds]
----
Moments ago
Seth had also noticed Alesha mumbling to herself. And, thanks to the listening magic that was secretly a part of the collar, he (like the Examiners) could hear what she was saying.
"Well, at least my hands are free now, and I shouldn't be in any danger…"
"Shut up. I don't have the patience for your crap right now."
"Don't you mean YOUR benefit?"
Seth gripped his chin, confused. Who was she talking to? This one-sided conversation could have been self-talk at first, but the later statements definitely suggested she could hear another party. But who?
As far as he was aware, Alesha didn't know any magic whatsoever. Everything she could do was self-modification or perception-altering. So was she really talking to someone else?
Of course, there was another possibility. He'd caught her talking to herself occasionally before. Maybe…
He bit his lip, hoping he was wrong. If she had another personality and he'd failed to notice, that would mean he was in big trouble. Demons with hidden additional personalities -- especially the quiet or seemingly harmless ones -- had caused several dangerous incidents in the past.
Engrossed in his contemplations, Seth didn't notice the Examiners' motions across the way. Instead, he was paying full attention to Alesha. This was why he was the only one to notice her other outbursts.
He noticed when she yelped, "Wh- what?!" and didn't miss the panicked look in her eyes. For his part, he narrowed his eyes; this wasn't the Fear phase anymore, so what had caused her to be afraid?
His attention sharpened yet again when she yelled, "What do you mean?! I don't want to evolve! I'm human! --"
At the word "evolve," his eyes widened, and he gasped, whole body tensing with anticipation. Was she going to evolve right here and now?! His eyes lit up with excitement. Who cares about whether she has multiple personalities now, he was going to get to witness the "evolution" she'd mentioned before!! This was amazing!!
His excitement wasn't so overwhelming that he'd miss how she choked on her words as she started to stumble, however. There was something more she'd tried to say but couldn't. Was she cursed?
This was all so incredibly interesting! Seth's eyes were wide with eagerness. There were so many secrets to uncover here, so many things to learn!
He was so wrapped up observing Alesha that he didn't even notice the Examiner's scream.