'Seed of Chaos' System

All at once, Alesha felt her mind go numb, her fear and trauma replaced by a peculiar, empty coldness. Why had she been so afraid? This sensory darkness was annoying and unfortunate, but it was no reason to panic. After all, she could still detect nearby life, and it would be insanely difficult, on any planet, to find a location in which there was absolutely no life within 200 meters in any direction. Thus, she'd always be able to see something.

She tried and tried, but her efforts to uncover why she had been consumed by anxiety just a moment ago were met with nothing. There was nothing in her past to hint at trauma related to darkness, nor was there any trace of the fear she'd experienced just a moment ago. She marveled at how completely this was accomplished. 

Her wonder quickly turned into horror, however. The System had asked for permission this time, but what about previous times? What other parts of her life had been so completely removed that not even a trace of them remained? Who was to say that the System wouldn't do this again, without bothering to ask her opinion?

[Worry not,] the System assured her. [I cannot do this without permission.]

Alesha wasn't sure whether she could trust the System's words, but she had no choice. Doubting it or trusting it now wouldn't change whatever the future held.

Regardless, Alesha was grateful to be able to think clearly now. While the reason for her previous terror was gone, she could still remember how it had affected her, and the absence of that fear would only prove to be a benefit. 

As she could do nothing at the moment, Alesha decided to go over her status window to see what had changed (if anything) since Rogork's return. Oh, and it would also be good to check her skills, since she hadn't found the time to do that since waking up as a sword. Had it only been a couple hours since then?

Remembering how much time had passed while she was… wait, what was it that had happened during that time? She couldn't recall. Had she been detained by the King? Then he'd turned her into a sword, and it had taken her a while to become conscious after that. Mentally shaking herself, she refocused her attention, certain that it was all the King's fault that so much time had passed without her knowledge. She still had a family to go back to, maybe even rescue, and that lying, hypocritical bastard had kept her hostage in this world?! He, Zorhellian, and the Goddess Toltura would pay. They would all pay!!

It was at that moment that Alesha realized she'd gotten distracted from checking her status. Well, at least I can be sure I'm still the same, distractible me, She thought, mentally laughing at herself. She'd been a little worried that her recently acquired, yet deep, hatred would change her beyond recognition. 

Perhaps that's another reason it's better to go for a quick revenge, she thought as she pulled up the status window in her mind. If I can vent it all and get it out of the way, it won't fester inside and poison every corner of my soul. I need to do this quickly and focus on ending the Stories faster so I can get home. Then, with any luck, I'll be able to reclaim a semblance of a normal life.

She only hoped her family was still alive. If they weren't… well, she wondered whether she'd be able to retain her humanity without them.

She'd already made several irreversible choices, and now that Rogork was back, she would likely be forced to make such choices more often. It was obvious to her that she'd need a lifeline for her humanity. Rogork was just too persistent in its efforts to erase it, and without a reliable anchor of some kind, the storms of its efforts would blow her far off course. Just as they had been doing thus far.

Upon pulling up her status, she was disappointed to discover that none of her Chaos attributes had returned. Why hadn't they come back despite Rogork's presence? It wasn't totally a surprise, considering she hadn't reverted to her "dragonchild" form when the System had come back, but the fact that all traces of Chaos were removed from her status was somehow unpleasant. All it did was remind her that her life, even her very being, was being toyed with. And that made her angry.

There was some change, though. The stat bonuses had shot up, particularly psychic and intelligence; but besides that, it was largely the same as it was when she'd first checked it after becoming a sword.

*****

Bana Laoch (Alesha)

Age: 0

Species: Cursed Sword 

…..

Stat Bonuses for Soulbound Wielder:

HP: +290

Strength: +92

Agility: +120

Vitality: +92

Intelligence: +102

Psychic: +113

Mana: +169

…..

Titles: "Hero From Another World," Hated by Gaia, Sacrificial Lamb, She Who Escaped the Seal

Shareable Skills: Parasitism Lvl 1, Plunder Lvl 3, Troll's Regeneration Lvl 14, …

*****

[Interesting,] Rogork remarked, sounding both intrigued and dissatisfied. [What a curious, yet utterly infuriating, side effect from an unexpected combination of spells.]

What do you mean? And why are you the one that's upset? Alesha asked.

[All my hard work just got erased, you dimwit!! Why in damnation wouldn't I be mad?!?]

If she had eyes right now, Alesha would have rolled them and given the System a flat stare. Of course that was why the System was mad. Alesha herself wasn't too pleased about the chaos stats' removal, since her reduced power made her feel vulnerable; and she definitely didn't enjoy that she'd been turned into a sword. It was a far cry from an ideal situation, that's for sure. Heck, if she had the choice between becoming a sword and becoming part chaos dragon, even if it were a greater percentage of dragon than before, she'd have chosen the latter option no hesitation. Especially now that she'd gotten a taste of what both were like.

However, the fact that the ever-so-cocky System had been thwarted somehow made her feel just a tiny bit better about the whole thing. That bastard deserved a taste of failure for once.