Once the Quest Penalty was finished, since Alesha had successfully left Rogork alone for the remainder of the Penalty's duration, she received the Quest Completion notification.
*****
[Ding! Quest Complete!]
[Quest: Peace and Quiet
Goal: Let Rogork have some peace and quiet
Quest Conditions: Leave Rogork alone for the rest of the Quest Penalty's duration
Reward: The answers you wanted earlier, ???
*****
"So what now?" Alesha asked, rolling her draconic shoulders, happy to have control of her body back.
[I'll explain about your Chaotic cravings first. Part of this is just theorizing, but I expect it's a side effect of your soul having been altered in the Hero Summoning Story.]
"And your theory is enough to be a quest reward?" Alesha interjected unhappily.
[Allow me to continue. Although your soul was modified and your core self changed, the powers of Chaos are not so easily suppressed. Therefore, this excessive need for Chaos can be seen as a sort of backlash for having attempted to circumvent your connection to Chaos before; in other words, your previous connection to Chaos, which was sidestepped and suppressed in various ways throughout the Storytelling Games, has returned with a vengeance.]
"How long is this going to last?" Alesha asked, having a foreboding feeling.
[I couldn't say for certain. It might not ever, actually. Chaos, once it claims you, doesn't like to let you go. Now that it has you back, don't count on it letting you escape again.]
"You say that as if it's conscious," Alesha laughed.
[It might very well be,] Rogork responded seriously.
"... For real?"
[Ha, even if I knew for certain I wouldn't tell you,] Rogork mocked.
"As if," Alesha retorted, upset that Rogork's serious mood appeared to be over. "Well, what about the question marks reward? What's that one about?"
[That's… haaaa,] Rogork sighed inside her mind. [I didn't want to give this to you. Keep that in mind, will ya?]
"What do you mean?" Alesha asked, confused.
That was when her vision began to blur.
Her body went numb and she collapsed, darkness encroaching on both vision and thought. "What... the…"
Everything went black.
--
A swirl of electric blue smoke appeared in the empty blackness, materializing into a familiar, powerful draconic form with dozens of wings and a majestic set of horns.
"I thought you were dead?" Alesha asked Kalszoth.
"I am but a remnant of he who was Kalszoth the Ethereal," the apparition responded, looking down at her with an inscrutable gaze. "One who was left behind to tutor you in the ways of Spirit Summoning when the opportunity arose. Ever since you stepped foot on this planet, I have been seeking a way to reach you for that purpose; however, the influence of that… other being… that accompanies you was too great."
"So Rogork has been trying to stop you? Why?"
"It is likely because it is a malevolent, unholy being, one that seems almost as if it was crafted solely to torment you. Regardless, I have managed to reach you. Alesha, as I was assigned to do, I have detected spirits on this planet that likely bear some great importance to you. I will now proceed to open your spiritual eyes so that you may seek them out."
"Wait, wait, wait, spirits that are important to me?" Alesha cried out, a pit forming in her gut.
"Indeed. That is why I have reached out to you at this time, although it would have been preferable to allow for more time for my power to acclimate to your body. I'm not sure what you will be able to handle. Are you ready to proceed?"
A host of questions almost burst out of Alesha's mouth, but she bit them back.
Either the dragon would explain, or it wouldn't, and as a mere "remnant," it was likely that its time was limited. She didn't want to waste that time asking questions she would find the answers to later.
"Yes," she answered. So what if it was dangerous? Her time in the Games had taught her one thing: the strong survived, and the weak were swallowed up.
She was determined that no matter the risks, if it could make her more powerful, she'd go for it.
Seize all that could be seized.
Make it her own.
Any power that didn't come from Rogork was especially welcome, for obvious reasons.
The remnant of Kalszoth leaned forward, breathing out a soft white mist that enveloped her.
With a shock, she realized that now, even in a mental realm, her native form was that of a dragon.
Was it possible for one's imagined form to change so easily? She'd always seen herself as human, so what had changed?
Yet it felt so natural that, at first, she hadn't questioned it at all.
"It is rather troublesome," Kalszoth's remnant murmured, as if in answer to her thoughts. "That hateful being has already corrupted you too much; you won't be able to use my holy power like this. Refrain from using my powers, aside from spirit summoning, else you might self-destruct."
"Wait, what?!" Alesha gasped. "Self-destruct?!"
Ignoring her question, Kalszoth began to chant in a language she could not understand.
Towards the end of his words, he switched languages, chanting, "... the skies shall fragment, releasing the captive dead, the hearts of the living open and the eyes of flesh will be opened to perceive that which is ethereal. Let it be so."
Alesha's eyes burned and she winced, blinking rapidly. Pain from behind her eyes flashed into existence, only to disappear Just as quickly, followed by an eerie chill that cooled the area just behind her eyelids.
"What just- hey!"
An ethereal dragon claw penetrated her forehead, thick enough at the base to match the circumference of her skull.
Knowledge of spirit summoning rituals flowed in like the steady trickling of a stream.
"You're not going to teach me directly?" She asked.
"Foolish child," Kalszoth's remnant chuckled. "This method is more efficient than classical instruction. You have the requisite diagrams and rituals present in your mind in perfect clarity now, do you not? Besides that, proper instruction would require me to enter the material realm, which I cannot. I can only be present here, in your mental realm, for the short duration required to impart knowledge to you in this fashion. Does this explanation suffice?"
"Yeah," Alesha responded. "Does this mean you'll disappear for good now?"
"Not necessarily. There may be other remnants; however if there are, I cannot sense them. My own time is indeed nearly spent, however. Have you any remaining questions?"
"Whose… whose spirits did you sense? Do you know?" Alesha asked. She now had the knowledge and ability to detect spirits herself once she returned to the real world, but that didn't mean she wanted to wait to do so. He already knew, so why not simply ask?
"I do," he affirmed.
"Is there a reason not to tell me?" She asked when he didn't continue.
"No, just… be careful, child. Meeting them may prove less cathartic than you might hope."
…
Alesha didn't know what he meant by that, and she wanted to ask, but a powerful drowsiness overtook her then and he began to vanish.
"Good luck, child corrupted by chaos. If there comes a point when …"
She didn't get to hear the rest, for consciousness had already faded.