Double personality

The next morning came quickly for Lux. A sharp knock on the door woke him up. His eyes cracked open slowly, and he rubbed them with his fists.

"It wasn't a dream after all," he whispered to himself.

He limped toward the door, every step sending pain through his body. It felt like he had just finished training moments ago, not hours. The ache in his muscles was deep and constant.

This was the curse of his strange body. Most people would heal from yesterday's training in two days without a priest's help or healing potions. But Lux was different. His body needed at least three months to heal on its own from this kind of damage. The system had made it clear.

[Status: Broken wrist, cut face, strained body. What did you expect? Damaged! (Heal in 2 months and 28 days)]

He sighed and turned the door handle. Mira stood waiting outside.

"Good morning, Master Lux," she said, bowing when she saw him.

Something was different about her today. She seemed lighter, more relaxed than yesterday. Lux couldn't figure out why.

"Come in," Lux said, stepping aside.

She nodded and walked past him. He closed the door behind her and turned the lock.

"What are we doing today, Master Lux?" Mira asked. Her voice was bright and cheerful.

Lux stared at her in shock. Yesterday she had looked like she wanted to kill him. Now she was acting completely different. What was going on?

"You can drop the act, Mira," Lux said coldly. He didn't trust this sudden change. Nothing good ever came from people switching personalities overnight.

Mira put her hand to her face and looked confused.

"Acting? But this is how I normally am," she said, tilting her head. Her confusion looked real.

Lux studied her face carefully. She seemed genuinely lost.

"Why is she like a completely different person?" he mumbled, rubbing his jaw. Something wasn't right here.

"Oh, maybe because I was on my..." Mira started to say, then stopped. Her cheeks turned red and she looked down at the floor.

Lux noticed her embarrassment but didn't push it.

"I need to take a bath. Wait here for me," he said, then walked into the bathroom.

Mira stood alone in the room, thinking about what Lux had said. She couldn't remember much from yesterday. Not even meeting him properly. Yet he said she was acting different.

"Maybe I was sleepwalking?" she wondered, then shrugged. To her, Lux was the one acting strange.

Neither of them knew the real reason for her personality change.

[Actor]

Fluent in changing characters and emotions at will, can even be the king himself if she wishes to.

Grade: A

Con: Excessive use of this skill will create a double personality for the user. The other personality will be completely opposite from the user's real personality.

An hour later, Lux came out of the bathroom fully dressed. His broken wrist was wrapped tight with bandages. He had put the bone back in place himself, but it still hurt terribly.

"Let's go," Lux said, walking out of the room.

Mira followed close behind him. As they turned a sharp corner, Lux spotted Hel in the hallway. He looked away quickly and kept walking.

Hel watched them pass, anger burning in his chest. "Just you wait," he thought.

Yesterday, his father had kept him busy with tasks. But now his older brother had called for him. Hel walked to Lucas's room with heavy steps.

"Good morning, Brother Lucas," Hel said, bowing deeply as he entered.

His voice shook with fear. It even cracked a little. Lucas was nothing like the butler. Lucas was dangerous.

"How many times have I told you to knock?" Lucas said without turning around. He sat by the window, watching the courtyard where Lux and Mira walked below. His voice was deep and commanding. "Slave, teach him manners."

A shadow moved beside Lucas. The sound of bones snapping filled the room.

Hel collapsed to the floor. His body twisted at wrong angles as he screamed in agony. The pain was beyond anything he had ever felt.

"Take it easy. He's my brother, you know. Maybe two more times will do. And he's too loud," Lucas said calmly.

The shadow pressed its palm against Hel's throat. His screams cut off instantly, even though veins bulged on his neck from the effort. No sound came out.

A faint green glow appeared around the shadow's other hand. Hel's broken bones slowly moved back into place. His body returned to normal.

Then Lucas nodded, and the bones broke again.

The green light healed him once more.

Then the bones broke a third time.

"That's enough," Lucas said after watching his brother suffer.

Another green glow covered Hel's body, healing him completely. But Hel's mind was gone. He stared at nothing, barely breathing.

"Hel, are you listening?" Lucas asked.

Hel nodded rapidly, over and over. He was terrified that if he stopped, the torture would continue.

"Good. There's a little bird I want you to watch for me. Usually it can't fly, but lately it's been trying things it shouldn't," Lucas said with a small smile.

Hel listened carefully. His teeth clenched when he realized Lucas was talking about Lux. All this pain was because of him.

"Watch the bird closely. If it keeps trying to fly, you know what to do," Lucas said with a dark chuckle.

Hel tried to answer, but the shadow's power still blocked his voice. Veins stood out on his neck as he struggled to speak.

"Oh, let him talk," Lucas told the shadow.

"Yes, Brother Lucas!" Hel shouted, staring at the floor. He didn't dare look into his brother's cold eyes.

"Good. You can go now," Lucas said.

Hel slowly stood up and left the room. As he walked down the hallway, rage filled his mind.

"Lux, just you wait. I'll make you pay for this," he whispered to himself, his hands shaking with anger.